by TheTimeTrust and T5
Kristofer Schanz, alias Chance, ran through the corridors of the Castle of Crossed Destinies, following the bellowing and echoing shouts that he believed was the center of all this madness. Pete Glover, his little ghostly sidekick, followed closely behind.
"This ain't fair, Kris, t'ain't fair at all! I was s'posed t'be alive, and YOU were s'posed t'be the dead'un."
"Quiet, Pete -- I'm at work here," Chance whispered to the spirit, stopping as he reached the end of the corridor to spy a dark being surrounded by several other figures. He reached into a pocket in the MBL Consulting jacket he wore, which bore the name Chance on it, and pulled out a tiny pair of binoculars the size of opera glasses. The athletic Swede frowned as he peered through them to see the one formerly called "Mr. Smith" now menacing his teammates. Well, they weren't exactly HIS teammates, but they were in his own reality.
Somehow, the Castle had lived up to its name and crossed his and Pete's destinies. Chance was the alive one, and Pete was the ghost. To Chance's point of view, however, everything was as it should be. And Pete wouldn't be much use right now, anyway. Direct action was needed, not mere reaction.
Chance unhooked a clip from his belt, which was attached to a strong line, and hooked it around the balcony, then swung over the side and began to rappel himself down the cliff in order to join his allies. This creature calling itself "Evil" could do no harm to him, he was fairly certain, and he needed to get there right away.
Reaching the bottom, the clip unhooked itself, and the line reeled itself back into his belt. Chance then ran as fast as his muscular legs could take him across this ever-changing landscape toward what he hoped would not be their doom.
The demon mistress Zveidi smiled. She brought Ma Kalunga back to consciousness, drawing out the poison administered by Danny Hearn that had kept her unconscious. Kalunga's eyes were glazed as if possessed. Zveidi gave Kalunga the signal.
Naecken walked toward the being once known as Mr. Smith, and said calmly, "You have surely done something unprecedented on this plane. For that, you will be rewarded with my love." He walked up to him and greeted him with open arms.
The dark being tried to engulf him in a sphere of fear and pure evil.
Naecken laughed. "You don't understand, do you? We eat beings like you for breakfast where I come from. And now I'm hungry!"
He grabbed hold of the dark being and gave him a hug. Mr. Smith screamed, a scream that shattered all illusions, windows, and glasses for miles.
Kalunga opened a portal, and the Zveidi walked through. Evil had sought out evil, and now no one could stand in their way.
At this moment, in La Perdita, the seven young mentalists of the PSI-Unit and Biggins released their creation from afar.
A dark cloud of black screaming ravens suddenly engulfed the mountain in a great circle, only to form a pointed arrow and shoot directly at the center of evil's heart.
Naecken engulfed the dark being in his warm, fiery embrace, and his eyes flickered in ecstacy as the power that resided in Smith now resided in himself.
Kalunga aimed her weapon at him to strike, when the psychomagical birds slammed into Naecken and Smith, sending them soaring straight into Zveidi and the portal, just as it closed its warping energies.
They all screamed as they were sent into the place where all dark and evil forces originated: Hell.
Kalunga watched in horror as her mistress was swept away back into the portal. She then realized that the only ones left to battle the Revolutionaries were the people that Smith collected, and their side seemed to be losing.
She decided to go looking for the one called K'tl.
Chance stopped in his tracks and fell to the ground at the wondrous sight of hundreds, no, thousands, of ravens screeching and defeating the evil presence in one glorious, magical moment. This whole experience, like his life with the MBL, was totally out of the realm of experience of this award-winning chemist. He idly wondered whether this was truly the end of this foul villain, but managed to keep his wits together as he lunged forward once more in search of the others.
In a moment, he saw the evil and matronly sorceress fleeing the scene.
"Kalunga!" he shouted, running after her. She turned to see him, fear in her eyes at the anger and determination she saw in his face, though she knew not who he was. Schanz knew that his only chance to take her down was to force a confrontation right then and there. He hoped that she was unfamiliar with his abilities but knew he must take that risk, despite the panicked pleas of the little ghost at his side.
Ma Kalunga turned, the panic etched in her face slowly turning into an evil smirk. "Do I know you?" she taunted.
"You will know me as the man who defeated you," shouted Chance, his rage more than just an act now, as he thought of all his friends and allies scattered throughout the ever-shifting Castle.
The sorceress laughed and brought shadow demons to bear against him. None of them could touch him. Her feigned confidence began to fall.
She then tried a more direct attack, desperately attempting to hit Chance with everything in her power. "AAAAAAAAAAAA!" she screamed as her own magicks were turned back against her like feedback. She collapsed onto the ground.
"I hate to hit a lady," Chance said as he bent down over her, "but, lady... you're no lady." And he struck her several times to make sure she was unconscious.
"That should give my teammates the time to round up the others, or at least get out of this hellhole," Chance said out loud, hoping only to see his beloved Shirley Francis once again when all this mess was over and done with. But Pete Glover, the little ghost at his side, wasn't listening any longer.
"Ye've got to change it back! CHANGE IT BACK AFORE IT'S TOO LATE!"
"Pete! I can't change anything, especially not right now. You've got to get it together, man!"
"That's easy for YOU ta say! Ye're not dead!"
"Don't worry about it, Pete," said Chance as he looked around warily for signs of activity. "Once we're out of this Castle of Crossed Destinies, I'm sure everything will go back to normal. I'll go back to my timeline and be reunited with MY ghostly Pete, and you'll go back to yours alive and well enough to be reunited with YOUR ghostly Kristofer Schanz. Just stay calm, all right? I need time to think."
"Yeah, but... but what if things dinna go back te the way dey were? What then?" the ghostly Pete moaned quietly.
But Chance could no longer hear him.
"Will it be enough?" said Devlin of the PSI-Unit telepathically to the rest of his teammates and Biggins as they watched the events in the Castle of Crossed Destinies from afar. This was the greatest threat they had ever protected La Perdita against since their team was first created three years ago.
"When will it be over?" asked little Axel. "They've been in there for what seems like weeks now."
"More like months," groaned Biggins.
They all showed signs of strain. Stefano and Daniela held each other for both physical and mental support, while twins Brianna and Kevin held hands, thinking thoughts only privy to each other.
"Keep it up, team," said Guida-Sofia, "we must lend MBL Consulting all our support if they're to regain enough clarity to shake themselves from illusion and unravel this problem."
The PSI-Unit continued to use their gifts, but the strain of it all was showing. They could not keep this up for much longer.
Continued in Chapter 54: The Castle Will Be Closing in Fifteen Minutes
Naecken's story continues in Naecken: Prince of Hell