A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know; short chapter today, but hey, it's a holiday here, and I have only about…2 chapters left of this fic. I plan on taking AT LEAST a day off afterwards and POSSIBLY starting "Adrift" by the 5th. Maybe. I make no promises. (Also, not sure if you've noticed but…I don't think I write action very well…)
Also: The telepathy, while introduced in this fic, isn't as relevant until "Adrift." It'll be very important there!
It was really funny to watch everyone when I put that "Time Out" on the end of the last chapter. Half of you were like "Wait…what?! CLOCKWORK?!" and the other half were like "YAYZ, CLOCKWORK!" In all honesty, I'm not sure Danny will ever realize that he intervened at all. He just…well, you'll see. You don't even see him in the flesh. Sorry, he'll have a LOT of relevance in "Crown of Fire," like Dani. Please don't kill me…you won't get the other two fics if you do that…
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Ch. 25
Silence.
Finally.
He keeps his eyes closed, reveling in the darkness. In the silence. He tries to remember what he was doing. Was he ever doing anything before the noise?
Here…here…
He can recall a voice. Yes, it's her voice. Soft lilac lips, matching eyes. Soft, onyx hair. His mind slowly clears, building from her.
Sam, Tucker, Valerie, my parents…the other kids…Freakshow. The amulet…!
He tries to open his eyes but finds that he can't. Instead, he spills his senses out. Clouds of despair, remorse, and anger cling to his own body, as they cling to the amulet in Freakshow's hand, far above.
I know what it does, he realizes, I know what it does! He reins his ghost sense in, practically abolishing it. He shoves his cold core down as far as he can.
"Time In."
His eyes snap open, immediately meeting Sam's.
"Danny!" she shouts, brushing his bangs away from his eyes, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," he croaks, his voice sounding distant in his ears, "Still a little woozy, but I can think now. I know what the amulet does," he sits up, grimacing as the world momentarily swirls again.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Hand me the radio."
"Sure thing," her hands shake, betraying the worry she hides. He keeps a hold of her hand, his thumb rubbing small circles across the back.
He taps into channel four, "Tuck!"
"Danny! You okay, Man?"
"Yeah, mostly. I know what it does."
"Spill!"
"The amulet can manipulate the thin dispersion of miasma in the Zone. The miasma conducts emotions best; so ghosts can practically feed on it. It's why they return to the Zone often. Before the explosion, he was absorbing massive amounts of energy by drawing it all to himself. I could feel it moving, and it made me sick; like seasickness. Same thing happens when it condenses around me. If I have my sense spread out, I sense emotions as colors and light, with occasional bits and pieces of the thoughts with that emotion."
"So he's pretty much overloading your senses by either condensing the miasma around you or shifting it in large quantities to make you sick?"
"Pretty much. I've shoved my sense down as much as I can. I'm still a little dizzy, but I think I can fight."
"He's got it really tangled up in his hand," Tucker growls, "I'm not sure if we'll be able to make him drop it."
"Not without cutting his hand off," Valerie replies, "Which, you know–"
"We cannot do," Tucker interrupts, earning a derisive snort from his girlfriend.
"No, but think about it; why attack me here in the Zone? Why wait until I'm where I can heal the fastest? Why wait until I'm with my entire class?"
"The amulet doesn't work outside of the zone," Tucker realizes, "It was to his advantage you were in here with a class; he knew you wanted to keep your secret, and wouldn't use the full extent of your healing capabilities and risk exposure. He separated us in hopes that it would make it harder for you to keep your secret without us. Think about it; of all the people in your group, you got three of the biggest antagonists of your life and your mom."
"So you're saying…" Sam whispers.
"We have to get him to the mortal realm," Danny answers, "If we can get him there, he's toast."
"How are we going to do that?!" Valerie grunts.
"Let's see if he still has ghost envy," he grins, "How is the shuttle in relation to the portal?"
"Almost there. We haven't given Freakshow or Lydia an opening, but we haven't been able to do much besides hold them back."
"Remember, he can use the amulet to teleport somehow. Watch out for that; we're coming."
"Got it."
He gives the radio back to Sam, leaning his forehead on her shoulder with a deep breath. Color dances at the edge of his vision, but he can't shove his ghost sense any further away. She smells nice – like her greenhouse. He wonders briefly how she can still smell like a place she hasn't been in for days.
::Pandora gave me some herbs to use at the Far Frozen when showering up. It isn't my garden.::
::…you weren't supposed to hear that.::
::Sorry. We'll work out all of the kinks later…you really think I smell nice?::
He cracks open a blue eye, staring up beneath messy black bangs, and inhales pointedly. She can feel her face heat, earning a small smirk from her tormentor, ::You can read my mind. Tell me. Do I really think so?::
::I hate you sometimes.::
::Sometimes? What about the rest?:: He feigns offence. His eyes slip closed and she can sense him trying to fight his nausea with slow, controlled breaths.
::…can you really fight?::
::Yeah, just…give me a second. I tried summoning my ghost half a second ago and it flooded me again. I can't transform until we either get him to drop it or lure him to our world.::
She can see the frustration swimming across his features, and she takes his head in her hands, brushing though his thick black hair. His skin is warmer than usual, but a thin sheen of sweat covers it. The longer she looks, the sicker he appears.
"You never answered my question," he smiles weakly, leaning into her touch.
"What question?"
"If you only hate me sometimes, what about the rest?"
"Stupid."
"Answer it," he challenges, pulling her closer and nuzzling her neck, "I want to hear you say it, Sam."
"Of course I love you, idiot."