Hello all! Back to Sid! Thank you all for your support and reviews! My muse and I really appreciate it all—and I know the same goes for Truephan and her muse. *winks* Well, I don't have much to say, so I'll hand it over to Truephan. Enjoy!
Well, thanky kindly, pearly! Ahem, I mean, pearl. Sorry. Must be my Southern belle personality finally erupting. Down, suga! In any case, after our writing this very long chapter out, I—gasp—too, don't have much to say, except that it's time for more action. Hope y'all surgapies enjoy!
Disclaimer: We do not own Danny Phantom.
Seeing is disbelieving—Chapter 8—Reality and Unreality Bite
After the young half-ghost had passed out, Iluzisto didn't hesitate to raise his staff, activating it with the flick of his wrist. The unconscious boy levitated at once under the Prison Guard's power and was quickly deposited back into his cell.
And while Spektanto watched fearfully from a safe distance, Clockwork stared emotionlessly at Iluzisto as he left the boy on his bed and walked back out of the cell and locked it.
But then, the Time Master looked over at the older hybrid, who was still on his knees, panting and grasping at the burning collar on his neck. He could see that the man's eyes were locked on him.
But even though the older half-ghost said nothing, Clockwork knew there was nothing but loathing behind that penetrating stare.
Still, the Master of Time didn't react to the furious, yet helpless, man. Instead, he silently turned his attention to Iluzisto as he floated up to him and said, "I will take my leave now. Until the trial…"
Iluzisto didn't reply and just watched the time spirit vanish with a spin of a clock. But the illusionist spirit then regarded Spektanto with a bored look before moving past him and heading out of the jail hall.
Spektanto gasped quietly when he feared being left alone, so he quickly followed after the Prison Head.
While Iluzisto shut the door at the end of the jail hall, Spektanto cleared his throat and said, "Well, I should retreat now. After all, I have a trial for which to prepare."
Iluzisto just scoffed in response before he walked off, heading towards his private quarters. But just as he reached them, he found Okulo waiting for him by the door.
"Just who I wanted to see," Iluzisto said, his eye narrowing a bit with his evil intent.
"Yes, well, I also wanted to speak with you," Okulo said seriously.
Iluzisto looked around and seeing no one was around, he asked, "And what is it that you want to speak of?"
"These half-ghosts, Iluzisto," Okulo replied. "From what I have seen about them in their hearing, those creatures are too unstable—too uncontrollable. They may be a threat to all of us."
Iluzisto chuckled smugly. "Relax, Okulo. I can handle these creatures. They might be more powerful than I had imagined, but they are also more fragile than I had believed. It will be easy to manipulate them."
"You had better be sure of that, Iluzisto," Okulo said with a slight glare. "I do not want any…complications."
"Of course," Iluzisto said, his eye curving into a small smile. "Now, if that is all, I need to make another trip."
"To the human's world?" Okulo asked, sounding displeased.
"Closer. Somewhere in the Ghost Zone… "
"Why?" Okulo asked, suspiciously.
"For the same reason we were just speaking about," Iluzisto retorted, sounding a bit annoyed. He did not, of course, want to reveal his true reasons for going there. Even with his special ability to create illusions, they would not serve their purpose at the moment. Therefore, he knew he would still need something very real for his plans. Besides, not only would he actually enjoy what he wanted to do there, but there was a certain reminiscent feel to it all that was also oddly exciting.
"And how will that help matters?" the liaison asked, still doubtful. "I have not heard of any need of this from the Council, given the circumstances."
"My honorable Okulo," the illusionist spirit said with slight smugness, "Do I need to remind you that as Prison Head, I can take orders directly from the Council? Though, out of more respect to your station than the Council gives you, I always keep you informed of their doings…"
Okulo studied Iluzisto untrustingly for a moment, but then, he reached into his cloak and pulled out the same glowing sphere he had used to brand the half-ghosts.
"Do not stray, as you know, this device extremely limits your time. And do not be seen by any spirit," Okulo warned before the sphere shot forth a flash of light and Iluzisto's bracelets oddly flashed brighter for a split second.
Iluzisto's eye flashed with annoyance as he glanced down at the bands. But then looking back at Okulo, his eye curved evilly as he said, "Do not worry. This will be quick…and easy."
It had been almost seven hours since they had last encountered the angler fish. So, the kids all knew that it wouldn't be too much longer before they would reach the Ghost Hunter's border….
"Okay, Danny said that every time he goes into the Ghost Zone, the territorial borders around Skulker's Island seem to expand," Sam commented, as she scanned the ghostly atmosphere just ahead of them. "So, we better make sure we're extra careful when we get anywhere near it. Obviously, Skulker really likes his space."
Jazz and Tucker nodded in agreement as all three of them still scanned their surroundings. They all knew that they had the same thought of concern when Sam mentioned Danny's name.
They fell to silence as they traveled onward. After several more minutes of nothing apparent brewing on the horizon, the three unconsciously calmed down. Tucker began to doze off and even Sam was only slightly more alert than he. Jazz had also finally settled into the pilot seat when she had been on its edge almost the entire time she had been behind the controls.
But then, all of a sudden, a loud sound blasted from out of the control panel, and all three of the teens startled.
"What is that?" Sam yelled in distress.
Tucker pushed one of the buttons on the console and the alarm ceased. He then brought up his PDA to his cheek, patted it and said with a satisfied smile, "Compliments of my lady, ladies!"
Sam just narrowed her eyes with annoyance while Jazz rolled her eyes.
That never even fazed their male friend as he continued, "And that just tells us that we're very close to Skulker's Island! So, that also is our cue to slow down and proceed with caution!"
Jazz bit her lower lip and immediately let up on the accelerator.
The damaged Speeder obliged her command as the teens perked up and paid attention more now that they knew that they were closer to their designation than not.
As they chugged onward in silence, diligently scanning their pathway, Jazz finally said, "Have either of you come up with any plan on how we're going to sneak up on Skulker?"
"If that's even possible," Sam grumbled.
Tucker pulled out a folded piece of paper from out of one of his cargo pants' pockets. He quickly unfolded and studied it before saying, "Well, I thought of something. According to Danny's map—"
"Hey, how did you get that?" Sam immediately objected.
"I know that we're all tense, but geez, Sam! This is my copy," he defensively replied. "Danny let me scan it a long time ago, so that, you know, we would have a back-up."
Sam cringed and uttered, "Sorry, Tucker. I guess I'm more uptight than I thought. I'm just worried."
"That's okay, Sam. And we're all worried," Tucker said. But then he quickly let it go and smiled at his next thought. He reached up to the side of his head, and lightly tapping his temple with his index finger, smugly added, "Like I was saying, ladies, I have this all under control, just like I had with the angler fish. You're now looking at a mastermind in progress."
The girls rolled their eyes.
Not at all affected by their response once again, the boy got up out of his chair and brought the map to the girls. Pointing out to where he was referring, he continued, "And according to the map, there's an area on the easternmost side of the island where the volcano borders right up to the edge. If we can loop around and approach the island from the east, we might be able to dock there in secret, using the volcano as our shield."
He glanced up at the girls and cringed a little at their disbelieving stares.
"What?" he objected, squinting one eye as he did.
"Nothing," Jazz immediately replied, before glancing at Sam.
But the younger girl then smirked, speaking for the both of them as she added, "We just didn't think that you were capable of thinking more than one step ahead of what's happening."
This time he frowned in irritation and replied, "Gee, thanks, guys. I'll remember that when you complain to me about all those nightmares you'll get when you're on the hook and the giant angler fish is reeling you in!"
"C'mon, Tucker, we're just kidding!" Sam gently chided him. "I think it's a great plan and I say let's go for it.
"Yeah, and speaking of the angler fish, we were so caught with everything that we didn't thank you for the save, Tucker," Jazz added with a smile. "So, thanks!"
And when Sam nodded her own thanks, Tucker smiled and replied, "Anytime!" He then quickly folded the map back up before telling them, "I can plot a course to the island at the precise angle like I was telling you guys. So, let me get right on that…"
When he was finished, all three teens unconsciously sat on the edge of their seats in anticipation as the Speeder continued forward.
Sam then said, "You know, guys, once we land on the island, we have to assume there will be traps all of the over the place. Remember that Danny had told us that it was like that when he and Valerie were once captured and brought there."
"That sounds logical," Jazz replied.
"But do we really have to worry about them?" Tucker then asked.
"What do you mean, Tucker?" Jazz queried.
"Well, doncha remember, Sam? We're the 'ghosts' in the Ghost Zone and those traps are for ghosts, not humans," he pointed out.
"Hey, Tucker's right!" Sam said with a little enthusiasm before frowning seriously and adding, "Still, I don't think we should just saunter right in as if it's all good. After all, Danny said that Valerie could've been affected by those traps as easily as he was when they were being hunted by Skulker that one time. It's very possible that his traps are designed with ghosts and humans in mind."
"Good point," Jazz replied and Tucker nodded.
The goth girl added, "Plus, do we even know where his lair is on the island?"
Tucker grabbed the map and opened it again. "Well, this puts the lair just south of the volcano, so we shouldn't have to go far at all to get there.
"Then, are we supposed to just knock on the door and tell him he has company?" Jazz asked. "I think we need to come up with some sort of plan."
"That's what we're trying to do, Jazz," Sam said with a little irritation. "But I think you just had a great idea!"
Jazz and Tucker looked at her completely baffled by her comment.
"C'mon guys!" she said with a smirk. "Think about it! If we could get to his lair unnoticed, he might just be so impressed that 'the prey' just snuck up on the 'hunter' that that might be enough for him to listen to what we have to say."
"Maybe," Tucker agreed, before adding dryly, "Or maybe he'll be really ticked off that we did sneak up on him and waste us for it."
While Sam frowned at the boy's comment, Jazz pulled her hand up to her chin and rapped lightly on her cheek. "But remember, we also know he works for Vlad. We could just ask if he knows about his disappearance."
"Exactly…once we've snuck up on him," Sam agreed.
Tucker thought a moment and replied, "You both have good points, but I think we still should be prepared…just in case Skulker is in a 'you dare sneak up on me?' mood."
"I agree, which is why I made sure we brought plenty of these babies," the red-haird girl said, patting a rectangular deep box strapped down right next to her.
Tucker went over to it and opened its lid, only to find that it was stuffed full of ghost weapons.
"Smart…but creepy smart," Tucker commented with a slight cringe. "Still, I suppose we have no other choice, since we all know that Skulker wouldn't be greeting us with a plateful of milk and cookies."
The girls smirked with another roll of their eyes before Tucker started handing out the weapons.
Suddenly, Sam exclaimed, "Hey, I think I see the island!"
They all tensed a little more when they spied the volcano slowly coming into view, and Jazz reflexively placed her trigger finger on the control of the Speeder's weapon—just in case. But their anxiety was quickly replaced by their determination. They knew that they needed to stay focused in order to help Danny.
Jazz then slowed the ship, idling it down so that the engines were at the bare minimum needed to thrust them forward with as little sound as possible. As the Speeder glided in a ghostly hush, the teens scanned the area as it grew in size. They all instinctually felt that they should now keep their talk at a bare minimum as well.
Sam was the first to spot a potential 'docking area' just to the left of their heading and she quickly pointed it out to Jazz. It didn't look too promising, but it was the only place that didn't have lava or hot steam emanating from it.
Jazz nodded in agreement and quietly steered the ship toward that place. Once there, the red-haired pilot edged the ship up slowly to its 'dock' and successfully touched the spot with hardly a bump—which was quite a feat when the aircraft was badly damaged. Still aside from the bit of smoke one of the thrusters gave out, their landing went perfectly.
After checking their weapons, the three gingerly leapt out of the craft, surveying the area to their south. Tucker pointed out a nearby crude path. It was steaming a bit, but it was not red with lava like the other areas. So, ignoring the uncomfortable heat around them, they headed in that direction in single file, with Jazz leading the way.
In less time than they had thought, they had soon pulled away from the volcano, and under the guidance of Tucker's PDA, they continued to move southward. All the while, they tried to stay close to any bushes or other vegetation that could hide them from searching eyes.
Finally, after walking for about ten minutes, Jazz stopped and waited for the other two to reach her.
Now abreast with the older girl, Sam whispered, "What is it, Jazz?"
"Everything seems too easy. We don't seem to have set off any traps so far. Not that I'm complaining, you know. But, still, do you know how far the lair is from here, Tucker?" she asked in a low voice.
"Well, I've never been here, of course, and the map is not to scale. I think we should just keep going south and we should be able to see it sometime," he suggested in a hushed voice.
"Okay, but I'm going to slow the pace a little," Jazz replied and the two younger teens nodded.
The red-haird girl started off in the lead once more and no sooner had she taken a few steps when she felt something give a little against her ankle, almost tripping her. She instinctually turned back to the other teens and gasped, "Hit the ground!"
The three dropped to the ground just as they were engulfed by a moving cloud of red darts.
They gasped in fear, expecting the worst, but their low position and their backpacks kept them from finding out what those red darts did.
Slowly getting to their feet, while trying to slow down their fearful pants, they took off their packs and cringed at all the darts embedded on their packs.
"Well, it's official. Skulker's traps can harm both ghosts and humans," Tucker said grimly.
"All the more reason for us to keep on our toes," Jazz said as she pulled out the darts from her bag, while the younger kids did the same.
Once they had finished and had calmed down a bit, they resumed their walk, heightening their senses as they trudged ahead.
Now time seemed to drag as they continued, but none of them complained because they all knew that they had to be careful. A short time later, the path widened and now Sam was able to walk next to Jazz, who was silently glad she now had another set of eyes watching the path. Still, as they plodded onward, they all were becoming overwhelmed with their anticipation, and they all just knew they could relate to the slot machine player awaiting that jackpot.
All of the sudden, Sam and Jazz felt a strong pull on each of their shirts, yanking them to a stop. The girls were thankful that they hadn't screamed when Tucker did that, but he put his head right between their inside shoulders and hurriedly whispered, "I think I see the lair!" He quickly pointed out the direction.
The girls scanned the area and saw what he saw. They hadn't seen it yet because both of them had kept their gaze right on the trail. A small chimney was jutting just above a boulder just ahead of them. And there was smoke coming out of it!
"Man, he is confident in his security, isn't he?" Tucker remarked.
The girls frowned a little, but checked their wrist ray guns.
"Okay, here goes," Jazz quietly announced, bringing out another ecto-gun.
Sam and Tucker, likewise, readied the other small gun each of them was carrying.
But the moment Jazz and Sam, who were still in the lead, stepped forward, they wished they had not.
The girls let out a cry of alarm as the path in front of them gave out, opening up into a pit. And the girls were about to nosedive right into it!
But thinking fast, Tucker grabbed them by their backpacks and threw himself backwards, using his own momentum to keep them from falling in.
As a result, Sam and Jazz cried out again, but just as readily grunted when they both fell on top of Tucker.
The boy cringed and gasped in pain, but he managed to utter, "Man, now I totally relate to the bottom of a stack of pancakes!"
But instead of being annoyed by his comment, the girls rolled off him and sighed in relief.
"Oh, Tucker, I could kiss you," Sam said with another sigh.
"Yeah, me, too," Jazz said, smiling at the younger boy.
With a grunt, Tucker sat up and answered with a grin, "Not sure how Danny would feel about me smooching with his older sister and girlfriend."
Jazz rolled her eyes, while Sam glared and then punched her friend in his side.
"Hey, easy!" Tucker yelped.
The girls ignored him as they got to their own feet and carefully made their way over to the pit they had just avoided falling into. Looking into it, they gulped at the sight of the sharp spikes at the bottom.
Sam, in particularly, felt sick at the sight of the glowing bones jabbed into some of those spikes.
"We have some lucky packs on today or something," Tucker muttered when he came up alongside the girls and looked down himself. "First, they save us from the darts, and now I used them to keep you girls from becoming human kebobs!"
"Thanks for the imagery there, Tucker," Sam said dryly.
But Jazz ignored the younger kids as she scanned the pathway ahead of them. It was then that she thought out loud, "What if there are more of these pits ahead?"
Sam and Tucker cringed. But then the goth girl quickly got an idea, and backtracking at bit, she grabbed a large stick off the ground. She then returned and said, "Okay, get behind me and follow my steps."
Jazz and Tucker quickly figured out what she was planning, so they obeyed without a word.
As Sam carefully tested the ground ahead, they slowly moved forward. But just a yard in, the ground gave way when Sam prodded it hard with the stick.
"Well, that answer Jazz's question," Tucker answered with a gulp.
Still the three carried onward very carefully avoiding the many hidden pits until the road narrowed once more and changed into a red-bricked walkway.
They crept up as silently as possible and were feeling as if they were going to succeed when they finally reached the front door of the cottage. The teens glanced at each other before nodding that they were ready. Jazz grabbed the front knob, slowly turned it and then all three teens burst in, guns ready….
…Only to find a completely empty lair, with not even a stick of furniture or hint that anyone had ever inhabited it.
All three instantly knew this was not Skulker's real home. It was a decoy—and they soon found out it was also, a trap.
Before any of them could retreat, they were suddenly swept upward into a net, which quickly rebounded like a rubberized yo-yo.
"About that 'confidence-in-security' thing, Tucker? That's a 'yes'! Obviously he was prepared for ghosts and humans!" Sam grumbled as the three teens continued to yo-yo, though the rhythm was rapidly slowing.
"Let's just try to get out of here," Jazz commanded when the net stopped.
Though all of them had their arms pinned against their torsos because of the tight net, they made themselves reach for some of the rope. Grunting with the effort, and then sighing in success when they could finally get their fingers wrapped around a strand, they all started to pull on the ropes. They hadn't yanked on the strands for very long when they froze at the next sound.
A loud bellowing voice snickered, "So, you thought you could sneak up on me?"
When Tucker spied the fully armed hunter, he blurted out to his friends, "Oh, no, that mode!"
Jazz cringed and Sam crossed her arms in front of her and grumbled.
Skulker then did a double-take and uttered in surprise, "What? I can't believe it! You're the whelp's annoying little helpers! What are you doing here?"
"Well, if you just let us out of this dumb trap, we'll tell you!" Sam hissed; and Jazz and Tucker cringed at her audacity.
Skulker's eyes widened at her outburst, but then he laughed, "Oh, I like that! The prey giving demands!"
Cocking his gun, he walked up to the netted pile of teens and calmly snapped his fingers, motioning a 'give me' with his hand to them right afterward.
The teens immediately knew he wanted their weapons. And knowing they were in no position to deny him, they struggled to get to them and when they did, gingerly gave them up.
"So, will you let us out now?" Jazz asked, hopeful.
Skulker, who was curiously studying the kids' confiscated weapons, turned his attention back to his favorite prey's sister and grinned maliciously at her. "Depends."
"On what?" Tucker managed to squeak out.
"On whether or not you three can give me a good reason why I shouldn't add you all to my collection," Skulker replied before laughing evilly.
Tucker and Jazz looked in chagrin at their pile of weapons now on the floor next to the Ghost Hunter, now silently wishing they had not given them up so easily.
Sam, however, was quite peeved, but mainly at herself for not thinking about this kind of trap. Still, she wasn't about to just give it up. Too much was at stake. She squared her chin in determination and firmly said, "I'll have you know that it's you who fell right into our little trap!"
Skulker's eyes widened in surprise once more and growled, "How's that? I believe I have the upper hand here!"
"No, we wanted to talk to you and we lured you right here! So, really, we're the ones who got the upper hand!" the girl smugly replied.
Though Jazz was getting terrified with Sam's attitude, her quick mind knew that this was a great angle. She immediately piped in, trying to make her nervous laugh seem like a smug one. "Yeah, didn't you know that we knew this was a decoy lair when we saw the smoke coming out of your chimney? Really, Skulker, are you that confident about your security?"
Tucker also took his cue from the girls and added, "Sure looks like the prey snuck up on the hunter this time!"
Skulker growled, and lifted his large cocked weapon. "You whelps are daft! You might have managed to sneak in all the way here, but it's more than obvious you three are defenseless and trapped."
The teens tensed when he did, but Sam immediately replied, "Well, that might be true, but we sill managed to get pass your security, which means you got some major holes around here!"
"My island is breech-proof!" Skulker protested through gritted teeth, this time aiming his weapon at the teens.
Jazz ignored what he did, and had actually calmed a little at his remark.
She had a hunch that they were mentally disarming him…in a freaky kind of way. Jazz then replied, "Well, it is an impressive place, we have to admit. But hardly a threat to those bent on getting to you! I mean, if humans could do it as easily as we have, just think what ghosts could do!"
Skulker's eyes glared and his hair flared.
The teens shook a little when they saw that but Jazz immediately said, "Okay, we'll make a deal with you. If you let us out of this trap and answer a couple of questions, we'll tell you where you went wrong."
But Skulker wasn't buying it as he reminded them, "You're in no position to bargain, whelps! And I know you didn't come here just to prove that I have some flaws in my security!"
"Ah-ha!" Sam exclaimed; and this time, everyone else jumped at her outburst. "So you did notice! But tell us, did you notice those flaws before or after we got to this decoy? We would say it was after; otherwise, we're certain you would have captured us right at the borders, right?"
"Of course I would have!" Skulker blurted out, but then blinked. He had been had! The prey had outwitted the hunter! They were right, otherwise, how would they have gotten this far?
A sinister smile erupted on his face, as he raised his weapon up to his aiming eye.
The teens gasped, thinking they had pushed their ruse for too long.
But then, he suddenly fired a shot above them and the net broke, instantly freeing them.
Although Skulker knew the Ghost Boy's helpers had been trying to lead him on with their little comments on his security system, he had admired this ploy of theirs—annoyingly so. Still, he had already admitted to himself by now how quite clever these three were—and how brave.
But if they had really risked coming here and were this desperate to come see him, then there had to be an important reason for it. And that's what he now wanted to know. But deciding to make them believe he bought their little ploy, he grumbled, "Well, maybe now you have a bargaining chip. I can also now see why the pup keeps you around! And speaking of the young whelp, why isn't he also here to 'point out my island's 'blemishes'? Seems to me he relishes in that kind of sport!"
The teens quickly disentangled themselves from one another and pulled themselves up to a stand.
"We thought you'd never ask!" Sam then breathed with relief. She could see that the Hunter was no longer in 'that mode' that Tucker had feared.
The kids quickly proceeded to tell Skulker everything that was going on. And in turn, Skulker's eyes widened once more at the sudden barrage of information the teens threw at him as they told him all they knew about Danny and Vlad's disappearances, including all the evidence they could gather at the mansion, and their plans to return to re-check the inside of the mansion.
As Skulker listened, half-dizzy with how the humans hadn't stopped talking yet, the Ghost Hunter was more concerned, of course, about his employer's capture than Danny's. After all, he felt that his employer wouldn't even think about denying him some kind of reward if he should rescue him. And, of course, he couldn't help but remember his employer had rescued him from Walker's prison one time before…
Then another thought surfaced, though the teens didn't notice the hunter's sudden reflexive frown. He didn't like that he didn't recognize his competitive ghost hunter whom the teens had described, or the fact that said unknown had gotten to the young half-ghost whelp first.
When they were through, Skulker confirmed to the teens that this was the first time he had heard of all of this and he had no idea where the two hybrids could be, well, at least where Plasmius could be. Still, he had a burning idea.
Skulker paused in thought before saying, "Though it does interest me to track this one-of-a-kind strange creature—Do you know what level it is?" the hunter abruptly asked.
Tucker shrugged. "We're not sure. But the weapon he was using was definitely up there, like, a nine, actually…"
"Hmm, that could be a first, still, there are…" Skulker mumbled thoughtfully. But he then stopped himself and said more clearly, "Anyway, I wish I could have seen at least a picture of it, just to compare notes on any other unique prey I've captured in the past."
Tucker immediately piped in, "Your wish is my command!" The boy whipped out his PDA and dutifully played the clip that he had downloaded into his PDA.
When Skulker saw the purplish-silver blur that the teens identified as the mystery ghost, Skulker protested, "That's the only clue you have about that creature? How can you even be sure it's even a ghost?"
Sam scrunched up her face in irritation and firmly replied, "First, we don't know any humans that have purplish-silver colored skin. And we especially don't know any humans that carry around large needle-like things like that creature does which shoots out some strange kind of ectoplasmic goo. And lastly, do you really think any 'ordinary' human could capture such powerful ghosts like Danny and Plasmius?"
"You whelps have good points," Skulker grabbed his robotic chin and scratched one of his cheeks in thought. "But that's not what I meant, whelps. You see, not everything that exists in the Ghost Zone are ghosts," he added with a raised eyebrow.
This time, the trio frowned in confusion. But it was Jazz who asked, "What do you mean? Are you saying there are other creatures in here besides ghosts?"
"More or less," Skulker replied with a smirk. "The 'less' part of that category, though, is usually where you find creatures with higher energy levels, which is why I asked if you three were sure it was a ghost."
The kids still looked highly confused. But Skulker didn't feel like explaining the Ghost Zone's inhabitants to them right now. But he did want to find out more about that creature, especially about the kind of ectoplasmic energy it might possess. He, too, was certain it was no human that attacked the half-ghosts. But… he wasn't as sure that it was a ghost, either…The blur of the creature he had just seen seemed vaguely familiar, especially when the whelp's helpers had just mentioned this mystery creature had a higher level weapon, which left strange goo residue. Honestly, Skulker hoped it wasn't the type of creature he had in mind…
Still, he had to keep all his options open until he found out more information about all this.
"Okay, whelps, let's assume for now it's a ghost…But don't assume that just because I am interested in all that's going on that I want to help you! I have more important things to do than to go on some wild ghost chase, even when my employer's involved. There's no place to start—and don't expect me to go investigate in the Real World, either! For all I know, you three could be lying about all this, and the Ghost Child is really trying to get me on his 'home turf' to get even with me!"
Skulker's eyes narrowed evilly, as he added, "Besides, helping you three wasn't part of the deal…"
"What deal?" Jazz asked in bewilderment.
"The one where I tell you what I know and you tell me everything that you know, whelp!"
All three humans' eyes widened and Sam insisted, "But we did!"
He frowned in fake irritation, "No, you told me if I let you go, that you would tell me about those flaws in my security."
The teens blinked in response. Now they had been had!
But seeing the look of fear on their faces, Skulker's smile widened as he said, "Did you three really think I bought your little ploy? Foolish humans, you cannot outsmart the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter!"
The trio quickly backed up when Skulker suddenly raised one of his guns at them and added, "Do you know what else wasn't part of 'the deal'? …The part that I was going to let you leave my turf alive. Any last words, prey?"
"Wait!" Jazz said, raising her hands fearfully. "What about your employer? Don't you want to find him?"
"That's my business, human," Skulker answered smugly. "And, besides, I do not need you three to do my own investigations on this matter. If it's any consolation, I'll hang up your skins right next to Ghost Child's once I catch him, too!"
The three cringed, but before they could think of how to get out of this, they heard several explosions just outside the door.
"What the…?" Skulker began. And instantly forgetting about the humans, he re-cocked his gun and dashed outside.
The humans were just as perplexed and curious as he was, and after grabbing one of their weapons off the floor, darted right after him.
Once there, the foursome's mouths gaped open as they looked up and saw….fireworks?
Skulker instantly narrowed his eyes and abruptly aimed his gun back at the kids, demanding, "What is going on, whelps? Who is setting off those human explosions?"
The kids quickly aimed their own guns at the hunter, but Sam replied, "It's not us, Skulker! We don't know how those things got in here!"
The hunter suspiciously studied the trio for a moment, but suddenly, he was now aware that he could smell their fear and confusion about the situation. He knew then that they were telling the truth. He quickly turned his attention to his weapon and checked its gauges. Then he checked his other instruments briefly.
But just as he finished adjusting their settings and was about to lift off in search of the fireworks' source, Jazz blurted out, "Wait!"
Skulker frowned impatiently at her.
And the red-haird girl quickly continued, "Whoever set them off must have used the narrow pathway on the easternmost side of the volcano to get here—like we did!"
But Skulker unexpectedly growled, "If I find out this is some sort of trick set up by you three and the Ghost Child, all your heads will roll, whelps."
But before they could reply to the threat, the hunter soared off in the direction in which Jazz had suggested.
"Now what are we going to do?" Tucker asked with exasperation. We can't fly right after him, of course, and the rest of this island is full of traps!"
"That's right, Tucker!" Sam excitedly agreed. "But we can retrace our steps and get the Speeder. That way, we avoid any new traps and can fly after Skulker to investigate, too!"
The three needed no other convincing. They raced back toward the Speeder, easily avoiding all the previous traps now that they knew of them.
But just before they got to the side path that would take them directly behind the volcano, they heard a loud commotion up above them. They quickly saw Skulker, but the trio frowned in confusion when they saw the hunter grunting and wrestling with himself and his weapon in midair!
A few moments later, the weapon he had adjusted before he had first left them fell right at the kids' feet.
But what the trio didn't know—and most importantly, didn't see—was that the Ghost Hunter was indeed in a violent struggle.
He was currently wrestling a giant blue squid!
"ARRGGHH!" Skulker yelled when the squid squirted black ink squarely into his eyes. The Ghost Hunter swung blindly at his foe with one hand while his other tried to wipe the sting out of his eyes. But that hand was quickly captured by another squid arm and thrust forcefully to his side. He tried to pry that squid arm off with his free hand; but that one was soon also wrapped securely by still another squid arm and was pinned to his other side within moments.
Now that he was completely engulfed within the eight arms of the giant squid, Skulker felt himself being pulled toward its torso. He struggled against the pull as well as trying to blink the ink out of his eyes. He was finally successful with the latter attempt; and when his vision finally cleared, he didn't like what he saw.
A large mouth was eagerly awaiting him, complete with rows of razor sharp teeth!
But not a moment later, Skulker gasped at a beam of blue ectoplasmic energy that barely missed him and had just distracted him from his battle.
But, before he could turn back to investigate where it had come from, he realized he was suddenly completely free! He looked around in confusion. Where had the giant squid gone to? It literally had vanished—and not in a ghostly way, either!
He shook his head and looked this time toward the source of the blue beam that had just apparently saved him.
It was those pesky little helpers…and they had helped him?
The teens, in fact, had aided the Ghost Hunter, but they had done that accidentally. They had tried to pick up his weapon, hoping to tote it to the Specter Speeder and then give it to the hunter once they were airborne.
But the weapon had proven to be too heavy even with the combined strength of the trio and they had fumbled it in their grip, causing it to unintentionally fire, and sending its beam directly toward the Ghost Hunter.
They had gasped in alarm when they saw that, but just after the beam missed the ghost, Skulker had stopped struggling with himself!
Skulker flew downward; and easily sweeping the gun out of the teens' hands, growled, "Be careful with that thing! It's set for a level nine ghost! It would have evaporated me had you hit me!"
But before the teens could apologize, they frowned in confusion when the hunter added, "But lucky for me that it hit that giant squid instead! It must have evaporated when you hit it!"
"What squid?" Jazz asked in bewilderment.
But Tucker reacted to something else that Skulker had said. Remembering that he had told the girls right before they had been attacked by the giant angler fish, he smugly added, "I told you he had a level nine weapon!"
But before Skulker could even ask what the boy was talking about, Sam, who had been scanning the area and had purposely ignored what her male friend had said, saw a strange ripple in the plants just in front of the group ahead. And certain that the wind could not have done that, she immediately pointed at a bush and blurted out, "What's that?"
The other three turned right to the goth girl and aimed their sight in the same direction to which she was pointing. No sooner had they all looked when a couple of dozen very vicious looking black bats came charging at them from the underbrush.
"Those are not mine!" Skulker blurted out, for a brief moment too shocked to do anything.
But although the teens screamed, they reflexively shot at the swarm. But they couldn't believe that all their shots went wild and the bats, now even more incensed, increased their speed toward the humans. This time, the kids bolted away from the swarm.
"NO!" Skulker yelled to the humans, pulling out of his shock and aiming his gun at the bats as the panicking teens scampered. "There are lethal traps out here!"
But the kids didn't listen to him and kept running. And because of their confusion, neither they nor the Ghost Hunter noticed the entity that had momentarily appeared and then disappeared in between the plants that Sam had seen….
None of them were aware that they now had an unwelcomed 'guest' and that it was the same spirit that had attacked and captured Danny and Vlad…
Iluzisto internally grinned as his illusion finally managed to do what he had hoped: separate the humans and the ghost. Now, it was time to end this. It was time to do what he needed to do to break the young crossbreed. And he would start with the red-headed human...
Jazz had instinctually headed right to the Specter Speeder. But just as she turned away from the path that would collide right into the bats, she bumped into something…but she hadn't seen it!
However, before she could react, she was grabbed by the hair and was then jerked back toward that unseen thing. She screamed in terror, kicking and scratching as she did. But then, remembering the weapon on her wrist, she used her other hand, triggering it to fire at whatever unseen force was attacking her.
To her fortune, it was enough to get the 'thing' to let up on its hold on her hair. And she quickly managed to grab her hair and pull it completely out of her unseen attacker's grasps. She hardly cared how she lost her headband—and a few tufts of hair—in the process and kept running towards the Speeder, all the while also ignoring her now pained skull.
She never saw Iluzisto let up on his stealth mode a bit and narrow his eye at her, while he fisted the headband in his hand. But just when the spirit decided he was going to use his weapon to kill the girl, Jazz reached the Speeder and Iluzisto instantly halted and vanished completely again.
He briefly eyed the strange and large aircraft with distrust, clearly never having seen anything like it. And suddenly deciding to leave the redhead alone for now and try his chances with the other two humans still running around, he turned and flew in another direction.
Meanwhile, Tucker had turned in the direct opposite direction as Jazz had, into an untested pathway. He looked briefly over his shoulder and gasped when he saw several bats still on his trail. He shot at them again, but seeing that he had clearly missed them, he increased his efforts and in his haste, hadn't, of course, seen the trip wire ahead. Fortunately—and unfortunately—the boy stumbled on the trip wire. He plummeted to the ground, but not before a host of daggers was launched his way. His fall had saved him from most of them, but one dagger managed to scratch his left arm as he fell. Instinctively clutching at it, he yelled at the pain.
Now on his back, the boy looked up in dread, expecting the second wave of attack—the bats! His heart leapt when four of them did appear shortly after his fall. With green ooze dripping from their fangs in anticipation of sinking them into their prey, they dove immediately downward at him.
Tucker screamed and instantly protected his face, expecting to feel their daggers dig into his fingers at any second. But several more agonizing moments later, Tucker gingerly removed his hands and looked up at the clear sky. The bats had completely vanished! Instantly relieved, he blurted out, "What was that all about?"
He started to get up when, all of the sudden, he was inexplicably yanked upward by the arm that had been injured by the dagger. He cried in pain as the force clamped around his arm dug into his fresh wound. Then the teen's green eyes widened in terror when a huge black needle appeared out of nowhere and began to pull him toward it.
He instantly resisted, pulling backward. But in his struggle, his heel met a stone, tripping him. And as he fell to the ground again, his arm was yanked out of the clamp. When it did, a portion of his bloodied shirt was torn away.
Once the boy had ended up on the ground, a jolt of adrenaline pulsed through his body and mind. He crawled backward as fast as he could, trying to get away from that unseen thing. He had no idea what was going on, though he had a gut feeling that he was having a déjà vu moment. But he didn't want to waste any more time thinking about it. He was certain something was after him, and it did not have good intentions. He needed to get away as far as possible from it, or he was going to be done in!
Suddenly, he remembered the extra small weapon he had put into his pants leg pocket. He groped for it and fumbled to get it out. He suddenly saw a wrinkle in the small bush right next to him and finally secured his fingers around the small gun. He immediately shot into the general area of the wrinkle, gasping when the wrinkle shuddered and turned a blackish-silver for a fleeting moment. In the next instant, however, the wrinkle was gone.
All the while, Tucker did not stop in his ground-laden backstroke. But he knew he couldn't go on with it for very much longer. He had to take the chance. Still gripping his weapon, he quickly turned on his belly and tried to pull himself off the ground.
He suddenly yelped. This time, the clamp had grabbed a hold of his ankle. Squelching his scream, he resisted once again. And then he spied it. Another trip wire! He reflexively reached for and pulled on it; and a barrage of red darts shot out from over his head.
This time, the teen heard a hideous yell from the onslaught. But he didn't care about that. All he cared about at this point was that that yell had let go of his ankle after the darts had hit it!
He jumped up and steeled himself. There was no other way. He knew he would only meet more traps ahead. He turned and darted right toward the thing that had grabbed his ankle, bracing for an impact….that never came.
Silently thanking the heavens, he continued non-stop back toward the volcano….
Like Jazz, Tucker didn't see his attacker appear. But this time, Iluzisto lost his stealth mode unwillingly. He gasped in pain at the number of darts that had embedded themselves into the spirit's flesh.
"What is this place?" Iluzisto hissed out before turning intangible and ridding himself of the painful darts. But the spirit suddenly stumbled forward and he realized the darts had had some kind of poison! But because he suspected they were not designed for spirits, but, rather ghosts and humans, it's probably lethal effects only had him a bit disoriented.
Nevertheless, he was very peeved at the change of events. His idea to save time by flushing out these creatures rather than hunting for them had obviously not worked out. And their stubbornness was robbing him even more of his precious time.
Still, refusing to be outdone by these inferior creatures, he ignored his spinning head and regained his stealth mode. His eye narrowed at the area he had last seen the male human, but not seeing a trace of him now, Iluzisto growled and quickly headed after the third human…
All the while, Sam had darted away from the bats as well, but she, too, had steered toward the path the teens had previously used. But unlike Jazz who had kept running, Sam had sought refuge in a bush and waited for the bats to pass.
Now feeling like the coast was clear, she carefully made her way down the path, hoping to spot one of her friends.
But just when she spotted the Speeder in the distance, her boot caught up into some vines and she crashed face forward onto the path. The gun she had been carrying was thrown out of her hand with her fall. Trying not to panic anymore than she already was, the girl frantically yanked on the vine to loosen her foot. But before she could finish, she heard the piercing scream of victory emanating from the group of five bats heading her way.
The raven-hair girl had no other choice. She whipped out another wrist ray gun that she always kept in her boot. In fact, she had actually had the extra weapon with her the entire time she was in the Ghost Zone, even when she had been caught up in Skulker's net. But she hadn't used it then because she couldn't reach it in that precarious position. She had no such barrier to her hands now. So, she didn't hesitate as she quickly strapped it on and shot at her pursuers.
She looked at them in confusion when the beam went right through the leader with no ill effects. She threw away that feeling and shot several more beams at the animals. Again, each beam did no harm to its target.
Grunting with frustration now, Sam fisted her hands and readied herself for hand-to-claw combat. She closed her eyes and struck at them wildly just as they and their screams were upon her. Immediately, she noticed that she kept feeling as if she were hitting only air. The girl slowly opened her eyes, only to confirm that she had been doing just that!
Now confused, she let her arms fall to her sides as she quickly scanned to either side, behind and in front of her. There were no signs of the bats at all!
Sighing in a mixture of relief, bewilderment and frustration, the girl headed toward the Specter Speeder again. But she hadn't gone too far when some unseen force suddenly grabbed her wrist and just as suddenly twirled her completely around in the opposite direction. Before she knew it, that same arm was being tugged forward so violently that if the girl had not been on her feet, she would have been dragged.
Sam grunted in desperation, trying to pull away from whatever this was. She quickly threw her thought away that this was some kind of weird trap of Skulker's because they had already been on this path already and had found all its traps. Still, whatever was pulling her was still very real and had not stopped. She pulled harder, grunting with her efforts and unconsciously brought up her other hand—the one with the wrist ray gun—when she did.
She was about to fire that gun when she felt a sudden, sharp pain rivet through her captured wrist. Resisting the urge to scream, she looked at that wrist and startled when she saw that it was bleeding! Something had sliced it!
Now panicking, the girl forced herself to reach the button on the writs ray gun. She succeeded after what seemed like eternity and the unseen power holding her wrist was jolted away—along with her black bracelet that had been on her wrist moments before.
Without any other hesitation, Sam bolted away from whatever that was toward the volcano once more, and didn't stop until she had seen the Specter Speeder approaching her with Jazz at its wheel. She hopped immediately in when Jazz momentarily landed the craft; and they soared toward Skulker's decoy lair…
In the meantime, Skulker was having his own problems. The bats kept nearing him even as he was sure he had dead-eyed each one of them. The thought to outrun them hadn't even occurred to him. They had invaded his turf and he wasn't about to let that lie!
He kept firing and only stopped when their claws blocked his robotic eyes. It was then when he tried to knock the bats away, even in the midst of hearing their claws and fangs scratch and dig into his metal body's surface.
"What is going on?" he grunted to himself as he continued to grapple with the bats, pulling one away, just to have to throw off another. His armor began to buckle under the assault.
As Skulker continued in his close battle, Tucker had finally returned from his own harrowing experience. But he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Skulker huffing and puffing with …nothing!
"Skulker!" Tucker was finally able to yell out. "There's nothing there!"
The Ghost Hunter heard the boy, but then he thought that Tucker must be crazy not to see what was happening. But that distraction was enough of a one; and Skulker suddenly found himself free from the bats!
"What happened?" the cyborg ghost uttered, really to himself.
"I don't know how or why, but I think that 'video clip ghost' is here!" Tucker replied, remembering seeing the same needle-like weapon from the clip when the ghost attacked him a moment ago. "And, worse, it's somehow making us all see things!"
Skulker blinked in disbelief at what the boy had just said. That couldn't be possible! Not on his island! And could these sudden bombardment of attacks be just illusions, illusions caused by one ghost? Or... maybe not a ghost...
Still looking stunned, Skulker replied, "But if that's true, then we are dealing with a very powerful— "
Tucker excitedly interjected, "There's no time to explain, we have to—!"
But Skulker was cut off by a strange voice echoing in the air.
"You, Ghost! Give me the humans and I will spare your inferior afterlife!"
Tucker let out a gasp at the sound of the menacing voice, while Skulker's eyes widened in surprise. The hunter didn't understand why this being was after these three whelps, but he mostly wanted to know how it had known they would be here at this precise moment!
However, Skulker pushed aside his shock and quickly sniffed the air. That's when he perked up. The scent was definitely not one he had ever encountered before. Or had he? But, oddly, it also faintly smelled of Plasmius—and the whelp!
That's when it hit the hunter.
This must be the same ghost responsible for his employer and the ghost child's disappearance! The human child was right!
But the revelation did not make Skulker back down—quite the contrary.
"Not in yours!" Skulker defiantly screamed back, righting his weapon at the same time.
In the next instant, Iluzisto appeared. Both Skulker and Tucker gasped at the hideous sight. But that's all the illusionist spirit needed. He aimed his black needle-like weapon at Skulker and fired.
Both Skulker and Tucker dove away from the blast, but a small portion of it hit Skulker's leg, sending waves of electrical energy throughout his suit. Skulker yelled at the assault and was suddenly still.
Tucker quickly righted himself and dashed toward the decoy lair. He didn't even look back as the rays from Iluzisto's weapon chased after him. And now that he had seen the weapon again, Tucker had no doubt anymore. This had to be the ghost that had attacked Danny!
And now it was after them!
Now more panicked, he darted right into the door and locked it. "As if that will keep him out, dude!" he chided himself, frantically searching the decoy lair for anything that would help him. But then, he grumbled even more. Duh! Of course all that was in here was the netting that had captured them. And, unfortunately, the weapon he was currently holding was not equipped to counter that ghost's kind of power.
Or… was it?
Acting on his sudden idea, Tucker quickly pulled out his PDA and hooked it up with the ecto-gun.
Beads of sweat formed as he pounded on the keys. Where was the ghost? The boy was sure it would have been trying to waste him again by now!
But he didn't know that Iluzisto had actually turned back to check Skulker over first. The illusionist spirit found the ghost quite particular, since he had never seen anything like it before. And as he stared down at the unmoving hunter, Iluzisto briefly looked like a child, studying his first dead—but very unique— bug.
But then, Iluzisto's thoughts drifted back to the matter at hand. And he growled at himself in annoyance for being distracted. He had no time for this! He quickly jabbed Skulker's unmoving body with the end of his staff and when he got no response from him, the spirit scowled in both annoyance and glee. It was past time that he resumed his search of the nearby male human he was set on killing.
Of course, the illusionist ghost couldn't have known that Skulker had sort of performed his own illusion on Iluzisto: Iluzisto had merely short-circuited Skulker's suit—not Skulker.
At the precise moment when Tucker had pushed the last command key, Iluzisto had finally blasted the door in.
Tucker gagged his gasp and hurriedly backed up along the wall. He had already decided what his escape route would have been before he had hooked up his PDA to the ecto-gun.
"C'mon, c'mon!" he silently and desperately commanded his PDA as the power level indicator of the gun rapidly increased. In the next moment, however, Iluzisto appeared mere inches from the boy and aimed his wicked weapon at him.
Tucker did gasped at that; and looking at the screen of his PDA, announced to himself, "Eight-point-seven-five…it'll have to do!"
He pushed the key to disengage, grabbed the weapon and fired point blank at the ghost; but even more fortunately—and precisely—at his red eye!
Iluzisto instantly reacted to the intense burning sensation in his eye as red ectoplasm oozed out of it. But instead of raising his hands to it, he pulled his eye down into his body, where it abruptly vanished inside him.
"Whoa, dude!" Tucker choked out, seriously freaked out by the sight.
But Iluzisto suddenly let out an incensed yell and he immediately charged forward at Tucker, activating his weapon as he did.
However, because Iluzisto was unable to see with his eye now cradled inside him, Tucker was able to dart away from him. But then upon hearing the boy's quick escape, Iluzisto forced his eye back out and spun it with a hiss behind his head. Yet, at the moment, it was too late for him to do anything.
At that moment, Tucker jumped out of a nearby window. Now outside, Tucker ran as fast as he could. But he suddenly saw Skulker's dead robot just ahead. "Oh, no!" he immediately thought, but still steered toward him.
Crouching at Skulker's side, the boy hurriedly whispered to the robot, "Skulker?"
He heard a tiny cry—well, more like yelling—in its head, but the cyborg would not move. Tucker hesitated only a moment before commanding his little machine to link with Skulker's own PDA. Scanning the immediate area as he waited, hoping not to 'see' that unseen ghost, the boy finally sighed at the results of the diagnostics.
"Looks like it just needs to be rebooted!" he said with relief just before issuing it that command, which jolted the hunter's suit.
A few moments later and Skulker's robot was stirring. Pulling vainly in his efforts to help the ghost up, Tucker immediately cried, "Hurry! We've got to get out of here!"
"I think that you are too late for that!" an eerie voice informed them both.
Still crouched next to the Ghost Hunter, Tucker looked up in dread.
Skulker, who was now recovered, also turned his head to the voice. But when he did, he couldn't help but utter, "I don't believe it!"
Iluzisto was floating over them in full view with his black weapon aimed right at them. His red eye, though still injured, had an unmistakable look in it: the look of craving blood —their blood, that is.
But before the illusionist spirit could fire, a large green beam hit him from above. His body ricocheted from the impact and ended up a few hundred feet from Tucker and Skulker.
The boy and the cyborg needed no other prodding. Tucker jumped up and Skulker lifted himself upward. Tucker began to run, but before he knew it, he was scooped up by Skulker. Both of them soared upward to the source of the large green beam that had hit their attacker: the Specter Speeder.
Sam immediately opened the hatch to let the males in. They quickly entered the Speeder. But no sooner had the hatch been secured when Jazz screamed.
Iluzisto was charging at them with his weapon ablaze!
Fortunately, Jazz quickly rebounded and jerking the thrusters forward, veered to a hard left. Even with the slight hesitation of the damaged Speeder, the rest of the occupants yelled as they plowed immediately into the right side of the Speeder at Jazz's reaction.
"Sorry!" Jazz apologized, glancing briefly back at the pile of bodies as they tried to pull away from the other. But when the red-hair girl turned her attention back to steering, she gasped in horror! She hadn't thought that they were this close to the volcano; but now, it was certain that they were going to collide right into it!
She reversed the thrusters, hoping that the ship would slow enough so that she could bank away from the formation. But then, she frowned in confusion when it looked like the volcano was nearing even more quickly than before!
She gasped again as the volcano suddenly erupted, spewing out copious amounts of hot gases and lava, and a very large cloud of hot molten ash was headed right their way!
"Guys, this doesn't look good!" she screamed.
In the meantime, the others had just about regained their footing when Jazz screamed the last time. Tucker and Sam ran to Jazz's side and they gasped as their eyes widened in horror. There was no escape!
Just when Skulker was finally able to get up and go see what was wrong, he, too, gasped in dread. He could do nothing and stood stunned in disbelief just as the Speeder impacted the cloud of hot ash….only to meet clear, open sky immediately afterward.
The three teens looked at each other in disbelief, not even aware how hard they were breathing right now. But they had no time to think about it—otherwise, at least Tucker and Skulker would have realized it had just been another illusion.
Instead, everyone gasped yet again when the Speeder was suddenly jolted by a large blast at its rear.
Jazz immediately increased the boosters and the Speeder jerked forward.
"It's not over, whelps!" Skulker cried, quickly referring to the instruments imbedded in his battle suit. "I thought I recognized that smell! That is no ordinary ghost. Actually, he's not a ghost, at all! I had heard of him before, but I thought he was just a folk tale. At best, I thought he kept to his own realm!"
"What are you talking about, Skulker? What do you mean that's not a ghost?" Sam asked in a panic as another blast jolted the speeder, this time ripping clean off the already damaged engine from the angler fish.
Even with the ship now heavily smoking, Jazz managed to steer them away from another energy blast, which would have taken out their remaining engine. "Guys, think of something. Fast!"
"If that's who I think it is, he is very powerful spirit, whelps! A level nine! And that is definitely not good!" Skulker explained quickly. But then also trying to sort his racing mind for an idea, he soon added, "Are your weapons on this flying machine equipped for a level nine ghost, at least?"
The two younger teens shrugged in trepidation, but Jazz immediately voiced their answer. "We don't know!" she cried in fear.
"Well, my weapon can fight a level nine ghost, but it, of course, won't do us any good in here!" Skulker grumbled, even as Jazz was able to keep the Speeder just out of range from the shots fired from an enraged Iluzisto.
But that gave Tucker an idea. "Do you have a connecting wire or port for that weapon, Skulker?"
"Of course I do, whelp. I'm not the best ghost hunter in the Ghost Zone for just any reason!" he replied, obviously somewhat insulted by the question. But then, he finally caught on to the boy's drift . "I get it! Let's do it, pup!"
Together, the cyborg and the boy secured the connection between weapon and Speeder. And not a moment too soon!
Iluzisto had thrown an even more powerful ray at the ship and it effectively slowed it dangerously down after being hit. And, also, the speeder's backup power was quickly waning, too!
Tucker then commanded, "Let me have the controls, Jazz!"
The girl didn't argue with him and quickly surrendered them.
As soon as he sat down, Tucker turned the wheel to make the ship come to a hard about, purposely maneuvering the ship so that it could face its attacker. Not waiting for a complete turn, the boy immediately fired upon the entity still charging right at them.
An instant later, Iluzisto was engulfed in the beam, which halted him violently in mid-flight. He shuddered convulsively, then disappeared from sight in the next instant!
All four pairs of eyes frantically scanned the area. And then they saw the entity! It was coming in and out of vision, but it was definitely—and rapidly—flying away from them! What they suspected—but really couldn't be sure of—was that they had injured the creature enough that it had to retreat.
But they were not entirely right. Although Iluzisto was so injured at this point that he had trouble maintaining his stealth mode, his real reason for retreating was because he had run out of time. Therefore, he was forced to give up the chase…
Tucker immediately slowed the boosters and quickly landed the Speeder on the ground. Once he cut the power, the boy hooked up his PDA to the Speeder, sending it commands to the 'diagnostics' program. When he was finished, he looked up at the girls with worry.
"The Speeder is down to less than twenty percent power, guys. I don't think it's enough for us to…"
But Skulker interrupted him before he could finish, "Then we'll just have to repair it. We still have to get back to Plasmius' mansion to check out those clues. And I can't be seen traveling in a sub-par flying machine, now can I? I have a reputation to uphold, you know."
The teens blinked at him in surprise before grinning.
But Skulker didn't return their smiles. Instead, he turned to Tucker again and growled, "And don't ever do that to me again!"
"What?" Tucker squeamishly asked, cringing a bit.
"Your half-baked effort to jump-start my battle suit when that creature had shot me gave me quite a jolt inside the suit!" he growled.
Tucker cringed a bit more and stuttered, "I-I'm sorry, I-I…"
But Skulker interrupted him again. "And it was just what I needed," he replied with a hint of a smile.
Tucker smiled weakly back, and the girls sighed in relief.
They all knew that they were back on track. And although Skulker had not said it directly, they now knew they had an extra hand on their rescue mission…
"I should not have let myself lose my patience," Iluzisto chided himself, still wincing from the nagging pain in his eye and now in his entire form from that last jolt from the flying machine. Plus, he had not fully recovered from the poison from the darts and was still dizzy from their effects. He then growled, "That will be the last time I will let those insignificant creatures get the better of me!"
He soared onward, no longer using his energy to keep his stealth. He would need all the energy he could spare to heal his ghostly wounds.
If he wasn't so prideful, Iluzisto would have admitted that he had underestimated those inferior creatures. They were definitely more resourceful than he had ever expected. Then again, the humans had an advantage from the start since his illusion powers could not physically harm them as they could ghosts. But also, he had to remind himself that he wasn't at full power.
He was naturally an energy level of nine but he was forced to be at a mere seven…
Iluzisto narrowed his eyes at the glowing bracelets on his wrists. But he then looked back at the horizon, angry at himself once more.
"If I had not been so sure that I could have eliminated all of those creatures so easily, I would not have put myself into such a compromised position. Not to mention, it took more time than I thought, with all of it in vain!"
However, he suddenly hissed and glared down at the pulsing black bracelets, which brought him to the main reason why he had relented at his intent to kill those three humans. He was out of time. And the burning bands on his wrists were painfully confirming it…
But now, he was not only injured and hurting but would have to come up with a quick plan to explain his longer-than-expected absence from the Realm Beyond Time.
The illusionist ghost grunted in arrogance at his next thought. "But that should not be so hard to do! That imbecilic High Tribunal has been in its isolated, naïve world for so long, any plan I concoct will awe them enough to keep them from asking questions!"
That thought sparked another, darker one. "And speaking of plans…I should not have been so harsh on myself. It really is only a minor annoyance that I did not fully succeed in my mission…"
He reached into his robe and reinspected its contents once more. He dressed himself in evil at the thought and said out loud this time, "I have not failed! I can still eliminate those human creatures! And they still are the key to breaking the younger crossbreed! And soon, the other!"
Ah, Iluzisto. Thinks he can easily waste Team Phantom. Think again! Lol! Well, thank you for reading! I hope you guys liked all the action! Oh, just a note. I'm not sure when I'll have the next chapter of Checkmate out. This week has been… tough for me. And, honestly, I haven't had much will to write. Heh. You would think that with CM being so angsty, I'd have no problem writing it when I'm feeling blue myself. But, no, I can't focus on emotions correctly when mine are in a blender. But don't worry. I'm feeling better now. Just have had some things going on. I might rant about them on Deviantart, if I have time. But now, this coming week, I have some church-related things to do, so I'm not sure how much writing time I'll get in. So, we'll see. I just wanted to give you all a heads up in case you start wondering why I haven't updated my other stories. Anyways, until next time! Thanks again!
Truephan here now: I, too, hope things are better for ya, pearl. But you know I'm right there for ya and I'm positive the readers are, too! And speaking of our dear readers, we hope you've enjoyed this chapter and relish your thoughts. We especially thank all the brave ones who did share theirs with us! We really appreciate it—and admire you! Until next time, too!