A/N: I cannot express to everyone who reviewed just how much I love all of you for the comments you all left me! You seriously had me smiling so much! And to the ones I couldn't thank privately, thanks to you as well for your reviews! Gosh, I need to start getting more sleep…
Okay, this is kind of the third-way mark of this fic…so pretty much one of three climaxes. This means this one will be action-packed, and will probably push the envelope for a 'T' rating…so I'm bumping it up. So, no warnings for y'all this time…it's an 'M' rating now so I don't have to feel bad about it! I hope you guys enjoy this one!
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Ashes to Ashes
Part Six: Inferno
The lights were bright and dark all at once, creating a haze that seemed to glow in a grayish hue and cloud over details. Swirling jet streams of glittering lights passed him from time, brushing past his face gently before continuing their journey into nothingness. He closed his eyes and didn't reopen them, not seeing a point to looking any longer, but that didn't seem like it would matter at this point; nothing seemed like it would matter. Why open his eyes and go back when he would only be met with pain and suffering? No, he would just float here; safe from feelings and everything else that made living so hard…maybe that's what should have happened four years ago in a lab in the basement anyway.
But, he heard something calling to him anyway, and despite the fact he was refusing to respond the voice kept getting louder. It was a buzzing that refused to be ignored, a quality that reminded him of…reminded him of who? A bright violet glow erupted outside his closed eyelids, forcing them to open and acknowledge what the light was, curiosity still not defeated in his head. It hurt to even open his eyes a fraction, but he did it anyway, and was met with an unusual sight.
He was no longer floating in the gray haze, but instead lying out in an open, green field punctuated only by a large Oak tree in the center of it. He felt all of his aches and pains leave him, and he pushed himself up into a sitting position to better examine his new surroundings. A light breeze blew past his face, gently whipping his black locks to and fro and the sun was glowing brightly with great white clouds hanging around it in the clear blue sky. The field smelled like rain and…lilies?
He felt a peace overcome his senses, and he wanted nothing more than to lie back down and go to sleep, but before he could, he felt someone tug at his shirt and appear before his line of sight. Before him was a small boy, maybe five or six years old, and his black hair was a messy pile on top of his head, partially covering the deep purple color of his eyes. He smiled adorably at the youth and took off running towards the tree in the center of the never-ending field, pausing once to signal that the other should follow him.
He did, pushing himself back onto his feet and taking off after the little boy in a child-like way that made something inside him gain strength again. Whether the run took a second or years, it didn't matter to him and soon he was standing under the tree with the little boy, who looked back at him with a look that no normal five year old should have. He pointed ahead of him past the tree and showed the older boy a filed that mirrored the one he had just run through, and it made the older want to keep running. Before he could, the little boy pointed back at the direction they had come from, and showed the youth a field of decay and darkness, but punctuated by brief patches of beauty that seemed to outshine that of the glorious field. He was torn, not knowing where he wanted to go, so he looked back at the little boy with deep violet eyes, pleading for help.
"You are at the Crossroads Danny Fenton," the little boy said in an ancient voice that was full of life and knowledge. "And it is here that you must pick path you wish to tread…the decision must be yours and yours alone."
His name was Danny? He felt something stir in his memory and was certain that what the boy said was true, but why couldn't he remember until it had been spoken to him? He looked back to ask the little boy a question, but was instead met with the image of a little girl, red headed and blue-eyed, smiling back at him…she looked like someone he knew…
His gaze drifted over the smiling girl and to the fields beyond, admiring how peaceful they looked; he longed for that calm, serene place. He took a step towards it, but was halted by the girl's small hand encircling his wrist, entreating he first consider what he was doing. "Be certain that is what you want. Once chosen, you cannot rethink your decision…is that path truly what you want?"
"I…I don't know what I want," he replied, his voice sounding cracked and used up, as if he had been yelling. "It just looks so nice over there…why would I pick the other field?"
"Perhaps because of the small patches of calm therein?" the girl questioned back, her blue eyes glittering…he had blue eyes like that he recalled. "You would leave that beauty behind forever…is that truly what you want?"
The aforementioned Danny looked back over his shoulder at the dismal fields, wondering to himself why he should pick that one over the pretty one. His dimmed eyes narrowed as he looked at a small spot amidst the gray that was glowing a slight purple color, a color he recognized but couldn't place. He felt himself drawn to the patch, and began to walk away from the heavenly fields, only to have a black cloud glide in front of him and let out a horrifying scream that made him jump back.
"What about those clouds then?" Danny questioned back testily, still breathing quickly from his scare. "Those don't seem like a good thing, and that field doesn't have them!"
"You are right Danny," the girl responded, melting into a new form; a girl who looked his age with raven hair and lilac eyes. She looked so familiar…he knew this form! "But those clouds are a necessary evil we must endure to have access to the beauty sprinkled throughout. While the calm field is just as its name implies, it will not satisfy like the dark field can."
"That doesn't make sense," Danny said with a frown, and running a hand through his dark hair like a habit he recently discovered he had.
"The difficult path rarely does," the girl replied with an enigmatic smile that made something in his heart lurch. "But that's why living creatures crave it so…it's not easy and dull. It's exhilarating and mysterious! But, you need to choose which path you wish to take."
"So," Danny asked slowly, trying to muddle through the haziness of his thoughts and missing memories. "Am I dead then?"
"In a sense," the purple eyed girl responded with a laugh, as if he had just said something terribly funny. "However, you are a rare creature Danny, and you are being given a choice not many living things receive…I would take advantage of this opportunity because Death does not usually condone this event in normal circumstances."
"And that choice would be..?" Danny asked right back, still not getting what the being was hinting at.
"To walk fully into Death, or to return to Life," she replied with a serious face. "The field represented as perfect and serene is what death is usually depicted as; a calm release from the sufferings of life. The darker field that you are so averse to personifies life, a hard journey punctuated with moments that make the suffering worthwhile. Because of what you are, and all the good you have done in life, you are being given a choice as to walk away from all this and be at peace or turn back and face the upcoming trials ahead."
"I can't think of anything to keep me living," Danny responded as his head pounded in pain and he looked at the purple-eyed girl with his own dulled blue orbs. "I can't remember anything but pain…and lots of it. There's fear too…why would I want to go back to that?"
"Can you not think of anything?" the girl asked back, her eyebrow arched in a way that tormented Danny's mind in recognition. "Or anyone for that matter?"
Danny's eyes looked sharply into the other's face, a trademark smirk playing no her lips. He knew that smirk, he could see someone directing it towards him time after time, and then he could smell lilacs all around him. He closed his eyes and let the sensation wash over him, remembering rain, and lavender eyes looking at him in sadness. He remembered smooth hands clasping his own, and soft lips pressing against his, and he felt something jolt through his body that made him shiver. When he looked back up, he could still see the girl smiling back at him in a knowing way and he knew who she was referring to.
"You?" Danny asked in a whisper that could barely be heard.
"Not me exactly," the girl responded with a laugh before melting into something else. She still had a female form, but her clothing was replaced with a gray robe and her hair turned silver, matching her eyes perfectly. She didn't seem to walk, but rather floated, and she had an ethereal air about her that made Danny believe she was older than time itself. "But I was representing the girl whom you love…and who loves you in return."
"Who-what are you?" Danny asked, correcting himself after he realized that this woman wasn't a person of any kind. He could feel a buzzing in his head renew again, but he forced his attention to focus on the lady before him.
"I am called many things by mortals and immortals alike," she responded with a soft smile as she lightly touched Danny's arm to calm him down. "Some call me Future, while others call me Wryd. Some fear me as the Reaper and others worship me as a Fate…but I am not really any of those things…not truly. I am simply a spectator who is gifted with a sight of the different branches the road may take. What road is chosen in the end is not known to me…nor will it ever be. In the simplest terms, I am a choice giver called Selene, and I am giving you your choice now."
"This is so weird," Danny mumbled to himself as he turned his attention back towards the two fields before him. He still didn't know what to chose, for while he felt the truth when Selene told him he was in love with that girl, did he really think love alone was worth going back to that pain he left? "How do I know if I picked the right choice?"
"There is no right choice," Selene answered back kindly. "You must do what your heart and mind tells you…do you wish for their input?" She waited for Danny to give a small nod, willing to accept any help right now to sort through his befuddled mind, and then waved her hand in a lazy gesture behind him. "Then I suggest you listen to what they have to say…but beware! It may not all be what you want to hear child."
Danny nodded and turned his weary form around and faced several replicas of him, each decked out in different colors. He was confused for about a second when a yellow-clad being stepped forward and straightened his glasses with a crooked smile.
"Well this has been an interesting few days for us eh?" the yellow being asked Danny, who mutely nodded, not sure of how to answer seeing as he still could not remember hardly anything. "I suppose I'll take care of introductions then…I'm your Knowledge, Danny." He then turned and waved back to five other beings and spoke again to Danny, "The following colors: Gold, Black, Silver, and Crimson represent your Hope, Love, Truth, and Fear respectively. The fifth being posing as Dan Phantom is your Darkness substituting the Despair you are feeling for Fear. Now, I think that we should try and--"
"Oh be done with it already," Darkness growled in a tone that sent shudders down Danny's spine. There was something about that creature's smooth, cruel tone that haunted Danny's memory, something about a fate once avoided but not escaped entirely. "We weren't called so we could introduce ourselves and have tea now were we? Danny seems to be having a dilemma, so let's help him out…why do you want to go back Danny? Humans only will wish to destroy you, and you are already much to hurt to fight them off on your own…"
"We are not here to badger the boy Darkness," the silver colored Truth said in a neutral tone that indicated he took no side apart from the honest truth, no matter how painful. "We were called into service to give advice…save your pathetic attempt at control for another time."
"Truth as a point," Knowledge said as he smiled at Darkness, who in turn growled at both emotions in a feral way.
"Of course I have a point," Truth responded in the same monotone voice.
"Uh…" Danny finally said as he remembered he needed some type of help. "Can you…things…help me out instead of arguing?" Each of the beings nodded, Darkness after a stern glance from Selene who was watching as a mother watches her children, and Danny took a deep breath and continued with a small shake of his head. "I am going to need help after this…okay! So…how are you guys?"
"Can't complain," Knowledge said with a grin that made Danny smile despite the situation.
"Fine," Truth answered as Fear merely scowled along with Darkness.
"I've had better days," Hope answered in a melodious tone, his golden eyes and form looking exhausted but not defeated. As Danny looked at Hope, he was reminded of a magical creature from a fantasy book he used to read as a child; the slightly pointed ears and tilted eyes making him look like a fairy or elf of some kind. "And so has Love."
The black clad one, who Hope had said was Love, looked up at Danny with sad, lilac eyes and shook his head before hugging his arms around his body in a protective way that made him look small and childlike. Danny was about to ask why Love didn't respond when Hope interrupted him with an answer. "Love doesn't speak, he expresses. And now, he is expressing the pain you are in because you cannot remember the ones you love intimately, platonically, or relatively enough to realize that they are worth sticking around for."
"What good will they do for him?" Fear asked in a sniveling, but calculating tone as he fixed blood-red eyes on Danny. "For all you know, your family will turn on you once they discover your powers! And what if your human lover leaves you alone like she has before! What good does Love ever do for you?"
Love was shaking his head back and forth with a scared expression on his face, seeing the contemplative look on Danny's confused face. What powers was he talking about? He looked down at his hands and thought he saw a slight glimmer of violet pass over them, but he ignored it and turned his attention back to his emotions.
"Love is both a blessing and a curse," Truth said in a logical tone as he stared down Fear to get him away from Love. "It always has been and will continue as such. But the point Fear raises in a valid one…the potentially negative reaction by the ones you hold dear could cause further suffering and pain upon you Danny."
"Then why does he need them?" Darkness asked angrily as he flicked his cape back and revealed his white fangs in an evil grin. "You could be so powerful without your human attachments Danny…you could rule the world and then you could erase pain entirely and never worry about it again!"
"There's a good idea," Knowledge said in a sarcastic tone, drawing Danny's attention away from the dangerous thoughts floating through his head due to Darkness's words. "Are you suggesting getting rid of pain by causing the pain it would take to gain control of the world in the first place? Why doesn't he just blast the damn planet then and then everyone would be dead and wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore."
"I suppose you do have good ideas every once in awhile," Darkness sneered back with a curled lip.
"I was being sardonic Darkness…but then I wouldn't expect you to know the difference…"
"This squabbling will get us nowhere," Truth interrupted in an agitated tone, noting the very confused and distressed expression on Danny's face. "We should be helping him make a decision, not mocking each other…"
"That's easy, I can feel how strong his fear is…he should just go to his death now and save everyone a lot of trouble…"
"Are you insane? How will that solve anything?"
"Will you all focus on the matter at hand please?"
"Danny, please listen to what I need to say," the melodious voice of Hope broke in over the entire din…his quiet but enchanting tone silencing the others as they looked over at him. He was glowing much brighter than before and had a look in his eye that suggested knowing something the others did not. He walked over to where Love was sitting curled up and gently lifted the pained emotion up, whispering softly to him, "Like you helped me Love, I will help you…do you not feel it? The stone is activated."
Love suddenly smiled like a kid at Christmas and ignored the others as he grasped Hope's slender hand and walked over to stand in front of Danny. The poor black-haired boy was confused beyond all belief and after looking to Selene for guidance, turned back and indicated he would listen to what Hope needed to say.
"Thank you," Hope said with a smile and letting go of Love's hand as the latter emotion began to glow a faint color of violet. "Danny…I cannot deny everything the others have said, because they were all being truthful in a way because they all come from inside your head, but I can tell you something they all left out. You have an incredible power and use it to help people…to give them hope when you have none at all. I will admit, I'm not very strong because of all the trials you must face, all the sacrifices you have made to help people you fear and misunderstand you in exchange, but I can never die because of the love you harbor for your family, friends, and lover. There is so much for you to still experience in life…do you truly wish to give into the nightmares they are all setting before you?"
"But what if they're right?" Danny asked in a pleading tone, his blue eyes scared and unknowing of what he could be going back to. "What if the pain is too much to handle and I become something evil? What if these people I care about leave me alone? How do I know what to do?"
"You don't," Hope stated simply, glancing slightly at a now floating and shining purple Love before continuing. "You can never be sure of what will happen in life because there is no fate but what humankind makes for each of them. All you can do is trust in the people you love, fight until you have nothing left, and hope that things will turn out all right in the end…why are you so scared Danny of what life may hold?"
"I don't know," he answered, now distracted by the brightly glowing Love, recognizing that purple flame from somewhere out of a dream. Danny covered his eyes as violet light bathed his vision and when he lowered his arm, he saw a very familiar sight that screamed to be remembered. "I know you…"
"Yes you do," Hope answered as he took the small, delicate hand belonging to Love and placed it in Danny's shaking hand with a small smile on his angled face. "Now…can you honestly not say that there are some things worth suffering for? Do you feel the love this girl has for you? How can you possibly think about leaving her and losing hope?"
Danny stared back into the face of Love, a face that was completely changed save for the violet eyes. He was staring back into the face and form of Sam Manson, and she was smiling at him, begging him to fight and not give up so she could see him and hold him again. It was ground-shattering and all of his memories, good and bad, came flooding back as he stared back into the face Love had been able to adopt via the power of a small gemstone he gave as a present to Sam all those months ago.
"What about all the people he harms?" Darkness asked cruelly as Fear nodded his crimson head in agreement. "Like the family he destroyed or the ones he cannot save? He is weakened by these attachments and would serve better to be rid of them! One girl cannot possibly change human and ghost nature!"
"You would be surprised how much the depth of human emotion can accomplish," Knowledge replied with a twinkle in his yellow eyes and adjusting his glasses. "Especially in the hands of the right person…Love is a powerful thing when given a chance, as is Hope, it only takes a little bit of faith to see it."
Danny stared back at Love, blue eyes starting to glow again, and whispered softly, "Sam? How are you…why are you here? You heard everything they said about me and…and it's all true! Truth said it was…why should I come back if I'll only hurt everyone I care about? What if I hurt you?"
Love, in the form and face of Sam, didn't respond with words, but instead clasped his shaking hand with her own small one and pulled him closer. Love softly pressed her lips against his and he felt everything she felt…all of her fears, her worries, and her sorrows she knew would afflict her should he give up now. She needed him more than anything else in the world, and she was willing to face the risks to be with him…she loved him in the simplest sense of the word. He couldn't…wouldn't give in to his fear and despair just yet!
Darkness let out a snarl before fading away from the scene, swearing that he would yet claim dominance and push Danny into his 'rightful' destiny, and then Fear faded as well, grimacing as it too was defeated by something it underestimated. Knowledge gave Truth a smirk before fading as well, leaving Danny alone with his more intimate emotions for his final decision, and Truth blinked as he left, nonplussed by the events surrounding him. He only saw the truth after all; it did not matter whether it was good or bad.
Love pulled away and smiled softly as she looked over at Hope in happiness. The purple eyed emotion was enveloped in a violet glow and turned back into its original form of a black adorned Danny with the same eyes, a signal that the stone had pulled the girl back into her body and it was time for Danny to decide what path he wished to take. Selene patted Love on the shoulder and with a final cherry wave, that was reminiscent of a Love that a purple eyed girl had come across, disappeared into the gray haze like the earlier departed emotions had. It was only Danny with his Hope now as he faced Truth…and a rather entertained deity-like spirit who was smiling at the very confused young man.
"What is the choice you see before you?" Truth asked in the same no nonsense tone as he fixed his silver gaze on Danny's downcast head. "You have heard both sides, two sides that have the potential of being true, and now must decide if those risks are worth walking among your loved ones once more."
"Will I even see them again?" Danny asked forlornly as he looked back up, knowledge of his present situation flashing in his mind in a blur of rubble and leering grins.
"If you hold on and believe that you will, it will happen," Hope answered as he walked to stand beside Truth, locking eyes with Danny. "As we speak, help is on its way…the ones who care about you are coming to help with some powerful allies to free you and your sister. Hold on to that hope Danny and you will be amazed at the strength of it…"
Danny was silent as he weighed the pros and cons of each choice in his mind and when he looked back up, only Selene remained, looking at him patiently as he deliberated. He took a deep breath and took a step in the direction of his choice, halting only slightly as Selene called something out to him before he continued.
"Once you make a choice, you cannot take it back…are you positive this is what you wish for?"
"Yes…" Danny answered as he gritted his teeth and walked off into the field. Selene smiled slightly as his form disappeared from sight, enveloped by the swirling haze of the field, and nodded her head as she turned around to await the next person to enter the Crossroads.
"I will see you again soon Danny Phantom…"
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"Boss!" one of Riley's henchmen yelled over after a very stressful ten minutes. "He's breathing Boss!"
"Then get him up and move him to the medical wing," Riley answered with an agitated frown as he flicked his wrist towards what was left of the door and rubbed his temple with his free hand. "And be sure to not knock him against anything on the way…Masters won't be happy if we fuck up his little prize anymore than we have already!"
The four or so henchmen nodded as they carefully picked up the limp form of Daniel Fenton from the rubble covered ground and carried him out of Riley's sight. Riley let out a relieved sigh and let his eyes roam the ground at the damage the kid had done after Martino had attempted to molest him. To say that the room was destroyed would be an understatement, that scream the kid unleashed despite the collar had completely annihilated the room and surrounding area, looking like a small bomb had went off and vaporized the metal straight off the wall. His gaze dropped to the floor where the now decaying body of Charles Martino was laying on the floor, the neck bent at an odd angle and half of his face chewed off by that scream along with half of his body.
"It's a good thing your dead my friend," Riley muttered as he kicked the body out of his way and stormed out of the gutted room. "Otherwise you'd have to answer to me for failing at the one task you are supposed to be able to do…"
Riley's thoughts drifted to those agonizing moments between when he had heard the scream and to when his henchman informed him the kid was in fact breathing and not dead as he had feared. He did not care for the boy, and given his choice he would have been killed in his home that night, but his sponsor had an interest in the boy and if he had been killed under his supervision…Riley did not want to think about what the consequences would have been. Even so, Danny had not been breathing for a lengthy amount of time, and the pain shot through his body as he let out that mysterious scream would certainly not improved his already poor health. Riley acknowledged that Vlad Masters would be lucky if the boy ever woke up again…
He stormed into his office and picked up the phone, his body tense with dread, and dialed the number of his employer and liberator. With Martino now dead, Riley had no tool with which to break Danny in the way that Masters had requested, plus the billionaire needed to be informed of what condition the boy was now in. He waited on hold as one of the man's secretaries said she'd contact Mr. Masters, and walked absently to the medical ward.
When he arrived, he looked in anger over where the boy was lying, watching his cronies wrapping up some of the wounds the collar had caused and trying to get him to wake up. Riley looked at the boy's battered form and promised that if the boy ever woke up, he would make sure it was his personal duty to kill his sister in front of him as punishment for giving him such a headache.
"You called Riley?" the smooth, collected voice of Vlad Masters asked over the phone. "Maureen said you seemed anxious…I trust nothing unsatisfactory has occurred in a way that may void our arrangement."
"Well…" Riley answered in a cold voice as he glared at the unconscious, but still living Daniel Fenton. "A small problem as arisen concerning that kid you're so interested in…I think you better come and collect him ahead of schedule…"
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Sam could hear someone faintly calling her name and she snapped her eyes open, half expecting to see Danny staring back at her and smirking that she fell asleep during a movie. The green glow of the Ghost Zone greeted her however, and she felt two pairs of strong arms lift her up, one warm and the other cold as a ghost. She blinked her lilac eyes repeatedly a few times and gave her pounding head a few shakes to try and clear it, but only succeeded in making herself retch. This only elicited a cry of disgust from someone she recognized as Tucker.
"Aww, gross Sam!" Tucker exclaimed as started to wipe off the spewings off himself and off the floor of the Spectre Speeder. She expected him to go into a diatribe about ruining his clothes, but he just looked back up at her now open eyes and smiled at her in relief.
"Let me guess," Sam asked groggily as she put a hand to her head. "The pendant started to glow and I collapsed or something right? Did I stop breathing this time?"
"Uhh, not about the breathing part," Valerie answered from behind her as she helped steady Sam on her feet. "But you did glow violet and then your body went completely still…like you were dead or something. Then you were smiling or something and all the color came back into your body as the light vanished into that stone again and then you were just still for a bit…we were worried Sam!"
"I gathered that much," Sam groaned as she looked around to see who else was holding her arm and was surprised to see the angry spirit, Aestas, holding her arm and looking at her in concern, much different than the burning rage he had last fixated her with. "Um…why aren't you trying to kill me?"
"Oh!" Aestas boomed in a jovial voice as he shook his rainbow hair and his yellow eyes seemed to smile at her in humor. "About that, it was but a minor misunderstanding child! I thought you were connected with the being who helped kidnap my sister, Bruma, but you clearly are not if you in possession of Merlin's jewel."
"Oh…and they are?" Sam asked, indicating two other floating spirits behind Tucker.
"I am called Flora," the delicate looking maiden answered in a lilting voice that sounded like birds singing. She had light green skin and her rainbow hair was flowing with flowers weaved into it, framing her dark green eyes. She was garbed in what looked to be a hunter's dress that hung off her shoulders loosely, and she had a kind smile playing on her beautiful face, and Sam thought she smelled roses around her. "But I suppose you would know me as the Spirit of Spring."
"And I am called Messis, child," the other floating being answered, this one a male who looked similar to Aestas, just different hunter's clothing and shorter rainbow hair. His skin was tinted an orange-ish red and he had deep brown eyes, which were looking at her in a fatherly way. "Also known as the Spirit of Autumn and I believe you have met our younger brother, Aestas…Spirit of Summer. With our older sister, Bruma the Spirit of Winter, we are the Seasonal Spirits…but I'm sure you have discovered that already child."
Sam mutely nodded as she looked over at Tucker and Valerie, who was now standing beside him, eyeing the ghosts…no, spirits…suspiciously. Both nodded their heads to inform the raven haired girl that these beings were telling her the truth. Sam, still feeling light-headed and weak, could feel a hundred questions forming in her mind, but she forced herself to keep it brief…for Danny's sake.
"You know about this jewel?" Sam asked the strange looking spirits in front of her, touching the stone lightly and feeling something brush past her lips…perhaps that dream wasn't just a dream after all.
"Of course we do," Flora answered as she floated down and touched the ground with delicate feet, Messis following her lead and Aestas leaving Sam to stand beside his siblings. "It is a mystical object of the mortal plane, and there are not very many of them. The last I knew of it, a ghost by the name of Clockwork had given it to an unusual ghost being, for safe keeping. If you, a mortal, is now in possession of it, and the stone reacted that way to you, then it means you were given this as a token of love…it as different reactions to different feelings shared between the giver and the receiver."
"Yes," Messis continued in his fatherly tone as he sat down in one of the seat in the Speeder. "And because the stone was actually able to flare to life in that bright a color and also send your soul into the mind of your lover signifies the depth of affection that is shared between the two of you…who is this ghost-being that Clockwork entrusted the pendant to? It is usually forbidden for ghosts and humans to mate with each other."
"His name's Danny," Tucker answered as Sam was once more lost in thought, touching her lips with her fingers and her mind working furiously as she remembered standing underneath a large tree of some kind. "He's something that the ghosts here call a halfa…half ghost, half human."
"What!" all three of the spirits asked back, surprise written clearly on their faces.
"There is such a thing as a halfling?"
"Well, Vlad Plasmius is one too, and I think he took your sister, but Danny's a good ghost!" Valerie said quickly.
"A being that walks both planes?" Aestas asked with a confused expression on his face. "But then, why would he be interested in a human girl for a lover?"
"Hey!" Valerie answered back; mildly offended because she had dated Danny herself…there was nothing wrong with human girls! "He didn't always used to be like this…he was in an accident back in freshmen year and he was turned into a half ghost. He used to be human!"
"Interesting," Flora said to herself as Aestas and Valerie continued arguing on the worth of human girls. "He was created…I suppose he could not be a natural plane walker then."
"But he took a human for a lover…" Messis responded to his younger sister. "Their possible children would be…born partly dead…"
"Uh, can you stop calling Danny and Sam lovers?" Tucker asked as he rubbed his temple as a headache came on from the arguing…although he did admit that Valerie looked incredible sexy when she was arguing like she was. "It's kind of gross, and I don't want to imagine them having sex thank you."
Sam had remained quiet during all this, recalling in her mind why she felt her lips tingle right before she had woke up, and knowing that she had to hurry to get to Danny before anything else happened. It was starting to get ridiculous just how much trouble one boy could attract, but she knew she really couldn't help it…half-ghost hybrids came with baggage after all. She looked up to see everyone otherwise distracted and slid herself into the driver's seat, started the Speeder despite the others asking her what she was doing, and sped off towards the Fenton Portal, season spirits in tow.
"May I ask just what you think you are doing human?" Messis asked in a bewildered tone as he looked at his two shrugging siblings and then back at the two surprised humans. "You seem to be in a bit of a hurry and…"
"I need yours and your siblings help," Sam interrupted as she followed the Speeder's instructions back to the Fenton's. "I can't really explain how I know, but I just do and it has to do with this pendant…plus if you three help me out we can possibly help your sister as well."
"How do you know you need our specific help child?" Flora asked in her gentle tone. "Perhaps you can explain that for us…"
"All right," Sam gritted as she pulled a sharp turn, reminding both Valerie and Tucker why they disliked driving with the gothic girl. "I was told that to help free Danny, who is in trouble right now, we'd need help from allies…I think because of your sister. She's under the control of some psycho kidnapper who hates Danny's parents and Knowledge said she was really powerful and that we'd need to fight fire with fire…so to speak."
"Knowledge?" Flora asked in an awed voice as she exchanged glances with her siblings and then looked back at the girl who was flying towards an open green vortex. "Do you mean to say that you have actually been inside the head of your beloved child? You have, in fact, spoken with a physical representation of the emotions that dwell inside the thoughts of humans?"
"Erm, yes," Sam answered with a slight blush as she remembered she had not just spoken with them…Love had kissed her after all.
"Then who are we to argue I say!" Aestas spoke in his booming, youthful voice as he smiled encouragingly at the other two teenagers. "If Knowledge in its rarest and pure form told this girl we would to help her, then I believe we should acquiesce this once and aid the world of man!"
"Knowledge has been known to also have an inkling of foresight in the cases where mortals have encountered it alone," Flora said with a nod towards her younger brother, showing she agreed with him and then turned to the eldest of the four. "Messis, I think we should aid them…especially if it means we may retrieve our sister once more."
Messis nodded his head and pursed his lips in thought before speaking. "I also am of the same mind my siblings…especially if it means getting Bruma back in her domain where she can no longer be used as a tool by foolish humans who are not aware of they are playing with. And if this is the one who is part of both planes, it would be beneficial to us to aid him while he is young and still developing."
Tucker and Valerie glanced at each other after the spirit of Autumn's last statement, for once happy that Sam was too focused on driving the Speeder through the Portal and parking it without crashing into anything in the lab. The spirit seemed to refer to Danny like that of a dictator who had not yet taken power…and they both seemed to focus on the story Danny had told them about an evil version of himself in the future who was a dictator. But, they both shoved those troubling thoughts out of their minds as the Fenton parents came barreling down the stairs, shouting if the kids were all right and to beware of the ghosts standing behind them.
Tucker scrambled out of the Speeder immediately to explain to Jack and Maddie that these were the allies that would help them and also explaining that they weren't really ghosts. Valerie sprinted up the stairs to inform Detective Jake Miller that they were back and ready to head after Danny and Jazz, nearly tripping over one of the Fenton inventions on her way there. And finally, Sam was clutching the pendant tightly in her hand as she explained to the affronted spirits, who were angered to be called 'mere ghosts,' that Jack and Maddie didn't mean any harm and were still getting used to all the ghost business.
After a few hectic minutes of introductions and explanations, the three spirits, two adults, and two young adults all hurried up the stairs to meet up with the third young adult outside. Surprisingly, they were all able to crowd into the Fenton RV, the seasonal spirits examining the various tools and gadgets with mild interest as they were crammed into the vehicle, and waited for a few minutes until Detective Miller and his team arrived at the house. After exchanging a few comments with each other, Miller ordered his squad to follow the Fenton RV and climbed into the van as well, indicating for Sam to lead the way. She gave a nod and wrapped her tiny hands around the pendant, looking as if she was praying to an unnamed God, and then pointed in the direction for Jack to go.
She focused all her thought on finding Danny, recalling Miller's words that they were dawning on the fifth day since Danny and Jazz had been missing, whispering to Danny through the small connection the stone gave them to hold on for another day...hold on for her a bit longer.
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Jazz sat in a high backed chair, her head pounding and hands tied behind her back, and watched the men set to guard her pace around nervously. It had been five minutes or so since the loud explosion rocked the building and sent Riley scrambling out to make sure no one got into the compound; five minutes since Jazz had been able to set aside the worries and fears she had for her still knocked out brother for the hope raising in her chest. She was praying and hoping that the explosion she had heard was someone coming in to help rescue her and Danny, someone who could fight off that ghost Riley had under his control.
She wriggled slightly in her bonds, wincing from the slight pain she felt in her head and on the side of her body, the result of trying to keep Martino away from her brother. She had remembered blacking out and when she came to, she was alone in her room, but then she could hear what had woken her up…her brother's Ghostly Wail echoing down the halls to her lonely room. She had scrambled to the door and tried to force it open, knowing full well Danny would only use his powers, that one in particular, if he was in trouble, and she had started crying at the thought of Martino touching him. Even after his Wail was cut off, she continued to try and move the door, wiping sweat mingled with blood away from her forehead every so often and feeling a bruise on her ribs forming from when Riley had kicked her. Even when she had been dragged out of the room and told to examine her brother, whom had stopped breathing for a lengthy amount of time, she could only feel joy at the sight that he hadn't been raped and wasn't dead either.
Problem was, Riley informed her, after she had checked over her brother and found nothing physically life impairing, that Vlad Masters was coming to 'collect' her brother in three days time…and that she would outlive her usefulness by that point. She remembered not being afraid that he would kill her, but was terrified of the idea that Vlad was going to get a hold of her still comatose brother when he was in such a weakened state. If Danny ended up having amnesia, which she knew was a definite possibility due to the amount of time his brain was without oxygen and the pain he went through before hand, Vlad could do irreparable damage before anyone could stop him. So, she had spent the past two days locked away in a solitary room with only her worries for company. Needless to say, she had not enjoyed the time.
But, that one loud BOOM from across the compound sent a blazing hope through the young woman's body, giving her the strength that had been absent from her slim frame for forty-eight hours. She slipped her thin wrists through the rope binding her hands, having moved the bindings around enough to squeeze her hands out, and waited until her guards were too distracted before she slipped off the chair and his in a darkened corner. She heard her guards start to scramble and yell at each other that she was gone and waited until one of them strayed over towards her hiding space before she grabbed his ankle and swung him into the wall, grabbing his weapon in the process. Thanking her mother for teaching her how to defend herself properly, Jazz utilized the adrenaline and anger she felt for her brother's condition to attack and disarm her remaining two guards in quick, fluid motions.
She stared down at the three unarmed, unconscious men in wonder, astonished at what her petite form could do when she was angry and motivated, but then quickly moved her tired body out the door and sprinting down the hallway and towards her brother hopefully. The fishing factory was so complicated and twisted, she had a hard time remembering what way was what…not to mention she wasn't really at her peak condition at the moment. She hurtled down a hallway and turned sharply to the right, only to run into someone she had never been so happy to see in her entire life.
"Daddy!" Jazz hoarsely yelled as she wrapped her arms around her father's large, comforting frame as he nearly collapsed in relief that one of his children was safe now. "I'm so happy to see you Daddy! I was so scared and then I wanted to go find Danny but I got lost and now I…"
"Shh, Jazzy-pants," Jack murmured in a fatherly way as he rocked his traumatized daughter back and forth for a moment, letting her get control of her whirling emotions before continuing. "You're safe now Princess…nothing can get you now. Now come on, we need to get you out of here."
"What about Danny?" Jazz asked as she let her father practically carry her out of the hallway, somehow knowing exactly where he was going. "We can't just leave him here Daddy! He's hurt and…"
"I know Jazzy," Jack said as he helped his weakened daughter out of the building Sam had led them to over the past two days. "Your mom, Detective Miller, and Sam are heading over to help him…and we've got the police outside taking care of Riley's hooligan's as well."
"What about the winter ghost?" Jazz asked, squinting as she was met with her first sunlight in five days. She was about to ask another question when she saw three figures, all bearing the same rainbow hair as the ghost they were facing, fighting above her, distracting the winter ghost from everyone else below.
"Spirits, apparently," Jack answered excitedly; sounding like his usual self instead of so worried about his son…but that only lasted for a second. "Sam, Tucker, and Valerie went into the Ghost Zone and recruited their help…the Winter Spirit is their sister. Now come on Jazzy…let's get you cleaned up."
As Jack led his daughter away from the fight and towards the medical staff Miller had brought with him, he couldn't help but glance back in worry, hoping his wife would find their precious son. He shared a look with Jazz, and knew she was thinking the same thing…hoping that Sam would help him in a way that none of them could understand…
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Vlad Plasmius floated above the fishing factor he had told Mance Riley to hold the Fenton children until his arrival…which was supposed to be when Daniel had been broken and easy to corrupt. But now he was speeding to pick up damaged goods…that fool Riley! A perfectly good plan was put to waste because of his selfish desires, and to think of all the trouble he went through to capture an actual spirit to detain Daniel was wasted.
The evil halfa could see three other spirits, presumably the girl's family, fighting Bruma, and he knew by now that his plans were utterly ruined! He had been so close to getting a hold of Daniel, and through him, Maddie…but now everything seemed to be ruined. Plasmius looked down to see the imbecile Jack Fenton carrying his daughter out of the building, no doubt muttering consolations in her ear, but he was intrigued when he didn't see Maddie follow him, and he didn't see Daniel outside with his little friends either. Smiling in a sadistic fashion, Vlad spun away with a swish of his cloak and turned to dive into the building.
Perhaps there was hope for a part for his plan to work after all.
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Tucker and Valerie watched in awe as the three seasonal spirits fight their sister in the air above them, shouting down every now and then to take cover if one of their projectiles came hurtling to near. Valerie was busy protecting the police from the blasts with her own ecto blasts as she zoomed around on her hover-board, low to the ground to not get in the way of the spirits, and shouted every now and then to Tucker to throw up one of her many guns when her ammo went low. Tucker, while understanding the danger of the situation they were in, wanted nothing more than to barge into the fishing factory after Sam and Danny's mom…but she had warned him not to. He didn't know what kind of an affect that stone was having on one of his best friends, but she seemed to have gained some kind of foresight by holding on tight to it…and it had warned her to only bring two other people in after her…Detective Miller and Maddie Fenton.
Jack had run in after his Fenton Button caught a hold of Jazz's signal emitting from a button she must have had concealed on her clothing somehow, yelling for Tucker and Valerie to stay and help the spirits if they needed it. Tucker glanced back up to the sky as Valerie landed back down beside him, noting that Flora and Aestas seemed to have gotten a good hold on their controlled sister, and Messis was hovering over her and working on taking the collar off his sister's neck and wrists. Feeling that the season spirits had their affairs under control, the two friends looked at each other in worry, grabbing hold of the other's hand for comfort and for…something else.
Valerie let herself be embraced by a worried Tucker, and wrapped her free arm around his neck as his free hand stroked her silky, dark hair. It felt good to hold each other like they did…a comfort that they still were able to discover something hidden beneath the surface of their friendship in the in such trying times. The both knew they couldn't say anything of how they felt, their fear for their two friends still taking the forefront of their thoughts, but maybe when all of this was over.
Maybe when all of this was over, love could find another way.
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Sam hurried down the corridors of the fish factory, the stone guiding her through the many twists and turns like a map in her mind. She glanced back quickly to see that both Maddie and Detective Miller were trailing her, before continuing on, the stone clutched tightly in her palm and off her neck. She still was surprised that the stone had told her to bring those two along with her instead of Tucker and Valerie, but she decided that the sentient gemstone seemed to have a better idea of what was going on better than she did. Sam paused at a three way turn and let the bright light emitting from the pendant bathe her pale skin and dark hair and show he the correct path to take.
She took off again down the middle hallway, taking the bright flare the stone was emitting as a good sign that Danny was close. She stopped when she heard Danny's mom yell out to her and turned around to face the brown-haired woman.
"Sam," Maddie said in a tired, but not breathless voice, letting Miller catch up as well. "Are you sure this necklace is leading you the right way?"
"More sure than anything else," Sam answered back in a quiet tone, feeling a warning sign in her head in the form of a buzzing sound. "This stone connects Danny and I…I think they moved him from his room is all…"
Sam never got to finish her thought as she heard a gunshot and was forced to the ground by Detective Miller, still clutching the pendant tight in her hand so that it pricked her skin. She felt Miller get off her and attack a man to her left, hearing the two grunts as the men collided into the wall, and lifted her head to see Maddie facing off with a gaunt, crazed looking man who was taunting her as he avoided her weak punches and kicks. Sam wondered briefly why Maddie wasn't attacking this man she knew as Mance Riley with more vigor, but as she pushed herself to her feet, she noticed the limp, pale form he was holding against his body.
It was a very hurt, very shirtless, and very unconscious Danny.
"You sicko Riley," Maddie growled as she ducked out of the way of one of his clumsy punches and fired back one of her own, hitting him in the mouth. "How dare you try and harm my family! And for what? For some accident you think we caused years ago in college?"
"Payback's a bitch Madeline," Riley answered with a slur to his voice. "You and your oaf of a husband are going to learn that the hard way…I'll take away the most important things to you as payment for taking mine away…my freedom! Does it make you sad to know your little boy is so hurt in the arms of a madman Maddie? It's no wonder why Martino wanted your pretty little son so badly…he had a spirit that was absolutely delicious to smash into the ground!"
"You will never harm my family again!" Maddie yelled in anger as she ducked low to the ground and tripped Riley from the knees. The man fell to the ground with a grunt, Danny's limp form sliding away for a second. Maddie tried to make a leap for her son, but was caught around the ankle by Riley, who twisted it until he heard a crack, and then hurled Maddie away into the opposite wall.
"Wrong again," Riley replied with a maniacal laugh as he dragged Danny's body back up against his body and pressed a small blade against his neck directly above a blue band encircling it. "And you'll watch your precious son die now Madeline! Plasmius by damned! And as for your pretty daughter…I'll come for her again in my own time…"
"NO!" Sam yelled suddenly, pushing past Miller's ending scuffle and running straight towards Riley and Danny, tears stinging her vision as she felt the amulet go cold. She would be damned if she let Danny go now…even if it meant her own life. "Don't you dare hurt him!" Sam hissed as she narrowed her lilac eyes hatefully at Danny's abductor.
"Sam honey, get away!" Maddie said as she struggled up against the wall, favoring her uninjured leg.
"Manson, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Miller yelled as he whipped out his gun, now done with his fight against Riley's goons, and pointed it straight at Riley.
"Oh," Riley drawled as he eyed Sam up and down. "This is dear Danny's pretty little girlfriend eh? Well, I suppose you should be around to watch me spill this abomination's blood all over the floor… it would please me to hear your screams of despair girl!"
"You know what Riley," Sam said in a calm voice as she raised her fist holding the amulet and glared daggers at the disgusting excuse for a human being I front of her. "Screw you, you bastard!"
Before anyone could advise her against her action, or even tell her what she was about to do, a brilliant lilac and white inferno erupted from the pendant, and launched itself straight into Riley, who only had time to scream before he was engulfed by the flames. Sam felt pain rip through her frame, but she kept the blazing light going, noticing the white light protecting Maddie, Miller, and Danny as the livid violet flames consumed Riley's form entirely. Sam was happy she couldn't hear anything beyond her own screams, the look on Riley's face enough to inform her of the pain he was in. She had no idea how long she kept the flaming purple inferno going before she collapsed to her knees, gasping for air and shaking from head to toe.
She could faintly feel two arms help lift her off the ground and she looked around to see two of Miller's officers helping herself to her feet and another one lending Maddie a shoulder to lean on as she limped out of the room. Sam fixed her eyes on Detective Miller's battered, but otherwise unharmed form, as he lifted up the prone Danny from the ground and carrying him gently over towards where an officer was picking her up and walking out of the room. She gave Miller a gentle smile as she hooked her still shaking hand holding the pendant around Danny's limp one, happy that he at least was out of immediate danger.
Sam did not look back as they walked out of the building and towards her waiting friends and surrogate family, only trying to focus on the feel of Danny's skin against her own, thinking only one thought in her mind as exhaustion finally took its toll and took the girl away.
"I'll look after you Danny…I'll look after you."
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Vlad watched the entire fight between Riley and Maddie take place from above, almost interfering himself when he saw his beloved thrown into a wall and obviously hurt. He had wanted to destroy that fool Riley right then and there, but before he could, one of Daniel's little friends got to him first.
That purple conflagration that the small girl had produced from that curious little stone had amazed and frightened him, and Vlad Masters was not a man easily frightened. The girl…Samantha Manson, had been able to utterly destroy Riley with the simple sue of a tone, and she was obviously not that strong, remembering the screams of pain and how exhausted she had been when she collapsed. He could only imagine the amount of power he could wield if he had control of that stone!
And what was more interesting, was the fact that when she had grabbed Daniel's hand afterwards, the stone had glowed again, faintly but powerfully nonetheless. Vlad whirled around and started to head back home to Wisconsin, admitting that his plans had been defeated this round. But, he had other, more sinister plans forming in his twisted mind as he laughed softly to himself and flew away.
"I'll see you soon Daniel…you and you're lovely friend Samantha."
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A/N: Wow…I actually got this done ahead of time…I can surprise even myself it seems. Let me know what you guys think please! I loved all the feedback last chapter, let's keep it going! I know I left you at a quasi-bad cliffie, but it's not as bad as the last one right? Yeah I know…flaming pitchforks here they come…
Did you guys like Hope? I enjoyed his character a bunch…Remember, review! Until next time!
Osco