The Ghost Zone was quiet. An infinite number of doors floated silently through the open space, dotted by the islands that moved and shifted around one another like planets moving through the vacuum of space. Upon one of these small islands, barely big enough for four to lay down upon without bumping into each other, sat Danny Fenton, perched near the edge staring out into the shining ectoplasmic space. He could hear the others behind him speaking in hushed tones, but he couldn't hear what they were saying. He didn't care.
He couldn't stop thinking about Valerie. Her ghostly face twisted in seething hatred, hatred directed at him. He had never meant to hurt her, let alone kill her. No matter how crazy she got he'd never wanted to be a murderer. Yet here he was. He hadn't realized what he was doing at the time, but he was a murderer. Or did he? He wasn't sure anymore. Did he really think she could survive that fall with her jet board frozen like it was? Did he want her to die? The thought made him shudder.
He turned his head slightly when Tucker sat down on the land beside him, looking out into the space of the Ghost Zone. Danny looked away from him again out into the sea of energy and doors.
"You okay, dude?" Tucker asked in a solemn tone.
"I killed her, Tuck." Danny replied simply. "I killed her, there's no two ways around it."
"Come on, I know you wouldn't do it on purpose." Tucker waved him off.
"I destroyed her jet board and let her fall from that height. I didn't think about it at the time, but what else could have happened?" Danny asked. Tucker remained silent for a few moments while Danny looked down at the land beneath him. "I thought Sam was going to die because of her. I... I'm afraid I really meant to do it, Tuck."
Tucker didn't respond. There was no way to respond, really. The silence grew increasingly uncomfortable until Danny cast a glance over his shoulder at Jazz and Sam, who were speaking on the other side of the small island in hushed tones. Danny's eyes locked on Jazz, remembering suddenly what Vlad had told him. She was in danger now too. There was no way Vlad would give up once he set his mind to something.
"How's Jazz?" Danny asked suddenly, both to get some information and break the uncomfortable silence.
"Jazz?" Tucker looked over his shoulders at the girls in surprise. "She seems fine, just like her old self. She asked me to leave them alone for a 'girl talk'." Tucker looked over at Danny slyly. "I think she's lecturing Sam about the birds and the bees." Danny's head jerked toward him, then he blushed and looked away into the Ghost Zone. "Finally got your head on straight huh?"
"I've done a lot of thinking since this all started." Danny replied. "About what I wanted in life. Facing Death right in the face tends to give you a new perspective on things I guess."
"Yeah, I guess. But all that philosophical stuff aside, you got to do it. Good for you." Tucker nudged his shoulder and winked. Despite all of his troubles and worries, Danny had to laugh at his friend. A genuine, if soft, laugh. Tucker just smiled over at him. Danny looked back, sharing the smile like only a pair of best lifelong friends could.
"Oh for the love of God Jazz, I'm not a three year old! I know I know I know already!" Sam screamed and stood up behind them. "You stay here. I'm going over there. Remember. You here. Me there." Sam pointed irritably. Jazz raised her hands defensively and let Sam move over to sit on the other side of Danny. Her cheeks were bright red and she desperately looked like she wanted to be anywhere else.
"She laid into you pretty hard, huh?" Danny asked.
"Not half as hard as Danny did I'm sure." Tucker grinned.
"Oh, don't you even start with me Tucker." Sam glared across Danny as Tucker. "I don't want to hear another Goddamn word about it. It's none of anyone's freaking business but ours!"
"Whoa, chill out. It was just a joke." Tucker held up his hands defensively. "Besides, it only took you a few years to finally get together, I thought maybe it would take a LITTLE while to jump in the sack."
"Are you calling me a slut!?" Sam narrowed her eyes. Danny dutifully slipped back away from them so Sam could face Tucker directly. "Well let me tell you something buster, what me and Danny do is our own Goddamn business and nobody else's, so you can take your stupid accusations and-"
Danny watched his friends bicker and argue about the dumbest things all the time and always hated it. Now though, it brought a smile to his face. It was a bit of normalcy in an impossible situation. He discovered that just watching them helped lighten a spirit dampened by the omnipresent threat of the Reaper and the uncertainty inside of himself.
His smile still in place, he turned to look at the other side of the tiny island, where Jazz was dangling her legs over the infinite expanse below them and watching the doors float past. Danny crawled the short distance over to her and plopped down on the island beside her, letting his legs dangle over the edge. He plucked a rock from the island and hurled it out into the space, where it dropped until they couldn't see it anymore.
"I suppose I should give you the speech about responsibility and wisdom too." Jazz glanced over at him with a half smile. "But it wouldn't do much good, would it?"
"Afraid not." Danny replied, heaving another rock out into the empty space. "I know how to be responsible Jazz, and I know the risks. I also know that this may be the last chance I have. This could be my last day on Earth." Danny looked around at the ghostly doors floating serenely past. "Well, close to Earth."
"That's no reason to jump into something that you're not sure will last." Jazz warned him. "So you live for the moment. What happens if you live long enough to get her pregnant? At fifteen? What would you do then?"
"It's Sam, I'm sure it'll last." Danny replied without a moment's hesitation.
Jazz still looked unconvinced. "I know you and Sam are close. But make sure you go farther because you love each other, and not because of the situation. Love based on shared trauma never lasts, Danny. If you have to do it, do it for the right reasons."
Danny nodded. "I'll be careful Jazz. And I'll think about what you said, I promise." Danny smiled over at her.
"Well, that's all I can ask for, I guess." Jazz smiled. "I know you're responsible Danny, I've seen it every time you fight a ghost to save others. I just don't want you to have anything to regret."
"Thank you." Danny nodded. Jazz smiled and pulled her legs up against her chest, wrapping her arms around her knees. Danny glanced over at her worriedly, thinking once again about what Vlad had said.
"How about you?" Danny asked. "How are you holding up?"
"To be honest? I'm a little freaked out." Jazz replied softly. "I have no idea what happened after I passed out last night. It's like I went to sleep and woke up there in the library fully conscious." Her light green eyes turned to him, this time seeking comfort instead of offering it. It was a position Danny had never found himself in with her, and it made him a bit uncomfortable. "What happened to me Danny? Was I Overshadowed?"
"I'm really not sure what happened myself." Danny admitted. "Vlad did something, I know that, but... I couldn't tell you what." He said. Jazz sighed and nodded in acceptance, looking down. Danny bit his lip, trying to decide whether to tell her what Vlad's plan was. What would she say to that? That Vlad wanted to take advantage of her and make her his brainwashed bride. That he wanted her to be the mother of his child. Danny didn't want to worry her so much. It wasn't the time for that anyway...
"Time..." Danny said softly to himself, suddenly coming to a realization as he bolted to his feet. Jazz turned to look up at him, startled by the sudden movement. "That's it. Vlad said something yesterday when we first got there. He said no ghost knows the Reaper's true nature because it's so far in the past. But that's not true." Danny looked down at his three friends. Sam and Tucker, who had just been about to throw some punches, looked up at him in surprise. "He said no ghosts know his nature because nobody remembers a time before it existed."
"Yeah, so?" Jazz asked.
"That's not true either." Danny replied fervently. "There is a ghost who would remember a time before the Reaper existed. A ghost who would remember and be able to tell us everything we need to know." Danny looked around at his friends as his body shifted into his spectral ghost form. He could use it again after a good rest, though it would still take them a long time to cross the vast Ghost Zone without the Specter Speeder. "Let's go. We've got to get to him before the Reaper or Valerie get to us."
"Who, Danny?" Sam asked confusedly.
"The one ghost who remembers before time began." Danny replied. "Clockwork."
TO BE CONTINUED