'Til Death Do Us Part Chapter 08: Hold On

To say that Danny's proclamation came as a shock would be a serious understatement. Especially to Jazz, who thought she had her brother figured out a long time ago. He would never let himself fall under Vlad's control; he would rather die than turn to a life of evil and crime. This was something she had decided when she first discovered his ghost powers. Yet here he was, doing it now. Tucker looked equally stunned, but Sam didn't react and Vlad was delighted.

"Well then, my boy." Vlad stood and clamped a hand on Danny's shoulder, grinning down at him. "I'll tell you all I know about the Reaper in the morning. After we've all had a good night's rest. For now, eat. And don't worry about your clothes, I'll get them washed for you while you sleep tonight. It is far too late in the evening to return home, so you're all welcome here." Vlad gestured to the chairs in front of the meals he had prepared for them. Neither Danny nor Sam said anything as they sat down to eat, both looking lost deep in thought.

Jazz didn't say anything for the rest of the meal, though she watched Danny and Sam with a careful eye. They seemed fidgety and nervous, like they really didn't want to be there. Then why would Danny say such a thing? She managed to down a few more bites before her stomach began doing tricks in her stomach and she had to push her plate back.

"Thanks for the food, but I think I'm finished." Sam said. "I think I'm going to just go straight to bed, if that's alright."

"Of course. Sleep well, my dear." Vlad shot her a gentleman's smile. It was so cool and practiced that Jazz knew it was fake, and it made her even queasier that Danny would serve this greasy slime ball. But this wasn't the place to talk to him about it, so she stood from the table and left the dining room, emerging into the grand entrance hall that split off into the various rooms and staircases.

"Jazz?" Jazz looked back when she heard Tucker emerged from the dining room behind her. He opened his mouth to speak again, but Jazz gestured for him to be quiet and led the way to one of the rooms adjacent to the hallway. She closed the door behind them and made sure it was secure before she gestured for Tucker to speak.

"Jazz, I don't like this at all." Tucker said bluntly. "What does Danny think he's doing?"

"I don't know, maybe he has some kind of plan." Jazz hoped that was the answer, but she wasn't sure.

"Why wouldn't he let us in on it?" Tucker demanded. "He always lets us in on what he's thinking. He always lets me in..."

Jazz looked at him in surprise. She really hadn't thought about Tucker this whole time. He'd been Danny's best friend ever since Jazz could remember; they did everything together and shared absolutely everything. She didn't even consider what Tucker might be feeling to be completely excluded by his friend for the first time. It made her regret looking down on him so much up to now.

"Tucker, look." Jazz began. "I know this is tough, but no matter how tough it is on us, it's even tougher on Danny. It's his life we're dealing with here, and we can't make his decisions for him."

"But you're bossy. You always try to make his decisions for him." Tucker fired back drolly.

"Okay, you're lashing out in pain. That's okay, I can take it." Jazz brushed it off. "It's a perfectly normal and natural response to being so utterly helpless and inconsequential in the face of your friend's plight."

"Gee, thanks, got any more words of wisdom for me?" Tucker asked acidly.

"All I'm saying is that it'll pass. Danny will figure out what he's doing, and things will go back to the way they were. You're still his best friend, even if he doesn't come to you for everything anymore." Jazz gave him a gentle smile, but he just looked away from her. "Growing up does mean growing apart... but it doesn't mean losing each other. And I know my brother, he would never leave you behind forever."

This time she saw a small smile tug at the corners of Tucker's mouth. "You know, the first time we separated was over a girl at school. I thought after that I knew how it was going to be and nothing could surprise me anymore. We'd argue sometimes, but we'd always BE there, you know? Now it's almost like..." He trailed off for a moment and heaved a sigh. "Like Danny doesn't want me around anymore. And now this Reaper is after him... something could happen to him, Jazz."

Jazz put a comforting hand on his shoulder and gently pulled him up straight. "For now, Danny is going to need all the support we can give him. I don't know what he's planning and, believe me, I wish I did. But it's his life, and neither of us can make this decision for him. Let's just help him, okay? Like you've been doing since he got his powers."

"Yeah, alright. Let's go." Tucker nodded. Jazz smiled and gently turned to lead him out of the small room, leading him upstairs to the bedrooms on the second floor of the mansion. Jazz made sure he was lying down before she left the room, leaning against his door in deep thought for a little while. She really did think it was best to let Danny make the decisions... but that didn't mean she didn't deserve to know what he was planning to do.

Jazz moved away from the door and made her way back to the main entrance. Through the doors she could see Sam and Danny just finishing up their meals and saying their goodnights to Vlad, who had finished but was still talking with them in hushed tones.

Jazz ducked behind the stairs on the other side of the kitchen doors and listened to the pair of footsteps making their way up to the second floor. Danny's footsteps were still offbeat, implying that he was limping his way along, but at least he was moving under his own power.

When their footsteps were muffled by the upstairs carpet Jazz crept out from behind the staircase, tiptoeing up the stairs in pursuit. She crept along after the footsteps, hearing them murmuring softly to each other until they stopped at one of the first doors in the long hallway. The door opened and closed as Jazz watched from the stairwell before tiptoeing across the hallway to the door.

She kneeled down to her hands and knees to press her ear against the crack of the door, straining to listen to the conversation inside.

"-If you made the right decision or not, Danny." Sam was saying from inside the room. "It's definitely a risk, but the alternative seems like simple death."

"Yeah, I guess. Did you see Jazz's face though? I thought she was going to pee herself." Danny's voice laughed lightly. Jazz huffed, but kept herself carefully silent. "I guess tomorrow we're going to discuss strategies to fight the Reaper off. I've gotta admit Sam, it's kind of a relief knowing Vlad's on my side now. He's usually such a pain in the butt."

"I guess I can understand that." Sam replied. "But remember, we can't let our guard down around him. He's a sly one, that greasy rat. Can't trust a thing he says."

"You don't trust any businessmen." Danny retorted.

"And that's why I'm the fit one, isn't it porky?" Jazz heard Danny grunt as if elbowed in the ribs. "Don't have any suits telling me that McDonald's cow-patties are the way of the future."

There was a moment's silence. "Cow patties?"

"You heard me." Sam insisted. "Seriously though, you concentrate on what you have to do. I'll watch your back. Like I always have."

"I'll keep an eye on you too... I'll be there to catch you if you fall again." Danny replied in a more gentle tone of voice.

"Is that a mushy promise?" Sam asked with a hint of something strange in her voice that Jazz was unfamiliar with.

"A vow..." Danny replied. They both lapsed into silence, but Jazz was sure she could hear something going on. A soft rustle, but nothing more. At last Jazz shook her head and moved away from the door. Clearly they had finished speaking, though Jazz had never known them to sleep in the same room. Come to think of it, she was pretty sure each of these rooms had only one bed.

Jazz shook her head and climbed to her feet, turning to walk to one of the open bedrooms on the other side of the hall. Perhaps tomorrow she would have to have a talk with Danny about the birds and the bees. She doubted either of her parents ever thought to do it, so as usual the duty of being a surrogate parent fell on her shoulders. What timing though, for it to start happening now.

"Still awake, Jasmine?" Jazz yelped and whirled when she heard Vlad's voice from behind her. He approached with his usual calm, overly smooth expression on his face. "It's getting rather late in the evening, and we need to get an early start in the morning. One must never waste a lot of time when dealing with a being such as the Reaper. Bad things happen to those who take him lightly."

"Yeah, I just like to take a walk before I go to sleep. You know, get those limbs nice and tired." Jazz smiled nervously. Vlad smiled down at her kindly, but behind the kindness was dangerous venom. Jazz gulped. The last time she'd seen Vlad she'd been on a mission to infiltrate his mansion, and it hadn't ended very well for Vlad. But surely he wasn't the type to hold a grudge... aw who was she kidding?

"I just wanted you to know how thrilled I am that Daniel has finally realized what a natural pair we would make. And I do hope, seeing as Daniel is my surrogate son, that you too will see me as something of a father." Vlad smiled hopefully.

"F... father? Oh, y-yeah, right. You got it... pops." Jasmine grinned nervously.

Vlad's slick smile stayed on his face as he moved closer to her. Jazz tried her best not to look nervous, but she was afraid she couldn't anymore. Danny was just two rooms away and one yell would bring him out to help her in two seconds flat, but who knew what Vlad could do to her in those two seconds? Who knew if she would have two seconds to spare?

Her back hit the door with a thud as Vlad approached and lifted one hand. His fingers lightly touched her chin as he stared into her eyes, that same sickeningly slick smile never leaving his face. She wasn't sure what he was doing or what he was thinking, but many theories sprang to mind, none of which were comforting.

"You really are just like your mother, Jasmine. The same almost ghostly beauty." Vlad told her.

"Th-thanks. I get that a lot." Jasmine's breath quickened in fear. Was he really planning on trying something with her? It was a common psychological occurrence, she told herself. The transference of feelings from one person to another. In this case from her mother, who was inaccessible, to herself, who was right here. Not that she was any more eager to get with a sick old freak like Vlad Masters. She drew in a deep breath, getting ready to scream for Danny when suddenly Vlad's fingers slipped away from her chin.

"Sleep well, dear child." Vlad smiled. "And get plenty of rest. The future is looking bright and we want to be there to meet it." With a graceful, courteous nod Vlad swept further down the corridor away from her, leaving her leaning weak-kneed against the door.

It took Jazz a moment to fumble for the doorknob and shove it open so that she could tumble inside. She shut the door as quickly as she could and leaned against it, her heart pounding in her chest. For a moment she was sure he was about to do something to her. The thought of it made her blood run cold, but she quickly shrugged it off. She knew Vlad was a snake. That was no surprise to her. And it didn't matter because she was here to support Danny.

She pushed herself off the door to go to bed, but suddenly her knees gave out and she tumbled to the floor, as the world suddenly faded into darkness.

TO BE CONTINUED