Author's note: I don't own DP.

I'd like to thank the following for their reviews:

darkflame1516- I'll be sure to check it out sometime. Keep me posted!

nooneluvsme- Life can seem very boring sometimes. Believe me I understand that.

the sleep warrior- sorry about the whole confusion thing. It may just be you, but one could still consider it a curse.

enigmatic penguin- I'll remember that. "EP, Lady of Random" does that sound good for a title for you.

Things are really going to get going in the next couple chapters. And whether you like the twists or not, please review. I really do appreciate the feedback.

Enjoy! Chapter 15 (Phase Three: Forgotten the Light Grows Dim)

"How on earth are we going to stop this?" I asked to no one in particular as I paced across the clearing.

The clearing had become our unofficial "place of conference", plus it kept out a lot of the snow that was falling at that particlar moment. Ronnie, Tai, Umbrus, and even Kara were involved. She wasn't a member of the team, but her input could sometimes be helpful. Plus I liked keeping her up to date on recent events.

"So the basic scenario is that we're on the verge of an inter-dimensional war, we barely even know what our opposition is, and chances are we're going to be severely out-gunned, outnumbered and overwhelmed, plus we have a spy in our midst," Ronnie summed up the situation in about twelve seconds.

"A spy? How?" Kara asked, "The only people who know your identities are us here!"

"Exactly," Ronnie said, "I don't know how they could do it. A spy would be detected, by either you Tir, or Umbrus, as would any sort of bug."

"Getting back to the really big picture," Tai cut in, "If we are to defeat this enemy, we need help."

"Help?" I asked, an idea starting to form in my head. "Tai, circle the calendar when you get home."

"Uh, why?" he asked surprisedly.

"Because you my friend, are a genius!" I cried, slapping him on the back, "Why didn't I think of it before!"

"Think of what?" everyone save Umbrus asked. He just perked up his ears with interest.

"Let's just say we need to call up an old friend..."

OOOOO

"I can't believe he's not here!" I exclaimed, slamming my fist onto a blank wall. Everything in the base had been taken, down to the last piece of carbon paper.

I corrected myself as I heard a crinkling of paper behind me. I turned as Umbrus pushed a piece of paper into my hand. Giving him a pat on the head I unfolded it and opened up a letter, stating this.

Colonel Richard Suzuki, In light of your recent encounter with the ghost that stole the X-15 Arbiter, and your alliance with one "Yurei Ninja," if not for the fact that you had recovered the stolen property and acquired twenty gigabytes of information on both ghosts, a court-marshal would be in order.

However, given your otherwise spotless record, as well as the benefits of the encounter, we have decided that you need only to discontinue any contact, aside from surveillance, with the "Yurei Ninja".

We have also decided that JMBY 1 should be evacuated and re-established at a more suitable location in Tokyo. It is of the utmost importance that you not be rediscovered. If you, or anyone on your staff is found to be in contact with the "Yurei Ninja", or any of his affiliates, you shall all be punished under the strictest methods we can apply.

I trust that you will make the right choice. Sincerely, Lt. General Hercule Hastings.

I just stared at the note momentarily. Ronnie tapped me on the shoulder, and I gave her the note to read. After a moment she turned to Tai, Umbrus and myself, Kara having not come, and said, "You realize what we're going to have to do, right?"

"Sis, we can't jeopardize the guy's job," I protested, "It just wouldn't be right, given how well he treated us last time our paths crossed."

"Tir, a lot more than this guy's job is at stake here," Ronnie said gravely, "Humanity, maybe even the entire world, hangs in the balance. I think he'd understand that."

"You always did have a way with words, you know that sis?" I asked. Turning to Tai I asked, "You wanna come with?"

"I'm game," he replied, "Let's go hunt out some army ants."

OOOOO

"Do you kids realize that I haven't gone to Tokyo in absolute ages?" Mom asked as we drove along a barren stretch of highway, "Oh how much it will have changed! And there's so much shopping to be done!"

While the drive itself was uneventful, aside from a little first-base action in the back seat between Kara and myself, the view was amazing. Deep, secluded valleys in the mountains, their snow-capped peaks extending high into the sky, until they were lost to view among the clouds.

Snow fell softly in the cool, tranquil outside air, whilst I held Kara close, my left arm over her other shoulder, my right hand gently massaging her leg. Her hands rested gently on mine, at least until they started to unzip my coat, then wrap it lightly around her. She rested her head ever so warmly against my chest.

At one point Ronnie made the near-fatal mistake of looking back at us. For a split second she had what could be considered a look of "awww" on her face, which was shortly replaced by a grimace of disgust as she immediately whipped around in her seat and said, "Mom! Tir's breaking back-seat rule #852!"

"Tir," Mom called back, adjusting the rear-view mirror ever so slightly, "What is the back seat for?"

I sighed, then answered, "The back seat of said vehicle is for sitting only, unless I am old enought to drive, in which case it can be used to award, or steal, no higher than second base, in my case no higher than first. Happy?"

"Quite," she answered, then readjusted the mirror.

"But Mrs. Morgan," Kara said humbly, "It's really kind of cold back here, and rather than burning gas heating up the car, we decided to try and conserve our body heat."

I just stared at her in astonishment as mom said with a slight grin, "Alright then. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to bend the rules this one time." If I was astonished, Ronnie was in a state of slack-jawed awe, and Tai was a combination of amusement and surprise.

"How?" I asked as she snuggled a little further up my chest, until her head rested just under mine.

"You just have to know how mothers work," she said as she gave me a light peck on the cheek.

OOOOO

"Okay, here's the plan," I said as mom was going through a bookstore, "Kara, you and Ronnie stay with mom so she won't have any ferociously big reason to suspect anything's wrong. Ronnie can get a hold of both of us over the earphones if something happens. If something does happen, and we need your help, then Kara, you distract her. Okay?"

They nodded. Then I turned to Tai and Umbrus. "You two are coming with me. We'll need Umbrus to track the scent on that letter, and I'll need both of you on hand if things get out of control."

"If that letter has any accurate bearing, then Suzuki is probably being supervised very closely, so we may get ambushed." They nodded, and I concluded by saying, "Everything may be riding on how this goes, so hold out on drawing weapons until the last possible moment. We need to show that we are no threat to them. Now let's go."

OOOOO

Things were slow at first. We went through probably twenty separate city blocks before Umbrus caught any sort of scent. Then he was off as fast as he could go. We had a hard time just keeping up with him. We twisted all over the place, shopping districts, apartment buildings, personal homes, you get the general idea.

After a while the trail led out of the city, and into the closest thing Tokyo has to suburbs. Even that petered out and gave way to open country. Rolling hills dotted the landscape, with trees extending high into the air in some places. Eventually, Umbrus stopped at what could only be interpreted as a large moss-covered stone.

As we approached it a voice called out over a hidden speakerphone, "Halt! State your names and business here!"

Umbrus looked at me, and Tai gave me a brief glance before I replied, "I am Yurei Ninja, and these are two of my associates."

There was a moment's silence before the voice said again, "You have not yet stated your business here. Tell us what you want here, or we will be forced to remove you from here by force."

Biting back the truthful insult that came to mind I said, "We simply wish to talk with your C.O. We have urgent news and wish to speak with him."

Again the voice was silent for a bit before it replied, "Very well. Please keep your arms and legs inside the chute at all times." I looked down as the earth opened up under us, and we fell into a long spiralling shaft.

"Yurei, put your hands in the air!" Tai called. I glanced back and saw that he was howling with joy, whilst his uniform came on at the same time. I almost broke out laughing myself just as we hit the floor below.

After extricating myself from the bottom of the heap I said, "That was kind of fun."

"Which is far more than can be said for you, runt," a familiar voice called from behind me. I whipped around and was confronted with Mallen, a confident sneer pasted across his face. "Who's this? I don't remember him from our last encounter."

"Enough with the insults, Mallen," I growled, "This is Haiiro-kun Yurei, the most recent member to my team. Now let's see your C.O. I have some important news for him."

"He's standing right in front of you," Mallen grinned wickedly. My eyes must have nearly popped out of my head because his smile deepened even further.

"No, seriously, where's Colonel Suzuki?" I asked with a slight edge to my voice. I was not lliking this meeting so far.

"You'll meet him soon enough," he grinned, "Oh I assure you he's alright. I just outrank him is all."

"No!" I gasped.

"You're looking at Maj. General Mallen, American military head of Japanese Military Base Yurei 1. Now can we get on with that meeting you wanted? I do have orders to at least hear you out before trading you over to disection," he said as he made his way over to the door on the far side of the room.

"Let's get this meeting on, then," I said, following him out the door.

OOOOO

"Okay, boy," he said, sitting down in his desk, "What do you have to say?"

There were a few friendly faces at the table, including, some of whom I had been informed were promoted, Sergeant Tyne Snow, Lt. Sane Yashimi, and Lt. Colonel Hanlin. They all seemed sad and depressed. Even Snow seemed down in her spirits, which was odd since she'd always struck me as the kind that didn't get down without a fight. But by a long shot the saddest person at that table was the man who'd started it all. Colonel Suzuki, the most resilient person I'd ever met, sat with a totally expressionless face.

He seemed to me a broken man, the pain in his eyes showing every inch of it. The fight in him that I'd become familiar with before was gone, replaced with total despair. It was one of the saddest things I'd ever seen, and everyone else, save Mallen, felt the same way.

"Now then," Mallen said, sitting in his chair at the head of the table with a malicious grin on his face, "What information do you have for us?"

I decided on one thing for sure: no matter what I told him, no matter how desperate the situation was, Mallen wouldn't help us if it killed him. Then an idea came to me. It was incredibly risky, but it could work. Turning my attention to Suzuki I said," We're in trouble sir. I have reason to believe that the Ghost Zone is-"

"I'm over here, boy," Mallen hissed, "If you're going to say anything you're going to say it to the brains of this outfit."

Ignoring Mallen, and insulting him as well I continued, "Someone in the Ghost Zone is preparing for an inter-dimensional war."

Snow's eyes snapped wide open, Yashimi's mouth opened a bit, and even Mallen raised an eyebrow. Given that Suzuki had raised his head, I knew that I had his attention.

"How can I prove that what you're saying is true?" Mallen asked, "What if it's some kind of trap?"

"I have one way to show you for absolutely sure," I replied, getting out of my seat and walking around the table towards him, "And besides, doesn't my last performance here count for something?"

"Doesn't the time when you had me on my back with a sword at my throat count for something?" he shot back, turning until he and I were facing each other.

I didn't answer. I just grabbed both sides of his head and murmured, "Listen to me." I did something then that I'd never done before. When I made contact with Mallen, and our minds linked, despite his struggling at first, I was somehow able to link to every other mind in the room, and I gave the information I had on the enemy. The action took a bit out of me, so I was breathing lightly when I broke the link. I think everyone in the room was too distracted by what they had felt to notice me return to my seat.

"So you see," I said after a moment's silence, "We have much to fear, Mallen. And the situation is only going to get worse as time goes on. My allies and I won't be able to hold them very long if they come in any sort of numbers. We need more men."

I'll give him this, Mallen is very quick at recovering from surprises. Almost immediately he rose from his seat and stepped towards me.

"I saw nothing, brat," he hissed, a huge grin splitting his features. "Your little ruse didn't work. What you're telling us is a lie, and I will not stand for a ghost telling me what to do."

We stood almost nose to nose as he said, "I'll bet you staged this whole thing, to try and destroy us all. Creatures like you disgust me. I'm not going to stand for it. I'll have you in the General's torture chambers for-"

"MALLEN!" the angriest voice I swear I'd ever heard bellowed from behind me. Mallen didn't move. He was just frozen in place.

"Touch one hair on that boy's head and I'll have you in chains until your arms fall off!" Despite the fact that the voice had scared the hell out of me, I couldn't have been more happy to hear it.

Mallen had recovered and called back, "Colonel, sit down. You can't put me in chains, and we all know it."

A hand grabbed Mallen by one shoulder and spun him around effortlessly, until he and Colonel Suzuki were face to face. The Colonel spoke in probably the most dangerous voice he could have used, despite its being little more than a whisper, "Just watch me, Mallen. Snow, Yashimi!"

Without a word, but each with a slight grin they leapt up and had their guns pointed at Mallen's back. "Get him out of my base," Suzuki said flatly, still looking Mallen in the eye.

As he was shown out Mallen called over his shoulder, "This is treason, Suzuki! I'll have your head before this is over! Your time in the military is over!"

"Thats fine with me, you pompous louse!" Suzuki roared back. Immediately he tore off the insignia of his rank and threw them on the floor. Within a few moments everyone else had done the same. After Snow and Yashimi had come back and followed suit Suzuki lit a match and burned them.

"So this is really it?" Snow asked, "We aren't military anymore?"

"No, Miss Snow, we're not," Suzuki answered, "But we're not going to stop doing what we do. That will be a bit harder though, seeing as the army is going to be after us soon. They'll be hunting for every head in this joint."

Turning to me Suzuki grinned and shook my hand as he said, "Thank you, son. Without your little touch of ghostwork there I'd still be under Mallen's thumb. That lying scuzbucket! I can't believe he didn't see anything!"

"Actually Suzuki," I said a bit shamefacedly, "He really didn't see anything. No one saw anything but you. They felt something, but they didn't see it."

"What?" he said a bit surprisedly, "You mean to tell me that none of them saw that? But why?"

"I needed to show you alone what the situation was," I replied, "I can't say for sure how the other's would've reacted, but I had a hunch it would break you out of that despair you were in a couple minutes ago. Even Mallen couldn't have denied what you saw, and his belief in it would have done you no good. Besides, I wouldn't have had enough power to link all of our minds."

He was expressionless for a moment before his face creased into an even wider grin than Mallen had wielded earlier. "Thank you, son," he said, patting me on the back, "Cleverly done."

"Your welcome sir," I said in turn, "Now, what are you going to do about Mallen?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Suzuki thrust the question aside, "We've got several architects more than willing to help build and design a concealed base."

"Good," I said, "Now how are you for funds? Supplies? Energy?"

"Oh, don't worry about it," Suzuki grinned, slapping a hand down on the conference table, "When they make these bases they make 'em so they can last for years without backup, if the situation goes ill. We aren't going to run out of anything until the year 2027 at least!"

"How are you for people?" I asked, "How many able-bodied defenders?"

"We've got two hundred-fifty ecto-jet pilots, a hundred anti-ghost tanks, four hundred standard infantry, and enough ghost suits to stock up twice our number of six hundred seventy-five operators that I know will be more than willing to help."

"So how are you going to contact us?" he asked after he'd told Yashimi to get the message across that they were leaving and taking everything with them.

"That won't be a problem, sir. I've got an idea for the location of your base..."

OOOOO

"So boys, how was your day?" Mom asked as we met up.

"Same old, same old," I smiled, giving Ronnie and Kara a wink.

"Good, then let's head home," she said joyfully.

OOOOO

"...So that's the plan," I whispered into Kara's ear.

"Well, it's good to know that we have some friends in high places," she whispered back, kissing my cheek.

"Yes, but I think this is going to get worse before it get's better," I replied, taking gentle hold of her hand, "Even with eleven hundred fully-trained military at our back this is going to be a tough stunt to pull off. They've got enough ghost suits to possibly pull this off, they just don't have enough people."

"If they had more people as infantry they could have their men in ghost suits, but I don't think that's going to change any time soon."

"Wait," Ronnie said, having listened to the conversation, "I've got an idea-"

There was a horrendous crunch as the hood of the car caved in. We all got out just as the roof collapsed with a crunch. A black form rested on the hood, a katana in one hand, which was what had crushed the car.

It was a black ninja, with three slash marks of red thread on its right shoulder. It had a supple, yet lean frame, not unlike my own, only it was shorter. Cool grey skin showed in the tiny crack between the folds of its mask, as did a pair of dangerous hot coals that glared out on the world with a deep hatred of the life surrounding them. A pair of dangerous red-handled katanas were strapped across its back, and I presumed for good reason.

"Run!" I called out. Ronnie shook mom out of her stupor and got her moving no more than a few steps before the ninja appeared in front of them. It held one of its deathly sharp pale-bladed swords in one hand. Moving faster than the eye could see I transformed and caught the ninja's wrist in my hand. The ninja's arm trembled, trying to force the blade down to my face. After a moment, the struggle proved to be a stalemate.

I didn't dare talk, for fear of mom recognising my voice at such a close distance. Grating in as deep a voice as I could I said, "Get... her... out... of... here... NOW!"

"That voice..." I heard mom's voice utter, barely a hushed whisper. With a deft movement the ninja flipped his katana upside-down and thrust it towards the ground, plowing a long cut down the back of my collar bone, barely missing my shoulder blade and slashing down the right side of my back. I staggered for a second, then kneeled, catching my breath and trying to suppress the pain that was throbbing through my entire back. I touched a hand to my back, and after drawing my hand away with a gasp of pain, I saw that it was wet with thick green ghost blood. I raised my head, just as his foot crashed into my side.

I rolled onto my back, trying to raise myself back to my feet, but my hands kept sliding in my own blood. He stood over me, his katana raised over his head, pointed at my chest.

In a low voice he growled, "GOOD NIGHT, SON OF DARKNESS." His voice, despite the intense hatred burning in his eyes, was level with contempt, as if his anger was what kept his voice from fraying.

A large white shape slammed into his side, throwing him off balance. It was all the time I needed, even though Umbrus was thrown back by a powerful shock seconds later.

With a blood-stained fist I slammed my knuckles into his skull. As he was knocked back I morphed to my human self and back in about two seconds. The pain was still there, and I was weakened considerably, but at least I wouldn't lose energy so quickly. Combining light and dark I formed my sword, its point a few inches from the ground. We stood for a moment, staring at each other. The snow had died away, and though clouds still covered a part of the sky, the moon cast a ghostly silver light upon us.

Our clothes snapped in the wind, and my blade glistened and hummed in the moonlight. His was black and silent as pitch, as if dead to the world it had once inhabited. "What now, dare I ask?" I said, settling myself into a steadier stance. I knew better, through bitter experience, than to let my guard down when I talked.

"I AM NINJUTSA, THE ASSASSIN OF SOULS," his voice hissed, low, reedy and menacing, "AND NOW THE WORLD SHALL TREMBLE WITH YOUR PASSING."

His sword swayed in his hands, almost lazily, tracing slow arcs in the air. The attack came swiftly. If I hadn't raised my sword handle-up first I probably would have been decapitated on the spot.

Sparks flew as our blades clashed like great winds. The force of his blow echoed through my sword as I was thrown backwards. I swept my blade in a two-way slash, first left and then down, blocking two of Ninjutsa's lethal strokes. Our blades locked once more, and I glared into those cold, burning eyes that glistened with hate. My whole body was groaning from the intense effort required to hold Ninjutsa's sword at bay.

"YOUR HALF-LIFE, AND YOUR WORLD'S LIFE, END HERE, WHELP," Ninjutsa said indifferently. As hard as I could I pushed Ninjutsa's sword to one side, then, as my fist crashed into his face, a huge blast of white energy burst from my right arm. Ninjutsa landed on his back several feet away, his whole body smoking from the intensity of my blast. However, my attention wasn't riveted on him. It was on my own persona. The gloves I had worn over my hands before were gone, replaced instead by white skin and claws. Fine, sparkling little lights danced in the air around them.

"WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?" an unfamiliar voice asked me. I looked up, and Ninjutsa stood before me. Though only the clothes that being wore could identify it as Ninjutsa.

Her face was blue-grey in complexion, with dark lips and eyebrows indifferently flat, slightly pointed ears, and silvery white hair, not unlike my own, down to the middle of the upper half of her back. Her eyes, those cold, scathing red eyes, darkened her otherwise beautiful visage, and warped it into a face the world should never have seen. She was evil, and that evil pulsed in her veins more strongly than blood ever did whilst she was alive. Taking in the rest of her I realized that there were other qualities, although fairly well concealed, that confirmed the story her face told.

"So when were you going to tell me?" I asked, gripping my sword in one hand. Her eyes flared, and she stepped forward, drawing her other sword as well.

"I MAY HAVE SHOWN YOU MERCY BEFORE, CHILD," she threatened as her swords started to glow dully, "BUT WITH BOTH THE SWORDS TETSUKA AND TORAKA IN MY HANDS, YOU WILL DIE... VERY... VERY... SLOWLY."

"We shall see," I growled, forming two sister katanas identical to their parent blade, save that one was the opposite in coloration.

"INDEED," she said, her swords glowing, one a pale red, the other a dull green, but both becoming sharper and brighter with every passing moment, as if they massed their power for a great battle. "IN ONE HAND I WIELD TETSUKA, THE LONELY BLADE, BANE TO ALL DISEMBODIED SOULS," she held up the green blade, then lowered it and raised the red one and said, "AND IN THE OTHER I HOLD TORAKA, BLADE OF THE TIGER, FORGED FROM TANTARRA'S FATHER'S CLAWS AND FANGS, THAT CAN HARVEST A HUNDRED LIVING SOULS IN ONE STROKE. NO BEING CAN WITHSTAND THEM BOTH, LEAST OF ALL YOU."

She struck like a cobra, her twin swords flaring as they thrust for my heart. I stepped to one side and flipped both my weapons upside-down and dashed forward. Her swords were knocked from her grasp as my foot shot out and struck her in the middle. She flew back with a whoosh, my blow having knocked the wind from her. As her feet hit the ground her arms flicked out, shooting dozens of tiny shuriken at me. I countered them with my own, then flew in for a vicious attack, sheathing my swords. I wouldn't need them.

For the second time I could feel my rage building, and I let it. Face, chest, arms, legs, nothing of hers was safe from my deadly fists. It was a foolish mistake, and if I hadn't let it happen I might not have come so close. I surged on, blow after blow raining down upon her, until she was against the ground, breathing harshly, with green blood flowing down her chin. I brought up my right hand for the killing blow, and as it came down I saw Tetsuka in her hand, but it was too late. My hand was impaled, clear through the palm.

In such a towering madness my mind only dully perceived pain. Without twitching so much as a muscle my other arm shot out, ramming into Tetuska's blade and snapping it in two like a dead sapling. After I drew what remained of the blade from my hand, which was a good foot and a half, give or take an inch, I grabbed Ninjutsa around the neck and replaced Toraka and what remained of Tetsuka in their proper sheaths, opened my bloody, twisted hand, and banished her back whence she came. Very suddenly the full weight of the battle descended on me, and I could barely even think straight, let alone move.

My whole body trembled with the effort it took just to lift one arm a few inches off the ground. I struggled for what felt like hours, trying to lift myself off the ground. It took much more even to take a single step. I'm not sure what was driving me, but it was more powerful even than my battle frenzy.

When I stumbled and fell, much as my body screamed in pain, and sweated, I wouldn't stop. When I fell my thoughts were only "Get back up," and when I once again returned to my feet, my thought was focused on a single thing: "one more step. One more step." My whole body groaned and heaved with exhaustion. Drool and froth fell from my mouth, but I was too weak even to think of wiping it away. Sweat pooled along my entire body, mixing with the congealing blood on my hand, stinging as it slid through the back of my palm and dripped from the opposite end of the hole. After an eternity I came to the side of the road. No vehicles had passed by, and given the present weather I couldn't have blamed them, if I had had the capacity to blame someone at that point in time. I looked at the car. Unlike myself, it would get no second chance.

With a small fraction of the energy I had left I formed a crutch for me to lean on. And I continued on until the crutch snapped. Drained as I was the objects I formed were actually susceptible to mundane wear and tear.

I lay there senseless, oblivious to the passing of time around me. I would have been truly dead if a friend I had once saved returned the favor. Umbrus wormed his neck under my left arm, then gently gripped my hand in his jaws and dragged me on, my other arm and legs dragging on the ground. The strength he displayed astounded my limited consciousness. I could barely grasp the concept of moving myself, let alone another with me. After a time we approached a grove of trees, and Umbrus released my hand and stepped off to one side. I could tell that he was weak still, as he lay a few metres away panting. I managed to say, "Thank you."

It surprised me. The voice I had used sounded unlike anything I'd ever heard before. It sounded weak, raspy, and utterly spent, the voice of one who no longer clings to life and begs for death to come swiftly. His effort had restored some of my strength, and I gradually made my way back to my feet. Tai came out of a small gap in the trees of the grove and stood off to one side, Kara following closely after. I couldn't recognize them, but I knew that they meant me no harm. They seemed horrified by my condition, but they made no attempt to help me. I soon found out why.

As I entered a small clearing in the grove a ghost ray blasted by my ear. It was quickly followed by a shrill, almost hysterical voice saying, "Take one step more, ghost, and taste oblivion."

I lifted my head ever so slowly, barely able to keep my eyes open, and stared at my mother, who stood brandishing a ghost sniper in front of me, only a few feet away. Her eyes were wide, her skin sweaty, her whole body twitched constantly, and her voice sounded on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Even in my depraved state I could tell she was almost mad with fear. Ronnie sat on her left side, afraid to intervene lest mom freak out and try to kill me. It was funny in a weird sort of way.

There I was, totally defenseless, almost crippled, unable to even think straight, with a gun pointed at my head, and I didn't feel anything but pain. No fear, no anger, no anxiety, nothing, save the sharp throb of pain that jolted through my body every second.

"Mom," my voice cracked, barely more than a whisper.

Her eyes flickered with shock for a split second before she hissed, "Shut up, ghost! You don't talk until I say you can. Now where is my son?" I stared blankly at her, trying to wrap my mind around the concept that she still hadn't made the connection between us, that Tirrell Morgan and Yurei Ninja were one and the same.

"Mom," I groaned again, agonizingly extending an arm, trying to reach out to her.

"Stop saying that!" she spat shrilly, her finger tightening ever so slightly on the trigger, "Now where is my son!" I stumbled, accidentally stepping a foot forward to catch myself. Big mistake.

A huge blast of pain stabbed into my system as her gun went off, blasting a huge crater in my right shoulder. The force of the shot spun me around, and I landed on my left side, then rolled onto my back. I could feel my control slipping away. She knelt down over me, her gun pointed at my head.

"You have until the count of three before I blow you to Kingdom come, to tell me where my son is. One..." My chest was heaving. The pain I had experienced before was nothing compared to this. The pain was so cataclysmic that I could barely hear her speak. I just gritted my teeth and tried to maintain control.

"Two..." came the next count. Even though my eyes were wide open I couldn't see anything but red. Hot tears poured from my eyes as spasmadic coughs wracked my body. My resolve was crumbling fast. I could barely control myself. I was going to lose it.

"Three..." Despite myself I could hear the slight click as her finger started to squeeze the trigger. Just as it was about to go off, I lost control. As my body lost its great, supernatural strength, the pain faded away, and was followed by darkness.

XXXXX

And with answers come more questions. Is Tir dead? Does his mom end up going insane and killing him? Where is Suzuki's new base going to be? Who knows? Me, that's who! Huahuahauhahauh!

Read and review, people, the next chapter isn't going to write itself, you know! That's my job. Tune in next time for Chapter 16!