Happy Saturday! or Tailgate season if that's more relevant to you... Anyway, so I have a pretty long chapter for you this time around with stuff! Lot's of stuff!=^-^=
Note- Oh, before reading, I would just like to point something out. Now the blue cat in this story is actually about the size of a Cheetah or Jaguar not the little cat the cover art might suggest.
Ch. 6 - More Problems?
A few hours later, all but the two boys were still in the lab going over the energy readings and what to do about them. Fisk, who had come in not long after taking Zak to his room, now sat at the lab bench playing with a ball like object. Drew turned to the door leading to the hall. "Maybe I should go check on Zak? I think I've given him enough time to cool down."
Doc thought for a moment before agreeing. "Probably, and it is getting close to lunch."
Just as the woman stood, the video phone rang. She walked over to answer it casually. "Maybe its Dr. Cheechoo?" She was proven wrong when Ulraj, king of Kumari Kandam, was on the other end. Drew was surprised to say the least. "Ulraj?"
He seemed to be somewhat flustered as he answered. "Yes, I am in need of Zak's powers again."
Drew and Doc traded glances. "Did your city serpent go wild again?"
He shook his head. "I wouldn't say wild but…. He's not listening to anyone. It was very strange. It actually started a while ago, but we have yet to find a solution. For some reason he's become intent on going somewhere, and has been moving north ever since."
Doc rubbed his chin. "That is strange…. Why would it come north? It's natural habitat is warm waters."
Ulraj gave a nod. "Yes, and if he keeps moving like this, I don't know how the cold water will affect him."
Doc pulled up a map on the console across from where Maddie was still working. "Another strange cryptid migration to add to the list." Doc didn't seem to know what to think about it. "Cryptids have been sighted all over in places they shouldn't be. Even cryptids no one has seen in centuries are popping up and moving."
Drew then pointed to more recent entry. "And strange as it seems, several of the more recent ones seem to be moving north also." She turned to Ulraj. "What's your position right now?"
He turned to someone off screen for a moment before turning to face them. "According to our most recent survey, we are heading North in the Atlantic at 40W and 53N."
Both scientists were bewildered by the news as they traded those very glances. "Your just south of Greenland…..?"
Ulraj gave a nod. "Why? What's wrong?"
Doc was quick to enlighten him. "That's where we are. If the serpent keeps that heading, you'll be at the coast within half an hour."
Ulraj gave a sigh of relief. "Good, then hopefully we can resolve this quickly. The waters are getting very cold here." He ended with a slight shiver, which incited one of his servants to hand him a blanket. "I look forward to seeing you then."
The call ended with that as both scientists thought over the strange coincidence. "That….. what could it mean?" Doc asked as he looked to Drew. "It's like they can sense something's wrong and they're moving to do something…. But what?"
Doyle, who had taken interest in Fiskerton's new toy, responded rather absentmindedly. "Maybe they're homing in on Zak? He's the reason they're so jumpy now, right?"
Drew's brows rose. "But why…..?"
Doc closed his eyes as he thought and voiced his theory. "Maybe it's because of his powers. They are instinctively coming to him because he's Kur?"
Drew had doubts as she rubbed her chin. "But he's been having trouble with them ever since Antarctica."
"This just keeps getting better doesn't it?" Doc teased as he broke the slight tension.
"Doesn't it always?" Drew shot back. "Anyway, I'm going to go and get him." And with that she left down the hall.
"Maybe I should go check on Danny too? He didn't seem like himself before." Maddie decided as she turned and found her way towards the opposing doorway.
It wasn't long before the Saturdays gathered out by the water, which was in view of the airship and awaited the arrival of the city of Kumari. Zak was among them of course and while still a bit angry, he was quite calm as Drew held him by the shoulders. The water stirred and the serpent was soon rising above the coast. "That's cool every time I see it." Doyle commented at the large creature.
Upon it's back sat the city of Kumari where Ulraj was waving in greeting. After making his way to the shore he strode along while watching the sea serpent in curiosity. "It's incredibly strange that it would stop at the shore so close to your airship, but convenient."
Zak looked up at the cryptid as its gaze seemed to find its way to the boy. "You really think that cryptids are coming to find me?"
Doc gave a nod. "I think this is pretty substantial evidence."
Ulraj turned to his friend in curiosity. "He came to find you?"
Zak gave an exasperated nod. "Yeah, being the incarnation of Kur is apparently turning me into a cryptid magnet."
The Kumari then turned to the giant serpent. "Does that mean you can't persuade him to return to the Indian Ocean?"
"Drew!" They heard from behind. The Saturday in questioned turned to see a rather worried ghost hunter. "Drew, have you seen Danny!?" Maddie slowed down a bit as she approached, taking note of the giant sea serpent. "Whoa! It's bigger than you made it out to be." She then turned back to face her fellow scientist. "So have you seen Danny? I can't find him anywhere."
Drew shook her head. "No, I haven't. Anyone else?" It was head shakes all around as no one came forward with a location.
Maddie gave a sigh. "Where could he go out here? I should have just gone after him from the start…."
Drew placed a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "Don't worry, Maddie, we'll find him."
She then turned to Zak. "Think you can try and get the serpent to go back? I know you've been having trouble with them but he can't stay here very long."
Zak gave a nod. "Yeah… no sweat, he's not even freaking out like before." He proclaimed with relative confidence.
"Mom!"
Maddie instantly turned to her son's voice. "Danny!?" The young teen was running their way which gave Maddie some relief. "Oh, thank heavens."
"See, he seemed to be looking for you too." Drew commented with mutual relief. "Over here, Danny!" She called as she watched the young teen gaze up at the serpent in awe.
"What is that!?" He called back, but Maddie really didn't know what to say since she hadn't much clue herself.
Zak raised the Claw as his eyes lit up in an orange glow. "Okay, cryptid powers, nice and easy…" The glow moved to the Claw and the serpent's eyes soon matched. "That's right…." He said as he steadied himself. "I've done this before-" Without warning the cryptid seemed to rear back much to the dismay of the onlookers. Zak struggled to keep it calm as he grunted from the strain. "No no, come on, sea serpent, you don't want to go crazy here…"
Drew pat him on the back. "Stay focused, Zak."
"Maybe this wasn't the best idea….." Ulraj mumbled aloud.
Zak instantly disagreed. "No, I've got this!" But the serpent seemed to grow wilder and push back from the shore. (What's that!?) Yelped Fiskerton as he pointed towards Danny. A strange green energy seemed to be floating just behind the teen as he approached.
He gave a shiver as he slowly turned towards it and looked on in surprise. "Oh….. oh no."
"Danny!" Maddie shouted as she ran towards him. The energy began to become more corporeal as two specters formed and swirled together. With an eerie shriek they twisted and melted away into the green swirling portal. Danny jumped back as the portal finished forming and something tried to come out. Maddie was swift in response as she pulled out her blaster and pulled Danny behind herself. "Back off, ghost!" Drew dashed up behind her with her fire sword drawn and ready to fire alongside her friend. Soon they were staring down a foul looking specter with fangs, tusks, and giant glowing red eyes. They both blasted at the creature before it could come through any further and to their own delight, it retreated. Maddie blew on the end of her blaster. "That's what happens when you try to break into our world, ghost!"
Drew sheathed her sword in victory. "Somehow that was a bit disappointing." Karma agreed as a large red claw broke through next and both women were snatched up in an instant. They were dragged through the portal in seconds and the swirling vortex faded right after.
"Mom!" Both Danny and Zak called out at once.
"Drew!" Doc shouted as he dashed towards the spot where the portal had been only to find empty air.
"Darn it!" Doyle cursed as he glared at the space.
Of course, with Zak's focus broken, the serpent was free to go wild. Zak turned back to it and tried to reinstate contact but now his powers seemed to be far less compliant. "Come on, stupid powers!" His effort was wasted as the connection failed to hold and he let out a breath of exhaustion. Though his attempts to calm the cryptid were feudal, after a few minutes, it calmed on its own and reaffirmed its gaze on Zak.
"That portal forming must have spooked it." Doyle deduced as he turned back to the calmed lizard.
Doc turned back to the serpent himself. "That's what it looks like. Maddie was right but…. What are the odds it would open up right here next to us!?" He shouted in anger.
"What just happened!?" A weakened Zak asked in slight panic. "What was that!?"
"It was a ghost portal…." Danny informed as he gazed in slight disbelief himself. "Mom….."
Ulraj looked onto them with a raised brow. "It reminds me of the door my grandfather used to tell me about."
Zak turned to him in confusion. "A door?"
Ulraj nodded. "Yes, a swirling green door. My grandfather used to tell me stories about our earliest days. Back when we first started trading with other cultures, we came across one in particular known as the FarFrozen. According to him, they helped make Kumari what it is today with their technology and knowledge. They would come around to our waters during the winter and they would appear through doors like this one." He then reached into his shirt and pulled out a green gemstone about the size of his palm. "This is one of the few things left from what they gave us." Danny was more than shocked to hear any of this as he gazed at the stone in curiosity, but remained silent. "It's supposed to be able to make a door like that one, but my grandfather said it was an important heirloom and to be cared for."
Zak instantly reached for it. "But if it can make a portal then we need to use it!"
The Kumari pulled back immediately. "This artifact is very important to my people! I cannot simply give it out! Besides, I am not even sure of how it forms a door."
Doc pulled Zak back. "Calm down, Zak." He then turned to Ulraj. "Do you have any idea of how it works at all?"
The Kumari raised a hand to his chin. "I am not completely certain, but it requires a special kind of energy if I'm not mistaken. It's supposed to glow before the door forms, but that's only what my grandfather told me and even he was told second hand."
Doyle crossed his arms. "Then that doesn't really help us does it? It's basically just some old rock if we can't make it work."
Ulraj cleared his throat in agitation. "A prized and valuable heirloom."
Doyle rolled his eyes. "Right."
Doc then turned slightly to see the analytical gaze on the young teen who'd remained silent. It was curious to him at how he was taking the situation as if he was experienced with his calm. "Danny?"
The boy turned to him with a brow raised. "Huh? Uh yeah…?"
"Are you okay?"
Danny was a bit surprised by the question. "oh.. I'm fine, Mr. Saturday really." He then headed back towards the airship without another word.
"Looks like he's in shock…" Doyle stated in equal confusion.
"I don't think so.." Doc disagreed.
"Don't you think we should be worrying about mom?" Zak questioned with slight agitation. What kind of kid doesn't worry about their mom when they get kidnapped by an interdimensional monster? Zak just couldn't believe how Danny didn't seem to care. "We should just leave that jerk alone."
Doc gave him a stern expression. "Did you even think about your last few hours in your room."
Zak crossed his arms. "If he doesn't want to help get his own Mom back then I don't care."
Doyle placed a hand on his shoulder. "Cool it, mini-man. You gotta remember Danny's experiences are different from yours."
Doc gave a nod. "I doubt he gets into fire fights or fights monsters on a regular basis like you do."
Zak didn't really look like he had a change of heart but relented all the same. "Fine, but can we get back to what we're going to do about mom?"
Doc gave a nod. "I think maybe we should call Jack. He might be able to shed a bit of light on how we can get into this Ghost Zone and get Drew and Maddie back."
Inside the Ghost Zone, Maddie and Drew now found themselves on a high platform of some kind. The large red monster that had grabbed them, dropped them down onto it and flew off without a moment's hesitation. After taking a moment to get themselves straight, the 2 scientists stood up to get a good look around. "So are we…?" Drew started as she gazed up at the warped green sky of the Zone.
Maddie gave a serious nod. "It seems so, but where did that ghost fly off to?" She then looked over towards the edge. "And just where did it leave us?"
Drew sheathed her sword, which she had pulled off the ground, and followed Maddie to the edge. "I don't suppose you know a way out?"
Maddie continued her analytic scan as she shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Although we have taken several scans, we have never actually traversed the Zone. We still know far too little about it to be honest."
Drew looked over the edge and tried to see towards the bottom, but only saw a slightly wider edge with a void beneath. "Any of those scans tell you how big it is?"
Maddie took out a new hand held device as she took scans of the area. "It's endless; as boundless as space itself."
Drew turned to her with a brow raised. "Endless?"
"Yes, you may have heard the expression, 'Infinite Realms' before? It's a reference to the Ghost Zone. This dimension leads to an endless number of other ones, but that's as far as Jack and I can tell. We tend to do most of our hunting and research on the ghosts in Amity Park. While the ghosts who come to our world are very malevolent, the ones who stay in the zone tend to be less so." She then paused a moment before giving a sigh. "Well, I guess I should say most of the ghosts that come to our world."
"Most?" Drew inquired.
"Yes, Jack and I recently had a bit of an awakening to it. My daughter Jasmine brought several pieces of evidence to the table, and we just couldn't disprove them." She then gave a laugh. "And the funny part is, that this all started over Phantom, our self-proclaimed 'hero'." She seemed amused at her own statement.
"And you don't agree?" Drew asked in genuine interest.
"Well.." She started as she raised a hand to her chin. "In more recent days I would have to, but early on, he was as much of a menace as the others. Regardless though, it has been the better part of a year since anything but property damage has been on his list, but that happens with or without him around."
Drew gave a nod. "You never know with ghosts though, maybe things started out as a misunderstanding? Did he ever try to explain himself?"
Maddie took a moment to think back to their first meeting. It was during the first ghost invasion with those ghosts in riot gear and that crazy wolf. "Maybe…." She started as she remembered the boy trying to tell them something inside city hall. "You people have to listen to me, I'm being set up!" Maddie's eyes widened a bit. "I suppose he did….?" She then shook the thought from her mind. "But he then attacked us out of nowhere." She remembered unpleasantly.
"Such things are not always as they appear." The 2 women suddenly heard from behind. They turned to find the blue cat ghost from the night before standing, ready to pounce. "I do understand though, as you humans had not the whole story."
The scientists instantly drew their weapons and readied for attack. "So it's you again, well you're not getting away this time!" She was just about to fire when the ghost seemed to sit down calmly.
"Hold on!" Drew requested as she held her hand out in front of Maddie. "Maybe we misunderstood?" Maddie raised a brow as she lowered her blaster.
The specter gave a nod in response to Drew's theory. "Very insightful. I must commend you for being able to see so clearly given your situation." When the ghost received only curious expressions in return, she seemed to remember something. "Oh, how silly of me to forget." She then turned towards the center of the platform and tapped her paw to the ground. A small hole opened from the floor and up floated a stone medallion. After placing it around her neck she cleared her throat. "I suppose that helps some?"
After watching the small show, both ladies were quite surprised to find the ghost now speaking to them in plain English. "What… what…." Maddie was slightly speechless.
"That…. Is it?"
The ghost nodded. "My, you are quite well versed in ancient myth and reliquary." She commended as she held up the charm. "This is indeed a Babel Stone. I am using it to communicate with you since I am incapable of standard speech common to human realm."
Drew seemed fascinated as she eyed the necklace. "This is amazing! There have only been a handful of confirmed findings of these in recorded history."
The specter nodded. "Yes well, you will find them here and there about the Zone if you look."
Maddie's surprise faded as she crossed her arms. "Where are we?"
The abrupt change in topic was not unexpected for the ghost. "Ah, determined. I always admired that quality in humans." She mused before looking up. "No doubt you've realized you're in the Ghost Zone. The Leviathan was very cordial in bringing you straight here to my plateau."
Maddie then raised her blaster a bit. "So you're the one who dragged us here!"
"Why are we here!?" Drew added in as she reached for her sword again. "What do you want with us?"
The specter raised both brows as she tried to clear the misunderstanding. "Ah, but that's the misunderstanding. It was not I who brought you here. The Zone had reached out to the human world. I merely had you brought here when I had found out that the Leviathan had taken you."
"And why was that!?" They heard from the side. Three robed ghosts that seemed to have eyes for heads, approached. "Why have you interfered!?"
The ghost glared at them in response. "I suppose the better question is, why did you? I had the situation under control. Sending out the Leviathan was foolish! You are Observants are you not? Why don't you simply observe!"
The 3 ghosts traded glances amongst themselves before the leader spoke again. "But the degradation is worsening. The balance must be set."
"And it will be! Your interference may have cost us time!" She then stood and took a step towards them. "Now as Clockwork would say, 'Care to Observe the door?' you incompetent fools."
They seemed to recoil back a bit at the reprimand but didn't leave. "But it was the Zone itself that reached out. We were simply trying to help it along."
The cat ghost rolled her eyes at them before responding. "Yes and it will continue to, but trying to help it will only cause problems." She gestured towards the 2 women. "You see the mistake you have caused with your meddling? You are lucky I caught wind of this when I did, or something could have happened to them." She then sharpened her gaze. "The zone is not meant for humans, as you know. You could have caused one harm, and then where would we be with the crown?!"
The Observants traded wary glances amongst themselves before bowing in resignation. "Then the fault is ours Gaia. We shall leave you then." The 3 of them did as promised and the 3 were soon alone again.
"So they dragged us here?" Drew inquired as she turned back to her new host.
"Yes." Gaia started with a nod. "My deepest apologies for them. They are quite short sighted at times."
Maddie held her chin in thought. While having all of these ghosts around does make her on edge, she is first and foremost a scientist and as such, tends to be curious when needed. "You said the Ghost Zone itself reached out?"
The specter was surprised at the scientists' inquiry. "Yes I did, human, though I must admit, I am surprised you picked up on that so quickly. Most do not pick up on the concept so easily." She gestured to the green sky above. "This world, while not actually alive or sentient in any way, has a balance much like the human realm. When something begins to tip the scale, forces of the Zone will try and rectify it."
Drew related it quickly due to her own experience. "Right, when one force is created, another is created and when one force is destroyed…"
"Another is destroyed. Exactly, human, exactly." Gaia praised with a cordial paw. "But if all forces were allowed to degrade… well that simply wouldn't do and so the scale will try to right itself."
"So the portal was a manifestation of that? Why? Exactly how does that stop anything?" Maddie asked in slight exasperation. None of this was clicking with her even with her knowledge of the Ghost Zone. She was missing too many pieces of the puzzle.
The ghost turned away and began a light stride. "I understand your want for knowledge human, but some things are not meant to be understood and then somethings must be understood at the correct time. Come along now, humans, I will bare further hospitality down below."
Maddie was of course agitated by the response as was Drew, but what else could she do? "Let's go, Maddie. I don't see any way out from here."
She shook her head in her own disappointment. "I know, but it's just…" She let out a sigh in resignation as she followed the Saturday and ghost cat.
"So that's what happened." Danny ended as he let out a sigh. "This is way too much for me on my own, guys."
"No worries, dude, you know we have your back." Tucker comforted from the cell. "We've already started looking into that stuff your parents were working on."
Danny raised a brow. "Where's my dad?"
He heard a short silence on the other end before Tucker finally answered. "He said Vlad called him and he had to leave."
"Vlad? But he hates my dad." Danny commented as he scratched his head a bit.
"Yeah, but the power is still not back here. Those rolling black outs from before….. well they weren't blackouts planned by the city. A lot has been going on since early this morning, dude."
Danny started to worry even more at the thought of having a problem on two fronts. "What's going on back there? It's not ghosts again is it?"
He heard a sigh on the other end. "We haven't seen any ghosts yet, but people are getting a little crazy around here with no power. I'm thinking Vlad called your dad to try and help fix the problem. Whether he hates him or not, he's the mayor and has to keep things under control."
Danny nodded in understanding. "I guess that makes sense. You did say my house was one of the only buildings still with power." He then took a seat on a bench in the back of the Specter Speeder where he retreated for his private call. "Please let me know if anything happens. I'm going to try and figure out a way into the Ghost Zone from here since I have the Speeder." He then heard the other line jostle a bit before a new voice came on the line.
"Be careful, Danny." Jazz now had the phone and sounded more worried then Danny. "Get mom, and be sure to come back. We'll keep things together here." He then heard some talking in the back ground before Jazz spoke again. "We're getting a call to the lab….. los… conn…" He then heard the dial tone of the disconnected line.
"A call to the lab?..." After thinking about it, it came to him. "Oh right…. No power to the cell towers. Tucker must've been using the transmitter in the OPS center." He then closed his phone and stashed it back in his own pocket. The situation was quickly getting out of hand, and Danny had to keep calm if he was to do anything about it. "Alright…. No back up, how do I get to the Ghost Zone?" He raised a hand to his chin. "I guess I could fly the Speeder back and use the Fenton Portal but that would take hours. I need to quickest way…"
He then paused as he turned to the controls on the Speeder. "Maybe there's a portal here." Those wolf ghosts had to have come through a portal or something. Ghosts don't stick around unless they have a way into the Ghost Zone after all. Danny was interrupted from his thoughts by an alarm coming from one of the monitors. "Bingo." He stated as the ghost scanner found a location of high spectral energy. "This has to be where those ghost wolves are hiding." After getting a good idea of the specific location Danny quickly pulled a thermos from one of the equipment containers. As he started to exit the Specter Speeder he noticed Komodo was eyeing him suspiciously. The dragon had never liked him so Danny didn't think too much of it as he watched the cryptid crawl up the stairs. "Now, what am I going to do about the Saturday's?"
Doc approached the monitor and quickly dialed up Fenton Works. After a few moments someone finally picked up, but it wasn't Jack like he expected. "Hello, you've reached Fenton Works." A young red head exclaimed.
"Oh uh.."
"Your Danny's sister Jazz right?" Zak asked as he walked up behind his dad.
"That's me."
"Could you put Jack on the phone?"
Jazz seemed to think over something before shaking her head. "Uh no… he's not home right now."
Doc let out a sigh at the news. "Well there goes that idea." Doyle lamented with mild agitation. "Do you know when he's going to get back?" Doc tried with only minor hope that it would be soon.
"I really can't say. It was a bit last minute, and who knows how long it'll take to get the power back on."
Doc raised a brow. "A power outage?"
Jazz gave a nod. "Yeah, last night the whole area blacked out. My house is one of the few places that still have power. If you need my dad, it's probably going to be awhile."
Doc shook his head. "This can't wait awhile." He then stood up calmly. "Both Drew and Maddie were taken by a ghost into the Ghost Zone and we have no way of getting there to rescue them."
Jazz didn't seem too worried about it much to the surprise of the Saturdays. She then took a moment to think about the information while trying to look distressed. Danny told her about the kid and how he was… different. These people obviously don't care about that sort of thing. She then raised her brow as a thought hit her. "Well, if my dad isn't here to help you, then should probably ask Danny. I'm sure he's already working on it."
Zak raised a brow. "Working on what?"
She didn't get a chance to answer as someone off screen called to her. "Can't that wait a minute?" She then appeared frustrated and went to end the call. "Sorry, Mr. Saturday, but I need to go now. I'll tell my dad you called though." She then turned it off before Doc could say anything else.
He gave a frustrated glance towards Doyle. "Well there goes that plan."
Doyle shrugged. "Yeah, but what about the kid?"
Zak crossed his arms. "I doubt it." Fiskerton growled out in protest at Zak's statement. The boy looked over to him in frustration. "Who's side are you on?" Zak shot back. Fiskerton seemed surprised by the question as he pat the boy's shoulder.
Doc then turned to his son. "I think he just wants you to calm down, Zak. I know your powers frustrate you, and these past few months haven't been easy, but you can't take it out on someone else."
Zak gave it a moment of thought before relenting. "Yeah… alright, you have a point." Fiskerton then gave a growl of approval before going back to his mysterious ball. Zak watched in mild curiosity as he spun it around in his hands.
"That leaves our current problem." Doc started as he turned to Ulraj. "Do you know anything more about…" He stopped when he realized the young king wasn't listening to him at all. Instead he seemed entranced by whatever Fisk was playing with.
"Ulraj…?" Zak asked as he waved a hand in front of the Kumari's face. He then turned to look at the ball too just in time for it to glow and transform. Instead of a ball, it now looked like a large intricate snowflake. Fiskerton marveled at the change as he held it in his hands.
"It cannot be…." The Kumari started as he approached.
Doc was now just as intrigued after watching the ball change. "What is that, Fiskerton?" The Lemurian scratched his head and shrugged. (I don't know.)
Ulraj quickly reached for it. "Let me see that." He grabbed it before he got an answer and Fiskerton let out a mad growl. After a few seconds the boy's eyes widened. "It is! I can't believe it!"
Doyle traded glances around the room. "Okay I'll bite. What is it?"
Ulraj held it up to them. "This is a FarFrozen Ice Puzzle. I wasn't sure at first since I had never actually seen one, but this has to be one. My grandfather once told me of a strange puzzle made entirely of ice. Only a skilled crafter could make one and when you solve a layer of it, it changes its shape."
Zak took it from him and inspected it. "If it's made of ice, then why isn't it melding in here?"
Ulraj gave a knowing laugh. "They are not made of ordinary ice. They can remain frozen for centuries… or so I've been told. The FarFrozen use a special kind of ice in their crafts."
Doc then took it up next to inspect. "So this is from the FarFrozen?" He then turned to Fiskerton. "Where did you get this, Fiskerton?" The Lemurian took a moment to think it over before pointing towards the bench next to Doyle. He walked over and gestured underneath it.
"It was just sitting under the table?" Zak asked in disbelief. Fiskerton nodded before gesturing towards the hall. (It rolled out next to me after Danny left.) "After Danny left….. wait…. You don't think..?" Zak started as he turned to the others.
"We can't really rule it out if none of us have ever seen it before, mini-man."
Doc then wore a serious expression as he walked over to the hall leading to the hanger. "I think we should probably talk to Danny about this."
Ulraj seemed very enthusiastic as he followed. "Yes, I'm very curious as to how he came across it."
Zak was the last to leave the lab with mild frustration. That kid bothered him, but he really couldn't understand why. He knew that he was being a little harsh earlier, but he still couldn't shake the weird feeling he now had. As he began to follow the video monitor behind him started to ring. He paused and turned to see who it was. "Dr. Cheechoo?" He strode over and answered the call.
The geo specialist seemed a little worse for wear as he answered. "I need you guys back here now!"
Zak raised his hands. "Calm down, Dr. Cheechoo. What's going on?"
The man looked behind himself before turning back to answer. "A little while ago this weird fog blew through and ever since, the people of this village have been acting strange. About ten minutes ago several of them started fighting with my team and pushing us out of the village. We would really appreciate some back up!"
Zak gave a nod. "I'll let my dad know right away!" Zak comforted as he dashed down the stairs. When he joined the others he saw Danny zipping up his jacket and heading for the door with Doyle not far behind in full winter gear. Doc seemed to be getting himself together too as he pulled on his battle glove. "Hey, dad!"
Doc waved him over. "Go ahead and get your stuff together. Danny thinks he found a way into the Ghost Zone nearby."
Zak seemed genuinely surprised by the news, but quickly pushed it aside in favor of the important message he'd received. "Dr. Cheechoo's got a problem in Pingano village. His team's barricaded themselves from the villagers."
Doc raised a brow and turned to Danny. "This might be a problem…."
Doyle crossed his arms. "Just one new problem after another." He grumbled a bit.
"The real problem is that it'll take at least an hour to get there on foot even if we hurry." Doc pointed out with worry.
"Can't we just move the air ship?" Zak asked.
"No. For one, there's ice built up on the solar cells. If another storm decided to blow through, we'd never be able to land. There's also the spectral interference Maddie mentioned. If all electronics are affected, we wouldn't know what would happen to the ship."
Danny thought for a moment before eyeing the Specter Speeder. "Well, maybe we can take another one." He suggested as he pointed to the craft. "The Speeder is equipped with an internal power source and is resistant to that interference." Fiskerton looked over joyed at the idea as he dashed inside.
Zak seemed surprised at the Lemurian's agility before his dad tossed him his jacket. "We better get moving." They all quickly piled in after Danny with the last one being Ulraj. "Uh…. Your Majesty?" Doc questioned as he was about to shut the door.
The Kumari held himself confidently as he sat on one of the benches. "As if I'm going to miss out on something like this? Not to mention, this puzzle still fascinates me." He said as he lifted it up in his hand. "Speaking of which." He started as he turned towards the teen who was at the controls. "Where did you get this? The FarFrozen haven't been seen in centuries."
Danny gave a distracted pause as he answered. "Huh? I was wondering where that went. …. I got it from a friend of mine named Thuban. Tucker and Sam got one too." He then turned around. "Do you want it?"
Ulraj was surprised as he nodded. "Of course, anything made by the FarFrozen is considered a treasure to my people."
Danny gave a welcoming gesture. "Then you keep it. I've wasted way too much time trying to solve that thing anyway… your majesty."
The young Kumari stood to give his thanks. "Thank you very much, and you may call me Ulraj."
Danny turned back around and gave him a wave. "No problem."
"So… can you fly this thing?" Doyle inquired as he leaned over the driver's seat.
"Yeah, more or less. It's not the most complicated thing. Now the RV is a stick shift…." He lamented thinking back to how horribly he drove it the first time. He then pulled one of the levers on the dashboard causing the ship to start up. "Alright, here we go." The sound of seat belts clicking rang through as the Speeder slowly rose up off the ground. Once he saw the hanger door open he slowly flew the Speeder through and into the cold air of the wilderness.
Yup, that was pretty long huh? Anyway, so Maddie and Drew got nabbed, Ulraj showed up, and now Dr. Cheechoo needs rescuing. So many problems and so little time it seems. Hopefully they can clear a few of these out of the way and get back to the matter at hand huh?
If you are curious about Ulraj, I really planned on him being in this from the beginning. I figured he would be a cool addition and that I can use him to introduce the FarFrozen so Danny wouldn't have to. It's a bit of creative commons on my part, but hopefully I made him work?
Anyway, hope ya'll enjoyed and will leave questions and responses in a review.=^-^=
