Danny immediately revolted. "I'm not going there!" he yelled, letting go of Yassen's hand and backing away. Alex looked like he was about to do the same, but Yassen stopped him by tightly wrapping an arm around Alex's arms. With his free hand, he created a swirling mass of black energy. Even in the darkness of the room they were in, everyone could clearly see the energy in the ghost's hand. Alex ducked his head in instinct and kicked Yassen roughly in his shins. The Russian didn't flinch, even as he slowly brought the black energy up to rest inches from the boy's temple. Alex suddenly went very still; he didn't want to move with the black energy so close to him. Danny went ghost and had an ecto blast at the ready. Yassen held his position and his gaze with the halfa.
"We will be going into the Ghost Zone, even if I have to drag you kicking and screaming there. If you resist any more, if you put a single toe out of line, Danny, I will not stop in destroying every important piece of information this boy's mind holds. He will be reduced to a blubbering mass of useless flesh. I am sure that neither of you wish that." Yassen spoke, making sure that each syllable was crisp and clipped. Neither boy moved an inch. Danny's skin had reached a whole new level of pale, and Alex, try as he might to hide it, looked like he was about to faint. Danny made the green energy in his hand vanish, and he returned the hand limply to his side. As a last resort, he returned to Fenton. The simple action put Yassen in a slightly better mood, though both knew that the boy could still easily use his powers. The transformation only proved that Danny would not do anything to get out of line. Yassen still kept the energy aimed at Alex's head though. He nodded.
"Good," he said slowly. "Now, come back over here and take hold of my arm. Don't bother making yourself invisible."
Danny stiffly walked back to Yassen's side and extended a hand to hold on to Yassen's arm by the crook of the man's elbow.
"Good. Now, both of you close your eyes tightly. Do not open them until I tell you to do so." Yassen warned. Danny glanced over at Alex for a brief second to make sure that he was alright before shutting his eyes. He quickly felt the familiar yet strange sensation as his body mass dropped to nothing, and he faded away.
"This is bad," Danny couldn't help but think "Yassen's probably going to kill us, or worse. Even though Alex said that Yassen refused to kill kids, I can easily see him doing it now! Why did I even trust him?" Danny's feet hit solid ground.
"We are here. You can open your eyes now." Yassen said, shrugging Danny's hand off of his arm. He half dragged, half carried Alex. He still had the black energy held up at the boy's head, so Alex didn't move much. Danny followed them like a shadow, staying on Yassen's right side. The Russian almost seemed to read their minds.
"This is where I have been staying while I have been… existing… in this place. I only had you close your eyes because I wish to keep the location secret." He ignored Danny as he took a breath in to ask a question and continued talking.
"You may think that I am going to kill you now. You would be wrong. I only have important information to reveal. Alex, do not attack or run away when I release you. Danny, do not use your powers for anything while we are here. Understood?" Yassen stopped walking to look properly at Alex, then Danny. Once both teens had nodded, he continued walking, releasing the energy in his hand and Alex as he did so.
"Can we talk?" Alex snapped at the ghost "Or is that too much to ask?"
"Feel free to talk. In a moment though, you may find that difficult." Yassen replied, removing the sunglasses from his red eyes and stowing them in his jacket pocket.
"Why would it be difficult? What are you going to do?" Danny demanded.
"I found some information about your common enemy. He will be using a cursed book to kill Danny."
"What?!"
"Please be quiet, Danny. This book was available in Amity Park; I can't believe it hasn't been used before. It works when the one holding it recites whichever spell he or she chooses from the pages. He will without a doubt choose the one that will send you into a place where you will die a very slow and painful death."
Danny hadn't though that it would be possible, but it was:
Vlad had found a way the worst possible way to kill him.
Yassen continued speaking; only glancing at the halfa for little more than a second.
"This book can be used by anyone. It can alter reality as well, to a certain degree. This means that it can create powerful illusions."
"Where is the book now?" Alex asked.
"It is with your enemy, most likely hidden on his person. The book isn't that large; it could easily fit into the palm of your hand."
"Why," Alex stressed the word "Are we here then? Shouldn't we be working on stopping him?"
Yassen approached a door and phased through it. Alex and Danny went through after Alex had opened the door. "Showoff," Alex muttered. The new room had metal walls, and stone floors. It was empty of anything but a guitar, now in Yassen's hand, and a motorcycle. Yassen silently handed the guitar to Danny.
"This is Ember's guitar," Danny stated.
"Yes, it is." Yassen replied as if it was very important but didn't care anyway. "She won't be missing it. I paid her a visit." He added the last part before Danny could ask how he had managed to even touch the musical instrument. Danny's eyes widened as he understood. He figured that Yassen had done the same thing to Johnny and Kitty when he took Johnny's bike. "Humans are able to act as ghosts in this realm, or so I have heard." Yassen said, looking down at Danny. The halfa nodded.
"Humans just phase through stuff. That's about it really."
Alex backed over to the nearest wall and turned to face it before swing a foot out carefully. When his foot passed through the metal, the feeling of having it doused in ice water caused him to shiver for a moment. "This is kind of different, this phasing stuff. What's the bike for?" he asked Yassen, pulling his foot out of the wall and walking back to stand next to Danny. The halfa by then had strapped the guitar so that it hung diagonally across his chest, with the actual guitar on his back.
"I think the bike is for you." Danny said. Yassen nodded,
"Since you can't fly on your own, you'll ride this. That way, you won't be completely helpless in this realm as your common enemy tries to force Danny into a book." Yassen sneered, as if he found the thought of a book doing that much damage insulting to actual killers.
"Why are we staying in this zone?" Danny asked.
"It levels the playing field for humans, making it slightly more difficult for Vlad. People would also become uneasy if they saw two children with a guitar and flying motorbike up in the air."
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Yassen had quickly shown Alex how to ride the bike. Quickly, because Alex basically knew already how to ride the machine, he only needed to be reminded of a few things.
"So, I'll be able to just go through this wall, even on this bike?" Alex was slightly nervous at the thought of riding at any speed, faster than a walking speed, at the wall. Yassen and Danny nodded.
"Think of it like the 9 ¾ thing in Harry Potter," Danny offered. "You know, just like the platform to get on to the train?"
"So, we're going to Hogwarts?" Alex asked with mock hopefulness.
"That's enough," Yassen cut in, waving his hand. Alex grinned.
"What, Yassen? Are you a muggle?" his grin widened as Yassen sighed.
"Just go, both of you. You're wasting time."
"Aye aye," Alex sang, jumping onto his new ride and revving the engine. Danny transformed into Phantom, taking the guitar with him, and flew out of the room through the back wall. Alex stayed behind for a moment.
"Yassen, you weren't really going to destroy my mind, right?" he asked. His eyes were on the place Danny had just vanished through, so he missed the faint flicker of emotion dart across the ghosts face.
"Of course not." He said softly. "I was testing your friend. I wasn't surprised at his actions; he has something of a hero complex."
Alex was silent, thinking this over. People who would give anything to save others were very strong, and very weak. They would throw their life away, without a second thought, to save others. These types of people could easily be tricked into thinking that their friends or family were in mortal danger, and put themselves at risk.
"Alex, were you paying attention to how he acted?"
"Not really; you had me pretty distracted with that black energy."
"Exactly, and that is just what the enemy will do. You were so focused on me that you failed to notice that Danny had completely put his guard down. If that event had been real, say that I was Masters; I would have had a clear shot to destroy Danny and then you if I wanted to. If you're to come out of this alive, and Danny as well, you mustn't allow this to happen. Don't get distracted, and don't let Danny give himself up, no matter what."
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