I DO NOT OWN MONSTER ALLERGY
Timothy stood before the Council of Maximum Tutors, and they did not pleased at what he had to report to them. "So you're saying that you and Tamer Zick went to the Anguanes Fair, even though you know that it is forbidden to go anywhere near there, where you encountered the Wraith and the former Monster Keeper Elena?" Carnaby-Croth asked.
"Yes," Timothy admitted.
"And that Elena passed on to you this card which you believe is the location to where the Wraith's are hiding?" Deputy-Deth added examining the card.
"I do," Timothy nodded.
"This same Elena who willing left with the Wraith rather than take the opportunity to escape or be rescued? How do we even know if this information is accurate?" Bartleby-Bath accused.
"Well I for one have faith in Elena," Jeremy-Joth jumped in. "She's proven herself time and time again; and let us not forget that she has helped protecting this city several times over. So rather than question her loyalty how about we discuss what to do with the information she provided." Jeremy challenged.
"Jeremy is right, we should gather the Tamers and make plans." Croth proposed.
"But what if Elena has betrayed us and that this is all a trap?" Deth worried.
"Yes, this must be investigated throughly before we make any hasty decisions." Bath suggested.
"Well whatever you decide I hope you do it soon. Char is already attempting to awakening a the rest of his brood. If we don't stop him soon, we may be facing against an army of Wraith instead of just four." Timothy warned, causing all of the Tutors to glance at each other nervously.
Over at Zick's house. "Open up I know you're in there!" Harvey Potato, Elena's father, demanded pounding on the door. With him his wife Julie and their nephew Lonzo, who came after hearing that his favorite cousin was kidnapped to give support to his favorite family members. After a few seconds, Zob opened the door to greet his neighbor.
"Harvey, Julie, kid, what a pleasant surprise." Zob gulped. While everyone has been on edge since Elena's abduction, things have been especially tense between the two families since the Zicks have asked them not to call the police. When Harvey asked 'why', Zob merely said to trust him.
"Don't you Harvey me! I know you are in cahoots with that man who kidnapped my daughter!" Harvey accused.
"What? That's ridiculous!" Greta denied, defending her husband.
"Why would you think that?" Zob asked.
"Oh I don't know, how about the fact that you don't want me to call the cops! That your son was in my daughter's room at the time of the kidnapping. The fact that the kidnapper came back to steal my daughter's laptop and cell phone. I know my daughter spends a lot of time here, so I'm guessing that she probably knows a few secrets that you'd rather not be exposed." Harvey deduced.
"But Uncle Harvey I keep telling you, Elena wasn't kidnapped; she out fighting some invisible monsters!" Lonzo insisted doing strip mall karate moves. Ever since the 8 year old found out monsters were real and living inside the Zick residence, he's been trying to get in on the fun, much to Elena and Zick's chagrin.
Zob and Greta looked at each other nervously. While it is true that Elena knows their secrets, they weren't involved in the kidnapping and would never do anything to put the girl in danger; but before they could explain, or come up with an excuse, Zick came rushing into the house. "Mom, Dad, everyone! I know where Elena is!" Zick announced before he noticed that Elena's family were in his house.
"You know where my daughter is? Tell me now!" Harvey demanded shaking the boy.
"Mr. Potato, how about letting me talk to my son in private first." Zob offered since he didn't want to get them involved in this.
"Absolutely not! This concerns my daughter, and I'm not leaving until I hear what this hooligan has to say!" Harvey huffed.
"Sir I think you better leave," Zob said sternly. While he feels for the Potato's situation, he didn't approve of the man insulting his son like that.
"I'm not leaving!" Harvey vowed grabbing Zob by the shirt.
"Enough of this nonsense!" a new voice yelled. Everyone turned to see two cats, Timothy and Jeremy standing at the door.
"Hey it's the talking cats that are not really cats!" Lonzo remembered them from his previous visits.
"You know this is a violation of the rules right?" Jeremy informed his companion.
"Sue me," Timothy retorted. "Besides, as her parents I do feel they have right to know." Jeremy nodded giving his approval.
"Talking cats. That's it. I'm going hysterical." Julie starting to go insane. The lost of her daughter is already putting an unbelievable strain on her, but now this could more than likely drive her over the edge. Greta quickly moved in to comfort the poor lady.
"What are you trying to pull here?" Harvey demanded shaking Zob thinking that this is some kind of trick.
"Bombo please restrain him," Timothy ordered.
"Hey what is going on here!" Harvey demanded as some invisible force held him back and lifted him off the ground.
"Alright everyone show yourselves," Timothy instructed. One by one the monsters inside the Barrymore house made themselves visible.
"Finally," Lonzo cheered. Like Elena before she got the gift of sight, he's always wanted to see the monsters in their full glory, and now he can. Naturally the sudden appearance of monsters caused the two grown-up humans to scream in terror before fainting. "Well that went about as well as expected," Lonzo said sarcastically. "So which one of you messed with my face?" Lonzo asked the monsters.
"That would be Bombo," Bombo raising his hand, accidentally dropping Harvey.
As Greta and Lonzo tended to their unconscious guests, Zob and Zick consulted with the Tutors. "What has the council decided?" Zob asked.
"Are we going to rescue Elena now?" Zick asked impatiently.
"For the moment you are to stand down," Timothy said sternly.
"What?" Zick screeched.
"As we speak a team of special Ops Tutor guards are scouting the area. Once we have an idea of where Elena is kept and what kind of security they have, that is when you and the other Tamers will move in to rescue her." Jeremy explained.
"Why don't I just use the Densifier to disguise myself as a ghost and sneak in there and get her out?" Zick suggested.
"Too risky," Timothy shaking his head in disapproval.
"But," Zick tried to argue.
"Please Zick this is a delicate situation. Not only are we trying to find a way to rescue Elena, but also to defeat the Wraiths once and for all." Timothy explained
"We believe that Elena is there with the Wraiths to find out their weaknesses. The fact that she has her cell phone and hasn't called for help is proof of that. So it is in our best interest to give her as much time as possible before rescuing her." Jeremy reasoned.
"Fine!" Zick grumbled. While he didn't agree with this decision, he will abide by it. For now at least.
At the Funeral Home, Elena felt refreshed after showering at the employee's washroom. (Provided for the grave diggers who used to work here.) Quickly changing to her new clean clothes, luckily Char had the foresight to get her an extra pair of shoes as well. After getting dressed Elena went to her study room. Turning on her computer, she scrolled through her notes about ghosts and witches, and comparing them to the books that Char has provided for her. While it deepen her knowledge and understanding of how the Wraiths came to be, it did not help her figure out why the Wraiths were dying. For some odd reason, Char and the other Wraiths were rather tight lipped about their condition, and just order her to perfect the Wraith formula. Promising to tell her more when the time comes. Leaving Elena flying blind.
"Okay Elena you can figure this out." Speaking out loud to herself hoping that she might stumble on the solution, while at the same time recording it on her cell phone for future reference. "What's the one thing that makes Wraiths different from ghosts?" Elena contemplated. "They are big jerks," she concluded. "No a lot of the Dark Phantoms I've seen are jerks as well." she corrected herself. "They can do magic, but they used to be witches so that's obvious." Elena started pacing around. Her instincts were telling her that the answer was right in front of her, but is just seemed out of her reach. Elena started grumbling in frustration, and that wasn't the only thing. Her stomach was grumbling as well. That's when she realized that she hadn't had anything to eat since her dinner party with Char. "Servants, I'm hungry. Get me something to eat. Chop, chop." Elena ordered clapping her hands. Even though she was the only one in the room, she knows that Char has placed Dark Phantoms to watch her constantly.
"We are not your servants, girl!" the Dark Phantom complained bringing Elena a plate with granola bars.
"And yet here you are bringing me food," Elena teased as she munched on her snacks. The Dark Phantom sneered as he went back to his post of spying on her through the wall. As she ate, she looked through her computer again; that's when she stumbled on a note saying that Dark Phantoms don't require nourishment, they only eat monsters to come back to life. 'Life,' Elena pondered as she took another bite of her granola bar. She recalled Char once saying that Wraiths are living ghosts. If that is the case, then what is the big difference between living and dead, besides the obvious. Looking at her half eaten granola bar it hit her. "That's it, all living things need food! So the Wraiths need to eat as well." Elena cheered holding up her granola bar in triumphant. "Ugh, but what does that prove. I've seen them eat monsters, vegetables, and dirty socks." Elena gagged. "But why would they eat that stuff? Even Emily ate normal food. This seems more like what they'd use to make potions." Elena realized. "Of course, their stomachs are like cauldrons. They only eat to make potions. That means they must be starving to death, and that's why they are dying." Elena quickly began logging this in her computer adding this to her lists of theories. "But then how are they still alive? Most beings can't go for a week without food, and Jeremy said they went on a rampage for a month before they disappeared. Most likely when they went they got sealed in their coffins." Seeing her theory being debunked, Elena decided to file this under unlikely and moved on to another possibility.
"Zick," Elena spoke into her cell phone. "For some reason the Wraiths seem to thing that he's the key to their survival. But why? What is it about Zick that makes him important to them?" Elena closed her eyes trying to remember everything she's learned. "Like the witches themselves, Dom blasts have almost no effect on the Wraiths. That is except when Zick uses the glasses I made for him. Glasses that can amplify his powers enough that he can hurt them." Elena felt kind of proud that her invention is helping him. "Wait is it hurting them?" Elena muttered to herself. Thinking back to all the times she witness Zick facing off against the Wraith, they did nothing to avoid getting hit by his Dom beam. In fact they seemed to be waiting for it. "That boy has a unique Dom energy. Perhaps he might be the missing ingredient for my formula." Elena recalled Char saying something to that effect. "Oh no, they need Zick's Dom energy, but for what?" Elena gulped. "And if they need Zick, then why did they kidnapped me? Why not take both of us when they had the chance?" It seems that the more answers she got it just raises more questions.
In his private chambers, Char watched Elena's progress through what according to the manual is called a security monitor. Since Char is not familiar with technology, he actually reads the manuals. Luckily all the manuals were filed away in the office that Char claimed as his own. While the monitor is not as effective as a crystal ball, he had to admit it does have a few advantages. One of which you don't have to squint your eyes to see what's going on, and it is so much easier to flip a switch than casting a spell. Of course he magically amplified it so that in addition to seeing what's going on, he can also hear what Elena is saying. So he pretty much heard her entire verbal log. "Yes my dear, you are close. Very close to figuring out the truth." Char chuckled. While he did share many of his secrets with Elena, he didn't tell her everything. One thing he's learned in all his years, is that it is always good to keep a few things to yourself. "Now the only question is what will you do with that knowledge?" Even though his life is literally on the line, Char couldn't help but be amused watching Elena struggle.