Volpe grabbed two large tubes and plugged them into the generator of the machine, working at a hurried pace. He didn't know what had happened downstairs, but the machine had to be ready for Frost by midnight. The room in which it was kept was as tall as all seven levels of the base, all underground with a door leading out to Level 1 and a hatch above coming out to Level 7. It resembled a giant submarine reactor in some ways, with a network of tubes, pipes and wires making up a ladder to the short and narrow catwalks. They were so short and narrow because of the large, menacing-looking device in the centre of the room, running on the central generator that Volpe was working on. He'd been hard at work on it for Frost for a long time. Working on this machine at the beginning was how he died in the first place. He'd done nothing else ever since, refusing the chance to be put to rest and go into the ghost-zone. He stopped his work now at a strange noise coming from above. He looked up. Sam dropped down, completely transformed and bent on the destruction of Volpe (at least her possessed form was, anyway).

"You are really starting to annoy me," Volpe shook his head and prepared to fight.

----

Danny, in the major's body, ran down the corridors, desperately searching for the control room. He'd checked well over twenty-seven doors, everyone one of them proving not to lead to it. He had no way of knowing what Frost's "big surprise was," but he did feel like he was running out of time.

"C'mon," he muttered, checking another door; it wasn't the control room, "Come on!" he checked every door in the corridor and there was still no sign of it. To make matters worse, soldiers were coming, and Danny had no clue how procedures worked here.

"Wait a minute," he said, "If I can fly into people's bodies and control them, maybe I can..." he tried; "It works! I can also read their minds!" he hid from the soldiers anyway. After they had passed...

"Now to find that control room," he searched the major's mind, "Got it!" he ran down one hallway, then took a left. Using the major to get past the hand screening pad, he got into the control room, "That was easier than I expected," Danny muttered, "Now to..." he looked around. Save the floor, the room was nothing but chairs and computers, with everyone else out of the room checking the damage.

"I really hope this guy knows how to work this stuff," Danny sighed.

----

Fighting in the room holding Frost's "big surprise" was difficult on it's own with the lack of space, even for a ghost; when you have a ghost and a possessed ghost girl who's emotionally unstable, it goes from bad to worse. Volpe found himself both fighting the girl he had accidentally infected with a ghost seed and trying to keep her from destroying the equipment in her attempts to kill him.

"Stop that you idiot!" he kicked Sam away from the pipes, "If this room explodes you die and take the mansion above us with you!"

"Volpe! Die!" she struck back with the same energy blasts she used on Danny. Since Volpe was a true ghost, he was more immune, but they still packed quite a punch. He was knocked back, almost hitting RELEASE on a small container he had been entrusted with.

"If I'd just killed her and let that be the end of it that first night!" he muttered, grabbing a laser from behind him. He hadn't thought that he would need it, but Frost gave it to him just in case. Sam moved to dodge the blast but got slightly hit in the elbow, causing her to yelp and pull back. Examining her wound, she snarled and leapt forward, almost breaking a pipe. Volpe charged forward as well, flinging his own energy blasts at her (careful to take aim, of course). The battle intensified, putting the room and the still-crowded mansion at risk...

---

Danny searched through the computer, still in the major's body in case he needed any information. Apparently Frost had kept what this thing was to herself and Volpe, so he had more to do than just find it.

"Here we go," Danny found the file on it, "The Gateway. Designed for the complete elimination of paranormal beings within a 30-mile radius, substantial decrease of power allows for individual destruction. Opens gateway into the dimension between the Earth and the ghost-zone where matter cannot exist and...is instantly eliminated from existence. Designed not to take in any human," Danny just stared at the screen in disbelief. Frost was seriously screwed up. He blinked and shook his head. He knew what it was; now he needed to find out where it was. He checked the security cameras, looking at the blueprint to see what the thing looked like. He found it...and saw Volpe and Sam's duel.

"Oh, no," Danny checked the blueprints; if they damaged that stuff, the room and the mansion would blow. The blueprint also showed that the walls were designed to prevent him from phasing into the room.

"Wait a minute," Danny got an idea. He grabbed the microphone, "Attention all units! Report to Room 297 on Level 1 immediately. I'll meet you down there," he got out of the chair and ran downstairs. He met up with a small unit of troops who followed him to outside the door. One of the lieutenants saluted.

"The door's locked, sir," he said.

"Get a code-cracker, get this door open!" Danny shouted at the top of his lungs; if he was in this major's body and saving all the ghosts within a 30- mile radius, he might as well have some fun doing it. The device was placed on top of the keyboard beside the door, with a tube leading from it to another device on the handle. After a minute's silence save the ticking sound of the devices, the code was cracked.

"I want all you men to spread out except the unit that came in with me; you men go check on Frost," the explosion had been heard around the building, "The rest of you, search this place from top to bottom. There is a ghost in here, and I want it caught, alive! Move out! You, leave your weapon here with me," one of the men tossed Danny his laser. After they had all left, Danny left the major's body and knocked him out by hitting him on the back of the head with the laser. Moving him off to the side in case there was an explosion, Danny slowly opened the door an entered. He started climbing up to the second-to-last catwalk, where Volpe and Sam were. Volpe seemed extremely tired and stressed; having to do two things at once, both of which involved fighting, was really wearing him out. Sam just looked completely insane. She fired another blast at Volpe, knocking him onto the ceiling and apparently unconscious. Before she could attack again, Sam was kicked down to the floor. Danny flew down, but didn't prepare to fight.

"Sam," he said, "I know you're still in there. You have to calm down," he spoke calmly and slowly walked forward; Sam was tense and looked ready to rip his arms off.

"Sam..." his voice was soothing, calming Sam down slightly, "You can't let yourself get taken over. You're always the one person we can count on when Tucker and I mess up everything," inside, the real Sam laughed at this. The possessed Sam was becoming more and more relaxed and sad-looking.

"I wasn't possessed by a ghost, I was transformed," Danny said, "But I think I can still help you," Sam got tense again as he started to walk toward her, "Sam, please," he stopped. He looked down at himself, then up at Sam. He changed back to his normal form. Still panting, Sam slowly loosened up. Danny put a hand on her shoulder as she slowly went back to normal...it never finished. An ectoplasmic energy blast knocked her back against the wall, knocking her out and changing her back immediately. Danny whirled around; Volpe was ready to continue the fight. Going ghost, Danny took over for Sam.