(Authors Notes)
(Disclaimer: Don't be ownin' none of da shows up in here. :P)
Holy Fudge Buckets
I am extremely sorry for how friggin' late this is. It's basically been two weeks since I said I would put this chapter out. UGHHH.
Well, these past weeks have been a little bit busy, what with school and everything starting up. Plus, I had some Multiple Animator Project parts for YoubyTuby I had to do which also put me behind. So sorry. XP
I hope (hope) I can do a bit of writing for Chapter 11 tomorrow, but I can't make any promises. So keep hoping, but don't get to hopeful X)
CHALLENGE!: I also have a little challenge for all yous! ;) I placed 3 hidden messages from the shows in this chapter (plus one in chapter 7). If anyone can figure at least one out, I'll add in a cameo appearance for a character of your choice, OC's included (So that gives up to 4 people a chance for their character to appear!). Good Luck! I'll post answers in chapter 12 most likely if no one else can figure them out! :D
Review Questions and Answers
Some Weird Chick: The Dark Mist is just a legend I made up (As far as I know). :)
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! :D
Chapter 10 – Puzzles of three
"Come on Cunningham, we're gonna be late!" Howard's voice sounded from outside of the bathroom door as his friend anxiously called him. Randy sat down on the tile floor, the room slightly spinning. He had woken up with a head splitting headache and a nauseous stomach-effects he assumed were from the bruise. The teen slowly got to his feet and opened the door to see Howard sitting on the bed, eating a breakfast sandwich arranged with bacon, cheese, and an egg. He looked up and gulped down the chunk of food in his mouth.
"Finally! I don't want to be stuck in here because we're late, let's go!" The ginger shoved Randy's backpack into his hands and pushed him out the door as they headed for science class. They quickly paced down the hall way to the elevator, Howard clicking the down button several times.
"Come on!"
"Howard, it's not that bad…" Randy murmured, rubbing his throbbing head.
"No Cunningham, I am not missing our first day of New York lunch because of you!" Howard snapped, pulling Randy into the elevator as the doors open.
"And there it is. I thought you had lost your mind there for a moment." The purple haired teen chuckled as they rode down. Randy was nearly dragged down the hall as the lift stopped on the lobby floor and the duo made their way towards the set up science classroom, dashing inside right as Mrs. Driscoll began taking roll call.
Randy and Howard walked around the fire pit outside as they were let out for lunch. There were a few restaurants across from the pit, so the two were deciding where to go.
"Come on Howard, Chinese! I want to try the China Town based egg rolls that go around." Randy argued, pointing towards a restaurant labeled Nacirema Dragon
"No Cunningham, we have to try the pizza! It's New York!" Howard snapped back, tugging on Randy's jacket as he began pulling them towards a pizzeria called Outta Dimension Pizza
"Ugh. Fine, let's ask Bucky for a number between one and ten," Randy muttered as he spotted the band geek walking by. "Hey Bucky!"
Bucky looked over as he heard his name being called and changed direction, heading toward the two friends. "Hi Randy, Howard."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Choose a number between 1 and 10 so that we can guess and get some lunch!" Howard said bluntly, crossing his arms over his chest. Randy rolled his eyes.
Bucky hesitated, taken aback by Howard's tone before choosing a number. "Um… Ok, I got it."
"7." Randy guessed, smirking at Howard.
"3." Howard replied, glaring at his friend.
Bucky pointed to Randy with a small smile. "The number was 8." And with that, the geek walked off, leaving the shorter teen to scowl up at his best friend
"That was wonk…" Howard murmured
"Yes! To the Chinese!" Randy grabbed Howard by the collar of his shirt and headed off across the plaza. The black building gave off a warm, comfortable feeling as the two walked up to it, the red letters of the restaurant name gleaming in the sun. A small poster of half off sushi hung on the window, and a dragon door knob helped to enforce the Chinese feeling.
"See? Half off sushi! What's better than getting a bunch of food for half the price?" Randy asked as he opened the door. Howard grunted as the smell of fish and oil hit his nose.
"Alright, fine, but I am not going to enjoy this as much as pizza…"
Randy smirked and raised an eyebrow.
"Fine! I'll totally enjoy this just as much, it's New York! Now let's get some overly fried fish!" The ginger exclaimed in excitement.
A middle aged woman's scream ripped across a parking lot as she jumped out of the way of a huge, white with green highlighted RV. The vehicle ripped across and into a parking space, rumbling to a stop before a large man in an orange jumpsuit hopped out.
"Alright guys! We're here." Jack's voice boomed as he opened the back doors for the luggage.
"You know," Jazz stumbled out of the FAV, gripping her stomach as she refrained from throwing up her lunch. "Arriving a little bit later wouldn't have hurt that much."
Jack laughed, peeking at the clock on the RV dashboard. "It's already 12:45 pm Jazzy-pants! I think it's late enough."
"I swear my dad would kill us if Jazz didn't insist that he obey at least a few traffic rules." Danny muttered as he pulled out his bag.
"At least you only have half a life that would be killed." Tucker snickered, grabbing Sam's luggage and tossing it to her before he grabbed his own.
"Very funny Tucker." Danny grunted. "Keep those jokes up and you'll be hanging out with Klemper more than I do." He said, flashing a green eyed glare at him.
Tucker blinked and stepped behind Jazz.
"Come on guys, at least we're here. Look at this hotel, New York Skyline, it looks cozy. Could use a little more black, but you know me." Sam said, pulling her purple bat backpack on. "After we get our room I say we take a look at some restaurants."
The teens nodded their heads and murmured their approval before following the adults into the hotel. As the couple checked in, the four looked around at the lobby. A few other teenagers moved about with backpacks which Danny assumed we're the kids from the school.
"Sucks to have school on the weekend," Tucker murmured, adjusting his glasses as he spotted a dark clothed boy with black hair and a purple top hat with a skull on the front. "You better get him Sam. He's stealing your Goth image."
Sam rolled her eyes and flipped Tucker's beret off.
"Ok kids, room 403," Maddie told them, handing her son and daughter each a room key. "Don't lose it." The family trekked to the elevators with their multiple bags of luggage, most of them holding ghost related equipment.
After reaching the room, unpacking, and twisting away from their parents at last, the four teenagers headed outside to the fire pit to see the restaurants around them.
"What about that? Nacirema Dragon. Some sort of Asian restaurant?" Sam wondered aloud.
Jazz shrugged. "Wanna check it out?"
Danny led the way to the black colored building and opened the door, glancing with interest at the dragon door knob.
"Nǐ hǎo," a waitress with black hair and brown eyes greeted, bowing. "Just four?"
Jazz nodded and they followed the woman to their table, a booth tucked into the back corner. As Danny slid into the table beside Sam, he glanced a purple haired teen on the other side, busily stuffing an egg roll into his mouth.
"New Yorkers." Danny murmured with amusement before picking up the menu.
"Jake," A faint murmur nagged the back of the black and green haired teens mind as he slept, eyes blinking open with blurry vision before being shut again. "Jake?" The boy groaned and tried to turn over but a pierce of pain from his leg halted him, allowing another moan to escape his mouth.
"…water…splash…wake." Jake strained his ears to pick up more of the conversation being held above him. After a few seconds, a pair of feet walked away.
"Hang…there… you'll…ok…" Jake moaned again, the throbbing in his leg bothering him more. He was about to try and sit up when a sudden burst of a cold, wet, form hit his face. In surprise, the teen boy jolted up, coughing and spluttering as he realized there was water in his nose. Once the coughing wore down, Jake put a hand to his leg.
"Ow…" he murmured.
"Jake! You're ok," Fu Dog said, the worry from his face fading a little. "I thought you were leaving us."
"What… ugh, happened?" Jake asked, rubbing the painfully pulsing bruise.
"Trixie and Spud said you appeared from the ground in the Dark Mist and then they brought you back here." Fu explained.
"Yeah Jake, you were like some kind of ghost or something! Well I mean not literally," Spud began rephrasing when he saw the color drain from his friends face. "I mean, it was like you went through the ground like a ghost could."
"What happened with you?" Trixie asked, sitting cross legged on the floor.
"Well… It's all kinda blurry now," Jake began, pulling at the memories in the back of his brain. "A dark shape… he was angry at me for some reason, because of what I do? Probably because I protect magical creatures but that's where he lost me…" the teen sat for a moment, trying to figure it out before continuing again. "Um… it had silver claws. That's all I could make out for details, well besides red eyes and sharp teeth. He said everything will be revealed soon. And then pain, a brief glance at some purple and green figures? Then I end up back here." Jake explained, rubbing his head.
Fu nodded and walked to the back door as a knock sounded. Jake glanced a yellow horn, probably a unicorn. After a couple of moments, the wrinkly gray dog returned to the teenagers.
"So, how you feeling? Good enough to fight?" Fu asked, trying to bring a smile to his face.
"Uh… I guess. My leg is the only thing that hurts." Jake replied, bringing himself up to a sitting position.
"Good. 'Cause I think that unicorn saw a couple of your Dark Mist 'friends'."
Orange and red streaks lined the sky as the sun began to set, leaving New York buildings reflecting the warm colors off of each other. A flash off black was the only disturbance in the sky, the dark colors fading to a neon green and dark purple before disappearing from the sky in the blink of an eye.
Randy and Howard were busying themselves in the arcade of the New York Skyline hotel, Randy watching with a smirk as Howard skillfully punched the graves of the arcade version of Grave Puncher.
"Come on Howard; just admit that I'm better than you at Grave Punchers too." The purple haired teen laughed, leaning against the side of the black and gray game box.
"No way Cunningham. I will beat you at this game." Howard growled, pushing the punch button furiously.
Randy grunted with delight at his friend's actions. "Yeah, right, well when you do that, call me. I might be living it up in heaven by then. In fact-" A bright burst of light from outside cut off Randy's next witty remark. The teen hero jumped to his feet and stared outside. "Did you see that Howard?"
"What? Oh wait, don't tell me, a basket of gravy fries? Don't try to trick me now Randy, your high score is going down."
"No, I mean the," Randy sighed and waved his hand. "Forget it, I'll check myself. Call me if anything comes up."
The freshman left his friend and went to find the nearest bathroom. Walking into the room and checking for any stray teens, the hero pulled out the ninja mask and yanked it over his face, signaling for the black and red transformation to begin. After the ninja suit covered his body, Randy jumped into the air duct and dashed his way out to the side of the hotel. Once out, the ninja scowled at what he saw. There, standing in front of him was the black and green stanked being he had fought the day before.
"Sssurprise kiddy. Did you misssss me?" the blood chilling voice tauntingly asked, picking something out of his fingernail casually.
"You? What are you doing here?" Randy asked with bitterness lining his voice.
"What, I come around and it automatically meansss trouble?" The whitish colored haired being paused before a grin spread onto his face. "I jussst want to have a little fun."
"Well take your fun somewhere else. I don't think many people want you here."
"I don't like your attitude missster. I'm not doing anything wrong… yet."
Randy leaped, pulling out his sword and swiping at the figure, only to come down upon empty air. He looked around, a hint of confusion in his eyes before turning around.
"Now, now, that wasn't very nicccce was it?" the shape said, hands beginning to glow red. "I think someone needs to be taught a lesssson." A bright crimson ray shot at Randy as the figure thrust his hands out at the ninja. Thinking fast, Randy rolled to the side, quickly throwing his weight to the front for a kick. Yet again the figure parted into thin air and left the hero stumbling forward as he regained his balance.
"Come on boy, at least make this ssssomewhat interesting." He taunted, crossing his arms over his chest as he floated slightly above the ground. "We're just getting started."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the building, a white haired teen with toxic green eyes stared down a figure that appeared to be some sort of warrior, black and purple smoke swirling around it.
"Come on now. I'm not doing that much damage." The warrior chuckled, leaning against the side of the hotel.
"It's enough by my standards," Danny hissed, clenching his fists. "I think you should leave before any more harm happens, mainly to you."
"Oh really?" The ninja stood up from the wall, raising an eyebrow beneath the mask. "Those are some pretty brave wordsss. You don't even know what I can do." The figure smirked as he saw the quick flash of uncertainty fly across Danny's face. "You however. Well, I know a lot about you."
Danny could feel his fingernails beginning to dig into his skin as he closed his fists tighter. "And how do you know?"
"I have waysss. Friends I guess you would say. But hey, what do they matter right now. At the moment it's jussst between me and you."
At the flash of amusement in the figures eyes, Danny finally lunged at him, bringing his fist up for a punch. The smoky warrior beamed and sunk into the ground, leaving the ghost boy to collide with the wall and stumble back in the air in slight pain.
"Temper, temper. A few words shouldn't be something to get upssset about." The being hissed.
"No," Danny huffed, hands glowing green. He shot a ghost ray at the figure, landing squarely in the chest. It growled in pain, bringing a hand to the smoking spot before it was quickly turned into it's own mist. "That can be something you get angry about though."
"Very well. If it'sss a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get." The figure shot at Danny, arm pulled back for a punch. Danny ducked and sunk into the ground with intangibility, coming up from the back. However, the figure spun around with a foot outstretched, kicking the ghost teen hard in the side. Danny gasped in pain, catching himself in midair before colliding with the wall again. The ninja pulled out a few rings and hurled them at the ghost, the blade's glowing purple and black. Allowing his hands to create a wall of energy, Danny deflected them with a ghost shield and sent them back at the being who skillfully caught one with a hand and ducked beneath the others. Legs pumping, the figure dashed towards the teen hero and raised the circular blade again. Thinking he was about to try and throw the ring once more, Danny dodged to the left. However, the ring morphed into the sword at the last second, allowing the tip of the blade to cut through the side of Danny's leg. He hissed in pain and charged an ice beam, shooting the blue ray at the ninja. The figure flipped backwards, dodging the actual ray but was caught off guard by the bright flash of white that emitted. It flew against the wall, snapping it's head up as Danny rushed at him with a fist aimed at the head. A quick glance over the ghost hero's shoulder and the warrior grinned, sinking back into the ground. Danny pulled up, stopping the flight path he had began to take. A harsh hit right in his back brought Danny to the ground in a daze, a small groan passing through his lips.
Randy and the white haired figure that was covered in green and black smoke threw hits back and forth, some missing and others sure to leave a bruise for the next day. A red beam exploded in front of the ninja hero, sending him skidding back before he twisted to prepare for the next attack, sprinting at the creature. Randy jumped and brought his sword up but instead swiped with his foot, sending a nice jolt to the side of the figures jaw. It spat angrily, wiping red stank from where Randy had kicked as if it were blood. With such speed, the white haired boy sprung at Randy and hit him squarely in the gut, sending the hero flying through the sky. Before he could find a safe way to catch himself, his back collided with something hard, letting pain flow through him. Randy and the object he had collided with fell to the ground with a hard thud, both him and the other permitting a small gasp to sound from them.
Randy shakily stood to his feet, grabbing his sword that had thankfully stayed fairly close. He turned warily, pointing the blade at the other being on the ground. "Forget it monster, no amount of pain you do to me will make me stop what I do." Randy bravely said. The figure looked up, seeming for some reason to be a lot less smoky, and clearer, it's bright green eyes showing through the snowy white hair. Randy thought he saw a small hint of puzzlement in the eyes, but it was gone too fast that he couldn't be sure.
"And no matter what you think you can do, I'll always be there to stop it." The white haired boy retorted, standing to his feet. Randy suddenly felt as though the voice was a lot less scratchy and younger sounding. It must just be the monster trying to fool him…
Randy raised his sword for a quick swipe down when a burst of fire exploded between the two, startling them before they each looked up. A bright red reptile with wings and slightly glowing yellow eyes gazed down at them, claws clenched in fists.
"You two are coming with me." The ruby colored dragon growled, narrowing his eyes.
"Oh yeah?" Randy basically spat the words out in anger. "And why would I go with you?"
"Because if you don't give me answers about you stupid old, silver-clawed master, I'll make you."
Randy let a laugh escape his mouth that dripped with bitterness and anger. As if any monster could make him go anywhere.
"I didn't think what I was saying was funny. In fact, I'd say it was the exact opposite." The dragon said, gliding to the ground and towering over Randy. The teen hero snorted and stood tall, glaring right at the creature.
"Look, nothing you say will make me go with you. Try asking white haired freak back here to join your play date of death, not me."
"Excuse me?" The boy with green eyes asked in a dangerously low voice. "I suggest you take those words of yours back, or my image compared to your own will be far from freaky." He hissed through gritted teeth.
"Yeah? I'd love to see you try Snowy." The ninja shot back, allowing the sun to glint off of the blade of his sword. He charged at the other boy, aiming to ram into his chest, but somehow he missed, going straight through to the other side instead.
"Huh...?" Randy murmured in confusion. A second later a blast of heat blew into his shoulder, sending him flying backwards. Randy landed with a grunt, eyes narrowed.
"I'm not here for your stupid little pretend fight," the dragon growled, tail flicking to the side. "And I'm not just gonna sit here and watch either." He flew at the white haired boy with an arm pulled back, claws spread for a quick slash. The boy jumped back, hands brightening to a green before he shot another hot beam which the dragon dodged with a roll to the right. As he twisted back to the boy, he launched a fireball from his mouth that soared into the emerald eyed teen's leg, knocking him to the ground.
"Right in the same spot." The teen murmured in pain, climbing back to his feet.
Randy leaped onto the unsuspecting dragon's back, swiping the sword down the side and removing a few scales. The dragon dipped under the new weight and pain before quickly jerking to the side and throwing the ninja off. He chucked a ninja ring as he fell, the dragon ducking under it and instead allowing it to fly into the ghost boy's side. The ring ripped the jumpsuit and pierced the boy's skin, green liquid beginning to pour out.
Is that his... blood? Randy wondered as he landed on the ground, legs bent to absorb the impact. The dragon turned to look as well after seeing the ninja's surprised expression. A flicker of surprise and dawning flashed in the red creature's eyes and he let his arms drop to his side, staring at the black and white dressed teen. Emerald eyes looked up in bitterness and a hint of bewilderment before the boy mysteriously disappeared from sight. The dragon began turning towards Randy and the ninja hurriedly pulled out a smoke bomb before sneaking away, not only because he didn't feel like confronting the beast, but because it was almost 9:00 according to the text Howard had sent. He had to get back before Mrs. Driscoll started roll call.
Randy quietly slunk back to the hotel room, grasping his aching shoulder. He was in a pretty good amount of pain, bruises littering his skin from what he could see. He was sure a nice cut ran at the bottom of his backside, causing him to slouch a little. Howard's eyes broadened slightly as the purple haired teen entered the room.
"What happened?" The friend asked, moving the backpacks on the floor so Randy could sit.
"A fight," Randy said bluntly, exhaustion and anger in his voice. "With a lot of pain."
"With who?" Howard pulled out a first aid kit and handed it to the other boy.
"Some kind of dragon thing and, like, a super powered boy?" Randy began wrapping his arm that was dripping with blood. "I can say for sure though," He paused as the memory of the green wound and purple bruise that looked too familiar came back. "I'm not the only one who's had a nice run in with some black mist."
;) Questions? Answers I gave you?
I so wanted to get this out yesterday for Friday the 13th but I almost got caught trying to stay up. Poo
Updated 09/14/13