Silver looked up at the Hollywood Hotel, seeing the ominous clouds above the building as the neon sign flickered on and off. Adam was already at the door with Jake and Maximus, holding it open as they waited for Silver.
"Come on, Silver! Don't make me send Maximus over to get you!" Adam called.
"Just a moment!" Silver replied. "Geez, I know that my remote will be helpful here, but I really don't want to go into this place…"
Maximus rolled his eyes and went over to Silver, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and dragging him inside. The group didn't get far as the entire lobby of the building seemed to be packed to the brim with various characters from around Hollywood Studios, and more specifically those leaning towards the spooky and supernatural.
"Wow, it's more crowded in here than the outpost during a heat wave," Jake said, hopping on top of Adam's head to see over the crowd.
"Okay guys, can you move so we can get to the study?" Adam asked. "We're here on official Dream Keeper business."
"Has anyone seen three hitchhiking ghosts?" Silver asked.
"They floated up through the ceiling," said Victor. "My dog was barking up a storm when they floated by."
"They had a lass with them as well," Blackbeard's Ghost added. "She looked to ready for her wedding day as well."
Adam gasped. "They have Melanie!"
"I mean, it could be Constance Hatchaway," Silver pointed out.
"Do you really think the Hitchhiking Ghosts would be stupid enough to let her out of the attic?" Adam asked rhetorically.
Silver raised a finger to object but dropped it. "Yeah, okay, them taking Melanie makes way more sense."
"So then, they must be working for Hex," Jake mused. "Or at least under his control."
"Let's get to the study so we can make it through to the elevator," Adam said.
"Allow me to help!" called a voice. One at a time the four heroes were swept off their feet and dropped right next to the study's entrance. Their helper turned out to be a white deer-man with angelic wings on his back, wearing a blue leotard with matching bracers on his ankles and wrists. "There, that should get you where you need to get going."
Silver blushed as he looked up at the deer-man. "You're pretty… I mean, pretty helpful! Thank you, deer guy!"
"Silver, he's a gargoyle," Adam pointed out. "Just like Brooklyn is."
Maximus tilted his head in confusion, with Silver doing the same. "But aren't gargoyles more, you know, reptilian I guess?" he asked in confusion.
"I'm from the London Clan," the deer-like gargoyle explained. "We're more animal shaped than our Wyvern Clan brethren. The name's Staghart, but my friends call me Amp."
"No one calls you that!" a voice shouted over the crowd.
"No one asked you, Griff!" Staghart shouted back. "Anyway, you're friends with the Dream Keeper, correct? Then allow me to help you out on this mission. It's the least I can do."
"Then come along," Adam nodded, opening up the doors to the study.
The group went into the study, where the doors almost immediately closed behind them. Silver jumped a bit, but calmed down when Maximus gave him an assuring nuzzle. The lights flickered as the TV turned on to static, the screen soon transitioning to a familiar tune as The Twilight Zone opening played.
"You unlock this door with the key of imagination," said the voice of Rod Serling. "Beyond it is another dimension: A dimension of sound. A dimension of sight. A dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, things and ideas. You just crossed over into- The Twilight Zone."
The TV went to static once more, and out of the TV came Rod Serling himself in all his black-and-white glory. "Adam, I see you're returned," Serling said. "Looking for The Dreamfinder inside the Twilight Zone once more?"
"Not today, Mr. Serling," Adam shook his head. "We're on the hunt for three hitchhiking ghosts that stole my ghost bride."
"That's a sentence you don't hear every day," Staghart chuckled.
"Ah yes, those three," Serling noted. "They should be up near the top of the tower where we keep our props for the show. Unfortunately, Hex has been making the elevators act up more than usual. I've asked the ghosts of the hotel to not bring Guests into the Twilight Zone for now, as we might not be able to get them back with the elevators after sending them in."
"We could use the stairs," Silver suggested.
"True, but Hex will more than likely sent the Cast Bots to apprehend you there," Serling said. "The elevator, while unreliable, is the safer option for you."
"Then let's go!" Adam cheered, heading out of the study and down to the boiler room. The team went down there, with Serling sending them off as the elevator brought them up the tower. True to his word the ghosts of the tower didn't bother them, but soon the sounds of engine failure came to their ears as the elevator stopped in place.
"That's not good," Jake said. He hopped over to the wall. "I might be able to crawl in here and see what the problem is."
The kangaroo mouse jumped into the wall, scurrying around to see what had happened. Maximus heard the laughing of Cast Bots and alerted Silver to the noise. "Sounds like Hex still found a way to mess with us in here," he sighed.
"Any progress down there?" Adam called.
"It looks like they drained the battery on this thing," Jake called, coming back out. "All it needs is a good jolt and a constant flow of electricity."
"Well, I can give it the jolt, but not the constant flow," Silver said. He shocked the elevator battery, making it come on but not move an inch.
Adam hummed and opened up his atlas. "Let's see if I can get us some help," he mused. Touching one of the pages. In a flash of light the book summoned forth a little yellow alien that gave a playful cry as it landed near Silver.
"Huh, it's Sparky," Silver said. "How are Stitch and the others." Sparky talked in his gibberish language. "Yeah, I hope they all stay safe too."
"A friend of yours?" Staghart asked.
"I'm friends with all of Stitch's cousins," Silver said. "Logan and I frequent their town to hang out in the Hawaiian atmosphere of the place. Sparky here can generate the electricity we need to get up the elevator."
"Then let's get to it," Adam nodded. "Light it up, Sparky!"
The alien laughed and jumped into the battery, with Silver zapping it with his remote to give Sparky a boost. The elevator suddenly shot up the tower super fast, sending everyone slamming into the floor.
"Too fast, Sparky!" Adam yelled. "Slow down!"
The alien did as he was told, bringing the elevator to a stop right at the top of the tower. Everyone comically slammed into the ceiling, with the elevator doors opening with a pleasant 'DING!' as they fell back to the ground. Adam landed on his feet, with Maximus catching his breath in surprise, while Staghart caught Silver before he face-planted into the floor.
"Thanks for that," Sliver said, blushing as the gargoyle sat him down. The group ventured into the storage space of the Twilight Zone, with Adam holding Silver back for a moment. "What is it, Adam?"
"You got a thing for Staghart, don't you?" Adam teased.
Silver looked away. "What, no way! I have a boyfriend, you know that… Even if he's still a frog right now."
"Yeah, we should fix that after all of this," Adam said. "But if Anthony wants to take it slow, then keeping your options open isn't too bad, right?"
"But Amp might not be into boys," Silver sighed. "Do you know how rare it is to find a Disney character that's gay?"
"In the old-fashioned term of the word, no, but in the modern meaning, yes," Adam replied. "Look, I won't pressure you anymore, but don't be afraid to ask, either."
Silver nodded. "Let's go get your love interest back."
The two boys caught up with their partners, who were all searching through the junk piles filled with Twilight Zone props. From costume racks to haunted telephones, to a cookbook that had recipes for serving humans of all things (Adam made sure to hide that one deeper into the pile), there was no sign of any ghosts. Silver walked past a large container of some kind, but doubled back when he noticed a window on it. Looking inside, he gasped as he saw Melanie sleeping in a chair within the small room.
"Adam, over here!" he called.
Adam quickly came over and used his robot arm to get the door open. "Melanie! Are you okay?" he asked.
The ghost girl gave a yawn as she awoke. "Adam, is that really you?" she asked. "I was having a dream about the two of us being alone in a ghost town together."
"Like a town of ghosts or an abandoned town?" Staghart asked.
"The second one," Melanie replied.
Adam took her hand and smiled. "It's the real me, Melanie. Now then, where is that troublesome trio that brought you up here?"
With a laugh, a ghost in a tophat appeared and leaned over Adam's shoulder. "Did you call us?" Phineas asked.
"We were behind you this entire time!" Ezra shouted, the skeleton ghost spooking Silver back into Staghart's arms Scooby-Doo style.
"I still don't think this is Gravity Falls, guys," Gus said, the prisioner ghost floating into Maximus' back.
"Obviously, Gus," Ezra rolled his eyes. "We had to make sure Melanie was safe from You-Know-Who first."
"And who is You-Know-Who?" Adam asked.
"You should remember him. You buried him with all the dynamite," Phienas said.
Adam realized who they were talking about. "The Phantom? He's back?"
"Don't say his name!" the three ghosts shouted, looking around nervously.
"He's the one ghost besides Madame Leota that we all agree not to mess with," Phineas whispered.
"And Hex let him have his daughter back in exchange for taking over the mansion from Ghost Host and Leota," Ezra added. "It's not safe back at home, so we swooped in and brought Melanie here to keep her safe."
"Locking a ghost in a box wouldn't really help, though," Gus pointed out.
"Shut up, Gus!" Phineas and Ezra shouted to their companion.
"So you guys were actually helping us?" Silver asked. The three ghosts nodded. "Then thanks, I guess. You wouldn't happen to have a special Key, would you? It looks like Mickey's head."
"Oh, I have one of those!" Staghart said in recognition. He pulled out the key and handed it to Jake. "Serling found it on the hotel's room key holder and told me to hang onto it until the Dream Keeper came around."
"Then why didn't you give it to them earlier?" Melanie asked.
"They seemed busy trying to find you for me to bring it up," Staghart shrugged.
"Either way, thank you, Amp," Silver said with a smile.
"We should get back to the others now," Adam said. "And I'm sure they'll be glad to see you as well, Melanie."
"If that's all, then we'll be going," Phineas said, floating away with his companions before Staghart stopped them.
"Actually, I'll go get my clanmates and they'll escort you back to the mansion," the gargoyle said. "We can all work together to get right of that Phantom guy."
"Sounds like a plan," Adam said. "I would offer to help, but 1) I'm on a mission right now and 2) Leota banned me from going back to the Haunted Mansion due to the whole dynamite incident."
"You'll have to tell me that story on the way back to the others," Silver chuckled.
Author's Note
I'll be keeping the notes at the end here short as I have two more chapters to write for this week.
The Tower of Terror was fun to explore, and I snuck in a few cameos at the beginning. Have fun finding those!
Staghart is a character from the Gargoyles series, though he was exclusive to the comic books. While I have stated that I'm using the TV versions of the Gargoyles cast (which includes the much-maligned Goliath Chronicles), I still want to pay tribute to the comics in this small way. Silver seems to have some feelings for the deer gargoyle as well, but he'll have to put those to that side for now until he's sure that Anthony is okay.
As for Melanie, looks like the Hitchhiking Ghosts did something good for once! The chamber she was found in is a reference to the first episode of the original Twilight Zone, "Where is Everyone?" with her dream referencing that as well. On the downside, however, it sounds like The Phantom has taken over the main Haunted Mansion thanks to Hex. Let's hope that Staghart and the rest of the gargoyles can help the happy haunts reclaim their home.
Next Time will be Rachel and Soren with the cast of the Muppets, so stay tuned for that on Wednesday!