Alrighty, here's the next chapter! It may be a little rushed, though...
Anyway, after this there should only be one chapter left. Two, tops! And that/those could very well be done very soon. Well, enjoy!
(Nothing at all own I.)
Hiei sat silently as he thought about his current situation, and how he could possibly escape. He'd been tied up here for hours, though he lost track of how many, and was getting bored. At least before when Ember was guarding him it was a little interesting. But now it was Robotnik watching him, sitting across the room in an old fold up chair, reading a science magazine.
But just then, the door opened and in walked Freakshow, pulling along a television on a stand. "Good evening," he said to Hiei, as he placed the TV in front of him. He then turned to Robotnik with a grin. "Vlad requests your presence in the control room," he said. "I'll take care of our dark friend, here."
Robotnik looked unsure. "Am I to believe you won't try and use your staff's mumbo jumbo on him before it's time?"
"Trust me, I can wait. Not like it will be that long a wait now, anyway." Robotnik still seemed unsure, but simply stood up and left. He had more pressing matters, anyway.
"What's your game now?" Hiei asked.
Freakshow just smiled and turned on the television. "It's simple, really," he replied. "A few of my associates just returned from a little trip, you see." An image of the Specter Star appeared on the screen. "They visited your impressive space station. Your friends weren't home at the moment, so they just let themselves in and left a parting gift; a specially designed bomb set to go off after a certain time once it detects your friends return. They'll all go back to their little fortress in the sky, completely unaware of what's going on, and after the time runs out… KABLOOEY!" Hiei was unable to suppress a look of shock at this news, but Freakshow simply laughed. "It should be quite the show, shouldn't it? I've even brought popcorn! Oh, look! There they are now!" As an image of Specter I and Specter II flew in and docked into the station, Freakshow stood next to Hiei and munched on popcorn. Hiei looked on, trying to hide a look of concern.
On the Specter Star, Danny and the others got out of the ships and gathered in the control room. They were completely unaware that, like Freakshow said, a bomb had just been activated. "Still no sign of Hiei," Danny muttered to himself. "Or of Vlad and his group. We need some kind of clue…"
"Why couldn't Hiei just tell us telepathically?" Sonic asked himself. "I mean, he should be able to, right? Unless he was…" Jake elbowed him before he could finish. "What? What'd I say?"
"I never should have let him go," Sora sighed. "I just stepped aside and watched him leave. How could I be so stupid?"
"Sora, there was no way you could have stopped him," Clover said softly. "He'd have left no matter what you did." She sighed heavily and added "I just wish he hadn't gone alone." Clover turned to the control panel and looked at the monitor, inspecting the security grid, just in case. That's when something caught her eye. "Hey, guys?" she called. "Something's wrong here." Everyone gathered to look at the monitor. "It says someone was here just a little while ago… while we were all searching for Hiei."
"Who could have gotten in here?" June asked. "And more importantly, what did they do?"
Just then, a beeping went off. "What's that?" Sonic asked.
"That's the private communication line," Danny replied, as he moved to a panel in the wall and placed a pair of headphones and a microphone on his head. "Only a handful of people know how to access it, so it might be Hiei." He quickly flicked on the switch and said "hello." He paused as the person on the other line spoke. "There's what?" Danny asked in alarm. "Wait, who is this?" Before he got a reply, the line went dead, and Danny took the headphones off. "We've got a problem," he said to the others.
"What is it?" Jake asked.
"Whoever that was told me that there's a bomb on the station, and it's going to go off in a matter of minutes!" Everyone gasped in shock, but Danny calmed them. "We need to split up and find that bomb, now! Let's move!"
Danny ghosted through the wall, Sora and Clover rushed off in different directions, and June and Jake jumped and flew to the higher levels. Sonic, meanwhile, sped off at top speed rushing through every room he could think of.
Back at their hideout, Vlad and his associates watched the image of the Specter Star with great interest, as did Freakshow. Sweat poured from Hiei's head, as he waited and watched.
Sonic, after rushing through nearly ever room and level in the station, came across a strange device hidden behind some pipes and wires. To his horror, the bomb had been placed far too close to the main power source, which would ensure the explosion took out the entire station. "They sure know how to throw a party," Sonic said to himself as he picked up the bomb and rushed to the hangar. He saw the others on his way and shouted "I found it! Open the hangar doors!"
Jake was the closest, and flew in dragon form to the hangar door controls. He pressed a button and the enormous doors opened out into space. Sonic skidded to a stop and hurled the bomb out, just before the doors were closed again. Now they had to hope the bomb moved far enough away from the station, or they'd still be in trouble…
Back in the hideout, Freakshow checked his watch. "Almost time," he said with a chuckle. "Five… four… three… two… one…"
Hiei watched, eyes wide open… but nothing happened.
"Oh dear, I started too early," said Freakshow. Hiei growled at him. "Let's try again! Five… four… three…" Suddenly, an explosion covered the TV screen, blocking the view of the station. "Oops. Oh well. Enjoying the fireworks, Hiei? Haha!"
Hiei clenched his teeth together, and struggled against his restraints. If he were only free, he'd give Freakshow something to laugh about.
In his control room, Vlad watched the scene unfold on his own wide-screen display, seated before Robotnik and the others. He smiled triumphantly as he pet his cat, Mattie, and watched the explosion.
"Farewell, Daniel," he said to himself. "You were a worthy opponent."
But then, the bright light and smoke from the explosion cleared away from sight and there, still intact, was the station.
"What?!" Vlad roared. "How could this be?! There's no way they could have known about the bomb, there was no--!" Suddenly, Vlad doubled over as another attack struck him. Robotnik helped him back into his chair, as he gasped for air.
"Vlad okay?" Og asked.
"Never mind," Vlad snapped in reply. "Just leave me to think."
"Shouldn't we plan our next move, or something?" Shego asked.
"Just go!" At that last outburst, Drakken, Shego, Ember and Og all shrugged their shoulders and left the room. Robotnik, however, remained behind.
"I cannot go on like this…" Vlad gasped.
"What if I could help?" Robotnik asked, as he stood over Vlad. "What if I could use my technological genius to not only keep your disease at bay but could restore your ghost powers as well?"
Vlad looked up at the Eggman, still wincing in pain. "Can you do that?"
Robotnik nodded. "I've done a bit of study on ghost phenomenon, myself," he said. "I believe I have the knowledge."
Vlad could barely believe it… to be well again, to have his powers back! To be able to eliminate Daniel from his life once and for all with his own hands. He looked at Robotnik and asked the only question he needed answered now. "How much will it cost?"
Robotnik just grinned.
Back with Hiei and Freakshow, the ghost-obsessed ringleader glared disappointedly at the image of the undamaged Specter Star, and with a sigh simply tipped the television over, letting it crash to the ground. "I hate when someone gives away the ending," he muttered.
Hiei, masking his relief, just scoffed. "As usual," he said smugly, "you and your foolish friends prove your worthlessness."
Freakshow, now thoroughly miffed, grabbed his staff and turned towards Hiei.
"Perhaps," he hissed as his staff began to glow, "But that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun, myself…"
Hiei once again found the staff's power struggling for of his mind, but was relived when a large hand fell on Freakshow's shoulder and spun him around.
"Vlad no want you alone with prisoner," Og grumbled.
"What?" Freakshow asked, feigning innocence. "I wasn't going to do anything." Og looked down skeptically at Freakshow's staff. "Oh… well, after all, what's a bit of hypnosis between friends, huh?" Og just pushed Freakshow towards the door, and he brushed off his coat before leaving the room. "Humph! Party-pooper…"
Once he was gone, Og turned to Hiei who sighed, perhaps just a little too heavily. "Thanks," he said. "You came just in time." Og just shrugged his massive shoulders. Hiei cleared his throat—and if Og were any brighter he might have noticed that this action, too, seemed a bit exaggerated. "Could I get a glass of water?"
Og, suspecting nothing, walked over to a water cooler nearby and filled a paper cup. After bringing the cup to Hiei, he held it up for the fire demon to drink. Hiei grinned as he sloshed the liquid in his mouth and spit it overhead, hitting the seal.
"Uh-oh…" said Og, as he stared up at the seal, its ink running in long streaks and the paper tearing from the weight of the water.
Hiei grinned smugly at the ogre. "Thanks again," he said, and closed his eyes as he telepathically sent a message to the others.
On the Specter Star, Danny and the others gathered in the control room and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "I thought we were done for," Sora admitted.
"Nah, your favorite blue blur had everything under control," Sonic replied, though he wiped away the sweat from his forehead as he did so. "Who was that that warned us, anyway?"
"I don't know," Danny replied. "Whoever it was disguised their voice."
"Well, it could have been the Blue Falcon for all I care," said Clover. "Hiei is still missing. What are we going to do next?"
"What we'll have to do is…" Danny suddenly stopped and held his head as a voice seemed to shout inside his mind. A familiar voice. One look at the others and he could tell they heard it too.
"Hiei's alive!" Sonic cheered.
"And he's giving us coordinates," Jake added.
Danny smiled and turned towards the hangar. "Alright guys, we know where he is, and Vlad and his goons must be there, too. So let's go kick some villain butt!"