A/N: truephan here: Hey, glad you could join us again! And thanks for all your wonderful reviews and thoughts. We just eat it up! Well, then, let's get on it! Hope you enjoy and see you at the bottom!
Pearl: Hello all! We have more 'Sid' your way and we are getting close to another exciting climax! Heh-heh! Thank you all for your reviews! Well, enjoy, and see ya all at the bottom!
Chapter 21:Under Pressure
Even when they were soaring as fast as they could within the bosom of the Realm Beyond Time, Skulker, Jazz, Tucker and Sam felt time pressuring them, driving its dread as each precious second was lost, even when in reality time was not moving at all in this place. Still, all that did was fuel their already heightened anxiety and anticipation.
Finally, Tucker spotted that strange sets of glowing rings that they had seen in that 3-D video shown by the mysterious Time Viewing Orb and called each of his companions' attention to it.
Their hearts or core leapt a bit in both hope and fear that they may finally be nearing their designation.
Skulker stopped in front of the odd glowing ring within a larger glowing and spinning ring. He studied them for a few moments until he was satisfied that he had timed the rhythm of the movement.
As he reeled his four companions closer to him, Skulker said, "This will be a tight squeeze even if I time the movement of the center ring correctly. I suggest that you hold your breath."
Right after that, Skulker didn't hesitate to plunge right into the center ring.
But the foursome gasped in alarm at what happened next.
As if the green and black atmosphere in front of them had become liquid and was draining and spiraling down a sink, the area just past the center ring had fallen in on itself, instantly churning in a mixture of green and black. And the four 'riders' could not resist the strong suction that had enveloped them all right after, which pulled them rapidly closer to the eye of the vortex created by the swirling atmosphere.
"I don't remember this part!" Tucker whined just before he and his companions yelled at the rush of being swallowed up into that hole.
At first, they slid down what they could only describe was a slide of some sort, like one of the water tubes at Floody Waters. But then, the green and black tube seemed to stretch downward then to the right and to the left, as if the tube was now made of highly elastic rubber, all the while bringing them with it.
But that wasn't all. Whenever they brushed past a wall, a greenish-black slime stuck to them, until they were soon covered with it.
Skulker immediately reached for the controls on his arm band, but soon found that it was very hard to do because of the centrifugal force.
Finally, the tube stretched upward and before the foursome knew it, they were screaming as they were ejected from the tube as easily as a wad of wet paper through a pea shooter.
Still all together, they stopped shortly after that, floating in the green and black atmosphere—covered in green and black slime.
Tucker shuddered and blurted out, "Ugh, blowing my nose will never be the same!"
"Tucker!" both Sam and Jazz yelled before they both grimaced at the thought.
Skulker, however, wasn't listening. He was still pushing the controls on his arm band. And he was not happy.
"Whelps, there may be a problem," he began, when an aura finally surrounded him and his passengers and melted off the slime. He then added, "Correction, only a slight problem."
"What do you mean, Skulker?" Jazz asked, her face still lined in worry.
"I have been having trouble with my instruments responding when commanded ever since we entered this realm. But they are still responding, though not as satisfactorily. I can only conclude that being in a timeless place makes instruments' response times slower than normal."
Still looking down at his PDA, Tucker piped in, "Yeah, I noticed the same thing with my PDA. And there are some programs I can't even get into right now."
"Oh?" Skulker responded, one of his eyebrows shooting up in more concern. "Which ones?"
"The games that have a time limit," Tucker casually said. "I had been getting blown up way too often after they went all wonky."
All three of his companions rolled their eyes.
"All that matters is that the important things work," Sam dryly said, frowning a bit at her male friend. "So, uh, shouldn't we get going?"
Skulker glanced over to the end of the tube through which he and the others had just been and lined all of them so that they and it were in a straight line.
Once he was satisfied that this was the correct direction, he turned around and pushed some more commands on his arm band. He frowned when it didn't respond again until he had pushed it a few more times.
His jet packs fired just after he lengthened the metal cords around the humans, raising them up a bit more to keep them out of the way of the jets.
And they were on their way once again; but unlike before, as they continued to pass the few landmarks they had seen in the Time Viewing Orb, time now felt like it was dragging or not moving at all, especially when their watches didn't work in this place and there was no sun or moonlight to indicate the time of day.
They only realized that it was late because of how tired they all felt. And in spite of the rush and need to find Danny, the kids eventually did drift off, though they would awaken often, clearly restless.
Skulker, on the other hand, just kept his eyes and focus locked on reaching their intended location, though he could see by the now darkened purple atmosphere that it was very late. He was a bit tired himself, but losing just one night's rest wasn't too bad for him. He was a hunter, after all.
Finally, as the atmosphere melded back into its eerie green, Skulker saw what they had all been anticipating and he quickly called to the sleeping teenagers, "Whelps!"
The three jolted awake; and since they had been more conscious than unconscious, the three instantly spotted the reason of their wake-up call.
"There's the fortress!" Jazz said in a hush, speaking for everyone, who had fallen silent with taking it all in.
The fortress was just like the video they had seen through the Time Viewing Orb. It definitely was composed of multi-tiered dome-shaped bluish-green and white buildings all clustered together and stacked upon a floating black craggily mountain.
They could now see that several of the buildings definitely had huge telescopes jutting out of them. But others also looked like they had fully retracted their telescopes yet had not closed the rectangular opening in their dome roof.
But then they knew they had to be in the right place after they saw that huge green orb shaped building right in the middle of those other observatories, especially since it still seemed to be glaring at them.
"Now we will proceed with even more caution," Skulker announced just as he slowed his jets and reeled the humans in closer.
Knowing that they would need to be extra quiet, each of the teens slightly nodded.
They continued to drift forward, though their movement was, eerily, as silent as a ghost since the jets were no longer making any sounds.
Skulker deftly maneuvered his suit toward the leftmost side of the cluster of buildings, making sure to stray clear of the projecting telescopes.
Sam tapped Skulker on his shoulder and when he glanced at her, she pointed to the building that matched the one that the 3-D video had 'entered'. "I'm sure that is the same building that we saw in the video," she whispered.
The Ghost Hunter nodded in agreement. However, not wanting to risk being caught nearing the Observant building, the hunter turned them all invisible before daring to approach and then land on the roof with the rectangular opening. They peered down and saw a retracted telescope just under the opening. It took them a bit of thorough inspection to find an opening. It was in a corner of the opening in the roof, and to the left of the telescope.
"It looks like some kind of large vent," Jazz muttered curiously as they all inspected the dark opening for a moment.
Skulker nodded in agreement again; but sure this was the entrance they had been shown, the hunter said, "I cannot see where this leads, but that would explain why the video made it seem we were in a black tunnel for some time. However, I think we all agree this is the way in…"
"Yeah, so let's get going," Sam urged.
The hunter just frowned back at her, but said nothing and flew into the opening with the three teens. They landed on a small platform and Skulker released his passengers and retracted his metal chords. The only light in the area was whatever had filtered in from the roof. Nevertheless, the Ghost Hunter immediately sniffed the air. Oh, this was definitely a large air duct, and by the smell of the accumulated dust, it was clearly not meant to be traveled through. But… since they were sneaking in, then it was the perfect route to keep from getting caught.
Satisfied with the results of his olfactory sense, Skulker turned to his other 'senses'—or more like sensors—as he lifted his arm and started punching on the keys on his arm control band.
Tucker, too, had pulled out his PDA and set right to work.
"Okay, once Tucker and Skulker locate Danny, then what?" Sam slightly whispered to Jazz, though she was still able to convey slight impatience in her dampened voice. She knew she had to keep the volume of her voice down, like all her companions, now that they were right in the pit with their enemies.
"I don't know. We'll just have to think this through—logically and carefully!" Jazz reflexively whispered back, grabbing her chin in thought.
"We've done nothing else but that for the entire trip," Sam impatiently hissed.
"I know, but now we have to do even more of that if we want to get Danny and get out all in one piece—that is, if they're even here," her female friend said, sensing the younger girl's anxiety. "But no matter what, all of us have to keep our heads straight."
Sam frowned a bit. Jazz was right. She said, "I'm sorry, Jazz, it's just that…"
"Hey, it's okay, Sam. I understand," Jazz gently interrupted her. "I'm worried, too, yet, I also have the feeling that we're at the right place. Danny has got to be here."
Meanwhile, Tucker and Skulker hadn't been listening to the girls while they were debating. All of the sudden, both of them uttered in toned-down excitement at the exact same time, "There!"
Jazz and Sam's snapped to attention and looked at the two males as they said in unison once more, "You first!"
"No, you go," Tucker whispered to Skulker.
"No, you go," Skulker quietly insisted.
"Tucker, what is it?" Sam firmly whispered, effectively cutting the two males off before this would become 'one of those' Tucker and Skulker rounds.
"I didn't tell you yet, but I interfaced the Specter Speeder's 'Real World' detector program with my PDA. Anyhow, I've, well, detected some 'Real World' items—three to be exact!"
"Three?" Jazz asked in bewilderment, keeping her voice down. "But who's the third person?"
"I didn't say they were persons, Jazz, but these three things are small. But they're definitely here."
No one knew exactly what that could mean, but Jazz then said, "What about you, Skulker?"
The three teens immediately shifted their attention to the Ghost Hunter.
Skulker quickly yet quietly replied, "I was not scanning for human things. I was scanning for energy readings. At first, things were all incoherent and I wasn't sure if my instruments would work. But then, they seemed to work and all I could detect were these level 'nine' energy readings—in fact, tons of them."
The three humans gulped a little with that information, but they still listened intently as Skulker continued.
"That was quite irritating because those artifacts were interfering with what I was really after and that was, of course, locating…"
"Danny!" Sam chimed in, now catching his drift.
"And Plasmius!" Skulker snarled, curing the side of his mouth in irritation that she had not only interrupted him, but had also purposefully failed to mention his employer—again. But he quietly hissed with a reprimanding glare to the girl, "Anyhow, before I was so rudely interrupted…"
Sam frowned with a slight pout when she noticed that the Ghost Hunter's glare was meant for her. But she said nothing, as he continued once more.
"….I caught a glimpse of several confusing spikes of smaller energy signatures as well, all clustered in an area not too far from here. But then, among those energy readings, I detected two very unique spikes of energy signatures. At first, I was confused about that as well, because they are lower than I expected. But, if they have been injured here, that would explain it. But those entities would be at just hovering at a level 'eight', which would have to be Plasmius, and just below a level 'seven', which would be…"
Sam had bitten her lower lip when Skulker had said that Danny may have been hurt. But when she heard him conclude that there was a 'level seven' ghost signature nearby, she barely contained her excitement as she quietly butted in, "Danny!"
"Yes, the whelp!" Skulker sneered once again with that same irritated twitch at the side of his mouth. He then added, "And if it is indeed them, then we are closer to their location than I anticipated, though I cannot be certain."
"And according to my PDA, those Real World items seem to be somewhere close to that place you think Danny and Vlad are in," Tucker piped in.
The two males quickly compared their instruments and data again. They both then smiled. All five items in which they were interested were in the same direction and not too far from the others.
Tucker then asked, "Well, don't you think we should investigate those other three items? They might be important!"
"Why?" Sam replied with a slight growl. "They're just things!"
The ghost then chimed in, "I vote to ignore those human things and just get to our real mission. I do not like lingering here for longer than we have to."
"I'm with Skulker on this one, guys," Jazz finally said. "I just want to get to Danny and get out of here as soon as we can."
Sam then added her two-cent's worth, "And I agree!"
One of Skulker's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the girl's comment.
When Sam noticed him, she dryly replied, "With Jazz, of course!"
"Whelps!" Skulker grunted with a roll of his eyes. But then he grew more serious and said, "Since we all are in agreement, correct?..."
He looked at Tucker with an evil eye and the boy readily and nervously shook his head in compliance.
"Anyway," the Ghost Hunter continued, "I am sure that I do not have to remind you that we take extra care. Unfortunately, my instruments could not tell me any more than that. We do not know how many passages or rooms will hinder us to get to our target area where the two half-ghosts are. So, our trek will be slow and arduous. And since I can use my sense of smell with more superiority than yours, I should be the one to take the lead."
The three teens resisted the urge to roll their eyes and just nodded.
And then pointing to Tucker, Skulker added, "And I think that he should also be sure to back me up by monitoring his little machine as we progress."
"Agree, again," Jazz replied, speaking for all the teens just as Tucker nodded.
"Then, what are we waiting for?" Sam asked as she pulled out her Fenton wrist ray gun from one of her boots.
One of Skulker's eyebrows arched in surprise and curiosity as he commented, "So! Now I see why you have been so smug in your quips to me. You could readily defend yourself!"
"Uh, okay," Sam slowly said with a tight smirk. "But it's better that we don't go there. We have our 'mission', ya know."
Skulker smirked back but replied, "Let us make haste, I mean, a snail's haste, then! Also, keep your steps light, pups. We are in a vent, which further means we are walking on the ceiling, and we cannot have someone hear our footsteps below. Now let us move forward. We must find an exit to this vent, so we can find where these two energy-readings—which I believe belong to the Ghost Boy and my employer—are coming from."
This time the three teens did roll their eyes but quickly nodded in agreement and grew sober.
With that, the Ghost Hunter proceeded to walking deeper into the large air duct, followed by Tucker and then the girls. They, of course, moved carefully and slowly, and they soon found out that it was a good thing that this had been their plan all along. The large space they had just been in quickly began to narrow and shorten, almost like they were in a rectangular funnel. In fact, they soon had to get on their hands and knees to fit through the narrowing vent. But this passage was also like a maze in that it was very convoluted and had many blind turns. And, of course, like their video had 'promised', it was very dark. They could hardly see each other's silhouette as they crawled onward.
"Heh. Did I mention I was a bit claustrophobic?" Tucker suddenly whispered as he continued to crawl behind Skulker now that the vent's passage had narrowed even more so that they could only continue in a single-file line. "In fact, this gives me major creepy déjà vu about when I had to crawl through that, brrrr, hospital's vents!"
"Please don't mention that," Jazz squeaked, taking a deep breath herself as she felt a bit panicked inside this dark and small place. A brief thought of being stuck inside this place passed through her mind, but she forced it away, not wanting to really go into a full-blown panic.
"Shh, We're gonna be fine," Sam scolded them both, not wanting to risk someone hearing them from below.
However, just as she said that, they all hitched their gasps when the floor of the vent suddenly widened and then steeped downward and they all inadvertently slid downward and ended up in a heap at the bottom.
They carefully pulled away from each other before they stopped and tensed a bit, listening to see if they had disturbed the stillness. And hearing that nothing seemed to be awry, they continued onward until they finally saw a faint light ahead.
They knew from what they remembered seeing on the Time Viewing Orb that they had to be near that rounded room. And since they were in the ceiling vent, that would meant that it would be below them.
Just moments later and they came up to a grate, which was the origin of the light; but just past the metal bars, they could see the floor of a room that looked like the one in the video…
They all strained to listen and relaxed a bit when they all concluded that no one was in the room below.
But they had to be sure.
Skulker immediately grabbed the grate and carefully pulled it up and away from ceiling vent hole and set it down. He turned invisible and slowly lowered his head through the hole and carefully peeked out. Once he had surveyed the area, he pulled himself back up, turned visible and gave the others a silent nod.
No one was in the room!
The teens needed no word from Skulker that he was going to have to get them all down to the floor. They watched the Ghost Hunter as he turned intangible and tried to phase through the narrow opening—only to find that he couldn't!
"Why can't you phase through?" Tucker begged the question when the ghost rematerialized.
"I have told you whelps that intangibility is not predictable in the Ghost Zone. But now it appears that it is definitely useless to phase through objects in this realm. Plus, I am sure that the more we penetrate this fortress, the more security there will be. I will not be able to get through this opening, then."
"But we can't go on without you!" Jazz protested, having a hard time keeping her voice low. "And we won't even be able to get down from here."
"The only way I will be able to go on is if I break through this vent's opening. And we cannot afford to cause any unnecessary noise or evidence that we were here," Skulker replied.
But Sam was way ahead of him. "Can you make some sort of force field with your suit, Skulker?"
"Of course I can, whelp! This is a very advanced piece of technology," he slightly growled, a bit insulted by her remark.
"That's been messing up here, that is," she dryly quipped back, though she immediately added, "Only because it looks like all technical things don't work well here because of the time thing."
"I second that!" Tucker piped in, but then winced when Skulker's eyes flared a bit.
"And your point…?" Skulker urged, one of his eyes narrowing a bit in irritation.
Not at all bothered by the ghost's reaction this time, Sam smirked a bit and replied, "Well, if you can create a force field around this opening and then use your ghost ray to make the hole bigger within the that force field, then…"
Interrupting the girl, Skulker gushed, "Then I will be making the hole big enough for me to get out while the force field muffles any sound!" But then he realized how excited he had been by the idea and he cleared his throat and said more seriously, "That idea has merit to it, whelp. Then, let us hope that the force field works."
"But what about the big hole it'll leave?" Jazz suddenly asked.
"Really, guys, do you think it'll matter who will see what once they realize that we've managed to break Danny—and Vlad—out?" Sam pointed out. She then pushed her head through the opened vent and after checking around, she added, "And, by the way, right now there's still nobody down there."
Trying to encourage them to try out Sam's idea, Tucker piped in, "Okay, then. Maybe the Observants won't notice the hole since it'll be way up here. I mean, how many people look up when they're in a room?"
"Well, then, I vote that we, er, I mean, maybe you, Skulker," Jazz nervously chuckled. "What I mean is…"
But before she could finish her sentence, she slightly gasped when green light illuminated the area before a glowing green sphere seemed to ooze out the Ghost Hunter's suit, as if he were a blowing a soap bubble through a soap wand.
The force field's energy flickered a bit, but Skulker was determined to take advantage of whatever he could produce. He quickly produced a ghost ray and carved out and disintegrated a section of the vent's hole large enough to accommodate his suit, all without making a sound. He smirked as he rapidly worked, pleased that the raven-haired whelp's idea had worked.
Finally he was through and he dispelled the force field.
"Be ready," he commanded just before he slipped through the hole and hovered enough to extend his metal chords. Then, he reached up as, starting with Jazz, each teen scooted to the edge and pushed off—right into the waiting arms of the Ghost Hunter.
After securing Jazz in one of his arm clamps, Skulker rapidly looked around the room to make sure that all was still cleared before he reached for the others in like manner until all had been retrieved.
They all drifted downward until they had reached the floor. They scouted the area and their eyes all instantly widened.
"Dude….," Tucker gasped out. "This is some kind of a courtroom!"
"The Observant High Tribunal room I would venture to guess," Skulker muttered. "Yes, I have heard tales of this place… It is believed that the very Ancients gathered with the Observants in this very courtroom to discuss Pariah Dark's downfall and fate…"
"I'm sure it's all very historical and all," Sam said sarcastically. "But perhaps we can sightsee on another occasion. Look, there's a set of double doors at the other end."
After checking with each other, they moved as if one unit and slipped out of those doors…
In a way it was fortunate, even if it was also irritating, that the long hallway that Team Phantom and Skulker found themselves in had many darkened areas and even darker deep corners and niches that each of the searchers instinctively knew would be ready hiding areas in which to retreat should they come upon any Observant.
Finally, the hallway came to a turn and the foursome were about to put that tactic to the test. Two Observants were headed right to them! But Skulker had seen them first and quickly motioned to the three teens to blend into their surroundings just before he turned both invisible and intangible. There was not a moment to lose, either, because just as the Ghost Hunter had signaled his companions, the two Observants were plowing right through the intangible and invisible ghost.
Though he had not known if he could have been detected by the spirits even when intangible and invisible, Skulker was relieved that he was not found out and that his gamble had been in his favor. Yet, he was also irritated that he had been caught unprepared. He was concentrating so much on the half-ghosts' scents that he had ignored the scents of the approaching spirits. He knew that he could not fail again.
Fortunately, the three teens had reacted immediately as well and they jammed themselves into the nearby deep blackened corner. They gagged their gasps at their too close call, feeling the wake of the passing spirits.
However, one of the Observants suddenly halted in his slow flight when he thought he heard something amiss.
"What is wrong, Okulo?" The other Observant asked when he noticed that his partner had stopped.
"I do not know, Antovid. I thought I heard something."
"Like what?" Antovid prodded his partner.
Okulo suspiciously scanned the area around them and only saw the nearby dark corner. He floated toward it and the three teens felt the others tense with dread and each reflexively closed their eyes and held their breath.
Skulker, too, tensed, but he didn't dare cock his gun for fear of giving away his position. Still, he waited anxiously, ready to strike if that was the last option.
But then Okulo huffed indignantly and drew even closer to Skulker.
Skulker thought that the Observant's lone eye was piercing right through him.
Finally, Antovid flippantly replied, "You must have been imagining it! After what those two foreign prisoners did in the past six earthly days, you must be getting more paranoid! But I cannot blame you. You obviously have been a little too laxed in your job as 'Liaison to the Prison', or else you would have known what was happening to the prisoners! Perhaps you need more help."
Okulo reeled around in anger and floated quickly over to his companion.
Skulker bit his sigh of relief when the Observant moved away.
"I have not been laxed in my duties, Antovid! Since we do not have that many prisoners, the duty master has added more rotations elsewhere! But if it is like you said, then I will just have to request more rotations through the prison!" Okulo's eye curled in impertinence as he continued, "We would not even have had to do that menial task of making any rotations through the prison if it had not been that we were infiltrated by one of those very 'foreign prisoners' of which you speak in the past not too long ago. And since I would not want to ask who was lax in his department to have allowed that infiltration to happen unless I needed to, then I would think you have no standing in telling me on how to do my job, do you not agree?"
Antovid frowned but nodded. He knew that Okulo had been referring to the time that the half-ghost prisoner, Vlad Plasmius, had been the one to break into Observants' fortress on his watch.
Then with a slight hiss, Okulo testily added, "And, by the way, I did not imagine that sound just now. I just cannot explain why there is nothing here!"
But knowing how quick-tempered his partner was— even if he had already done a good job at lighting that fire—Antovid decided that they didn't have time for this squabble. He held his arms up in surrender and replied, "All right, Okulo! Let us just be more cautious as we continue onward! But we better continue to our point of contact. The Tribune would not be pleased with our impropriety in tarrying any longer, especially when we have to report to that section."
"You are right, Antovid," Okulo replied, calming down. "Let us make haste, then."
They then both continued in the direction they had been heading, increasing their pace as they did.
Right after the three teens were sure that the Observants were long gone, they let out their sighs of relief. Just after that, Skulker rematerialized.
"Man, that was way too close!" Tucker nervously blurted out, making sure that he kept his voice low.
Ignoring the boy and also keeping his voice low, the Ghost Hunter insisted, "As they all could very well be! Keep alert, then!"
Skulker turned right around and headed back in their original direction, periodically monitoring his instruments. He frowned when they still seemed to not be working well; and so just continued to rely on his sense of smell. Tucker, too, kept one eye on his PDA and one eye on making sure he didn't accidentally run into Skulker.
Unaware that they were walking down the very same hallway that the hybrids had traveled through several times in their days of trial, the teens and Skulker continued, having to slow their effort even more when this new passageway contained a lot of doors. Plus, they soon came to a fork, with another empty passage that could prove hazardous joining it. They moved more swiftly past each door lest it unexpectedly open and reveal more than what they tried not to imagine was behind them. They didn't even care to notice the strange symbols that marked each even stranger door that they were passing.
They continued forward and had to retreat into a darkened corner only one other time. But this time, the Observants had moved past them without incident. Finally, after what seemed like hours of moving at a snail's pace, including each of them relating to how that snail might feel with the weight of its anxious anticipation on its back, the three teens slowed when they noticed that Skulker had come to a halt just before he reached the next corner. He motioned for the teens to come closer.
When they obliged him, he gravely whispered, "I can no longer get a reading on the level eight entity and the level seven signature's is unstable and weakening. But, fortunately, my superior sense of smell has already taken over. And according to my calculations, at least the level seven target is down this path."
The three teens bit their lower lip. That didn't sound like good news at all!
Still, Tucker seriously whispered, "Unfortunately, my PDA sorta confirms that, but it's blinking out more and more. But the last time I checked, the three other Real World items were very close, not more than about ten feet.
Skulker scowled at the boy but the girls didn't notice that, but Tucker startled a little when he saw the ghost's reaction.
The Ghost Hunter continued, "Nevertheless, once there, we will have to take extra stealth when trying to break the two hybrids free. Somehow, I know it will be a challenge with or without creating any noise."
"Wouldn't have expected you to say anything else but that," Sam deadpanned.
The ghost frowned but then rolled his eyes and replied, "Then let us waste no more time!"
Skulker led the way once more. As soon as they turned this corner, however, they could see that this passage was longer and brighter than all the others and led to a dead-end. But then, they could see a door to their left that was not more than two feet from them. And there was also a solid heavy metal door to their right which was about twenty feet further on. In fact, that metallic door was right next to the abutting wall that closed the passageway. They were unaware that they had just found the entrance of the prison….
"Now what?" Jazz suddenly whispered, as she looked between the metal door and the normal looking door…
Both Tucker and Skulker hurriedly whispered back, "We take the big metal door on the right over there!"
"Of course it would have to be the furthest one!" Sam quietly groaned.
But just then, the foursome heard a noise that seemed to screech down their spines. And, unfortunately, it was an all too familiar sound: the slow, creaking sound of a door badly in need of oiling. And it was coming from the farthest door to their right, which was the heavy metallic one!
Skulker reflexively reacted and turned intangible and invisible once more. However, he almost gasped when he knew he didn't have enough time to scoop up all three teens, let alone have time to warn them to retreat—or even to where they could retreat.
But having noticed what Skulker did right away, the three teens reflexively grabbed the nearest door handle—which was the normal door on their left—opened it and bolted inside. Skulker jolted, but hurried right in after them. And just as he quickly yet quietly closed the door, some prison guards finally filed out of the farther creaking door which had been opening.
The teens held their breath and Skulker waited in anticipation until they heard what must have been more Observants continue down the hallway. But then, they heard even more sounds coming from the other side of the door—and they were slowing and drawing closer!
The four slowly backed up, hoping that where they were would be a means to hide them—or for a quick escape. They quickly glanced behind them and saw that, fortunately, the room was empty.
But, unfortunately, there was nowhere to hide!
Skulker readied one of his weapons as the noise on the other side of the door grew closer. But then, the sounds continued onward and all fell silent.
Though the four were relieved by that, all of them had the same thought of not venturing out right away. And when the ghost and the teens finally turned fully around, they quickly saw that they were in a rather large room.
It was rather sparse, save for a small simple bed, a black bedside table and table lamp made of wrought iron. There were no decorations in the least in the spacious room except for a large tapestry predominantly covering the wall just opposite of the bedroom furniture.
The foursome was suddenly drawn to that tapestry, not because that it was the only thing in the room with color, but of what it depicted. They looked upon it with awe and bewilderment. It showed an Observant dressed in armor floating in the center of the picture. And the Observant held a black needle-like weapon that looked very familiar to the uninvited guests. Finally, the Observant was surrounded by four famous human battles. The teens looked it over and noticed the names of each of the victors of their respective battles were embroidered under each scene. And when the teens read the names, their stomachs tightened and chills shot down their spines.
"I've got a bad feeling about this!" Sam mused out loud, keeping her voice low as she studied the tapestry. But she was quickly pulled out her thoughts by Tucker.
"Hey! Even though the readings are going wonky, my PDA still senses those three 'Real World' items in here!" the bespectacled boy excitedly said.
Without another word, Tucker headed right to the small beside table.
"Tucker, what are you doing?" Sam chided him as she went after him.
In the meantime, Jazz had been examining the tapestry more closely and she had noticed that the bottom of the rug did not touch the floor. As her eyes automatically followed that bottom line, she then saw that just before it ended, there was the bottom—of a door!
And just as Tucker was a moment from pulling open one of the drawers of the bedside table—with Sam not too far behind him—Jazz excitedly whispered, "Hey, guys, there's a door behind the tapestry!"
Her heart pounding in slight excitement, Jazz tried to pull a small part of the tapestry back to examine the door more closely. However, even that part of the rug proved to be too heavy for her and her hand lost its grip and scraped against the wall.
Oddly, there was an almost inaudible 'click' where her hand had made contact and suddenly, the door behind the tapestry quickly and silently parted in the middle. Then hardly a fraction of a second later, each of its sides slid sideways, opening just like elevator doors. But since the tapestry was still over the door, it caved partly into the now open area behind it.
In the meantime, Tucker had just put his hand on the small bedside table when he glanced over to his red-hair friend's discovery. Suddenly, he wanted to investigate what she had found. But he also wanted to see about those 'Real World' items. With that, he quickly pulled open the drawer. He gasped when he saw what those three 'Real World' items were.
But before he could grab the things, Sam had grabbed his arm, shut the drawer and pulled him over to Jazz.
Skulker was already next to the oldest teen, easily pulling the tapestry partly away so that he and the girl could get a better look at it.
"Why is that there?" Tucker quietly asked, as he finally fell in step with Sam.
"Don't you get it? It's obviously a secret room!" Sam quickly said, keeping her voice low.
They crowded near the Ghost Hunter as Jazz ventured partly into the darkened room and slid her hand alongside the inside wall.
She then whispered, "There has to be a light switch somewhere…uh, I feel it!"
But before she could hit the switch, everyone's attention was immediately drawn to a sound….
A sound of a door knob slowly turning at the entrance to the room they were currently in…
"Quick, we need to go through that door!" Sam hurriedly whispered.
In her panic, Jazz had never let go of that switch as all of them filed into the small, dark room. But in the midst of all the panicked jumbling, Jazz was shoved into that switch and the door immediately closed, just missing Tucker's foot.
And it wasn't a moment too soon! Just as the secret door silently sealed, the door to the room opened!
The three teens unconsciously held their breaths in the darkness. They anxiously listened to what was happening on the other side of this door.
Skulker, on the other hand, merely grunted at having to do this cowardly hiding. Still, he did have to agree that it was the best idea at the moment—at least until they could find out what they were up against.
Tucker then grew more nervous and was about to light up the closet using his PDA, when Skulker's ghostly eyes caught sight of his actions.
The ghost quickly grabbed the boy's hand and pulled it away from the PDA's keys. He quietly but firmly commanded, "No lights! It will emanate from the crack at the bottom of this door!"
Tucker frowned in embarrassment and whispered, "Right! Right! I knew that!"
But they were quickly interrupted by muffled movement within the room on the other side of their hiding place. The three teens silently prayed that whatever was now in that room would not need anything in this small closet in which they now were.
Then they heard a grumbling before a voice suddenly cried out, "I should have had more than enough power by now! The power of the two crossbreeds is more incredible than I thought! And my power is increasing more quickly than I had planned, yet I still need more! It will be very soon, though, and I will be able to get my revenge! I will no longer need to subject myself to such inferior beings again! The Tribunal Council is as good as defeated!"
Tucker tensed up. He knew that voice! And he, along with the others, wondered what the voice was talking about. He continued to listen as the spirit continued to rant.
The spirit in the room quickly looked at the slightly humming device that was around one of his wrists. He aimed his weapon at it and zapped it. But all the device did was sizzle a little and then continued to hum that irritating sound it made to indicate that it is was working well. He fired upon the other wrist band, only to have the same failure. But then, thinking of something else, he tried to use his energy more directly against the bands by grabbing one of them with a hand filled with ghost energy, only to have the same unwanted result.
His eye narrowed a little but then widened in determination as he continued, "Soon, these will be gone, too, and I will have total control…over everything! But I need more power! Blast! They used to recover quickly before but now it takes time for those two crossbreeds to repair themselves!"
Then, the foursome heard a drawer pulled violently open and then slammed shut almost immediately afterward. Jazz jumped a little with that but then they heard the angry voice hiss to no one but himself, "These items served no purpose in the end! The younger crossbreed has not been broken yet! Still, maybe it is better this way. He has been sufficiently weakened, and I am certain that if I can destroy the other two human creatures he holds dear, he will not be able to fight me any longer and I will have him where I want him!"
The spirit paused and added more thoughtfully, "Or maybe, that will not be necessary. But, I can make him think that it will be. After all, I did manage to convince him that I had destroyed his other young companions. But, then again, that is no longer a concern. Now he and the other crossbreed are all mine! Breaking them or not may no longer be important since I now have all of their power for my taking whenever I please! It is time for me to cease in admonishing myself and to harvest more power! I do not want to linger any longer!"
Jazz suddenly gasped when she suddenly realized that it was Iluzisto who was very close to them! And that he must have been talking about Danny and all the evil he planned to do with her brother! But she then cringed in fear that she hadn't been strong enough to keep quiet.
She cringed even more and her companions tensed up when they heard Iluzisto stop and say, "What was that noise?"
He began to float nearer to the tapestry while commenting to himself, "I am sure it came from the closet."
The illusionist spirit waved his black staff and the tapestry immediately pulled away from the door by an unseen force. The door shifted a little when the weight of the tapestry was lifted off of it and the foursome in the closet tensed in dread at the small noise the door had made when it had shifted.
The Prison Head had just put one of his bony fingers on the switch and was about to push it when he heard his name being called from just outside of his room. With a quick flick of his staff, he quickly commanded the tapestry to return to its original place. The moment he did, the door to his room swung violently open.
"What is the meaning of this?" Iluzisto growled in impertinence to the Observant who had rudely entered his private quarters. Even though this was really a common occurrence in the after-life of the disrespected Prison Head, especially since the Council had forbidden him to lock his door, he still expressed outrage each and every time it happened.
The messenger ignored Iluzisto's comment and rudely replied, "Master Prison Head, the High Tribune demands to speak to you! He is in his quarters."
Iluzisto's eye immediately narrowed in anger and without acknowledging the other Observant, he flew out of the room without a word and headed toward the Tribunal Hall.
But as he flew onward, Iluzisto suddenly changed his mind. He knew his time was near. And with that thought, he made a slight deviation from his designation...
The four occupants of the closet waited a few moments longer once they had thought that Iluzisto had left. When they were sure that they were now alone, Tucker pressed the button on his PDA and illuminated the closet.
Everyone instantly shielded their eyes and groaned at the bright light. But just as Tucker's eyes adjusted, he yelped in fear.
The closet was full of all sorts of Observant weapons! Some were grey staffs with eye-like green bulbs on top. Others were small oddly shaped weapons that also had small eye-like green or red bulbs at the end.
"Why are these here?" the boy gulped when he saw how wicked they all looked.
Slightly irritated, Sam answered, "Didn't you hear that other ghost called him 'Master Prison Head'? This must be where they store their weapons!"
"Advantage: us!" Skulker gleefully said as he picked up one of the smaller weapons and inspected it. He then smiled and said, "We can now be on more equal terms with our foes now that I can see that these weapons will easily subdue the Observants here!"
He quickly grabbed a few more and gave them to the teens.
"So, we just aim and pull the trigger?" Jazz asked, looking gingerly at the tall odd piece. "Uh, just where is the trigger?"
"That button right there," Skulker replied, pointing it out—after orienting the weapon correctly in her hand. "You use your thumb to activate it."
"That's weird," Tucker remarked, slowly examining his own weapon.
"As long as they work and help us, who cares?" Sam dryly replied as she put her wrist ray gun back into her boot and reached for the weapon Skulker was holding out to her. She quickly tightened her hold on the piece.
"Agreed," Skulker said with a grin while checking his instruments. He frowned slightly when they suddenly died, even as he reflexively pushed more commands. But he did get a glimpse at what they had indicated just before they died and but still sniffed the air and said, "Now the hunt becomes even more interesting! Our targets are now surrounded by Observants! We will need to be cunning and brave…"
"And lucky!" Jazz added.
Sam rolled her eyes before grumbling, "We'll need that—and more—if we're even going to get out of this entire realm in one piece."
"Don't worry, Sam. Something will present itself to us, okay?" Jazz said, trying to sound reassuring.
Sam frowned at first, but then, sighed and nodded in agreement with her friend.
Tucker hadn't notice what the girls had said because he was still checking his own readings. He then frowned when the light emanating from his PDA suddenly went out.
"Hey!" the others quietly said.
"Sorry, pushed the wrong button?" Tucker squeaked out in embarrassment, as he tried to locate the command button for the light. But much to his chagrin, his PDA now didn't even light up!
He and the girls gasped when the closet was then lit up not by a bright white light but an eerily green one.
They could immediately see that Skulker had created a ball of ectoplasmic light.
"Don't tell me…." Sam began, only to have Tucker softly butt in…
"Yeah. Zero techno-help. But before my PDA died, it looked like they hadn't moved Danny and Plasmius from that area yet."
Skulker took a big whiff of the air and said, "I can confirm that. We will now have to rely on the most cunning of our skills!"
"Then, what are we waiting for?" Sam impatiently asked.
Her three companions nodded to each other and firmed up their faces with determination. And then Sam pressed the switch to open the closet door to head out and continue on with their mission…
Danny and Vlad still lay on their backs on their beds, weakened even more from their last encounter with Iluzisto. In fact, they were so weak that they barely had control over their forms. Their cores were becoming so damaged that they were actually beginning to go into slight shock and therefore were relaying confusing messages to rest of their bodies. At times, their bodies would stay in human form, and the next they would abruptly and unwillingly turn ghost. Then other times, it would be a mixture of the two, leaving them with their human appearance but in their ghost forms clothing. If they weren't feeling so bad, they would probably be panicking with worry and fear by their cores' lack of control.
Then, their physical bodies weren't faring any better. And it had been especially brutal for the both of them.
Vlad had taken the cruelest brunt of the illusionist spirit's assaults, not only because he was stronger than Danny, but because Iluzisto had a particular distaste for him. After all, Vlad had not only been defiant, but had been coolly smug about it. Still, through it all, Vlad was able to keep somewhat of a much-needed leveled-head, though even that was getting harder to maintain in his present weakened state. Even still, he knew he had to try to keep his mind clear—and think of something—because he felt that he and the boy would surely be needing that in the very near future.
Danny, on the other hand, was fast becoming no threat to Iluzisto. Not only was the boy in his present condition more than two full levels below the Prison Head in power, but his lack of much needed calories was now having a sufficient impact on his ability to recuperate from each of Iluzisto's attacks—even with Okulo's healing him just yesterday. He was now just barely maintaining power even if it was now well below his usual 'seven' energy level. On top of that, he was now beginning to cough and shiver a bit. He was sure he was getting sick again. And that didn't help at all when it came to fighting back in any sense of the world. And as the boy felt his fight to remain conscious waning, he knew that if he didn't get some food—or at least some much needed rest soon—being able to resist the illusionist spirit would be the least of his worries…
As Vlad continued to struggle to keep as alert as possible as he lay on his bed, searching his brain for some other plan of escape, he frowned in frustration. Much as he hated to admit it, he was having a very hard time concentrating enough after all to make any effort to devise even sketchy plans. He was just too weakened from Iluzisto's latest assault—and now he was beginning to feel the effects of not having enough to eat or drink. Still, he kept pushing himself to come up with anything that might help him—and even the boy. He just knew that if he failed, then everything would be lost.
He sighed and turned his head towards Daniel's cell. The invisible barrier was still there, but he could see the boy nevertheless. He couldn't tell whether the younger half-ghost was asleep or unconscious. But from the looks of the dull glow of the boy's ghostly aura, he would guess the latter. He had noticed that with each of Iluzisto's attack Daniel's aura dimmed significantly, before slowly increasing in luster some time afterward. But also with each of those times the glow would return, its luster had permanently ebbed much more than before the last attack. Not to mention that he had seen the boy shivering and coughing, as if he might be getting sick again or…something worse.
The man somehow knew that the boy's want of food and drink and not being able to have enough time to recuperate from Iluzisto's 'visits' were clearly taking their toll on him and was responsible for the boy's diminished aura and slow recovery. Had the boy been full grown, Daniel probably would have been able to withstand all this punishment as well as he. But since Daniel's teen body was always in a state of flux, its demands for nourishment and rest would supercede any grit on the boy's part to fight back. And neither of them had had any sufficient food or water since they were in the infirmary, and, really, not much more even before that. Vlad bit his lower lip at that thought. He really didn't know how much more the boy—and really he—could take...
But he was quickly pulled from his thoughts by a familiar sound echoing down from the hall immediately in front of Daniel's cell.
Someone was coming!
The older hybrid pulled himself up and stood from his bed. He frowned when he lost his balance a little but steeled himself to correct that. Still, he found that hard to do and immediately leaned against the wall next to his bed for support. A moment later, he put on his poker-face and waited.
Plasmius didn't have to wait long and it was soon very apparent that Iluzisto had returned—again. But the older hybrid could not know that the Prison Head was making a very short visit this time because he was actually headed to the Tribunal Hall and could not afford to tarry too long without raising suspicions.
Still, when Iluzisto saw that the older crossbreed was ready for him—as he always seemed to be—the illusionist spirit narrowed his now reddened eye and tightened his grip on his black weapon in hatred. How aggravating! It seemed that no matter how much he punished him, the older crossbreed still somehow managed to give the illusionist spirit the impression that he was unfazed by what was done to him. The man even seemed to have the gall to mock him at times, daring him to do his worst and then acting as if the spirit's worst treatment wasn't enough. That irritated the Prison Head to no end, but he was bound to come out the victor, nevertheless!
He quickly unlocked the door and floated into Danny's cell. He ignored Vlad before glancing down upon the silent boy and grunting. The boy still hadn't recovered! But much to the shock of Vlad, the spirit aimed his black weapon at the boy! Before Vlad could react, Iluzisto poked the younger hybrid on his shoulder.
Danny groaned at the sharp sensation but didn't move or rouse.
"Leave him be!" Vlad finally growled, trying to make his voice's tone sound threatening.
Iluzisto scoffed at the older crossbreed's audacity and with a flick of his staff, a large green ecto-snake appeared and instantly wrapped completely around Vlad, binding and gagging him.
"Silence, freak. I will get to you shortly," Iluzisto intoned calmly before focusing back on the boy…
Vlad struggled against the creature but he knew he was too weak to break free from the illusion. His eyes widened in dread and helplessness, however, when Iluzisto once again drew nearer to the boy with his menacing black weapon. The ecto-snake's tail coiled around the older hybrid's mouth, sufficiently muffling his protesting yell when Iluzisto once again shoved the needle into the unconscious ghost boy's central core!
At first, Danny didn't even flinch at the assault. But then, the Prison Head's staff began to glow and soon he did, too. However, the boy's rings abruptly appeared around his waist, and Iluzisto hissed as he was forced to retract his weapon save the boy turn human with it still lodged inside him.
He couldn't afford to kill either crossbreed, yet….
Iluzisto narrowed his eyes at the ghostly pale and unmoving human teenager now on the bed. Curse it! He had hoped to draw out more power from the little freak; but clearly, his core was still damaged from the last time he had taken the crossbreed's energy a few of hours back. All he got now was a few measly drops! Hardly satisfying!
Iluzisto turned his heavily annoyed stare back over at the other crossbreed, and was further displeased when he could tell by the pale ghost aura on the older ghost's form that he was also too weak to get anything more out of him at the moment. And it would stay this way until these two freaks repaired their cores, something only they could do!
With a growl, Iluzisto turned his attention back on Danny and then the spirit's bony hand grabbed the boy's shoulder and his long, sharp fingernails dug into the boy's shoulder before shaking him violently!
"Wake up, you little crossbreed freak!" he snarled.
No sooner had the spirit done this than Danny began to come to, though his face grimaced, but also frowned as he tried to comprehend why he was both moving and his shoulder was searing in pain. Finally, Danny slowly opened his eyes, only to gasp in fear when a lone reddened eye returned his hazy gaze. He instinctively jolted back away from the spirit's grasp. He wasn't aware that in his panic, he had reflexively morphed into his ghostly form, and then gasped again when he barely kept himself from tumbling off his cot.
Iluzisto's eye seemed to convey both amusement and annoyance at the same time as he pulled his hand back. Then hungrily looking the boy over and seeing that the boy's ghostly aura was now suddenly brighter, the spirit darkly said, "Amazing…How you have managed to recover so abruptly is beyond my understanding. However, I can see you are not recovered enough to be of use to me. So in the meantime, now it is time for you to hear and obey..."
"As if what you did to me just now makes me want to do that!" Danny nevertheless managed to spit back with quite a bit of grit, just as he cupped his injured shoulder.
"You will not speak to me in that manner, crossbreed!" the spirit immediately hissed, pointing his weapon more threateningly at the boy. "I can easily drive this back inside you and bleed your weakened core of its last reserve of energy until you are a withered husk!"
Vlad tensed but could do nothing.
Even though the Prison Head knew that the boy was no threat in his still weakened state and with the collar, he still didn't want the younger crossbreed's making any demands.
Yet, the boy's determination and defiance impressed Iluzisto even as it still irritated him. What was with these two crossbreeds, anyway? Didn't they know that they didn't stand a chance against him? Still, they had been the only creatures who had managed to survive this long while bleeding them of their ghost energy. In the end, however, it did not matter! He had almost everything he needed from them, and once he did, they would no longer serve any purpose. He hungrily licked his imaginary lips. He would rip their fully-charged central cores from their pathetic bodies and infuse them into him before either crossbreed could scream from the pain!….Getting rid of them would only be an afterthought, then.
The Prison Head then continued, "As I said, your abilities are quite amazing. But you still must complete the process of repairing yourself. You know of what I speak."
"I won't help you any more with that!" Danny protested, pulling himself to an unsteady, yet defiant, stand.
Clearly upset, Iluzisto once again jabbed his weapon threateningly toward the boy.
"Your resistance does not matter. I will have you do my bidding. In fact, I demand that you fully repair yourselves forthwith!"
Shifting his gaze slightly toward Vlad, Iluzisto then flicked his weapon and the ecto-snake holding the older ghost hybrid disappeared.
Vlad instantly rubbed his arms but said nothing. But before Vlad could react, the invisible barrier vanished and then an unforeseen force suddenly wrapped around him and pulled him toward Iluzisto, drawing him dangerously close to the tip of the dark weapon.
Danny's eyes widened in anger and he unconsciously stepped forward, only to feel dizzy and a loss of strength at that abrupt movement. He instantly lost his balance a bit. He kept himself from falling, but not before Iluzisto had mistaken the boy's actions for his trying to intervene. And while still keeping Vlad under control, the spirit rapidly fired upon the teen.
Danny yelled as he felt a burning sensation at his throat while his body was being thrust violently to the floor. He lay there, his head spinning. But what he didn't know was that when Iluzisto had shot him, the illusionist spirit had meant to fire at his chest. But because at that precise moment the boy had lost his balance, the force of the blast penetrated the neck collar instead of the boy's body. Even still, the force had shoved Danny's body to the ground and compounded his dizziness. In spite of that, the boy scowled at the spirit and pulling himself up, slightly growled, "So much for insisting that I repair myself!" But then, his dizziness increased and he unwittingly fell back to the floor.
The Prison Head grunted in anger but turned back to Vlad, and tightening the force around the older crossbreed so that Plasmius knew he meant business, hissed, "You will command the boy to repair himself fully and yourself as well!"
"He won't obey me!" Vlad insisted, struggling against the invisible tight band around him.
"If you refuse to make him obey, then I will most definitely kill you this time!" Iluzisto said, the ghostly blood vessels radiating from his lone pupil suddenly reddening and throbbing more in anger. He lifted his weapon up, aiming it at the older crossbreed's central core.
But Vlad calmly replied, "I've already suspected that much was part of your plan in the end. I guess, then, that you will just have to follow through on that sooner than you wanted."
Iluzisto growled. If he didn't still need the full power of these two, he would eliminate this one right now! Instead, he sent an angry wave of purple energy into the older hybrid and Plasmius yelled with the assault. But it wasn't so strong as to knock him out. Momentarily helpless while still within the clutches of the invisible force field, Vlad watched in uncertain anticipation as Iluzisto floated over to Daniel.
The Prison Head yanked the still dazed younger crossbreed up and quickly faced the boy toward the older hybrid while pinning him against his chest at almost the same time. Then in the next moment, he pulled up the sharp end of his black weapon and firmly pressed it into Danny's neck just under his neck restraint.
In spite of still feeling dizzy from the spirit's last attack, Danny immediately resisted, drawing his gloved hands up to grasp the weapon. But before his hands could so much as touch the staff, two purple bands appeared around each of the teen's wrists. And in spite of Danny's concerted effort to counter the movement, the bands forcefully pulled each of his hands downward and then toward his back. As soon as the bands touched each other behind the young ghost's back, they melded into each other, keeping his arms firmly behind him.
Once the illusionist spirit had total control, and before Danny could resist any more, the Prison Head purposely pressed the weapon harder into Danny's neck, twisting it as he did and easily drawing ectoplasm.
Danny grunted with the pain, closing his eyes; but he refused to give the spirit any pleasure by yelling out in any way.
Vlad's eyes widened in dread and he knew that Iluzisto wasn't bluffing in the least with this latest—and obviously possibly deadly—threat.
"All right!" Vlad said, "Leave him be! We will do as you say!"
"No, Plasmius, I won't…." Danny began to protest, but he wasn't able to complete his thoughts.
Iluzisto was so irritated with the boy's infuriating obstinacy that he threw the teenager across the cell room before he pulled out the remote controlling the young crossbreed's collar and pressed the button.
Danny instantly screamed and writhed in pain.
"I have tolerated your defiance long enough, freak!" Iluzisto sneered as he floated towards the boy. "You will do what I want!"
In spite the pain coursing through him, Danny managed to gasp out, "No!"
Iluzisto's eye swelled as he saw hot red; even with pain in the child's voice, the spirit could hear loud and clear the young crossbreed's outright insolence. And it took everything in Iluzisto not to kill the young crossbreed right then and there. But in his fury, he grabbed his staff and shot an electrical ray at the teen on top of the electricity from the collar already assaulting him.
The resultant surge in electricity in the collar both increased—and short-circuited—its power. Nevertheless, the teen was given a powerful zap as a result, and was effectively knocked out by it.
"Foolish crossbreed!" Iluzisto hissed as he wrenched up the unconscious teen by the neck again before wrapping his arm around and under his upper body.
This time pulling the sharp end of his staff even tighter against the youngest ghost's neck and actually lifting his head up with it for emphasis, Iluzisto growled, "You see how powerful I am, crossbreed! And you know how very aware I am of your…weakness…your feelings about the boy. Strange that you should have such feelings when you do not have any shared life energy with him and when he is not your offspring. I thought humans would only care for another for that reason….But it is of no concern in the end. If you cannot control him or yourself, then I will kill him right now!"
Just then, Iluzisto began to press his staff against the boy's neck, slowly digging it into his ghostly flesh, and more of Danny's ectoplasm began to ooze downward, quickly soaking his costume's collar.
But Danny didn't stir.
In spite of how infuriating it was to have this spirit use his weakness for the boy against him, which in turn, made Plasmius feel weak, that indignation was nothing compared to his growing dread. And now a bit panicked when the sight of the boy's ectoplasm triggered a recent memory, the one where he had seen Daniel dead and covered in blood, and yet now convinced that what was happening was real, Vlad thought of a desperate—and atypical—response. He hurriedly replied, "I agree! You are more powerful than us, but we won't be able to repair ourselves unless you give us food and water. You know that we are…crossbreeds, and so have different requirements than such a superior spirit as you. And you also know that we are no good to you unless we are whatever full strength these neck collars allow."
"And what about him?" Iluzisto sneered, pulling the unconscious boy's head up once more with his staff.
Knowing that he had to placate the Prison Head and also certain that Iluzisto still must have wanted them very much alive, Plasmius replied, "As you also are aware, I do not own the boy, and he doesn't have the same….weakness you mentioned about me. In fact, as you are probably also aware, he doesn't even like me that much. And he is very stubborn, and is, no doubt, hard to control. But, you cannot expect him in any case to repair himself when he is in such need of nourishment and rest. Once he gets that, then I will be able to get him to repair himself. And I will also do the same."
Iluzisto's eye narrowed in distrust at the older crossbreed's words, but he did need to keep focused on his plans. Plus, for once, this older crossbreed's voice was not smug in his delivering his words. With a grunt and an irritated flick of his staff, Danny vanished from within the arms of the Prison Head.
At first, Vlad's eyes widened in dread, but in the next instant, the boy rematerialized face up on his bed, the wrist restraints gone, and his arms now draping either side of his bed. Though his neck and shoulder wounds were still there, they were no longer bleeding. Still, it was obvious that the boy was not stirring.
But before the older hybrid could say anything more, a small table appeared right next to Danny's bed. And upon it were several sandwiches and a large pitcher of water with two glasses next to it.
Then Iluzisto hissed, "You have thirty minutes of your human time to consume that and make the boy consume his share. And then to repair yourselves."
Without another word, the Prison Head quickly began to exit the cell. But just as he secured the lock, he waved his black staff and the invisible band around Plasmius disappeared.
"Thirty minutes, crossbreed!" he hissed once more before totally retreating.
Or, at least, that's what he made the crossbreeds believe. Instead, he hid in the hall using his stealth mode, as he silently watched his prey, wanting to see just how much they recovered after eating… and also so he could observe more of their interaction…
Plasmius walked over to the teen, suddenly feeling the full effects of Iluzisto's attacks and his own lack of food and water. But he quickly poured some water into one of the glasses, placed it back down on the table and went up to Danny's side.
"Why do you have to make everything so difficult, Daniel?" he sighed before sitting down next to him. "But, let's get on with it, shall we?"
He slowly hoisted the boy up to a sitting position; and Danny began to groan and then open his eyes.
"Here, Daniel, drink this," Vlad quietly said just as he reached for the full glass of water. The man steadied the boy when Danny suddenly lost his balance and then brought the glass up to his lips.
And because Danny hadn't quite regained his senses enough to comprehend what the older hybrid was saying, much less protest, he obeyed and began to drink. But when the younger hybrid realized that this was water—and not that grey liquid stuff—he was drinking, he then reached up and took the cup with both hands and starting drawing it in with more gusto.
Vlad immediately said, "Easy, Daniel, there's plenty here. And there's also something for us both to eat."
Danny blinked his eyes with comprehension this time and looked at the man. He finally stammered, "T-There is? I-Is it real?"
Plasmius smirked a little and replied, "Yes, my boy. But I wouldn't recommend either of us inhaling any of it in unless you want it back out just as quickly—and just as real—if you know what I mean."
Danny managed a weak smile and nodded.
In no time, the two hybrids were enjoying their simple meal. And even though they wanted to enjoy it with as much relish if it had been from one of their favorite restaurants, they ate and drank slowly and carefully.
Though feeling somewhat refreshed now that they had eaten and drunk everything, the two hybrids knew that this was still not enough to replenish their strength.
Finally, the older hybrid broke the news to Danny.
"Even though I think we both feel a little better now that we've had some decent food and drink, we still need to repair our ghost cores."
In the shadows, Iluzisto's eye curved triumphantly, though he still remained hidden…
"But that's what Iluzisto wants, Vlad, and I won't let him get away with using me again!" Danny protested.
"Listen, Daniel," Vlad said, his voice suddenly growing very somber. "I agree with you about Iluzisto on both counts. But, there's still the need for us to try to escape whenever the opportunity presents itself; and we won't be able to even attempt that unless we're as strong as possible."
Danny blinked at the older hybrid and frowned. He hated it when the fruit loop was right!
Meanwhile, Iluzisto resisted the urge to growl. Foolish creatures wanted to attempt to escape again? Well, it would not happen. If they had not managed to do so before when they had been in prime condition, then they certainly would not now. Still, what truly angered the illusionist spirit was the younger of his two prisoners. That young crossbreed was really proving to be the bane of his existence. The older one could set the spirit off with his arrogance, but the younger one… He had to commonly keep himself from shaking with fury at how defiant the little freak could be. And right now was certainly one of those times. If he continued to refuse to repair his core, then how was he to finish gaining the energy he needed to escape his own shackles?
No. He was too close! Too close for this insignificant crossbreed freak to ruin it all for him!
However, Iluzisto mentally paused in his angry rant when he remembered something else. Of course… He also knew the young crossbreed's weakness… And all he needed to do was extort it to his advantage…
Iluzisto suddenly lost his stealth mode and reappeared.
And just as Danny had been about to reply to Vlad, they both heard a small chuckle echo from the hallway. Eyes darting towards the sound, the hybrids tense at the sight of Iluzisto; yet externally they glared, both realizing the spirit had never truly left.
"So much for giving us thirty minutes of peace!" Vlad protested indignantly, though he wasn't really aware of the time.
"He obviously has nothing better to do, Plasmius," Danny added in a growl. "Plus, when does he ever keep his word?"
"Silence!" Iluzisto firmly demanded and immediately activated the neck collars; but even though the collars had been damaged, they still packed a punch when they were set off. Both hybrids yelled and were brought to their knees with the pain.
Iluzisto stopped in front of the cells, but didn't unlock the cell door. Instead, he narrowed his now reddened eye and continued, "I will not tolerate any more of your disrespect or disobedience! You are both mine now! But since you insist on continuing to be both, hear me well!"
He shot another zap through their neck braces, but the Prison Head had purposely not made it as powerful as the last one. But then, Danny fell to the ground at the assault and lay panting with his dizziness.
Iluzisto was surprised that it still affected the younger crossbreed more. He narrowed his eye in dissatisfaction now that he suspected that the younger creature might need more time to recover than he wanted to give him. Or perhaps what he had supplied for the replenishment of the younger crossbreed hadn't been enough. He growled in frustration, but nevertheless pushed on with why he had returned so quickly.
He addressed both of the crossbreeds, "You will now make every effort from now on to repair yourselves each time I have need of your unique energies. If you refuse any longer, I will make real what you two have discovered to have been an illusion: this time, I will truly find and eliminate the rest of the younger crossbreed's so called 'loved ones'. I believe you call them 'parents'. In fact, I will be bringing them here as my prisoners so you will be certain that I never bluff!"
"No!" Danny grunted out as he attempted to get back on his feet. And somehow managing it, he looked up at Iluzisto and weakly threatened, "I swear if you—"
"I said silence!" Iluzisto yelled, drowning out the boy's voice with his booming demand and the loud clap that came from the bottom of his staff as he slammed it against the ground.
"You still dare to refute me?" the spirit hissed at Danny. "You think I cannot easily eliminate your human guardians as I did those three pathetic human children that you cared so much about?"
"Mom, Dad! / Maddie!" each of the hybrid's respectively thought, but kept silent as they continued to listen to the evil spirit's threats.
"Reconsider who you anger, crossbreed—both of you!" Iluzisto added glaring over at Plasmius. However, focusing mostly on the teen again, he said more calmly, yet darkly, "It will be all too easy to find and finish off your remaining loved ones, young crossbreed. After all…"
Iluzisto's eye suddenly curved smugly as he voiced his next words, "Clockwork lacked hesitance when he told me where to locate your three young human companions. He even said he would aid me to find your remaining two loved ones, remember? Yes, I think I will take his offer…. Unless, you both give me what I want…"
However, before Danny or Vlad could say anything to their ultimatum, Okulo suddenly floated up behind the Prison Head.
"Master Prison Head," Okulo said respectfully, though there was also smugness in his voice.
Iluzisto regarded the liaison; and as if sharing some silent conversation with each other, the illusionist spirit then turned back to the two stunned hybrids and said with finality, "Reconsider your positions carefully, crossbreeds…"
Without another word, Iluzisto sharply turned away and hurriedly left with Okulo. However, the liaison glanced knowingly at the two prisoners with his own departure—for once not protesting with the fact that the hybrids were not separated as the High Council had ordered.
Iluzisto knew there would be no rush for him to return to secure the crossbreed into their respective cells since he had to admit that the older crossbreed might need to help the younger one recover again. And, again, that it would probably take time. Still, he knew he could not delay returning. He did not want to give the hybrids any more opportunity to be together than was necessary…. Oddly, they seem to feed off each other's endurance, and that made them even more difficult to deal with…
Unfortunately, Iluzisto had to report back to Justeco and Okulo's coming to get him was a sure sign that he had taken more time than necessary with the crossbreeds. And he could not afford to delay his presence in front of the High Tribunal at this stage of his plans.
The crossbreeds would have to wait—for now.
Pulling himself up, Vlad growled, "Blast! Curse that demented spirit!"
Danny then gritted his teeth, just as—or more—angry and agitated than Vlad. He couldn't let Iluzisto hurt his parents; but the teen also refused to be responsible for the spirit's escape, either! And knowing what they needed to do to avoid both outcomes, he said in determination, "You were saying about escaping, Vlad?"
In the next instant, he began to activate his transformation rings, ready to repair his ghost core.
"I totally agree, my boy!" Vlad firmly replied, before willing his own transformation rings.
They both knew repairing their ghost cores was exactly what Iluzisto wanted; but the hybrids also needed to recover their energies if they were going to pull together for one last escape attempt before Iluzisto returned to steal their remaining will as easily as he could steal their energy…
A/N: truephan here, y'all: Hope that got your weekend all excited! Looks like things are coming to a crescendo! Hope you like it all and let us know! You know we love to hear y'all's thoughts!
Pearl: Yup! What Truephan said! Also, good news! I have CM ready! I will post it tomorrow! See ya over there!