The idea of taking a break made Danny nervous. It had made Danny nervous ever since he'd woken up and realized oh, he had responsibilities, and if he didn't carry them out people would get hurt. Badly. You know, the whole Spiderman thing.
But he knew that breaks were sometimes necessary. Even when Danny was standing on the edge of the universe, looking both ways, he still needed rest, needed sleep. Regular sleep, as Jazz kept reminding him. Normally, he'd consider this one of those times.
Normally, Nocturne hadn't just taken Danny's body on a joyride after helping him beat out a deal between two acolytes of Acedia and their former slaves that made sure his family stayed safe, too.
Acolytes. Yeah. That sounded like a good word for whatever Bethany and Eliza had been.
The fact that Acedia was still out there, somewhere…
Danny was worried that 'taking a break' under these circumstances would invoke something they'd rather escape. Still, they were headed to a real hotel, and Mom had mentioned something about a pool.
The hotel they stopped at was a blocky, anonymous chain. Four stories, mostly gray, a splash of color that matched the branding, bland gardening, also-blocky outbuilding with windows that looked in on a pool. Likely as not, a month from now, no one staying here would be able to remember its name without taking several minutes to think about it.
Dad, Mom, and Jazz trudged into the lobby, zombie-like. Danny stayed alert. After his Nocturne-assisted nap, he was feeling wired. Too much energy, rather than too little.
Checking in took forever. Part of this was because they'd left their bags and wallets in the car. Part of it was because tired brains did not process instructions quickly. Or at all. And Danny, as old and as young as he was, couldn't check them in, even though he was definitely the most awake out of all of them. However, they did get checked in.
.
Jazz lifted her head from the (overly thick) hotel pillow and rolled her shoulders. She squinted around the room, regaining her bearings slowly.
"Did you sleep at all?" she asked Danny, who was seated, cross-legged on the computer desk across from the bed.
"No," said Danny. "Didn't see a need to. I mean, I woke up at dawn. Sun was up." He shrugged.
"What time is it?"
"Three thirty-ish."
"Ugh," said Jazz.
"Hey, want to play a prank on Mom and Dad?"
"Are you serious?"
Danny shrugged. "I'd say yes, but it's a prank, so…"
Jazz sighed and dropped her head to stare at the ceiling. "What kind of prank?"
"I was thinking the classic 'you were asleep for three days.'"
"Since when is that a classic?"
"You had to be there."
Jazz sighed. "I won't stop you."
"Whatimeizzit?" asked Dad, blearily, right on cue.
"Thank goodness!" exclaimed Danny. "You've been asleep for three days!"
"WHAT!"
.
"How do you have so much energy?" asked Maddie as she fished granola bars out of her purse. The continental breakfast had long ago come and gone.
"I've got to bounce back quickly."
"It's true," said Jazz, from the bathroom. She walked out, brushing her hair. "So, what's the plan for today?"
"Something fun," said Jack, decisively. "We can take a break from investigating."
"Well, what's fun around here?" asked Danny.
"I'm not sure," said Maddie. "We weren't planning on staying in the area very long…"
"I think the lobby had some brochures," said Jazz. She frowned. "At least, hotels usually do, right? Because it's all tourism…"
"I'll go check!" said Jack.
"I'll go with you!" Danny jogged after him.
Maddie sighed. "What are we going to do with those two?"
"Danny'll probably keep Dad out of trouble."
"Shouldn't it be the other way around?"
"I mean… They'll keep each other out of trouble?"
Maddie sighed and sat down on the bed. "Was this a good idea?" she asked. "We wanted to take responsibility, but…"
"But what?"
Maddie frowned. "Are we treating you kids differently now that we know?"
"I'd be more worried if you weren't," said Jazz.
The door swung open, hitting the wall. "I've got brochures!" Jack skipped in and dumped them on the bed nearest the door. "I'm sure there'll be an amusement park in here!"
"I kinda want to see if there are any good restaurants, first, if that's okay," said Danny.
"Yeah! We'll do that first!"
Maddie smiled at them, then looked down at the brochures, just scanning through them. A name jumped out at her.
She reached down and pulled it free.
"You found an amusement park!"
"I guess I did," said Maddie, spreading out the brightly colored brochure for 'Amal's Amusements.' "But… Jack, do you remember George Amal?"
"Oh, no," said Danny.
"Didn't you research everyone before we left?" asked Jazz. "You'd know if he was related to these people."
"Well," said Maddie. "I'd… To be honest, I'd forgotten that he'd been part of the club at all."
"Why?" asked Danny, who sounded rather despairing.
"He was always working," said Maddie. "He was a bit older than the rest of us. Nontraditional student, trying to get through in half the time so he could go back home. Missed most of the meetings."
"Then he got into a nasty car accident," picked up Jack. "I remember the guy, now. Wasn't he married?"
"I thought it was an on-the-job thing," said Maddie. "Forklift?"
"Amal can't be that uncommon of a last name," said Danny. "Maybe it's a coincidence?"
"Danny," said Jazz, "we ran into one of their friends at a restaurant."
Danny sighed, sounding dejected. "I'm starting to wonder if I warp probability on top of everything else."
Maddie watched him carefully, pursing her lips. She wasn't at all sure what to say to that, if anything.
"The guy isn't in a coma or anything, is he? That'd be almost too perfect for this kind of thing."
"I don't know," said Maddie.
"Well," said Danny, "I guess that's it for our break."
Jazz nudged him. "You didn't even want to take a break."
"That doesn't mean I didn't want to enjoy it. We are going, right? We have to."
"Maybe we shouldn't, yet," said Maddie.
"We have to," repeated Danny. "It's… They aren't really about sins, exactly, but…"
"There's still something there," said Jazz. "Like with Superbia, right? That was… Frankenstein was always about hubris."
"Exactly. And Gula bit off more than it could chew. If it was just, well…"
There was a moment of silence. No one wanted to talk about Vlad again.
"I don't understand how going now will be acting against one of… those. Wasn't the problem at the bed and breakfast completely different? Eliza and Bethany binding spirits and then Nocturne interfering?"
"Yes, but no," said Danny, bouncing. "Nocturne said there was a shadow of Acedia there. Or an echo? Something like that. Sorry, I was asleep."
"Acedia being sloth," said Maddie.
"Yes! So we have to do things."
"Is this why you stayed up?" asked Jazz. "Because you were worried it would affect you if you rested."
"Danny," said Maddie. "You didn't go to sleep?"
"I did sleep."
"You were possessed."
"But still asleep!"
"Okay," said Jazz. "We should probably go. I mean, what are we going to do if we don't?"
Maddie gazed down at the brochure. It seemed so innocent, with its carousels and carnival rides.
"Whelp," said Jack. "Either way, we get to go to an amusement park, so that's a win in my book!"
.
"It feels weird here," said Danny, crossing his arms.
"Like the bed and breakfast?" asked Jazz. "Or Superbia?"
"No," said Danny. The air here felt marbled, almost, as if two different powers were swirled together. "It doesn't feel bad. It feels layered."
"Like a thin spot?"
"Maybe," said Danny. If it was a thin spot, it didn't have the same texture as home. But that was a lot like saying no one else's skin felt quite like your own.
"Well," said Maddie, "none of our detectors are showing anything. Maybe it really is unconnected."
"That would be nice," said Danny. Unlikely, but nice.
They piled out of the car and headed to the entrance, where they bought green 'infinite rides' bracelets. They could afford it.
Stepping into the park was an experience.
"Danny, are you okay?"
He nodded, mutely, and flexed his hands. The air felt thick, smooth and energized. Like a cup of coffee at midnight, while already exhausted. Like motivation gained while lying in bed. Like blankets and like work clothes.
It was almost, but not quite, like stepping into a disputed haunt. It was too… present for that. It pressed up underneath him, but also down.
Then the sensation sifted away into a much more clear party hard atmosphere. Relax but work for it.
"I'm okay," he said, out loud. "I don't think…" He made a face. "There's something powerful here that isn't malicious."
"Powerful like what?" asked Jack.
"I don't know," said Danny. He looked up, half expecting to see something overhead, then down. The soles of his feet itched. Roots. There were roots here.
"Is there a portal?" asked Maddie.
"I don't know," said Danny. "Everything is mixed up. Let's just keep going, okay?"
.
Danny, in the dumbest, most predictable display of his own terrible luck, got lost.
Now, he shouldn't have gotten lost. The whole family was staying close together, not wanting a repeat of the Borden Bed and Breakfast. He had been keeping a close eye on his parents, who were hard to miss. But he'd blinked, and now it was like the whole park was a maze.
He was pretty sure he'd passed that concession stand three times. None of the rides were configured in a way that made sense. The row of carnival game booths twisted and turned unnaturally.
If he hadn't already known this place was drenched in the supernatural, this would have convinced him. Danny closed his eyes, trying to feel out what had snared him.
Something was getting closer. Something… bright.
If the thing wearing Serena Goodritch had been a sucking, devouring plague upon the world, this was the opposite. It added instead of subtracting.
Danny stopped in front of a house of mirrors, turned, and walked up the steps. The attendant calmly walked over to the gate in front and closed it, placing a 'out to lunch' sign in front of it. Her name tag read 'Millie.'
Danny couldn't look at her face.
"Shall we talk inside?" she asked, pleasantly. "I think we both have a lot to do today." Danny almost couldn't feel the marbling here, near one of the sources of power.
"Yes," said Danny. "Let's." He made the last step into the house of mirrors and stepped slightly closer to himself, every reflection becoming a little more real.
"Clever," observed his companion, also stepping into the mirrors.
"That is why you chose this place, isn't it?"
"I chose it because I'm working here today. It could have been the fun house." She paused. "Well, probably not the fun house. It'd be hard to have a conversation there."
Danny nodded. "You're Industria, aren't you?"
