The Siege: Chapter 10
By Kellie Fay
Disclaimer: Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman.
As always, reviews make an insecure author happy.
Special Thanks to Kidwrangler for editing
Chapter 10: Within the house
Danny felt ten times safer the moment they passed through the mirror into Miss Daily's home. She had layered many more spells on the house than she had on the classroom, and he felt himself relax a little. "Protections first?" he asked, still floating at her side.
Sarah nodded. "I'll need a few things from my inner library. Danny, you stay right here."
Danny grinned while Sarah moved the book that opened the door to the inner library. "You won't get any argument from me. One visit in there was enough!" He watched Sarah slip into her secret room, then moved to the fireplace to light the fire with a small, controlled ectoburst. Turning from the cheerful blaze, Danny was startled to see Sam and Tucker jump out of the mirror. "Sam? Tucker? What are you guys doing here?"
"We wanna help Miss Daily, too," Sam said firmly. Danny wasn't the only one who could be stubborn. "Our parents can't do anything if we're in the house with her."
Danny wasn't sure it was a great idea that his friends had followed him, and certainly wasn't going to trust the Mansons to be reasonable, with or without Sam on the premises, but he wasn't about to say that to Sam. "Uh…Sarah? I think you'd better get out here." Sam and Tucker were used to Danny talking into thin air by now. If Sarah wasn't in earshot she would still hear Danny's thoughts.
From the direction of the inner library Danny heard Sarah think, In a second, Danny. I need a few more things.
Just then the mirror flared. Paulina jumped out, followed by Starr. "Paulina, I don't think this is such a good – Hey! Where are we?" Starr bumped into the back of Paulina, who had stopped suddenly.
Paulina's full attention was on Danny. "Hello, ghost boy!" she said eagerly, a big smile on her face. "I've come to help Miss Daily, too! I mean anybody that you like has got to be cool, right?" Starr nodded along with Paulina's comments, her eyes wide.
Danny felt himself involuntarily jerk back a couple of feet, while his lunch turned into stone in his stomach. "Um…uh…uh…hi?" Danny stuttered uneasily. Privately, Danny called silently, Sarah, you'd better get out here! He refused to make eye contact with Sam, who was scowling, or Tucker, who was grinning.
I'll be right there, Danny! Miss Daily answered, a bit testily.
Danny sighed, then gulped as Mikey, Dash, and finally, Kwan, came out of the mirror. "Ohhhh, man," he groaned, staring at the teenagers milling around in front of him. "SARAH!!!"
The bookcase moved and Sarah stomped out with three books under one arm and a few other items cradled carefully to her chest. "For crying out loud, Danny! What is so important that --" She broke off abruptly, seeing the group of students standing in her living room. "What are you kids doing here?!"
Sam, her chin jutted obstinately in the air, said, "Tucker and I are gonna help." Her combat boots seemed to plant themselves in the braided rug, her arms crossed in front of her.
"Yeah! Me, too!" chimed in the other teens, elbowing each other to be able to stand in front and be seen.
"Oh," Sarah said, sheepishly. Recovering quickly, she shook her head authoritatively. "I appreciate you kids wanting to help, but it's too dangerous."
"So?" Sam challenged, dropping her arms to put her hands belligerently on her hips.
Danny didn't like this any more than Sarah did. He floated closer to the group and tried to sound reasonable. "Look, guys. If you stay here your parents are going to think you're being controlled. They already think that Sarah is controlling me."
Sam turned her attention to her friend and rolled her eyes. "And you really think I care about what my parents think? Besides, if I'm here my parents won't do anything stupid…like try to burn the house down."
Sarah looked nonplussed. "They'd really do that?"
Tucker nodded in agreement. "My parents, no. Her parents, definitely yes."
From the back of the group Mikey said, "Then you guys better do something, cuz they're in Miss Daily's office right now!"
Everyone's attention snapped back to the mirror, where, sure enough, all the adults from the school were crowded into her office, peering into Sarah's living room through what could be mistaken as a window.
"Sarah!" Danny said, slightly panicked. "You have to shut down the mirror!"
"Can they see us through that?" Sam wondered.
Mrs. Manson suddenly screamed silently, and pointed a shaky finger at Sam.
Sound didn't travel through the mirror, but Tucker was pretty sure he could fill in what was being said anyway. "I'm guessing they can."
"Yes, they can," Sarah said, annoyed. "And now that they know you're all here, I am so fired."
Suddenly, a beam of green energy shot out of the mirror and struck the opposite wall. Paulina screamed, and even Kwan yelped and dropped flat on the floor.
"They're shooting at us!" Dash yelled, shocked. He looked around before deciding behind a large, padded chair was the perfect hiding place.
Jack Fenton waved his arms boisterously, his mouth opening and closing. Maddie, with the ease of long practice, ducked the ectogun clutched in Jack's hand and tried to shove the much larger man out of the way so she could see what was going on. Danny looked at his father, then back at Sarah. "I've got an idea," he announced. He nodded at the glass, now showing Mr. Manson fanning Sam's mother with a handful of papers, while Maddie studied the surface of the mirror closely through her goggles. "I'm going back. Once I'm through, do whatever you have to do to close the mirror, as fast as you can. I'll fly back here on my own."
Sarah nodded. She really wasn't comfortable with him confronting the angry adults on his own, but she now had a group of confused and frightened teenagers to look after. "Be careful Danny,"
Coming Soon Chapter 11 Confrontation:
"Oh!" Sam's mother "My poor baby, being held hostage by that horrible witch."
Danny couldn't help himself he laughed. "Man lady you don't know your kid at all. She led them all to Sarah's house!"
"Impossible!" Sam's mother said firmly. "That horrible witch must have cast a spell on her."