Dynamite

Chapter 18: Destiny

"I... I don't know," Jake answered, a blank expression on his face. He was staring right at Nathan, looking hopeless and confused. "I don't know what to do. He's... too strong. This is a power like no other. I think even S.T.A.M.P would be stumped with this." Nathan laughed evilly. The Dubleka spirit that was controlling him moved Nathan like a puppet, forcing him to move left, right, up, and down.

"Dad, we have to do something," Ethan sighed. "The leader Dubleka is going to do something terrible if we don't stop it soon!"

"But we all are locked away somewhere," Jake pointed out. "Before all of this happened, there was a flash. We all were taken here. Are we still in reality? Will anything we do affect everyone else on the planet?"

"Oh, Jake, so sweet and innocent about the Dublekas' powers," Nathan whispered into Jake's ear. Jake clenched his hands into fists. "I can control more than humans. I can control their dreams too. Because that's where you all are. I can keep you guys trapped here for eternity while I torture all the other souls of Earth. You're helpless, and they're doomed." Jake turned around and punched Nathan's face. He fell suddenly.

"DAD!" Emma yelled. Jake turned around, looking at Emma with a flash of anger in his eyes. "This may be the leader Dubleka, but it's still Nathan too!" Jake looked over at Nathan, who was lying on the floor with both his hands over his face. On the outside it was indeed Nathan, but on the inside it was the leader Dubleka. Jake shook his head and sighed.

"Emma, it looks like Nathan, and it is physically Nathan, but it's not the same guy you've come to love," Jake assured. "This is a big threat to the world that we are facing. We must do what's right." Everyone was silent, staring at Jake.

"Do... do you mean kill him?" Emma asked. Jake stayed quiet, staring at the ground. It was as if he was trying to find the correct way to answer. Emma immediately shook her head. "No. There has to be another way to get the leader Dubleka out of Nathan. I don't want to lose him. I don't care if he's an alien. I love him, Dad. Wouldn't you still love Mom, even if she was an alien?" Jake looked over at Rose, who looked back with similar pleading eyes as Emma. Jake grumbled, "Yes Emma, but that's not the point."

"Jake... we're not killing him," Adam jumped in. "But I can't think of any other way we could get rid of the leader Dubleka."

"The leader Dubleka is a spirit right?" Rose piped up. "There are many things we can do with getting rid of spirits."

"Like what?" Jess questioned.

"Um... well, there was a book all about the possible ways at home," Rose sighed while staring at the ground. "If only we had that now." Nathan crawled up one of the blank walls, hissing and screeching. He then jumped off and ran over to Tony, who screamed in fear. Nathan then cackled and crawled back to a corner of the room. Nicole comforted Tony while thinking intently.

"I did research about spirits... yesterday," Nicole admitted quietly. "Salt, talking to it, protection herbs, or a banishing ritual would all work. I mean, this is a Dubleka we're dealing with, but it's still a spirit. I think it would work." Everyone else nodded to Nicole's point, making her smile a little.

"We don't have salt or herbs," Gavin pointed out. "And obviously talking to it won't work. I guess we have only one option."

"A... banishing ritual?" Tony questioned. "But... how do we do those?"

"A spell," Gavin answered. "There's only one I remember from a TV show. It's more like a poem, but it's effective. The only con is we'll have to either pin down the Dubleka or knock him out. We may even have to knock him into a coma." Everyone looked over at Nathan again, who was screeching like an eagle.