Empyreal
empyreal (em-pir-ee-uhl) adj. - pertaining to the highest heaven in the cosmology of the ancients.
-Fifteen-
"So... where are we going?" I asked. Tucker's hands were gripping the wheel tightly, and he acted like he barely heard me. I could tell he was struggling to pay attention to wherever we were going.
"This Masters guy. He lives in Wisconsin, remember? I looked up his exact address and that's where we're headed."
"Is Wisconsin a city?" I asked, clueless as usual. Then I remembered. "Oh, wait, it's a state. Right?"
"Yeah, you got it... for once," Tucker responded, but his smile vanished as he concentrated on steering. I gripped the edges of my seat tightly, the belt that was across my chest feeling like it was doing absolutely nothing. We were in some sort of flying capsule that we, according to Tucker, "borrowed" from the Fentons.
"Do you know how to steer this thing?" I asked as we brushed the tips of some rather high trees. Tucker glanced at me without moving his head and focused back on the wide window that was in front of us.
"I'm fourteen, I don't have a license or anything," he said. I wasn't sure what he meant, but I'm assuming he was saying he really didn't know how to steer.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the left side of the vehicle dipped and Tucker jumped, pulling back on the handles of the machine. We leveled out quickly, although the momentum threw me sideways. My belt came in handy as it caught me, but it caught me on my shoulder a neck, leaving a stinging sensation behind.
"Tucker, if we die, it's your fault," I said as we straightened again. Tucker sniggered.
"Can you even die, Danny?" Tucker asked without thinking. "I mean, you're dead." He immediately looked at me again and I frowned at him. "Sorry, I'm sorry."
"It's alright, I suppose," I said, leaning on the edge of the machine. We were crossing huge, vast fields of green and forests that seemed to go on for miles. There didn't seem to be a city in sight.
"What are we flying over?" I asked.
"The Midwest," Tucker offered. "It's a lot of plains and farms and stuff. I'm trying to bring us on a less populated course to people don't see us." We sat in silence as Tucker looked down at his phone, sighed repeatedly, and continued driving us along, the vehicle only wobbling a little bit as opposed to before. I just trained my eyes on the windows, watching the grey and black clouds gather in the distance. I had no idea just what state Sam was in – was she hurt? Was she safe?
Was she even still alive?
"...you know this is probably what he wants, right?" Tucker said after a time. I didn't respond. "He's probably using her as a trap to get you out here in the middle of nowhere."
"I know," I said, turning to him. "I know it is. But I have to get to her. From what I understand of how Plasmius works, he doesn't wait around to get what he wants."
"Danny, we recognized him from that camera footage," Tucker said to me. "Don't you think that once that image is released – if it hasn't been already – someone else will make the connection?"
"He's a powerful man," I murmured. "If he's anything like Plasmius, he can get himself out of any situation. As far as I'm concerned, your mortal police force is not going to help the situation at all. Besides, how many people in the area of Amity Park even know Masters? Besides the Fentons, who may not even make the connection themselves..." I trailed off. The air stiffened in the cabin and I knew Tucker wasn't as convinced as I was.
"What is this vehicle anyway?" I asked, trying to crack the silence.
"It's called the Spectre Speeder, and according to Jazz it doesn't really work... But it seems to be functioning from what I can see," Tucker said, not really talking to me so much as himself. He placed his phone on the dashboard, the screen lit. "I'm using my Droid as a GPS now because I'm stupid and forgot I had GPS," he explained, grinning at me. I shrugged at him. "How is it you've been here nearly two months and you still don't have a grip on technology?"
"I feel like you have a better grip than most," I replied. "Maybe—"
Scccccrushhhhhhhhhh.
The sound of metal being shredded came from beneath us as the small lights edging the ship began flashing. The cabin suddenly went dark, with only the flashing lights as a light source.
"Oh, shit," Tucker murmured. A shiver ran down my spine. A ghost. "Well, this is fantastic."
"It's a ghost," I said, leaning forwards. I stood up and walked to the glass, looking down below us. Tucker had stopped the vehicle nearly to a crawl to conserve energy, for we were damaged. "I'll go check it out." I phased through the glass and out into the wilderness, looking for the culprit. I hovered beneath the vehicle and saw the claw marks; something very strong had just etched it's presence into the Specter Speeder.
"Tucker, I don't know how good you are with these things, but—" as soon as I started speaking, I sensed it. The ghost. I turned and saw it; it looked like large, ferocious animal, with spiked green fur, huge claws and a wolf-like face, baring its unruly fangs at me.
"What the hell are you," I murmured, but stood my ground. "Tucker, you may want to continue on... I have something to take care of."
In the vehicle, Tucker was fiddling with his phone, trying to figure out where to go. He pulled a map out of his backpack and tried to use it as a reference, but there were no roads in any direction for him to find a relation on the map.
"We are so screwed it we're lost," he said, more to himself than to me. I steadied myself, waiting for that first lunge, that first blow—
But it never came. The wolf-like creature never advanced on me. Instead, it beckoned to me, said something in another language, and pointed. In my ghostly form I knew I was more formidable, but I actually had no idea what he wanted.
"Are you fighting anything?" Tucker called from the window.
"I found something," I called back. The creature pointed past tree tops, saying something worriedly. "I think this thing wants us to go that way." Tucker leaned out the window and narrowed his eyes into the sun.
"That's the same way the GPS is pointing," he said. "Hey, if this guy wants to help us, why the hell did he damage our transport?" I looked at the creature, allowing Tucker to ask the question himself. The creature just gestured and said something else, but once again I couldn't understand a word of his language. It didn't seem to matter, though; he knew where we were going somehow, and he wanted to help.
I went back inside of the vehicle, and allowed my human form to wash over me. Tucker had his hand on the brake, the vehicle hovering in place. The wolf-like creature was in the top of a nearby tree, hunched over, its shoulder blades haunched high and its teeth yellowed and baring.
"So should we follow him?" I asked. Tucker shrugged.
"It could be a trap, Danny. This could all be a huge trap." I considered Tucker's thoughts, but I remained unconvinced. There was something about this creature... it - he seemed genuine. The sanguine look in his eyes, his mangled fur... he was trying to help us, not hurt us. He seemed too hopeful. Hopeful and depressed at the same time. A ghost that has been separated from his afterlife, from just having peace. I've seen this kind of action before. Maybe he held a grudge against Vlad or something, but he was kind.
"If it's a trap, this ghost isn't part of it," I said, my voice soft. I looked into the beasts eyes longer, trying to figure out just what it was...
"Danny... Danny? Phantom? You okay?" Tucker's voice hit me suddenly and I turned to him, as if he had waked me up quickly. I looked down and realized there was a dim white glow around my body and I felt like I was radiating cold air.
"Yeah... I think I was connecting with that ghost," I said, nodding to him. The ghost cocked back his head and howled. "He wants to help us, Tucker. He attacked us to get our attention... he didn't mean to damage our vehicle."
"How do you know this?" Tucker asked, incredulous. I grinned.
"We just know these things, Tuck."
After traveling a few more hours, the ghost wolf brought us to the outskirts of Vlad's property. Tucker's GPS was going to lead us practically to his front door because of the labyrinth of woods and roads leading to his quiet manor, but the ghost knew just where to go.
When we arrived, a police car was outside the front. The ghost wolf led us to around the back near a gigantic shed, where we could hide the vehicle. He flew after we thanked him, motioning to the house in a disgusted fashion. That left Tucker and myself outside, vulnerable without his watch.
"So, if Vlad is Plasmius or is working with him, wouldn't he have like a ghost shield or something?" Tucker asked. I turned to him.
"Well, we're not ghosts, are we?" I said, smiling at him. I grabbed his wrist and dragged him up the steps of the back porch to a huge sliding glass door.
"I'm gonna phase us through, and then we're gonna stay invisible, you got that?" I told Tucker. His eyes widened.
"Danny, if he has a ghost shield—"
"Trust me," I whispered, and I felt the familiar tingling sensation of solid becoming intangible. It felt like my entire body was being submersed in freezing cold water, but I was still completely dry. I pulled Tucker through the back door and into an even larger area, complete with leather chairs and a fireplace. I phased us into a closet and made us tangible again.
"Okay, so here's my plan," I whispered, pushing my bangs off of my forehead. My dark hair was starting to become a pain as it grew much longer than I was used to. "I'm gonna sneak around and try to find Sam while invisible. You stay here until I find her, then I'll come back for you," I told him, trying to listen to the sounds of the house while whispering. Tucker frowned.
"So what, I'm just gonna sit here doing nothing?" Tucker asked as I prepared myself to leave the closet.
"Well, you can't go invisible, so what is there for you to do?" I asked him. He crossed his arms angrily.
"Look, Danny, I've been an only child my whole life. That leaves a pretty boring life when it's time for all my friends to go home – except if I sneak back out," he said, a smile creeping onto his face. "I'm pretty good at sneaking around, Danny, and whether you want to believe it or not I'm going to help you find Sam."
"Fine, fine, whatever," I said, becoming invisible inside the closet. "Just don't get caught, please, because that could mean the end for Sam." I left the closet and wandered into the main room, greeted by a double grand staircase leading up to at least two other levels of this house. There were no sounds save for the settling of the old house... but I had no idea where to even start looking. This house was huge. She could literally be anywhere.
"Please be alright," I whispered to myself, and I bounded off through the first floor, looking in all the rooms I could find. Grand ballrooms, dining rooms, offices, guest bedrooms. Everything that a gigantic mansion of a billionaire could need, I suppose. I didn't start finding anything promising until I reached the third floor, which was noticeably less grand and more like living quarters. I figured this must be where, say, servants or family members lived.
I walked down a dimly lit hallway, trying to find any signs of a person, when I heard it. It sounded like soft footsteps coming from behind one of the doors. Each door was covered in a thin layer of dust and each door was considerably aged, as if no one ever really came up to this level of the house. I walked silently down the hall, trying to identify which door housed the walking person. Finally, I found it, and phased through the door.
I stepped into a room with an elegant four-poster bed, deep red velvet curtains, wooden walls and a crystal chandelier at the top of the room. It was larger than I expected and incredibly beautiful like the rest of the house, but it had a more homey, lived-in feel.
"Wow," I breathed, making myself visible again. Suddenly, I heard a gasp from the other side of the room. I glanced toward the sound, and saw her.
Sam.
She was crouching next to a large dresser, half way in the closet, probably hiding. She stood up, her eyes wide and shocked.
"Danny?" she whispered. I smiled and opened my arms as she fell into them, both of us collapsing to the floor. She wrapped her thin arms around my back and I held her head to my chest, stroking her hair.
"Oh, my God, Danny, I can't believe you're here... I was so scared..." she trailed off, her words getting lost in my chest.
"Are you hurt? Are you okay? What did he do to you?" I asked, the questions falling from my lips faster than I was thinking about them. Sam withdrew her arms from me and shook her head, her eyes glittering with tears. As she was moving, I saw her wrists and her arms – red and swollen.
"What happened to you?" I asked, grabbing one of her arms. She pulled back, wincing.
"I was ha-handcuffed," Sam admitted. "Danny, what are we going to do?" I shrugged.
"I don't know, Sam. I don't know what's happening anymore..." She grabbed my hands and held them tightly. "Danny, he knows things about me." I blinked at her in confusion.
"Wait, what?" Sam shook from fright.
"He knows who I am, he knows where I live, he knows my family, he... he knows everything about me. He even knows my birthday, the place I was born – Danny," she said, staring straight into my eyes, "he knows things about all of us." She clenched my hands so tightly I could feel her nails digging into my palms.
"Sam, calm down," I said, trying to be reassuring. "We'll figure out what's going on here..." Sam looked down at the floor, and then back up at me.
"How did you find me? How did you know I was here?" she asked. I smiled.
"The same way the cops did, I'm assuming," I answered. "I saw Vlad on your parents' security tape."
"You... he was caught on security?" she asked.
"Yeah, and there was a police car outside. Sam, I'm gonna get you out of here, and we're gonna go back to Amity Park, and I promise everything will be okay." Sam just nodded. All the peaceful confidence she exuded before seemed to have vanished from her demeanor.
"Why did he take you? Did he tell you?" Sam sighed.
"He wants you, Danny, wasn't that obvious?" she said. I nodded.
"Yeah, it pretty much was. But I'd rather come here and face him then risk him hurting you," I said. Sam smiled weakly. I pulled her to my chest again and hugged her shivering body. This was all such a mess. Hadn't she already suffered enough at the hands of rogue ghosts? Why was this happening? Why was Vlad after me? And... why was he working with Plasmius, most importantly.
"I'm gonna go find Tucker," I said, letting her go again. "I'll be right back." Sam nodded and I left the room, searching the gigantic mansion for him. I found him on the second floor, hiding in a closet. He seemed paler than before and slightly in shock... had something happened to him? My heart sped up at the thought.
"Danny, I—" he started, but I clamped my hand over his mouth, grabbed his torso, and dragged him up through the floor with me into Sam's room. I let him go when we became tangible and visible and he tumbled to the floor, coughing.
"Tucker, are you alright?" Sam asked. Tucker composed himself and looked up at his, a wild fear in his eyes.
"Danny, I was trying to tell you – Vlad, he found me!" Tucker gasped. My eyes widened.
"What?" I cried. Tucker bit his lower lip. "Why didn't you mention that?"
"I was trying to hide from him, and then you came, and now he probably knows we're up here with her!" Tucker said, his voice growing in volume as he spoke. Sam attempted to quiet him by making a "shush" sound (I'd only heard that sound once, it was strange) but Tucker ignored her.
"Yeah, he found me, and he kinda started chasing me and I just hid in that closet... I don't know what's happening anymore," Tucker said, sighing. "Danny, I'm so sorry. It was like he was one step ahead of me the entire time."
"Well, what are we going to do?" Sam asked. "Vlad knows you're here, so he'll probably—"
Suddenly, a cold chill fell over the room. There was a clicking sound, and the room dropped in temperature. It felt like a cold breeze was flowing through the room without any wind moving at all.
"Oh, no," I whispered, and I stood up and ran to the door, going intangible—and I was flung back onto the carpeted floor as the door refused to let me go through it.
"It's some sort of ghost shield," I murmured.
"He knows we're here," Tucker said, standing up with aid from the dresser. I stepped back from the door, panic setting into my stomach. That familiar feeling of dread and pain began tying my stomach into knots and I had no idea what to do.
"Yes, yes he does," a voice said, coming from all corners of the room. Sam stood quickly trying to distance herself from the walls.
"Where did that voice come from?" she whispered. The door handle clicked and turned, and a tall, thin, aging man with a head of brilliant white hair stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. I backed up as he walked forwards, his light blue eyes lighting up at the sight of me.
"Hello," Vlad said, his lips curving into a smile. "Long time no see, my boy."
This chapter literally took forever to write. I don't know why, it just did. Also, I started this story before Season 3 started airing, so I'm struggling with the ending and Season 3 & PP. Gah. Anyway, I would have posted this earlier but I was watching Toy Story 2 for the third time in six days two nights ago when I saw that Disney would be airing Meet the Robinsons the next day. I have actually been wanting to see that movie for about... two years now? And it's not ANYWHERE on the internet, to either rent or download. So I watched it instead of writing this. And it was on AGAIN today! Because I love it so. Now the only Disney digitally animated movie I haven't seen is Ratatouille. I should get on that. ANYWAY I hope you guys enjoy this, I apologize if it's rushed/shotty. I'm just trying to finally get through to the end. Hoorah.