Author's Note: Here's chapter 4. I've been updating my music on my iPod the past few days, so I haven't been around to do much editing...I think I'm done with five chapters, working on the sixth one now.

The Dragon's Orb

By HeyKoolAid

Marsilio's Task

It wasn't until the next day when Zack noticed something unusual. The weather turned stormy overnight and lightning threatened to strike the school grounds. That was normal. What was unusual were the new faces Zack kept seeing around school. Whenever he saw someone he didn't recognize, he had to look again, but by the time he turned his head, he somehow missed them. At one time, he thought he saw someone with blonde, spiky hair, but he just assumed his eyes were playing tricks again.

It was lunch time and Zack had already eaten and returned his lunch tray. On his way to his locker, he bumped into another student. "Oh, sorry," the student said, in an obvious English voice. "Trying to find my way to class." He left Zack and turned a corner just a few feet ahead.

Zack watched the boy curiously and followed him up to the corner and peered around. As usual, the hallway was full of students relaxing after lunch and waiting for their next class. Zack could not find the English boy who bumped into him. Shaking his head, he walked over to his locker to find his backpack. As soon as Marcus pulled out his backpack, and started sweeping off the snow (which made everyone around him stare), Justin bounded right up to him and made Zack flinch.

"What are you so happy about?" Zack asked cautiously, eyeing Justin as if he was about to explode any minute. He was never this happy.

"Me and Cassie are going to a movie this weekend," he said, grinning widely. "Care to join us?"

Zack chuckled and threw his backpack over his shoulder. "Love to, but got other plans. Sorry."

Justin shrugged his shoulders. "Suit yourself. C'mon, we're gonna be late for class."

"But the bell hasn't even –" began Zack, but as soon as the words came out his mouth, the bell began buzzing. Zack let out a sigh. "Let's go."

It was at that moment that things seemed to go downhill. When Zack and Justin stepped outside, Emma came running up them. "Zack! Something's wrong with Jacob!"

"What'd he do this time?" Zack asked casually as he and Justin continued walked to their class.

"Remember that man Dad brought home from work?"

Zack stopped in his tracks and remember what Jacob showed him a couple days ago. "I'll catch up with you later, Justin," he said and Justin promptly walked off. He turned to Emma. "What's going on?"

Thunder boomed overhead, a little louder than usual and made everyone jump. Emma shook her head and continued. "Jake's with Marsilio, c'mon, it'd be easier if I showed you!"

Emma grabbed Zack by the arm and they ran in the opposite direction than where Zack needed to be for class. The bounded around a corner, sprinted down a long stretch next to the building, and then around another corner, and found Marsilio and Jacob together. Except Marsilio had Jacob pinned up against the wall. And he was holding him by the neck.

"Let him go!" Zack yelled across the field. He began running towards them, with Emma in tow. Marsilio suddenly turned. "You leave my family alone! We haven't done anything to you!"

"And you haven't done anything to me," Marsilio simply said. "I just wanted to make sure you understood who's in charge here."

"Zack, what's he talking about?" Emma asked.

"Oh, you haven't told them Zack?" Marsilio asked curiously.

"Shut up, old man," Zack growled. "Only you and Jacob know."

"It didn't hurt did it?" teased Marsilio. He let go of Jacob, and he fell to the ground. "You know I can easily make you all my slaves, but you, Zack, are special."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Emma asked. "Slaves? To you? You're kidding me right?"

"I'd be careful around this guy," Zack warned. "I don't want you to have to go through what we had to."

Jacob managed to stand up. "He's got Mom and Dad…" he said hoarsely.

Marsilio burst into laughter, but it was drowned out by the booming of thunder. "Hahaha! He didn't tell you? I made him a slave to the God, Bane! It means he can't disobey my orders, or Bane's!"

"Damn you!" Zack cursed. "What'd you do with our parents!?"

Marsilio ignored Zack's question and went on. "I'll give you an example! Zack, I want you to punch your brother in the stomach, and then take your sister's glasses and smash them on the sidewalk."

As soon as Marsilio finished his sentence, Zack felt a burning sensation on his chest. He screamed in agony and clutched at his chest. "What the hell are you doing?!" Zack yelled out, falling to his knees.

"Do it, Zack, I command you!"

"Fight it, Zack!" Emma said, bending down next to Zack. "Don't let this bastard control you!"

Jacob looked at Marsilio carefully. There was something odd about him. He noticed his outstretched hand, as if he was using a device to hurt Zack. Jacob quickly realized what he could be doing and launched himself at him. He grabbed his arm and twisted it. At the same time, Jacob elbowed him in the face and he staggered back.

The burning sensation in Zack's chest quit suddenly and he looked up, seeing Marsilio staggering backwards. He took this opportunity to rush him and push him up against the wall. "Old man! I suggest you don't underestimate me!" Zack growled.

"You'll regret this one day, Immortal!"

"Where's our parents?!"

Marsilio didn't say anything. Zack looked back at his brother and sister, who all looked concerned. He turned back to Marsilio, who was sneering. Zack grabbed his head and shoved it against the wall as hard as he could. Jacob gasped. Emma let out a frightened scream.

"Answer my question!" Zack demanded.

"Alright, fine!" Marsilio yelled out. "I'll tell you!" Zack let go of his head and backed away. "There's a different world out there. A far, different world than this one. That's where your parents are. But mind you, traveling to these worlds are not easy. You must have a small remote control device that lets you jump to different worlds, or use a Stargate. A Stargate is a lot easier, but seeing as most worlds don't have one, the remote control device will be much easier in your case."

Zack turned and looked at Jacob and Emma. Emma had a worried look on her face, but Jacob just nodded as he and Zack exchanged glances. "A different world you say? I think that's way out of our league here."

Marsilio nodded his head. "Exactly."

"Well, you better start producing remote controls or a Stargate, or else the three of us are gonna whoop somebody's butt," Zack said. Emma and Jacob looked at him curiously.

"Zack, how do we know he's telling the truth?" Emma asked.

"Yea, how do we know he didn't use his powers to hide them somewhere here on Earth?" Jacob asked.

"It's a risk we have to take," Zack said darkly. He turned to face Emma. "Unless you have plans for the rest of the day, I would like to suggest we find our parents…and whoever else he may have took with them."

"Alright then. How do we get off this world to these other worlds you speak of?" Jacob asked Marsilio.

"I'll be truthful. I do have a remote on me. And I can tell you your parents ARE in a different world and I am definitely telling the truth," Marsilio said. "But, for you three to go without any means of defending yourselves would be suicide."

Zack thought for a moment. Before he could say anything, Emma spoke up. "How do we go about doing that?"

Marsilio looked at Zack. "You all will learn your true abilities. Each and every one of you are different. Zack, for instance, is an Immortal. His powers will come to him soon. If it wasn't for me, then it'd be two years before he realizes his true potential."

Zack raised an eyebrow. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You will find out in time," Marsilio replied. "As for the rest of your siblings, once you venture outside this world, just like Zack, you will find out what you are all truly capable of."

The Scott siblings looked at each other with looks of awe. "This is really weird," Emma stated. "First he tries to attack us, and now he's being good to us. What's going on?"

"I'm just as confused as you are, Emma," Jacob said.

Emma shook her head. "Well, first of all, we're gonna need more people than just the three of us. And we'll have to bring Lilly with us, she can't stay home by herself."

Zack and Jacob laughed. "You're worried about Lilly being home by herself while our parents are out there being held hostage?" Zack asked. "Marsilio, where's this remote of yours at?" There was no answer. The three looked at the wall, but there was no sign of Marsilio. "Dammit, he got away!"

"He left something, look!" Emma pointed at an old, crumpled up piece of paper and a remote control. "Looks like he left the remote and some instructions hopefully."

Zack quickly grabbed the remote from and the paper. There were several symbols etched on the buttons and a red button in the middle. He then examined the piece of paper, which had the directions. "Ok. So what do we do now?"

The three stood around in a triangle, debating whether or not to use the remote control to find their friends. Zack examined the piece of paper with all the information on it, as if there was some way to decipher it. Without any luck, he groaned and handed the paper to Jacob.

"Alright, so say we do figure this thing out," began Emma. "And we do find ourselves in a different world. What do we do then?"

"I'm more concerned about the part where Marsilio said something about defending ourselves," Zack said. "And that stuff he went on about me being Immortal…what was that all about?"

"That's creepy in many ways," Jacob answered. "But I couldn't tell you what he meant by all that. I suggest we go to the library. I remember seeing a book on runes and symbols. Maybe I can figure this paper out in there."

"Wait…you? Library? When do you go to the library, Jake?" Zack asked curiously.

Jacob shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno. Also, if you're gonna be Immortal, does that mean I will too, since we both have the same markings?"

Emma gave the two a confused look. "Markings? What'd he do, paint some symbol on your chest or something?"

"Something like that," Zack replied as him and Jacob pulled up their shirts to show Emma their marks.

"Oh, I see what you mean," Emma said with a look of disgust on her face. "Put your shirts down before anyone gets any ideas."

Zack pulled his shirt down and quickly said, "Alright, let's go find this book in the library."

The three headed to the library with Jacob in lead. When they reached the main area of the campus, something didn't seem right. Emma glanced around, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. They reached the library and as soon as they opened the door, a figure suddenly scampered out of sight. Everyone paused and looked at each other.

"What was that?" asked Jacob. He glanced back towards the area where the figure hid and back at his brother.

"Who knows," Zack said, moving into the library. He stopped in the middle and turned towards the main desk. "Where is everybody? The librarian isn't even here!"

Emma shrugged her shoulders. "Lunch maybe?"

Zack silently agreed and then slowly approached the hiding spot, a heavy dictionary in one hand. The corner was dimly lit and he could barely see the figure cowering in the corner. Zack slammed the book on the floor and the figure jumped. "C'mon, you big goof! Quit playing around!"

"You know you could be a bit more friendlier!" the figure yelled back.

Zack grabbed the figure by it's hair and dragged him out into the light. Everyone gasped when they saw who it was.

"Justin! Were you hiding from us?" Emma asked curiously. "And why are you scared?"

Justin picked himself off the floor and brushed off his clothes. "It's not everyday the school disappears like that. Trust me, if you saw what I saw, you'd be scared."

"And what exactly did you see?" Zack asked.

"Well, there was this man in a black cape. Long, flowing silver hair, and a sword as long as a…well, something. It was a pretty long ass sword."

Zack shook his head. "You were seeing things. And what did you mean by the school disappearing?"

Justin looked at Zack with a confused look. "You don't know? Here I am minding my own business on my way to class, when suddenly, everyone was gone! Everything gone quiet."

Jacob and Emma looked at each other. "Maybe our parents aren't the only ones Marsilio took," he said to her.

Zack groaned. "Are you kidding me? Anyway, we're looking for a book on runes and symbols. Think you can help us?"

Justin grinned. "Of course I can help you! I know exactly where I can find a book on that kind of stuff!" For as big as someone like Justin, he quickly disappeared in a row of books for about a minute and then returned with several books in his arms. "I just happened to be glancing at these right before you guys came in."

Jacob glanced at each book as Justin set them down on a table. Zack watched him as he picked up one book at a time, flip through it, put it back on the table, and pick up the next. Something didn't seem right.

"Not finding what you're looking for?" Zack asked.

"Not really," Jacob replied.

At that moment, they heard the door slam shut, and everyone grabbed a book to defend themselves with. As the figure came around the corner, Zack sighed and put his book down. "It's only Cassie and Andi…"

"Only?" Cassie said in a curious voice. "I should ask what you four are doing in the library?"

"Yeah, you should sound a little bit more grateful," Andi pointed out.

"We're doing school work," Jacob mumbled as he continued skimming through his book.

Cassie laughed and approached the four. "School work? That sure doesn't look like anything close to school work!"

"Hey, these books can teach you how to do magic!" Emma stated suddenly, as she opened up the book she had in her hands and flipped through the pages. "And all you have to do is draw the symbol in some dirt and something magical will happen!"

"Magic?" Andi asked, peering over her shoulder to get a closer look. "What are you guys really doing in here?"

"We're looking for something," Zack said. He turned to Jacob. "Find it, Jake?"

"Not yet…" came the reply. Jacob was now sitting down with several books piled in front of him and no one could see his face.

Justin bent over and picked up the remote control. "What is this thing?"

"Careful with that," Zack said, reaching out to grab the remote, but Justin pushed his hand out of the way.

"You're looking for information about this thing? I don't think you'll find any useful information about it in here."

"And how would you know?" Jacob asked, peering over his books. "You've been hiding in here the whole time!"

"Pssh, doesn't mean I don't know anything. Zack, the symbols on this remote remind me of that show called Stargate."

Zack pondered for a moment. He looked at the symbols on the piece of paper and then at the remote. "Oh yeah! That's right!" He shook his head as if trying to remove some mental fog. "That's why Marsilio said we need either that or a Stargate!"

"What's a Stargate?" Cassie asked. She was circling around the group and came to a stop over Jacob's shoulder to see what he was reading.

"So how does it work?" asked Jacob, ignoring Cassie.

"Well, on the show, they have these things called DHD's, meaning Dialing Home Devices. You pretty much punch in your world's address, using these symbols in a certain order, the Stargate activates, and then you have a passage to a different world!"

Zack finally grabbed the remote from Justin's hands. "Justin, why didn't you say so in the first place? It would've saved us a whole lot of time without you withholding information."

Justin looked at Zack dumbfounded. He raised his fist in anger, but Cassie, who looked up from Jacob's book in time, noticed this, and grabbed his arm and led him towards the computers, saying, "Hey look, Justin! Computers! What's that game you always play?"

Zack looked at the paper and then at the remote. "Alright, so now that we solved that, I guess we can try this thing out."

Emma closed her book and looked at Zack. Andi took a couple steps back. "Wouldn't hurt to try, but Zack…we still need to find Lilly. I'm not leaving her here alone."

Zack thought for a moment and then said, "How do we know she's not with mom and dad?"

"Look, I'll stay behind and look for her," Jacob suggested. "If you're worried about her, at least someone is back here looking for her."

"Uh, no I don't think so," Zack said at once. "You're coming with me. So is, Justin, Cassie, and Andi. Emma, you can stay."

Emma nodded her head. "Thank you, Zack."

"So, where should we go first?"

"How about just pushing some buttons?" suggested Andi.

Zack shrugged and began pushing the symbols. Once the seven symbols were entered in, he pushed the little red button in the middle. The remote control suddenly started vibrating and then two streams of blue light came out of the remote and formed a portal of blue light. Everything seemed calm and quiet. Zack quickly scribbled down the symbols he used.

"That's it?" Jacob asked. "I was expecting something more dramatic…like gusts of wind, maybe some lightning, and…"

"We don't have time for that, Jake," Zack interrupted. "We can add special effects later. Right now, we have people to save! Cassie, Justin, c'mon! We're leaving!"

Justin looked up from the computer. "Leaving? Where? I wanna come!"

"You are coming," Cassie said, grabbing Justin by the arm again and dragging him towards the portal. "That's it?" she asked, pointing at the portal.

"Apparently," Zack replied, shrugging. "Don't know where we're going, or what's in store for us." With that, everyone looked at each other and one by one, they jumped into the portal. Zack paused before he jumped in and turned to Emma. "You were always the mature one, sis," he said. He dug into his pocket and tossed her a set of keys.

"About time you noticed," she said, catching the keys. "You're gonna trust me with your car?"

Zack laughed. "No need for it right now. Go find Lilly and anybody else. Can't say when we'll be back for sure."

Emma headed for the door, paused, and then turned. "Keep an eye on Jake," she said. Zack nodded his head and jumped into the portal. A few seconds later, the portal disappeared and Emma was left standing in the library alone. "You better come back alive, dammit," she muttered to herself as she turned and left.