Hi!
Okay, this one's kinda short. Sorry, bit of a transition period, couldn't be helped, et cetera. Please don't hate me!
Anyway, welcome to The Demon Inside. Hope you enjoy the whole thing.
Lightanddarklove, Esme, Meagainsttheworld, Epona, Queen S: Your continued support means everything. And, your comments on this one were much appreciated. Glad it wasn't too cliché and all theories were appreciated and enjoyed. Thank you.
Well that's it on this one. Hope you like Chapter 10. I won't be back until midday tomorrow at the soonest, even if the story slips off page 1. Got stuff to do, and stuff. Sorry. Can't be helped. :(
Much Love,
HiddenAuthor
Chapter 10 – Traps
Danny, still human, stood silently in his bedroom, staring at a dressing mirror. After five more attempts at transforming, he was ready to admit that something was very wrong. Numbly, he walked slowly towards the small device lying near his closet door.
"What the heck is going on?" He asked, horrified. Reaching down with trembling hands, Danny picked up the Plasmius Maximus and gave it a look over with wide frightened eyes. Turning it on its side, he noticed a dial built into the side of the handle. Around the outside were the numbers one through eight, followed by a second eight, this one sideways. Danny scratched his head at that, but his face brightened when he saw the position of the dial. It was set on five.
"Ohh…so you can set how long this thing works! Guess I should have checked that first." Danny grinned in embarrassment and relief. "Right. I'll try going ghost again in the morning, just in case." Still pale from shock, Danny went over to his bed and lied down.
About four hours later, Danny woke up shivering. Blue mist still pouring from his mouth, Danny's eyes shot open and quickly scanned the room, narrowing dangerously. He was so focused on finding the ghost that it was almost twenty seconds before he realized he was floating again.
"Whoa!" Danny fell back onto his bed. Groaning, he rolled off and stood up, still scanning the room. "Well at least that time I was still over my bed. And I guess I was right about the dial thing, too." Finally, the young ghost hunter caught sight of a blue and pink blur streaking past his window. Careful not to wake his parents, Danny ran towards the wall, transforming just in time to phase through and follow the invading ghost.
"Hey!" The pink and white pajama'd ghost turned around and flashed Danny a hopeful smile.
"Will you be my Friend?" Danny groaned.
"Klemper. It's four in the morning. Please just go away." Klemper's eyes watered.
"You won't be my Friend?" The sad ghost sucked in a deep breath and shot ice from his mouth. Danny quickly dodged the beam, eyes burning with anger.
"Look. I don't know what I can do right now, but I'll bet it hurts a lot more than usual. Leave. NOW!" Danny shouted at the annoying ghost, hands charged up with green energy. Klemper rushed at Danny, trying to pin him in a bear hug. With a feral cry, Danny released the pent-up energy and launched the cold spirit backwards into a building. Shockwaves from the blast rippled outwards, causing nearby windows to crack slightly. Klemper looked up, dazed and winded.
"Why won't you be my friend!" The pathetic ghost called out plaintively. Danny sighed, and sucked him up.
"Because, you're evil. And annoying." He said, mostly to himself. "And you just cost me a lot of sleep." Danny was about to fly back inside when a red beam struck him in the back and sent him flying to earth. Rubbing his head, he stood up in the latest crater he'd help make to see a red-clad huntress on a flying hover board. "Valery!"
"Better believe it, ghost!" The angry girl said viciously. "I thought you might try attacking the Fentons after that reward went up, so I staked out their house. Now you're all mine!" Danny's glance shot from Valery to his house, then back to Valery.
"No, wait! This isn't what it looks like! There was a ghost and-"
"Shut up! Quit trying to trick me! There's no way I'd ever let some ghost hurt Danny, or his parents!" Valery started shooting again with her ecto-weapons, Danny flying off ahead, dodging as they went.
"Wow. I've gotta be the only guy someone could be trying to save and kill at the same time." Suddenly, Valery zipped under him and pulled up ahead, forcing him to stop suddenly. "Look, I'm not in full control of my powers right now! I don't want to hurt you, but if you keep this up, I might by accident. Please, just leave me alone!" Valery's eyes narrowed.
"You destroy my stuff, get my dad fired, attack the town, attack me, and now you're after Danny. And you expect me to just leave you ALONE! NO WAY!" Valery let out a scream of hate as she fired a barrage of rockets at Danny's head. Startled, the ghost boy cringed for a second, and suddenly teleported behind Valery. Opening his eyes, the ghost blinked twice, and grinned.
"Okay, that may have been an accident, but it was still really cool." Said Danny. "How'd I do that?" Following his voice, Valery spun around and fired off another round. Danny immediately took off again, barely staying ahead of Valery. "Focus, Danny. Focus. You can do it, just do…whatever you just did a second ago." Danny scrunched his eyes tight and concentrated. A second later, he crashed into a wall.
"Oof! What the-" Danny opened his eyes, wincing. He was in his room. Danny let out a quiet cheer. "Awesome! I did it!" Quickly changing back into human form, Danny hopped back into bed. "At least I didn't have to fight Valery much. What time is it anyway? 5:30. Okay, at least I can grab another two hours of-" Danny's door slammed open. His father beamed in at him.
"Hey, Danny! Glad to see you're awake. Your mother and I know you've been feeling down and out, so we thought we'd cheer you up! And what better way than some early morning ghost hunting with your family?" Grinning from ear to ear, Jack pulled Danny up off the bed and set him on his feet. "Hurry up and get ready, we're going over to your school to set up ghost traps!" Danny groaned.
"Dad, I'm really tired, could you guys do this without me?" Jack frowned for a moment, then grinned down at his son.
"Nonsense, son! What better way to get rid of all that stress than to vaporize some ghosts?" Jack's look turned apologetic. "Besides, your mother said you should come."
Danny sighed. "Okay, fine. But give me fifteen minutes to get ready, okay?" Jack nodded, grin back in place.
"Sure thing, Danny-boy! I'll see you downstairs in fifteen minutes. Make sure to bring your school stuff. To the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle!" With that, Jack rushed outside and thundered downstairs.
Danny stood still for a moment, taking everything in. It had been a very weird week. With a resigned shrug, the young hybrid picked up the Plasmius Maximus and set the dial to seven. "Right. That should last till lunch. I'll just have to remember to use it again then." Bracing himself against the pain, he jammed the device into his side and pulled the trigger. "Mmmmph!" Grunting in suppressed pain, Danny dropped the device in his backpack and grabbed some clothes. On his way to the shower, he ran into Jazz, already finished and on her way downstairs.
"Danny. They're making you go, too?" Jazz asked in a forced calm voice, while shooting Danny a worried look. Danny smiled back reassuringly.
"Yeah. It's fine, though Jazz. Really." Jazz narrowed her eyes for a moment, then relaxed.
"Good. Just be careful, okay?" With that, the older Fenton sibling walked past her brother and down the stairs to grab a quick breakfast. Fifteen minutes later, Danny joined her. Jazz walked over to him, carrying a plate of eggs on toast.
"Here." She said, thrusting the plate into his hands. "Mom and dad are waiting in the car, so eat fast. We're supposed to be at the school to set traps at six. Even the way dad drives, we're pushing it." Nodding quickly, Danny started shoveling food into his mouth as his sister went out and joined their parents in the car. With one last huge gulp, Danny dropped the plate on the table and ran outside, just managing to buckle up before Jack tore off down the street. Maddie turned around to face the two, smiling though her goggles.
"Good morning, kids! Did you remember to grab your school things?" Both siblings nodded. "Good. We're meeting Mr. Lancer outside the school in ten minutes so he can let us in. We'll be setting up these." Maddie reached behind her and pulled out something that looked like a toy foam disc shooter mounted on a mechanical arm. "Jack and I were working on these until one this morning. They just might be our best invention ever! I just wish we could have made more than twenty…" Jazz and Danny both shot her strained smiles.
"That's really…great, mom. What is it?" Maddie beamed at Jazz.
"Well, honey, they're called the 'Fenton Automatic Ghost-Suckers.' Jack and I made them by combining a lot of our old, err, less successful inventions into one really good one!" Maddie smiled winningly. "First, the old parts from the Fenton Finder pick up an ecto-signature. There are three trackers in each Ghost-Sucker, so together they can pinpoint the ghost's position exactly. Then, the Ghost-Sucker turns toward the ghost and launches out a Ghost-Gooper, melting the ghost. After that, an attachment we made from the Fenton Weasel snakes out and sucks up the goo and the Gooper, trapping the ghost and disabling it at the same time!" Maddie beamed at her two children.
Jazz pulled a big, fake grin, though she was still pale from the description. "Oh…That's great, mom. Way to make a super death weapon for ghosts!" Danny nodded, looking slightly sick.
"Yeah…That's really, um, cool and stuff. So does it hurt the ghost?" Maddie paused, surprised at the question, then beamed.
"Why, I don't really know, Danny. But if you hear one screaming, you'll know we've caught one!" Still smiling, she turned back to the front, leaving her children to think about the horrible possibilities. A short while later, the large vehicle pulled up in the bus parking lane in front of the main school doors, and the family shuffled out. Mr. Lancer smiled over at the Fentons from the front door.
"Jack. Maddie. Kids?" The teacher looked shocked for a moment, then gathered himself. "I'll just unlock the doors for you. Please feel free to take as long as you need to install the traps. You're sure these things can't hurt the students?" Mr. Lancer finished, looking slightly worried. Jack gave him a reassuring grin.
"Nonsense! The Fenton Ghost-Sucker only hurts ghosts!" Maddie cut in.
"The tracker that activates it only responds to ghosts, and the weapon it uses won't hurt students or property if it misfires. You have nothing to worry about." Lancer nodded, clearly feeling better that Mrs. Fenton said they were safe.
"Well, then, I'll leave you to your work. If you need me, I'll be in my classroom, grading papers." At this, Lancer shot Danny a condescending glance, and shuffled off into the building. Suddenly all business, Maddie turned toward her husband and started issuing orders.
"Right. We only have an hour and a half before Danny and Jazz have to leave for class, and I don't want to work with students underfoot. So, Jack, go find where you want to place the first trap. Danny, go get it out of the back of the Assault Vehicle. Jazz, help me get the tools ready at the installation site." Giving a quick mock-salute, Danny jogged off to get the Ghost-Suckers. "So Jack, where do you think we should put these?"
"One by each regular exit. And one in every hall, close to all of Danny's classes. That's where the ghost kid's always showing up." Jack's look turned thoughtful. "Maybe we should check out his classmates. One of them could be hiding something." Jazz bit her lip, debating internally, then made up her mind and turned towards Maddie.
"Mom, could I ask why you didn't just use the Fenton Thermos?" Maddie smiled.
"Of course sweetie. Since the Ghost-Sucker uses the Goopers, the captured ghosts have no form, so they can't fight their way out. The thermoses aren't meant for long-term capture. The ghosts would eventually break out." Jazz frowned. There was something important about that, something Danny had mentioned once…Shrugging, Jazz turned back around and started helping her mother.
Two hours later, Sam and Tucker walked into Mr. Lancer's room and gasped in shock at the sight of Danny already in his seat, reading The Iliad.
"Danny? Don't take this the wrong way, dude, but are you sick or something?" Danny quirked an eyebrow.
"No. Why?" Tucker smirked.
"Well, first off, you're here not only on time but early. Second, you're actually studying. And third, you look wrecked. I thought you were getting more sleep lately." Danny groaned, and slumped into his seat.
"I was getting more sleep, at least until mom and dad decided to invite all the ghosts back into town. Klemper showed up at four this morning. I took care of him pretty quick, but then Valery showed up and attacked. Then, when I got back home, dad came barging in and dragged me and the rest of the family to school to install a bunch of new high-tech ghost traps." Sam and Tucker gasped.
"Danny, what are you going to do? You can't be here if you'll just get caught and exposed the second you go out that door!" Sam looked seriously freaked out. Danny smiled at her.
"Relax, Sam. Everything's taken care of." As he spoke, Danny discreetly pulled the lip of his backpack open, revealing the Plasmius Maximus. Sam gasped.
"Isn't that Vlad's? How'd you get it?" Danny grinned.
"Jazz snuck into his lab and snagged it. This way, I don't have to worry about tripping the new traps or losing control." Tucker smiled.
"Awesome! So do you have any idea what's causing the control thing?" Danny sat back.
"Yep." The three friends looked up, and saw other students start shuffling in. "But it's a long, private story. Tell you guys at lunch?" His two friends nodded, and Danny sat back to listen to Lancer drone on about Homer. At least this time, he'd be able to follow along.