>Handling a Spirit 101<462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8TnZvrtjdR
*Scene from Chapter 3 of Engine 999* (See Description for Pages)462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwVQv8NK3Ma
-What Happens When Caught by a Spirit-462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQiWCQNcXZ
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Conductor reached out for Assistant who continued to advance towards the lake, not heeding Conductor’s calls to come back. The closer Assistant got to the frozen water’s edge, the more worried Conductor became. He started to follow but halted in his tracks as did Assistant when the snow covered earth began to shake under their feet. Questioning what was going on, the pair looked to the lake in time to see their answer surface through the solid ice. A huge beast looking to be like a horned water dragon with long flowing whiskers resembling a long mustache, shot out of the water and released a loud hissing roar.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGI5UCX3yKK
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Conductor’s face fell with eyes widening in disbelief as his skin lost its color upon this sight. “I-it’s a spirit…” he stammered quietly in shock. A new rush of panic rose inside the Engine Master when the Spirit ceased looking over the dead landscape and set its empty eyes on the teenager closest to the lake. Conductor took a step forwards as he grabbed his hat with one hand, his voice exiting louder than before with more urgency. “Assistant, I’m serious!” he yelled trying to get the boy’s attention. “Get back here NOW!” he barked sharply, feeling his body tense as Assistant started to step back.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeH95UhJmOq
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Assistant heard Conductor but couldn’t tear his fearful gaze off the large creature in front of him. It was all he could do to make his legs even move since they wanted to lock up with the warning bells ringing through his body. “That creature is a SPIRIT!” Conductor screamed out what the monster was, trying to get the boy in blue with a pale scarf to turn tail and run.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9V8lNqXOea
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The beast, now done taking in judgment of the human, narrowed its eyes on the boy in blue before releasing another loud roaring hiss. “A s-spirit?!” Assistant stammered as he stepped back again, leaning away from the creature as it reared back to ready itself then darted downwards towards the black haired teen.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHokHHddPq
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Conductor began to charge forwards the second the Spirit had begun to rear back to prepare for its strike. He pushed harder with the sound of crunching snow filling his ears as he closed the distance between him and his friend. He tightened his jaw as his eyes narrowed when the beast lunged forward. He pushed hard off the ground to finish closing the gap by sliding his body between the monster and Assistant. A low growling vibrated deep in his throat as it felt as if time had slowed down while he turned his head slightly to glance behind at the teen. “I SAID SHIFT IT!” the boy in the white trench coat yelled roughly, glancing at Assistant as he slammed his shoulder then elbow into the boy’s upper body to push him away. The push could have been nicer but when time was of the essence, there was no room for nice.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrepleffdGx
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Conductor sighed relieved as he watched Assistant fall back and land with a short roll into the white, cold fluff. His attention on feeling glad Assistant was safe soon was returned to the moment as time seemed to resume its normal pace. A very strong force slammed into his body that felt like a tank, effectively stunning him and causing him to see stars for some moments. The strong moist and putrid smelling breath didn’t help as he tried to shake off the daze. He winced with a hiss from the hard pressure covering his midsection from the dragon’s beak like jaws.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmP3MAeD9j
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“ACK!” Assistant cried out as he felt the hit to his chest when Conductor put himself in between the spirit and him, Assistant. He slammed hard into the frozen ice crystals with a grunt and had closed his eyes tight until his body had ceased rolling. Once the world was not spinning he pushed himself up to his elbows then started to open his eyes as he began to get to his knees, closing his eyes to shake his head lightly before snapping his sight open to look at the noise behind him. His face felt as if color had drained away as dread filled his blue orbs. There he just saw Conductor get snatched up by the solid, toothless mouth of the Water Spirit. The boy tried to scramble to his feet but fell back to his knees as he reached out for his friend desperately. “CONDUCTOR!!” he screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking as the beast slammed hard into the ice to make itself a new hole as it dove under the water.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw5yIRTPbef
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Under the ice, the sudden shock from the cold water brought Conductor’s eyes to open wide as he lost some of the breath he had taken just before leaving the surface. His eyes closed tightly as his mouth clamped shut, trying to hold in his remaining breathe, as the Spirit dove deeper into the colder depths. Air bubbles began to slip past his tightly gritted teeth and his numb lips that were twisted in pain as the cold from the water, and the Spirits magic started to spread inside him. His lungs were burning and it was becoming harder to focus but he could feel it was fight or die without trying. So as he forced his eyes open, he moved his hands shakily up onto the beasts dragon face. He winced, losing more air bubbles in the process, while focusing his thoughts on a single powerful spell that he hopped would get him freedom from the monster. In the darkening water a faint light from around him came as his spell began to charge up. The Engine Master was determined to use it even though it was hurting him he didn’t stop, and even kept it up after the beast’s jaws released his slim form.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpIpyHuqTW
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Meanwhile on the surface Assistant had rushed over to the lakes edge, looking to the last hole the Spirit had created. Adrenaline surged through his entire being which caused his breathing to be uneven at times as he tried to control his panicked mind. He hadn’t seen anything of a fight before Conductor vanished under the ice and that thought of his friend and boss, could truly be dead wasn’t helping. Looking around for any slim hope of help, only to see none, he took another step closer to the lake without a clear idea of what he could do to fix this. Suddenly the ground shook which caused the boy to stumble back away from the water’s edge. He searched the area nervously as he spoke aloud to himself. “W-what’s h-happening?” he stammered quickly as he stepped back again, trying to secure his footing when an eruption of water shot up from the center of the lake, giving the boy an answer to his question.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqYObhbMuh8
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His breathe caught in his throat from the astounding sight before he gasped sharply and stepped back once more. He quickly twisted around at the waist while bringing his arm up to shield his face just as the water came crashing down with a mighty force. He leaned his body forwards to dig the front of his shoes into the wet snow as he slid back a bit. Only when the water had stopped its assault did he slowly untwist his bent at the knees form. His arm lowered and he surveyed the area to see if the Spirit had surfaced but when he didn’t see the large beast, confusion set in with an uncomfortable twisting of his guts.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2PPx77Bchp
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He took a step forwards then hesitated as his gaze turned down. His shoe had gently nudged something and the sight brought his confused gaze to begin its transition over to a renewed wave of fear. “C-Conductor?” he asked quietly, sounding unsure he was really seeing the magic using Master of 999. The brown haired boy wasn’t moving, looked to barely be breathing, and was covered in patches of ice from head to toe. “No, no,” he said taking steps around his motionless friend, “no this isn’t happening…” he said with growing dread for the worst that twisted his insides horribly. Assistant reached forwards, starting to push Conductor to roll him over onto his side.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4gKi0YgLKO
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Feeling how cold he was caused the teen to jump and brought forth more thoughts the guy who just saved him wasn’t still with the living. “What have I done?!” the teen asked, his voice cracking as tears were trying to push their way out over his lids. He didn’t want to think he just cost someone their life that was worth more than his, but how could he continue to doubt any thoughts that he was staring at a corpse? Nothing of the living was this cold or if anything was it normally didn’t live long after. Assistant began to gently shake Conductor’s shoulder, staring at the fourteen year olds emotionless face with closed eyes and parted lips. “Conductor, COME ON, quit playing around!” he ordered firmly, hoping Conductor was just joking and wasn’t being serious.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdAHkwsmdmq
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When no answer came he shook the boy more, trying to hold onto some hope this was just an act. “We have to GET OUT OF HERE!” his shouted words got no response from the unconscious teen which drew tears to well up in his eyes. The Spirit shot through the ice to the surface world with a mighty cry. It was not happy to have lost its prey. Assistant looked up quickly feeling tears start to spill over as he looked to Conductor with urgency, shaking him again to try and wake him. “It’s coming BACK!” no reply or even a hand twitch. Assistant began to pull Conductor closer to him, lifting his body in hopes at the last minute he would open his eyes. “Please GET UP!!” Assistant pleaded, begging but to no avail. Quickly he held Conductor closer, holding his face into his chest near his shoulder as tears slipped down his cheeks. His blue eyes closed tightly as his face turned down into Conductor’s icy hair, bracing for the end as his arms wrapped more securely around his friend.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2LemCUi8Q
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“Hey kids!” an older male voice shouted sounding annoyed. Assistant slowly started to open his eyes to look up, hearing the next words also being shouted. “Get out of there!” it was a good idea but how did this guy suggest he do that? Assistant heard a loud crackling noise which came from sparks of electricity along with a painful cry from the Spirit, whose head had just been inches from him and Conductor. His eyes shot open to look at the beast as it reared back in pain, swinging its head this way and that to try and shake off the piece of paper that looked like a type of talisman a monk or such profession would use as a ward against evil.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUOQvA8Mahm
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The man groaned feeling his levels of frustration growing when neither boy stood up to run. He pondered if they were deaf or dense. This was not a spot for sightseeing. His short bald form stood firm with his cane in front of him in his winter coat that reached his ankles. He stomped his cane hard into the snowy earth, glaring at the boys. “Don’t just kneel there kid, RUN!” the old man snapped as he stood beside a tall fox that had a flowing fluffy mane and tail. The fox snorted as it stomped one front paw on the ground hard before it released a noise from its throat to agree with its master.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjEHGUQzzGy
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Assistant tried to move with Conductor but didn’t get far from the pain filled creature that had retreated farther back into the water, while trying to get the item off its face with more sparks flying. He tried to lift with Conductor again to try and get him in his arms to carry him without success. Instead he turned to face the man after he wiped away his fallen tears. “I can’t!” he yelled over the beast. “My friend, he was attacked and now he’s unconscious!”462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡup13C4x1RU
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The old man released a frustrated sigh and got on the back of his fox nodding to his beast. “VAPOUR!” he snapped at the creature which nodded, responding with a bark like noise as it made its way quickly towards the two kids. Once close enough it jumped, landing and took a few steps to use up the rest of the energy before it came to a halt. The old man turned around as he let his pet keep an eye on the Spirit. The talisman was starting to lose its power and a growl exited the beast’s throat as it bared its fangs. “Put him on Vapour’s back kid,” he ordered, watching as Assistant managed to haul Conductor up and started to get him laid across the fox’s furry back. The man huffed when it showed the boy in blue was not too quick at getting his friend situated, “and for the GODS sake, HURRY!” he shouted heatedly.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOOfIo5eVaj
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It wasn’t because he hated the boy for being slow but it was because as he looked back, he too saw the paper was starting to fall off and lose its ability to hold back the Spirit. Once Conductor was on securely Assistant climbed up and sat behind the still un-waking Conductor. He started to stroke his icy locks as the old man turn his back to the pair, ordering his pet to run and they were off.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkC8wqgkzoE
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Assistant watched Conductor as he petted his hair, trying to get the patches of ice off. Conductor, I’m sorry… Assistant thought while he pulled the brown haired teen closer into his arms to burying his crying face into the back of the lifeless teens head. I was a fool… behind them the Spirit had torn the paper off and was on the hunt, following them from above as tentacles of water stretched out to follow along. He pulled Conductor in closer to his chest, trying to warm his freezing body as he was unable to stop crying, clinching his jaw tight when his body started to tremble. PLEASE, BE OKAY! Assistant pleaded as he buried his tear stained face into a section where a few frozen strains were, his internal voice begging the heavens for him to not lose Conductor.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRo9zy2OmX
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The old man glanced back at the pair to see the distressed expression on the black haired teen’s face and sighed, turning his back to the kids again as he spoke after closing his eyes. “The boy is a strong wielder of magic. He will be protected for a short time,” he began explaining in an even tone so not to scare the boy who had now looked up, sniffing while using one sleeve to wipe his eyes. His other arm held Conductor turned so his head could rest on his shoulder and chest area for comfort during the trip. The man took in a breathe, speaking slowly, “however,” he began again to continue his explanation, feeling sure the teen wasn’t going to like the rest of what he had to say. To his credit, he also did not like this ultimate outcome, “unless the water spirit releases its deadly curse soon,” he paused a moment with his voice dropping some, “I’m afraid that he will not make it.” His tone with those last few words came out sounding grim.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWAROx6mROn
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Assistant looked down to Conductor with his fallen face before he wrapped his arms around the limp teens chest, pressing Conductor’s back against the front of his jacket. He tightened his jaw as he looked from the boy’s brown head to the back of the old man while trying to hold in fresh tears. But as before they found their way out as his heart started to ache, feeling as though it was being stabbed by a blade and that blade was being twisted with every thought Conductor would most likely die. “No…” Assistant whispered while lowering his head so his bangs would shadow his eyes. He tried to hide the fresh salty tears to stream down his cheeks and come to drip then land on Conductor’s head.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeabtiytkZh
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The black haired boy didn’t want to imagine that happening. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. He didn’t want his friend to die because he needed to be saved after freezing up in the face of danger. The teen began to ponder after closing his eyes tightly, if he had listened to Conductor to stay away from the lake if this whole thing could have been avoided. Perhaps if he had listened then Conductor wouldn’t be unresponsive, barely alive, and on the likely outcome to be taken to deaths door. These thoughts bombarding his mind only made the pain in his chest and the guilt in his stomach that much worse.462Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10AfAORC4c
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