Chapter 2: Call of the Phantom: Part 2
All sound became void in the metallic basement laboratory as the five occupants stared at the closed portal in horrified shock. Danny could literally feel his face paling in color as his body shook in disbelief and fright. His hands were shaking relentlessly as his mouth hung open though his breathing had stopped immediately after his parents vanished.
Before he even realized it, Danny was on his feet, running to the control console at full speed. With each step more and more of his hearing began to return, though the only sound he could hear was the blood curdling, ear splitting scream that was coming from his baby sister.
Danielle's lungs began to burn intensely as she pushed all her breath into her scream of fright and pain. Her screams reverberated around the room, startling everyone else out of their stunned states. Sam shook her head, turning to the young girl who had somehow gotten to her feet and was trying to run toward the portal. Jumping up, Sam grabbed Danielle, and pulled her back, attempting to restrain her.
"NO! Let me go!" Danielle screamed as she struggled against Sam's grip. However, this just caused Sam to hold her tighter against her.
"Ellie, calm down, it's going to be alright!" Sam shouted before looking at Danny's back as he pressed any button he could find on the console. "Danny, do something!"
"I'm trying!" he yelled in panic as his fingers moved quickly over the various screens and buttons in hopes of activating it, but the only results he got were continuous beeps of rejection. "Damn it! How the hell do you work this thing!?" With a frustrated yell, Danny slammed his hand on the console. Turning back toward the portal, Danny rushed over to it, grabbing onto one of the doors and, using all his strength, tried to force it open. The door gave a groan of protest under his teenage might but didn't budge at all.
"Hang on, dude! I'll help!" Tucker said as he ran over to the opposite door and tried to pull it as well. Sam watched anxiously as her two friends tried with all their might to get the door open, but she knew that their efforts were wasted. Her stomach felt like it was going to explode from all the tension she was feeling right now. Danielle had finally stopped her struggling; however, she was still restless as she watched them try to pry the doors open with no success. Jake stood next to her, his heart beating rapidly in anticipation.
Danny and Tucker continued to pull with all the strength they had, but it was becoming obviously clear that they weren't going to get the doors open. With one final struggle, the two boys pulled, but the results were unfruitful as they both fell backwards, landing on their backs on the ground. However, Danny didn't stay on the ground for long as he quickly jumped back onto his feet and repeatedly punched the caution doors.
"Why. Won't. You. Open!?" he shouted with each punch. The others said nothing as they let him take all his anger out on the doors.
As Danny's punches began to slow down, tears started to fall from his eyes as all the hope left his body. Danielle had matching twin tear trails on her face, and so, prying herself away from Sam, the young girl walked up to her older brother and grabbed onto his sleeve. Danny turned in defeat as his eyes fell upon his sister's.
"Danny…" she said, lip trembling as she tried to form words. Danny said nothing as he kneeled and pulled her into a strong hug. Danielle's resolve broke even more as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder to cry even more. Sam had to hold back her own tears as she, Tucker and Jake let the siblings have their moment.
After a while, Danny and Danielle were able to compose themselves, though the mood was still as somber as ever.
"So…now what do we do?" Danielle asked as they stood around the lab. She and Jake were sitting on one of the desks while Sam leaned against the adjacent wall, Tucker sitting next to her on the ground. Danny, however, stood in the center of the room, staring at the portal.
"Shouldn't, like, we call the police or something?" Jake asked.
"And tell them what?" Tucker asked. "Hey, we need help! Two of the world's leading scientist in ghost research have suddenly disappeared into a hole in the wall that leads into a dimension completely populated by ghosts that we not only can't prove, but can't seem to get to open either? That definitely doesn't sound like a one-way trip to the nuthouse."
"Well, we've got to do something," Danielle said. Looking at her brother, she could see that he was struggling to figure out just what to do. Danielle had always gone to him for help because Danny always knew what to do, and even if he didn't, he always knew how to make her feel better about it. To see him so unsure of himself made her feel worse than she already did. "Danny? What do you think?"
"I…I don't know…" he whispered with a shake of his head. "I just wish that there was a sign or something that could help tell us what to do. This is so messed up." Danny sighed as he ran a hand through his hair before turning around to look at everyone. Opening his mouth, Danny prepared to speak again, but was interrupted as the room began to shake around them.
The five of them jumped as all the lights began to flicker before shutting off completely, leaving them in the dark, though it didn't last long as green electricity streaked across the room. Everyone's eyes fell upon the center of the room as the various streaks shot out, nearly hitting them as it gathered. A strong wind began to stir from the center point before a loud flash erupted, a small explosion coming from it.
Everyone blinked as their vision began to return, and gasped as they looked at the swirling green portal before them. A cold sweat began to break out across Danny's skin at the site of it as well as the sounds coming from it. Everyone began to back up in fear of what may be on the other side of the doorway and prayed that they wouldn't find out.
"No one make any sudden moves," Danny said in a serious tone. "We don't know what could- "
"Um, Danny," Danielle called, grabbing his attention. Danny's eyes grew wide as he looked at his sister whose body began to glow in a white light. Looking around, Danny saw that it wasn't just her, but everyone. Jake had begun to glow green, Sam purple and Tucker blue. Looking at his own body, Danny noticed that he too was glowing, except that he was glowing a deep black color.
Before anyone could say or do anything, a strong yanking sensation began to overtake them in the direction of the portal. As the sensation grew stronger by the second, the five were instantly dematerialized, changing from solid matter into complete light and shotting straight into the portal before it closed.
Everyone began to scream as they travelled through the long green spinning tunnel of energy and their minds raced with fear, wondering what awaited them on the other end of this. A large opening could be seen at the very end as they drew closer and closer to their unknown destination.
The five lights shot out of the portal, spilling out onto the ground as they changed back into the kids. The portal shut behind them, though none of them seemed to notice this as they all looked around in stunned awe. They each slowly got to their feet as they looked around the room carefully. The walls were dark green, and the ceilings was high above. Multiple cogs and gears shifted slowly about in random places. However, the thing that caught their attention the quickest was the large Clock screen against the far wall.
"Whoa…" Jake said as they took in everything.
"I think we just got our sign," Sam said.
"Not sure if this is a good one or bad, though," Danny said.
"Perhaps I can help with that," A voice called before a figure faded into view before them. The surprise entrance startled all of them, causing them all to jump back in surprise as the figure floated before them, a light aura shimmering around him. "Hello."
"What the hell is that!?" Danielle screamed, preparing to jump back again if it came closer.
"I am Clockwork, Master and Lord of all things time, young Danielle," he said with a smile.
"How- "
"Do I know your name? Simple. Because I know everything. And yes, Tucker, that includes what you are going to say and ask me before you ask me. However, I will let you all ask your questions as I know that this is very unsettling for you."
"Whoa. Dude, that is so freaky," Tucker said.
"What do you want with us? Are you the one who kidnapped my parents?" Danny asked cautiously.
"I am not the one who has taken your parents, Daniel," Clockwork said as he shifted into a smaller form that resembled a baby, though, his purple cloak continued to flow around him, making him still seem intimidating. "As for why you are here, I will get to that shortly."
Clockwork floated away from them and over to the viewing screen, waving his staff. The screen came to life as an image of another ghost showed up. The ghost was a pale blue color with vampire like fangs showing in his grin. His black hair was pointed up in two horns as he stood in a white suit, his cape flowing behind him.
"This is Plasmius."
"Could the guy make it more obvious he's evil?" Sam said sarcastically. On the screen, Vlad began to cackle in a malicious manner as his hands glowed with pink energy. "I stand corrected."
"That's the same pink light we saw before my parents were dragged into the portal!" Danielle cried out.
"Correct. Plasmius is the one responsible for taking your parents and bringing them here into the Ghost Zone."
"The Ghost Zone? You mean we're in the Ghost Zone right now?"
"Yes, you are. I have brought you here because the time has come for you all to fulfill your destiny."
"What are you talking about?" Jake asked. Clockwork waved his staff once more, changing the image once more, this time to show five shadowy figures.
"Long ago, there were five ancient warriors with special abilities that resided here in the Ghost Zone. These warriors took it upon themselves to protect not only the Ghost Zone, but the Earth, from ghosts who wanted to rule and cause chaos. Back in those times, it was very common for ghosts to fight for power and to try to rule the world. There was one in particular who had once been known as the most powerful to ever exist; a ghost by the name of Pariah Dark.
"Also known as "the Ghost King", Pariah Dark made it his mission to gather as much power and as big an army as possible so that he could rule the world along with the Ghost Zone. For hundreds of years, Pariah brought about pain and destruction to all, laying waste to everything in his wake. Then, one day, the ancient warriors came together to defeat him."
The screen showed the five battling another figured, his one glowing eye burning in the dark around him.
"The battle was long and straining on them, but they finally defeated him and sealed him away in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep, hidden deep within his keep."
"Well, that's great and all, but what does it have to do with us or my parents?" Danny asked.
"Patience, please, Daniel. I'm getting to that," Clockwork said, shifting into an elder version of himself. "Though they were victorious, the resulting aftermath left them completely and utterly incapable of existing any longer. The warriors gave up their lives to prevent the destruction of both the living plain and the undead one. However, with the last of their power, they severed the link between the living and the dead worlds, making it impossible for either to interact with each other. Since then, it has been near impossible for ghost to go to Earth."
"Until the Fenton's created the Ghost Portal," Sam said in revelation.
"Correct, Samantha. Ever since the conception of their man-made portal, the Fenton's have been watched, observed by the ghosts as they waited for it to be completed so that they could crossover. Plasmius hopes to use their intelligence and resourcefulness to raise Pariah Dark from his sleep so that he can take over both worlds."
"Oh my god…" Danielle said as her mind began to fill with horrific images of bodies and destruction that would litter the Earth. "That can't happen!"
"Well, why don't you stop them if you know all this is gonna happen!?" Danny asked incredulously.
"I cannot intervene for I am not allowed to interfere with the time stream, save for specific moments such as this one, which is meant to set into motion the proper flow of time. I am the guardian of time, but I can only do what is within my power," Clockwork said as he changed back into his younger adult form.
"Well, then what the hell are you telling us all this for!?"
"Because it is you who must protect the world this time, children."
"Excuse me?" Jake asked in completely disbelief. "Did you just say that you expect us to stop all this?"
"That is correct, Jacob. Before the ancient warriors vanished forever, they severed their connection to their mortal forms, but swore that their power would survive and would return when the time was right. The time is now right." Clockwork's staff began to glow brightly as a small clock shaped table materialized in front of them. On the table were five silver banded rings, each adorned with a colored stone on the top.
Danny looked over his shoulder at his friends who had the same skeptical look on their faces as him. Danny took a slow step forward, then another with the others following behind him. Danny reached the table and stood before the first ring which held a black gemstone on the top of it. Sam followed suit, standing on his left in front of the purple stone. Parallel to her was Tucker who stood in front of the blue stone. At the very ends, completing the circle, were Danielle and Jake who were in front of the white and green stones.
The stones began to shine bright, pulsating like beating hearts as the 5 of them stood at the table. However, no one moved as they looked upon the jewelry.
"These rings house the power and abilities of the ancient spirits of those warriors," Clockwork said. "You five have been selected to be the new warriors to protect the realms of the living and the dead. You five have been selected to become the Phantom Rangers."
"Phantom Rangers?" Tucker asked.
"Yes, Tucker. Once you put on these rings, you'll be able to call upon the spirit inside of it and draw upon their power to stop the evils that threaten the Earth and Ghost Zone. You are the ones who have been chosen to become the new protectors. To call upon the powers of the ancient spirits, you simply call out the words "Ancient Spirit, hear my call. Arise." And their power will channel into you."
"What if…what if we don't want to?" Danielle asked, looking to the master of time. "Why should we believe you? How do we know that this isn't some type of trick to possess us and use us? Why should we trust you?"
"That, dear Danielle, is for you all to decide. Like with everything, there is always more than one choice. You can choose to take this power and use it. Or you can choose not to use it. I cannot influence you anymore than anyone else can. Whichever you choose, you will have to live with the outcome of your decision." Clockwork waved his staff, causing the table to vanish. However, the rings continued to float in place for a moment before flying toward the person in front of them. The glowing lights swirled and spun around the teens before slipping onto their right hands. Each of them looked to their hand to see as the glowing ring rested on their ring finger. "The rings are yours, regardless of if you choose to use the power or not. I wish that we could continue, and I could explain more, but for now, our time is up. At least, until next time."
"And when is that?" Sam asked nervously.
"Soon, Samantha. Soon," Clockwork said before waving his hand. A pair of clock hands appeared before changing into an open portal. "That is all time we have, though, so I must bid you farewell. This portal will return you from whence you came, and you are free to go."
Everyone stood as they watched the swirl of the portal, looking to him for any sign he could be lying, but found none. Danny was the first to move, then Sam and Tucker. Danielle and Jake followed up behind, all remaining silent. Danny paused in front of the portal taking once last glance at Clockwork before stepping through it. Each of his friends succeeded him, and Danielle was the last to go through, looking to Clockwork as well. Clockwork gave her a small smile and watched her step through before closing the portal behind her.
"Everything is as it should be, Rangers. I can only hope that you make the right decision, or else the worlds as we know them will be no more."
To be continued…