It's Sunday! Hey, so as you are all aware, I'm sure, we're coming up on the beginning of the school year. As I am a teacher, that means I will have less time to write. So, sadly, once September starts I will no longer be guaranteeing a chapter on Sundays. If writing has gone well that week, I might still post one, but it won't be a sure thing. I will still be posting on Fridays. Remember, this is once September starts. I will still be updating twice next week. Thank you for your understanding!
DarkFoxKit: Nope. No break for Danny. :)
DJTimmer: Right now, they're still waiting. The teams they sent are overdue, but not yet horribly overdue.
Guest (149): Sometimes my style changes when I read different authors... I hope it isn't too jarring...
17: Yes, relatively soon. A month from now, maybe?
.3: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the story.
Thank you for reading and reviewing!
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Chapter 150: Tigerheart
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"Do you think they're in trouble?" asked Ben. He peeked around the corner, then withdrew. "Do you think we're in trouble?"
Alice shrugged. "I think that if they thought we were in trouble, they'd be evacuating us, not asking us if we wanted to do a scavenger hunt. Did you see anything?"
Ben glanced around the corner again. "Nope. Looks like we're clear."
The teenagers ran lightly down the hallway. The town hall was so large compared to the number of people that used it, that most of the halls were unused. A lot of the people who worked there had gone to be witnesses at the trial as well, so town hall was doubly abandoned. Still, the teens didn't want to be caught. Everyone knew the Deeps were safe, now, but the four of them hadn't exactly asked for permission.
But the run, coupled with the increasingly obvious lack of people, lead to some... mischief. By the time they got to the stairs, they were all breathless and giggling, determined to race to the bottom.
"Races are fun!" said Mirage when they got there. "Are you guys ready?"
"Give us a minute," said Byron, panting.
"No hurry," said Mirage, pleasantly.
"Haha," said Ada, "you guys- you guys are all wimps. Here, give me the list."
Mirage smiled broadly, and handed Ada a piece of notebook paper.
"Are you playing?" asked Byron after a moment.
"No, it wouldn't be fair. There's a prize for you at the end if you win."
"What kind of prize?" asked Alice. She briefly tried to pull Ada's paper away, but Mirage gave her her own sheet.
"A secret prize! It's the best kind," he said. The shadow was vibrating with excitement. "Ooh! Oh! I just got a great idea! I'll dress up like a wizard!" As Mirage spoke, his jeans and t-shirt were replaced with spangled robes and a large hat. "I'm a wizard!"
"Um," said Byron. "Why?"
"Because wizards give quests!" said Mirage, giving Byron and Ben the two last pieces of paper. "A scavenger hunt is sort of like a quest, isn't it?"
"Yeah, that makes sense," said Ada.
Mirage gave the group two thumbs up. "Cool. I'll be watching. Do your best!" The shadow vanished.
"Does this really say 'tiger?'" asked Alice.
"Maybe he has some statues?" suggested Byron.
"Or stuffed animals?" put in Ada.
"Pictures?" finished Ben.
"That makes sense," said Alice, slowly. Then, more confidently, "Yeah. That makes sense."
The teens looked up, over the knotted mess of stairs and pathways that made up the Deeps.
"We aren't splitting up, are we?" asked Ben.
"Not a chance," said Byron.
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An hour later the teens had a variety of small things and not-so-small things shoved into their pockets and tucked into their arms.
"I can't believe you found an aspidistra," said Ben.
"I can't believe you found a Christmas tree angel with a raygun," returned Byron, rustling the plant at Ben.
"I can," said Ada.
"Oh?"
"Mirage plays fair. He wouldn't ask us to find things that don't exist."
Something small and black ran in front of them, and paused.
"Inky!" exclaimed Alice happily. She ran over to pick up the small cat, and cradled her in her arms. She turned slightly, towards the rest of the group, and froze, staring at something in the direction Inky had come from. "Eep," she said.
"Alice?"
"Don't come closer," said Alice, voice strained.
Byron licked his lips and took a couple steps back, trying to see around the vertical pathway blocking the walkway perpendicular to theirs.
Oh. That was a tiger.
"Don't worry, don't worry," said Mirage, reappearing. "Kira is just a guest!"
"Could have warned us," managed Byron.
Inky leaped from Alice's arms, walked over to the tiger, and rubbed up against it (her?), purring.
"I did! They were on the list."
"We didn't think that meant there was an actual, real, live tiger!"
"I know that now."
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Once the situation with the tigers had been explained, namely that they had been displaced from Amity Park, and needed a place to stay, the teens relaxed considerably. They had all seen much more frightening things in their time in the Spirit World, before coming to Harmony. Their reaction had been one born of surprise.
They were still leery of being too close to the large, powerful creature, but Mirage was so obviously embarrassed about the whole thing, and was trying so hard to put them, and 'Kira,' at ease, that they couldn't help but try to humor him. He was drooping. Even his hat looked sad.
"I guess this means you don't want to do the rest of the scavenger hunt," said Mirage, listing to one side. "I'm sorry I ruined it for you. I guess I'm not very good at figuring out what people will enjoy." He sighed heavily, his feet sinking to the floor.
"No!" said Byron, the objection being echoed by his friends. "No, the scavenger hunt was fine, it was a good idea, just..."
"You should warn people about scary things, usually." Alice waved at Kira. "Sorry, not that you're a thing. Just that you're scary."
"Okay," said Mirage.
"So, if there's anything else on here that's scary," said Alice, holding up the sheet of paper, "maybe you should take it off and warn us about it now?"
"Well, I mean," Mirage fidgeted, "this is a ghost's lair. There are ghosts here. And we have a lot of things here. There are heights, and dark places, and things like that." He shrugged.
"But, not like, anything actively dangerous?"
"No, there's nothing like that in here. This is a safe place. Kira isn't dangerous." Mirage looked up hopefully. "So, you'll still play?"
"Yeah."
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"This is a pretty picture," said Danny, looking at one of the brightly colored paintings on the wall. He touched it with both hands. The wall was smooth and bumpy. "Pretty," he said again. "Do you like it, Jazz?"
Jazz looked up and back at Danny. "Yeah," she said, casting a critical eye at the graffito, "it's okay. I've seen better, though. Show you when we get home."
"It isn't the same at home... Is it?"
Jazz frowned, and tugged Danny along, trying to keep him with the group. Danny followed obediently, running his fingers over the wall as he went by.
"Maybe our homes are different," said Jazz.
"Well, yeah," said Danny. "You still live in Amity Park."
"Wait, where do you live?"
"At home."
Jazz gave him an odd half-smile. "Okay." She looked ahead. "Hey. What's up next?"
The captain made a face. So did Prunella, Ellie, and Vlad. Danny frowned.
"Is something wrong?" asked Danny.
"No, no, nothing. The next floor is, ah..." The captain sighed.
"Is it that bad?" asked Sam.
"Not exactly. Let me try to explain," said Prunella. "Ghosts can alter their appearance, somewhat. How we look is a matter of how we view ourselves and our situation. The overall, er, style of the Realms is a large influence on how ghosts look."
"Sure," said Jazz.
"It would be much different if the style was different, correct?"
"Yes. So, this floor, what, changes your style?" asked Jazz.
Sam turned back, raising an eyebrow. "Does it put you in plaid and stripes?"
"No. It, ah... If you look at human mythology, there isn't a clear distinction between ghosts, spirits, monsters, deities, demons, and fairies. There still isn't, in some cultures. Some time ago, the Realms as a whole began to lean more towards the ghostly or spiritual aesthetic. This next floor... changes the direction of that lean."
"So," said Mia, "you turn into fairies?"
Prunella sighed. "Some of us. Others take a more monstrous, or more demonic look. It really is only our appearance."
"I bet you look pretty," said Danny.
"Thank you."
"And after that?" asked Jazz. "For planing purposes."
"It makes you dreams come true," said the captain.
Jazz glanced back at Danny. "Like, literal dreams, or just what you hope to achieve?"
"The latter."
"We do have a floor that does the other one," said Prunella, "but it's up above the seventy-seventh. You won't see it."
"Cool! Does it do dreams of flying?"
"You can fly on your own," said Valerie.
Silence.
"Excuse me, what?" said Rebecca.
"I know, but you can't. Well, you can. But not by yourself." Danny skipped ahead. He turned around to look at the class. "What's wrong did you not know I could fly?" He paused. "How did you all get here, anyway?" He shook his head. "Never mind, I won't remember."
"You really are Phantom, aren't you?" asked Dash, in tones of despair.
"Who did you think I was?" asked Danny, quizzically.
"Well, Danny Fenton," said Dash.
Danny scrunched his face. "Fenton?" He ran his hand through his hair, and it found itself rubbing the back of his neck. "Is that- Is that, um. I don't know that." He looked away. "Where are we going?"
"Upstairs," said Jazz.
"Oh, okay, cool."
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"Oh, boy, that was weird," said Danny. "That was-" he shook his head. "Well, now I know what serious brain damage feels like from the inside. Wow." The rest of what happened on the lower floor hit him. "Oh no," he said in a very small voice, covering his face with his hands. "Oh no. What did I do?"
"Hey," said Jazz, "it's okay."
"Yeah? Did I, or did I not, just blow my secret?"
"Honestly, it wasn't much of a secret anymore," offered Kwan.
"Oh, jeez, I'm going to die."
"Why would you die?" asked Sarah.
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Hannah, excitedly. "Can any of you keep a secret? What d'you think the GIW, or other hunters would do to him if they found him out? What do you think was going on on the other floor?" She turned to Danny. "What was going on down there?"
"I'm not really sure," lied Danny. He didn't want to dwell on the random flashes of memory that he'd received downstairs. "I was pretty messed up. But otherwise, yeah. You're right." He looked up. He glanced at Prunella and the other fae. The lower floors where everyone was a ghost were weird, even if the relative numbers meant that the ghost look was probably the real one.
Prunella crossed her arms and twitched a wing. Danny looked away. He hoped he hadn't been staring.
