This episode actually WASN'T intended to be a two parter, but it just sort of happened (just like the one with the Time and Water wasn't supposed to be). This first part is more of a build up to what'll happen in the second part, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. My, my, episode 20 already? CCR has almost made a "full season". Anyway, please enjoy, dear readers!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own CCS, I am just a fan.

Episode Twenty: Silent Sillouette (Part One)

It was a beautiful day. There was a slight breeze in the air and the weather was perfect. But as everyone enjoyed their lunch outside, Ritsuka laid upon the grass, sleeping. Both Tanner and Allison looked at each other, then back at their sleeping friend.

"Uhhh...Ritsuka?" said Tanner.

"Are...you alright?" asked Allison.

Her eyes slowly opened. "Huh?"

"Why are you sleeping on the grass?"

She then got up, rubbing her eyes. "Oh, sorry."

"At this rate you won't even have time to finish your lunch."

"Yeah, I know." she said. "It's just that I feel so tired."

"Why?"

"Well, you know how Dad's been training me and all."

"So?" Tanner said. "What's the big deal?"

"I have to get up at 5 AM each morning before school!"

"That is a bit early." said Allison.

"That's a perfect time to get up and train." Tanner told her. "I'm glad he's doing that to you. It'll benefit not only your skills, but teach you how to be a morning person."

Ritsuka glared at him. "Oh, shut up, Tanner! It's not like you have to get up at 5 AM!"

"Actually, that's about the same time I get up to practice."

She blinked. "What?"

"You're actually quite lucky. My grandfather made sure I got up at 4:30 in the morning for training."

Ritsuka moaned. "Great, now I have no support in my complaint!" she then fell backwards, laying herself in the grass again. "And I doubt training with you would of been any easier."

"I don't see what's so bad about getting up early to train." Tanner said.

She sat back up and got up in his face. "Try dodging lightning half asleep. I literally can say I was 'jolted' awake!"

Allison gasped. "Did...did you get hit by one of his strikes?"

"No." she replied. "But I've gotten close."

"You'd think you'd be used to it by now."

"Yeah, well, the 'shock' factor hasn't really worn off yet."

"I know you're tired, but aren't you gonna eat your lunch? Ya know, before Tanner gets his grubby hands on it?"

"You make it sound like I'm some rude jerk." he said to her.

"Oh, come on." she said. "You know that's what you'll do."

"Can't deny that."

"I just want to get some sleep..." Ritsuka said, turning on her side and closing her eyes.

"Wow, she really is tired." Allison said.

"Hey!"

"Huh?" Allison turned to see a high school boy coming their direction. He had messy black hair and appeared to be friendly. Some reason, he looked familiar, though.

"You're Allison Conner, right?" he asked.

"Yeah..." she replied.

"I'm Daisuke Taiyama." he told her. "Remember when we all went into that forest to investigate the possible ghost? I was the guy with the camera trying to get footage for my dad."

"Oh yeah! Now I remember you!" she said excitedly. "You said that your dad is into paranormal investigation, right?"

"Yup. He wants to start his own investigation team. So I've been on the look out for anything out of the ordinary that might be worth looking into."

"That's so cool!"

Tanner sighed. "Another ghost hunter, huh? That's all we need."

"Tanner..." she said through her teeth. "Ignore him. This naive fool doesn't think ghosts exists."

"Naive fool?" Tanner raised an eyebrow. He then muttered, "If anyone's naive, it's you..."

She then looked at him with a piercing glare. "Don't think I can't hear you!"

"Hey, who's your sleeping friend?" Daisuke asked. "She looks familiar."

"Oh, that's Ritsuka Showron." she replied. "She was with us that time we all went into the forest. But...she's deathly afraid of ghosts. I'm not sure why, though. Apparently she's never seen one. Maybe it's just the idea of ghosts that scare her."

"Can't blame her." Daisuke said.

"By the way, why are you here? Not to sound rude or anything. Just curious."

"Since you're pretty enthusiastic about ghosts, I thought maybe you could help me."

Her eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah. I'm trying to look for a really good case my dad could work on. And I think the perfect place to start is our own school."

"Huh?" her eyes widened. "Why...the school?"

"It's quite obvious, isn't it?" he said, turning his head to look at the building. "Many strange things happened here. For example, like the afterschool ghost. Even our parents heard her song echo throughout the halls. That mystery is still yet to be solved."

"Oh, well, that actually really wasn't a gho-"

Tanner quickly covered her mouth and said in a low voice, "Allison, are you trying to blow our cover?"

Daisuke raised an eyebrow. "Why are you covering Miss Conner's mouth?"

"Because she'll just spew out a lot of hot air." he replied.

She then forced his hand off and pushed him away. "You always find some way to critisize me, don't you?"

"Like you're one to talk." he said, rubbing the back of his head from the fall.

"So anyway..." began Allison, trying to get back on topic. "What's this about investigating the school?"

"A record of strange things have happened over the years. I mean, come on, you've noticed yourself the weird occurances just recently. But what I find astounding is it almost seems like it's happening again. Like this place is haunted."

"How far back does these occurences go?"

"Well, back when a lot of our parents would have been attending this school, assuming they lived here at the time. And there's one case I am especially interested in."

"And...what case is that?"

"It happened many years ago in the Elementary building in the Division 2 4th grade classroom. One morning, all the kids just found the whole classroom messed up with chairs and tables piled onto each other. No one could figure out who did it. But my theory is maybe it wasn't a living human. I think it was a poltergeist."

"Poltergeist? You mean ghosts that can actually move things?"

He nodded. "I did some research of who was attending at the time. You know your classmate Anita? Both her parents were in that very class it happened. I asked Anita if her parents ever talked to her about that incident, and she confirmed it."

"Assuming there is a 'ghost' haunting the school," said Tanner, chiming in. "Who's to say that it's even still here? There hasn't been any recent reports of that incident."

"On the contrary," Daisuke slightly narrowed his eyes. "I got a lead."

Both of them slightly gasped with widening eyes. Allison was highly interested now, but Tanner had a slightly different theory on what type of "spirit" it may be.

"Why are we heading over to the high school building?" Ritsuka asked, after school was over. Both Tanner and Ritsuka were asked to meet Allison over at Reedington High.

"You're not gonna like it." Tanner replied, his hands in his pockets. "Remember the supposed 'monster' everyone thought they saw in the forest?"

"Yeah. But that was just The Illusion card."

"I know. That's not the point. I'm sure you remember who was present, right?"

"Pretty much. There were some of our classmates and some of Hanako's classmates."

"Well, it just so happens while you slept during lunch that one of Hanako's classmates that were with us at that time came to talk with Allison."

"Huh? Seriously?"

"Yup. His name is Daisuke Taiyama. He's the guy who was trying to get footage for his dad. Of course, when he tried to record the supposed 'ghost' he got nothing."

"That would make sense." Ritsuka said. "Kero told me that The Illusion only shows you what you want to see or expect to see. And since obviously none of us are going to be seeing the same thing, it would make sense nothing would of shown up on film."

"Right. But he doesn't know that."

"True."

"Anyway, he thinks we might have another case."

Ritsuka stopped. "Wait. You don't mean...?"

He turned back to look at her. "Yup. Another so called 'haunting' has recently occured at the High School." he then narrowed his eyes. "Something Daisuke thinks is linked to something that happened back in the Elementary building a number of years ago, probably around the same time your mother was capturing the cards."

Ritsuka took a step back and gasped, eyes widening. "What do you mean, Tanner?"

"Apparently, in 4th grade, Division 2, all of the tables and chairs were mysteriously piled onto each other. But no one could figure out why. It's been a mystery ever since."

Ritsuka started shivering. "That's...that's really scary."

She took another step back and put her hands on her chest. "Ummm...do we really...have to investigate this? I mean, if there's really a ghost here, I don't wanna see it."

Tanner took her hand. "I'm telling you this because I don't think it's a ghost. I'm not able to sense things like you do, but from what I've been hearing it sounds like it could be one of those cards you need to get back."

Her eyes widened and she gasped. "You mean a Star Card?"

He nodded. "That's why we need to investigate this, Ritsuka."

"But Tanner..." she began. "What if it's not a card? What if it's really...?"

He turned around and continued to press onward. "I seriously doubt it."

Ritsuka stood there, stiff. The idea of ghosts frightened her. She doesn't want to jump into something expecting a card and then getting a haunting.

"Ritsuka!" Tanner called. "Ya coming or not?"

"Oh, yeah!" she then ran to catch up with him. "Sorry."

In the distance were some other high school students, as well as Allison talking with Daisuke. She turned and saw Tanner and Ritsuka coming their way. She smiled and started waving, "Hey guys!"

"Looks like we got another small group going, eh?" said Tanner.

"Yeah. They're really interested in hearing what Miss Shirokage saw."

"Miss Shirokage?"

"Oh, yeah. One of the students here, Miki Shirokage."

"I see. The so-called ghost eyewitness, right?"

"You mean she saw a ghost?" said Ritsuka nervously. "Seriously?"

"It's what we're trying to investigate. Oh!" Allison just realized something. "I forgot to introduce you! Ritsuka, this is Daisuke Taiyama. You remember him from several nights ago, right?"

"Yeah. Nice to see you again." she bowed slightly.

"Ah. So you must be Ritsuka Showron?" he said to her.

"Yes! How'd you know?"

"Allison filled me in. You were asleep when I dropped by."

"Yeah, uhhh..." she blushed in embarrasment. "I've been kinda forced to get up early for some training..."

"Training? For what?"

"Oh, uhhh..." she was trying to think of how to explain. "Well, uhhh...my dad's teaching me self-defense! He likes to get up early."

"Can we just get to the point now?" said Tanner in an impatient tone of voice.

"Right." Daisuke nodded. He then looked over at the girl who claimed to have seen something supernatural. "Give us your testimony, Miki."

"Y-Yes. Of course." she said a little nervously. "It happened after school yesterday. There was some things I needed to do before I left, so I ended up staying 'till close to sundown. As I was packing up in the classroom I heard a sound. Like an echo. It startled me."

Miki gasped when she heard a noise from the hallway. She quickly stuck her head out of the door frame and saw nothing out of the ordinary. She sighed in relief, "Maybe it's just my imagination."

Suddenly, again. A strange sound echoed throughout the hallway.

"Further down the hallway it gets really dark." she told them. "And I kept hearing this sound, like some sort of clanking sound, coming from deep down the hallway. I just kept staring with my eyes shaking in fear, debating with myself whether or not I should investigate. And then..."

"Huh?" the strange sound seemed to be getting louder, as if it was coming closer. It got louder and louder. Miki's eyes slowly widened. She had the urge to run, yet she was frozen. Part of her wanted to satisfy the curiousity of what lurked in the darkness, while most of her wanted to just get out of there.

"I wanted to run. I really did. But I felt so compelled by my own curiousity to just stand there. I know it was really stupid, but it was hard to fight, ya know?"

"So what did you do?" asked one of the other students.

"Nothing. That is, until I caught a glimpse of something."

Miki's eyes were locked on the darkness of the hallway. The sound kept getting louder and louder. She lowered her head just a little and saw emerging from the darkness, a formless shadow. She started to back away, sweating in fear. Finally, she just turned around and started running.

"I didn't care anymore. I just wanted to get out of there. Because for some reason I knew that that shadow was following me. I was certain it was right behind me. I ran straight for the entrance, but..."

She gasped. Barricading the school entrance was piles of desks and chairs.

"Wh-What..." she took a step back. "What is this?"

Again, CLANK! That same sound she heard earlier echoed throughout the hall, right behind her. And once again, it was getting closer and closer. Slowly she began turning around, until...

WRAP! The formless shadow entangled itself around her ankle. "No!"

"I tried shaking it off but it was just no use. I wasn't sure what else to do, but I just grabbed onto the knob of some door of a room I've never been in before. It was unlocked and it opened, so I fell in. There was a bunch of dusty boxes and other useless junk, but what caught my eye was a painting."

"What did the painting looked like?" asked Cole, one of Hanako's classmates, in interest.

"It was really weird. It was probably an oil painting of some kind. Of a strange woman who's mouth was covered."

"Then what happened?"

"Let go of me, let go of me..." Miki begged, still feeling the grip of the formless shadow wrapped around her ankle. "Please...just let go...!"

With all that comotion going on, the painting began to shift. The woman put her index finger over where her lips would be and suddenly everything was muted. Miki tried to scream, but no sound came out of her mouth.

"It was terrible. No matter how hard I tried screaming for help it was as if I couldn't make a sound. I kept crying and crying until the next thing I knew I found myself in the middle of the hallway. One of the teachers, Mr. Wakasa, found me. Apparently he had some extra work to do and was in the building the whole time. He told me he heard some comotion and found me panicking in the hallway. When he saw the entrance blocked off, he figured it was some students playing a prank. But let's be honest...our school is haunted!"

"Let's not make assumptions, here." said Tanner, his arms crossed.

"Tanner!" Allison said, irritated. "She was just attacked by some...some...weird thing and not even a part of you thinks she was attacked by a malicious spirit?"

"Oh, I didn't say it wasn't a 'spirit', now did I?"

She sighed. "No. But you were implying it."

"I'm just saying we shouldn't jump to conclusions."

"Well, that's why we're here to investigate." said Daisuke. "But there's no doubt that something was there." he then put a hand on Miki's shoulder and looked at her. "Are you sure you'll be okay coming with us?"

"Mmmhmm." she nodded. "I need to find out for myself. To get some closure, ya know?"

"Hmmm...maybe I should tell Maddie about this..." Ritsuka got out her cell phone and started dialing.

The phone kept ringing relentlessly. Kero was in front of the TV, stuffing popcorn in his mouth while Maddie was sewing another battle costume for Ritsuka.

Maddie reached for the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi. Maddie?"

"Hey Ritsuka. What's going on?"

"Well, uhh...there's a whole bunch of students who want to investigate a possible school haunting. Something happened to a girl named Miki and she thinks it's a...ghost...and uhhh...I'm too afraid to go but Tanner thinks it isn't a ghost and wants me to see if it's...well, you know...or not. Is...is Dad there?"

"Oh, sorry. He's not. He went out somewhere."

"I see. Well I just wanted to let you know where I am. I really hope it isn't a ghost."

She slightly giggled. "Awwww. You even have the same fears as her."

"Nnn...huh? Well, anyway, I hope it's alright with you."

"Well if it is a card maybe it is best you stay. I'll be sure to let your father know where you are when he gets back."

"Okay, bye." and they both hung up.

"Was that Ritsuka?" asked Kero.

"Mmmhmm." she nodded. "Evidently something weird is happening at school and she's going to investigate."

"A Star Card?"

"Maybe. Though she seems so scared it might be a ghost."

"While I admit that is a possibility, it's probably most likely not."

"I've never really understood why Ritsuka suddenly had a fear of ghosts. I guess some things are just inherited."

Just then, the front door opened. Li had returned home.

"I'm back." he said.

"Welcome back, Li." Maddie smiled.

"I felt a weird presence coming from the school. It's possible it might be a Star Card. Where's Ritsuka?"

"Oh! She just called me. Apparently many of the other students think the school is haunted and are going to investigate. Somehow she got caught up in it and will be going with them to investigate."

"Are you serious? Great...it'll be difficult to use our magic when there's an audience."

"Wait. You're not planning to go over there, are you?"

"It's too dangerous to let her do this by herself."

"But she's captured many cards on her own before."

"Yeah. But has she really ever had to worry about people watching?"

"Well, uhhh..." she sighed. "Only once. She put everyone to sleep. It was in a public place. You know, the amusement park?"

"Still, this will be a little more difficult." he said. "I'm sure they all plan to stick close together and if they're attacked, Ritsuka will be forced to act, right in front of them."

Daisuke turned his camera on and started filming. "Alright guys, are you ready?"

"I'm not sure we should be doing this..." said one of the girl students, having second thoughts.

"Aww, is somebody chicken?" teased another girl student.

"N-No...it's just that maybe we shouldn't be messing around with this. What if we get the spirit angry and it curses us?"

"Oh, Naoki, please. There's no such thing as curses."

"Hmmm..." pondered Cole. "How could their be spirits but not curses?"

Tanner sighed. "Could we just get a move on, guys? Let's not make this take any longer than it should."

"And this time," Allison raised her arm high and fisted her hand, slowly bringing it down in front of her face. "Tanner will have no choice but to admit there are ghosts in this world!"

He slightly groaned. "Give it up, Allison."

Suddenly, he felt someone's hand wrap around his. He turned to see that it was Ritsuka.

"Is...is it okay if I just stick close to you?" she said, her eyes looking slightly downward.

He smiled warmly. "Of course, Ritsuka. I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

"We're about to go inside!" shouted one of the boy students. "Everybody get ready!"

"Hey, maybe we should take a head count so we can account for everyone when this is over." suggested another boy student. Everyone agreed that was a good idea.

After counting, they accounted for a total of 12 students.

Daisuke looked at Miki. "I think checking out that room where you found the mysterious painting would be a good place to start."

She nodded. "Understood."

They all entered the school, hearing nothing but the echoes of their own footsteps. The sun was almost set and the light was fading, leaving the place almost entirely dark.

"Anybody need a flashlight?" asked Cole, waving around an extra.

"I think we have enough light." Allison replied. "Besides, too much light might scare away the shadow guy."

"I would assume that'd be a good thing."

"Yeah, but then we don't get to see it!"

"Here." Miki stopped in front of a door. "I'm sure this was the room."

She reached her hand slowly for the knob and gently turned it, pushing it opened. The dim lighting in the room suddenly flicked on automatically. It was more of a rather large storage closet than a room.

Miki gasped. "It's not here!"

Everyone was slightly shocked.

"Are you sure, Miki?" asked Daisuke.

"Yes. It's not here anymore. Even some of the boxes are missing."

"They must of moved it to another room." said Reiko, the girl student who teased Naoki about curses.

"I think I remember someone wheeling a bunch of stuff out of here this morning." said Shawn, the one who suggested on taking a head count.

"Where were they taken?" asked Miki desperately.

"Hmmm..." he thought for a moment. "I remember them taking a whole bunch of stuff into the Teacher's Lounge."

"Alright!" Allison said excitedly. She then pointed straight forward. "To the Teacher's Lounge it is!"

She then took off running, but then stopped. Turning back, she said "Uhhh...how do we get to the Teacher's Lounge?" she then smiled nervously with a sweatdrop on her head. "I'm not very familiar with the High School."

Tanner sighed and shook his head. "Allison's a bit too enthusiastic about these things that she doesn't think."

So everyone proceeded together to the Teacher's Lounge. Both Tanner and Ritsuka were near behind the crowd. Ritsuka was feeling really nervous, sticking very close to Tanner's side.

He slightly sighed. "Ritsuka, are you really that scared?"

"Well, uhhh..." she then lowered her head in defeat. "Yeah, I am..."

"I don't understand how anyone can be afraid of something that probably doesn't exist. I mean, do you honestly think there are such a thing as ghosts?"

She gave a slow nod. "I think so. I'm not sure whether or not they're truly harmful, or if it depends on the spirit, but just the idea of dead people being able to make contact with the living is REALLY creepy!"

"That's it? You're literally just scared about an idea?"

"Hey, don't make fun of me!"

"Okay guys, we've made it to the Teacher's Lounge." announced Cole. "Get ready."

"Are you sure the painting's even in there, Shawn?" said Hanako doubtfully.

"Hey, I did see them wheel a bunch of stuff over here." he replied.

"Come on, let's just open the door already." said Tadeshi, another boy student.

"Miki?" Daisuke turned back to look at her.

She nodded. "Yes."

Slowly she proceeded toward the door, the other students backing away slightly to make a path. Taking a deep breath, she reached for the knob and slowly began turning it. She closed her eyes, expecting the worst, and pushed it open.

Everyone shined their flashlights in the dark room. There was literally only one window in the entire lounge. They all went inside, searching for this mysterious oil painting Miki had described earlier.

"Looks like nothing's here." said Tadeshi.

"Naoki and I can't find anything either." said Hanako.

"Both Cole and I checked the other room. No weird oil painting." said Noriaki, the one who announced for everyone to get ready before entering the school.

"I could've sworn I saw them wheel a bunch of boxes here from the storage room." said Shawn.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean the oil painting was brought here." said Reiko.

"Oh yeah, that's true. Sorry Miki."

"Guess we should keep looking then?" suggested Allison.

"Yeah." Daisuke agreed. "That oil painting must be here somewhere. Maybe we should all split up to cover more ground."

"No way!" Cole protested. "That's how the idiots in the horror movies get killed is because they all go off by themselves!"

"Relax, Cole; we're not in a horror movie." Hanako assured him. "And besides, that usually only happens when they all decide to explore solo. There's a total of 12 of us, right? If we split up into groups of 3, I think we'd be alright."

Tanner slightly groaned and muttered, "Great, this is gonna take longer than it should."

"Well, at least this'll make it easier for me to sense if it's a Star Card or not." Ritsuka said to him.

"Yeah, but she said groups of 3. Which means we got to worry about the one extra person who decides to tag along."

"Oh yeah, you're right."

"Okay, listen up!" Noriaki announced. "This is how we'll divide it; Cole, Naoki, and Reiko are coming with me. Miki, you go with Shawn, Tadeshi, and Hanako. That leaves Daisuke with the Junior High students."

"Hey! You could of at least mentioned our names!" said Allison in an irritated voice.

"So I'm going with Allison, Tanner, and Ritsuka." Daisuke said. "Perfect. Thanks for organizing that for me, Noriaki." he then looked at Allison. "Are you ready?"

She winked and gave him a thumbs up. "You betcha!"

Tanner groaned. "I think I'm gonna be sick..."

Ritsuka slightly giggled at Tanner's comment.

So it was settled. The 12 students divided into groups of 3 each and scattered across the building. Before they went their separate ways, they discussed a place where they should meet.

"How 'bout the front entrance of the school?" suggested Naoki.

"I think that'd be smart, too." agreed Reiko.

"I still think that if we split up we're serious all gonna die." said Cole.

Hanako moaned. "Must you ALWAYS think of the WORST case scenario?"

"Meet up at the front entrace, got it." Daisuke then turned his camera to face him. "We're about to continue our investigation of Reedington High by splitting up into three groups to try and find the mysterious oil painting. Perhaps we'll run into Mr. Shadow Guy along the way. The first group consists of Cole, Naoki, and Reiko, led by Noriaki. The second group; Shawn, Tadeshi, and Hanako, led by Miki, our supernatural eyewitness. The third group is led by me, Daisuke, and consists of three Reedington MiddleSchool students named Allison, Tanner, and Ritsuka. We do not know if we'll return from this endeavor, but if anyone finds this recording, please know that the school might be indeed haunted."

"Did you have to add that last part in?" asked Reiko, giving him a weird look. "I mean, seriously? May not return?"

"See, told you we were gonna die." said Cole in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Can we just go?" Tanner said impatiently. "I'm getting tired of this and just want to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Geez, Tanner!" Allison said, eyeing him. "Rude, much?"

Daisuke put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay; I'm sure we're all a little tired and would much rather go home. It's porbably best if we get a move on to find this painting." he then looked at everyone. "Be sure to shout if you find anything!"

So finally everyone split up in different directions, searching every room and square inch possible to find any traces of either the shadow or the painting.

Daisuke's group treaded down an empty hall where the moonlight shined through the line of various windows. Allison was walking beside Daisuke while Tanner and Ritsuka walking side by side behind them.

"I wish we would of divided into groups of four instead." Tanner said in a slightly lowered voice.

"Why's that?" Ritsuka asked, also in a lowered voice.

"Think about it; if we really are dealing with a Star Card, then we wouldn't have to worry about this guy over here."

Allison stopped and turned around. "Hey, are you BACK TALKING Daisuke over there?"

"No, we're not." he replied, a little irritated with her. "And why so defensive of him all of a sudden?"

"Oh, no reason. I just think you should show him a little more respect."

"Fine, fine. I'll show your boyfriend a little more respect."

She then crossed her arms with closed eyes. "That's bett-" she then paused and realized what he just said. She then blushed a bright red and said, "Wait, he's not my boyfriend!"

"Shhh..." Daisuke said, putting his hand out to signal them to be quiet. "Do you hear that?"

"Huh?" Allison turned her head to see the direction the sound was coming from. "It just...sounds like a slight breeze."

"Yeah. And why would there be a slight breeze inside the school?"

Ritsuka suddenly felt something and quickly grabbed Tanner's arm, shivering. That caught him a little off guard and he said, "Ritsuka, what?"

"I can feel it. Something's nearby."

Daisuke turned back to look at her. "Wait. Did you just say...you could feel something nearby?"

"Huh? No, no, it's nothing like that..."

"But I just heard you. Are you some kind of medium or something?"

Allison looked at her with a serious expression. "Ritsuka, what's going on?"

"L-Listen..." she began nervously. "Can we...talk about this later? Let's just keep going."

"No. I really want to hear it. Are you saying that...what we're dealing with is not a ghost?"

"Allison, what the heck? You know we can't talk about this right now." said Tanner.

"I just want her to answer my question."

"Let's do this later. Like not in front of him."

"Is there something you guys are hiding from me?" asked Daisuke. "Because I'm feeling a little left out. What's going on here? Is there something I don't know about?"

But before anyone could say anything, there was a loud, female scream, followed by several voices screaming.

Ritsuka's eyes were shaking. "That must be the others."

"We can't stay here." Daisuke suddenly grabbed Allison's hand and started running. "Come on, let's get out of here!"

"H-Hey! Wait for us!" but as Ritsuka was about to run, Tanner pulled her back.

"Wait!" he told her. "This is the perfect opportunity for you to use your magic without anyone seeing you."

"But what about Allison?"

"She'll be find. Her beloved Daisuke already ran off with her."

She slightly laughed. "Okay, let's do this."

She took the key and began summoning the staff. "Key of the Star, With powers burning bright, Reveal the staff, and Shine your light! RELEASE!"

"It looked like you sensed something earlier. Can you figure out where?"

She nodded. "Further down, into the darkness."