Cory was rather impressed. Van Helsing sure made one hell of an upgrade. Lisa was still checking herself out, the helmets and voice filters being pretty cool.

Plus, they could blend in perfectly in the Shadow Realm! No ghost would EVER think they were still alive.

"I can't believe this is actually working!" Cory said. "So, Super, Arach, Mirpo, Mark, and Primor, they're back in the living world so they can be reinforcements, right?"

"Yep." Hannah stated. "With Sammy, Billy, Erin, and Marty. Meanwhile, the five of us will try and find that stone before we reach New York."

Right. Sarah McGinnis and the Invisible Man were with them. Realmwalkers, should any Fallen Ones try and attempt a great train robbery.

"Didn't you derail a train and send a hundred people to this place?" Lisa asked.

"Back when I was going mad. At least I'm back to myself again." Dr. Griffin replied.

"Did the Reapers put you in Limbo for that?" Sarah added.

"They don't deal with crimes you committed when you're alive. That's what the normal police are for."

"Ah. Fair enough."

That's when an eerie haunting whistle echoed through the deathly air. The train was arriving.

"Where'd you hide it again?"

"Obviously not the baggage compartment. No, it had to be somewhere more secure. Where no one would EVER think to look."

"Sssh!"

Right. The Spectral Station was packed. Some ghosts could eavesdrop on them.

Finally, the Phantom Express came into the station. It was almost beautiful. A glowing ghostly cyan blue with a bright light on the front. It looked like an old steam engine or a locomotive. An obsolete form of railway transport in the living world.

"Now boarding! Next stop, New York City!"

At least most Spectral Stations were in the place of real life ghost stations, like abandoned subway systems or old railway tracks from the 1800s. As for the voice, that was the conductor that possessed the train, essentially BEING the train.

The ghosts began moving along. To make it seem like they were actually planning to get to New York, Dr. Griffin had various luggage bags full of clothes and other tourist items. At least, ghost-wise. He approached two baggage clerk ghosts, handing them the luggage bags.

"Afternoon, gentlemen." The Invisible Man said. "Just put these with the other bags, please."

The two clerks turned, and Cory spotted their name tags: Bud and Lou.

"Ah, Chick and Wilbur. Good to see you."

"Dr. Griffin. A business trip?" Chick asked.

"Yes. Try to be fragile, it has some expensive equipment inside."

"Will do, sir." Wilbur added, as he and Chick were taking the luggage.

"You know those guys?" Lisa asked.

"Yep. Back when I was alive." He said. "Real funny guys, those two. But I can never quite figure out who's on first. Heard they even jumped out a boat once. After they made a delivery to the McDougal House of Horrors."

The wax museum? Well, THAT was something new. Just recently Jack had told them about the other people who got a hold on his Monocane drug ever since his death, including coal miner Sir Geoffery Radcliffe, model Kitty Carroll, secret spy agent Frank Raymond, and a relative of Jack's, Robert Griffin, who escaped from a psychiatric hospital.

"We should get going." Cory stated. "We want to find that stone as quickly as possible."

Thus, among the many crowds of ghost passengers, the crew of five boarded the Phantom Express. It would be a while before everything had been accounted for. But this mission was of utmost importance…

…

"ALL ABOARD!"

The Phantom Express let out a whistle as her conductor echoed throughout the station. And with a few chugs of supernatural steam, the train began to move. The tracks materialized in front of the train as it got closer, and some vanished when it had passed them completely.

Lisa felt a bit uneasy about riding with a lot of dead people. But they didn't want to alarm the spirits lest they knew there were living beings aboard.

"New York City is the next stop. Tickets please."

The ghost of the conductor floated through, punching holes into any tickets handed to him. The Invisible Man seemed to truly blend in.

Time seemed to pass. The wait seemed more and more painful as the seconds went by.

Cory didn't have to wait long. The air grew cold. Colder than normal. And everything seemed to get a bit darker.

The ghost passengers and staff seemed to be a bit confused about what was going on. Cory only looked out the window.

"Hannah?" He asked, as she could sense and feel spiritual presences. "What monster is Drac sending?"

Her eyes glowed a pale white for a second. And after they turned to normal, they went wide with horror.

"Oh no…Shadow Demons…!"

The ghostly lights went out. And shrill inhuman shrieks echoed through the cars!

From the shadow of one door, a cloaked figure with sharp teeth floated out, smiling with glowing red eyes as the ghosts fled for cover! Some even phased through a catering tray!

"Fiiiiind iiiiiitttt." The Shadow Lord beckoned, sending out more shadows, and thus more dark spirits to ransack the entire train, making a mess of the place as he did so. Hannah and Sarah readied their weapons, with Dana materializing with her scythe. Meanwhile, from Sarah's shadow, another Reaper emerged with twin scissor-like swords!

"Woah, you got one too?!" Hannah gasped.

"Yep. Bout time, too." The fencer replied. "I call it Shear."

Suddenly, another Shadow Demon crawled out of the door on the other side, grinning maniacally as it crawled on all fours, its eyes a blood red.

"Realm Walkers…" The Boogeyman echoed. "You seek to prevent the Dark Lord's will from being done. And you bring LIVING onto this vessel. WHERE…is…the…stone?"

"Two each?" Lisa asked.

"Sure, why not?" Cory stated.

"Keep them busy! I'll find the stone!"

As Cory, Hannah, and Dana fought the shrieking Boogeyman, Sarah, Lisa, and Shear dueled the Shadow Lord. The Invisible Man soon became The Intangible Man as he floated through the various train cars, with more Shadow Demons emerging and terrifying the poor ghost passengers.

Finally, a door was shoved open and footsteps barged in. There, the Invisible Man saw red-eyed Lawn Gnomes wreaking havoc as another Shadow Demon phase into the controls. And then, there was a terrible scream, followed by ominous laughter.

Unseen by the gnomes, the brake handle tried to pull itself back. But it didn't budge. No longer was the conductor in control. The train was NOW run by something else.

One gnome saw the lever twitch a bit, so Jack came up with a distraction. He slapped another gnome, which caused it to think another hit him. Some angry gibberish and arguing later, both gnomes ended up in a slap-fight. It was then that an invisible boot kicked all the gnomes out of the train, with an invisible voice yelling "Get off my train!", every time he booted a yelling gnome off. And thanks to the Reapers, the gnomes ended up back in the living world. On land or in water.

The powerful Realmwalker then opened a portal to the living world, and two heroes managed to make their way inside.

"Woo! Is it just me, or did it just get a lot colder here?!" Arach-Kid shivered.

"I'll need you two to stop the train." Jack said. "It's been possessed by a Shadow Demon and is going faster than normal! The others are buying us time. I need to find the stone!"

"Stopping a train, huh?" Super Duper smiled. "Just like the good old days."

"Those trains weren't GHOST trains, my good friend."

"Eh, what's the difference?" Arach-Kid shrugged, with he and Super Duper heading back outside as the Invisible Man groaned.

"Everything…"

He began climbing onto the top of the ghost train, holding on to his wig as he did so. He braced himself against a horde of Shadow Demons floating out of the funnel, forcing him to fight them off. Good thing he was one with Ecto Energy. At least they hadn't caught onto where he hid it. He had to get to it before time ran out…

The tunnels and obstacles were nothing, as the Phantom Express and all aboard simply phased right through them. Some living felt a slight chill, but nothing more.

Meanwhile, the battle inside blew a hole open in one of the cars, forcing the fight onto the roof. Cory kept up the pressure against the Boogeyman as Hannah did much the same against the Shadow Lord. The Invisible Man rushed towards the funnel and reached inside.

Inside that funnel, Jack Griffin felt the secret compartment he built inside, and opened it. There, a light blue glowing stone was there. It levitated into the air in invisible hands. The Spirit Stone was secure!

At least…for a moment. More Shadow Demons ended up screaming as they flew their way towards the Invisible Man! Quickly, he began opening another portal to the living world.

"CORY! CATCH!"

The Invisible Man tossed the young Hunter the Spirit Stone, after he cleaved the Boogeyman's head in two, making black blood leak out! Angered, the Boogeyman lashed out with a dark blast as it regenerated, powering through Cory's shield and knocking him to the ground!

"AGH!" Cory groaned before realizing what had happened. "NO!"

The Spirit Stone tumbled off the train and into the black waters of the Shadow Realm, when suddenly a blazing streak of hellfire swiped it up!

"HA! I got it!" Primor said, before noticing the Shadow Demons headed his way. "Oh, you wanna race? Okay!"

The Speed Demon and Sin of Pride boosted forward, running alongside the track as the mass of darkness chased him! If any managed to get close, Primor kicked them away and bolted in another direction.

But not all the Shadow Demons followed. Some more still remained on the ghost train, overwhelming the team. That is, until laser blasts vaporized them as they screamed!

The Ultra Flight Orbiter hovered alongside the train, Mirpo blasting more Shadow Demons on the side of the train while laughing maniacally.

"Take THAT, you spawns of darkness!" He cackled, before turning. "Get ready, guys, you've got a train to catch!"

The Martian's saucer hovered over the train, and once the bottom opened up, Billy, Sammy, Brent, Erin, Marty, and Mark leaped out! Aliens, robots, and ninja began fighting the black ghosts, with even the Cyber Shinobi's katana able to slice them!

"Mirpo! Help Primor!"

The U.F.O. began flying away, following the streak of flame and shadow in its wake. Meanwhile, another unseen figure grabbed a Shadow Demon and punched it before tossing it off the train!

"So, you must be the Mini Me." Jack Griffin stated.

"Yep! I guess that Monocane was finally perfected in that invisibility serum I took!" Brent Green stated.

Meanwhile, Mirpo's saucer ship caught up to the Speed Demon and opened fire on more Shadow Demons, the force-field preventing them from getting close to him. However, the Shadow Demons began to swarm Primor.

"I'm open, I'm open!"

Primor chucked the Spirit Stone to Mirpo, who used the ship's abductor to yoink the Spirit Stone inside the saucer before flying away.

"Ha ha! SO LONG, SUCKERS!"

He turned back…to see even more headed his way!

"Uh…hello, suckers…"

He moved the ship upwards before flying forwards again, moving his Death Ray Blasters to face behind the saucer and kept his trigger on the fire button. The lasers and rays blasted constantly with everything he had, but Mirpo STILL had so much on his tail!

"Mayday! I need backup!"

He flew the saucer back over to the train, with Primor following. Meanwhile, Arach-Kid and Super Duper managed to get to the front of the train, thankfully not phasing through and falling off. Super Duper flew beside it, using his laser vision to destroy more Shadow Demons on Mirpo's tail.

Then, the first superhero flew in front of the train and began skidding against the tracks, using all of his strength to keep it back! Arach-Kid didn't wait either. He began webbing various ghostly structures with all six arms.

They ended up yelling as their strength was pushed to its limits, but no matter what, the ghost train didn't slow down. Arach-Kid wasn't even sure that normal trains could even GO this fast!

"AGH! CAN'T ANYTHING STOP THIS THING?!" Arach-Kid asked.

"Feels like…a freight train!" Super Duper added.

"More like a FRIGHT train to me!"

And that's when the Arachno-Sapien felt something. The front of the train was glowing and contorted, with haunting cyan lights forming a face. Eyes and a mouth. The latter of which began laughing in a booming menacing and evil tone.

"Uh oh…"

Arach-Kid did a backflip upwards onto the top of the train, avoiding the ghostly blue fire the train breathed forth, all while evil laughter replaced the whistle.

"Sheesh! Is THIS what Percy was so terrified of?!" Arach-Kid only quipped before noticing more Shadow Demons coming his way. "Oh boy…"

Super Duper only flew up to join him, firing his heat vision at some more Shadow Demons.

"Well, if we can't stop this train, at least everyone on board is already a ghost!" He said. "Well…ALMOST everyone."

"Yeah. Hopefully we don't turn into some…"

The two heroes continued joining in on the Shadow Demon battle, all while Mirpo's U.F.O. flew by, with other Shadow Demons in hot pursuit! The Phantom Express laughed and began firing ghostly fireballs from its funnel, with Mirpo yelling to dodge them!

"Is the train SHOOTING at me?!"

"HA HA HA HA HA! THE SPIRIT STONE IS MINE!"

Suddenly, the train ended up moving upwards, chasing the saucer!

"AH! IT TALKS! IT'S FREAKING CHOO-CHOO CHARLES AND IT'S COMING THIS WAY!"

Super Duper flew off to provide assistance as Arach-Kid punched another Shadow Demon across the face to vaporize it! It was time to bring Thomas the Terror Engine here to a halt! One way or another!

Even worse, the Phantom Express' ghost fire seemed to chip away at the saucer's forcefield! And it laughed off any laser and ray damage shot at it! That's when Cory got an idea.

He rushed to the front of the train, blasting any Shadow Demon headed his way with magic. He ducked down into the front of the train and spotted something. The furnace! The coal inside was filled with Ecto Energy, and the fires were a ghastly cyan blue. He opened the door and was faced with a cackling fire: the Shadow Demon possessing it, having taken the form of the train's fuel to do so!

"So, the lever's not working?" Cory asked. "Well, I've got the brakes RIGHT HERE!"

He conjured up a powerful Holy Water spell and blasted it right into the furnace! The Shadow Demon let out a high-pitched scream as the fire was extinguished, and it was jettisoned out of the train!

The Phantom Express let out a roar of pain before the face faded, and the train returned to normal. The brake lever pulled itself, with the Invisible Man letting out a grunt of effort as he did that.

"Gah!" Cory jumped back. "How long have you been standing there?!"

"Ever since I caught onto that plan of yours. New York's only a mile away!"

Good. Plenty of time.

The ghost train's brakes began screeching to a halt as the train began slowing down. Meanwhile, the rest of the Shadow Demons were destroyed, save for the Shadow Lord and the Boogeyman. Yet the Entity of Fear grinned.

"Good…yeeeeesssss…."

The Boogeyman shrieked as the Shadow Lord laughed, the both of them vanishing like dark clouds.

"Huh?" Lisa asked. "What was he talking about?"

The train finally came to a complete stop ahead of schedule, and sooner than expected. Mirpo reclined in his seat with a sigh of relief.

"Well," He said. "At least we got the-AH!"

Nothing. There was nothing there.

"No, no, nononononono, where is it, where is it, where IS it?!" The Martian panicked.

"What?! What is it?!" Cory radioed.

"The ghost gem thingy! It's GONE!"

"WHAT?!"

"I-I beamed it up and abducted it! It was INSIDE my ship, how could I LOSE IT?!" Mirpo searched everywhere. It was a small ship, so it COULDN'T have gone far!

"Of course. I think I know why." Dr. Jack Griffin sighed. "The Boogeyman had us so focused on stopping the train and saving the ghosts from entering Limbo that they snagged the stone when you were too busy shooting and piloting. A diversion."

"AAAAAGH!" Mirpo groaned. "I hate shadows! They must've snuck in when the saucer was dark enough! How many does that Drac guy have now, FOUR of them?!"

"We don't know that!" Hannah stated, a portal opening nearby. "What's guaranteed is that he's got three. I just hope that the others did a better job than we did…"