Chapter 20: The Two Agents of Darkness
"I vont zeez place cleaned up und reorganised A-SAP!" Captain Schneider barked as he flung his giant index finger through the air like a thick composer's baton. His team scurried about from room to room mindlessly as they attempted to restore order to the chaos that had erupted on the 203rd floor of the Keltech Building. Schneider grasped the passing shoulder of a short, spiky haired guard, "I vont a full casualty report of all laboratories compiled und sent to the security terminal immediately," The young lad nodded hurryingly and scarpered off seeming somewhat relieved to be released from the captain's vice like, crushing grip. Schneider glanced around from his cemented position. His head was swimming as he attempted to fathom the disastrous events of the night. An alarming number of scientists lay dead due to some unknown agent or attack. On top of that, one of the greatest minds to ever walk these very halls lay fatally wounded in his own private laboratory. What concerned him was that he was the only one to bear an inflicted injury of any kind compared to the other casualties of the evening. A victim sporting the calling card of a faceless murderer.
With thoughts reeling back to the ill-fated Professor Stephen Taylor, Schneider approached the shattered doorway of the professor's lab and peered inside. A lone uniformed figure; a member of his own team, sat on his knees overlooking a half opened, vinyl black body bag. Despite the commotion going on out in the corridor, the onlooker seemed to be in a world of his own.
"Taylor," the captain said as calmly as his deep, gravelly voice would permit, "Taylor, your team needs you to assist vit the clean-up operation." Tyronne didn't reply. He remain sat on his heels staring mournfully at his father's exposed face that expressed utter peace despite the hideous slash wound scored across his lukewarm abdomen.
"We vill find zee von responsible vor zeez atrocity. Dis disgraceful act vill not go unpunished," Schneider continued to Tyronne's back.
"You're damn right it won't go unpunished," Tyronne said lowly zipping up the remaining open track to completely hide his father from view, "I'm gonna find the scumbag responsible for my father's death and I'm going to tear him limb from bloody limb! For Dad and…and for Kairyn."
Tyronne, having brushed his face with the back of his hand, shot to standing and snapped a sharp spin on his heels before marching to the blown out doorway. Schneider caught Tyronne's stiff shoulder as he tried to stride past.
"Vengeance is an act zat is neither brave nor honourable. By claiming zee life of zee one who took your father's vill not bring zem back nor vill it satisfy your anger."
"I don't give a crap! I just want justice for my dad and little brother."
"And justice vill be delivered; zat I assure you. But I need you to help me to help you. I need you as a member of my squad; as you trained to be." Tyronne snorted but looked back at his superior who seemed uncharacteristically sympathetic.
"What will you have me do, sir?" he then said with a grunt.
"Ve-group vit Delta Team. They need assistance in zee other labs. All damage reports need to be logged und viled to zee security terminal."
"…Yes sir…" Tyronne said sharply before heading out into the manic corridor.
With a breathy sigh, Schneider glanced down at the thick, oily-black bag. It gave off a strange glowing halo in the fluorescent strips that illuminated the sterile room. The captain bowed his head and slowly closed his eyes in a solemn nod of respect.
"Captain Schneider," a voice then spoke to him.
"Director Thorne," Schneider returned on a long exhale. Turning around, he unfurled his eyelids and found himself gazing down a few inches to find a young face staring back at him through a set of crystal clear, blue tinted lens that appeared to hover over the bridge of his slender nose without a need for ear hooks. Atop his head was a dense mop of thinly stranded, mousey blonde hair parted off centre and left to drop lazily yet organised into curtains cropped just below his eyebrows. He was a good half a foot shorter than Captain Schneider and being only in his mid to late thirties, he looked very young to be parading around with the title of "director". However, he fit the part from a mere glance at his businessmanly stature and immaculately clean pressed, pin-striped suit despite appearing puny in physical comparison. The hue of the rimless glasses accented the young man's blue eyes as he gazed up at the strongly built captain; his expression grave yet firmly set.
"What's our situation?" Thorne asked. His voice was American accented and although it was not particularly boastful in strength, it was laced with undeniable authority.
"Alpha Team ees running casualty reports and Delta ees totalling damages. Both vill be transverred to Central Command within minutes. Teams Bravo and Charlie are both searching zee area vor any sign or clue to zee perpetrator's vhereabouts," Schneider said exerting some authority of his own in his tone.
"Good. The board is an uproar. They are in a state of panic over the events of tonight. They have already planned a gathering for an immediate comms-link meeting. I will require a complete list of names of casualties as soon as your reports are finalised."
"Yes Director, as you wish."
"I heard that Professor Taylor is amongst the deceased."
"Yes. A tragic loss indeed. How is his partner?"
"Professor Clements is fine. He was in one of the unaffected labs it appears when the attack happened. He has bolted himself in his own lab, out of fear no doubt, and refuses to come out. Are there any clues as to what might have occurred here Captain?"
"None yet but zee forensic teams vill be dispatched to analyse zee rooms vonce Alpha and Delta are finished."
"Any ideas of your own Captain?" Thorne then asked as he massaged his face with one hand.
"I could not say vor sure. My first guess would be some zort of virulent agent but zere is no vay any alien bacteria could have been distributed through the air circulation system vit out da hazardous materials sensor being tripped. Neither vood zat explain how Professor Taylor voz killed. It is best we vait vor forensics to do zere part."
"That may not be an necessary course of action to take captain," a slicked voice suddenly sounded from behind the conversing men.
Thorne and Schneider both swivelled in the same direction to see a black figure appear from around the nearest corner. The figure stood straight and tall, draped in a black cloak with the hood rolled back. The figure's face and body looked human except he was completely jet-black from head to toe and had long thick tentacles that protruded from the back of his head and fell loosely down his back like smooth dreadlocks. His fingers and bare feet were tipped with extended nails that looked more like talons and his eyes were serpentine black slits etched into yellow balls.
"Wha?! Who are you?" Thorne spluttered taking a stumbling few steps backwards. With the newly made space, Schneider leapt forwards, drew his sidearm and pointed it at the figure's head.
"Identify yourself!" the captain demanded. His hands were rock steady. A single twitch of his index finger would mark the immediate end the intruder's life in a blink.
"Neither enemy nor friend. But I can shed some light on what has happened here tonight," the figure said coolly.
"You know what happened here?" Thorne asked airily but the captain instantly flicked his left hand up to his ear and blasted a strict order into it.
"Response squad! Intruder alert! All members to report to cryogenic labs immediate. Hostile entity encountered!"
"Now, is that really necessary?" the figure said shaking his head. Schneider didn't reply but continued to eye the intruder dangerously. Within seconds, the clapping of boots on the polished marble rattled towards the standoff. Seven uniformed members emerged from three different directions of the T-junction pinning the cloaked figure between them. Their rifles were raised and pointed with threatening intent.
"Don't move!" Schneider warned, his pistol still aimed at the spot between the figure's eyes.
"I come here offering my services and this is the welcome I get?" the figure said chuckling to himself.
"You are an intruder on zees premises! You are under arrest and vill accompany my team to zee interrogation voom vor questioning!" Schneider instructed potently. The figure then smiled deviously.
"I'd rather not…" he said slyly just as his eyes fogged over with a swirl of red that completely engulfed his irises.
"Michaels! Restrain him!" Schneider ordered one of the two guards positioned behind the cloaked figure. The guard, rifle still raised, stepped cautiously towards the intruder and lifted a hand to seize the figure's black wrist. As soon as the guard's hand clamped on, the figure spun with lightning speed and grabbed the guard's arm. Now in control, the figure elbowed the guard in the face making him stumble backwards. In the same swift movement, the figure's free hand clamped on the muzzle of the rifle and he pulled it skywards as the flailing guard instinctively pulled the trigger. Bullets flew in a stream up towards the ceiling and ricocheted off the walls forcing everyone else to drop to the floor in a panic to avoid being hit. When the gun stopped, the figure gave the front of the gun a sharp kick upwards which stole the weapon from the guard's hand. Plucking it from the air in its flight, the figure then swung the butt of the rifle around in a wide arc, cracking the guard in the face in its swing. The guard fell to the floor and didn't move.
"GET HIM!" Schneider then screamed from his downed position. With everyone scrambling to their feet, the figure then dashed towards the second guard who was behind him and with a sweeping reverse roundhouse kick, he knocked the guard's rifle away as he began to raise it. With the weapon out of harm's way, the figure then leapt up high and landed on the stunned man's shoulder with his knees either side of his head. Then, arching over backwards, the figure dropped to the floor and stood upside down on his hands, pulling the guard over with his legs. With the back flip, the figure threw the restrained guard towards the other three men stood at the opposite end of the corridor who were just priming their guns to fire. The screaming man flew straight into the aiming guards bowling them all over on contact. As his feet touched the solid ground one after the other, the figure then instinctively turned around one-eighty and flicked his elongated fingers up, exposing the flat of his palm in Schneider's direction. At the same time, Schneider, who had just ducked the flying squad member, raised his pistol and opened fire. He shot three rounds but was amazing to see that the bullets had suddenly become imbedded in what looked like a gelatinous, transparent gold wall between the him and the mysterious intruder.
"Vot da hell?! Vot witchcraft is zees?!" Schneider seared as the two remained guard either side of him knelt before him and opened fire themselves. Still stood on the spot, the figure remained stationary, his palm raised, as every single bullet that was fired from both guards' rifles seemed to stick in the warbling gold wall.
"Cease fire!" Schneider snapped above the machine gun fire and finally rose to his feet.
"So, now you realise that you are no match for me. This in only a fractional display of the power I wield," the figure said boastfully. Schneider gritted his teeth and slowly replaced his handgun into its hip holster. Seeing the huge man finally come to reason, the figure lowered his hand and the golden force field disappeared from view allowing the loose bullets to clatter to the floor like pointed metal marbles.
"In-credible! You are not a creature of this world by physiology nor by feature. What exactly are you?" Thorne then said having stood up side by side with Schneider.
"I represent a race that came to this planet a long time ago. The logistics are complex but no doubt, our race and the spoils we held are a subject area that your company has found of great interest," the figure said smoothly. His eyes dissolving back to their yellowy, serpent slits.
"I…I'm afraid I don't understand," Thorne stammered adjusting his hanging blue tinted glasses.
"Humans very seldom do understand matters that often minimise their own importance as a species," the figure said shaking his head whilst wearing a smug smile, "maybe this will help jog your memory." The figure then held out a closed fist to his audience, the uniformed members itchy to man their weapons. Then, unfurling one lengthy finger at a time, a small ball seemed to materialise and hover over the figure's open palm. It was a tightly wrapped, wispy bundle of black vapour that slithered off a core of deep purple.
"Dark matter!" Thorne breathed but the figure merely smiled.
"I understand you are currently experimenting with this mysterious substance. Unravelling the enigmas surrounding its properties and the functionalities of its seemingly unstable molecular structure, are you not?"
"That is classified information sir," Thorne suddenly said unco-operatively.
"Don't play coy with me. I know you are using this. I can practically smell its odorous scent linger in these rooms like a foul stink."
"You know too much!" Schneider snapped stepping forward but Thorne cut in front of him.
"I sense in your tone you have a proposal to make for us. You clearly are knowledgeable on the subject of dark matter. An area of interest to our department; yes. That is obviously your buy-line. But what is it you want from us? A bargain always works both ways after all," the director then asked intrigued yet calm.
"I'm looking for someone. Someone who holds a very valuable key to a riddle that envelopes a hidden power long lost by our tribe; the Siax. I tracked him down here tonight; that was before he decided to lay waste to your property and your colleagues."
"The Black Ghost?!" a voice then echoed from somewhere in the crowd that had since been growing. The figure's gaze locked onto the face that uttered a name of interest. He spotted a young man dressed in a security uniform towards the back of the huddle.
"Yes. That is the one I am after," the figure said smiling.
"Well, you'll have to get in line and await an autopsy of his corpse coz I want him for myself!" the voice then spat hotly.
"TAYLOR!" Schneider snapped for him to be silent but the figure was already gliding over to the young man with light footsteps.
"He has done you wrong too it sounds," the figure said cooingly, leaning through the parted crowd to face the young man. In fear of his superior barking at him again, Tyronne simply nodded discreetly.
"The Black Ghost has a lot to answer for. It is my job to retrieve this wayward soul and bring him back to the Siax."
"He's…one of you?" Tyronne asked almost whispering.
"Yes…although he condemns his lineage and lashes out at all those who stand in his way. I have taken it upon myself to bring him in. There always is a black sheep of the family," the figure said before he turned back to the director, "so, that is my offer. Help me with my investigation and I help you unlock the mysteries of dark matter and my ancestors' rich history. I assure you; all your efforts will be rewarded greatly."
Director Thorne seemed to ponder the thought for a moment. After a brief tussle with his judgement, he stepped towards the figure.
"It seems we have business to discuss," he said at last, throwing his arm out to gesture a path, "if you'd care to accompany us to one of our meeting rooms, we shall go over what necessary information need be transcribed." The figure's smile widened even further as he accepted the invitation with a slow single bow of his head.
"Our guards will escort you to the room," Thorne said as he clicked his fingers at Tyronne and another guard to lead the figure away. The captain glanced at the man in dumbstruck horror.
"But…Director Thorne?!" Schneider then stuttered but Thorne threw a hand up in his face.
"Please, this way Mr…"
"Zeiger…"
"Very good, Mr Zeiger. Now, if you please…"
As Tyronne and the second guard ferried the cloaked figure away down the corridor, Director Thorne began dispersing the crowd. With the stranger now out of earshot, Schneider whirled around and glared at Thorne.
"Are you inzane Nigel?! Zat intruder could be zee von responsible vor the despicable deaths vee've zeen tonight? Und you are just gonna invite him in vor a cup of tea und a friendly chat?!" he scorned with angry eyes.
"That creature maybe be our only clue as to what happened here. He is clearly not of this world yet he seems incredibly knowledgeable in matters that could benefit our current state of affairs," Thorne said back very matter-of-factly.
"Director! Zees is hardly the time vor business partnerships! Innocent people 'ave been killed tonight! Und zee only intruder found in the area you are giving full access to our facilities?!"
"Of course not Schneider! Don't be such a fool!" Thorne then barked irritably, "I am aware of the atrocity that has happened here and we have a chance to put it all to right. This 'Zeiger' character may be able to give us just what we need to fulfil what our scientists were looking to accomplish. I will be linking him up with Professor Clements once we've discussed the trivial matters. If you want your interrogation, it will have to wait until afterwards. In the mean time, continue your clean up operations here. I will need you and Captain Clifford in the Briefing Room later to discuss a mission plan."
"Mission plan Director?" Schneider asked curiously as Thorne turned to leave.
"Yes dear Captain. If this all goes well, we may get a chance to reactive the ancient technology we discovered not too long ago. Maybe more than just a squad of three could be utilise it." Schneider wanted to banter the idea but he knew that there was no argument that would sway the director from his final decision.
"Yes Director Thorne," he said sighing deeply.
"Good. I will call for you once my talk with the creature has finished. I don't want word of this to spread by any means. This could be the breakthrough we've been yearning for. You know the drill on the confidentiality of business Captain. I expect it to be upheld." Schneider nodded again as Director Thorne continued down the corridor. His thick soled leather shoes clapping audibly on the marble floor.
*
High up on the snowy mountainside, the area looked a mess. Great rippling layers of tightly packed snow lay strewn about the valley path as a result of the monstrous avalanche that had thundered its way down from the mountain summits. Suddenly, from the frozen landscape, something burst through the snow, shooting straight up and into the nipping cold air like a thick stemmed flower. It bent and wavered for a second before it fell to the ground with the pull of gravity. As his tail hit the ground, Littlefoot dug his heels into the floor and pulled with all his might. With a sudden pop, he flew backwards out of the snowy mound and landed in a seated position. He choked and gasped for breath as the dimming sunlight scorched his vision having been submerged for a length of time that seemed far too long by any count. As he regained his bearings, hardly able to believe that he had survived the avalanche, Littlefoot scanned the snowy plateau that layered the valley path through the mountain.
"Cera! Ducky! Spike and the others!" he then gasped. Hopping to his feet, Littlefoot frantically searched for any signs of his friends who were, no doubt, still buried under the snow. Wading through the randomly formed snowy banks, Littlefoot suddenly felt a sharp point jab him on the underside of his leading foot. Flinching, Littlefoot jumped back a few paces. Glancing down at the path he had just dragged through the snow, Littlefoot saw an odd surface partially concealed under the white blanket. A strange orangey-yellow colour.
"Is that?" Littlefoot said to himself before pawing at the surface. It was chilled but still warm to the touch. Pulling more snow out of the way, Littlefoot began to recognise more of unnaturally coloured object.
"Cera?!" Littlefoot then gasped. He began to dig deeper and faster, trying his hardest to ignore the icy stabbing of the cold against his feet. After a minute or two, Littlefoot finally cleared away enough of the snow to reveal most of Cera's head and upper body.
"Cera! Cera, you okay?" Littlefoot asked nudging his triceratops friend briskly. He was relieved to see Cera begin to stir.
"Cera…are you alright?" Littlefoot asked again as Cera slowly raised her head and coughed.
"Uhh…Littlefoot?" Cera hummed groggily as she squinted to look at his worried expression, "Littlefoot? Is that you?"
"Yeah! It's me Cera!" Littlefoot beamed, "Can you stand?"
"I'm a threehorn. Threehorns…can do…anything…" Cera muttered defiantly as she pushed herself to her feet, allowing the snow that powdered her back to tumbled off. Littlefoot giggled as Cera slowly regained her bearings.
"Where are the others?" she asked looking over the snowy terrain.
"I don't know. I've only just woken up myself," Littlefoot replied, "We'd better find them quickly." With a sharp nod, the pair of them broke off in two separate directions to locate their friends. Cera managed to find Ducky and Petrie fairly close together a little further down the trail, and Littlefoot found Spike pressed up against the mountainside, suspended upside down. With all five of them reunited, they all regrouped in the middle of the pathway.
"Great. Looks like we've got everyone," Cera said chirpily, "Let's get going. It's gonna be a long trek back to the Great Valley from here." She was about to turn and head off when Littlefoot called out to her.
"No Cera wait! We didn't find Kairyn or the Black Ghost. They're still around here somewhere!"
"Kairyn and the Black what?" Cera asked furrowing her brow half curious yet half irritated.
"Kairyn and Black Ghost. Ducky and me find them in the forest with Littlefoot," Petrie elaborated.
"They are humans just like Jason. Well, I think that the Black Ghost is a human," Ducky joined in.
"So those WERE humans with you," Cera said sounding surprised.
"Yeah…they're coming back to the Great Valley with us," Littlefoot said. Cera immediately put up her defence.
"What?! Ohhh no! After what those humans in black did to you, there is no WAY we are letting MORE humans back into the Valley!" she grumbled.
"Why not? They're fine Cera. They've been helping us make our way back," Littlefoot argued, "If it wasn't for them, we probably wouldn't be standing here right now."
"But Littlefoot! Humans were the ones who kidnapped you out of the Great Valley? Why are you gonna bring them back? So they can do the same thing again?!" Cera bantered.
"But…it was not Kairyn or the Black Ghost who kidnapped-ed Littlefoot. Oh no, no, no," Ducky said.
"Yeah, Kairyn save Ducky and Black Ghost save…well, everyone…sorta," Petrie piped in. Littlefoot then realised that the pair of them were still buried somewhere in the area.
"C'mon, we've got to find them before they freeze!" Littlefoot said urgently breaking away from the ring to start the hunt. Cera, still primed to argue her point, closed her hanging mouth when she realised that no one was listening. She glanced over at Spike who hummed in confusion.
"Come on Spike! Let's at least help them find these stupid humans," Cera sighed, nodding towards where the other three were digging.
It took them a few minutes but between the five of them, they managed to find one body hidden in the snow and after a few nudges and pleas to awaken, Kairyn coughed sickly and sat up.
"My God! What the hell happened?" he gasped. Then he looked up to see Littlefoot standing over him, "Littlefoot! You're okay!" Littlefoot smiled as Kairyn scanned around the group.
"Ducky! Petrie! You're okay too!" he piped happily. The pair nodded enthusiastically. Kairyn's eyes then suddenly moved over to two faces he did not recognise and his smile quickly melted.
"Whoa! Who are those two?" Kairyn asked rising to standing and dusting himself off.
"That's Cera and over there is Spike; Ducky's younger brother," Littlefoot introduced. Spike smiled and hummed graciously. Cera, on the other hand, simply snorted. Kairyn gave them a quick wave.
"Where's the Black Ghost?" Kairyn asked, noticing that one body was still absent.
"We don't know. We haven't been able to find him," Littlefoot said somewhat guiltily.
"Well he can't have gone far. It was his bright idea to try and blast the snow with his magic fire beam or whatever that was," Kairyn said flatly.
"But we looked all over. We no see him," Petrie sighed.
"Maybe he was crushed under all the ground sparkles," Cera said smiling smugly.
"That's NOT funny Cera!" Littlefoot snapped eyeing her dangerously, "We've gotta find him in case…"
Suddenly, there was an eruption from the ground and a thick broken wall of snow flew up into the air. The group turned in shock just in time to shield themselves as the heavy clumps of snow began to rain down on them.
"What the hell?!" Kairyn said as he shook his sleeves clean of the falling mass.
"Look!" Ducky then yelped pointing to the epicentre of the explosion, "It is the Black Ghost! It is!" Everyone turned to look and, sure enough, the Black Ghost was stood, with his back to them, in the centre of a crater where the snow had been blown into the air from.
"Yeah, it him!" Petrie cawed.
"Yeah it's him…but what's wrong with him?" Kairyn then asked eyeing the cloaked man's back pryingly.
"He's…covered in…some sort of…black mist…" Cera said unsure. As Cera had described, the Black Ghost stood unmoving but his entire stance seemed to be seeping a bizarre black mist that flicked off his body in rolling, airy wisps. Littlefoot made the first move and quickly hurried over to him.
"Hey! Black Ghost!" he called when he was within earshot but he didn't get a response.
"Black Ghost…are you okay?" Littlefoot tried again. This time, he spoke back.
"Traitor…" he said lowly. Littlefoot looked a little taken aback.
"What?"
"Traitor…All traitors need to be punished…" the Black Ghost said in the same deep, monotonic tone.
"What do you mean?" Littlefoot asked confused. Something in the Black Ghost's voice didn't sound right. It was almost as if it wasn't the voice Littlefoot had come to recognise since meeting him.
"All traitors…need to be punished…" he said again. Only this time, the Black Ghost stuck his hand inside his long flowing coat and drew his sword. In a flash, the Black Ghost swung the glinting blade around and stopped it, a mere hair's breadth, from Littlefoot's throat. Littlefoot swallowed the gasp of air that the blade's sharpened edge had managed to catch in his larynx. Paralysed by the flash of the sword, Littlefoot could only look into the blank void of the Black Ghost's hood. Suddenly, from the perpetual darkness, Littlefoot saw two red glows shimmer in the blackness.
"Ghost! What the hell are you doing?!" Kairyn screamed running up to them, closely followed by the others.
"All traitors need to be punished for their sins. For meddling in affairs beyond their understanding and preventing us from achieving our goal," the Black Ghost uttered. A sinister undertone seems to be wormed into his own voice making it sound like there were two people using his one voicebox.
"But…he is not a traitor! Oh no, no, no!" Ducky cried meagrely.
"I'll stop him!" Cera said dipping her head as she began pawing the ground.
"No Cera don't! No do that! Littlefoot might get hurt!" Petrie beseeched standing in front of her.
"Ghost! What the bloody hell is wrong with you?! Snap out of it! It's Littlefoot for God's sake!" Kairyn shouted lividly. Littlefoot, still too fearful to move, could only stare at the red glowing eyes glowering back but he suddenly saw them fade out for a brief second like a faulty lightbulb.
"G-Ghost…it's me…Littlefoot. Don't you remember me?" Littlefoot whimpered still watching those glowing red eyes that flickered in and out again.
"Li-Littlefoot?" the Black Ghost stammered. His head dipped and he held it in his hand as if he'd been struck by a sudden headache. The sword rolled over the pulse throbbing madly in Littlefoot's neck and fell harmlessly to the ground in the Black Ghost's gloved hand. Seeing the fall of the weapon, Littlefoot instantly shuffled backwards to a safe distance, out of reach.
"What the hell was that about, you stupid twat!" Kairyn screamed outraged, "You were about to decapitate him with that sodding sword of yours! What were to playing at?!"
"I…I didn't…I mean…I wasn't going to…" the Black Ghost babbled still wrestling with his head.
"You see! He's a danger to everyone! And he tells me he didn't kill my father?! He's a freak! A MURDERER! And he was about to do it to Littlefoot too!" Kairyn exploded.
"No…NO! NO! It's not true! I never wanted to hurt him…NEVER! I…I didn't kill anyone!" the Black Ghost yelled. Compared to his usual composure, he was now very panic-stricken and fearful.
"YES you did! You killed him! ADMIT IT!" Kairyn bellowed even louder than before. The Black Ghost suddenly stumbled backwards like he was struck by a strong blow to his stomach. He dropped to his knees and clutched his head. The gang all stepped backwards a few paces as the cloaked man started screaming aloud deliriously. He began muttering and mumbling to himself; almost as if he was arguing with someone.
"No! NOOO! You don't control me! I'm not one of you…NEVER!" he screeched.
"What's happening to him?" Ducky yelped fearfully.
"He's flipping out! He's gone insane! He did the same thing back at Keltech when I was with him in the cryogenic lab where Littlefoot was," Kairyn said watching the writhing man anxiously. Littlefoot then felt his mind give him a jolt. Something came into his mind's eye as he processed what Kairyn had just said. He couldn't place when or where it happened, but he could have sworn he heard someone crying out to him; like they were in a great amount of pain. They were pleading and begging for him to set them free from their torment but Littlefoot could only listen to the agonising cries of despair. He couldn't do anything to help despite wanting to. Could it have been the Black Ghost?
"Black Ghost!" Littlefoot then called out. The others shot him an awestruck glance as he took a few steps towards the fallen figure.
"Littlefoot, don't!" Cera called to him but Littlefoot ignored her.
"Black Ghost…" he asked again.
"No…I'm not a ghost…I'm not a…" the man replied in amongst his terrified screams.
"Then…who are you?" Littlefoot asked now practically standing next to him. His head ducked low to try and find the black hole of his hood. The Black Ghost suddenly froze. He stopped screeching and slowly lifted his head to meet Littlefoot's wide eyes.
"Who are you?" Littlefoot repeated. He wasn't sure what force was driving him but something deep inside him was yearning to help.
"I am…a prisoner…" the Black Ghost then answered breathlessly.
"A prisoner?" Kairyn uttered glancing between the other dumbstruck dinosaurs and the back of Littlefoot.
"A prisoner…of fate…" the Black Ghost then continued.
"A prisoner of fate?" Littlefoot echoed, "but…what does that mean?"
"The stones…they can set me free…free me of my curse…" he continued. Littlefoot couldn't seem to understand.
"But, Ghost…who are you?" Littlefoot said still trying to get an answer to his original question. There was a long silence before the Black Ghost finally answered.
"Me?......I was……one of you…" he replied softly. Littlefoot's eyes widened as a shallow gasp escaped his lips.
"What?! One of us?!"
Before he could get an answer, Littlefoot jumped backwards into the snow as the Black Ghost suddenly erupted into another bursting fit of screams and violent thrashings. Kairyn yelled for Littlefoot to get back further as the Black Ghost jumped to standing and snapped a threatening turn towards the six of them. The group flinched as the Black Ghost readied his sword and ran at them. Quick to respond, Cera instantly kicked off and dashed straight at him, totally ignoring the shouts from her friends. With her head dipped low so her nose horn was primed to hit a target, Cera then felt something pounce on the centre of her back. Wincing with the stomp, Cera fell flat as the Black Ghost vault high up over the group. They all watched in awe as the Black Ghost's body suddenly burst into the same strange black mist from before. Whilst airborne, the Black Ghost tucked himself into a tight ball before throwing his arms and legs out violently. A blasting shockwave shot out from him and tore over the area hitting the gang head on, forcing them to battle to keep their balance. The snow instantly seemed to evaporate around them as the black mist dissipated into the air along with any trace of the Black Ghost. Having ducked the shockwave that rolled over them, Littlefoot stood up straight again before dashing to the aerial spot where the Black Ghost had mysteriously vanished.
"He's gone!" he gasped.
"Hopefully for good this time," Kairyn muttered dusting himself off having landed flat on his back from the blast.
"Look! The Black Ghost melted away all the white ground sparkles!" Ducky breathed in shock.
"Can someone please tell me what all that was about? Who was that guy?" Cera barked irritably as she pushed her face off the ground.
"He…needed our help," Littlefoot said airily still looking at the spot where the Black Ghost had disappeared.
"Believe me Littlefoot. The kind of help that creep needs, we can't give him," Kairyn muttered sarcastically, "C'mon, we're better off without him anyway." As the group recomposed themselves to set out, Littlefoot continued to look to the dimming light on the horizon where the Black Ghost had made his exit. What the Black Ghost had said disturbed him.
"He's…one of us? What did he mean by that?" he pondered. The voices of his friends signalling for him to follow broke his trance momentarily as he trotted after them. His mind still burning about the mysterious entity.