I don't own the Hardy Boys!

A big Thank you to those who are reading and reviewing.

There are still some loose ends I'm trying to wrap up, so I'll be working on the last few chapters. Here is my new chapter! Please let me know what you think?

Mind Games

Chapter 26

Everyone watched as Tony staggered over to the hospital bed, using what little strength he had left to push it away enough to open the door.

Frank and Joe stepped in front of the door the minute they heard the sound of a click. Tony eased the door open, but there was tension in his movement. "Come in," he said to the brothers, keeping a watchful eye on Fenton, Sam, and Dr. Holmes as they stood and watched from the hallway.

Sam came up beside his friend. "Fenton, why don't we step away from the window?" he suggested steadily. "Let Frank and Joe have time with Tony."

Fenton shook his head, absolutely refusing to leave his sons. He was beginning to have second thoughts about his decision to let them do this, but there was no going back now. "How could I let them do this? I know Tony is their friend, but what if something goes wrong..."

"Dad, we'll be okay," Frank said, looking back at Fenton with sincerity in his eyes. Joe nodded in agreement.

"Fenton, we're not leaving them. I just think Tony might ease up a bit if we're not watching." Sam began to pulls Fenton back, his own calm demeanor relaxing the atmosphere. "If something happens, Frank and Joe will let us know. We'll break the door down if we have too." Finally Fenton relented and started backing away.

At this, Frank let out a deep sigh, taking the lead by starting to make his way inside.

"Frank, wait."

The uneasy sound of his brother's voice immediately got Frank's attention. He could see the mixed emotions on Joe's face with one glance, and somehow he knew right away that his little brother was going to back out of this.

"I'm sorry," Joe whispers as he looks at Tony, eyes glinting with guilt. "I can't do this. You're better at handling Tony then I am." In truth, Joe just wasn't ready to deal with him yet. He couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by him, by what he might do.

He also didn't want to be responsible for pushing him over the edge and doing the unthinkable. He'd never be able to live with the guilt of it on his chest. "If I go in there, I know I'll say or do the wrong thing."

Understanding as always, Frank placed his hand on his shoulder, "Joe, you know he didn't mean to hurt you. Heartless was the one responsible for what happened."

"He tried to kill me, Frank. How can I forget that?" Joe replied, letting out a heavy sigh and feeling a little embarrassed for admitting it. "I guess… I'm a little afraid of him."

Frank knew things were hitting close to home for him. His near-death experience with Heartless, his own suicide attempt, and the vicious attack from Tony were still fresh in his mind. Anybody would be unnerved at this point.

"I know." He ran a hand through his hair, before adding, "But the only way we're going to resolve this is by talking to him about it."

"Yeah, but what if I say the wrong thing…"

"You know Tony. Talk to him like you always have." Frank put his hand on his chest and felt his pulse. "When you do talk to him, all you have to do is speak to his heart. I think out of all us, you know how Tony is feeling the most. You were once at a breaking point where you wanted to give up, too. But you didn't. You're here."

Joe knew he was talking about the night he tried to take his own life with a handful of sleeping pills. It was a dark period in his life; he thanked God every day that Frank was there to stop him from making the biggest mistake of his life, and for the incredible support of his parents and Dr. Stevens who helped him through the ordeal.

"Besides that, he called out for the both of us for help. Tony needs you, Joe... and so do I." Just then, Joe saw Frank's eyes start to mist, pushing back the emotions that threatened to come spilling out onto his cheeks. "I can't do this without you, little brother. We are a team. Remember, if you give up now, so will Tony. That means if we lose him… Heartless wins."

Joe suddenly felt the fear stirring inside of him fade away. He looked at Tony and realized he needed that same support. The reason he became Heartless in the first place was to save Tony, and though he might've lost Iola to the Assassins, he sure as hell wasn't going to lose Tony to Heartless. They weren't going to win... not this time. Not ever.

"Somehow, in some way, I will fight to get the real Tony Prito back," Joe vowed, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves.

Frank put an arm around him and squeezed comfortingly. "Are you ready to go in?"

Joe breathed again to fill himself with the confidence he needed, and then finally he nodded, determination shining in his eyes. "Yes, I'm ready."

"Okay, good, let's go." Frank let out the breath he was holding. He looked at his father who stood at the window, concern etched in every crevice of his face. Fenton was ready to jump in, but after Frank reassured him "We'll be okay," he started backing away and watched in silence as his sons walked into the room.

Tony cautiously took a couple steps back after letting Frank and Joe inside. They could feel the tension coming off of him, radiating like the sun. Within seconds of entering the room, the stone-cold expression on his face was back, stoic as ever. Frank couldn't believe his expression changed that fast. He found himself staring into the eyes of the stranger he'd met at Ricky's house. "It had to be because of that damn microchip in his head," he thought.

He knew deep down the real Tony wouldn't actually kill himself. After every horrible thing the Sei Duro had done to him, he was only feeling hurt, lost, and scared... but that didn't mean he wanted to die. All Tony wanted was for someone he trusted to help him.

"That is what I intend to do. I will fight to get the real Tony Prito back," Frank vowed, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. Although the knife Tony was holding at his side certainly didn't help things. Frank knew that they had to tread carefully if all three were going to make it out of this room in one piece.

Joe came in behind Frank, his confidence dwindling as he fought the overwhelming urge to panic. His hands were sweaty and his stomach was in knots.

"Close the door and lock it," Tony demanded, fidgeting with the knife in his hand at his side.

"What... Why? No ones going to hurt you..." Joe started to say.

"Just do it!" Tony snapped, pointing the knife at the dead center of his chest. "Lock the door!" he spat, getting angrier by the second. His icy, stone-cold eyes were filled with pure hatred, all directed at Joe.

Joe, too, couldn't believe Tony's expression had changed so quickly. It was crazy! He just froze up where his stood, his face going pale as he felt the sheer, unadulterated terror run throughout his body. He instinctively touched the bruises on his neck. This was the first time he had seen Tony like this since he'd tried to kill him, and he simply didn't know why he felt this way. It was the same fear he felt with Sei Duro. That evil man had a strong and fierce presence about him, and even though the man was dead, Joe could still picture his icy stare sending shivers into his very soul. And now Tony was making him feel the very same...

It hit Joe like a lighting bolt. What if Tony was turning into Heartless?"

"Frank, look at Tony."

Frank just stared at Joe strangely, but then he relented and followed Joe's gaze to Tony. Joe continued on, "Doesn't he remind you of someone?"

Frank stared at intensely at Tony's stone-cold expression, the way he looked at them with his icy stare. Suddenly, his eyes widened in utter shock. "Joe, you're right. He's becoming just like Sei Duro."

"What if that microchip is working?" Joe questioned. "Maybe that's why he wanted little Antonio… he was so obsessed with having a son to carry on the family name and run the business."

For a moment Frank stared on in horror, so Joe continued on.

"He couldn't get little Antonio, though, so now he's using the next best thing…" At this, Joe's voice trailed off too.

"His Heartless recruits," Frank picked up, thinking of Matteo Benedetto, Jase Bradley, Bryce Cooper, and the blond-haired boy whose identity was still unknown to them. They'd all died because of these horrible microchips. "Maybe that's what Sei Duro's wanted all along? He used the microchip to make a carbon copy of himself. He had four failed attempts it to do it... to think you were almost next! And I think he is succeeding with Tony. "

Frank gasped at his own words, and the horror shown in his eyes as he voiced his newest revelation. "That means we really are losing him… to Heartless."

"What do we do?" Joe asked worriedly.

"You're going to close the door and lock it," Tony demanded, bringing the brothers back to his attention and fidgeting with the knife in his hand at his side.

"Joe, do what Tony told you to do," Frank whispered in his ear, keeping things under control. He spoke calmly, "Lock the door."

"Okay... okay I'm locking the door," he stuttered, fumbling with the lock. "There, see, it's locked," he said calmly once he'd done what he was told, despite the strong surge of panic beginning to swell up inside of him.

Frank turned his attention back to Tony, noticing his body began to sway as if he were about to collapse any second.

"Why don't the three of us just sit down?" he suggested slowly, crouching down to the floor. Joe followed his brother's lead and sat on the floor next to him. "Tony, come and sit with us. You look like you're about to fall where you stand."

There was the look of hesitation on Tony's face, as if he were trying to decide what to do.

"Come on Tony, just sit down," Frank encouraged him. "Let's just pretend we're home in Bayport. It's just the three of us sitting in your room, talking."

He paused before adding, "You remember Bayport, right? It's our home."

Tony thought for a moment, than shook his head. "No."

So Frank kept going. "You're a senior at Bayport High, and the second baseman on the school's baseball team. You are the owner of a motor-boat called the Napoli. You love that boat."

Tony just stood there, staring at him in silence.

"Your dad told you you had to be eighteen and earn the money to pay for it."

"I never seen anyone work as hard as you did," Joe added, knowing Frank was trying to jog his memory. "You spent almost every summer and every holiday working at Prito's to earn enough money to buy that boat."

"Prito's?" Tony asked, breaking his silence.

Frank and Joe exchanged looks with each other. Frank saw it: a little flicker in his friend's brown eyes. He knew that something was happening, and prayed to God that it was good. Joe turned back to Tony and said, "It's your family's restaurant back home: it belongs to you, your father Aldo Prito, and your late mother Simone."

"Mom..." Tony whispered her name, suddenly going all quiet. Frank and Joe watched as he started fidgeting with the knife, and they flinched, knowing the death of his mother was one of the main factors causing his anxiety. "I... can't remember her. Why can't I remember her?"

Frank hated doing this to him. He didn't want to trigger another one of those horrible panic attacks, but maybe that was what had to be done in order to help him. Tony's body began to sway again, as if he was about to collapse any second. "Please, Tony, come and sit down," he said. "We'll tell you anything you want to know about your mother."

Tony spoke so softly, it was barely a whisper. "I don't want to talk about her."

"Okay, we don't have to. We can talk about anything you want," Joe spoke up, practically pleading. "Tony you're safe, and we just want to help you. Please put down the knife. No one's going to hurt you."

"I know you won't hurt me, but they will." He nodded towards the window, his eyes growing cold.

"Who, the people out there?" Frank raised an eyebrow at this. "It's just our Dad, Sam, and Ricky..." Then he stopped himself and asked, "Tony, Do you know where you are?"

Tony just shook his head no, uncertainty glinting in his eyes.

"You're in a Siena Hospital. This isn't Sei Duro's operating room. There is a doctor outside of this room who can help you."

"And you don't have to worry about Sei Duro." Joe sighed, took a deep breath, and just spit it out. "He's dead."

Tony's eyes widened. "Dead?" he gasped.

"It's for real this time," Frank stated grimly. "He fell to his death off a balcony. We saw it." He felt Joe's hand on his arm and quickly began to explain what had happened between Joe and the Heartless leader.

"He's not dead!" Tony cried out, tears streaming down his face as he sunk to his knees onto the hard hospital floor.

Frank and Joe nearly jumped out of their skin when he threw his hands over his head, holding the tip of the knife against the sensitive skin of his left temple. Knowing it would never work, Frank held Joe back to keep him from taking the knife. Tony had to be the one to put it down. They just watched helplessly as Tony continued to sob in loud, shaky gasps. "He's in here... inside my head. Every time I close my eyes… he's there. I can hear his voice."

He gave one last tremble and screamed, "He just won't go away!"

In a calming voice, Frank instructed, "Tony, look at me."

Tony looked at Frank with sorrow in his eyes. "You can make him go away."

"How do I do that?"

"By having that microchip removed," Frank answered. "It's the only way you'll be free of him. The doctors here can…"

"No... No… No!" Tony shouted, standing up and frantically pacing back and forth. "Heartless has been a nightmare in my life ever since I crossed paths with them last summer! I have been lied to, used, and abused by them. Heartless took something inside of me... my life. I'll never get that back."

He was breathing hard now, and both Frank and Joe were growing increasingly concerned.

"So no, I'm not letting them cut me open!" Tony stretched his arms out, desperation seeping off him. "Look at what they did to me! The Heartless insignia was carved on my back! And now I have an implanted microchip in my head so that he can have control over me... I'm monster!"

Frank jumped to his feet at once. "You are not a monster!"

"Look at what I did to Joe!" Tony fired back, pointing at Joe as he slowly got to his feet. "I almost killed your brother!"

"But you didn't." Frank put his hands firmly on Tony's shoulders, looked at him straight in the eye, and said, "You know why? Because you are not him, you are not Heartless. The Tony we know could never kill anyone."

"Frank is right, Tony." Joe slowly got to his feet, gathering his courage. "You're not a killer. Sei Duro tried to make you into his image. We now believe that's what he wanted from this microchip."

Tony opened his mouth to argue, but Joe cut him off.

"You could never be him. You are Tony Prito from Bayport, the son of Aldo and Simone Prito. You are the father of Little Antonio, an incredible little boy. And you are our good friend who we have known since elementary school. You are most surely not a killer." Joe paused for a moment to catch his breath and then added, "You want your life back? Then take it back. Killing yourself is not going to make Sei Duro go away. That's exactly what he wants you to do."

Joe took a breath and then just let it all out. "You have to fight, Tony. If not for us, do it for your son. He needs you."

"No, Antonio is not my son." Tony shook his head. Frank and Joe exchanged looks with each other, but both said nothing. "Besides that," Tony picked up, "I don't think I have the strength to fight Sei Duro."

"You already have." Frank argued. "You're here. By all rights, you should be dead right now. I don't think even Sei Duro expected you to live this long. There is a part inside of you that is fighting to live. It's your heart."

Before Frank could say another word, Tony suddenly went limp in his arms and then fell lifeless to the floor.

"Tony!"

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