Well, I'm updating only because more people may read because 1 chapter looks stupid while 2 IS COOL.
Any suggestions are appreciated.
I AM SO SORRY!
I accidently uploaded a different chapter, and the coding failed which caused the italics. Everything should be fixed now!
PLEASE DO THE POLL ON MY PROFILE!
He waited patiently. Sam's alarm always went off at 6:15. He waited until 6:50 for her to get ready. Then he could shimmy up the tree, and enter through her window. Sam would have her butler bring up some food for the two of them, and they would leave for school to pick up Tuck along the way.
He ran his hand through his hair, and checked his watch again. He forgot his jacket at home, but the brisk air didn't bother him. His blue jeans and black tee matched his black hair and blue eyes. Sam had always tried to convince him to go "goth", seeing how Danny already liked black. But he put that idea out of its misery quickly.
His ears perked up at the sound of a window opening, and he quickly climbed up the tree. With a jump, he landed on her windowsill, and into her room. Her room was strange. One half was 100% pink, with unicorns and fairies and anything else you could think of, with the bed dividing the room. The other half was in the process of being redone. It was black, with various purple things. She had two bedside tables, one with a pink, fuzzy alarm clock, and the other with a black cell phone and spider light. Her favorite spider backpack hung from the wall, along with her Circus Gothica poster.
Her perky and chirpy pink-loving parents tried desperately to force their tastes onto her. But, with the help of her ever-loving butler, and nannies she kept her own personality and tastes. The same couldn't be said for her room. The household was divided on what the room should really look like, so it had remained in this state for the past year.
Her ever growing closest was also split in half. Her parents saw the pink front, with all the "horrible and distasteful clothes", which hid the true half. By moving the clothes, they would reveal the real closest, with every black lover's dream clothes. Various cans of specially made black spray paint and scissors sat in a bag, which Sam would grab on a need-be basis.
Her shoulder length pitch-black hair with purple highlights matched with her black dress. Her standard-with-every-outfit combat boots and purple makeup completed the "goth" look.
"Hey Danny." She finished applying her makeup, and turned away from the full-length mirror. She had grown over the years, but she still wasn't as tall as Danny or even short Tucker.
She complained about it whenever Danny complained about being too tall.
Danny's eyes were quickly drawn away from Sam to the plate of food sat on her bed, complete with sausage and eggs.
He quickly dug into the plate.
"Wow. You're hungry. What happened last night?"
"Mom caught me talking to a Spirit."
"Isn't that like the 5th this week?" She asked. The number of spirits was increasing, and poor Danny was the only one who could deal with them. Not even Sam could see them, but she had seen the damage. She and Tucker trusted Danny. If he told them to run, duck, or jump, they did.
Danny felt bad about lying to her. They had been best friends since preschool, but he hated for her to worry. Dealing with 5 Spirits a day was normal for him.
"Have there been anymore ghosts?"
He nodded, and swallowed.
"Yup. I can't do anything though. I don't like to blow them up like my parents, so I leave them. But my parents are working on something. Something big. I can feel it. They won't tell me, but Jazz keeps complaining about all the time spent in the lab."
She and Tucker also didn't know about the masked-monsters, who really caused the damage. This is why Danny left the ghosts alone, since most didn't cause any problems. There were exceptions though. There are always exceptions.
Her bedside clock went off, and Danny scarfed down the rest of the food. He jumped out the window, and Sam rushed downstairs, hopefully to avoid her parents.
After she "failed all parent-clothing inspections, by any standards", she joined Danny at the street.
They walked to Tucker's house, and were surprised to see Tucker actually on time. He stood on the sidewalk, his nose in a video game.
Tucker had also grown up over the years. He had purchased a red beanie at a yard sale, and now the hat never left his head. Even though the complaints of his parents, he let his hair grow. Not as long as Danny's but spiky.
He was also tall, but he doubted he would be as tall as Danny. Between Sam and him, they had a bet to see who would grow taller. It was barely a tie. He and Danny had been friends for years. Everyone else thought he was crazy for hanging out with him. Sure, Danny could saw spirits, but research on the Internet had proven he wasn't the only one. While Tucker couldn't see them, he believed Danny. And he would to the end.
"Hey Tuck."
Danny's voice broke Tucker's mind out of the video game.
"Hey Danny." He replied, quickly returning to the game.
The said boy stood next to Sam, who rolled her eyes.
Danny turned and faced behind him, staring.
"Danny?" Sam asked, worried.
"Its nothing." He brushed her off. He attempted to smile, but Sam could see through the mask.
"Let's just get to class." He walked ahead of her, leaving the two teens behind.
"I'm worried Tuck. He's been seeing more and more of them, its almost like he attracts them."
"He says he does. I wouldn't doubt it." Tucker snapped the game shut, and they watched as the boy walked towards the forgotten school.
"I know. But even though we can't see them, I just wish he would share with us. He keeps all that pain inside, and I worry for him." She sighed.
Usually Tucker would make a joke about lovebirds, but he remained silent.
"We both do."
I really should tell them… He was thinking about the true number of sprits and ghosts that had been following him. The number had jumped from one or two a week, to three, four, and sometimes five a day. Most would pass over as soon as they realized they were dead, and others were fun to talk to. Others…just caused problems.
I hope that feeling isn't what I think it is…
He was interrupted by Sam and Tucker joining him.
School was thankfully quiet. Only one spirit showed up, a stupid blonde who wished for her "pink convertible sports car."
Her annoying chattering all day pushed Danny to his wits end.
"Like, I totally wanted him to kiss me and stuff! But he blew me off, so then I so called my Dad…"
He pushed her into the wall. "Look! I'm sick and tired of you following me around all day! All you do is chatter about your damn boyfriends! Well, guess what? YOU. ARE. DEAD. Get over it!"
The hallway quickly emptied, leaving the group alone. The rumors would be flying again by lunch.
The blonde burst into tears.
This softened the boy's anger, and he released her.
"What was that dude?" Tucker attempted to quiet him down. He had been known to take down walls when he was like this.
"Sorry, I snapped. Its just she's been following me all day, and she hasn't shut up…" He rubbed his neck and sighed.
"I'm just tired of all this. The death and every thing. And I have to worry about being sent to an asylum, and the monsters, and everything. It's a lot."
"Asylum?" The teens choked out. Where did that come from?
"Um…I wasn't supposed to say that."
This sent Sam into a fit of fury. "Your parents want to send you away because you see stuff?"
Danny grabbed her fist, before she attempted to punch the wall.
"Its nothing you gotta worry about, OK?"
"Dude. You're our best friend. We can't just sit back and let you get sent away."
Danny smiled. "Thanks guys. Let's get to class, OK?"
After his little outburst, the blonde remained silent. In fact, she almost disappeared until after school.
The trio was walking home, deep in conversation about Mr. Lancer's latest assignments. Most teachers limited contact with Danny and his parents altogether. When they heard genius Jazz had a younger brother, most expected him to be the same. They discovered the truth rather quickly.
Danny slowed his pace, as he wanted to have a word with the blonde.
"Hey, I'm sorry about earlier…"
She burst into tears, and leaned onto him.
"I'm sorry. I forgot about how you probably felt. My Dad's always been on me about that, and I was scared, and the pain, and I needed someone to talk to."
"Wait, pain?"
He pushed her away from his well-built chest. His eyes went big when he realized how short her chain was. It had 3, maybe 4 left.
"Oh shit."
"Danny?" The blonde asked.
"Tucker! Take Sam and run." He yelled ahead to them.
"What's wrong?" Sam yelled back, and they started to run towards him.
"No!" He stopped them. "Run! Now! I'll meet you at Sam's. RUN!"
At his persistent, Tucker nodded and ran off with Sam.
"Look. You really need to crossover. Go visit your dead family? OK? Because if you don't, the pain you've had all day is going to get a HELL lot worse."
She yelped in pain, and hunched over.
"Danny! You have to help me." She gasped out.
He stood, frozen. He had never been this close before. He needed to run, but he needed to help her.
She yelled in pain, and smacked him. Which typically, wouldn't hurt. This time it sent him flying backwards into a wall.
He felt his head smack, the girl scream, and everything went black.
He opened his eyes in surprise.
He quickly jumped to his feet. Last thing he remembered was helping the blonde girl.
So how the hell did I end up in Antarctica?
He stood on a flat, floating piece of ice. He spun around, surprised to see other icebergs. It was light, and the sun shone brightly in the sky.
But the strangest thing was the strange blue skinned child standing on a piece of ice ahead of him.
The wind gusted, and she said something.
"What?" He yelled. She looked as though she might need help. With that in mind, he started to run towards her.
"Hey."
The small blue skinned child humped, and tried again.
But still the words were lost in the wind.
"Hey! Kid!"
Just a few more paces, and he might be able to hear her.
"Hey! Wake up already!"
"Is he even alive?"
"He's breathing."
"Yeah, but you failed those exams."
"At least I know the difference between a hand and the foot!"
"I was drunk on sake! What did you expect?"
He slipped on the ice, and he felt his head hit before the world sent dark.
The excruciating pain was the first thing he felt. He opened his eyes, and found himself looking at two strange faces.
"Glad to see you're alive."
"And you doubted my skills?" The partner scoffed.
"Well, it's nice meeting you, but I have somewhere to be." He jumped to his feet, grimacing in pain. He frowned when he realized it was dark.
"You probably have a concussion. You should go to a hospital."
"Thanks but I have to get home." He waved the smarter one off, and broke into a run towards home.
"He was still bleeding."
"I know."
"Did you think he saw?"
"He wasn't scared, so I doubt it."
"Even so…"
He ran home at full speed, and he texted Sam and Tucker.
"Please not be waiting for me at the door, please not be waiting for me at the door…"
He opened the door, and groaned when he saw his parents waiting on him.
After being his bleeding head was bandaged, and believable lies were created, he was sent up to bed.
December 7th.
Meet another one. Stupid blonde who complained about everything. I got angry, and missed the signs. I wasn't able to help her crossover before she became a monster. I was knocked out, and I didn't see what happened.
He currently sat downstairs, and glad it was the weekend, while half-asleep eating his cereal.
"Come on! Mom and Dad have something to show us downstairs." Jazz said, giddily. She always loved when Mom and Dad created something ghost related, even if most of them failed. She desperately wanted to be able to fight the ghosts, and she believed the theory of an invisible ghost was bothering Danny. No matter how much he tried to convince her otherwise, she believed otherwise.
"Fine! I'll be down there in a minute." He waved her off, and she vanished from his one-eye-open sight.
He slowly finished his bowl of cereal. Washing the bowl, he stomped downstairs.
His parents had banned the teens from the downstairs lab for the past month, and what had been going on had remained a surprise.
He sighed at the sight. A 7-foot wide giant metal hole in the wall sat surrounded by various other equipment. He presumed this was the big project.
His Father and Mother stood, with excited looks on their faces. Jack held a large button, while Maddie held blueprints.
"Alright kiddies! This is a portal which will break the barrier between the Ghost Zone and the Human World!"
Well, it was probably too late to point out that in most movies, ripping holes in dimensions NEVER worked out as planned, and most involved ended up dead.
"We'll be the first live humans to see it!" …That didn't bode well.
Danny barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Sure, he had encountered ghosts before. His parents said they came out of natural portals, and he attracted them almost as much as he did Spirits. Most were harmless, and in the wrong place at the wrong time. The monsters usually chased the ghosts around, sometimes even eating them.
"Is this safe?" He cautiously asked.
"Sure it is! After you put on these haz-mat suits, put on these goggles, and stand behind this protective barrier!" His father ever cheerfully said, and the two teens paled. Safe? This was their parents' so-called "safe"?
Jack threw a haz-mat to each teen. They were black and white, with Jack's face stamped on. Danny rolled his eyes and proceeded to slide it on. He and Jazz removed the face stickers, and stuffed them in the nearby trashcan when their Dad's back was turned. They slapped the crappy goggles on, and stood behind the barrier.
"Ready?" Jack asked, as Maddie went over the calculations again.
"Everything checks mathematically correct."
He had no idea if the screen was needed, but if it was, he hoped it would protect them.
"Banzai!" With that, Jack threw the switch, and the portal sparked and hummed to life. The center glowed green, and green sparks of electricity danced across the surface, and the smell of…death floated across the lab, which only increased Danny's worries. He did not need to prove to his parents that he truly was insane. The family waited, ¾ hopeful, ¼ depressed. The light faded, the sparks then died, and the humming stopped, as the machine powered down.
"Something must be wrong…." Maddie and Jack both set out to see what was wrong, as the two teens marked it off as another failed invention.
The hairs on the back of Danny's neck stood up. A feeling of fear washed over him.
No no no no no no no no No!
And then he heard it. It was a howl, full of pain and anger. He turned to say something, only for his fear levels to shoot up. Something was freaking him out. And no one else was. Which only meant one thing.
"Jazz…"
"Yeah?"
"I have a bad feeling about…" He paused. It was like someone was watching him. His "creepy" level shot through the roof.
And then it crashed through the wall.
Which created major chaos. His blind parents assumed a bomb, his sister assumed "invisible Ghost X is back!" And proceeded to shoot randomly in the lab.
Danny could only stare in shock at the large monster.
It was a large black creature, with a white mask and 3 yellow stripes. Its eight legs crushed the fallen wall pieces, and it could be described best as a freaky mutated soul eating spider.
"I'm hungry…for souls!"Its strange voice echoed through the lab.
Four of the arms reached for the family. Danny reacted quickly, and pushed his sister out of the way. Unfortunately, he couldn't warn his parents, who were lifted off the ground.
Jazz screamed, and promptly fainted.
"Don't worry Maddie! I've got everything under control!" Jack failed at comforting his wide.
"Souls. You will be…delicious!"
"I don't plan on you eating any of my family souls!" Danny yelled, and grabbed a metal sparring pole. He was thankful for the years of his mother's black belt teachings, and he charged.
The creature laughed, and raised a remaining arm, ready to kill.
Danny swiftly dodged the first attack, and sliced through the arm.
The creature yelled in pain, and dropped his mother, who swiftly dropped to the ground. She could see Jack floating, but Danny could see the entire creature, apparently.
"Danny! Tell me where it is!" She said, reaching for the nearest weapon.
"Above you!" He replied, and ducked another invisible attack.
She fired an Ecto-gun, which coated the creature in ectoplasm, making it somewhat viewable.
The creature, realizing only Danny could see him, focused on the said boy.
He rolled away from the legs, ducking the hastily aimed arm…or leg.
Danny dodged the next attack, only to be hit by the second, unseen attack. He gasped out as the arm punctured his chest.
"Danny!" He heard his mother yell.
He felt a strange feeling, and was thrown backwards. His back hit cold metal, and his world spun momentarily. He groaned as he waited for his world to stop spinning.
He froze, when he realized that his body was still lying out there. The creature had separated his…soul? Soul from his body, his assumed.
He looked down, and realized the chain was still attached to his body.
I must still be alive then.
Carefully rising to his feet, he took a step forward, and placed his hand on the wall to balance himself as his world continued to spin. A strange click resounded and echoed inside the metal tube. His eyes widened in fear when he realized he just pressed the ON button.
The electricity surged through his body, creating immense pain. He felt the chain connecting him to his body shatter, and the pain increased dramatically.
His screams remained unheard by his parents, and Danny's world grew dark.
"I said. GET UP!"
Someone kicked him in his chest, which sent him sliding off into the water. As quickly as he fell, he climbed back on the iceberg.
"What the hell-ll was that for-rr? His teeth chattered from the cold.
He looked at her, and then realized he was upside down. Somehow, he was sitting normally on this chunk of ice while sitting upside.
"You don't have time to waste. Your Chain of Fate has been severed, and you'll soon pass over to the Soul Society…"
His head snapped down to his chest. Indeed, his chain was cut. It would only be a matter of time before he turned into a monster.
"Would you like me to assist you with that?"
He lifted his head, and pulled back in shock. She held in her hand a strange sword, which Danny recognized as a black Katana, and she had it pointed it at his chest.
She was short, like about 4 feet. Her body looked like someone took two people and stuck them together. One half had long black hair and a blue eye, and was dressed in a long flowy black dress. The other half had short white hair and a green eye. That half had a short white dress. But her blue skin and pointed ears really disturbed Danny the most.
"But my parents! I can't leave them. They'll die! They can't even see the…the…"
"Hollow. It's called a Hollow, you idiot!" She smacked him on top of the head with the sword.
He gritted his teeth, and finished. "Fine! The Hollow."
She rolled her eyes. "You can be so immature."
"Who even are you?"
"Doesn't matter." She stated.
He stood up. "I can't just die and leave my parents out there!"
"Do you even know where 'here' is?" She asked, smirking.
"Uh…."
She clicked her tongue. "Well, that's too bad." She turned her back, and started to walk away.
"I can't leave them! I've always had to do this. I've always been the one to protect them! I can't just sit back and let them die! Isn't there something I can do?"
She stopped, and looked behind her.
"There is one way…There are some drawbacks, but you would be able to protect them."
She continued walking. There was no way he would agree right now. He would have to pass over to the Soul Society first. Anyone idiotic enough to agree…
"I'll do it." He confidently interrupted.
"You don't even know the drawbacks!" She warned, silently laughing.
"I don't care. If I can save them, I'll be able to pass on in peace."
She laughed. "The only way tohozon your parents and defeat the Hollow…is to become a Soul Reaper!" Dramatic music and bolts of lighting flashed.
She groaned. "You humans have to have everything be so dramatic."
"That's cool." He complimented.
"Oh shut up." She complained. "Do you agree?"
"I'll do it."
"I think I'll like this." She grinned, and threw an old metal sword at him. He caught it, glad it didn't take off anything important.
"In order to become a Soul Reaper, you must defeat me in battle!" With that, she charged. He quickly ducked and rolled away from her.
"With this crappy sword?" He worried. Her sword looked like it could take his head off in one swoop, while this one looked like it couldn't cut a stick on butter!
"It is a Zanpakutō. Every Soul Reaper has one, that one is for the few who haven't learned the name."
He quickly ducked, and concentrated on the battle.
Her small size didn't match her sword skills. He blocked, but he could see he was outmatched.
Best thing to do is tire her out.
She pulled back, and he jumped to his feet. He was taller than her by a good 2 feet, but she easily compensated.
He turned to attack, and swung.
"If you keep swinging wildly, you'll never get anywhere." She teased, and vanished from his sight.
He turned to block her next attack. She pulled back to attack again, and he took his chance.
"Is running away all you're going to do?" She was behind him, knocking him to his feet.
He gritted his teeth, and jumped to his feet. He blocked her next swing.
"Too slow!"
With a simple push of her foot, she sent Danny sliding backwards.
He attempted to stand, only for her to attack again. She vanished from sight. He attempted to block again, only for her to attack from above.
She landed on her feet.
"If this is all you're going to do, you'll never be worthy to haiboku, much less wield me!"
"What the hell does that mean?"
She laughed.
His anger levels soared.
She grinned as the Spiritual pressure soared.
"Now that's what I wanna see!"
The feeling was like nothing he had ever felt before. Everything was so focused, and he could hear and see everything. It felt like he drank all the caffeine in the world, and Danny loved it.
It wasn't enough to equal her though. She blocked all his attacks with one hand.
He kept attacking, watching and waiting for an opening.
That moment came. He was blocked, and then he attacked. Her eyes went wide, and she vanished from sight.
He shuddered, and looked down in horror as the black blade entered his chest.
"I thought you weren't trying to kill me." He gasped, as blood dripped from his mouth.
"That was just a lucky shot." She said, wiping the blood from her face. "But, you'll get better. I'll lend you a hand for this Tatakau. And remember, aim for the mask!"
A surge of energy entered his body, and the strange world spun out of view.
"Danny!" Maddie called desperately, she couldn't see the creature, and now it had injured her little baby. His lifeless body lay on the ground, and Maddie could only fear the worst.
She coughed, as the oddly colored green smoke filled the lab from the now running portal. What ever happened to make it turn on was unknown, and she only hoped it wasn't going to overload.
Start "Number One"
To the Hollow, and the select few who are Spiritually Aware, they would have seen a strange sight.
A black and white blur sliced clean through the arm holding Jack, who fell to the ground with a loud thud.
The Hollow yelled in pain, and focused on the offending person, who was now standing back in front of the portal, blocked by the strange green colored smoke caused by his entrance.
"Anyone who messes with my family, my friends…or my town…deals with me!"
With a simple wave, the smoke dissipated from view.
He stood there, with a familiar cocky grin on his face. His pure white hair hung limply in front of his face and the glowing green eyes matched the strange glow coming off him. The black robe hung close to his skinny frame, more like a loose jumpsuit than a robe. The robe went down to his ankles, with white boots under it. The sleeves hung close to his arms, and the white fingerless gloves contrasted with the black. A white rope belt completed the look.
In his right arm pointed at the Hollow he held a pure black sword. 3 inches wide and 4 feet long with a square green guard. The handle was green wrapped with white, leaving a diamond pattern of green. On his back, hanging by a green rope, was the pure white scabbard.
"Got that?" He smirked.
The creature howled. Where did the Soul Reaper come from? The Hollow froze, as he realized the boy vanished from sight.
Danny appeared above the Hollow, and with a slice of the sword, he took off the other arm, causing the creature to scream in pain. The arm landed harshly on the ground, and Danny momentarily hoped his Mom would stay a safe distance away. Concentrating on the fight, he bounced off the creature, and jumped off the wall and attacked the other arm.
He landed, ignoring the pain screaming from his legs, and jumped higher than he ever jumped before, and sliced through the mask. The creature screamed and dissolved into a black mist, as did the various body pieces lying on the ground.
He landed on the ground next to his empty shell of a body, panting. His legs screamed from the pain.
He grinned as he saw his father awake from his "totally-not-sleeping-and-did-not-faint", as it was known.
Using the sword as a cane, he barely managed to stay standing.
"Damn, that took a lot outta me." He gasped.
"I like the new look though." The fingerless gloves made it easy to grip the sword, and the boots were sturdy enough to run in.
"But I don't remember being THAT good with a sword…" He stood up, and placed the sword back in its scabbard as his remaining strength left him, and he fell over.
His eyes snapped open, and he coughed to bring fresh air into the empty lungs. His Mom, Jazz, and his Dad all sat above him. Considering Jazz was awake, this must be some time since the battle. But how could they see him?
"Danny!" His mom and dad hugged him, almost suffocating him. He then realized he was somehow back in his body.
"Air." He gasped out, as his worried-to-death mother realized her killer grip.
"I, I mean we, thought we lost you! Don't move, OK? The ambulance will be here soon. We'll talk about…what just happened later, OK?"
He nodded, in his "oh-my-god-I'm-freaking-out-what-the-hell-do-I-do?" stage.
The EMTs arrived later, and thoroughly checked him out. Surprisingly, he passed with a 100% bill of clean health. He was also happy they didn't mention the giant hole in the wall.
He convinced his parents all he wanted a good night sleep, and then they would talk about the past events. Hopefully, he would be deemed "sane".
Two strange figures stood down below in the newly wrecked lab.
"Woah. This is new." The taller said shocked.
"I like what they've done with the place." The shorter one joked, as the giant gaping hole was quite a change.
The taller slapped the shorter man. "They just survived a Hollow attack, they don't care about that. Have some sensitivity man."
"But what happened to the Hollow? It was here, then gone!" The shortest exclaimed.
"They're 'ghost' hunters." He said sarcastically. "Who knows what could have happened? As long as the signal is gone, we don't have to deal with it. Let's just get this over with." They both nodded, and vanished from sight.
Hozon = Save
Tatakau = Fight
Haiboku = Defeat