Josh knocked on the door leading to Elijah’s room, Lance stood behind him patiently waiting.. THis was the third time Josh had knocked and was met with the same response; silence. Eve and Crystal had stayed beneath God, Eve was taking notes as Crystal read through more of the summon options. Josh waited another minute and then knocked again.

“Are you sure this is the right room?” Josh asked as he waited. All of the doors looked exactly alike, the jock couldn't see anything to tell them apart.

“Yes this is the only room in use that does not let me in” Lance explained “everyone has given me permission to enter their room except for Elijah”

“I’m surprised everyone let you in” Josh commented

“It’s temporary” Lance said “After we’re done with Elijah it’ll be gone”

Josh nodded and knocked on the door once more, still to no response. Josh and Lance were both patient people. They stood and knocked regularly for twenty minutes before they got a response. This response was Elijah’s door opening forcefully and a furious Elijah stepping out of the room.

“What the hell is wrong with you!?!” he came out shouting “if someone doesn't answer the door it means they’re busy”

The young man actually looked a little better than when he was last seen. He was now in a set of fresh clean clothes, clean shaven, and had his hair brushed. The bags under his eyes seemed worse though, as if he wasn't getting a lot of sleep. Behind him the step brothers could make out a dark room littered with junk food, an overly large tv gave off the only light.

“We really needed to talk with you” Josh explained, trying to put on a kind face

“About what?” Elijah asked but then cut off any reply

“Oh is it about my sister dying?” Elijah’s voice dripped with sarcasm “Don’t worry a giant spider told me already. Right before his kids tried to eat me!”

Josh visibly winced at the words, even after taking a day to recover the guilt of what happened was still painful.

“No we’re here to discuss your future with the team” Lance answered for Josh

“I don’t want anything to do with you idiots” Elijah said resolutely

“We need you in the team” Lance continued “you have a rare ability and hold potential to become the backbone of our team”

“You seem to be missing the part where the team is made up of liars and cowards” Elijah argued.

“We are not like that!” Josh insisted “we handled your situation poorly, I admit that but we never lied to you or put you in any danger”

“In fact we went out of our way to keep you out of any danger” Lance added

“You only did that because i could be useful for the team” Eliah pointed out

“This is true” Lance conceded “This isn’t a world where we can protect everyone equally. Some people are simply worth more attention. You for example are worth a heavy investment.”

Josh gave his step brother a look when he mentioned some people are worth more than others but didn't say anything. He didn't agree but there isn't room for another argument here. Elijah didn't seem bothered by the statement, in fact he seemed to relax a little after it was said. Elijah was clearly angry but he didn't carry much heat in his voice. He was mostly argumentative and sarcastic, as if he just wanted to make more trouble for the step brothers.

“What kind of investment?” Elijah asked, his angry frown morphed into an almost sly smile

“I’ve spoken with Logan and we have a few things to offer you” Lance elaborated “In exchange for your full cooperation on the team”

“Better be something big if you want me on your team” Elijah said cockily and then motioned for the teen to continue.

“Logan is opting to pay for one Psyche Force ability for you” Lance answered and then with a nod shared the information on the skill.

Psyche Force Scan

Allows a Psyche Force User to mentally scan and map an area. Scan’s size is determined by the user’s Mental Capacity. Users may also note and possibly interact with other Psyche Forces within the scan's area of coverage. Cost C rank reward 4000 points

This was one of the basic abilities but one every Psyche Force user would need to be a full asset to the team. The price was pretty extreme, far more than most newbies would be able to pay. Elijah looked at the exchange with a bored expression.

“This is an ability that mostly benefits the team” he said dryly “I’m gonna need you to dig a little deeper if you want me to consider being part of the team”

“Along with the Psyche Scan” Lance continued “Logan has also agreed to spend 2000 points on you in stat enhancements. This is twice what most newbies would have after their first movie”

“Do most movies not offer bonus missions?” Elijah questioned

“Not ones that are accessible by newbies” Lance explained “Logan has also mentioned it's not uncommon for veterans to end up with only 1000 points after a movie”

Josh nodded in confirmation. He and Lance had been lucky that both of their movies ended with large rewards for the members. This trend most likely wouldn't last much longer.

“So if there are bonus missions” Elijah began “will I be chosen often to partake in them?”

“You will be given priority due to the large costs your psyche force skills cost” Lance confirmed

“Which means i’ll be put in more danger than the average members” Elijah did not look pleased with the information

“Not necessarily” Lance interjected “What if i shared with you information that will help you earn points with minimal danger?”

“I would ask you to elaborate” Elijah responded evenly

“In this last movie I confirmed a method that earned me points without any danger on my part” Lance explained

“What is this method?” Elijah asked, obviously interested

“I won’t say unless we get your full cooperation” Lance said with finality.

Elijah paused and thought for a moment before responding.

“So in exchange for working with the team i get over 6000 points in exchanges and a method of point collection that poses low danger to myself” Elijah summarized

“Correct” Lance nodded “you also stand to get much more in the future. As the only psyche force user on our team other members may be asked to pitch in on buying you a new skill”

“How come Logan isnt talking to me in person?” Elijah asked suddenly

this question made Lance pause before answering “We agreed it would be better if Josh and I spoke with you,”

Elijah snorted “Like i thought a coward”

Lance frowned but still kept a positive tone “He just wanted to make sure you were comfortable when having this conversation”

“Whatever” Elijah shrugged “you’ll need to offer up some more if you want my help”

“We have already offered everything we can” Lance said seriously “This is already a very generous offer”

“Doesn't seem very generous to me” Elijah said sharply “Logan’s the only one offering up anything”

“Logan is the only one with something to offer” Lance countered

“This movie offered a lot of rewards but only for a few members” Josh pointed out

“Then sounds like you just don't want me enough” Elijah said with a shrug

Lance didn't respond for a moment, his usual grin falling and a calm mask appeared.

“I feel the need to remind you that these movies are only going to get harder” Lance said finally

“So what?” Elijah gave another shrug

“So without a team you won't be able to survive on your own” Lance said simply

“Is that a threat?” Elijah asked

“It's just a fact” Lance said with his own shrug “you cant have more than 1500 points. How far do you think that'll get you?”

Elijah didn't answer, he held a pensive look as he looked at the ground.

“If you do accept our offer you will have not only more points for exchanges” Lance continued “but a team that will have orders to keep you alive”

Elijah contemplated for another moment before giving his answer.

“Fine” he declared “You can expect my help in the coming movies”

“Excellent” Lance said “come out to the lobby in about an hour and we’ll go about exchanging everything”

Lance then pulled out a watch from his pocket and handed it to Elijah. This was just an ordinary watch anyone could buy in the real world. Josh had also received one as they walked over to Elijah’s room. There was no real basis to tell time passage in the lobby. Even if someone had a clock in their room it may tell a different time then one in another person’s room. In order to keep everyone on a similar schedule Lance bought watches for everyone and set them to the same time.

Elijah accepted the watch then said “So what's this secret?”

Lance then went on to explain about the human creations and how points they earn in movies go directly to their creators.

“So I can make a bodyguard to take into movies?” Elijah asked to clarify

“Yes and any points they earn will belong to you” Lance confirmed with his smirk.

“Good to know” Elijah said with a nod “i’ll be out in an hour” With those final words he turned and shut the door in the step brother’s faces.

“Well that went well,” Lance said and began walking to another door. Josh followed after him, not convinced that exchange had actually gone well. They did what they wanted but clearly Elijah wasn’t thrilled to be on board.

Lance arrived at another room and opened the door without knocking. The door opened to a modest living room that held Matt and Logan. Josh recognized that this was Matt’s room. The step brothers took a seat across from the other veterans, two mugs sat on the table. Logan was clearly upset, a shattered mug lay on the ground by his feet.

“How’d it go?” Logan growled after the teens took a seat.

“It went well” Lance said calmly “we were able to assure Elijah will be helping us for the price we set earlier”

The news didn't seem to ease Logan’s frustrations, if anything it made it worse.

“Of course he did,” Logan said with a defeated sigh.

“We’ll meet with him in an hour to make the exchanges” Lance continued, “after those are made i’ll start my trip back into Harry Potter”

“You’re going back to Harry Potter?” Josh asked surprised

“Yes” Lance nodded “I want to check how our relationship with the school is after our sudden departure”

“We also need to see if any of the items can be retrieved” Logan added in

“Why are you the one going” Josh questioned

“Eve will be able to go with me for no extra cost” Lance explained “We both will have our next enhancements by then and should be able to protect ourselves”

“How long are you going for?” Matt asked

“We agreed on just one day for now” Logan answered for the teen.

“How much is that going to cost?” Josh wondered out loud

“Just ten points” Lance answered “Much better than the fifty it would cost to go back to Jeepers Creepers”

“Wait” Josh suddenly remembered something “don’t you need a D rank reward to reenter a movie?”

“Not if it's the last movie we were in” Logan explained “After the next movie we would need a D rank reward to reenter”

“So we need to get in and see if Harry Potter would be worth that price” Lance added.

“Will it be safe with just you two?” Josh questioned

“Yes all the older basilisks were killed before we left” Lance assured “that's why we’re only going for one day. If we get in trouble we just have to survive until the time ones out”

Logan clapped his hands together and stood up “Well let's go make some plans then. Only eight days till we enter Scream”