Chapter Twenty-One
(Song in this chapter is "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri.)
Kayley had been watching Danny while she sang. When she had left the stage, she made her way through the crowd towards Garret. She and the blind man had gotten very close the entire time Danny had been gone.
Placing a gentle hand upon his arm, she said, "Garret, it's me."
He grinned, turning his head towards her. "You sounded great," he said.
"Thanks," she replied, and before she could say anymore, she saw Danny heading her way. "Damn! I'll be right back. If anyone asks, I was never here." She then disappeared amongst the citizens of Nesidy. Not even a minute later, Danny took her place.
"Hey, Garret," Danny said, "Have you seen Kayley anywhere?" The blind man raised an eyebrow at the choice of words, and Danny must have realized what he said, because he corrected himself, "Sorry. Bad word choice. Do you know where she is?"
Recalling what Kayley said just moments before she left, Garret answered, "I haven't heard from her in a while, but she can't be far."
Disappointed, Danny thanked him and went to ask someone else where he can find Kayley. After interrogating about a dozen people, he was suddenly attacked.
"DANNY!"
Stumbling backwards, he glanced down to see his cousin latched around his waist. "Dani?" he said in surprise.
"I've missed you!" she said releasing him, "Tell me all about your adventures! How did you find Aralyne? Tell me everything!"
"I will, I swear," he said unclasping her hands and gently pushing her aside, "But first, I have to find Kayley."
"She's over with Garret. She's been with him ever since you left to find Aralyne."
"What?" Danny said in shock, then left Dani where she was. He swerved through the crowd until he returned to Garret's side, and Kayley was indeed with him, both of them dancing. Upon spotting the ghost-boy, Kayley stopped, the smile she had slipping from her face.
"I'm sorry, Garret, I keep leaving you. I'll be back… again," said Kayley before leaving him and heading for Danny.
"Hey, Kayley," he said attempting a smile, but she didn't return it and folded her arms over her chest.
"You want me back, don't you?" she inquired getting straight to the point, and before he could answer, she continued, "I'm sorry, Danny, but you left, and I've moved on."
"Kayley."
She shook her head and began to sing:
"I know I can't take one more step towards you
Cause all that's waiting is regret
And don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore
You lost the love I loved the most
I learned to live half alive
And now you want me one more time...
And who do you think you are
Running around leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart,
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don't come back for me.
Who do you think you are?"
Kayley turned away from Danny to gesture to the crowd as she continued the song.
"I hear you're asking all around
If I am anywhere to be found
But I have grown too strong
To ever fall back in your arms
And I've learned to live half alive
And now you want me one more time
And who do you think you are
Running around leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts,
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
Don't come back for me
Who do you think you are?"
She glanced back at Garret and gave a weak smile, thinking of all the time they had spent together since Danny's departure.
"It took so long just to feel alright
Remember how to put back the light in my eyes
I wish I had missed the first time that we kissed
Cause you broke all your promises
And now you're back
You don't get to get me back
And who do you think you are
Running around leaving scars
Collecting your jar of heart
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don't come back for me
Don't come back at all!
And who do you think you are
Running around leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
Don't come back for me
Don't come back at all
Who do you think you are?
Who do you think you are?
Who do you think you are?"
When she had finished, she still refused to look at Danny, both of them remaining silent. After a while, Danny said, "I get it. I'll leave you alone from now on. I hope he treats you better than I did."
He turned into his Phantom form and was about to fly off, but before he could, Kayley said, "Danny, wait." He turned to her expectantly, "I'm sorry, really, and I hope you find the right girl someday."
Then at that moment, they heard a cry pierce the night.
When Siren had regained control, she, once again, found herself in a crowd of heroes in Nesidy. How she hated these blackouts! If it wasn't for the fact that Aralyne was a part of her, she would have killed the goody-goody a long time ago. And it looks like Aralyne had gotten rid of the gauntlet Siren had stolen from Mozenrath, too. No matter. After quickly scanning the crowd, she found her target. Pulling off the sweet, innocent look, she skipped right up Prince Caspian.
"Hi!" she said with a forced smile and bubbly voice.
"Hey, Aralyne," he said giving her a smile, "What can I do for you?"
Then in one swift movement, she took his sword that was attached to his belt, and hit him over the head with the hilt, knocking him unconscious. After he had crumpled to the floor, Siren then turned and began slicing at random. The first person she killed was a dog named Charlie (All Dogs go to Heaven) before moving on to another victim. One by one, she murdered the citizens of Nesidy: Phil the satyr, Jaq the mouse, Happy, Gretchen Grundler, and Violet Parr (the Incredibles).
Many of the heroes stood there watching in silent horror. Several moved forward to try and stop Siren, but seeing as how they believed it was Aralyne, they didn't want to hurt her, and were unsure of what to do.
"Aralyne, stop," Danny Phantom commanded appearing before the villain.
"Aralyne?" Siren smirked, "Aralyne is gone. I'm in charge now." She lunged at him with Caspian's sword, and he dodged.
As he escaped every one of her attacks, he continued, "Aralyne, don't let Siren take control. You're a good, kind person, and I know you're strong enough to fight her." He refused to use his powers in case he hurt Aralyne, and Siren noticed this.
"What's wrong, Danny?" she simpered sweetly, "You're not going to fight me? Afraid of killing the love of your life?" When he didn't answer, her sneer widened. "Well, I have no qualms about doing this." She started heading towards the right, and as he moved out of the way, she suddenly changed direction, and stabbed him in the chest before he could turn intangible.
"ARALYNE, NO!"
Siren could feel herself slipping away, but wouldn't let it happen. Not this time! Her vision kept fading in and out, making her dizzy. No! I won't lose control! I won't lose control! I won't lose….
A pair of strong hands gripped her below the shoulders, and she felt her mind being pushed back as Aralyne took over once more.
I found myself staring into Danny's glowing green eyes which were wide with shock and pain. "Danny?" I said as he backed away, and I felt something in my hand shift. My gaze fell to see a sword in my hand, and the blade was imbedded deep in Danny's chest. He became intangible for a brief moment so that the sword left his body and I released the hilt with a sheik. The weapon clattered upon the ground. "DANNY!" I cried catching him in my arms as he fell, blood pouring from his wound. His weight was too much for me to bear, and we both collapsed to the ground and I cradled him in my arms, wailing like a child with tears blurring my vision. "Danny! Danny, I'm so sorry!"
"Aralyne," he said weakly, blood dripping from his lips, "You're back." With what little strength he had, he lifted himself up slightly, placing a hand upon my cheek. He then leaned forward and kissed me, and I could taste his blood on my lips. Danny suddenly fell back, his eyes shut, and no longer moving. "Danny?! Danny!"
I was vaguely aware of voices around me.
"Did you see that?"
"She killed them!"
"Aralyne slaughtered them all!"
Aralyne did what?! My head shot up and through the tears, I could see everyone glaring at me or looking terrified. But, I didn't do it! I didn't do any of it!
I did, a voice echoed in my head, But seeing as how we're the same person, you did it, too.
My eyes widened with a gasp. Siren?!
Who else, dimwit? I can't believe the other half of me is this stupid.
Danny. You stabbed Danny! I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do!
WE killed Danny. And you can't kill me, dumbass. We're the same person. Kill me, and you kill yourself.
Then so be it. Keeping Danny on my lap, I picked up the sword once more, and everyone gasped. I then poised the weapon so that I could stab myself. Before I could make a move, however, a hand grasped my wrist and I looked up to see Tulio. He took the sword from me as several people rushed forward to take Danny from me.
"N-No," I stammered, reaching out for him, but they were soon swallowed by the crowd. In my head Siren started laughing.
You see that? They HATE you! And who can really blame them after what you did?
You mean what YOU did!
You, me, us. All the same thing.
Tulio gave the sword to someone else before helping me to my feet. My legs shook and I nearly fell over if it wasn't for him keeping me up. He swung me up into his arms and began walking through the crowd, which parted, wanting to stay away from me. We hadn't gotten far when Grandpa and Captain Phoebus blocked our path.
"I'm afraid we can't excuse her crimes this time," said Grandpa quietly, "We just watched her murder innocent people. She must be executed."
"No!" Tulio shouted, "She had no control over what she was doing! Siren, her dark side, was the one that did it!"
"Siren is a part of her!" Phoebus pointed out, drawing his sword.
"Let them do it," I mumbled, grabbing everyone's attention, "Let them kill me. I deserve to die."
"No," Tulio snarled glaring at Phoebus and Grandpa, "Genie had said, when she had been with the Evil One, he stole her heart, and gave it to the queen who constantly loses her head. However, the reason she is her normal self at times is because I had given her my heart. When I'm near her, Aralyne's dark side remains buried, for the Evil One could not take a heart that was willingly given to her. For her to return to normal completely, she must go out and reclaim her heart. And that's what I intend to do. I'll be taking her to get it back. This is the only chance we have of getting Aralyne back instead of having to worry about Siren taking over. So, please, let us go."
Grandpa was silent for a while, staring at me. He then nodded his head once. "Very well. But this is your last chance. If you fail, and she commits anymore crimes, she will be executed."
Tulio nodded in understanding. Then everyone moved out of our way so that we may pass and left Nesidy behind. Once we had entered the woods, Tulio set me down. By then, I was no longer in hysterics, but I had hit a depression worse than when I had been betrayed by Eric.
"What makes you think we'll succeed?" I inquired quietly staring down at the ground.
Because I'm still here, Siren pointed out with a low chuckle, And with me around, you'll have no rest, Aralyne. I'll make sure you fail so that I remain in charge!
Shut up!
Oo! Someone got a little feisty! Face it, honey, I'm much stronger than you are, and imagine this: you'll become completely evil when I kill Tulio.
You leave him out of this, or I really will kill us next time!
"I just know we will," Tulio replied wrapping me in a hug, which I didn't return, "You just need to have faith."
(Poor Danny! I'm not gonna cry! I'm not gonna cry! And I apologize for upsetting anyone by killing your fave character. So, we'll just see what happens next time. Laters!)