Skulker stood next to Plasmius as the remains of the Heart were sealed away with Pariah Dark, never to be found again.
Or so they hoped.
Vlad glanced at the armored ghost out of the corner of his eyes; he was still waiting for an "I told you so," and was beyond grateful that it hadn't come yet. The fact was, a number of ghosts had informed him that it would be a bad idea. Now he knew why. Apparently, that was not the first time the bone dragon had escaped. There were rumors of the dead walking the streets in the eighteen hundreds that he may have been responsible for.
"Well," Vlad said, turning. "Now that that's finished, I have some doctors to astound with my amazing recovery.
Skulker smirked. "So they thought you had a nervous breakdown?"
Vlad rolled his eyes. "As long as it keeps them from guessing the truth, I could care less." He started to fly away, then turned back as a thought crossed his mind. "Return to my lab later this evening. I may have something I need you to acquire."
He had the intelligence to wait until his employer was out of sight before he sighed and rolled his eyes. He could just imagine what other stupid myths the half ghost had found in that book. Maybe next time, he'd be inclined to listen when they said it was a bad idea.
He sighed and stared at his listless human half. Several people were still recovering from an extended time without food or liquids, but he was the only one actually on an IV. "About how much longer, do you think?"
"Give it a day," Kat answered again. "Actually, I'd wait a few days if I were you, just to be sure you'll be able to fight after you remerge, but whatever. I know how antsy you're getting." She seemed unusually peevish for some reason.
The ghost boy had a suspicion. Like her father, Kat professed to not care about emotion. Jazz had expressed the belief that she was in denial, and Danny thought that his ability to eventually return to his body might be bothering his bodiless friend. While the astral girl claimed that she was happier without her body, surely her mood proved that she was not.
"Listen, Kat," he began hesitantly. "You don't have to stay if you don't want."
The gremlin shrugged. "I don't mind. Someone's got to keep you out of trouble with all these ghosts loose."
Danny scratched the back of his neck and wondered how he should phrase himself. "Well, it's just...I mean..."
"Spit it out, or still your tongue."
The boy narrowed his eyes. "You know, just because I get to go back to my body doesn't mean you have to be mad at me!"
Kat gave him the most incredulous look he'd ever seen on her face. "Phantom, dear? I'm not mad at you." She manifested her copper cane, which had been bent almost to the breaking point from its contact with Sandruu's half-metal skull. "I'm pissed because your girlfriend broke my cane."
Danny stared at her for a minute before finally deciding to exclaim, "She's not my girlfriend!"
"But not for lack of trying." She chuckled at his expression and, figuring that discretion was better part of valor, vanished.
Valerie lay on her bed, a simple card in her hand. She turned it over and over while she considered everything. Her father didn't remember much about what happened; no one did, really. She wasn't about to enlighten him, either. She was in enough trouble for simply being involved, although her punishment had been suspended on the grounds that she saved Amity Park.
She regarded the note with a critical eye, trying to decide what it meant. Most of her wanted to believe it was a veiled threat, but a tiny part encouraged her to take it at face value. She'd read it so many times that she practically had it memorized.
"Dear Valerie," it said. "I really wanted this to be more personal, but I'd rather not have to yell it as I flee for my life.
"I'm really, really sorry for everything I may have done while under Necrowind's control. Kat told me I may have hurt you, and I'm sorry for that. I don't actually remember much about what happened, but I would never purposefully try to hurt you. I know you don't believe that, but it's true. D. Phantom"
She had found it lying on her pillow the day after the attack. Clearly, it was intended to remind her that he knew her identity and where she lived. And yet...part of her didn't want to believe that. After all, if he could grow up to raise a decent kid like Andy Phantom, maybe he wasn't so bad.
She set the note on her dresser and stared up at her ceiling. It would definitely take some thought.
A/N: Thank you all for reading my story. You know I love you for it. And thank you, Random, for "Andy Phantom." And just to clear everything up, no. Sandruu will not be returning, and no. I'm not going to tell anyone if he'll even exist or not.
On an interesting little side note, there was an event in the eighteen hundreds where dead were reported to walk to the streets. It happened in London and was chalked up to something in the water that caused a mass hallucination. Personally, I like my explanation better, but that's just me.
Next up: Guys and Dolls, which may yet acquire a different title, but I doubt it.