Back at the clearing, the running commentary Tucker had been getting from Lydia suddenly stopped in mid-word.
He waited a minute, but the screen stayed blank.
LYDIA? YOU OKAY? he wrote.
NOT REALLY. The reply came back at last, SAM HIT ME TWICE BY ACCIDENT WITH THAT ENERGY WEAPON. I'M IN SOME PAIN.
DO YOU WANT TO BREAK OFF? he asked.
NO! SHE MUST PRESS HER ADVANTAGE! I DON'T WANT THIS TO GO ON ANY LONGER THAN IT HAS TO.
WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO TELL HER? Tucker asked.
NOTHING. SHE MUST FIND ME ON HER OWN, AND DISCOVER MY CONDITION ON HER OWN OR IT WILL DESTROY THE SPELL.
IT'S YOUR CALL he answered.
WAIT, TELL HER THE SCORE IS NOW 2-1 IN MY FAVOR.
Tucker grinned. I'LL DO THAT.
dpdpdp
Sam had recovered her breath, and was about to take off and resume the search when Tucker called.
"Sam, Lydia says the score is 2-1 in her favor," he said.
"I know. She got me in the back with a ghost ray, and it still stings," answered Sam. "But I'll get her for it!"
She took off and leveled her flight above the trees, scanning the area for ghostly energy.
A beep from the scanner and she altered course to head for a pile of granite rocks that had split from the side of a hill and rolled together long ago.
Her goggles caught a glimpse of something moving that wasn't visible, so Sam increased speed and flew lower. She fired the weapon at the ground between the boulders as she passed over head.
Sweeping in a wide arc she came back and fired again and again. Suddenly Lydia flew up from her hiding place to an altitude above the trees. But she did so slowly, much more slowly than she moved before.
"Tucker, I think I must have hit her earlier. She seems to be moving more slowly," said Sam into the Fenton Phones.
"Yes, you did; she told me, but I couldn't tell you," he answered.
"Okay, then, let's finish this," said Sam, and sped up towards the Goth Ghost.
Lydia turned and flew away from her, picking up speed as she did. Sam fired at her, but the ghost weaved and bobbed and never got hit.
A beep in her ear told Sam the fuel was running out in the jetpack. She needed to do something,
and quickly. She'd never catch Lydia if she couldn't fly.
She had one chance, and, while it was dangerous, could end the fight. She turned the dial on the jetpack to top speed, and started catching up to Lydia. Said ghost looked over her shoulder to see Sam approaching, and looked scared for a moment before turning to concentrate on her flight path.
From her belt Sam pulled out the Jack-o-Nine-Tails, which had proven to be an effective weapon against ghosts in the past. She snapped it forward, and the tether elongated and deployed into nine smaller tethers connected by the smiling face of Jack Fenton.
It wrapped around Lydia just as the jetpack's fuel ran out, and she started for the ground.
Sam held onto the handle with both hands, and Lydia struggling to free herself slowed her down. As she reached the ground she started running, and somehow managed to slow to a stop without taking a tumble.
Above her, Lydia strained and flipped and pulled against the tethers, her teeth clenched, but without success. Sam hit a button on the gauntlet with a free thumb, and the Fenton Ghost Cage sprang out and expanded to full size.
Like reeling in a fish, Sam snapped the Jack-o-Nine-Tails downward, and Lydia, caught off guard came down with it, right into the Cage. The top closed over her.
Sam hit the retract button on the Jack, and Lydia was released. The tethers disappeared into the handle, and Sam put it back on the belt.
Sam was surprised when Tucker ran up to her. She looked around to discover they were right back where they had started from.
"Man, that was incredible, Sam!" said Tucker, "And you got her!"
Lydia turned around and looked for some way out, but found nothing. She glared at the two humans.
Sam grinned. "I'd say the score is even, now."
Lydia opened her cloak, and every animal tattoo she had came alive and pulled off her body.
They swirled around and around, Lydia in the center, but could not get out of the cage.
Sam pulled a connecting cable from her belt, and plugged it into a socket in the corner of the Cage. She turned a knob on the control gauntlet, and the Cage started contracting. Smaller and smaller it got, until the ghost animals gave up trying to fly and returned to their places. Finally there was just room for Lydia to stand without touching the bars. She glared at them, teeth bared, but had to admit defeat.
Sam got out the Fenton Ghost Peeler, and hit a switch, powering it up. Jazz had disabled the expandable armor, so it was just the gun. The whine of power quickly rose past the human hearing range.
"Submit to me, or be destroyed!" Sam ordered the ghost, feeling like she wanted to die herself. Could she actually go through with this?
Tucker looked at the PDA's screen, but it remained blank.
"Do you submit?" asked Sam, in an authoritative voice she did not really feel.
"I'm not getting anything from her," said Tucker.
"This weapon will peel you apart molecule by molecule, and it will be very painful," said Sam, "What is your choice?"
"Still nothing," said Tucker.
"Last chance," said Sam, "Submit, or else."
Lydia did not move, and no message appeared on the PDA.
"I have to do this," thought Sam, and her finger began to tighten on the trigger. Tears began to trail down her cheeks.
"Sam, try the leash first," said Tucker, tossing it to her.
Sam raised the gun, and caught the leash with her left hand. She opened the clip and went to the cage. She raised it toward Lydia's face. There was a long, tense pause, then Lydia raised her head slightly, presenting her nose ring to Sam. The clip locked into place, and Sam pulled her hand back.
"You submit?" she asked, and Lydia nodded.
As Tucker and Sam watched, the Goth Ghost's glowing red eyes suddenly turned to the electric green of other ghosts.
dpdpdp
Sitting on his bunk in his cell in Amity Park Pen, Freakshow suddenly stood up straight.
Something had changed. "L- Lydia?" he said aloud. He looked around, but nothing was different.
"LYDIA!" he called, but still no response.
Then he realized what was wrong. Lydia's presence, which he had felt all his life, was gone.
It felt like someone had ripped out a part of his soul. She had been destroyed, that was the only explanation. He dropped back to the bunk and started to cry.
dpdpdp
"It worked!" yelled Tucker, and he and Sam slapped a High Five.
Sam turned off the Cage, which shrank down and back into a small cube. Lydia stood unmoving.
"Lydia? You okay?" asked Sam.
The Goth Ghost suddenly opened her cloak to its widest, dropped to one knee, and bowed her head to Sam. The leash dangled to the ground.
I KNEEL TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOU AS MY MASTER, AND OPEN MY CLOAK SO YOU MAY SEE WHAT YOU NOW OWN, AND TO SHOW THAT I HAVE NO SECRETS FROM YOU. Tucker read from his PDA.
Sam turned red, and held out a hand to Lydia. "Stand up," she ordered, and the ghost took the hand and did so.
"Can I take this thing off?" asked Sam, indicating the leash. Lydia nodded, and Sam unhooked it from the nose ring. She tossed it away.
"Can you talk, now?" asked Tucker.
Lydia got a puzzled expression, then opened her mouth. She tried, but made no sound. She put her hand on her throat, and tried again without success. She shook her head, the ectoplasmic tears starting to fall.
"Lydia, I lift the silence order from you," said Sam.
Lydia looked at her Master, smiled, and said in a whisper, "Thank you." And her smile grew brighter. "It will take a while to get used to talking again," she said, again in a whisper.
"You have all the time you need," said Sam, smiling.
"You know taking off the leash didn't free me, you have to speak the words," whispered Lydia.
Sam looked thoughtful. "So after all that effort and fighting, it all comes down to this. Can a ghost trust the word of a human?"
Tucker stared at his friend, while Lydia went rigid. Was Sam going to betray her?