Seeing is disBelieving

by pearl84

Cowritten with Truephan. Rated T. Before PP. Ghost OCs. Caught in the crossfire between Time and Existence, Danny and Vlad are forced to face the Master of Time, the Defenders of Existence, a new Enforcer, and, ultimately, extinction. Full summary inside

31. Chapter 31: Trying to Get it Together

Pearl: Hello all! Welcome back! And sorry for the lack of updates; that's my fault. My schedule in the past weeks has been all over the place. Anyhow, I hope this one makes up for that! We are starting to get into the fun part! The final Climax! Yay! Well, Enjoy! See you all at the end!

A/N: truephan here: Well, hellow, everyone. Miss us? We sure did miss y'all. Sorry about the late update…You know how the best laid plans of mice and men are…well, that happened to us. But, fortunately, we had cheese and football to take care of those…complications. *permission to slap Ms. Hyde NOT truephan.* But in any case, all kidding aside, guys, we're glad we got this going and got you to tune in. See ya downstairs. Hope you like. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: We do not own Danny Phantom.

---

Chapter 31: Trying to Get it Together

---

It was pretty convenient how much easier and faster it was to get to the Realm Beyond Time when you were flying at top speed in the Specter Speeder and had an Observant navigating. In a matter of under an hour, Team Phantom had reached the entrance to the spirit terrain and were now on their way to the Observants' territory.

"Don't you think this is the last place we should be taking your brother?" Tucker spoke as he steered the speeder right at the landmark Justeco had just pointed at.

"I would prefer it be somewhere else," the High Tribune agreed with a weary sigh. "But do not fear, young human. I do not intend to hide him anywhere near our abode. It will be in a place he will be well guarded and it will be highly unlikely for Iluzisto to intrude upon any time soon."

"Okay, so why are we heading towards your place, then?" Tucker further questioned, now confused.

"Because this place I wish to take my brother is within the Realm Beyond Time—only it is a much greater distance deeper, so it would take too long to get there, even with this flying contraption. Luckily, we Observants have a door within our fortress that takes us directly to this location. As I said, it is still within the Timeless Realm. And this is where my brother needs to be, being that the lack of time here can ease the discomfort of the time spell Iluzisto has put upon us."

"What about you?" Jazz questioned worriedly. "You do not look all that well, either."

Justeco somehow conveyed a smile with his eye as he replied to the girl. "I appreciate your kind concern. But I shall be well." He pulled out his Timeless Orb and showed it to the humans as he further said, "My orb is helping me withstand the ravaging effects of time. It cannot lift the curse, but it will help me for as long as it can…"

"And how long is that…?" Sam asked uncertainly. "And why can't it help your brother and the other Observants, too?"

Justeco glanced back at his barely conscious brother who was lying back in a reclining seat just behind the front cabin before sullenly answering, "The orb only protects and helps me, unfortunately. But as I said, it cannot keep the curse from its intended purpose. It only alleviates the weakness and discomfort I feel, but I fear it will not be for too long—just as being in the Timeless Realm will not aid my brother forever. I predict we have over a day of the human world time before we succumb to the Oblivion…"

"Don't worry, Justeco. None of us are going to let that happen," Jazz assured him, placing a hand on the spirit's arm, while the others nodded in agreement.

Justeco just stared at the humans, still unable to understand or believe their kindness.

But it wasn't the High Tribune who voiced their gratitude…

"T-Thank y-you," Konsilisto raggedly whispered from behind the cabin seats where he lay.

Apparently, the spirit was awake enough to hear the entire conversation.

Justeco quickly gasped and flew from his seat to his brother's side. "Konsilisto! You are conscious!"

His brother nodded weakly before whispering out, "We-We were so wrong about them, brother… So… So wrong."

Justeco nodded and placed a hand against his brother's head. "Yes, we were. But we will make things right again, Konsilisto. Somehow, we will. You have my word."

"The-The half-ghosts… You must… saved them from… Iluzisto… He wants… He said…"

Justeco's eyes widened in dread when he quickly remembered what his brother was talking about…

"But as I said, I plan to deliver their final verdict myself… You see," Iluzisto continued sneakily, "I was paying attention through the entire trial against the crossbreeds. And thanks to you all, I know all about that dark creature hidden in Clockwork's Tower…"

"No! You cannot free him!" Justeco suddenly cried out.

"Free him?" Iluzisto asked, amused. "Oh, please. Why would I want to do that? No, I have no interest in that creature. But, you see, I did learn one thing. And that is that that creature had become the most powerful and evil ghost in all existence. But I know why…."

Iluzisto grinned with his eye again. "He is made up of both crossbreeds. That creature has both of their cores fused inside himself! Do you realize the importance of that? Whoever can obtain that sort of power, whoever can obtain their cores, would be invincible! And guess who will be obtaining them? ME!" he said with a victorious laugh. "It will be all too easy. All I have to do is reach right into them while they are in their ghost forms and rip out their cores, and fuse them both with my own!"

With all that was happening at the time, he had forgotten to warn the young halfa!

"You must… warn him, brother!" Konsilisto gasped out.

But before Justeco could say anything to his brother, Sam and Jazz, who had left their chairs to see for themselves how Konsilisto was doing, interrupted their seemingly cryptic conversation.

"Warn who about what?" Jazz asked.

Justeco stared sadly at his brother before glancing at the human girls. "I am afraid much more is at stake than what I have shared with you all…"

"Is everything okay back there? I can't hear you guys!" Tucker suddenly called out.

And knowing this was important, Justeco raised his voice loud enough so that the human boy would also hear before he quickly told the two girls Iluzisto's plan for the half-ghosts.

"So… Iluzisto is after my brother again?" Jazz asked in alarm when the Observant leader finished.

"Yes. That is why time is of the essence," Justeco answered. "Not just for us Observants, but also for both half-ghosts. It is only a matter of time before Iluzisto tracks down both of them. And if they are not ready to face him, then…"

"Danny will be ready!" Sam said firmly. "And we are going to be right there to back him up and keep that sick spirit from hurting him."

"As I said, Iluzisto has grown powerful," Justeco said. "Danny Phantom will also need Vlad Plasmius' help. I can only hope the boy will convince him, at least for their sakes."

"Man, that is so gross!" Tucker said from the front of the speeder. "I mean, he wants to rip out their cores? That's like heart surgery without the anesthesia!"

"Okay, Tucker! We get the point!" Sam snapped, though she was just mostly stricken with that mental image.

"I surely share your repulsion of such an act," Justeco answered. "But I am afraid Iluzisto is as merciless as he is ruthless. He feeds off of inflicting pain and angst to others as he feeds of off of their ghost energy."

"T-The half-ghosts will stop him," Konsilisto rasped out.

"They will. My brother will make sure of it," Jazz assured the weak spirit, taking one of his limp hands and squeezing it.

But Jazz was only able to hold it for a second before the Observant's hand suddenly wisped and her hand went through him. Not a moment later, more open sores then broke out on his large eye.

Justeco gasped at what he saw and he quickly moved closer to his brother again. "Konsilisto?"

"I am fading fast, brother. I am not strong enough to withstand this," Konsilisto moaned as his body flickered in and out of solidity.

"But you are!" Justeco replied firmly. "You are so much stronger than you give yourself credit for, brother! It is you who has stood by my side throughout our entire existence—you have been my rock, Konsilisto! And it was you now who dared to hope beyond hope that we have a chance to make it through this now! It is you who first gave me faith that Danny Phantom can save us! You cannot retract from that now, brother! I need you more than ever!"

"Yeah, dude!" Tucker suddenly spoke up, faintly hearing what was going on. "We are all rooting for you!"

"Danny would be devastated if something happened to you, Konsilisto. You can make it!" Jazz added.

"And think about Iluzisto," Sam then said. "You want to give him the satisfaction of him getting away with hurting you and all the other Observants? You must fight back!"

Konsilisto stared between all the beings around him, having heard each and every one of their encouraging words.

Somehow, it indeed gave the counselor the strength to fight back.

Closing his eye, Konsilisto focused on his body and forced it to not relent. Suddenly, he solidified again and with a loud groan, the counselor pushed himself to a sitting position.

Justeco was so astounded by his brother's sudden strength and determination that all he could do was stare back.

"You are all right. It is time to stop being weak," Konsilisto said with difficulty, but his determination was set in his eye as he opened it. "I might not be strong enough to physically fight against Iluzisto, but I will do so now by not giving into this curse for as long as I can!"

"That's the spirit!" Jazz beamed, only to cringe at her unintended pun.

But Justeco suddenly laughed. "You human creatures are so full of surprises. Again, thank you!"

"No problem, man," Tucker interrupted. "But it would be nice if you came back up here, because we're at your place."

Justeco shared a look with his brother before the High Tribune floated back towards the front with Sam following. Jazz, however, decided to stay with Konsilisto.

Justeco quickly looked out the front window and stared at the outside surroundings. He could indeed see the Observant fortress approaching. But knowing from his previous time that Iluzisto's guards could be anywhere, the High Tribune searched for a place to hide the large aircraft.

He soon spotted a large crevice in a nearby floating boulder.

"There," Justeco said, pointing a sharp claw at the rock some yards away. "You all must remain hidden while I take my brother to a place he will be safe."

"What?" Sam quickly objected. "You expect us to hide in some rock while you go sneak inside through evil-ghost-infested halls and risk getting captured or worse? I don't think so!"

"Please, young human!" Justeco replied with distress. "I appreciate your wanting to help, but you must let me do this on my own! My brother and I know our home and terrain better than any of Iluzisto's guards. And furthermore, I can manage to turn my brother and I invisible should the need arise; but I fear I do not have the energy for anymore. So, the best way you can help us is by remaining hidden until I return. Please."

Sam glanced at Tucker with an unconvinced frown, but then the boy sighed and told Justeco seriously, "Okay, dude. But if you are not back in ten minutes, we are coming in after you."

Justeco blinked in confusion. He knew that the young human was talking about the passage of time, but he didn't really completely comprehend what that meant. He then asked, "'Ten minutes'? Is that what you would call a 'long period of time'?"

"Well, not really," Tucker admitted. "But we don't want you to be late."

"All right, then. Twenty. Give me twenty minutes," Justeco compromised.

"Fifteen," Jazz suddenly said as she and Konsilisto moved into the front cabin, both having heard everything.

"Brother!" Justeco gasped out, seeing him floating on his own for the most part.

Konsilisto nodded. "I agree with the humans. If they believe fifteen minutes of their time is adequate, then I, too, believe you will make it."

"It is you for whom I am worried," Justeco answered seriously.

"I will manage. Now, let us go before we are discovered," Konsilisto answered.

"Here. Use my watch," Jazz suddenly said, quickly taking it off her wrist. She turned on the timer before giving it to the Observant leader.

Justeco took the watch and glanced at it in puzzlement before looking at the humans and then at his brother.

"It's all right," Jazz began, understanding that lost look. "It will keep track of the time for you. Once it beeps, you will know that you're out of time and you have to get back."

Reluctantly, the High Tribune sighed in defeat and finally nodded.

Without a word, Sam opened the side door to let the Observants out. "Good luck," she told them seriously, though she looked highly worried.

Justeco paused and looked at the young girl just as he was about to float out. His eye curved into a small smile before he said, "I understand now why the young half-ghost is so taken by you…"

Sam's mouth slightly opened in a mixture of disbelief and the urge to protest; but before she could think of anything to say to that, the two Observants flew out. Not aware that she was still slightly blushing, she watched after the spirits until they used their invisibility powers and vanished from sight.

"Sam!" Tucker called at her, snapping the girl out of it. "Come on! Close the door! We need to hide!"

"Uh, right!" she muttered and did just that.

As Tucker flew the Specter Speeder to the indicated hiding spot, Justeco and Konsilisto flew closer and closer to their destination. They both sensed a sudden, odd stirring within that they did not need to express to each other. And that was that, somehow, nearing their home felt very different this time. They had felt lost and afraid not too long before when they had snuck in to use Justeco's portal to try to find some sort of help.

Now, they had a new hope. And it fueled them with determination and courage.

Although they were careful, especially when they had to fly past guards even when they were still able to maintain their invisibility, they moved quickier than before and with little hesitation. Konsilisto was lagging a bit behind, but he continued forward all the same.

Eventually, they made it to their destination: the hallway with the Realm Doors. They were, of course, the doors within the Hall of Dimensions, the same hallway that Kvargvid and the other escapees had used to flee into their own realms.

"D-Do you think they will help us, brother?" Konsilisto whispered when he saw what door his brother was intending to activate. "You know they do not interfere unless necessary."

"I know," Justeco agreed, all the while continuing to scan both ends of the hallway to make sure they were still alone. "But we are not asking for their help. Just their refuge—at least for you. I know the… Ancients will grant it to you, even if it is for the time being. Just… tell them we will fix our mistake."

Justeco glanced at the Realm Door which he knew would open into the Ancients' terrain. Being that the mysterious spirits lived deep within the Realm Beyond Time, this door was the quickest means for an Observant to get to their 'realm'…

Konsilisto, too, glanced at the door with uncertainty. It wasn't that he feared the Ancients. They were a fair and docile group of spirits for the most part… It was just that they were also like bees. If stirred… It would mean trouble for more than just them.

But his brother was right; they would not deny an ally sanctuary, and the Observants were considered allies—for the most part at least.

"You will need my help to find our kin again, Justeco," Konsilisto reminded his brother, clearly reluctant to go.

"You are right…" Justeco answered. "But I just need our connection…"

"Then, you know what to do," Konsilisto replied seriously.

Justeco froze when he and his brother saw a guard enter the hallway. They waited for the ghost to move on before replying to his brother, "But it will weaken you, Konsilisto. No, I can find another way. Perhaps I can recall from memory…"

"Brother," Konsilisto interrupted him. "It was both our first time in the Human World and we were very disconcerted. I highly doubt you will be able to return from memory. I will be fine, and let us not forget that this will weaken you, too, since you will have to use your powers."

Justeco remained quiet, and seeing he was convincing him, Konsilisto further added, "We must save our kin, brother, and if this is how I can help, then you must let me!"

The High Tribune finally nodded and reluctantly pulled out his orb and wrapped his hand around it. "I will try my best not to use too much energy so as not to drain you, alright?"

Konsilisto nodded before he extended his hand and placed it over his brother's hand so that both of their hands were now cupping the orb. They had done this before and knew what to do. But they also both knew that in their condition, what they were about to do was risky and could be the means of their destruction.

Justeco hesitated again; but then with a sigh, he squeezed the orb and activated it. Its energy quickly encased them both and in another instant, the orb connected their cores. This would now allow Justeco to use the combined power to track their kin, much like they had used it previously to track a portal back to the Ghost Zone. Their energy was now linked, so it was as if they were one. It meant they could give each other strength and power; but… it also meant that if one of them got hurt or weakened, the other would also suffer, or it also could lead to their demise.

It was a double-edged sword, but it was the best they had right now.

When the orb finished the process, Konsilisto stumbled back until his back was against a wall, while Justeco gasped as he lost the ability to keep them both invisible. Using his energy to activate the orb and further bind their cores had weakened him.

"Go now, Brother!" Justeco whispered urgently to his brother as he floated over to him and helped him float towards the intended door.

"You must turn invisible before someone sees you, Justeco!" Konsilisto uttered weakly.

"I will. As soon as you are through the door," Justeco insisted before he turned his attention back to the door and said to it,"Observi Antikvan Loĝejon!" (1)

The door quickly glowed and swung open.

Konsilisto glanced back at his brother as his eye swelled with tears at the thought of this being the last time he could possibly see him again. The counselor couldn't take it, and he suddenly wrapped his arms around his brother and hugged him for all he was worth. "I-I love you, brother! I do! Forgive me for all of this! Forgive me!"

"There is nothing to forgive, and you know I also love you deeply, Konsilisto," Justeco quietly voiced, fearing he would also cry if he said it any louder. "Do not worry. This is not good-bye. We will see each other again soon—when this nightmare is over. I promise."

Konsilisto nodded and sniffed a bit more before he finally forced himself to let go. "Until then, Justeco," he said sadly before he turned from his brother and vanished through the open door.

The door instantly shut and Justeco took a shuddering ghostly breath as he pressed his hands against the closed door.

"I will see you again, brother," Justeco thought as he closed his eyes and a single tear escaped it.

But suddenly hearing the sound of chattering, the High Tribune quickly pushed back his sorrow and forced his tired body to become invisible.

And he did so just in time, since a group of Iluzisto's guards quickly appeared from the opposite end of the hallway.

Like before, Justeco stealthy made his way back out of the Observants' domain. But… his fortune didn't last very long after that.

Just as he had turned the last hall towards the exit, Justeco felt a strong wave of weakness and he quickly lost invisibility.

—Right in front of a guard posted in front of the door.

The guard blinked in surprise at the sudden appearance of the Observant; but seeing who it was and sure his leader had captured him, the guard jolted and stumbled with his weapon as he asked, "H-How did you…?"

However, the guard wasn't able to finish…

Justeco instinctively raised his orb and fired a shot from it at the guard, knocking him unconscious…

But the guard's loud cry of pain caught the attention of some other of Iluzisto's cronies and Justeco panicked.

He quickly pushed the senseless guard out of his way and flew through the door. He zoomed as fast as his weak body could through the green atmosphere towards where he knew the young humans were.

However, now that he was in full view, the guards that had been patrolling the outer perimeters as well as the others that had already been alerted from inside the Observants' place easily spotted him and sounded the alarm.

Trupo, one of the Iluzisto's officers, was there and he quickly ordered his guards to capture the Observant.

Justeco cried in fear as several energy-blasts flew past him, while he was forced to dodge the rest. But the exertion was taking a toll on him and all too soon, one of the blasts hit him from behind and quickly electrocuted his entire body.

Justeco cried out in pain as the jolt forced him to a stop. He looked further ahead, seeing the boulder he needed to reach. But he was too weak to propel himself forward anymore and the guards had taken advantage of that fact to catch up to him.

However, just as the guards were close enough to surround Justeco, several sudden blasts rained down from nowhere and blasted them away.

Justeco gasped in relief as the speeder suddenly moved up alongside him and the door opened for him to get in.

The Observant floated in and quickly collapsed on the floor.

"How did you all….?" he began to pant out.

"We told you, dude, fifteen minutes. It's been sixteen," Tucker replied with a smirk.

Justeco pulled out the watch from his cloak and saw it was indeed past the fifteen minute mark. His eye curved into a small smile as he then said, "Oh, now I understand about what that small irritating beep was. I thought that guard's reaction sounded odd! So, I had completely forgotten to check the watch; but thank goodness you are all better at calculating time, especially when the concept is still so new and foreign to me…"

"We get a lot of practice with Danny," Jazz replied with a grin; but then she looked at Sam and Tucker and said more seriously, "I think it's time we high-tail it out of here, you two."

"Way ahead of you," Tucker said, already having activated the thrusters.

"But, first, let's give these creeps a good-bye present," Sam said with a dark smirk as she activated the Specter Speeder's shield before making it expand outwards, throwing all the attacking guards painfully away. "Okay, now we can go!" she said happily.

"I worry about you sometimes," Tucker dryly told the goth girl before he pressed down the accelerator and took off at top speed away from the Observants' terrain.

Jazz helped Justeco off the floor and towards his seat after the initial take-off. "You better rest for a bit, Justeco. You look even worse, if that's possible."

Justeco nodded. "Yes, but it was worth it. My brother will be safe, and I have enough power to locate our kin."

"Good. Danny should be back by now. Let's just hope he convinced Vlad," Tucker replied.

"Hope is the key word there, Tucker," Sam reminded her friend.

Jazz and Tucker just remained quiet, knowing how right their friend was.

---

"I cannot thank you all enough for your kindness, young humans," Justeco said as he and Team Phantom returned from the Ghost Zone, and stepped out of the speeder once it had landed in the Fenton lab.

"Indeed that Danny Phantom is fortunate to have such merciful and loyal companions and sibling."

"You're welcome, dude," Tucker answered with a benign shrug. But then he further smiled as he added, "And, really, you know it works both ways. We're lucky to have Danny, too."

"Yes, my little brother is a real hero," Jazz added with a small smile.

Sam nodded and smiled in agreement, before changing the subject, "So… are you sure your brother will be okay with these… Ancient spirits?"

Though Justeco had briefly explained to them about the Observants' allies on their return trip, Team Phantom still wasn't so sure about them.

Justeco sighed with slight worry. "I can only hope, young human. The Ancients are very adamant about being left alone, but they will not turn down an ally in need. I am fairly certain he will be safe with them. Iluzisto will first be sure to gain more power and minions before daring to challenge other spirits, especially the Ancients."

"Maybe after you show us where Iluzisto is keeping the other Observants, you can join your brother," Jazz suggested, seeing how troubled the Observant was. "You will probably feel better and be safer there, too."

But Justeco shook his head. "I cannot just remain hidden in the relative safety and comfort of the Ancients' abode while my kind is quickly being consumed by time within a cave that has sped up the process of their demise. I have for too long watched and done nothing, only ordering others to do my 'dirty work' as Clockwork would say. But that ends now. I am responsible for the Observants. And I will do whatever I must to save my kin. Either that, or I will perish here with them," he said with conviction.

The teenage trio just looked at each other. They could see that the Observant judge was getting weaker and weaker as the clock continued to tick away. And they had also noticed how it had helped Justeco a bit to have returned to his realm for the time it had taken them to get Konsilisto there. But now that they had returned and after all his previous exertions, the judge was slowly beginning to weaken once again…

"Well, then, I guess that means we don't have any time to spare," Tucker said, smiling encouragingly in hopes of lightening the foreboding air around them. But not really managing it, he added more seriously, "Just how are we going to find Iluzisto, anyways? He could be anywhere!"

"It is true," Justeco agreed. "But considering he still has unfinished plans for Danny Phantom and Vlad Plasmius, he will have to find his way to them, eventually. So, even though that poses a threat to both half-ghosts, it might also give them an upper hand. After all, Iluzisto had not planned my and my sibling's escaping and our warning Danny Phantom of his intentions, which I intend to do as soon as I see him again."

The Observant paused in thought before adding, "Of course, it is a drawback that I was discovered by Iluzisto's guards… But it was only a matter of time that Iluzisto would have learned of it all the same. All the more reason to move quickly."

"The only problem is that we don't know if Iluzisto will show up in Amity Park in time to save your people, Justeco," Jazz reminded him.

"Yeah, and even if he did, it's gonna be a bit hard for him to get to Danny and Vlad with the ghost shield up around Amity Park," Tucker reminded them. "And we can't exactly bring it down, or we would risk Iluzisto coming into the town with his goons and causing who knows what sort of trouble. We can't risk everyone like that!"

Justeco had never heard of a 'ghost shield', but he could guess what it did by what the boy had said. Still, he added, "Do not be so certain that that shield can stop Iluzisto, young human. He is more powerful than any of us know; especially now that he wills Clockwork's staff."

"I still can't believe he managed to take it from Clockwork to begin with!" Sam exclaimed, still shocked about that.

"Indeed…," Justeco mumbled thoughtfully to himself.

"Maybe we should have tried to find Clockwork while we were at the Realm Beyond Time," Jazz suddenly said. "I mean, he knows his staff better than anyone. Perhaps he could help us defeat Iluzisto."

"Maybe, Jazz," Tucker replied. "But how are we going to find him? We don't have his ecto-signature on any of the ghost devices. Then again, I don't even think they work on 'ghosts that exist outside of time'.

"The proper name for us is 'spirits', young human," Justeco reminded them. But remembering the urgency of the situation, he finally shook his head and said, "Never mind. However, I regret to say that I fear Clockwork has been captured or… worse. When we last saw him, his abode was being overpowered by Iluzisto's guards and he had no way out and no real power to defend himself…. Even so, even if by some miracle he escaped, your male friend is right. There are no means of finding Clockwork when he doesn't want to be found. Believe me, I would know. And even if we did find him, he was very clear with me and Konsilisto when he told us that he would not 'clean up our mess', this time. The Observants' hope, therefore, now rests on the two half-ghosts."

"Speaking of, uh, Danny and Vlad," Sam muttered. "Where are they? Or, more importantly, where is Danny? He said he would meet us back here in an hour with or without Vlad. And it's been more than an hour," Sam added, glancing down at her watch.

"Maybe he's upstairs and doesn't realize we are here," Tucker suggested, before moving past everyone and heading out of the lab.

Everyone else followed; but after a few minutes of looking around the house and not finding Danny, they finally knew their friend and brother was not home.

"I don't like this," Jazz said, worried. "Why hasn't Danny returned?"

"Considering that there's an evil Observant after him and that he went over to his arch-enemy's home, I'd say we better go find him" Sam said seriously.

"My thought exactly," Tucker said with a frown. "Cause he's not answering his Fenton phone!"

"I think you better come with us," Jazz then said to Justeco. "We still need you to show us where the Observants are once we find my brother."

"Very well," the Observant agreed before he followed the three teenagers back to the lab. And a few minutes later, they were flying back out of the lab; but this time, towards Vlad's mansion.

They got to their destination in no time. Armed and ready, Team Phantom cautiously approached the mansion's main entrance with the Head Observant floating behind them.

But then, something unexpected happened.

Justeco had been about to float up the stairs leading up to the doorway when he suddenly slammed into an invisible shield and he fell back in surprise. "What in the name of Time is this?" he asked, stunned.

Tucker had to hold back a snicker as he said, "I guess Vlad has a ghost shield up."

Sam and Jazz frowned in irritation when they could see that their friend was right. The previously invisible shield suddenly glimmered into view with its usual bright green glow.

Right then, however, there was a sudden hum, which steadily grew louder…

Everyone gasped in fear as in the next second another ghost shield abruptly appeared about a foot behind Justeco, effectively trapping him in between both just before the shields created even more seals on either side of the spirit until he was literally boxed in.

"Intruder alert!" an electronic voice announced, followed by a loud blaring. And before anyone could do anything, several weapons sprang from the ground, surrounding the Observant. And they instantly fired electric rays at the supposed intruder.

"Oh my gosh!" Jazz exclaimed when Justeco suddenly cried out in pain as he was assaulted with the ghost weapons. And because of the shields, he could not escape their wrath.

"Tucker, do something!" Sam exclaimed to her techno-loving friend.

But Tucker could do nothing, since he knew the controls from the ghost security system had to be inside the mansion.

And seeing her friend's helpless stare, Sam quickly spun around and raced up the mansion's main steps before she began to pound her hand on the front door. "Vlad! I know you're in there! You gotta turn off the security system! He isn't the enemy!"

An eyeball-like cam suddenly sprang out, and it quickly snaked around, inspecting everyone at the entrance much like it had done with Danny. Except that, it wasn't Skulker operating it this time.

Sam was considering blasting the door down when it suddenly swung open, revealing a very stoic Vlad Masters.

"I've been expecting you three…," Vlad muttered, impassively glancing at the three surprised teens. But his eyes narrowed as they locked on the writhing Observant as he said, "You, on the other hand… I was almost certain you would be hiding in the Ghost Zone like the one-eyed cowardly cretin that you are."

"Vlad, turn off your ghost system! Can't you see he's weak?" Jazz said urgently.

But Vlad ignored her and walked past them, easily bypassing the ghost shield in his human form. He slowly kneeled beside Justeco, who was looking worse by the second, especially when a few sores were opening up on the top of his eye. For a moment, the older hybrid just took pleasure in seeing the spirit suffer—suffer excruciatingly, like they had made him suffer.

"How the tables have turned, haven't they, Honorable Tribune?" Vlad mockingly sneered. "You know, this is the least you deserve. And if it wasn't for the… circumstances, I would gladly just watch you slowly perish right now…"

"I-I can understand your resentment, Vlad Plasmius," Justeco said, in between his moans of pain.

"Oh, can you, really?" the man hissed, his eyes flashing red.

"Vlad!" Jazz suddenly snapped; and this time Vlad finally regarded the girl when he heard the sounds of guns charging up.

"Leave him alone!" Sam growled, her gun aimed at the older hybrid.

Vlad glared at the three teenagers, but then he looked back at Justeco and said to him with distaste, "As I said, the circumstances do not allow me to destroy you… That is, if you extend your bargain with Daniel to me as well…," he added with a smirk as he pulled out a remote from his pocket and pretended to study it.

Justeco was confused by what 'bargain' the man was talking about. After all, the spirit did not know that Danny had tricked the man into believing that the Timeless magic curse had yet to be lifted …

But too close to blacking out, Justeco didn't think much of it and just assumed the man meant he wanted the Observants to leave him alone.

"Yes, Vlad Plasmius. You have my w-word! And…and my bond," Justeco added, struggling to pull out his orb and squeeze it to prove to the older hybrid that his word was written in stone—or in his case, in his orb. It was binding.

"Very well, then," the man said causally before suddenly standing to his height and deactivating the ghost system.

Internally, he was grinning. So, Daniel had been speaking the truth after all. And he had managed to 'persuade' Justeco to grant him that pardon and that orb probably had to have sealed their agreement. But although Vlad could feel the slight tingle of the brand still on his forehead, the man was not expecting it or the curse to be gone just yet. Vlad supposed that like any 'normal contract', he was obligated to fulfill his end of this deal first, before the brand was removed and he was freed of the Observants' little death curse. All the same, Justeco had just agreed to extend his pardon to him, which is just what the man had wanted!

Justeco slumped back as the pain finally stopped riveting every part of his body. And while Vlad calmly turned away and headed back inside, Danny's friends and sister ran over to the Observant to see if he was alright. He was definitely worse for the wear, but at least he was still responsive.

With the help of the kids, Justeco managed to pull himself up and they slowly walked inside the house. The kids slightly jolted when a butler closed the door after them.

Moving away from Sam and Tucker, Jazz glared at the billionaire and demanded, "Okay, Vlad. You better start talking. Where's Danny?"

"Calm yourself, Jasmine. Your brother is just fine," Vlad said, crossing his arms.

"Then, where is he?" Sam added with a suspicious frown.

Vlad regarded the three children for a moment before his eyes fell back on Justeco. He studied the weak spirit for a moment before he said, "Why don't we finish this in a more comfortable place? If not for the sake of my being a good host, then perhaps for the sake of our Observant friend, who clearly can barely hold himself up."

"Yeah, I think that's thanks to you, dude," Tucker pointed out with a frown.

But Vlad remained indifferent to the accusation and instead continued to walk further into his house, obviously expecting everyone to follow. And much to their annoyance, the teens and Justeco had no other choice but to do so.

Vlad finally stopped at an open door which led to a large living room. He gestured everyone in as he said, "Get comfortable. I will be back in a moment."

However, as he made his way to his kitchen, his eyes flashed red again and his shoulders tensed. He was so furious by just the sight of Justeco that Vlad was sure he hated the spirit more than Jack right now. Just the thought of the things Iluzisto did to him and Daniel under the Observant's orders made him almost lose control of his logic. If it wasn't for the fact that his only way out of this mess was to play 'hero' in the eyes of these horrible creatures, he would happily sit back and watch them get destroyed by their own stupidity. Vlad knew that what he had to endure in that prison was going to stay with him for the rest of his life…

Arriving at his kitchen, Vlad reeled in his emotions as he saw his cook finishing up the tea he had asked him to make. "George. You can leave that. I will take care of the rest."

"Sir?" the ghost asked, surprised by the suddenness of his orders and sobriety in his voice.

"I want you to gather the rest of the staff and head back to my castle in Wisconsin. Remain there until I say otherwise, understand?"

The ghost cook blinked. But having heard such orders from his employer before and knowing they usually meant something serious and dangerous was about to occur, George nodded and said, "As you wish, sir."

Vlad watched the ghost leave before turning his attention to the tea. He quickly reached above him into a cabinet for two odd glowing jars.

He quickly measured out an amount from one of the jars; and then after placing cookies on a plate and then on a small tray, he sprinkled some of the green power on them. It took a moment, but the powder soon vanished, leaving only a light green hue that was noticeable only in the darkness...

He then also added a dose to the tea pot, too….

"They will be doing what I want… one way or another," Vlad said darkly.

The man finally grabbed the second small jar and placed it on the tray beside the tea pot. He then quickly grabbed the needed tea cups, sugar and utensils; and lastly, placed the dish of cookies on the tray. It was only then that he walked out.

But as he headed towards where he had left everyone, a hologram of Maddie suddenly appeared beside him.

"Oh, apple crumbs," she said lovingly. "Your ghost staff wishes to access your locked portal. Do I have your permission to let them through?"

Vlad nodded. "Yes. Just make sure you lock it back up. Also, turn on the human shield and then reinstate the ghost security system to its full operation. Just… disregard the 'intruder signature' from earlier."

"As you wish, my cherry tart!" Maddie answered before vanishing.

Vlad finally made it to the living room; and as he placed down the tray on the table in front of the kids, Jazz quickly spoke up.

"Where is my brother, Vlad?"

The older hybrid rolled his eyes in annoyance. But then he pushed the tray of cookies closer to the teens. He then calmly grabbed the tea pot and started pouring it into the tea cups as he replied, "Your brother, Jasmine, is resting upstairs in one of my guest rooms. If you failed to notice, he was very much sleep-deprived and weak."

"Not that I don't agree, but just how did you manage to get him to rest, especially in your house?" Jazz asked skeptically, knowing that even she and Danny's friends had not been able to get him to relax for very long ever since they had returned from the Realm Beyond Time. They now knew that Danny was very skittish and anxious from his experience there…

"I have my ways," Vlad replied with a smirk.

"You mean you drugged him," Sam growled, now glaring at the man.

Vlad chuckled. "No, I had no need to do such a thing… Tea?" he then asked the girl, offering her one of the steaming tea cups.

But Sam just stared sourly at him.

Vlad raised an eyebrow, but then extended the tea cup to Jasmine, instead.

The older girl frowned, but accepted the tea cup with a quiet 'thanks'. Vlad said nothing and instead picked up another tea cup and offered it to Tucker.

"Uh, no, thanks. I don't do tea. But… I'll have some of those cookies," he said with a meek smile, pointing at the tray on the table.

Vlad waved in the tray's direction as he offhandedly replied, "Help yourself."

"Sweet!" Tucker said and quickly grabbed the entire tray off the table.

Vlad froze, clearly not expecting the boy to take the whole tray for himself. But the man ultimately said nothing and turned his attention back to the odd glowing jar he had brought with him.

"What is that?" Jazz said as she pulled the tea cup down from her lips, finally noticing the weird substance Vlad was measuring out and adding to one of the tea cups.

Everyone, save for Justeco, tensed when they saw the tea unexpectedly glow green.

"I see you are well-learned in ghost plants, Vlad Plasmius," Justeco suddenly said, getting everyone's attention.

"You would be surprised what you can learn about someone when you don't jump to ruthless conclusions," Vlad answered bitterly.

Justeco almost cringed at the jab. But then he startled when Vlad extended the glowing tea to him.

"I… I do not understand," the Observant gasped out, not understanding the man's generosity.

"Don't read anything into it," Vlad replied coolly. "I just can't have you dissolving in front of me before you can keep the end of our agreement."

Justeco frowned in confusion again, but then accepted the tea and muttered, "I see…"

"VLAD!"

Everyone startled by the angry shout that came from the hallway, sounding very much like Danny.

"Danny!" the teen's sister and friends exclaimed in relief.

But Vlad just rolled his eyes and headed out of the living room. Once in the hallway, he replied to the boy's shout in his own smug voice, "I'm in here, little badger…"

The instant Danny spotted the man, he glared at him and once he was standing at the living room entrance with him, the boy furiously and accusingly shook his finger at him and yelled, "You drugged me!"

The boy was so angry he did not notice the others present.

Vlad raised a condescending eyebrow. "I see you came to the same conclusion. Well, for your information, no, I did not drug you, Daniel. I simply helped you feel better and your body did the rest. Or, am I wrong?"

Danny frowned, knowing he did feel better—perhaps not fully recovered, but a lot better than he had all day. At least his chest was not throbbing like before. And… he had been really tired. But—

"That's not the point!" the teen quickly snapped back stubbornly. "How are we going to work together when you keep doing things behind my back, fruit loop?"

"No need for insults, Daniel," Vlad muttered, his eyes slightly narrowing. "And if I didn't tell you the effects of the healing serum, it was because I know you would have never willingly taken it!"

"Dude, you need to stop acting like you know every little thing about me!" Danny blew up.

"I'm fairly certain I know more about you than you do of yourself," Vlad said in a matter-of-fact voice.

Danny's eyes flashed green. "I'm not your freakin' puppet or your lonely guy cat, Plasmius! So, quit deciding things for me! I might have gone along with your ideas while we were in Iluzisto's prison, but that doesn't mean it's gonna be like that anymore! If we are going to work together, then you need to listen to my ideas, too! And I said we had to go back to my house! But, instead, you decide to drug me while we have a bigger psycho than you on the loose!"

Vlad finally snapped. "Now you listen to me, you ungrateful little urchin! I am not listening to your foolish and childish plans, because we both know you have no real plan! Therefore, we are doing this my way!"

"I don't think so!" Danny shouted back.

Meanwhile, as the two hybrids continued to argue, Justeco just watched them with great worry, while Jazz, Sam, and Tucker stared at them in surprise.

"So…Does this mean Danny convinced Vlad to help him defeat Iluzisto?" Tucker asked the others, scratching the side of his head while munching on a cookie.

"By what they are talking about? Yes. By the sound of it? No," Sam replied dryly before finally grabbing the tea pot and serving herself some tea. She already knew this argument was going to last a while, so she might as well quell her empty stomach now that Vlad was occupied.

But as the goth girl took a drink of her tea, Jazz, on the other hand, put down her tea cup and sighed in frustration. At any other time, she wouldn't really interfere with Vlad and Danny's rivalry, now being all too use to hearing them argue and insult each other. But there was a bigger picture here than their dislike for each other.

"Danny," she called to her brother, her voice quickly getting his attention.

"Jazz?" he asked, blinking in surprise; and when he looked in the living room and finally saw his friends and Justeco there, too, he pushed past Vlad and added with more surprise and relief, "What are you guys doing here?"

Having been left with half of his words in his mouth, Vlad glared after the boy; but said nothing and walked further into the room.

"Well, you didn't show up, like you said. So, we got worried and came to get you," Jazz explained.

"Yeah, some fruit loop decided to drug me," Danny grumbled with a scowl at Vlad.

But the man became furious once again. "For the last time, you little rat! I did not drug you!"

"Well, you could've fooled me, Plasmius!" Danny growled back at the man.

"Honestly, boy, it is times like these that I am sure you are Jack's son!" Vlad sneered.

"I'll take that as a compliment!" Danny retorted, clenching his fists.

"Danny," Jazz quickly interrupted them with a sigh.

But knowing where she was going, Danny quickly cut her off, saying, "Not now, Jazz! I'm sick of Vlad thinking he can do whatever he wants!"

"No, you are just sour because I really can do whatever I want," Vlad retorted with smugness.

"Not with me," Danny hissed, his eyes flashing green again.

"Quite the contrary. Especially with you," Vlad said with narrowed eyes.

"Now wait a minute," Jazz quickly said, knowing Vlad was now going too far.

But before she could finish, Vlad's eyes flared red as he threateningly said to her, "I'd listen to your brother, Jasmine. Stay out of this."

"Hey, you jerk! Don't you threaten my sister!" Danny exclaimed.

"Oh, and who's going to stop me? You?" the man retorted mockingly.

"Yeah, I am. And right now!" Danny assured him as he suddenly turned into Phantom and charged his hands with energy.

But before the teen could do anything, the sound of a plate falling to the ground caught everyone's attention.

"Tucker?" Danny asked when he noticed the large lazy smile on his friend's face.

"Wow, Danny. Did I ever tell you how glowy you are?" Tucker replied, propping his hand up on the sofa's armrest and resting his face on his hand.

"What…?" Danny asked, confused. But as he watched his friend, something suddenly dawned on him and the ghost teen quickly rounded back on Vlad, demanding, "What did you do to him, Plasmius?"

Vlad shrugged as he answered lightly, "Unlike you, Daniel, I did drug your friend. And, really, it was my intention to drug both of them and your sister with those cookies… But as you can see, your friend has an atrocious appetite. Good thing I added my improved derivative of the sleep spores into the tea, too."

Jazz and Sam gasped as they dropped the tea cups in their hands, while Danny's eyes widened in a mixture of rage and alarm.

Tucker just giggled at nothing in particular. It didn't surprise the others, though, how quickly the powdered sleeping spores took effect since they had already had an 'encounter' with the inhaled-form of them during their fight with Undergrowth. Therefore, Sam and Jazz knew they would soon be feeling it, too.

In return, Danny's arch-enemy merely crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes as he firmly said, "You wanted me to be forward with you, right, Daniel? Well, here it is: No one is leaving until I say so. And, before you say anything to contradict me, know that I have the human and ghost shield up. So, no, you don't have a choice."

"That's it! You're getting your butt kicked, Plasmius!" Danny exclaimed.

But before Vlad could retort, they heard Justeco suddenly groan loudly.

Everyone looked at the Observant, and Danny asked worriedly, "What's wrong?"

"We are doomed!" Justeco cried out in angst. "You two can never defeat Iluzisto as you are!"

"As we are?" Danny repeated slowly.

"As enemies!" Justeco answered, before closing his eye and holding it in his hands.

Danny glanced at Vlad, who had fallen silent.

Jazz sighed, ignoring the wave of weariness passing through her body. She walked over to the Observant and quickly assured him, "Look, it's going to be alright. We will figure something out."

Sam just lowered her own gaze, knowing the odds were really against them, while Tucker was too out of it to care.

And Danny suddenly felt really bad. He could tell even her sister didn't believe he and Vlad were capable of working together. But what was ironic was that the teen knew they really could. But it was so hard. The guy made it nearly impossible to trust him even a little bit, let alone trust him in battle and with his life.

"I do not understand why you all love to lie to yourselves," Vlad suddenly said in distaste. "There is no other way, Jasmine. And Justeco is right in that we are all doomed if Daniel and I do not come to an agreement."

"Maybe we could if you would stop doing things behind my back!" Danny said firmly.

"Fine. But you need to stop accusing me of things I have not done," Vlad retorted, narrowing his eyes a bit.

Danny crossed his arms; but then with a sigh, he turned human again and said, "Fine."

"Hey, now that that's settled, can I get some more of those cookies?" Tucker asked with a relaxed smile on his face.

"You realize that the cookies were drugged, right?" Sam asked with a heavy frown.

"I know," Tucker said as his eyes dropped down and he giggled again. "But, man, were they good! Hey, Danny should definitely make friends with Vlad, then we could come here every day for tea and cookies!"

"And you eat me out of food and home? I do not think so," Vlad suddenly said dryly, though he knew the boy probably didn't get half of what he had just said.

Danny frowned; but then quickly looked back at Vlad and demanded, "Are you going to explain to me why you drugged Tucker—and Sam, Jazz, and Justeco, too?" the teen added when he finally noticed how tired they all suddenly looked.

The man rolled his eyes and said more seriously, "It is merely a relaxant, Daniel. I told you. You and I are not ready to face Iluzisto. We need a plan. And we need to regain our full strength."

"And what does that have to do with you drugging my friends and sister?" Danny pressed.

Vlad's left eye twitched at the boy's repetition, but then with restrained annoyance he answered, "First of all, I did not want them jumping into the fray, as you would. And second of all, I prefer that you all stay here for the night. And since I know you were not going to agree, then I have now given you no choice."

"What?" Sam exclaimed. "I cannot stay here! My parents are going to flip out! I need to go home today! It's been way too long!"

But Tucker chuckled weirdly as he settled further back on the couch and said, "I say we stay. If his chairs are this comfortable, imagine the beds!"

"Just a relaxant, huh?" Danny said with an annoyed glare at Vlad.

"How was I to know your friend would eat the entire plate of cookies?" the billionaire snapped, crossing his arms. "And as for you, Ms. Manson. I am well aware of who your parents and Mr. Foley's parents are, and of your little cover stories. I also know of the little white lie you all fed to your school. The flu? Honestly, kids these days have no originality."

Sam and Jazz's mouth fell open in disbelief, but it was Danny who frowned as he suspiciously asked, "And how do you know all that? I didn't even know about any of that!"

Vlad scoffed. "And you wonder why I so easily defeat you in battle, Daniel. Have you not learned yet to not underestimate me? In this case, however, it was a matter of making a few phone calls. You see, I took the liberty of… embellishing and solidifying your little pathetic excuses. As mayor of this town and close friend of the Fentons, it was all too easy to call Casper High School and arrange a research project and report as your make-up work for all of your extended absences. Then, I simply phoned Ms. Manson's and Mr. Foley's parents and explained to them all about this important project—minus the flu fib, of course. They had absolutely no problem with your overnight research project on 'the history of Amity Park's mayoral responsibilities.' And as for Daniel and Jasmine… well, I needn't say any more, do I?" Vlad said with a smirk. "In any case, you children should speak with your parents. They were upset about your lack of calls. But at least you are all in clear. Um-hmm. Now is the time to thank me. Yes."

Sam and Jazz scowled at the man's arrogance, but they could not argue that the man had just helped them a great deal by backing up and 'improving' their cover story. Still, they were not about to thank him.

On the other hand, Danny clenched his teeth in anger. He was so past wanting to talk to Vlad. Really, all he wanted was to just blast him into a wall. What made the guy think he could decide what all of them did? And just as importantly, who told him he was running this show?

But knowing the Observants, and, actually, all Existence was depending on him and Vlad's cooperation with each other, the teen took a deep breath before looking seriously back at Vlad and saying, "Okay. You want our thanks? Fine. Thanks. But if you want us to stay here, too, then, do you think you can at least tell us why?"

"I thought I just did, Daniel," Vlad replied off-handedly.

Danny resisted the urge to growl, especially when he saw his sister move back to sit on the couch. Although she wasn't acting weird like Tucker, he could tell whatever Vlad had placed in their tea was making her and even Sam sleepy. And although Justeco looked better with the healing substance in the tea, he also looked very tired.

Tucker… Tucker was just about to pass out.

"I guess I missed it. So, mind repeating it?" the teen asked with a frown.

"Since you asked so nicely…," Vlad said with a smirk before moving over to a sofa and sitting down.

This time Danny did growl at the man's expectant look, but he went to sit beside his sister.

Vlad purposely waited a few moments before he crossed his legs and finally said in utter seriousness, "Daniel made me aware of the strong possibility that Iluzisto might come after both of us again…"

"Actually," Justeco meekly interrupted the man, "It is not just a possibility. It is certain, Vlad Plasmius. You see… I am sorry that I failed to tell you, Danny Phantom, that when we got captured by him, he revealed that part of his plans…"

Danny unexpectedly smirked at Vlad and quipped, "You would know all about a villain's warped need to divulge his plans, right, Vlad? Being evil and all?"

Vlad narrowed his eyes at Danny with the jab, but said nothing and focused back on Justeco.

The spirit glanced worriedly between the hybrids before continuing, "As I am sure you all can guess, his revenge against me and my kin is just the beginning. He wants to enslave all Existence, and he has gotten the horrible idea that he can do that if he gains the ability of regenerating his own energy. And he can do that only one way…He wants to merge both your cores with his own…"

Danny's eyes widened. "What? How would he do that?"

"Isn't it obvious, Daniel?" Vlad asked seriously. "He would have to take our cores out of us while we were still alive."

Danny shuddered this time. "That… That is just… sick."

"Yes," Justeco agreed. "He told us he wanted your and the other hybrid's power. And to have it, he is going to… well… As I said, he wants your physical cores and he is going to merge them with his own. Unfortunately, I am afraid Iluzisto is right. If he manages such a wicked act, he would become the most powerful and evil being in Existence. He will be unstoppable."

Everyone fell into a quiet dread. Even Vlad seemed to hesitate with his next words. "…Well, that is precisely why we need to plan things out carefully."

"I understand that, Vlad," Danny interrupted. "But what you don't know is that every minute that passes by, the Observants are that much closer to extinction—especially when Iluzisto trapped them in some cave and sped up time for them at twice the normal rate!"

Vlad paused in thought. But he then looked over at Justeco and asked, "Do you know how to find this cave?"

"Yes. I have the means to do so," the judge answered, but didn't elaborate. Instead, he added, "Unfortunately, when my brother and I escaped, we discovered that much like how he had done with his prison, Iluzisto also created a maze out of this cave. I fear it will be extremely difficult to rescue the other Observants."

"Maybe, but it's not impossible," Danny quickly said to the Observant leader. "If we escaped Iluzisto's prison and you and your brother escaped that cave, then we can outsmart any kind-of-maze Iluzisto can dish out on us. You said the cave is somewhere in the Rockies, right?"

"Correct," Justeco replied, his eye curved with a bit of hope with the boy's clear determination.

"The Rockies, eh?" Vlad muttered thoughtfully before focusing on Justeco himself. "And… how long do you… approximate your kin have before they are destroyed by time?"

"It is hard to say for certain," Justeco replied with a sigh. "However, taking into account my own weakening, I infer that they have no more than seventy-two hours since they were trapped in that cave. And considering we were captured yesterday sometime past noon in your human time, then…

"Then, we have until tomorrow night. Or, early the following day at the most," Vlad concluded.

"See why we can't just stay here?" Danny insisted.

But Vlad shook his head. "We have no other choice, Daniel. We cannot possible attempt a rescue mission as weak as we are. I admit, the healing serum in these past few hours has been improving my ghost core's health in leaps and bounds, as I believe the same can be said for yours, Daniel. But the truth is, we are not fully recovered and we cannot risk exerting our cores just yet, especially when we do not know what to fully expect from Iluzisto. For example, how do we know Iluzisto didn't purposely allow Justeco and..,"

"Konsilisto," the judge supplied. "That is my brother and counselor's name," he further explained when Vlad glanced at him.

Vlad resisted the urge to roll his eyes and continued, "Yes, well, how do we know Iluzisto did not purposely allow… Justeco and his sibling to escape as a way to trap us, Daniel?"

"I don't think—," Danny began, only to be cut off by Justeco.

"No, he is right, Danny Phantom. My brother and I do not know how my brother obtained the key to our jail cell. It was just inexplicably in my brother's robe. I… suspect it might have been Clockwork. But my brother does not believe so since the Time Master is quite angry with us."

"I don't blame him," Vlad muttered with a frown.

Justeco sighed at hearing his words. "As I said to you previously, you have every right to be upset with me and my kind. And you have my deepest apology on behalf of me and my fellow Observants. But I can assure you, we were tricked by Iluzisto to come after you both. He has used our own laws against us."

"Save your explanations, Justeco. And your apology means nothing to me. I told you. Keep your word. I help you and your kind. And in turn, you leave me be. You drop your charges against me and that whole 'Timeless Spell' curse."

Justeco blinked in confusion. What was the older crossbreed speaking about? Did he not know that all charges had been dropped, since the trial had obviously been compromised? And the spell? He had long removed it, too!

"I think you are mistaken, Vlad Plasmius. You have—"

"Uh," Danny quickly interrupted, not wanting his lie to Vlad to be discovered. "We already talked and agreed about all that. So, can we get back to the point? What are we going to do about the Observants?"

Vlad frowned at the boy, not understanding his sudden nervousness. But he quickly dismissed it and replied, "For today. Nothing. I realize we will be cutting it short. But anything we try as we are now will most certainly result in failure… and death. Right now, we must focus on fixing our cores. Then, tomorrow we will see if there is a way to free the Observants. Meanwhile, it is imperative that everyone remains within my house. Iluzisto could be out there; and even if Daniel and I are his targets, we both know that he is not below using any of you to draw us out," Vlad said seriously, glancing at Danny, who had suddenly tensed with the possibility.

"Therefore," Vlad continued, "Everyone stays here. Considering the ghost shield is up around Amity, there are only three ways that Iluzisto can enter Amity Park. One, a temporary portal. But finding one at the precise place and time he needs it is as likely as finding a needle in a haystack. Two, my portal. However, I have sealed it shut with an anti-ghost system. And, lastly, your portal, Daniel. And that is the most likely scenario. It is only a matter of time before he finds it, if he hasn't already. It is why I sent Skulker to set up a few… surprises for Iluzisto, should he come that way," Vlad said with a smirk.

But before anyone could ask the man to explain what he meant, Vlad continued. "So, then, now that you know my reasons for having you all here, I want to turn our focus on Iluzisto himself. Justeco, exactly how do you expect Daniel and I to defeat Iluzisto, especially now that he has the Time Master's staff and Okulo's orb?" Vlad asked soberly.

The Observant sighed before admitting, "I truthfully do not know. But… Clockwork was certain that together you two are practically invincible. So, surely there must be a way."

"That doesn't exactly help," Vlad growled, clearly angered by the fact that the Observant had no plan for them.

"Look, we'll figure something out," Danny intervened. "Iluzisto has weaknesses, right? So, then, we just gotta put our heads together and use them against him."

"Well, then, I hope you figure it out soon, Daniel," Vlad said seriously. "Because I have a hard time believing a spirit with the capabilities of creating illusions and willing time itself has even a single weakness! Let alone, one large enough for us to be able to us to our advantage."

Jazz sighed tiredly. "Why don't we just sleep on it, alright? Maybe by tomorrow one of us will have thought of something."

Danny just sighed, while Sam frowned in worry. Tucker was by now completely passed out and drooling on Vlad's couch.

Vlad finally stood up and said, "Come, Daniel. We need to go to the lab again. As for the rest of you, feel free to pick out a guest room and the kitchen is open. You will have to tend to yourselves, since my staff has left."

Danny gulped, knowing what he was going to do in the lab. But hearing his other comment, the teen raised an eyebrow and said, "Your ghost staff left?"

"Yes. Unlike you, Daniel, I don't like to bring others into my problems," Vlad muttered before suddenly walking out.

Danny glared after the man for his jab, knowing the man was referring to the fact that he had been the one to bring Iluzisto—and their nightmare— to Vlad's doorsteps.

But when he was finally alone with his friends, sister, and Justeco, Danny sighed and said, "Well, I guess we are staying here for the night."

"I can't believe my parents actually believed that creep," Sam grumbled, crossing her arms. But when Tucker's head suddenly fell against her shoulder and as he continued to snore and drool, the girl rolled his eyes. "At least we won't have to explain to Tucker's parents why he's acting like he died and went to meat heaven."

"Is he going to be alright?" Jazz wondered, slightly worried.

"Those effects are commonly caused by a large dosage of sleeping pores from a ghost plant," Justeco said. "They are not toxic; but rather a relaxant, and a strong one if taken in the amounts your male friend clearly has taken it. In any case, he should be fine by tomorrow, once the effects wear off after a good night's sleep."

Danny sighed again before standing up. "I think you guys should try to get some rest before you pass out on the couch, too. And I also mean you, Justeco."

"And you, Danny?" Sam asked worriedly.

"I will soon, too," Danny assured her, though he thought, "One way or another."

"But, first," he continued out loud. "I need to go down to the lab with Vlad…. He, uh, well, he has this stuff that can heal my ghost core. So, I gotta go do that."

"How do you know that's safe?" Jazz asked suspiciously.

Danny shrugged in defeat. "I don't."

Jazz and Sam watched in uncertainty as Danny walked out.

"It's hard to believe those two are the same half-ghosts as the ones who stood before me just a little over two days ago at the High Tribunal," Justeco suddenly commented with an exhale of his own.

"Why do you say that?" Sam asked him.

"Because just a few days ago Danny Phantom and Vlad Plasmius were inseparable."

Sam and Jazz looked at the Observant in disbelief.

"My brother and Vlad inseparable? I'm sorry, but I can't believe that," Jazz said, shaking her head.

"Jazz is right, Justeco," Sam added. "Danny dislikes Vlad as much as Vlad probably dislikes Danny. For all intents and purposes, they are enemies."

"Well, we can only hope what brought them together at the prison brings them together again in time to save us all," Justeco replied gravely. "Otherwise… Just as they have the potential to save existence, the timeline has also proven to us that they also have the potential to destroy it. So, I pray that this timeline is different from that one…"

---

Iluzisto quickly floated through the Observant abode's halls, furiously pushing everything and everyone in his path away with the burning power now surrounding him. In fact, he was so infuriated that the halls blurred with his uncontrolled illusionist powers as he moved through them.

And, of course, the spirit had plenty reason to be angry.

Mainly, that worm Justeco tricked him! The door in the Observant's abode clearly had some safety mechanism against unwanted users. So, instead of taking Iluzisto to the Fenton portal as he had wanted, the infernal door had taken him clear across the Human World to some placed known as 'China'! It had been easy enough to open a portal back into the Ghost Zone. But because the Observant's realm was protected with Timeless Magic—which meant it was impenetrable by teleportation, even with Clockwork's staff—then Iluzisto had been left with no choice but to fly back through the Ghost Zone.

It had taken him a good several hours to get his bearings since he had had no idea where he was, and then several more to fly across the Ghost Zone. And then even more to get into the Realm Beyond Time!

Overall, it had taken him almost a full day to get back!

"Wait until I get my hands on Justeco," Iluzisto said darkly. "I'll destroy his sniveling brother in front of him and then I destroy him!"

But first, he was going to destroy the means of his misfortune….

Iluzisto arrived at the High Tribune's room and didn't break stride as he continued deeper until he was face-to-face with Justeco's Timeless door.

"If I cannot use you, then I will make sure no one else will again!" Iluzisto growled darkly before he took aim with his staff and sent a bright blue-mixed-with-purple ray at the door.

The door seem to cry in pain as the blue energy surrounded it and began to rot it, as if in a second, thousands of years of usage had been added to it. And then just as quickly, the purple energy entirely engulfed and consumed it, turning it into a pile of fine wood shaving. What remained of the powerful door glowed weakly for a moment before it dimmed into lifeless ashes.

Iluzisto glared at his work for a second or two before he whirled around and headed back out. He knew in the back of his mind that he had destroyed his only sure way of finding Danny Phantom's portal. But right now, he was too angry to care. He would think of a way to reach the crossbreeds later. After he destroyed that fool Justeco and his counselor!

Iluzisto soon made it to the hall containing all the Realm Doors. He could just teleport to his desired location, but all that traveling had made him weary and he had not been 'fed' in some time. So, instead, he decided to use the door to the human world and then afterward would just teleport to the cave in the Rockies.

However, just as he reached the door and was about to command the door to open, one of his prison officers rushed to his side.

"Master Prison Head!" Trupo called nervously.

Iluzisto paused and glared at his guard. "I am busy. What do you want?"

"I bear news about Clockwork!" Trupo explained with a bow.

Iluzisto's eyes flashed red as he hissed back. "It had better be good news! Did you all capture him?"

Trupo gulped fearfully before stuttering, "Not exactly…." But seeing and feeling his superior grow angry, the guard quickly blurted out, "But we took care of him! He will not interfere in your plans, Master Prison Head!"

Iluzisto stared at his nervous guard for a tense moment before he finally nodded and said, "Good."

"There is something else," Trupo quickly added when he saw his leader turn back to the door.

Instantly rotating his pupil to the back of his eyeball, Iluzisto questioned impatiently, "And what would that be…?"

This time the guard startled a bit at the pupil's intense stare and he was more reluctant to reply; but when Iluzisto slammed the bottom of his staff against the floor, Trupo blurted out, "We have reasons to suspect that the High Tribune has escaped!"

This time, Iluzisto's eyes widened. "What? No, that's impossible!" he gasped out. "What is this madness of which you speak, Trupo?"

"We were keeping watch around the perimeters of the Observants' domain and my troops and I saw Justeco. We gave chase to capture him when, suddenly, we were attacked by these…young humans inside a strange human contraption. We attempted to counter-attack, but before we really could, Justeco went into that flying contraption and then it sped away, along with the young humans and Justeco."

Iluzisto suddenly grabbed his guard by his uniform and yanked him closer. He ignored the yelp from the official as he hissed at him, "What did these humans look like? Was one of them the younger crossbreed? Answer me!"

"No-No!" Trupo choked out. "It was not him, but it was those same children that helped him escape! I am sure, as I am certain that it was Justeco!"

Iluzisto glared at his guard, but then pushed him away and turned his focus back on the door. "Observi Teron!" (2) he commanded the door.

In an instant, the door flung open and Iluzisto flew through it. Once back in the Human World, he wasted no time and used his staff to teleport to the cave in which he trapped the Observants.

"It is impossible!" Iluzisto thought as he entered the cave and headed deeper into it. "I took precautions to even ensure they would not escape! So, how…?

"Sir!" one of his guards at the cave exclaimed as he almost ran into his leader.

Iluzisto quickly grabbed him and pulled him close as he growled, "Is it true? Has Justeco escaped?"

"Yes, and so has his counselor! We do not understand how, Master Prison Head! One moment they were there, and in the next, when we went to check on them, they were gone!"

"Worthless!" Iluzisto snarled as he threw his guard aside and stormed past him.

Meanwhile, the other trapped Observants had been quietly mourning their misfortune. The only one not looking completely miserable was Spektanto. He sat in a corner of his prison with a flat rock he had found inside his rocky tomb. With disheartened movements, the ex-lawyer used one of his sharp claws to write on the slab of rock. Of course, he scribbled in his usual Observant language.

The others sharing his prison had already snapped at him for his 'pointless' scribbling; but Spektanto ignored them and just continued to write. In the recent past, he wrote with a purpose. But then again, it was also what he did when he felt very stressed and troubled. It helped him cope. And now wasn't the exception.

However, whatever it was that he was writing was interrupted by a sudden wave of cries and gasps from his fellow Observants. And when Spektanto looked up, he also gasped when he saw Iluzisto quickly pass by his cell, heading deeper into the cave.

And by the looks of the red aura around the evil spirit, Spektanto knew Iluzisto was furious about something.

Iluzisto soon arrived at the cell he had made especially for Justeco and his brother. But when he saw it was indeed empty, he snarled and blasted the closed door out of his way. He searched and searched for a clue on how the two Observants had escaped but he found nothing.

And that only made Iluzisto even angrier.

He flew out of the empty cell and returned back to where the rest of the Observants were. He didn't even give them any warning when he began to fire purple blasts into each of the cells.

All the trapped spirits scattered in an attempt to avoid Iluzisto's wrath. But they were all too weak and they didn't have much room to move to begin with.

As the Observants cries of pain and fear echoed throughout the cave, Iluzisto screamed at them repeatedly, "Where are they?"

"Please!" one of the Observants from the council pleaded as he lay on the ground in pain. "We do not know of what you speak!"

Iluzisto stopped his assault and he looked darkly at the Observants with his red pulsing eye. "Do not think me a fool! I know you all know Justeco and Konsilisto escaped! I demand you tell me how they escaped and where they went or I will destroy you all!"

But the Observants all quickly gasped in surprise.

"O-Our leader and his counselor escaped?" another of the council members whispered.

Suddenly, a buzzing of whispers echoed through the jails; but they were not of fear or pain this time, but of hope. Their leader had escaped, which meant they had a chance to be saved! After all, Justeco was a kind and faithful leader and none of them had an ounce of doubt that he would return and save them!

"Silence!" Iluzisto hissed as his eye pivoted around to the different cells and saw the sudden hope in each of the Observants' lone eyes. But when they would not listen, Iluzisto quickly raised his staff and screamed, "Silence!"

A wave of power rippled through the cave, pushing all the Observants back and shaking the cave itself.

"You are all pathetic fools! Justeco might have escaped, but he will not save you! You are all doomed!" Iluzisto snarled at them, his eye narrowed in hatred.

In spite the pain and weakness they all felt, the Observants just stared quietly back at their tormentor, their faith in their leader not relinquished.

And seeing this, Iluzisto growled and turned away from the Observants. He stared up at the spinning clock counting down the trapped spirits' doom.

"Fine," Iluzisto said with a small chuckle and then said to the Observants without looking at them. "Remain hopeful. Let us see how the 'mighty' Justeco manages to save you all when he and his sniveling brother are still cursed to meet your same fate." His eye spun to the back of his head to glare at the helpless spirits and darkly assured them, "I give you all no more than a day's worth of time before you all become piles of ecto-dust."

Without caring to see their reaction, Iluzisto rolled his pupil forward and floated off, searching for his guards. Once he found them, he narrowed his eye again and demanded, "Who was in charge of guarding Justeco and Konsilisto when they escaped?"

The guards all looked at each other, but knowing they had no other choice, they all quickly parted away from the guard in question.

The poor guard stared fearfully around at his buddies before looking over at his leader. "M-Master Prison Head, I-I am sorry! I do not know how they escaped! I swear I was doing my job!"

Iluzisto approached the guard and studied him for a moment as the guard cowered before him. Finally, the spirit nodded and said, "I believe you and forgive you, Gardisto."

The guard blinked. "You… do?"

Iluzisto nodded. "Yes." However, just as he said that, the spirit abruptly raised his staff and plunged the sharp end into his guard's core.

The poor ghost screamed in pain, but quickly silenced when Iluzisto sucked him dry of his ghost energy.

The guard went limp as the aura around his ghostly body dissolved; and a second later, the ghost vanished into nothing.

The rest of the guards stared in horror at the spot where their friend had been before they turned and stared back at their leader. They could not believe it. Sure their leader had gotten angry with them and would punish them if pushed enough… But he had never destroyed one of them!

"I am sorry you all had to witness that," Iluzisto suddenly spoke up, his voice cool yet tinged with ice. "I hope Gardisto will be the last example I have to make." He narrowed his eye darkly as he added, "However, if any other Observant escapes, it will be each and every one of your after-lives."

The guards quickly nodded and bowed submissively.

Iluzisto said nothing else and instead made a portal before leaving through it...

Now back at the Realm Beyond Time, specifically, within his prison, Iluzisto searched again for Trupo. It was time to take even more precautions. With Justeco and Konsilisto loose, he could not take any chances.

"Trupo," Iluzisto called once he found him. "Gather your guards. I want you to head to the cave in the Rockies. Take the door to Earth and meet the other guards there. I want full surveillance there. No one gets in or out. Understood?"

"Yes, Master Prison Head," his officer quickly replied. But before flying off to carry out his leader's orders, Iluzisto pulled him back with his staff.

"Yes, sir?" Trupo asked a bit precariously.

"Call me 'Master-of-All' from now on," Iluzisto the Invidious darkly ordered.

"Of course, Master-of-All," Trupo said with a bow before returning to his mission.

As Iluzisto made his way out of the prison comma he continued to bark out orders to his officers, wanting to make sure the Observants' domain and Clockwork's tower were also well-guarded.

He needed to make sure if Justeco showed up again that he would be spotted and captured.

But that led him to another question…

Obviously, if Justeco had been spotted in the Realm Beyond Time with the young crossbreed's loved ones, then Justeco must have managed to find a way to get the boy to help him.

The question was why Justeco would risk coming back to the Realm Beyond Time when he had to know it would be well-guarded?

Unless… He was forced to return… What would force him to return?

"Wait…," Iluzisto muttered as he paused with his next sudden thought. "Trupo said they saw Justeco and the young crossbreed's human allies—they did not see Konsilisto; otherwise, Trupo would have mentioned him. But I just confirmed that Justeco and Konsilisto escaped from the cave… So then, where is Konsilisto…?"

Iluzisto's eye curved as he came to the most likely conclusion, "The only thing that would force Justeco to take such a risk as to return here is if he needed to return—or, rather, his brother needed to return."

But, of course! Konsilisto was always a weaker fool. Surely the curse upon them was taking a harder toll on the counselor. And although coming to the Realm Beyond Time would not stop the time-spell Iluzisto placed on the Observants, this timeless place would help alleviate some of the discomfort!

Justeco very likely hid his brother somewhere in the Realm Beyond Time to keep him from fading out of existence for as long as possible.

"Shame I have no means of finding that coward Konsilisto… He would make excellent bait for Justeco and Danny Phantom," Iluzisto said with a small smirk.

But then, that thought gave him an idea just as good…

"Maybe… I do not need to physically capture Konsilisto…," Iluzisto muttered and then chuckled again.

However, that still left the same problem that he had from the beginning. He had no means of entering Amity Park. For some reason, the staff refused to teleport him past that Ghost Shield surrounding the small town…

And he could not find Danny Phantom's portal…

"And yet, Justeco must have found it, if he managed to get to the young crossbreed…," Iluzisto growled angrily. He still couldn't believe the boy was helping the Observants after everything!

Justeco was certainly cleverer and more convincing than Iluzisto had given him credit for. After all, no one could be that forgiving. At least, Iluzisto did not have to worry about the older crossbreed involving himself in this. He was sure Vlad Plasmius would never help the Justeco and the other Observants in a million years. In fact, Iluzisto was sure the older crossbreed would very likely help him destroy them before helping them… Then again, Vlad Plasmius hated him just as much… Still, it wasn't in the man's nature to be forgiving. Iluzisto knew that much.

"I need to get to the crossbreeds," Iluzisto grumbled. "But how? If only I knew where Justeco went…"

But the illusionist spirit trailed off as he realized something…

He could not track the young crossbreed or his portal, but…

He could track Justeco.

Iluzisto slowly pulled out the stolen orb he got from Okulo out of his robe pocket. He lifted the timeless relic up to eye level as he said thoughtfully, "I had almost forgotten Justeco's core is still tied to this orb… That means…"

Iluzisto suddenly squeezed the orb and commanded it, "Find Justeco…"

In an instant, the orb lit up green and levitated out of Iluzisto's hand and began to move off on its own accord towards a certain direction, a small green beam coming from the orb, acting much like a compass pointing north—except the orb's 'north ' was Justeco.

Iluzisto laughed in victory as he exclaimed, "At last!"

He wasted no time and followed the orb.

---

(1) Esperanto for "Observe Ancients' Abode!"

(2) Esperanto for "Observe Earth!"

Pearl: Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, even with the lack of action. Then again, Danny and Vlad arguing while Tucker is pumped full of sleeping pores, is pretty exciting and funny! XD So, announcement! With CM coming to an end, I would like to host one last chat session over at the Hidden Pearl for Checkmate. I would love to talk with you all and answer any lingering questions you might have about that story. So, I picked a date already and here it is: November 5th. It is a Saturday, so put it on your calendars! You can find out more about it on the Hidden Pearl at the DA. I will be posting an announcement tomorrow. I hope to see you all there. Lastly, expect the next chapter of CM sometime this week, and then the final one, the first week of November. *winks*

Well, thanks again for all your support, and please share your thoughts about this sid chapter. We are getting close to the ending of this one as well! XD

A/N: truephan here: So, I see y'all made it done here—congrats! But as you can see, this is one of those important 'filler' chapters. *sighs since you know how MUCH I love action* But like I said, it's an important filler chapter, so there ya go! But don't worry, there's a bit more to come, so hope you're still biting your nails a bit—but NOT too much because I and Ms. Hyde would like you to save it for the REAL action! Thank again for all your support—oops a bit early…my thanks AFTER you push that little button down there and let us know your thoughts! *winks* Well, really, I mean it! LOL!