Lab Rats roleplay, chapter 14
By: JessTFfan2212 and AuroraFox

The medical wing was dark. Only the faint silver glow of the two ghosts lit the room. The time ghost was fast asleep, however, he began twitching. His expression began changing to a fearful one. Bloody images flickered across his sight. Scientists. They were surrounding him. He twitched, trying to escape them. They were coming closer, carrying scalpels and knives.

Elijah nodded off earlier and was sleeping rather peacefully on a nearby cot. He didn't bother getting under the blankets. He was warm enough anyways. Unknown to him, the time ghost was having a terrible nightmare.

Clockwork had begun to shiver. The scientists backed him into a corner. He was covered in his own green blood. They grabbed him. He squirmed but they wouldn't let go. The teen saw gory images flash across his sight. He began to pant. The scientists pinned him down to a metal table. The time ghost began to cry out a bit as they began slicing his shoulder.

Elijah, hearing the cot creak when Clockwork was shivering, slowly began to stir. He groaned and held his head as he was woken up. "Ugh...When did I fall asleep?" He muttered, looking over toward Clockwork.

The teen flinched a bit and was wincing. Images of his own ectoplasm seeping from his shoulder flashed across his vision. And then he saw a scientist walking up to him, carrying a mechanical arm, and one behind him, carrying a saw. The teen began to shake a flinch more, he cried out a little and gripped the cot sheets beneath him.

Seeing how terrible his dream was getting, Elijah wondered if it was a true vision or it was just his imagination from all the electrocution and ectoplasm loss. "Hey old man...Snap out of it..." Elijah said, lightly shaking his shoulder.

He saw the scientist with the saw get closer and position it above his shoulder. The teen was shaking horribly at this point, gasping. He kicked at the sheets as he tried to run, but he was pinned down. He felt pain in his shoulder before suddenly feeling intense burning and agonizing cracks as the scientist began sawing through his shoulder.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!" Clockwork screamed.

Elijah was about to shake the old man's shoulder again when he screamed. The war prince didn't expect him to scream that loudly and had to cover his ears. Shaking his head, Elijah turned back to Clockwork. "Don't make me start hitting you again!" He added as he grabbed the old man roughly by the shoulder.

Clockwork could see the scientists exchanging limbs. He knew what the mechanical one was for. Tears had begun to stream down the teen's face. An image of his separated limb flashed across his vision before snapping to the mechanical arm being attached to his body.

"AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!" He screamed again.

Elijah groaned as the old man's screams started getting louder. He grabbed Clockwork firmly by both shoulders and started to shake violently. "Old man! Wake up!" He started to yell urgently.

The blue teen watched at his new arm was finally connected to his bloody shoulder. It sent an extremely painful jolt through his nervous system. He grunted and flinched as the image flashed across his sight.

"We now have total control over time." Said the scientist. The shadows faded to reveal that he was none other than Labcoat. The scientist then pressed a button on a remote and intense electricity began coursing through the ghost.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" He screamed. An image of one of his time portals opening flashed in his vision. He was terrified of the fact that this would happen.

Elijah heard the screaming a third time and decided enough was enough. He began making the temperature rise in his hands, just enough to make it hot so Clockwork might be jolted awake. "Get up!!!" He yelled rather loudly.

Clockwork's eyes suddenly shot open as he felt the heat increase as fast as lightning. He gasped and started to hyperventilate as he returned to the real world. He was crying and shaking violently. The teen tried to squirm away from the heat.

Elijah immediately let his temperature drop as he kept Clockwork on the bed, not wanting him to move around too quickly and hurt himself. "It's okay old man. It was just a dream." He said, trying to get the time ghost to relax.

The blue ghost immediately brought his trebling hand over and felt for his right arm. It was there. After what he had seen, he couldn't help it. He cried some more, still shaking terribly. Just then a faint thud came from outside the medical wing. Clockwork's head jerked up and he froze, staring wide eyed at the door and still gasping for air. The boy looked beyond scared.

Elijah's eyes widened when he saw how frightened Clockwork was. It was about on the same level as a cornered soldier who thought he was surely going to die. "Old man, I don't know what you saw but if you jerk around like that, you'll make your wounds open." Elijah said.

The time ghost didn't look at Elijah. He just slowly looked down so he was hiding under his white hair. His breathing had gotten shaky. He moved his right arm over his center and gripped it tighter.

"_{They took it...}" He said.

Elijah brought over some tissues in case Clockwork wanted to clean himself up. "Took what? Nothing happened to you while you were asleep." He said.

The blue ghost just started to shake a little more.

"_{... I-in the vision... They cut off my arm... They sawed it off! And I was awake the whole time!}" He said

"Just because it's a dream doesn't mean it's a vision." Elijah said irritated. "Besides, it wasn't real and you're fine now. More or less."

Clockwork just shook his head.

"_{That's what you said about the one where we were dissected... Now look at us...}" He said. "_{They-... They replaced my arm with a mechanical one... They could control my powers through it... I saw it...}"

"Look, I know I haven't been the greatest guesser but you have to stop thinking it'll happen!" Elijah said. "Have you ever thought of just taking the future in your own hands?"

"I WOULD IF I WASN'T TRAPPED HERE LIKE A RAT!!" Clockwork shouted.

Elijah met Clockwork's yell with glowing red eyes and bared fangs. He never really was good with sympathy.

"Quit your whining!" He hissed. "Besides, I was waiting for you to get up anyways so we could get out of here. Can you walk?"

The time ghost had never looked up to see Elijah's glare but after hearing they would escape he did raise his head to look at the war prince.

"We're getting out?" He asked. The teen's shaking had died down and he wasn't panting anymore.

"Of course. Looks like those idiots can't get a back-up collar right away since I trashed the lab. Let's go before they catch on." He said.

Clockwork couldn't help but smirk at their stupidity before wiping off his stupid tears with his arm. He then realized his shirts were gone, as he didn't feel his sleeve. He looked down to see only green stained bandages over his case.

Elijah picked up Clockwork's shirt off the nearby table and threw it to him. "Bunsen washed it up for you. It was covered in ectoplasm."

The blue ghost caught his shirts and immediately put them both on, careful not to cause himself any more pain than he already has. He then whipped his sheets off and moved off the bed, able to stand remarkably. The teen just assumed when his wound was open he bled most of the poison out of his system.

Elijah smirked. "We have to take the long way though because your collar won't allow you to phase into walls."

"We do?" Asked Clockwork. He didn't want to run into Labcoat or anyone in case his dream truly was a vision.

"Unfortunately...So either we try and sneak around on the ground or take a risk on the vents. If they have electrical wiring in there or they turn on the fans at full blast, we're done for." Elijah summarized.

Clockwork just groaned and unconsciously gripped his right arm again.

"Then I guess we have no choice... Just one question. Last time we escaped you were able to phase me out of here even with the collar. Have they upgraded it?" He asked.

"Not that I know of old man." Elijah said, not really sure with the technology that went into the collar.

Clockwork just sighed and walked over to where Elijah was standing and faced the door. He really didn't want to risk running into Labcoat, and the look on his face only proved it. But there was no choice in the matter.

"Let's just go before we get cut open again..." He muttered.

Elijah nodded. "I'll go first." He said.

"I'll try to keep up..." Said the time ghost.

Elijah nodded to Clockwork. "I'll go on ahead and when I call for you, just come as quickly and quietly as you can."

Clockwork nodded. He just wanted out of here.

Elijah headed out of the door and looked down the hallways, making sure that the coast was clear. "Come on." He motioned. Clockwork followed the war prince.

"You sure there are no cameras in this hall?" He whispered.

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Elijah asked with a smirk on his face. Clockwork just rolled his eyes and kept an eye out as he followed. Worried. Elijah looked around a corner and was able to see the back of a scientist's coat. "In here." He said, opening a door so they could hide.

Clockwork entered the room without question. Then Elijah closed the door not a second before a guard walked by. They stayed silent and waited before Elijah opened the door and looked around.

Once the coast was clear, Elijah headed out of the door and headed down the now open hallway. "If we can get to the elevators, it's a clear shot." The time ghost nodded and followed the war prince out the door, then down the hallway.

Elijah blinked, thinking something was a little suspicious. It was then Clockwork saw something and froze, eyes wide. Down another hallway, sitting on a rolling table, was the mechanical arm from his dream. He began to shiver as he remembered the horrible vision.

Elijah saw that Clockwork stopped and ran back over to him. "Hey what's the matter...Oh no..." He said, seeing what exactly he was staring at.

The time ghost slowly walked backwards until he was up against the wall. Images of the vision reappeared. The scientists. The blood... The saw... He gripped his arm as he began to pant again.

Elijah grabbed Clockwork's shoulder. "Snap out of it." He said firmly, not wanting a scientist or guard to catch them.

"They're going to take it... A-and control me... It's all true..." The blue ghost said to himself.

"Calm down. We just need to get out of here." He said, looking around the halls to make sure there weren't any more guards or scientists.

Clockwork only slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor, gripping his head. He was shaking.

"It's going to happen...... It can't. It can't!" Said the ghost.

"Shut up!" Elijah said, grabbing Clockwork's collar. "We're not going to die here if we get out of here right now."

"H-how do you know we'll even make it? And if we do, they'll just catch us again. Then it'll happen..." Said the shivering time ghost.

"If we don't do anything, we'll get caught!" Elijah said angrily. "And you're not dragging me down with you."

Suddenly there was a tapping noise. Clockwork's eyes widened. It was impossible to forget... Labcoat was coming down the hall that was just around the corner, looking for them.

"Get up!" Elijah commanded as he yanked Clockwork up by his arm, trying to run in the other direction.

The time ghost got up without question and followed the war prince, desperately trying to avoid anything that would ensure his vision to truly happen. Elijah headed through the hall and tried to make sure that the scientists didn't see them. Clockwork followed until they both rounded a corner. Seconds later, Labcoat began walking down the hall they were just in.

Elijah just headed down the hallway, his eyes scanning through the rooms. Clockwork followed attempting to keep up before suddenly screeching to a stop, as the shadows of more scientists were growing larger around another corner.

Elijah stopped and turned around, knowing that Labcoat was back there. "Great..." He muttered, trying to think of something.

"No... We're trapped." Said Clockwork. He looked around frantically for any means of escape.

"Just stay behind me old man. We're going to have to bolt for it." Elijah said waiting, for Labcoat to come around the corner so he could burn his eyes right out of his sockets.

The menacing tapping got louder as Labcoat got closer to rounding the corner. The scientists from the other corner came around and blocked the hallway.

Elijah breathed out a burst of magma-hot flames from his mouth toward Labcoat's direction before turning to the scientists. "Unless you want to become charcoal, GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!"

There was a pause. The scientists just stared at the two teens wide eyed before suddenly scrambling down the hall, away from them. Meanwhile down the fire filled hall, the tapping continued as if nothing happened.

Elijah heard the tapping and he grabbed Clockwork's arm, running as fast as he could down the hallway. There was no point staying subtle now. They needed to escape.

"What-!? HEY!" Clockwork exclaimed. Mostly out of surprise from the sudden grab. But he quickly picked up speed and ran behind Elijah, trying to keep up as he was holding his arm.

Elijah headed up the nearby set of stairs, wanting to get out of this place as soon as he could.

Just as the war prince began running up the stairs so suddenly, Clockwork tripped on the first step. He almost completely fell over before regaining his balance. That and Elijah was pretty much pulling him up the stairs.

Elijah groaned as Clockwork fell over. "Could you be any more useless?!" He said.

The blue ghost didn't answer. He looked back down the stairs to see multiple shadows. They were coming. Terrified of their intentions, Clockwork picked up the pace as he was running up the stairs.

Elijah winced. "Dammit!" He threw a fireball in the direction of the shadows as he headed up the stairs with Clockwork. They needed a way out.

Just as they began climbing another flight of stairs, Clockwork saw an open door that led to a brightly lit hallway. And that meant easily breakable windows that lead outside.

"There!" He said, pointing to their exit.

"Perfect!" Elijah said, charging straight forward and running through the glass.

Just as he was being pulled through the glass window, Clockwork mentally slapped himself in the face for suggesting it. You're gonna fall flat on your face. He thought to himself. He then hit the ground and tumbled a little before suddenly stopping. He winced.

Elijah groaned as he rolled on the ground. After falling several times in his afterlife, this was nothing. "You alright old man?" He asked.

"No. N-not really." He said. The wound around his case exploded with pain as he lifted himself up. He just hoped he hadn't reopened it.

"Ugh..." Elijah said, popping his back. "Just being in there made me so stir-crazy." He said, loving the open air of the forest.

"Don't celebrate yet..." Said Clockwork. He had stood straight up before clutching his center and making a faint gagging sound. He winced. "I-i'm okay." He said, not wanting to give them a reason to stop.

"THERE THEY ARE!! LABCOAT!!"  Shouted a scientist. They were standing at the window the teen's had just jumped through.

Elijah promptly threw another fireball at the window, making it burst into flames. He had enough with them trying to catch them. He headed with Clockwork into the forest. "Let's get out of here first."

Clockwork followed the boy into the forest, dodging trees and making sure he didn't trip on any rocks. Elijah just ran as fast as he could but not too far ahead. Unfortunately, the time ghost started losing him in the thicket of the woods. Clockwork sped up, trying to keep up with the war prince before he lost him completely.

Elijah got some distance before deciding to wait for the old man. They should probably find a place to rest and some water to help clean the old man's wounds.

Eventually the time ghost managed to catch up with the war prince. Noticing he had stopped running, the blue teen slowed down and walked up to him, panting but not dead tired just yet.

"What-? Why are you stopping? They're after us!" He asked.

"I'm waiting for your wounded arse to catch up." Elijah said. "Plus we need to make those bandages last until we can get new ones."

"Are you crazy? They'll catch us!" Said Clockwork. He gripped his center, feeling pain from when he had sped up and when he fell from the window.

"It won't do us any good if you can't keep up." Elijah said. He went over to the old man. "Now sit down and hold still."

"This isn't the time to be worrying about a little blood!" Said Clockwork, he moved back from the long haired teen.

Elijah groaned. "Just shut up and hold still while I get this collar off of you!"

Clockwork was about to protest, but there was no point. If he didn't listen, Elijah would most likely pin him to the ground or to a tree. He sighed and stood still.

Elijah sighed and moved Clockwork's head to the side. He bit down hard on the metal collar. It took a minute but Elijah finally shattered it. "Geez...that almost chipped my teeth..." Elijah said, hating how he had to use so much power to break that stupid thing.

The time ghost pried the broken collar off his neck and tossed it on to the ground before rubbing his neck. Now he felt free.

"Thanks." He said.

"Yeah, you're welcome." Elijah said, rubbing his jaw. "Now we can go further by flying."

"We're not going to Danny's, are we?" Asked Clockwork.

"Probably not. They're still in the lab. We first need to get to the Observants and warn them." Elijah said.

"What do you mean they're still in the lab?" Asked Clockwork.

"Well, when we were heading out, I thought I saw the halfa's family in a room but...I don't know." Elijah explained.

Clockwork's eyes widened and he slowly shook his head.

"They-... they can't... No. They can't!" He stammered.

"Look, that crystal or electrocution might've caused me to see things." Elijah explained.

"No. No, it can't do that... Labcoat lied. He'll kill them." Said Clockwork. He dropped down to the ground. "It's all my fault."

"And if we go back and they aren't really there, then we're trapped." Elijah said.

Clockwork stared at the ground for a minute before letting his head droop and covering his face with his hands.

"I don't know what to do..." He said.

Elijah rolled his eyes. "How about this? We get to the Ghost  Zone, warn the Observants, and see if we can find a ghost that can help fix your torso before you bleed to death?"

"I missed the part where I, or we, save Danny and his family." The blue ghost said through his hands.

"We'll save them after we get some help. Even if we go back, I can't do it alone and you are in no shape to fight."

Clockwork let his hands drop to his sides.

"Alright..." He said, not happy with the thought of leaving Danny and his family there.

Elijah nodded. "I'm not thrilled about it either." He said, knowing the tone in Clockwork's voice. "How're you holding up?"

"Fine..." The blue teen answered. He lied. His wound was actually hurting a lot from moving around so much.

Elijah raised an eyebrow. Being in the battlefield, he knew when someone was in pain. Still, Clockwork was pretty motivated at this point. He'd just keep an eye on him for now.

The time ghost struggled to lift himself to his feet, but still managed.

"Let's just go..." He said, walking past Elijah.

"Yeah." He said, wondering if Clockwork was able to fly all the way there. With that, the blue teen flew up off the ground and up to the sky. Elijah rolled his eyes. "You're just going to burn yourself out." He said.

"I'm FINE, Elijah." Said Clockwork sternly. He was getting sick of everyone needing to take care of him. He sped up, heading to Vlad's mansion.

Elijah quickly followed him, not saying a word. If the old man wanted to argue, go ahead.

----------

About half an hour passed. And as the blue ghost was flying, a wave of dizziness began to overtake him. He began losing a bit of altitude before shaking his head to get rid of the dizzy spell and returning to his original height.

"Yeah. You're completely peachy." Elijah mocked.

"Shut-... u-up..." Said Clockwork, clutching his head and moaning. He was getting very tired all of a sudden.

Elijah raised an eyebrow and flew closer. "Old man?" He said, waving his hand in front of Clockwork's face, his eyes looking glazed over. The time ghost didn't respond to the war prince's hand.

"Mmmnnn..." He moaned. The teen felt sick. He slowed down before he closed his eyes and suddenly started falling.

"Old man!" Elijah yelled as he flew down to grab Clockwork before he hit the ground.

The pale time ghost fell through the sky incredibly fast, quickly nearing the solid Earth. At this rate, if he wasn't stopped he could become victim to serious damage.

Elijah flew faster, trying to catch up. He finally was able to grab Clockwork's arm. But his momentum was too much. Elijah turned intangible just before he slammed into the ground. Feeling being intangible, the time ghost stirred but he still didn't open his eyes. Elijah soon phased out of the ground, pulling up Clockwork with him. He set him down next to a tree and figured he should make a fire so they could rest for now. Once set down, the blue teen's expression twitched a few times as he was unconscious. He was in pain.

Elijah could care less now that the old man was alive. With a few branches and logs, Elijah was able to start up a fire with his ghost powers. "That should keep us warm for a while." He said. Clockwork began to stir again as he felt the heat from the fire. This time looking more like he was trying to wake up than the last. Elijah noticed Clockwork getting up and headed over to him. "That was some stunt." He said, wondering if Clockwork could hear him.

The blue ghost opened his eyes a little. Dark lines had formed under them. He looked so out of it. "Uuuhhhhh... W-what?" He asked, looking exhausted.

"You lost consciousness and fell out of the sky, old man." Elijah said, pretty tired himself.

"... Oh." Said the time ghost. He glanced around, thought his vision was a little blurry. Still, he noticed the fire. "Mmmmm... A-are we staying?" He asked.

"Of course. You're not going anywhere until you recover." Elijah said, moving to sit next to Clockwork.

"Hmm?... But-...b-b-ut what about th-the Observants?" The blue ghost asked. He immediately shut his eyes tight and moaned, being hit with another wave of dizziness.

"It'd be best for me to wait for you to get better then drag you there." Elijah explained.

"... Ahh..." Said Clockwork as he opened his eyes again. He rested a hand on his center to feel it damp. The teen slowly looked down to see a little green seeping through his shirts. He groaned, annoyed.

"Once we get to Amity Park, I'll get some new bandages." Elijah said, hoping Clockwork didn't start complaining about his bandages.

"... Alright." Said the time ghost. He stared at the ground with a tired, blank expression. Elijah rolled back his shoulders, making them pop. He didn't admit it but he was exhausted as well. "... Do you think we'll be a-able to get to the Observants in time?" Asked Clockwork, trying to make conversation and avoid falling asleep.

"I can't guarantee anything old man." Elijah said. Clockwork just looked down to the ground with a disappointed look on his face. Elijah sighed. "Just try to get some rest." He said before yawning.

Clockwork didn't want to sleep. He couldn't. The Guys in White are hunting him down so they could cut off his arm and replace it with a mechanical one. And he didn't care if he was already struggling to keep his eyes open.

Elijah sighed. "I'll keep watch if that's what you're worried about."

The groggy time ghost looked at the war prince. "W-what?...No... _No..." He said as he started to nod off, his voice getting quieter as he was losing the fight to stay awake.

Elijah smirked as he saw that Clockwork was falling asleep. He just turned to the fire, not really seeing a reason to keep talking. Seconds later the blue teen closed his eyes and drifted off. The dark lines under his eyes revealed just how exhausted his body truly was. Now his soft breathing could be heard alongside the crackling fire.

Elijah was glad when the time ghost finally closed his eyes. However, the longer he kept watch, the more he wanted to rest his eyes as well. His body was wanting to sleep as well. In the end, Elijah drifted off in the middle of staring at the fire.