Like a Child

by Angel's Innocence

And this time the threat is even worse. My haven has fallen, my parents have given up. Even my enemies cower in fear.This time, my savior can’t save me. Because she’s lying in a hospital, unable to move and unable to wake.So how can I save the world now?

Like a Child

By: Cortnie Beatty

The air was still and everything was silent in the autumn afternoon, basked in the glow of the slowly setting sun. Leaves littered the grass and sidewalk, bright reds, oranges, and yellows that covered everything in sight. A single desolate building, three stories high and boarded up as if some disaster was coming, was the only sign of life in the area, humming with unseen people's hushed chatter. Every few moments a baby's cry would ring through the air, and was quickly quieted by those in the building. Suddenly there was a flash of white light, and something flew out of a window on the second floor.

It was a young teenage boy with pure white hair, messy and sticking up everywhere as if it had hands run through it repeatedly. His clothes, a black jumpsuit with white gloves, boots, and a strange symbol on the chest, were dirty, rumpled, and in hectic disarray. He gazed around, as if watching for anyone, with neon green eyes that were downcast and bloodshot, emphasized by the dark bags under them instead of the usual bright and shining pools of determination and energy. His face was almost stark white, passing even that of a deathly pale color, and everything about him seemed to droop. His shoulders slumped and his shocking show of flight was low and lifeless, radiating exhaustion, stress, and defeat.

Abruptly the young man seemed to vanish, leaving the air still and undisturbed except by where he apparently passed, rustling the dry, multi-colored leaves in his wake. They parted to leave a path as he flew over them, creating a walkway straight to a supposedly ordinary backyard. The house that occupied the lawn was crumbled and destroyed, and the enclosure itself was ruined, the grass uprooted in places and the beds of flowers ruined. He came to rest on one of the only patches of still-planted grass and looked over the wreckage without properly seeing it through glazed over green orbs…

♫I remember a day

When I looked at the world in a different way

Didn't have any walls

Didn't confine myself to any space…♫

Flashback

A tiny, black haired boy sat in the mud of an ordinary backyard, squishing the brown gunk between his small hands. His two companions, a black haired girl that was dressed in a pink, puffy, frilly dress that had wide lavender eyes and a boy with large thick glasses and had a red baseball cap on his head backwards sat on either side of him, working together to build a lopsided mud castle. General quiet raged throughout the small garden as they progressed, intent on their work, when there was a particularly noisy splat from between the middle boy's hands and a bit of the wet slime flew onto the girl's nose.

"Danny!" The bespectacled boy laughed with glee at the girl's mud-splattered face, who glared as Danny grinned sheepishly. She smiled unexpectedly, and a blazing gleam came into her eyes as she slowly and carefully plucked up a huge handful of the brown goop off of the castle and launched it into the air at Danny.

The boy dodged quickly, but fell back in the mud behind him, dirtying his red, astronaut-monkey t-shirt in the process. When he moved out of range of the scummy target, however, he opened his faint-eyed friend for attack, who instantly stopped laughing as his eyes widened behind his frames. He opened his mouth to shout, but received a face-full of the murky substance instead.

The child blinked slowly, stunned, as he removed his bifocals, leaving only a slight area clear of any mud around his light brown eyes. Danny and the girl giggled silently at their friend, deeply amused, as he spat out the mouthful of slop and wiped off his glasses. Finally, he seemed to recover, shaking his head and wiping the rest of his face off.

"Sam?" The little boy questioned as he turned back around to the castle, assumedly to continue his work.

"Yes?" The girl answered, leaning forward slightly.

"Prepare to die!" The boy threw the ball of mud he had gathered when his back was turned, earning a shrieked 'Tucker!' and beginning an intense mud fight…

End Flashback

The spectator sighed as he watched the scene, gazing longingly at the three little figures as they carelessly played. He stayed for a moment longer, trying to plant the scene in his memory, and then flew off again, not worrying to pull another disappearing act.

He floated up higher than his previous trip, watching the sun sink a little lower over the town and aimlessly going wherever. Soon he started to descend again, checking to see if anyone was around, and started to head to a small building that was remarkably still standing, crumbling only in a single corner that was covered in trash and had a discarded sign in the heap that read 'Nasty Burger'. He turned invisible again, flying intangible through the wall and into the place.

The figure hovered in the air, not wanting anyone to realize he was there. There were only three people in the place as it was, two being the cook and the waitress, but he didn't want to risk exposure. He landed on one of the hanging lamps, causing it to swing precariously, but the other occupants in the room didn't pay it any thought.

The boy gazed down from his perch at the only customer, a bespectacled teenage boy that was picking disheartedly at the burger on his plate. It was the same colored child from the phantom scene that the spectator had watched earlier, but he was some ten years older and gloomier, and had traded his red cap for a red beret.

The spectator continued to stare at the boy, but the same glazed-over look entered his eyes as he peered at him…

♫…Just a little more simple

More air to breath

A little more trusting

Oh how I long to be…♫

Flashback

"Did you know that when they make beef, they cut out the cow's tongue so it won't start a stampede with its mooing?" Seven year old Danny gazed at Sam with wide, trusting eyes as Tucker turned the slightest bit green eating his burger.

"Really, Sammy? Wow!" Danny leaned forward slightly to take a drink of the smoothie Sam had brought him and she grinned widely.

"Ah-huh, and when they butcher the poor things, they drain all the blood and mix it with the cow's own milk and cream, just to flavor the meat. And they use the cow's tongue on a stick to mix it up!" Sam's smile widened as Danny leaned forward in awe and Tucker began to look like a pale, sour green apple.

"What else, Sammy? Huh? What else!"

"Well, right before they pack the meat, they moisten it by throwing it into pails of live worms. THEN they use their dirty, smelly, in-grown toe-nailed country boy feet to mash it into different shapes, and store it in sheep's gizzards. You know; the white stuff that tastes like-" She was cut off as Tucker jumped up from his seat, throwing down his enormous burger and running toward the restroom. Right as he fled, however, Sam and Danny caught sight of his ridiculously bright green face as he held his hand over his mouth and bulging cheeks.

The two burst out laughing, hands holding their aching ribs and tears streaming down their faces. They instantly froze, however, when they heard a sudden retch and turned to see the chunks fly…right on the diner floor…

End Flashback

The invisible watcher smiled sadly at the scene, watching the pale phantom figures of the two rush over to their friend, reassuring him that it was a joke and wasn't true. The Tucker-form walked back sullenly to the table and took a huge bite out of the burger, insuring all was well even as the girl flinched.

The invisible young man stayed on the lamp for a moment longer, his gaze locked onto the teenage Tucker, and then flew on, out the window and into the sunset's sky…

♫…Like a child

I want to live my life more…♫

Danny's P.O.V.

I remember those days like it was yesterday; when everything was simple. Playing the mud…

♫…Like a child

I wanna be stripped of my pride just…♫

…grossing each other out. People would always ask us, at first, why we only ever played together…

♫... Like a child

So full of forgiveness…♫

We never understood why they said that. We had other friends; why not group us ALL together?...

♫…Lord, won't you please

Break these chains from me…♫

I asked my mom that once. She said we had a bond, Sam, Tucker, and I. And I guess its true; I'm the one… WE'RE the ones chained down with saving the world. We'd have to have something special to be able to do that…

♫…Like a child

I wanna be more innocent just… ♫

I'm a fifteen year old boy that's half-ghost. I have black or white hair, blue or green eyes, and my friends call me 'clueless'. I've majorly saved the world three times now, saved my town over a hundred times, and have changed the time stream twice.

I have a C+ average, two best friends, two parents, one older sister, and an 'uncle' that's the only other half-ghost on the planet and wants to date my mom. I'm bullied by kids weaker than me at least once a day, called 'lovebird' at least three times a day, and receive detention at least four times a week. I've hurt countless people, lied more times than I can count, and I don't even recognize myself anymore.

What have I become?...

♫…Like a child

I want my eyes to shine just…♫

Sometimes I wonder why we were the ones chosen to bear this burden. Why we can't be normal. I just want to be an ordinary teenager, with ordinary parents, an ordinary house, and live an ordinary life.

But instead I have power-crazed ghosts trying to take over the world, hurting the ones I try to protect. I don't have one set of eye color, or one hair shade. I can't enter a room without habitually looking for enemies, exits, and threats. And my two best friends in the entire world are being forced to watch everything they know and love fall before their very eyes.

And I can't do a thing to stop it…

♫…Like a child

For such is the kingdom and

Jesus said Bring them unto me…♫

And this time the threat is even worse. My haven has fallen, my parents have given up. Even my enemies cower in fear.

This time, my savior can't save me. Because she's lying in a hospital, unable to move and unable to wake.

So how can I save the world now?...

Normal P.O.V.

The boy continued to roam, scanning the destruction that lay before him. Cars were overturn, trees uprooted, buildings demolished. Every once in a while he could see a family reuniting, or a couple scavenging for goods in-between the debris. Only twice a person could be seen packing a car, loading whatever family possessions they still owned into whatever vehicle was left upright.

The flying teen passed a crumpled building, wires and metals sticking up from a heap that could be seen housing a sign with 'Fenton Works' imprinted on it. The spectator stopped for a pause, looking at the people sitting miserably on the stoop. There was a large man dressed in a dirty orange hazmat, and a tiny woman with streaks on dirt on her face in a blue jumpsuit was cradled in the man's arms. Another figure, a teenage girl with red hair in a blue headband, sat nearby, crying with her head in her hands.

He looked at the sobbing girl for a long moment, flying slowly down until he hovered in front of her, and reached a gloved hand out before withdrawing it quickly. The girl looked up with red eyes sharply, sensing the close presence, but the boy turned invisible before she could see him floating in front of her. The spectator stared at the mascara-run eyes, drawn into another phantom image…

♫…Why is it as time goes by

I don't seem to remember…♫

Flashback

"Come on, Danny! Just a little farther. You can do it!" One and a half year old Danny giggled as he ran unsteadily over to the older girl, stretching his arms out to her. The girl laughed gaily with him, stepping back a pace and shaking her pigtails to persuade the toddler. The little boy followed after her, stumbling the last few steps, before falling into her arms.

"Dazz!" The redhead picked him up, twirling him around and making him shriek. "Weee! Me fying, Dazz! Me fying!" The girl laughed as she slowed, finally putting him down and watched as he wobbled a few seconds before falling on his bottom with a soft 'pat'.

"You were flying, huh?" Pigtails picked Danny up, securing him on her hip before walking into the house.

"Uh huh! Wike a ghose!" Danny wiggled to get down, and then tottered into the kitchen.

"Oh, Daddy…" She shook her head, following her little brother. "What have you been teaching him?"

"Who has what been teaching him, Jazzy-Pants? Cookie?" Jazz took the proffered treat, taking a bite and munching as she gazed at her now chocolate-covered brother. She swallowed, her eyes never wavering from Danny, and answered the woman.

"Nothing, Mommy. Danny was just talking about ghosts again." She finished her snack before washing her hands and drinking the glass of milk her mother had gotten her, listening to her family members chat.

"Really? That's great, Danny!"

"Uh huh! I tew Tu-er and Sammy 'bout ghoses, too, Mommy! We fie togeder!"

"Wow! You told your little friends about ghosts too, baby? What a good boy! But Tucker and Samantha should be here any minute to go to the park with us, so finish your cookie and we'll clean you off." Maddie wiped a wet cloth over his mouth and above his eyebrow, where he had miraculously gotten some of the gooey chocolate as he fidgeted under her in excitement.

"There! All clean for your big day with Tucker and your girlfriend!"

"Not my girwfend, Mommy! Not my girwfend!"

"Well you keep trying, baby. You'll get her one day!" Maddie smiled as Danny and Jazz both stuck their tongues out at the thought of all the cooties, horrified.

"I go now, Mommy?" The boy asked, gazing up at her with big, hopeful puppy-dog eyes.

"Alright, honey, you can go." The boy bounced off the highchair and was stumbling out of the kitchen before she had even finished her sentence when the doorbell rang, causing him to fall abruptly before he got up and tried to run to the door. He flung it open, mouth wide to yell a greeting, but quickly changed his message.

"Sammy!..."

End Flashback

Green eyes watched as the two toddlers collapsed into each other's arms, off-balancing themselves. The pale figures of the younger Maddie and Jazz watched happily, and the invisible spectator gazed hungrily at the sight of the joyous faces, such a drastic opposition to the women's faces now.

Soon the misty figures began to fade away, however, and the boy was forced to take up his flight again. He flew up, letting his invisibility fall, and began to fly through the multi-colored clouds that were starting to cover the last remaining slice of sunlight, trying to get away from the sight of disaster around him. Every once and awhile he would break from the swirling mists, however, as if looking for something. Unanticipatedly, he suddenly dove from the clouds, headed toward a green patch of landscape dotted with fallen trees and a still-standing fountain.

The teen landed on the water figure, looking at the destroyed park in agony, and noticed a pale, blonde figure coming up one of the paths to the statue. The top of the fount was instantly empty, and the boy watched through invisible eyes as the lone figure sat on the edge of the fountain and looked out over the disaster zone like the specter had just done. He had short blonde hair, unusually messy, and sagging shoulders that clearly showed the depression that was raging through the demolished town.

The unseen young man stared at the other, green eyes blazing, and then suddenly he stiffened as he remembered something…

♫…Everyone was a friend

And a day could last a lifetime…♫

Flashback

"Wee!"

"Hee hee!"

"Hurry!"

"Come on, quick!"

Squeals and laughter rang throughout the park, causing those in the vicinity to look up briefly before turning back to their activities with a shake of the head or a quick chuckle. The makers of the chaos were oblivious to everything but themselves, racing around and hiding from each other. It was a group of eight children, all around the age of eight themselves, and all a range of different appearances.

There was a petite girl with flowing black hair that kept spurting out a variety of Spanish, and an Asian boy was continually shouting 'dude!' and chasing the others. A skinny blonde boy was dashing after a dark skinned female who was shrieking and running in circles around the fountain. Soon she spotted a refuge, and sprinted over to the blonde girl she saw, decked out in a star-speckled jumper, and hid behind her. Ms. Stars glanced back and down at her, then turned to see the blonde boy rushing toward them. She grabbed the colored girl's hand, and they both ran over to a black, bespectacled boy who looked at them in confusion as they cowered behind him.

"Save us, Tucker!"

"Help!"

"Ewww! Cooties!" Tucker jerked away from them, leaving the girls out in the open as he dashed away. The two gave shouts of indignant disbelief, drawing the blonde's and the Asian's attention, and both immediately set after them.

"No! Dash, stop!"

"K-Kwan!" The two gasped out, trying to catch their breath as they struggled to get away from the boys' tickling fingers and failing miserably. "P-Paulina!" the colored girl cried out, spotting the Hispanic girl by the swings a few yards away.

The Spanish girl rushed over with a cried 'Valley! Starry! I'll save you!' and hair flying wildly behind her, but Tucker pounced on her, fingers wiggling.

"T-Tuck! S-stop! Hahaha!" She laughed, squirming beneath him, as he continued his administrations, glasses sliding dangerously low on his nose. "Ni-Ninãs! Ayada!" Paulina yelled out in Spanish, glancing around when no help came for an escape. Finally, taking a deep breath, she screamed at the top of her lungs, causing Tucker to flinch and stop to cover his ears. "Saaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmm!"

Said girl, who had been hiding behind a tree to remain free of attack, started to move forward to help her fellow females. She stopped, however, at the feel of a soft hand, belying its hidden strength as it clasped her wrist, and she looked back, startled. Her captor, small, skinny Danny, put a single finger to his lips, signaling quiet. They both turned back to watch the activities…neither noticing that Daniel failed to remove his hand from Sam's wrist…

End Flashback

The teen blinked slowly, refocusing his gaze on the older, if unchanged, Dash, who was sulking as he threw broken pieces of wood into the water of the fountain, his old confidence gone. The spectator watched, stunned, as a single tear slowly rolled down the teen's face and failed to wipe it away. They both silently remained for a moment longer, neither looking anywhere but at the splashing water, and then simultaneously both left, heading opposite ways.

The invisible teen flew out of the park, habitually flying slightly higher over the destroyed housing, glancing only briefly at the almost depleted sunlight. He seemed to hurry his flight a bit, but still kept the presence of flying absentmindedly around the town, never lifted the invisibility he cast when Dash appeared.

Soon he began to descend again, headed toward a desolate building that was rather unscathed, unlike the rest of the town. He slipped through one of the broken windows, turning intangible to avoid jagged glass, and continued to roam through the structure, littered with suddenly abandoned shops and empty food courts. Every once and a while he would stop, staring at certain placed or entering particular stores. Green eyes scanned a technology store restlessly, and he went in normally forbidden ground of a girls-only Hot Topic.

He finally came to a section of the building where the less popular stores were harbored; a kitchen department, a moving shop, an antique outlet, a… flower boutique. The ghost stared at the last store, eyes blank and face expressionless, then slowly entered, his flight low and jerky. He floated through the pots of flowers and racks of seeds, not really seeing anything, and soon came to the back of the store.

It was an indoor garden, with the cement of the back area completely missing, and was instead covered in real grass. There were small, fruit-laden trees along the side walls, and large rose bushes were placed in random formations. Ivy clung to the wall behind it all. In the center of the grass was a large oak tree, so tall that the roof where it should be touching was cut away, revealing the next level of the complex. Hanging from one of the shorter tree branches, still and lifeless, was an old tire swing.

The invisible spectator had expected the makeshift swing to be empty, just as the rest of the place was, but froze at the sight of a girl sitting there silently. She had long, messy blonde hair that was held back by a single clip and her eyes were closed as she swung gently, tears flowing down her cheeks. Her pink and white outfit was dirty and downtrodden, just like the rest of her, holes showing pale skin underneath that was cut and bruised.

He stared at her, hardly breathing, as she continued to cry softly, and took a step forward lightly on the grass, but winced when a twig snapped underneath his invisible foot. The girl looked up sharply, and the ghost froze for a second as he stared into red, puffy, haunted eyes, once again becoming drawn into another phantom image…

♫…All the beauty in space and time

They are still yours and are still mine…♫

Flashback

A young, ten year old girl sprinted hurriedly down the mall's hallways, dodging other shoppers, swinging bags, and sale signs unconsciously. She ducked under a couple's joined hands and they turned, startled, to watch her black-haired head retreating rapidly. Her low pigtails, hardly a hand length long, swung every which way wildly as she skidded across the floors, her purple sneakers leaving black marks behind.

Her black skirt, styled only with a lime green belt, flowed behind her lightly in the breeze she made, her sleeves trailing behind her. Her shirt was a loose, empire waist cover with three-quarter sleeves that were lime green and purple, black lace ending her sleeves and covering part of her stomach.

Suddenly she stopped, her clothes 'whooshing' behind her as she came to her destination: Destiny Gardens. She went inside, pace slowed and unknowingly followed by two shadows, glancing neither left nor right at the flowers that surrounded her. She continued on to the back till she reached the indoor garden and saw who she had come to find.

It was another girl her age, blonde, and she was sitting on the tire swing downcast and unmoving. Her pink flip flops dangled off her feet uselessly, and her shorts, previously white, were now a light gray from the holed circle. Her white jacket, decorated with pink strips and a pink, glittering star, was open half-way to let in the cool air, showing a light pink tank top underneath.

The girl in green dashed forward, leaping to get on the tube, and her momentum caused it to swing wildly. She laughed as the second girl looked up, startled, and continued to rock the tire as she held the rope with her hands.

"What's wrong, Starry? Hmmm?" The first girl asked, staring down at the other, who had recovered from her shocked stupor and had returned to gazing moodily out into the aisles of the shop. Lavender eyes followed the direction she was looking, waiting patiently for her to answer.

"I…don't know. I guess I just wanted to get away for awhile. It seems like we're always together, you know? Except for you, Danny, and Tuck, that is. Doesn't it ever get to be a little too much? 'Lina's Spanish and Dash's sports-talk…"

"…And Tuck's new fascination with gadgets? Trust me, we're not all normal. Why do you think I hang out with Danny so much? Tucker can get to be a little overwhelming, just like the others can. But you're right, it is nice to get away once and a while." Star giggled, her gaze never moving but the intensity of the looking softening somewhat.

"Sometimes I wonder how you two stay so normal with how much you're around all of them." The standing girl gave her a look loaded with sarcasm before she replied.

"Me? Normal? Puh-lease, girl, you need your eyes checked!" Star rolled her eyes as she giggled at the tone of voice the other had used.

"Oh, I'm SORRY, I forgot. Miss Sam Manson is an individualist that has her own personal views and opinions. However could I have forgotten? My mistake, madam!" Star said, mocking disbelief laced through her voice.

"I know! Its sooo hard to forget me, isn't it?" Sam said, playing along; the two girls burst out laughing before they quieted again, both thinking intently as Samantha continued to sway the swing. And then Star broke the silence, her gloomy expression back on her face again.

"I guess…that I'm sort of alone, aren't I? I mean, if it weren't for the group, I wouldn't really exist; I have no special points to me, not like you or Paulina or Tucker."

"No! Danny is just like you, and both of you exist. I don't want you talking like that Starry! You ARE special, in your own way." Sam said insistently, releasing one of her hands from the rope to tilt Star's chin up to look at her.

"But even Danny has something going for him! His parents are so cool, with their ghost hunting, and Jazz is a genius, and he has the best grandmother! He's got all that going for him. He doesn't need anything that HE does to be different!" A hard glint entered Sam's eye and Star knew that she had crossed over some invisible line that only the group of three seemed to see.

"Just because his parents are something most are not, doesn't mean that he is. You never judge a book by its cover, Star, or it will snap you on the butt when your back is turning away from it. Danny is his own self, just like Dash or Paulina. His parents, or his sister, or his grandmother, have nothing to do with it." Star crossed her arms, glaring stubbornly at Sam, who still held her face turned up to look her in the eyes.

"Well, what about Valerie? Her dad is rich, and she can have whatever she wants. Or Kwan, who's the only Asian in our entire school? They're still different!" Samantha's lips had tightened into a thin line at the word rich, but made no comment on it.

"And what about you, who is the only one in our dance class that can do a back tuck without hands and still land it? And you're the one who taught everyone to speak sign language for the new kid in our class. You're also the only one in our choir that can hold a note for three minutes without breathing. Face it, Starry, you are special!" Sam paused to wrap her elbow around the rope holding the tire up and fisted her hand like a microphone, back straight and chin down to create a deep voice. "Everyone put your hands together for Starry the Acrobat. Starry the Speechless. Starry the Songtastic!" Star cracked a small smile, but didn't seem to lift from her depression. Sam sighed in defeat, listening to a song that had just come on over the radio. A light bulb seemed to come on over her head as she heard what the lyrics were saying.

"Well all I can say is that you had better cheer up, Starry, or I'm going to be forced to go fetch Tuck to punish ya." The two hidden shadows that had followed Sam leaned forward as Star arched her eyebrow, confused.

"How in the world could TUCKER punish me? He's a twig!" One of the shadows moved slightly, giving a silent 'huff'. Sam just smirked, however, grinning nastily as she started to spin the tire in circles.

"True, he may be a total weakling―" The upset shadow started to move forward jerkily, but its companion put a hand on its arm in warning. "but he also happens to LOVE this song." Star started to shake, eyes wide. "And you know how much Tucker LOVES to sing his favorite songs!"

"No! Not Tuck the Cluck! Please, don't make me listen. Please!" Star cried, clamping her hands over her ears and squeezing her eyes shut. Sam laughed, gazing down at her blonde friend.

"Alright, you don't have to hear Tucker the Terrible. Just―" She was cut off as two figures fell onto the tire swing, scuffling. The enraged shadow had lunged forward, but was brought to a halt by the second's strong grip on its arms just in time to bring him to an abrupt stop. The enraged shadow had struggled against their companion's hold roughly, and had finally broken free, only to tumble into full view onto the girls' laps.

The escapee was a tan, bespectacled boy in a green t-shirt and swim trunks, a lopsided, red straw beach hat on his head. His companion was an ebony-haired boy with vibrant blue eyes dressed in a pair of baggy tan khaki shorts and a plaid button up, left undone to show a white muscle shirt underneath.

They both sat there a moment, catching their breath as Sam and Star looked at them, stunned. There was general quiet except for the sound of labored breathing for a moment before the tan male spoke.

"I do NOT have terrible singing!" The other three occupants of the tube burst into uncontrollable laughter, causing the tire to swing wildly. Tucker glared at them, insulted, before a small smile came onto his face and he finally gave into the hysterics. The boutique rang with the joyful sound for a brief moment before they quieted down, a chuckle escaping every few minutes as they held their aching ribs and tried to catch their breath. Sam broke the silence, however, as she seemed to realize something.

"Tucker, were you SPYING on us?" The poor boy glanced to the side guiltily, but didn't say anything. She swung her eyes to the other boy, narrowing her lavender orbs slightly as she glared at him. "Danny…" The said person shrunk away from his friend's look, stammering lightly.

"Well…you see…What I mean is…um…I can…" Sam's look became even more intense, if it was possible, and Tucker could almost see Danny's defense barriers caving in on him. He silently willed him strength, but sighed in defeat, muttering a quiet 'traitor' as Danny's shoulders finally sagged in hesitant surrender. "Alright, so we MIGHT have listened to a little bit of your conversation, but we didn't MEAN to, right Tuck?" Danny continued on, barely giving the other boy a chance to add a hasty 'Yeah, really sorry; don't kill me!' before he was off again. "Really, really sorry, and it'll never happen again. I promise!"

Samantha was silent a moment before she spoke. "I don't know… I'm not sure I trust you with this. You came on to our secret spot, after all, and that's―" She never got to finish, though, as she was cut off by Star, who looked completely and utterly confused as she whispered a hurried question to her friend.

"We have a secret spot?" Sam sighed in gentle exasperation as she replied to Star's interruption.

"Yes, we have a secret spot. Here! Right here is our special place." Her voice rose from the whisper she had used to speak with Star, and she turned back to the boys. "Now where was―" She was interrupted yet again, but by the boys this time.

"We came onto your secret zone?"

"Sorry!"

"Yeah, now we just have to make it our secret spot too, huh Danny?"

"Yeah!"…

End Flashback

The invisible watcher shook his head gently, waking himself from his lifeless stare at the pale phantom children, and turned his eyes back to the downcast Star in front of him. Her shoulders shook roughly with the stifled sobs she still shed, but she was forcing herself to take deep breathes.

He stayed until she regained some of her composure, and then floated, intangible, up through the oak's branches until he broke through to the next level. Soon he was flying through the open sky once again; dropping his intangibility as well as letting himself become visible as he floated through the multi-colored clouds. He began to drop, however, at the sight of a nearly demolished building, its roof crumbled and cracked to show tiny, scattered desks or tables in wide rooms decorated with alphabet posters and kiddy books. The teen flew intangible through the walls to wander the building, but paused at the sight of a bright red door with a broken sign with missing letters revealing the title: Mis Swetar's Rom. He gazed at the door silently, and then hesitantly went through the wood.

Staring around the room in forlorn silence, the spectator let his gaze roam over the characteristics of the place. The tables, low to the ground and unusually shaped into 'u's, were either toppled or broken, but still ordered in some short of formation not seen from ground level. Stacks of chairs were placed hurriedly along one wall, covering some of the whiteboard markings that had yet to be erased. In one corner there was a normal, adult-sized desk, strangely stark compared to the rest of the room with its empty top. In the other back corner there was a life-sized doll house, doors and windows big enough to be used by a small child. There was a play kitchen resting against one side of the house, the fake food in disarray all over the floor, and boxes of plastic stacking blocks were in a pile by a shelf of tiny books.

The boy flew over to one of the small tables, eyes trained on a spot in the wood. He sat down slowly in a forgotten chair, running his hands on the engraving he saw through filmed-over eyes…

♫…Just for a moment unwind

and live blind…♫

Flashback

A small, elderly lady sat contently behind an average, dark brown, wood desk, looking through a stack of papers, all covered in brightly colored doodles and untidily scrawled words explaining the artwork. She had graying hair that showed hints of black and kind, wise gray eyes that sparkled with amusement as she looked at the pictures.

She pause a moment at a set of three papers, far advanced from the rest of the group, and was stunned a moment at the detail her students had put into them. The first was a shockingly complex drawing of a crying angel, gazing after two people's retreating backs with the most expressive lavender eyes. The artist had even painstakingly drawn multiple feathers for her wings and added streams of golden sunlight falling on the vision. Underneath the girls knees was carefully written 'My Angel'.

The second was extremely simple compared to the first, but just as beautiful. It was a picture of two children's faces, seemingly wise yet young beyond their years, that were pressed together softly at the temple. One of the faces had startling blue eyes and a supposedly purposeful goofy smile with black hair, while the other had the same lavender eyes as the angel's and only the barest hint of a smile as she looked out from underneath her ebony bangs. The picture wasn't nearly as detailed as the angel either, with only a blue and purple hazy background instead of the layers of crumbling rocks and streaming sunlight, but the eyes of the two children seemed to spring out at the viewer. The boy's were almost unnaturally innocent, while the girl's lavender orbs were haunted and sad, crying out her loneliness. Up in the top the creator had messily written 'My Pals, the Yin and Yang'.

Whoever had drawn the last however, had the most talent for simple detail, fixing the work right in between the other two's simple and complex. There wasn't a single character in the picture, but it clearly showed whoever WOULD have been in it.

It was a room viewed as if a person was looking through a window, but the edges were blurred as if it were from a dream. There were three small beds, one red, one blue, and one purple, and each had a single item on it that represented the owner. A small, red cowboy hat rested on the red bed so easily it blended in, making it extremely hard to be seen, and a pair of thick, square, black glasses rested on the nightstand right beside it.

The middle, bright blue bed, messily made compared to the other two, had a small, plastic spaceship on it with flashing red lights. Behind the headstand, the only real decoration on the walls except for the lamps, was a huge poster that showed a portrait of Neil Armstrong, dressed in his astronaut suit.

The last, purple bed had a green, black, and purple dress on it, stretched out to show the full, shimmering skirt. It didn't seem nearly as significant to the viewer, however, as the set of pictures that rested on the nightstand beside the bed. One frame held what looked to be a class picture, showing Dash, Valerie, and the rest of their group of friends, as well as a tiny, elderly woman holding a colorful sign that stated: 'Miss Sweetheart's First Grade Class, Year 1998'. The second was a picture of three little kids, lavender, blue, and brown eyes (peering through thick glasses) blinking owlishly out from mud-splattered faces at the camera. The last picture showed a little, lavender-eyed girl locked in an embrace between two people: a tall, distinguishing, blonde man, and a small, red-haired lady.

The rest of the drawing was summed up by a slightly open door and a cat and dog lying side-by-side on a blue rug in the center of the floor. On the bottom of the paper, in part of the hazy, dream section, and in the right hand corner was written in the smallest handwriting possible 'My Dream'.

The woman looked up briefly as if she were trying to puzzle something out, and then glanced back down again at the picture of the blonde man and red-haired woman. She seemed close to unraveling some mystery when she heard the patter of running feet and a child's laughter in the hallway, and then the banging of a door. The woman stood from her desk, pushing the stack of papers off to a bare corner, and putting the three specific drawings in a small box in her desk before turning to face the rush.

Twenty or so little kids, all around six, were piling into the empty room. Some of them gave hurried greetings through the throng, shouts of 'Hi, Miss Sweetheart' and 'Hola, Seniorettã''s as they all rushed to throw their packs and bags into a small closet in a corner of the room.

Trailing at the back of the other first graders, their heads pressed together as they whispered softly, was a group of three children. One was a smaller than average, black-haired girl outfitted in a pink nightmare of a dress with bright lavender eyes. Her companions, both boys her age, were almost completely opposite in appearance. While the one on her left was dark-skinned and hazel eyed, the other was pale with gleaming blue eyes that seemed to flash with mischief. The blue-eyed boy had messy, unadorned black hair, but his friend had short, neat brown hair that was partially hidden by a large, bright red top hat. Both of them, however, carried something in their hands, unlike their female friend.

The three comrades put their bags into the closet like their classmates, Miss Sweetheart noting how carefully the girl appeared to set down her parcel. They came over to the lady, each giving her a fond hug around the waist and a sweet hello. "Good morning, Miss Sweetheart!" They said in unison, glancing up at her with sparkling eyes.

"Good morning, Sweethearts. The bathroom is free, Sammy, if you want to change. And you can wait for her, Danny, Tucker; just sit down quietly when you all are done." The three friends gave her shining smiles and skipped over to the only other door in the room besides the closet and the one to outside, Sam taking a plastic bag with her. Danny and Tucker took up guard positions on either side of the door when she went in, giggling to each other. She came out of the room a moment later, changed from the hideous piece of clothing she had been wearing before, looking extremely relieved. Her outfit, without a single trace of pink, consisted of a pair of black overalls and a purple shirt, green sneakers clad on her feet and two high ponytails gathered in her hair messily.

The three came back over to the rest of the class and sat down at one of the small tables, silent as everyone listened to announcements over the intercom. When the monotone voice had finished, Miss Sweetheart got up from her desk again, walking to the front of the classroom and writing on the whiteboard with a marker she had taken from a drawer in her desk. "What's today, Sweethearts?"

"Wednesday, Miss Sweetheart!" The class replied, practically bouncing out of their chairs with excitement. She wrote the word on the board in big, even handwriting.

"And that means wh―" She was cut off by a single voice ringing out, breaking through the questionable silence.

"Sharing Time, Miss Sweetheart!" There were snickers as Miss Sweetheart turned to the interrupter, eyebrow raised. Said disturbance, the dark skinned Tucker, blushed red, keeping his eyes on the table he sat at, tracing his finger over something. The teacher could see in her mind's eye what his finger was running over: an engraved mark that showed an incredibly clear design of three letters; 'T', 'D', and 'S'. They all interloped together, creating an unbreakable bond.

She could remember extremely well when that 'art' had first been created. Young Danny had brought one of his parents inventions to school one day a few months ago, for a show and tell just like now. He was explaining how to use it to his two friends before class when he accidentally hit the 'on' button and a green laser had erupted from the tool. Poor Daniel began to shake, trying to control the thing so it wouldn't hurt anyone, and directed the gaze down to the table. He began groping wildly for the switch to shut it off, causing it to carve the three letters on the surface. He finally turned it off at the end of the 'T', and collapsed on his chair, trembling. He had ended up with a time-out, but, realizing it had been a true accident, Miss Sweetheart had punished him no further. Since then he had failed to bring any of his parents' machinery again, something everyone was grateful for, if a little disappointed.

Miss Sweetheart was shaken out of her thoughts at the image of a pair of blue and lavender orbs getting ready to defend their friend and she smiled gently. 'All for one and one for all, I suppose.' She thought, and replied to the embarrassed boy's answer. "That's right, Sweetheart. Sharing Time. Now, Sam, would you like to go first?" She said, careful to add her pet name for her students in for the boy's sake, and remembering the girl's ginger treatment to what was in her pack. There were groans of disappointment as Sam went to the closet where she had set her bag, and then of awe of at she had removed.

It was a wooden briefcase, polished so well that it gleamed with rainbows as she brought it into the light, and she carried it quickly but carefully up to the front of the class. Sam carefully opened it as if it were a secret treasure chest, and it turned out to be just that. An artist's treasure trove. It revealed innumerable amounts of high quality crayons, the reds and blues and golds every child's coloring dream. She pressed a secret knot in the wood, and the masses of wax color sticks separated to unleash markers in the same quality and quantity, some so unusual that they seemed to be invented just for that single case. Sam pressed another hidden button to reveal colored pencils, and again for pastels, and for water colors, and for paints, and for color-died charcoal. Soon everyone began to wonder how such a small cube could hold it all, and then she finally pressed one last area to show a pad of paper, thrice folded to fit into the kit. There was a moment of mystified silence, and Miss Sweetheart thought reverently for the amazing sight 'At least I know where she got her passion for drawing; she was well-supplied in the first case.'

Sam shifted uncomfortably, not knowing what to say, when Danny came to the rescue. "Wow, Sammy. It looks that the persons who made that thing forget something. Where's the stand the paper goes on?" The kids laughed at his joke, but giggled even harder as he grinned sheepishly when she pressed the handle on the case, causing three pieces of wood to pop out of the box and form an easel.

"Silly Danny, you didn't think you could outsmart me, did you?" Samantha scorned mockingly, and the entire class, Danny included, burst into uncontrollable laughter…

End Flashback

The teen watched as everyone's merriment began to finally die down, the little Danny himself going up to the front of the room to show of a humble toy spaceship, a present Sam and Tucker had gotten him for Christmas just the week before. Others went up after him, showing books or sharing games they had received, two telling an extremely animated story about their holiday with exaggerated motions. Tucker went up somewhere in the middle, showing a book his mother, a dance teacher turned author, had written for him, titled: 'Of Many Meats and Hilarious Hats: A Survival Guide to Living Tuck Foley's Life'. Soon after that the images began to fade away, leaving the spectator to watch the empty air.

He traced his finger over the entwined shape of the three letters one last time and then floated over to the empty desk in a corner silently. He began to open the drawers as if looking for something, and pulled out a wooden box hesitantly from the last one he searched. He seemed to contemplate his actions for a brief second before opening the small treasure chest, hardly breathing from nerves. Inside were a few odds and ends that appeared to puzzle the teen, striking him as somewhat odd. There were multiple dried flowers, brown and crinkly that fell to pieces at the lightest touch, as the young man discovered quickly. A bright orange ribbon was tied around a dark blue ball, and a plastic apple had been carved to show the words '#1 Best Teacher'. A deluxe black crayon was covered in dust lightly, and an open book, worn with age, was turned to the title page, which read 'To a great and amazing mother. Love you Mom! P. Lancer'. The spectator raised his eyebrow at the heartfelt message, but went on searching silently through the memoirs till he saw three rolled papers at the back of the box tied with three colorful ribbons: red, blue, and purple. He undid them all to reveal the three drawings from the phantom scene, still intact if a little faded with age and worn from frequent handling.

The teen tucked the set of pictures in his suit, making sure they were safe before closing the treasure box and flying off, out the window and into the slowly darkening sky…

♫…Like a child

I want to live my life more…♫

Danny's P.O.V.

Everything was so easy, so comfortable, so… not now. We could be whoever we wanted to be…

♫…Like a child

I wanna be stripped of my pride just…♫

…go where we wanted to go. To a certain limit, at least. But now we have absolutely no moment to ourselves; we HAVE to be the heroes, we HAVE to be where the trouble is. The world owns us…

♫...Like a child

so full of forgiveness…♫

And they don't even realize it. The destiny that bonded us together is slowly ripping us apart. And all the powers in the world can't stop it.

♫…Lord won't you please

Break these chains from me…♫

Dash has abandoned us, Paulina has forgotten us. Valerie is against us, Star won't recognize us, and Kwan is too foolish to have stopped the change. Destiny won't let us have anyone. Even Jazz will be gone soon. We're on our own.

♫…Like a child

I wanna be more innocent just…♫

I'm a clumsy, hormonal teenage boy that's neither dead nor alive. I'm an oddity in the human world yet a freak in the ghost zone. My parents are out to get me, my sister, who refused to believe in spirits once upon a time, has become my cover and my nurse, and my 'uncle' is my arch foe and wants me for his son. The more I wish I was normal, the more I find out I'm not. My ex-girlfriend is my worst predator and my gothic best friend is the person that tries to make me see the best in everyone and everything. My life is so screwed up I can't recognize it anymore. So how can I hope to even know myself again? Who am I?

WHAT am I?

♫…Like a child

I want my eyes to shine just…♫

As everyone unknowingly settles into some strange sort of routine, I can't help just wanting to give up. Idiotic, box-obsessed ghosts and mind-controlling dead spirits should be allowed to take over for all I've been through. The hunting and the persecution, the pain and the lies. But I can't quit because my stupid destiny would let everyone I know and love die, just because I didn't do anything.

I'm trapped, half dead, doing the one thing that could really kill me.

♫…Like a child

For such is the kingdom and

Jesus said 'Bring them unto me'…♫

Destiny says I have to risk being killed so others won't. Fate says I have to put my life on the line or my savior's will pass it. People think heroes can't have someone to depend on while they get to, so I must not be a hero. My savior depends on me, when it's supposed to be the other way around. I'm alone…

How can I save the world with no one to lean on?

Normal P.O.V.

The young man was flying low to the ground now, paths of leaves stirring as he flew past only to settle back down again. The sun was just barely visible over the horizon, oranges and pinks and yellows dimming slightly to mix with the blues and blacks of the oncoming night. The boy's flight, previously jerky and slow, was now smooth and average, as if he had made up his mind of where he wanted to go.

Soon he came to a large, old building, practically lost in the rubble that used to be the roof and part of the walls, opening it to the world. There were large, ripped screens in the destruction, as well as machinery and candy spilt across rows of empty, padded chairs that were nailed to the ground. He didn't search that building as he had the others, however. Instead he went over to a tree that had been planted on the same land where the building once stood. The vegetation was gnarled and ancient, so fragile that if was clearly a miracle it was still upright.

The spectator, upon reaching the tree, settled down on the ground with his back against the trunk, one footed planted so that it caused his leg to poke up, the other stretched out in from of him. He turned his head slight to the left so that it rested against the bark, and he gazed off carelessly as he was pulled into another phantom scene…

♫…We can turn from hate to love

Live a little closer to heaven above…♫

Flashback

There was a buzz of laughter and conversation from a steady stream of people going in and out of an old building, a giant sign announcing 'Cinemax' above it. Groups of teens came out talking with bags of candy in their hands; a silent couple would walk out with a tub of popcorn as they linked fingers. Some stopped to take pictures beside large posters or famous movie character statues, and some waited beneath shrubs of growth or ancient trees before finally walking in.

It was beneath one of these trees that a group of three sat. They were all around twelve, and of the set of preteens there was only one girl. She was stretched out on her side with her head on one of her companions' laps and her legs thrown over the other's knees. Her eyes were closed and her black hair fell in her eyes as she presumably slept, her purple top fluttering in a light breeze. Her human pillow, an ebony-haired boy with bright blue eyes, was stroking her hair softly as he tossed a ball back and forth with her footrest, a dark skinned male with a red beanie on his head and square black glasses slid clear up till they touched his eyelashes. They were both talking softly, obviously due to the fact of their dozing friend, when two kids approached them, both within their age.

One was a tall, broad-shouldered blonde, awkward in his new height, while the other was an average-sized Asian, dressed in a white t-shirt that said 'Yes, I'm slow-witted. Deal with it.' They gave high fives to the two seated boys and settled down themselves, careful to be quiet.

"Hey Tucker, Danny."

"'Ullo, Kwan, Dash."

"Hi."

"Yeah…"

There was silence a moment, and then they all quietly laughed at themselves, as if humored by some inside joke.

"What are ya here to see, Kwan?" Tucker asked, putting the small rubber ball to the side for awhile and pulling a small electronic object out of his pocket.

"We don't know. Something with monsters, maybe. What about you three?"

"We're having a chick flick marathon. Sam's parents took off unnoticed again and her grandma is in the hospital, so she's staying with Danny-boy here. She's really down though; been crying all day. We're trying to make her feel better, so she's promised us after today we don't ever have to watch another girly film with her again." Tucker said, jerking his thumb over at Danny, who was still silently stroking Sam's hair and frowning slightly at her apparent sadness.

"Harsh. What you two would do for that girl is amazing." Dash said, almost shuddering as he gazed at her.

"She's our friend, simple as that. " Tucker said, pocketing his gadget. "By the way, the only movie with monster action is coming on in about ten minutes. I would go get your tickets." The two stood, stuffing their hands in their pockets.

"Alright, thanks."

"No problem. Bye."

"Later." Dash and Kwan walked away, into the theater and out of sight. Tucker and Danny gazed after them for a moment, puzzled, before Tucker picked up the previously forgotten ball and threw it to his friend. Danny caught it, and they continued their unofficial game of catch for a moment before starting to converse again.

"They've been really… strange, lately. Do you think something is wrong?" Danny asked, throwing the ball to Tucker uncomfortably as he continued to rub Sam's head.

"I don't know. Paulina is moving, so that could be it, but I think it might be something else." Tucker paused the game, watching Danny quietly.

"'Lina's moving? When did you hear that? What's going on?" His hand stopped for a second as he looked at Tuck, confused, but when Sam started to stir he continued his administrations without thinking.

"Star and Valerie called me earlier. Said they had to help Paulina pack, so they wouldn't be able to make the marathon. Supposedly, Paulina's dad got a promotion at his job, so they're going to Spain. They should be back within two years though; that's the plan that Paulina's dad is going by, anyways." Tucker said, chucking the ball to Danny again, unpausing the game.

"Everything is changing so fast. Its making my head spin!" Danny said, not missing a beat as he caught and launched the ball while stroked his leg occupant's hair at the same time.

"I know the feeling." Tucker said simply, and there was silence for a few minutes as they continued their activity.

"Hey, Tuck?" Danny said suddenly, stopping the ball with his hand, causing it to roll back to Tucker.

"Yeah?" The bespectacled boy asked, picking up the sphere and pulling his gadget from earlier out.

"Promise me, no matter what, we'll always stay best friends." Danny said, deadly serious.

"Alright, no matter what." Tuck answered easily and undoubtedly. "We'd better go; the next flick is about to start. Here's your ball." He threw it to Daniel, but his friend wasn't expecting it, and got it right in the nose.

"Thanks, Tucker." Danny glared, causing Tucker to grin sheepishly in apology. "Just help me wake Sam up." They both leaned over to the girl's ear and whispered her name, but she just crinkled her nose as she rubbed her lobe and slept on. The two boys sat back, stumped at what to do, and then suddenly both got an identical twinkle in their eye and mischievous grins, stretching their pale white and tanned fingers, and yelled simultaneously "Wake up Sammy!" And both began to tickle her ribs unmercifully.

"Ahhh!" She yelled, curling into a ball as she tried to protect her vulnerable sides. "S-stop! Danny, T-Tucker, stop!" The boys finally relented their attack, helping her to her feet with matching 'I'm innocent!' expressions on their faces. Sam shook her head gently, trying to hide the smile that was growing slowly on her face, and they all walked off, into the cinema. They forgot, however, something so significant yet small, something they never remembered again: a little rubber ball, left at the base of an ancient tree where Danny and Tucker made a vow to remain friends forever…

End Flashback

The boy gazed at the cinema with a mixture of sadness and pain, longing shown clearly in his eyes. He gave a deep sigh before standing up slowly, sweeping his hands through the dry leaves that had fallen from the old tree. His hand brushed against something odd, however, and he bent down and started to dig through the multicolored cover. Felling something round, he clenched it in his fist and pulled it free, revealing the small rubber ball.

He stared at it a moment, thousands of emotions fleeting across his face, and then hesitantly he tucked it into his black jumpsuit, right by the three drawings and against his heart. He took flight again, touching his hand briefly to one of the bare branches on the fragile tree.

His flight was hurried and uneven, automatically dodging the vanquished houses from habit as he flew straight toward the center of the town. He reached it in a matter of minutes, and he slowed to glance over at the barely visible sun through the fast-approaching dusk. He resumed his speed, headed toward the group of the last, destruction-free buildings, his gaze locked on a long, stout structure that had a flashing sign that showed three white and red stripped pins and a blue bowling ball.

He rushed to a halt right before the double doors, peering cautiously into the building, before intangibly flying through the glass panels and into the place.

It was a long, rather narrow room with a large counter on one side, empty of all personnel. Narrow alleys were placed along one wall, and tables and computer screens were in front of those. Racks of balls stood behind each table, and tall white pins were set up on each alley's end. Trash littered the floor and food had been left on the tables, as if the customers were expected back any minute.

The teen landed and walked over to one of the center tables, sitting down as he continued to survey the room. There were only three seats at the table he sat at and three bowling balls on the rack, each one of them a specialized color: red, blue, and purple. There was a screen already set up to play a game, and three pairs of shoes, matching the chairs and bowling balls, were already set out to be used. The last thing he saw was a gold plaque, engraved the with words 'Reserved for the Queen and Kings of Bowling: Sam, Tucker, and Danny.' And then his eyes glazed over and he was pulled into another phantom scene…

♫…Make darkness light and war to peace

If we start to believe

Like a child…♫

Flashback

Two teenagers sat at a table drinking from thick, steaming mugs, wrapped in heavy blankets and dressed in wool pajamas. One was a young woman with short black hair in braids and lavender eyes that matched her pj's and mug, while her companion was an ebony-haired boy with bright blue orbs that were partially hidden behind drooping eyelids. They were both silent as they sipped their warm hot cocoa, comfortable in each other's presence and under the other's lazy gaze. The girl broke the silence however, after she glanced up at a clock hanging on the wall nearby.

"Where's Tucker? I made sure the school announcement said seven-thirty, not eight past next Christmas!"

"I'm not sure. I keep on trying to call his new cell phone, but it just gives me the busy signal. He must be connected to the internet." He shrugged as he talked, unconcerned, taking another drink from his hot beverage. "It's really cool how you could convince the bowling alley and the school board to let us have our eighth grade Christmas slumber party here, Sam." It was her turn to shrug uncaringly, muttering something that sounded strangely like 'millionaire', 'money', and 'persuasive', but her friend didn't seem to notice.

"We're graduating from Junior High this year; we should go out with a bang. Besides, this is more fun than some lame dance we would have had at the school anyways." She said finally, gazing around at the area that engulfed them. Sleeping bags, separated into two sections (boys and girls) were spread out on each side of the room. Eighth graders could be seen bowling with red, green, and white balls for Christmas spirit, while others sat at decorated tables eating pizzas.

"I'm not sure Tuck will jump for joy over the veggie pizza though, Sam." Her friend said, laughing between bites of his own piece of pizza as he pictured his dark-skinned friend's expression when he saw the meal.

"Too bad, so sad. He should have gotten here on time. And he has no excuse, you and I got here on time, Danny." She stood, setting her blankets and mug off to the side. "Come on, let's bowl." She grabbed a green ball and went to put her shoes on. Danny followed her example, picking a white ball up off the rack and slipping his blue shoes on as he set up a game on the computer with one hand.

"Top striker wins?" He asked, scrolling through the list of specialty games they could play.

"Sure. You've got first turn." She said, standing back with her ball in one hand and her steaming cup that she had set aside earlier in her other. Danny launched the ball, at ease with his renowned skills, and smirked as it hit all ten pins. He threw the ball again, doing a little victory dance around Sam as he saw another strike take place.

"Don't get cheesy, bud. I'm just as good a bowler as you." Sam remarked, setting her drink down and throwing the green ball she had in her hand as she walked up the alley calmly, watching every one of the pins fall. She turned around, flicking one of her pigtails at Danny, and sashayed over to the ball return. Taking the ball and preparing to let it roll again, she gazed on the pins with a trained eye. Just as she launched the ball, however, Danny came up behind her, tickling her ribs and making her shriek, the ball falling, useless, directly into the gutter.

"D-Danny!" He took off running, shoes squeaking as he made his escape. His friend took of right after him, hitting the cancel button on the computer as she went by and leaping out of her shoes in the pursuit. Sam chased him around the whole building, both dodging chairs and students alike as they played a game of cat-and-mouse.

Danny made a sharp right, almost falling on his behind, and screeched to a sudden halt. The waxed lanes lay before him, forbidden ground and dangerous territory, while behind him, closing in, was a hyped-up teenage girl looking for revenge. He sprinted forward without a second thought right as she reached out for him, causing her to stumble and giving him a second chance.

She started after him without hesitation, paying no mind to the slippery floor, and they raced back and forth, jumping the separations and sliding and gliding across the waxed lanes. The current employee at the counter, a middle-aged teen that had worked there for years, started to call security as he saw the interaction, but stopped and sighed, pressing a different button beside him on the phone that let him reach the manager. "We're gonna need the floors waxed again, boss." There was a moment of silence, and then a deep sigh came from the other end of the line.

"The three of them at it again?" A voiced asked over the pone.

"Just Sam and Danny, sir." The boy answered, watching the girl slowly gaining on her friend.

"Alright. I'll give the waxing company a call; just leave the two of them at it. She should catch him soon enough." The man's voice on the other end said, and they both hung up.

Right as the manager's final words were spoken, Sam launched herself onto Danny, who leaned over from the sudden weight as she laughed in victory. "I win, I win, I―" She was cut off as Danny suddenly stood straight up, wrapping his hands around her legs and making her arms encircle his neck. He shot forward, jumping out of his loose shoes, and started to skate around the slick floor in his socks, Sam on his back piggy-back style and shrieking.

"Danny! You had better put me down! DDDAAANNNNNNYYY!" He had come to a sudden halt on the edge of the waxed floor in front of their table, causing them both to spin wildly before falling onto their previously discarded blankets, breathing heavily. "D-Danny…" Sam gasped, crawling off him as she glared. "Yo-you are going to d-die for that… when I catch my b-breath." She collapsed, still sprawled halfway on top of him, and they both burst into giggles, rolling around on their cushion.

They finally settled down, limbs tangled and breath ragged. Their thick blankets were rustled and rumbled, causing half of their bodies to lie on the cold wooden floor, cooling their heated skin.

"Did I miss something?" Danny and Sam looked up at the intrusion, chuckles and short laughs still leaking through their mouths. The interrupter was a dark skinned, bespectacled youth who had a hysterically funny look of confusion on his face, causing his square, box-y glasses to reflect his brown eyes like an insect's. He had a large, floppy red Santa hat that sat lopsided on his head and a small electric cell phone was in his right hand, displaying a bright purple screen that had 'Internet Bejeweled' spelled across it.

Samantha and her friend just continued to laugh, gaspingly trying to tell different parts of the story with 'T-Tucker''s and 'Tuck''s thrown in. Tucker tried to decipher what the two were saying, but he finally lost his patience and walked away, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. They watched, fairly silent, as he went over to the table they had previously inhabited, blindly grabbing a piece of pizza out from the box that rested on top of it.

They watched, insanely quiet now, as he stuffed a bite of the slice into his mouth, gazing around the room at the other eighth graders, and began to chew slowly. Danny and Sam started to snicker softly, hands covering their mouths and whispering gently to each other, as his eyes slowly widened, face turning a brighter and brighter green.

"Pppssstttppphhh!" He spit the pizza out, glaring at the green-covered slice he had in his hand and wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "Veggie! Veggie! You got VEGGIE? What are you crazy, woman! YOU GOT VEGGIE! Are you trying to kill me! VEGGIE?"…Sam and Danny burst into uncontrollable laughter again, Tuck still ranting his triad against the accursed pizza in his hand, and then sudden he turned threateningly to them…

End Flashback

The teen sighed as he turned away, missing the chance to see Tucker lunge himself at his two friends only to fall flat on his face. The spectator flew up, off of the blue seat, and headed for the glass doors. He opened them instead of intangible flying through like usual, seeming to listen to the jingle of the bell overhead that announced a person's presence. Nothing stirred, however, at the out of place sound…

The sun was invisible, the last streams of light coming from the glow of the remaining horizon. The boy glanced to the orange and pink sky, a pained look on his face and water sparkling in his eyes before he flew off, headed back in his original direction…

The large building he had come from looked to be a great deal more inhabited, a steady stream of weary citizens approaching it and going in, though few came out for any reason. The older couple from the destroyed house the teen had visited were limping slowly to the safe house, arms still wrapped around each other. Trailing slowly behind them was the teenage Jazz, head down and feet shuffling as she continued to cry. In her arms was a small brown bear, dressed in a lab coat and tie.

The spectator floated in after her, careful to turn invisible in case anyone looked up, though it seemed to be extremely unlikely, and he looked around at the activities. The ragged Star was wrapped in the tall Asian Kwan's arms, both of them sobbing quietly on the couch. Through a set of open double doors he could see a large room, half set up with brown tables and plastic chairs. Walking in between the seating area was the small, Hispanic Paulina, handing out trays of food with her long black hair up in a net. The other side of the enclosure was made up of rows and rows of sleeping bags, all spread out so that the entire area was covered in cloth.

Suddenly the large, blonde Dash walked through the entrance, laden down with two younger people on him. One, a skinny teenage boy that clutched a trumpet case to his chest like it was a security blanket and had an oddly bent leg, was supported in the quarterback's arms. A young, weeping girl was riding on his back, a bloody gash in her forehead and her right arm hanging down at her side uselessly. The athlete took them both over and into the double room, putting the teenager down on one of the sleeping bags and taking the little girl off his back carefully, only to set her in his own lap as he sat on another of the sleeping rolls.

A small, slightly chubby, tan girl came over to them, dark circles under her eyes and a large first aid bag on her shoulder. She and Dash talked quietly, most likely what had happened to his new charges and where he found them, before she turned to the musician and smiled, hoping he would relax under her kind gaze, and he let her bend over to check his wounded leg. Valerie suddenly faltered, obviously exhausted, and started to fall backwards in a faint, but someone caught her around the waist before she hit the ground.

It was Tucker; he smiled at her both gently and admonishingly before he set her down on her own sleeping pad, turning to the medical kit confidently. Valerie watched a moment, slightly surprised, as he went around bandaging the boy's foot and cleansing the girl head wound with medicated alcohol with an air of familiarity, before she nodded in silent thanks and turned on her side to get an hour's worth of well-needed sleep.

The spectator watched the boy work for a brief second, and then, unseen, flew up the stairs to the second level of the safe house. He went carefully down the white hallways, alert for anyone that he might accidentally bump into, and then turned into an open doorway. It was a completely white room, furnished with a single bed and two plastic, white chairs as well as multiple machines, each beeping out different noises. In the corner, taking up the two chairs, was a richly dressed, if dirty, couple that sat weeping together. One was a tiny red-haired woman in a pink dress, and beside her was a tall blonde man, gently stroking his companion's hair.

The boy paused a second; he seemed to argue with himself, and then he finally sighed inaudibly and removed his invisibility. The woman jumped, staring wide eyed as he suddenly appeared, and her companion squeezed her hand in obvious reassurance with a blank look on his face. The young man walked over to the bed, feeling it better to act as normal as possible before the couple, and the lady gave a heaving sob as he grabbed the occupant's hand gently. The man steered her out of the room, throwing a glance over his shoulder at the teen, and then they were gone.

The spectator looked down at the hand that lay limply in his own, and then glanced at the owner's face. It was a young woman, hardly older than fifteen, and she looked to be fast asleep. She had short, messy black hair that was left completely undone, and full, almost colorless pink lips. Her coloring was deathly pale, and it sent shivers down the boy's back to feel how cold she was. The hospital gown that she wore was a beautiful shade of lavender, and the teen could just barely see slivers of the same color under her eyelids as her long lashes fell on her white cheeks. He reached out to stroke her brow softly, and he gently ran his thumb over her lips…

♫…Like a Child

I want to live my life more…♫

Danny's P.O.V.

Changed. Everything changed. Why couldn't it stay the same? Why couldn't we be normal…

Normal P.O.V.

His hand went to her eye; it traced the outside, careful not to hurt her, and ran gently over her long lashes. There were two green earrings that the nurses had forgotten to remove from her ears. He pushed some hair behind her lobe, revealing a small earphone that had a cursive 'f' on it. He stared at it a moment, and then he pulled his gaze away, tracing his hand over her cheekbone…

♫…Like a child

I wanna be stripped of my pride just…♫

Danny's P.O.V.

…to be kids? We've been forced to grow up too soon, forced to be special. Forced to be heroes…

Normal P.O.V.

He picked up her hand again, playing with her fingers as his other went slowly up to stroke her hair. He eyes started to gleam, and he blinked them rapidly, never taking his eyes of the girl.

♫…Like a child

So full of forgiveness…♫

Danny's P.O.V.

… forced never to cry. Heroes aren't supposed to cry. Destiny says don't cry, even if you lose everyone, don't you EVER cry.

Why can't I cry?

Normal P.O.V.

He lent down, still holding her hand, and rubbed his face in her neck. She smelled like lavenders. Lavenders and vanilla. He touched her neck for only a moment and went to move it, but he paused as he felt something lumpy in her necklace. He moved the black choker she refused to take off slightly to the side, and found a small, neatly rolled purple paper underneath. He undid it, careful not to let it rip, and read the simple and short message.

'Dear Danny,

If you've found this, something must have happened to me. I just want to tell you that no matter what happens, I'll always be your friend. If I die, I will find a way back.

I love you,

Sam.

The boy stared at the paper a moment, gulping lightly, and he repeated his earlier motion of rapidly blinking his eyes, forcing the moisture he felt there back even as he continued to hold her hand…

♫…Lord, won't you please

Break these chains from me…♫

Danny's P.O.V.

The only ones I have left are the ones that could die at anytime. All because of stupid Destiny. A hero's work is never done, and a hero's loss is endless. Endless…

Normal P.O.V.

He hovered over her in his bent over position, just looking at her. His eyes gleamed even more, but this time he refused to stop it. He had other things on his mind.

Hesitantly, carefully, slowly, he moved closer, his eyes trained on hers, until his lips gently brushed…

♫…Like a child

I wanna be more innocent just♫

Danny's P.O.V.

I'm a helpless, defenseless teenage boy that's trying to win a war that can't be won. My allies have surrendered, my savior destroyed. The game is set, played, and… checkmate. I've lost everything now. My parents might as well be dead, my sister imprisoned. My 'uncle' is hiding, waiting to destroy me, my 'cousin' never born. My friends called me clueless… now I see why. I look in the mirror, and what do I see? Something that definitely SHOULDN'T be me.

Why is this me?

Normal P.O.V.

…her forehead.

As he pulled away, a single tear, hot and wet, fell swiftly from his eye and onto her cheek. It slid down slowly, as if it were hers in the first place. He turned to walk away, dropping her hand with a lingering touch and wiping his eyes. And then he heard it: Hope.

"Danny…" He looked back at her; daring to believe what he had heard was real. It was. She stirred for only a moment, and a machine, one that checked her breathing, went off as a sign that she had shifted from a deep coma to a sound sleep. He smiled at her; a single, sad smile that seemed unbearably haunted. And he walked away again, over to the window just as a rush of feet could be heard outside the room. He flew out, lifting the glass, and the last thing he saw was a dark skinned face with a red beret on the top of their head coming through the door with an expression of joy…

The teen flew on again, headed south, just as the last lights of day were truly diminished…

♫…Like a child

I want my eyes to shine just…♫

Danny's P.O.V.

The destruction will stop. The crying will cease. The death will vanish… along with the hero that conquered the threat. It's a hero's destiny. MY destiny.

Normal P.O.V.

…and both the hero and the hope of the entire world went with them, off to face destiny.

♫…Like a child

For such is the kingdom and

Jesus said 'Bring them unto me'…♫

Danny's P.O.V.

Bring them unto me…

I'm going to do it. I might just die, but I'm going to do it.

I'm going to save the world.

Fin

30