Desperate

Chapter 8

He grinned and strolled over to the control panel. He readjusted his hold on Elizabeth to one arm and used his free hand to punch in a few buttons then pulled down a lever, listening when two doors opened. He glanced over at the portal and smiled in triumph when he saw the portal opened and the green ectoplasm swirling inside of it, acting as an entrance to the ghost world.

He looked down at Elizabeth to see her staring wide-eyed at it, her eyes following the swirls, and her mouth gaped at it. He chuckled softly and brushed his thumb across her cheek, making her jump a bit and look back up at him. "Oh!" He smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean to scare you."

He walked over to the staircase to his secret entrance and ascended it. "Now, I believe it's time for someone's afternoon nap," he whispered, readjusting her into both of his arms, "and while you're sleeping, daddy's going to go explore the ghost zone."

She licked her bottom lip and enclosed her fist around his shirt, trying to hold onto it, then closed her eyes. He smiled softly and opened his secret door, which opened up half of his fireplace in his private study, then headed up to Elizabeth's room to put her to sleep.

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Plasmius took a deep breath, feeling a little nervous about flying into the ghost zone. He knew he shouldn't feel that way, but he couldn't help it; he was exploring a world unknown to man, except for Jack and Maddie, so who wouldn't feel nervous? What if he couldn't breathe there? What if there were more hostile ghosts there that didn't like trespassers? What if he died there?

He clenched his fists and took in another deep breath before exhaling. He could do it; he was half-ghost after all, so he could be considered dead anyway. "Alright," he muttered and glanced up at the swirling portal, "I can do this. I have to do this! I have to find out where those ghosts are coming from."

He levitated up in the air, let out a shaky breath, then shot forward, heading for the portal. He widened his eyes as soon as he entered it, noticing how big and how wide the Ghost Zone was. He stopped where he was then gasped and shot backwards in surprise when a light green slimy goo rose up in front of him, making him wonder if it was another form of ectoplasm. He hummed, watching the goo until it disappeared, then continued flying forward, searching for any open portal that he could access.

Once he reached a purple door, he stopped in front of it and turned the handle, wondering if it was another entrance to Earth. When a 'click' sound reached his ears, he thrust open the door and flew in, stopping behind it after what he saw. There, sitting at a table, were two children with crayons in their hands and drawing on a piece of paper. They both glanced up at him for a brief second when they heard the door close behind him before refocusing their attention on their work.

"Um, hello there, young ones," he greeted, confused that the portal was in a kitchen instead of some secret room, "can you tell me who built this portal?"

Both children glanced at each other before back at him. They both blinked simultaneously, creeping him out a bit, then glared. "Get out!" they both bellowed, and he gasped as he watched the two transform into large purple slithery snakes with long fangs and four red eyes.

"Uh." He backed up, reaching for the doorknob behind him, and opened the door. "I'll take that as a no then. Good day."

Immediately, he flew out and shut the door then gasped when four large fangs pierced through the door. "Oh, beef soup!" He sprang away from the door and rapidly flew away from it, heading in a different direction.

Once he was sure he was far enough away from the door, he stopped and panted, not used to flying that fast. "Alright, note to self: never open another door in the Ghost Zone."

When he caught his breath, he continued flying, now knowing to look for another green swirling portal instead of a door.

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He couldn't believe how ginormous the Ghost Zone was. Everywhere he looked was another area of the unknown world he hadn't explored yet. Various kinds of purple doors floated around, just tempting the next curious and unwitting intruder to enter through them. There were also islands, buildings, and homes that he didn't know could exist in the Ghost World.

As creepy as it was, the Ghost Zone was a strangely interesting place to be in. There were more than enough ghosts to fight with, there was a lot of open space, and he could explore the other ghostly places he passed by already. Honestly, he could imagine himself training there instead of going to the abandoned football field every day.

He smirked; he could become more powerful quicker there than he could back on Earth. His powers would advance, he would become faster, and he would become the most feared ghost in all the world! Everyone would obey him, the other ghosts could be his pawns, and he would win the heart of his true love. The idea was perfect.

He grunted when he accidentally rammed into something hard, forcing him out of his thoughts and back into reality. He backed away from it, blinking in surprise, and gaped up at the metal doors in front of him. "Ah ha!" he exclaimed, grinning. "I knew there was another ghost portal!" He raised a confused brow and tapped his chin. "Now the question is: how do I get it open?"

Perhaps he could phase through? Not wanting to stupidly ram into it again, he carefully reached forward and placed his hand on the doors to the unknown portal. When he turned intangible and tried to push his arm through, he realized he couldn't phase through it.

He sighed in frustration and rubbed a hand down his face. There had to be a way in! Did he actually have to wait for the darn portal to open?! He shot an ectoplasm beam at it, it only proving useless when it didn't even dent the doors. He tried teleporting but only ended up farther away from the portal. "Oh come on!" He clenched his fists. "There has to be some way to get it open!"

He kicked the door in frustration when no ideas came to mind then hissed as a shooting pain shot through his foot. He clutched onto it and tried massaging the pain away but then stopped and looked up when he heard the sound of metal doors scraping open. He let go of his foot and straightened up when he saw the swirling green portal open in front of him. "That opened the portal?" He looked back down at his foot, feeling it throb. "All it needed was to be kicked?"

He scoffed in disbelief; there was no way he could have opened the portal. Someone from the other side must have, whom gave him the opportunity to meet them.

He flew through the portal, prepared to destroy it and make sure the inventor didn't build another one again.

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Author's note: Hey, beautiful people! Crazy how this chapter turned out, huh? ;) What do you think will happen next? Will Vlad destroy the ghost portal? Please feel free to leave a review! Construction criticism is welcomed and appreciated. :)