Ch.5

"C'mon."

clang!

"Just...go!"

clang!

"Rrah! Do It!"

clang! rattlerattlerattle...

A pause in the unending curses and rattling of metal bars was punctuated by heavy breathing, the kind one makes after spending quite a bit of time preforming a high-energy task. After a short few seconds, the silent reprieve was over, and the occupant of the small cage was up and about-spitting and snarling in a harsh language under his breath at the indignity of it all- resuming the bodily throwing of himself against the thick bars of said containment.

Suffice to say that after a period of, oh, two or three hours of being crammed into the small unite, to small to stand in, a fledgling phantom is inclined to become...irritated, no matter how shivering scared he is on the inside.

Huffing out heated breaths at the exertion he'd been putting into his escape attempt, Danny glared at the organized mettle, hoping, perhaps a little, that maybe if he stared with enough rage, the human construct would melt or...something. Hm. Fool's hope. Just sitting there looking at something didn't make it go away, it just made your eyes hurt. And boy did his ache, the dull throbbing behind said eyes seeming to get worse with the acknowledgement it was there...

Sighing and relaxing somewhat out of his charge-ready crouch, the phantom boy leaned back until he was practically sitting on his haunches, back braced against one side of the unit. Hmph, that hurt, too. Scrubbing a damaged hand over his face tuned out to be a BAD idea, (even though it itched like the dickens), thanks to the already irritated cuts and scratches littering the area. And it made his hand hurt more with the pressure. Gritting his teeth in frustration, Danny decided that listing all these aches and pains was starting to become redundant, as well as serving no point. He KNEW he was hurting all over-in places he never even knew he had to boot-so what good did it do to bring it to light? It just made him wish he wasn't here all the more...

Biting his lip at the thought of home, the phantom pushed back tears of hopelessness and wanting. He was done crying...for now, but knowing full well he might devolve into the bawling mess he'd been not long ago at any time didn't help him hold it back. If anything, it made him want to cry more at the unfairness of it all. He hadn't been doing anything wrong! They, the alien human things were wrong! They were the ones who did this to him, right, so they were clearly at fault.

Danny smiled a little as he let the anger take him, steadily replacing the homesickness to where he had something he could work with. Something he could understand and use.

Gritting his teeth harder at the burning of his body with the movement, the phantom boy leaned forward in the cage, getting into position again. This time, he though to himself, brow furrowing with concentration as he locked onto the spot he'd been smashing against for a near solid hour now. This time for sure. You WILL yield to me...

After spending enough time in here with nothing else to do but learn of his new containment space, the phantom, (after his instincts had stopped sending berserk distress signals to his brain that is,) had immediately taken to trying to find the weakest point he could. Like his father told him, all things, whether they be inanimate or no, had a breaking point, a soft spot-even rock and steel. It was simply a matter of finding that point and exploiting it. From what he had managed to gather, (due multiple attempts against them,) the thick bars of this human trap were not going to give. An interwoven mesh of metal, it was too heavy and too well constructed. Along with the larger poles, there were smaller ones in there as well leaving the biggest gaps between any of the bars just big enough to fit a couple of fingers through and strengthening it to the point where there was no way in Underearth that he was getting out that way.

Adding to his suddenly very long list of problems was the room...or lacktherof. Sitting up in the contraption, the phantom fledgling had about enough room to stick out his elbows on either side of him before meeting cage, and even sitting the strands of hair on the top of his head brushed the mesh of the cage ceiling. At least he had room to lie down and stretch out comfortably, he had observed. (Well, about as comfortably as one can get scared out of their wits and laying on steel bars.)

Setting all this aside, after the amount of time Danny had explored the thing, he had discovered there did lie a weakness in the device. That fault fell to what the phantom child could only guess as where this thing opened. A plain square of sheet metal stood before him, slightly dented at this point, blocking what had to be the entrance. Since guessing was all he had to work with, what with not being able to feel around it properly, Danny supposed the sheet was very thin; at the most it couldn't be any thicker then half his finger width from the hollow bangs he'd gotten from tapping it. But still, no matter how hard he tried, it just wouldn't move. There was something about the way the humans had made this thing that Danny just couldn't figure out-none of the tricks and tips Vlad had given him to escape becoming ensnared in some beast's trap worked, and Danny was growing ever more fearful with every failed attempt that he might never get out of this. He might never see his father or his home again. He could be taken away from his stars, his beautiful emerald stars...

The phantom shook his head, scowling and snarling something fierce as he forcefully replaced that dull ache in his chest with the riotous fury of a caged feral beast. He would get out of this, one way or another, and those alien creatures would pay.

He crouched ever lower, tensing his strong hind legs to point of shivering with the laden power. Clutching at the bars of the floor of his entrapment for better forward propulsion, Danny's pupils dilated, nearly blocking out all color on the pools of acid green eyes focused obsessively on one goal. Said goal lay before him. The opening, the sheet of plain grey steel. He hated it. Hated with such a passion right then. Lowering his head, the phantom child gave a screech the reverberated off the metal around him- a sound grating to the ears, warning of the absolute terror about to be wrecked-and launched himself straight forward with all the force his legs could manage.

The target came rushing up faster then the phantom had time to comprehend. Damn, too much power! Danny had about enough time to realize that launching himself head-first at a piece of steel that hadn't given way before was probably not the best idea he'd had in a while until-

With a resounding bang that echoed metalicly about the cage and the hidden room beyond, a head connected with grimace-worthy force to a solid surface. The noise of cloth and a body keeling over sounded as the occupant of the cage suddenly lost the will and seemingly know-how to stay crouched up right, instead listing to one side heavily until, with a burbled groan, the phantom fell with a clang; legs and arms twitching and trying to grip and swipe at thin air. If one were to walk in on the scene, the portrait of a beetle turned onto its back, hopelessly trying to right itself would be accurately represented.

Attempting to first clear the disorienting colors that danced in mockery across his vision, Danny blinked once, twice, three times. After a period of however long it took, the phantom managed to uncross his eyes and dully focus his gaze again. Note, very dully. Huh. Things were looking rather...odd...now. He was sure he only had one left foot before...right? And that ringing was back...but far, FAR more annoying.

Gah, get away, you..I'm...uh...I'm tryin' to..uh...ESCAPE! Yeah, that's what...hmm...

Danny gurgled in his throat and lazily flailed his arm in front of his face, sloppily batting aside something that was not there. Hm...perhaps he'd wait a moment before trying to get out again...The door didn't seem to like him much. And things wouldn't sit still...ugh, was the cage actually trying to move beneath him? No, bad cage! Managing to get a hold of his waving arms for a second, Danny clapped them to his suddenly throbbing ears and temples. It helped stop the spinning a little, but unfortunately did nothing for the cursed persistent ringing. Would that ever go away?

It must have been a few more minutes before he could process what was going on around him, a bit. Things still would blur out of focus but he could handle that better then the absolute disorientation of moments before.

Whining at the suddenly mammoth effort it took to just sit up again, Danny eventually pulled himself into his corner so he'd be supported and protected on both sides. He didn't know why he suddenly wanted the protection...he was in a metal cage that, now that it looked to have snapped shut for good, held no way in and apparently no way out; what greater protection can you get? Well no...this was not true, he reminded himself, shaking his head slightly to clear it of these inane thoughts. This cage might save him from the monsters of his world trying to get to him from the outside, but what about the monsters of the other? DID the human world have monsters? And if so, what were they; what could they do to him? That wasn't the problem though, Danny reminded himself, surprised he actually had to do so. What would the HUMANS do to him, now that he was in their snare, like a wisp trapped between his father's claws?

Suddenly feeling very cold and the spinning room with all it's colors of greens and purples mixing together in odd ways making him feel very sick, Danny scooted himself further back until there was no more room to go. He sniffled a bit, then let the flood of tears come, not bothering to try and choke them down or hold them back this time. What was the point? It's not like there was anyone around to see him; the cloth covering his trap made sure of that.

Danny felt himself let out a silent sob; not being any real sound to the action, just a bigger and shakier exhale of air from his abused chest. Hells teeth, he didn't even know why he was crying. He'd do better to get back up and get back to escaping. He needed to escape, to get away from here and the danger. But... he was hurting too much now. The phantom wanted to curse himself for attempting to escape through such self-deteriorating means; his father would have been able to get out of here with out hurting himself, Danny bet.

Back to his problems-Danny knew his shaky legs could never support his weight standing, let alone running. Not to mention he was too scared. Finally, Danny let himself admit it. He was terrified of what might await him on the other side to the cloth when... if he got out. The phantom didn't know where he was going, or what the aliens planned on doing with him. Gruesome images of distorted black hulking figures hacking off his legs and arms and eating his insides played out in his mid's eye; a shrill maniacal laughter buzzing past his ears to accompany the horror. Was this what his prey felt like, he wondered, when he cornered it and it knew there was no escaping its fate at his hands and jaws? Despite his bare bandaged front already being soaked with ectoplasm from one of his wounds and the previously shed tears, Danny pulled his legs up, wrapped his arms around them and buried his face into the ball he'd made of his body.

He didn't want to see any of what was around him anymore. He didn't want the human scent in his nose, nor be able to hear the muffled human-thing make purring and whirling noises from out side. None of it. He just wanted to go home, to be rid of this nightmare and never ever see any of it ever again. The thought made him cry out; a small sound barely audible to his own ears. He wanted out... no...he wanted to go home...but how? The phantom had tried everything possible, save for begging his captors for release...and though the very notion would have set his ectoplasm boiling before, now he found himself really trying to come up with viable arguments to present to the humans. Was it too much to hope for, he wondered? Could he get them to let him go?

No...Vlad had taught him about the Opposite World people. They were stupid, and didn't care about others not like them. His father had told him plenty of stories of how, like a siren, they will bring you in closer and then take you away to who-knows-where or kill you for fun. Disgusting, Danny thought tiredly. Hunting for fun? How sickeningly wasteful and cruel. Besides, they wouldn't be able to understand him anyway, right? He was a Phantom, they were not. The disgust spread then to being targeted at himself now. He had been the stupid one, here. He had been the one lured in to the false-Vlad's voice. Just like the humans wanted, no doubt.

The frightening images of his gory death at the hands of his captors began to fade a little over the passing minutes of silence. The raw fear remained-Danny didn't think that would be going away soon,- but the immediate threat of violent destruction passed with the steadying of the swaying of the cage. Well...he was feeling a tiny bit better...maybe he could try again? Tucking his legs underneath him and pushing against the side of the cage, he tried to rise- he didn't get far, though. Danny slumped against the side of the cage again when his legs refused to take his weight even crouched and his head swam with moderate vertigo, scowling dark enough to frighten nighttime.

No, it was useless. His head still stung to much, the ache now spreading down to his neck and shoulders too. Oh, and he was tired. The phantom could feel it in the way his eyes would close for a moment with a blink, then he'd have to remember to open them again. How long had he been fruitlessly throwing himself against this damn thing, rising time after ever more painful time to the challenge to win his costly freedom back? Well, it didn't matter how long-it was tiresome work all the same, and costly to his little energy reserves.

A loud growl filled the small space, ear-splittingly loud in the cramped quarters. Clutching his middle, Danny felt his face heat up a bit, though there was no one here with him.

My stomach, that's all...Gods, when was the last time he'd eaten? The mention of lost energy must have made him realize just how empty he was. Suddenly a new worry popped to the forefront of his mind. Would the humans remember to feed him? And, even so, WOULD they feed him? Did they even know what he ate, or were able to get it? He hoped so...The longest Danny thought he could go was only a couple of weeks...a few more perhaps, if he stopped moving around or did as little as possible. The phantom shifted on his bottom, trying to ease down into a more comfortable recline. Maybe they'll let me hunt for myself? Danny rolled his eyes at the absolute ridiculousness of the thought immediately after having it.

In doing so, they'd have to let him go free, somewhat, and though he didn't know how humans operated, generally, the phantom boy knew they would never allow that. Why go to the trouble of keeping him in here then?

Sighing deeply, Danny let his scowling face relax some. Yeah, he was irritated...and upset and fingernail-gnawingly worried, but at the moment, he had no one to intimidate with said thunderous scowl, so making such a face here was pointless...and painful. So Danny settled back, leaning against the bars and staring out at the cloth behind them. Not much else to look at. Finally still, the phantom resigned himself to whatever the future may have had in store for him, because he certainly wasn't controlling what happened anymore.

It could have been hours, it could have been mere minutes- time seemed irreverent here, and passed only as it saw fit-but after whatever amount of time had passed, something new started happening.

All the while Danny had been in his containment, trying to break free and whatnot, he had been moving. He could tell, the same way we can when in a moving vehicle, that we are in motion, but now, with the change in situation, there was a definite pause in the forward movement. Not stopping altogether, but slowing down a lot, yeah. Tilting his head from side to side, the boy considered this development. What were his captors doing, resting for a bit? Stopping to hunt or something? (Did humans hunt?)It had been a while since they'd begun moving, Danny supposed, and the beings must be tired by now. Even he had to pause to catch his breath every now and again while out finding a meal. This may or may not have been true, but it was the only reason Danny could think of at the moment.

There was a mechanical whooshing sound-like the wind tunnels created in the steep narrow valleys Danny loved to fly through, but less natural sounding, and louder. Muffled by the bigger noise, Danny's keen ears still managed to pick up tiny beeps and blips and little clicking sounds that he in no way could identify. It irked and agitated the phantom more then anything else at the moment. Where was all this coming from? He turned every which way he could, trying to see or hear more then at present, but the sources of the sounds remained an mystery; though, perhaps it was his imagination, or did the cloth covering his cage lift ever-so-slightly with the wind and he caught the edge of a boot darting out of his sight? He couldn't be sure, it was so fast... He was jerked forward, out of his leaning position and onto his hands and knees once more by a sudden jolt as whatever held him and his cage stopped moving.

Then

All was silent.

All sounds and noises that had been buzzing about in the background while he'd been contained were suddenly not there, as if they'd never been. Danny blinked, his shoulders tensing and his scowl returning as he clambered somewhat clumsily into the crouched position he'd been in before, ignoring the twinging in his neck and back and the slight blur his vision still held. Something was coming. He was sure of it.

Where there had been the human-thing sounds before, now unhindered by the machinery's clamor, voices slithered in under the tarp and into the ears of the phantom. The voices were strange though, making the phantom boy once more tilt his head trying to gather more into his range of hearing, to decipher them; they were no doubt talking about him... They were speaking to one another... at least, he thought so. Whatever language it was, he'd certainly never heard it spoken before, if it was even a language at all. Honestly, it just sort of sounded like a big coalition of random sounds, with absolutely no flow or tell-tale hisses and growls to even show emotion. He ground his teeth at this, though. If he couldn't understand them, then they wouldn't understand him. Frowning, the little white hair felt a tiny thread of hopelessness weave itself through his spirit, dragging it down. Well, that's yet another way to get home checked off the list...

Danny shifted his posture, keeping his head tilted to make sure not to miss anything. If whoever was out there gave a hint that they knew how to speak his language, you could bet he wasn't going let the chance negotiating slip from his grasp. It was getting harder to concentrate on the voices though. More seemed to be coming in, joining the previously mentioned and raising in volume which made the sounds bounce about the space beyond the phantom's limited vision. Danny was beginning to have a hard time keeping track of all the noise now; there were too many! How many, a dozen? More? Oh no...

Danny felt himself loosing his confidence, the emotion draining from him like water through sand, leaving his body feeling just as empty. I could have handled a couple humans, probably It might have taken me some time, but I could have fought them to get home. A whole pack though... From the sounds of it, the frightening amount of enemies on the other side of his barrier had not increased,( little comfort, but at this point he'd take any points not against him...) and judging by the sounds of it, they were not pleased. Or perhaps they were and Danny was simply misinterpreting the tone. He'd done it before, when he was younger and far more stupid. Now at seven and a half, Danny could name more types of ghosts and specters then it did to dwell on who'd love to invite him over for, ah, dinner, courtesy of his fathers long lectures and plain old trial and error. How did he know humans weren't another to add to his mental list?

The boy in the cage tensed, quivering with the stress, both mental and physical, when the voices calmed somewhat. Some little voice in the back of his head was going nuts, screaming with everything it had that this was bad news. If they were calming, then they'd come to a decision, and... and...something was going to happen to him.

A lull; all conversation ceasing to naught but a few murmurs.

Then footsteps; short, clomping, made by someone with definite weight to their body- were they being intentionally loud, or was it just him thinking each step made the bars of his cage rattle?

Danny didn't want to panic again. It had been bad enough the first time after the initial shock of waking up, and really there was only so many times a person could panic in a day, right? It was unhelpful, and a little bit unlike him, but he was trapped! He had to get out, to get away from his attackers, but there was nowhere to go. He could feel the pressure in his core tightening and a thin bead of cold sweat dribble past his temple to his lips. It tastes like salt. he thought absently. Salt and fear...The only thing the phantom could do was press his back to the far end of the cage even harder then he already was, curl up slightly to make sure his vulnerable underbelly was protected with his legs and arms when the human ultimately went for the killing blow, and wait. How he hated waiting... It drove one to madness, surely, having to just sit there while your death literally, just walks up to you.

The footsteps had stopped close, so close...right outside the bars, standing in or on whatever lay beyond Danny's steel-encompassed haven.

A hand-thick, gloved and surprisingly familiar in representation- what with having five fingers, a wrist and attached to a forearm and all-lifted the cloth, the odd crinkling sounds of the folding cloth filling the suddenly sound-devoid space. Danny didn't breath. He could only watch as the owner-less hand reached up and grasped something that was attached to the trap through long metal poles; it seemed to be a trigger, the thing that sets the trap off when a ghost gets caught inside it. Danny kept his gaze locked on the hand, though, emotions long gone shoved to some dark corner of his mind while the need to defend, to kill if it came to it took control-control he gladly offered. The phantom...was almost eager for that wandering, tugging human paw to come closer, to get within striking distance. It didn't engage him, though, ignoring the pale little creature's savage desires and with one final pull on the cage-bit, there was a minute click.

And the cage flipped open.