Z25

The Ghost Walks Again

By Marzena

Chapter 6: In The Jungle

Well, if Jedda had one thing of the whole Phantom thing down it was the traveling in silence. That she had in common with her father who Hadea had been traveling with before quite a few times – and the Phantom wasn't exactly known for his constant chatter. But then again, she wasn't either. And sitting here with Jedda in complete silence wasn't awkward at all. In fact, it proved to be a refreshing change from the lively mansion.

"You will not interfere with my business," Jedda had warned her just before landing the copter on the hidden beach where the Falou were supposed to meet them.

Oh, Hadea had no intention to do that as long as Jedda was indeed capable to handle herself and make smart decisions. She knew most of the Defenders of the Earth thought that she was the wrong choice here. That she would make matters worse, offend the Falou and ruin everything for Jedda. Well, she didn't give a damn about what anyone else thought. She was here for one reason only, and that reason was dead. This was one last thing she could do for him, and she would.

Jedda brought the copter down safely and they got out. It didn't take very long for members of the Falou to appear, bringing along their chief, a middle-aged man with long hair who wore colorful robes. To Hadea's surprise, the Falou were all white. She had assumed they would be natives, like the tribes the Phantom protected in the African jungle.

"Jedda!"

One of the younger men came up to greet the girl, but Jedda held up her hand. It was a firm gesture that made the young one stop immediately.

"I am no longer Jedda," she announced. "I am now the Phantom."

The chief looked very pleased about this, and some of his men nodded in agreement. There weren't any women present except Jedda and Hadea. The Falou eyed the Queen with distrust and curiosity, so Jedda had to explain to them why she had brought her along.

"Hadea is one of the people my father and I were working together with," she stated. "She can be trusted to keep your secret."

Now that was something Hadea didn't get to hear very often out of anyone's mouth, let alone Jedda's. She gave a little smirk. Did Jedda just lie to the chief or did she truly believe Hadea could be trusted with this one?

"Very well," the chief replied, but he didn't seem to trust Hadea yet just because Jedda had said so. The girl might not have realized that yet but just because she wore the costume she didn't have her father's authority.

"Any sign of the evil strangers?" Jedda now asked, steering the conversation away from Hadea.

"No, Phantom," the chief spoke again. "Not yet."

Then suddenly there was a noise up in the air that grew louder and louder. Hadea immediately realized what it was. And sure enough there was a hovercraft coming down, loaded with dangerous looking men. They were shooting at the Falou, but those shots were only warning shots for they were clearly aimed on the ground near them but not on anyone in particular.

When the hovercraft was near enough to the ground, a male voice could be heared over the speakers. "My name is Madden," it said. "And this is your last warning. Hand over the health elixir or you will all die!"

So it was the elixir they were after! And Madden … that name rang a bell, too. There was a multimillionaire who had built a large mansion in Central City recently, destroying a nice public park while doing so and enraging the people with this choice for the man barely ever lived in the building anyway. Was this the man in the hovercraft? Sure, he would have enough money to organize an attack on the Falou and even enough money to bribe someone to get to know their hiding place, but if it was him, what did he want with the elixir?

"Maybe we should consider it, Father," the young man who'd greeted Jedda earlier said to the chief, stepping up behind him. He looked worried and rather nervous.

"Never!" the chief spat, glaring at his son for this suggestion. Then he turned around to face Jedda. "Phantom, we must guard the volcano! It is where the elixir is hidden!"

Looking up, Hadea got a clear view of the said volcano. Then, Jedda spoke again, clearly having a plan.

"That man doesn't know it's there. We will lead them away from the volcano! Come on! Everyone into the jungle!"

She started running, not doubting for one moment that everyone else – including Hadea – would follow her. And yes, follow her they did, starting with the chief and his son, and the few other tribe members who had come to greet them were right behind them. So Hadea followed them as well.

They were pursued immediately by the men from the hovercraft. Pursued and shot at, both which Hadea didn't take too kindly to. One of the Falou tribe members already fell down, fresh blood visible on his pale body. Running hadn't been such a good idea. But then again, if they had stayed, they would have gotten shot at as well. The decision had been up to the chief, and he'd chosen not to bargain – not even tried to pretend to bargain to buy them some time. That's what Hadea would have done. But then, people like the Phantom or the Falou tribe's chief weren't much into pretending.

"Now would be a good time to call upon the powers of ten tigers, you know?" Hadea said, catching up with Jedda who'd taken the lead.

Jedda nodded, but there was hesitation in her eyes which Hadea could see despite the black mask covering her eyes. And she understood. Calling upon the power of the Phantom – it would make everything more real and it would make the Phantom irrevocably dead.

"You were preparing to battle for the Falou, Jedda", Hadea sternly reminded her, still running. "You cannot have thought that you could avoid using your power. One is already dead. Don't let ..."

"I know," the girl hissed, narrowing her green eyes at Hadea and then turning around, closing her eyes for a moment. And then she was ready. Her voice was firm and strong, and her eyes were blazing with anger directed at those men who were hunting them down like animals.

"By jungle law, I call upon the power of ten tigers!"

And then … instead of running into action, the girl just stood there, staring, with Hadea and the Falou looking at her expectantly. Why wasn't she doing anything?

"Jedda?" Hadea softly prompted her.

When she finally spoke, her voice was a mere whisper. "There's something wrong," she quietly said. "I don't feel anything. It did not work. The power did not work!"

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