Quest for the Omnistone

Chapter 55: The Complete Set

Steven:

"And you never saw it coming?" I asked.

It had been roughly twenty-four hours since Jarvis reported the return of the Jellybean Trio. Roughly twenty-four hours since Lee burst into my Technolab and promptly passed out, muttering about danger.

We had him immediately taken to the infirmary, where we found Lazlo, Raj and Clam already passed out on adjacent beds. Having gotten the least amount of injuries of the four, Raj was already awake. I had him tell me the full story out in the hallway.

"No," he replied. "It's like I said. We went to Ion City upon receiving reports of a museum robbery. It was strangely all quiet for a moment before something invisible began attacking us. Lazlo was the first to go down.

"We tried our best, Steven, but the only indication that there was something at all was the weird growling noise it made. Lee jumped out of nowhere all of a sudden and drew its attention, but that didn't stop it from doing whatever it did to Clam."

"What did it do? Why are the others still unconscious?" I asked, slightly frustrated. I hated invisible monsters. They were the worst. We had seen the museum footage earlier this morning, but it didn't help us at all. The other D.T.C. members were already in Ion City National Museum, looking for clues.

"I'm not sure," Raj said. "When it almost got me, I could make out a small red tendril coming from what must've been its body. Lee got rid of it somehow and I got flung across the room and out the window. The creature must have been toxic because I could hear Lee screaming in pain from outside. Still, he managed to get us all over here before collapsing. He's a good soldier, a good man."

I nodded absently, trying to figure out what the creature was from Raj's descriptions. Invisible, tendrils.... Hollowgast, maybe? No, Raj said it had red tendrils. And toxic?

I ran a hand over my face and groaned before noticing Raj watching me worriedly. "Thanks, Raj. Go back to your quarters and rest. We'll inform you if there's any news."

He nodded and started off down the corridor. Meanwhile, I turned around and went back into the infirmary. It was a quaint room with pale blue walls and a window at the end. The infirmary housed a dozen beds, each with their own bedside tables where we kept the usual medicinal stuff. There were only three occupied beds now. Crystal was sat down next to the bed at the end, eyebrows scrunched up in worry as she observed her friend's condition.

She glanced up when I entered. "Nothing's changed. Lazlo and Clam are out cold. Lee's stopped muttering, but," she gestured to the Traveler, who couldn't seem to keep his head and arms still, "he's restless. What did Raj say?"

"It was something invisible that attacked them," I said, going up next to her. "Raj managed to see a red tendril come from it for a moment, though. He also reckons it was toxic or something. Lee yelled out when he got rid of it."

Crystal nodded and frowned thoughtfully. "I've never heard of such a creature. With everything going on, it's bound to be another of the Tainted One's tricks but..." She suddenly stood up, a determined look on her face. "I need to ask someone about this. I'll be back soon. Call me if there are any changes here. Any at all!" I watched as Crystal bounded out the door, a whooshing sound indicating her exit from the realm.

I shook my head. Whenever she got an idea, there was no stopping Crystal. I just hoped she'd be back soon. I had been planning on leaving her here with Lazlo, Clam, and Lee to go join the others, but now...

A sharp intake of breath caught my attention. I turned back around to see Lee open his eyes, wide awake. He sat up so abruptly that I had to take a few steps back, bumping the back of my knees against the empty bed behind me.