A/N: Hi everyone, in case you haven't noticed, I changed a lot of stuff: title, summary, and cover page. I don't know if anyone has read the last chapter because my stats seems to be malfunctioning. But that's not important. A fun thing I noticed while writing this and the last chapter, is that writing traveling scenes is really boring. I hope as soon as I introduce Danny that we can start to have some conflict. yay, conflict. Anyways, please R&R.
Thank you Alex Le Grande for adding this story to your favorites
Plasmius took the responsibility to keep watch while Catalina slept. It wasn't a great need to have him keep watch, but it seemed to comfort the woman. He turned his gaze to the halfa who was curled on her side sleeping. She was in her ghost form which didn't surprise Plasmius being that they were in the Ghost Zone. He smiled to himself even while sleeping the woman wasn't quiet; she was mumbling under her breath words Plasmius couldn't make out even with his enhanced hearing.
The older halfa leaned back against the tree where he set up his watch. He couldn't help his thoughts returning to the female halfa that slept and compare her to Daniel. The teen halfa despised him, but she looked at him in wonder. She said she trusted him. He hadn't heard that in a long time. Both Masters and Plasmius were untrusted and to hear her give him her trust so willingly was strange. He grinned wickedly to himself. Her naivety was what made her the perfect pawn. She would move without expecting anything.
A loud gasp broke the silence in the small forest. Plasmius turned to the source of the sound. Catalina was sitting up her red eyes wide. She was panting as if she had run a long distance. "Alma," Plasmius called out; he was grateful that he could say her alias quickly.
The woman turned to face him and gave him a fanged smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "It was just a nightmare. Nothing to it." She stretched as she got up to her feet. "If you want to rest, I can keep watch for a while. I don't need any more rest," she said her voice not quite the animated buzz it normally was.
Plasmius was tempted to tell the woman that they both really didn't need to rest. In ghost form, they could go on for a couple of days without sleep. "We should move on," he stated answering her.
"Where to, boss?" Catalina asked and Plasmius had to wonder if she had figured out his secret.
"We'll be heading in that direction. The Spector Forest will be about another hour away," Plasmius explained before turning and pointing in the appropriate direction. He took off smoothly, his feet left the ground quickly. He didn't need to turn to know that the woman was following. She was silent which was odd and Plasmius was unsure if he preferred the silence or the distraction of her random conversation.
The silence was broken by humming. Whether it was an actual song or just a random collection of notes, Plasmius couldn't tell. He looked at the woman who looked content to continue her song. "We need a radio," Catalina said at last. "I always listen to music when I travel. I once drove back to Texas to visit my parents and the radio in my car didn't work. I ended up singing acapella all the way there." Plasmius didn't have to ask to know that the woman didn't actually visit her parents but rather their graves. She chuckled to herself, "At one point, I rolled down my windows and had a little sing-a-long with the other drivers."
"They sung along?" Plasmius asked not believing that any sane person would sing with a complete stranger.
"Not all. Some people gave me a strange look…and others rolled up their windows," Catalina said with a laugh. She smiled and started humming again. Plasmius figured that the woman was done speaking for a while and focused on his new plot to get Daniel and Maddie. He sighed at the thought of seeing his love again. The plan was simple: get Daniel and Maddie away from Jack and Jasmine. From there, he could convince Maddie to leave Jack. What reason she had to stay with the moron when she could have him? He was rich, handsome, and intelligent. "Plasmius? Earth to Plasmius. I guess its Ghost Zone to Plasmius," Catalina's voice called.
Plasmius tried not to look annoyed at the interruption. "Yes, Alma?" he asked.
"I just asked what ghosts do for the holidays. It's not important. I was just curious," Catalina said with a shrug.
"Which holidays are you wondering about?" Plasmius asked willing to sate her curiosity. It was a harmless question and besides she seemed impressed when he knew the answers to her questions.
"Thanksgiving, Christmas. You know the holidays that are coming," Catalina answered as if it was obvious.
Plasmius knew what he did for those holidays, but he could hear Daniel's voice mocking his isolation, so he decided not to tell the woman. "Most ghosts don't do anything for Thanksgiving. For one, some ghosts are older than the tradition. Ghost also don't have any family so there isn't any reason to celebrate."
"That's sad. Well, my house is open for any festivities if you want to come. I can roast a turkey and make stuffing. It would be my first time making a Thanksgiving dinner, but it would be fun. You can even invite some of your allies and we can have a big party," Catalina said her voice becoming quicker and more excited.
"Don't you have anyone to celebrate with?" Plasmius asked. The woman made an odd strangled sound.
"I.. well, I don't," the woman said flatly. "How about Christmas?" she shouted clasping her hands. "Christmas is the best holiday ever. The cheer and music and decorations. I love Christmas," the woman said.
"On Christmas day, all ghosts end all hostilities. It's called the Christmas Truce. In the evening, there is also a party to celebrate it," Plasmius explained.
"We should go," Catalina interrupted grabbing onto his arm with both of her hands and an enthusiastic grin.
Plasmius was tempted to say no, but an idea struck him: the Christmas Party would be the perfect place for Catalina to meet Daniel. "I was thinking the exact same thing."
"Yeah, I can meet other ghosts. And maybe there will be another halfa there," the woman said her grip becoming tighter. Plasmius looked at his arm and the woman got the hint and released her death grip.
"There is another halfa. He and I are not on the best of terms," Plasmius stated waiting for the female halfa to take the bait.
"Really, maybe I can convince him otherwise. I'm sure you two just had a bad first impression. I bet he could also use a mentor. Perhaps if I talk about you, not saying your name of course, and how much you've taught me, maybe he would be willing to give you a chance. But I need an amazing trick to show him that you have taught me a lot; maybe teleportation or duplication," the woman trailed off.
"Subtle," Plasmius said sarcastically, "I said I won't teach you that yet." He knew that the woman was eager, but she needed to listen and stop pushing him.
"Why not?" the woman whined dropping in altitude. Plasmius pinched the bridge of his nose a habit that had become prevalent since he spent time with the female halfa. "I'll stop asking if you give me a good answer." Plasmius shot her a disbelieving look. "I'll try my best not to ask."
Plasmius sighed; the woman could almost be as irritating as Daniel, almost. "If you try to perform either of these techniques before you are ready to do so, it could damage your core," he explained.
"Could that kill me?" Catalina asked her swaying flight path straightened.
"My best guess would be that your ghost half would try to heal itself by consuming your human half's life force," Plasmius answered. The woman's red eyes widened in an almost comical manner.
"Nevermind, I can wait to learn teleportation," Catalina said seriously. "Look, trees!" the woman shouted before taking off like a shot. Plasmius sped up a little to keep somewhat close to the female halfa. The older halfa recognized the forest as the one he was looking for. He watched the woman's white boots hit the ground before he landed himself. She looked up the towering trees, "Those are the tallest trees I've ever seen and they glow."
Plasmius shook his head and allowed the woman to gush about the trees. He had more interest in the plants along the ground. Seeing a small pant with pink flowers, Plasmius was about to lean down to pick it when a pair of white boots stomped on it. "What plants are you looking for?" Catalina asked leaning forward.
Plasmius released an irritated breath. "You just stepped on one," he growled. The woman levitated to see what was under her boots.
"Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to. I'm sure there are more. I'll go find some," Catalina said quickly floating off. Plasmius took a deep breath and continued looking. After two hours, the two had found plenty of specimens.
"Alma, we should be heading back now. I have all that I need," Plasmius called out to the woman was picking up some red flowers by the roots. "What are you doing?" he asked her picking the plants he didn't specify.
"These are pretty. I'm going to plant them," she answered as if it was obvious. She looked at her prize with pride.
"They'll die. Ghost plants don't survive in the human world," Plasmius answered. The woman pouted and knelt back to the ground.
"I'll put them back. No point in hurting them," she mumbled as she patted the dirt around the plants. Plasmius watched her as she was carefully replanting the flowers. "Done," she shot up off her feet and a foot in the air. Plasmius didn't bother a response and glanced up before taking off. Catalina was soon by his side. "So, I'm curious. What do the plants you have do? You said they were for medicinal purposes. Do ghosts get sick?" Catalina asked.
"There are few ghost illnesses. Mostly viruses and you'll just have to wait for the virus to run its course. These plants are to promote healing, prevent infection, and even boost your ghost abilities," Plasmius lectured.
"Sounds intriguing. Can I see how you prep them?" Catalina asked quickly. Plasmius answered her simply that it would be at a later date. The woman seemed satisfied with this answer and stopped speaking. Plasmius knew by now the silence will remain for an hour tops before she would ask some question or another.
"So this other halfa.." Catalina began. Vlad was tempted to look at his watch to see if she broke her previous record of an hour. "What's he like?" her tone was calmer as if she was nervous about the answer.
"He's a teenage boy. Absolutely irritating," Plasmius answered with a growl.
Catalina laughed, "He is a teenager. It comes with the territory." Plasmius had to chuckle at the remark. "I'm sure I can convince him to join us. I mean, there's not a lot of us half-ghosts, are there?" she asked.
Plasmius shook his head, "There's less than a handful."
She narrowed her red eyes at him as if to inspect him. He briefly wondered if she could see through the omission of truth; just like her uncanny ability to see through his lies in his human form. He distractedly thought that he should ask her how she did that. "So really it is just me and this kid," she said, Plasmius could catch a quick glance in his direction. He knew she was trying to get a reaction, but he was a master at keeping a straight face. "I'm sure he will want to spend time with the only other person like him. It is natural. Animals do it; like the old saying goes birds of a feather flock together," she grinned cheekily.
Plasmius scoffed internally. If that was the case, the boy would have already been begging to join him the first time they met. "He won't be easy to convince. He believes I'm evil," Plasmius stated trying to sound sad at the fact.
The woman gave him an odd look. "Well, that's ridiculous," she said after a moment of hesitation. Plasmius was pleased that she thought he was some good being. "No one is completely evil. I'm sure you're a little evil, but so am I and so is he," she said with a smile. Plasmius deflated slightly realizing that the woman didn't get the point. "A hawk seems evil to its prey, but it's a savior to its children," she said wisely which was odd coming from her. Of course after this thought she pulled out a cookie from her pack and started to nibble on it. The pair fell silent again.
"Thank you," Catalina said out of nowhere.
"For what?" Plasmius asked.
"For everything, I guess. You took me under your wing, so to speak. Without you, I don't know what I would do. I would have been stuck with this secret by myself. I would have been caught and experimented on. Found by some ghost hunters like Skulker or the Fentons," she shuddered a little at the last words while Plasmius stiffened. She looked directly into his red eyes. "Thank you, I wouldn't be here without you," she said this so seriously Plasmius wondered what got into her. The serious look was replaced with a stupid grin. "Besides the Ghost Zone is so cool."
Plasmius was glad for the ghost zone comment; he was unsure how to handle the almost soul-baring expression of gratitude. "You're very welcome, Alma."