Chapter 2

I never got to talk with Sam and Tucker that night. Mom called the police and they arrived to check out what had happened. Mom was sent to the hospital with the guy who had gotten shot in the leg. I was right, she did need stitches. The police wanted my parents to come down to the station to help see if they give them any information that might be helpful. They even asked Jazz and I a few questions, but, since I supposedly hadn't been there, they weren't very concerned with us.

I didn't show Jazz the sword. I knew I would just get a lecture about how it wasn't mine. That is was dangerous and I should find where it did belong. I knew all that, I didn't need her to tell me. At least Sam and Tucker would appreciate it. Sam would probably side with Jazz on returning it-and I was going to-but I didn't have a doubt that they would think it was cool, too.

By the time I got home I was exhausted. Keeping the sword invisible all that time along with the traumatic events had worn me out. The only thing I wanted was my bed and smiled as I closed the door to my room and plopped down on it. I glanced at the sword next to me once it became visible again as soon as I took my hand off it. Maybe I should move it off the bed. I didn't want to roll in my sleep and skewer myself on it. But I was just too tired. I'd try to find some hiding place for it in the morning I decided as I closed my eyes.

And then my ghost sense went off.

I groaned. Why now?

At least tomorrow was Saturday. I could sleep in. Without moving I turned into my alter ego and lifted lazily off the bed. I glanced at the sword again. I wondered how intimidating I would look with it. And if it was one of the ghosts I knew then it could possibly surprise them enough for me to get this over with quickly. I smiled at that thought and grabbed the sword before phasing out of the room through the ceiling.

I suddenly felt a lot more alert now. It was probably the chilly bite the night had to it. It was only march and the temperature still plunged drastically at night. I lifted the sword up as I twirled around, looking for the ghost. Again, the sword was lighter than I expected it to be. But, I reasoned, I was stronger in my ghost form.

Ironically, it was the Dragon Ghost. I glanced down at the sword, a picture of me as a medieval knight going up against the dragon produced a chuckle from me. My imagination went on to where I slayed the dragon and the princess-who looked a lot like Sam-ran up and threw herself into my arms.

I was called out of that pleasant image by the ghost's roar as it flew over the city. What is she so stressed about this time? I shook my head, probably the same thing. Ghosts couldn't be reasonable. Always fixated on the same thing.

I quickly took up pursuit. The dragon stopped as I sped past it to block its path.

"Sorry, Puff, but a visit to the human world is invitation only." The dragon growled at me menacingly and spit out a blast of green flames which I dodged. "Don't have one? Well, you're just going to have to go back home to where you came from."

It was then that I realized I hadn't grabbed the Fenton Thermos. Inwardly cursing at myself, I dodged another jet of flames. The dragon charged and, as I maneuvered out of the way, I wracked my brain for a way to get the ghost back in the portal. I got in a defensive posture as the dragon turned around again, letting out a loud roar. The sword came up and the dragon paused as he stared at it. I smirked and switched to a position that would show off the sword more. Maybe a human sword wouldn't be able to hurt a ghost, but my attempt at looking intimidating seemed to be working. The dragon had become more edgy.

The dragon shook off its nervousness and charged again. I clumsily swung the sword at it and the dragon swerved to miss it. I quickly took a hand off the hilt and shot an ectoplasmic beam at it. It gave a roar as the beam struck and soared away a few yards. It turned around and tried another charge. I swiped the air again, but, as the dragon moved away, its tail caught me by surprise. I was flung through the air, disoriented. I finally figured out which way was up, but when I turned to look at the dragon, I saw it trapped in a similar beam that came out of the Fenton Thermos. I followed the dragon with my eyes and watched it disappear in another thermos. The person with the thermos wore a fashionable red suit and hovered on a hi-tech board a little ways off.

Wonderful. Valerie had figured out how to use her thermos. That was just what I needed.

At the very least, my dragon problem was dealt with. But now Valerie brought up one of her guns and leveled it on me.

"Where did you get the new toy, ghost? Steal it from some museum?"

She didn't even give me time to respond. She fired her gun and I dodged out of the way, moving out of the way of several more blasts as I flew towards her. I dodged one more and then dived downward, flying under her hoverboard.

I'm not quite sure what possessed my actions. My plan had been to turn around in the air and fire a blast at the underside of her hoverboard. Instead, I lifted up the sword and skimmed it up against the board's underside. I barely had flown out from under her and turned around when I heard her scream. Valerie was dropping through the air. From my vantage point, I could see a long slash in the board's underside as it twisted in the air.

There was another scream and I dove for Valerie, catching her by the ankle. I lowered her to the ground safely a few feet from her slashed hoverboard. I also saw her thermos a few feet away. She had obviously dropped it when she had fallen.

"I'll be taking that," I stated as I walked over and picked it up.

"Give that back," Valerie demanded as she stood up, a gun was already staring me down.

"I can't do that." I immediately went intangible and slipped into the ground, so I didn't hear Valerie's inevitable shout of outrage.

It was a short trip back to my house. I sent the ghost back into the Ghost Zone before slipping back to my room. I transformed back and shoved Valerie's thermos under my bed with other junk that had collected there. I glanced down at the sword as I shoved it under the bed with the thermos. For the first time it occurred to me that a sword should not have been able to do that to Valerie's board. It looked like it had been made well. It should have been pretty durable. And I had no idea what I was doing at the time. I brought the sword back up and ran a finger tenderly over the blade.

The edge sliced into my finger and I yelped, jamming it in my mouth on impulse. Okay, it was sharp. A lot sharper than I would have guessed considering how old it probably was. It was still a little strange, but I decided not to ponder on it. Why question what had happened when it had helped me in the end anyway? I put the sword back under the bed. I'd have to find a more secure place for it than that. Mom was known to come in and tidy up my room since I rarely had the time, or the will, to do it.

But I'd do that in the morning. A wave of exhaustion hit me and I yawned. I crawled back into bed, not caring if I was in the clothes I'd worn that day. My head hit the pillow, and I was out.



"So what's this big surprise?" Sam asked as she walked inside my room with Tucker and I closed the door.

Smiling broadly, I pulled out the sword from my bed and brandished it. "Look at this!"

"No way!" The exclamation came from Tucker. Sam stared at it as she took a step back.

"I found it yesterday," I explained. "This was the thing the two had been trying to keep away from the three with guns." I had already briefed them about that over the phone. I'd felt the need to surprise them, though, and be able to see their faces.

Tucker reached forward, but I kept it out of reach. "It's pretty sharp, Tuck." I showed him my finger. You could still see where the sword had made a small cut.

"So it's dangerous then," Sam remarked. For some reason, Sam didn't seem as excited about the sword as I thought she would be. My shoulders slumped in disappointment. She continued on. "You're not keeping it, are you?"

Oh, come one, Sam," Tucker cried exasperated. "It's just a small cut. It's not like he's missing a limb or something."

"I-I don't know." I answered Sam's question. I figured the two had stolen it from a museum or something else. It's probably pretty valuable. If it's not stolen, though…"

"You could use it for ghost-hunting," Tucker chimed in,

I gave the two a smile. "I already have. That Dragon Ghost got out last night. Then I had a run-in with Valerie."

"And?" Tucker prompted.

"The ghost was pretty spooked, and I shredded her board with it." I boasted.

"It'll only weigh you down," Sam interjected. "That has to be heavy."

"It's not," I assured. I held it out towards her for her to see for herself, forgetting for a moment that I had rejected Tucker's plea to hold it earlier. Sam backed away from it.

"I don't want to touch it." I looked at her, confused. Tucker looked at me eagerly; ready to prove my point even if Sam wouldn't. However, there was a knock on my door. Before I could do anything, the door opened and Jazz stepped in.

"Danny, I thought we could…what's that?" I groaned. I really didn't want a lecture.

"I found it, okay? And I'm going to return it to wherever it needs to be returned. And I promise to be careful with it. Did I cover everything?"

"…Okay. Why are you getting so defensive?"

I gaped at her. "I'm not getting defensive! I just didn't want to have to go through a lecture. That's what you were thinking, right?"

Jazz gave the sword a contemplative look. She looked at it really hard. I wasn't sure what she was trying to get from it, though.

"Never mind, Danny," she spoke. "Just promise me you'll never make me touch it."

I blinked at her. She was the second person who had expressed that opinion. What was wrong with people? It was just a sword! Maybe it was a girl thing.

"Fine. You don't have to touch it. Why did you come in her anyways?'

"I wanted to ask if you would like to go to the movies. Mom and Dad suggested we do something in celebration for me coming home, or something like that. I figure that the movies are dark enough a place that I won't be embarrassed by them that much. Sam and Tucker can come along."

I sighed. Why not. If no ghosts came then this would be a rare occasion where I actually got some leisure time.

"Sure, but I get to pick the movie."

"Deal," she agreed. "Just leave the sword here."

"Of course, I'm leaving the sword here," I grumbled and turned to put it back under my bed, reminding myself that I needed to find a better spot for it. I glanced back at the bed one more time before leaving the room with the others.

Not the best chapter, but things will start building up, I promise. I'm disappointed with the length, too, but that's where it needs to end. Not much I can do about that, I've already paced the story out.

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Faith's melody