Hours passed, Perfida was walking even though her body was still in pain to see if there was another way back to get to her friends. She was struggling yet she managed to push herself. Growling. Perfida slowly turned her head and saw a coyote seeing her like she was dinner "fuck," she gulped.

The animal wasn't moving but it was showing his sharp teeth and crazy eyes, Perfida was too scared to do anything. She accidently stumbled backward a bit that the coyote ran to her, Perfida dropped, covered herself and screamed thinking that was it for her.

The coyote jumped to attack her and all of a sudden, a brown Malinois dog pushed it away like a bull that it smacked itself to a tree. Perfida realized that she was not attacked, she looked up and saw the dog standing right in front her like it was her protector, she even saw that the coyote laid down and got hurt then just ran to the hills.

Perfida was in disbelief that a dog saved her life, it went to her and helped her get up by pushing her back "oh uhm... thank you," she said to the dog. "Where'd you come from?" There was a faint whistle, the dog popped his head up and just sprint at the other way leaving Perfida alone "he saved me and just left me here. My hero," she then tried to see where it went.

"PERFIDA!" Vance shouted her name, he, March and Perdita finally found her then slid down the hill.

"Vance, March," Perfida was so happy to see them, they gave each other the tightest hug like they hadn't seen each other in ages.

"We're so happy that you're... alive," March expressed.

"Yeah, we traced the GeoTag on your phone, we found it, by the way" Vance took it from his pocket to give it to her.

"Oh my God, thank you," Perfida was in relief that her phone was not lost anymore.

"When we didn't find you, we thought of the worse."

"About that..." Perfida cringed then she saw her sister who was also relieved to see her alive "Perdita! you're here... you're back, I thought you're gone, I saw that...thing took you or something."

"Me too but I'm okay now," Perdita said.

"We kinda encountered it too," Vance mentioned, Perfida was wide-eyed then he and March put their clothes up to show her the scratches they got from the shadowman. "It did this to us."

"Shit!" Perfida was horrified to see they too got hurt by the same being that attacked her and Perdita.

"Seriously, what is that thing?" March quipped.

"I have no idea," Perfida shook her head. "Wait, where's Leyo and Toca? I remember that Leyo found Brett."

"Yeah, he did and Toca is going there to help them," Vance replied. "Let's go back up."

"I can't my body hurts so much."

"Oh... okay, then we'll help you, come on, we got you," Vance then took Perfida's arm and put it around him and March did the same at the other side. "Let's probably go back to Toca's house to regroup."

"Thanks, guys," Perfida said as the two boys carried her up the hill, Perdita smiled that Perfida had such great friend to depend on.

They got on top, Vance let go of Perfida and took out his phone "I'll call Leyo to check on him."

"Please, it's not like Brett could get up and walk away," March snickered.

-------

"He got up. Spoke to us. And dropped himself on the ground. Again," Leyo informed once they all meet up in the house later on while putting a bag of ice on his head and took care of Vance's back. Brett was lying on the couch like a doll.

"It spoke to you? How?" Perfida question looking puzzled as she lied down on a couch since was the one that injured the most.

"The helmet, it's controlling him," Toca answered, his face was cover with black dirt and his hair went up after he got electricuted by the headgear and taking care of March's shoulder. "How did you guys got these scratches?"

"Perdita said that it was a shadowman," Vance answered.

"I don't understand."

"Us too actually, but it did this, do you know what it is, Perfida?"

Perfida thought about it then shook her head "no, not that I remember," she said. "What about you, Purdy?"

"No," Perdita said.

"Wow, did you guys hear that?" Toca heard a voice that weren't from any of the kids with him.

"Oh! I still have the spiritbox on," Vance remembered and took it out from his bag. "It helps us hear what ghosts say."

"That thing is real?" Toca snatched the spiritbox from Vance's hand. "Incredible, so I can talk to ghosts using this?"

"Yup."

"Uhm... Perdita, give us a sign that you're here."

"I'm here," Perdita had this weirded out look.

"Oh! right, still cool," Toca then returned the device to Vance.

"Anyway, what are we going to do with Brett now?" Perfida asked.

"Have you heard from that Hawkes guy?"

"Nope," she sighed. "What if we...tie him up so he won't leave again?"

"Yeah, sure, we can tie him up in the bed, let me just find a rope in the garage."

It was almost evening so before leaving, they put Brett back in the room and this time they made sure he did not leave. "Hopefully, we don't have to write an essay on what we did on summer," March said.

"Agree," Perfida nodded.

"This ought to hold him," Vance checked the tightness of the knots.

"Yeah, but what about that piece of... historic instrument?" Toca questioned.

"What if we put a bag over his head?" Leyo suggested.

"He'll suffocate," Perfida said.

"It doesn't have to be the whole head."

"Still, it's not gonna hold... it," Toca said. "Maybe we can lock and barricade the door and windows so he won't escape again."

"Okay," Perfida replied.

"Maybe you should turn off the security system, I think it can control anything techy," Vance said then the helmet lit up without them seeing.

"That's right," Toca realized. "The control is by the main entrance, let's go so we can get out of here in one piece."

They all head to the door until the headgear slammed itself to the door in just a blink of an eye, everyone froze in shock "I... think it doesn't want us to get out of here in one piece just yet," March gulped.

"You think?" Perfida shivered. The helmet darted to her but fortunately, Perfida ducked that it landed on the bed beside Brett and felt her aching body again "oh! fuck that hurt." Vance and March helped her up again by carrying her.

"Let's get out of here!" Toca shouted as he opened the door and everyone exited the room then quickly locked it leaving the helmet and Brett inside. "Sorry, Brett, but my parents expects me alive."

"That should hold him," Vance panted but then they heard that it was banging itself to the door.

"For how long?" March freaked.

"Toca, turn off the the security system now!"

"Oh! yeah," Toca ran to the front entrance and got the control screen built-in in the walls, he was starting to type some codes but then it did . "Uh oh."

"Uh oh? what Uh oh," March aghasted.

"I can't get through."

"What do you mean you can't get through?!"

"I can't turn off the system, I'm not in control somehow."

"That is an uh oh."

"Let me see that, a little help, please" Leyo said, Toca lift the little Livo since the controls was to high from him and see what he could do, he started typing and even checked the programming. "He's right, it's been hack."

"Hack?!" Toca freaked and accidently dropped Leyo.

"Oww..."

"Sorry," Toca picked him up again.

"But you can fix it, right?" Perfida asked Leyo.

"I'll try."

"Okay, take your time," she said.

Perdita walked through the bedroom wall to see what the headgear was doing, she saw that it was screwing the doorknobs off then she went out again "Peachy, we need to leave now," she informed.

"Guys, my sister said that we have to get out of here now."

"We're trying, why?"

They flinched when they heard doorknob fell off and that it swung open with the headgear with it "that's why," Perfida showed them her reasons.

The helmet leaped towards, Perfida, Vance and March, "get down!" Vance told, the three of them got down lying on their stomach so it missed them again. "We have to contain it somehow."

"Alright!" Leyo grabbed a bowl decor from a shelf but Toca took it back from him.

"Not the Wabi Sabi ceramic," Toca told him and put it back where from where it was taken.

"Sorry."

"Guys, we need to hurry," Vance reminded, he and the two other stood up because it was ready to leap again but they were able to get away.

Vance took another item and was going to use it to trap the helmet "not the Shozan Mitsuhashi water containter," Toca snatched it from his hand.

"Sorry."

All of a sudden her phone rang, "it's my mom," Perfida gasped.

"Call her back later," March told her. "We're in a middle of something."

"I can't, she's my mom," Perfida answered. "Hi! mom."

"Peachy, where are you?" Ophelia sternly asked.

Perfida felt there was a cold water thrown at her "I'm... with my friends..."

"Where?"

"In... TocaTokyo," Perfida lied while the other three were trying to get the helmet and not get attacked.

"And where is that?"

"Around Project Irthnee street, why?"

"Because you did not tell your grandpa where you are going when I called him, I know he's very lax with you and Bryce but that doesn't mean you can just go out without him knowing."

"Okay, mom, I'm sorry, I should've told Papoli where I am," Perfida apologized.

Ophelia took a deep breath then continued talking "that's alright. Listen, I know your upset..."

"Is that even an apology? Hang up," Perdita snickered while listening to their mother, Perfida signalled her sister to stop.

"I just want you to think about your future."

"Mm hmm," Perfida uttered because she and March were avoiding the chaos that was happening to them.

"That's not gonna do any good on you. You can't be doing silly drawings, you're not a kid anymore, Perfida."

"Oo Kayyyiieee, mom," Perfida tried to have a normal conversation with her mother by not getting caught while dodging from the headgear's clutches with March.

"Not the Sake Ewer," Toca gasped and Ophelia heard the ruckus through the phone.

"Who was that? what's going on over there?" Ophelia questioned feeling suspicious of her daughter's activities.

"It's nothing, it's just game night in the restaurant and they're playing.... guess that Japanese Artifact and someone said the wrong answer."

"Okay, fine," Ophelia shook it off. "I hope you understand where I'm coming from."

The helmet threw himself to Perfida so she and March jumped away from each other. Perfida was on the floor again and said to her mom "yes, mom, I completely understand."

"Good, I'll see you when I get back, bye."

"Bye, mom," Perfida then ended the call then got up looking for the headgear. "Where is it?"

"I don't know," Toca shrugged.

Perdita saw that it crawled up on a shelf looking down on them and it had its eyes towards Perfida in particular "Peachy, up there!" she pointed.

Helmet just darted straight to Perfida's head, everyone shouted her name and ran to her. Perfida screamed and tried to take it off but it was already attached itself, the light was blinking which meant under its clutches and her body became a boneless that she was going to dropped herself, luckily, March got her in time.

"Peachy!" Perdita cried for sister.

"Perfida! Perfida! can you hear?" Vance shook her but nothing. "It got her."

Everyone was horrified and continued trying to wake her. Perfida was in fact in another place, "where am I?" she stuttered then looked around and realized that it was a virtual world just like the one she dream. "Oh my crapolai."