Part One: Dark Eyes


Chapter Six: Crimson Tears


No…This couldn't be happening. How could this happen, after all the stupid problems, the ridiculous enemies that never really threatened them, but turned out to be a nuisance, how could this happen? It seemed like it snuck up on them, like a jar of beads, where only one was taken at a time and it would hundreds would be gone before you even noticed something amiss. But still…how could it happen? No one had enough patience to torture them like this. They always wanted to take over the world or defeat the ghost boy or control the newest cardboard boxes at hand. Nobody was truly this conniving, this hurtful, were they?

Danny?

Danny was screaming her name. He was screaming with a strange desperation. Why? Danny…why was he screaming? Nothing was even happening. Why should he be screaming? What was happening? Everything was so hazy now. Someone was holding her, but it wasn't Danny, it almost felt like him, but then she was being forced to be close with this person. She couldn't hear anything. She still felt like liquid. She still felt scared. She still felt dead tired, still felt tired of everything. Would be tired every go away? Would the pain, the confusion, the terror, would it all go away? If not, why would she want to go on living? What was living? What was anything?

Being flung into a wall was enough to knock some sense into her.

Sound rushed back to her, as if the volume had been on mute and was suddenly turned to full blast, Danny yelling and the sudden sound of someone chanting. She looked up just in time to see Shade conjure a broad sword and put it above his head, one hand holding the hilt and the other holding the flat side of the blade. Danny had conjured a beautiful long sword, wickedly sharp. The hilt held a large amethyst, surrounded by black leather. It seemed to glow with a golden, inner light. Danny's brow was furrowed. His teeth were gritted, his body suspended in midair, possible by his powers or the shadow world, she wasn't sure. The masculinity seemed to leak from them, a power of its own, both forces competing for dominance and neither really winning or losing.

Shade grinned and with the space between the two of them, his head closed the distance and smashed against Danny's own skull. Danny went flying backwards, but caught himself in the air about a foot and a half before he hit the wall behind him. With renewed vigor, he ran towards Shade and the swords collided once again, sparks flying this time. Sam could do nothing but watch. While in these, these dreams, this world, it had always been between her and Shade. Now, it was between Danny and him. She didn't want to stand back and watch somebody she cared for get hurt.

Shade's leg hooked around Danny's and he knocked him to the floor. He pointed the tip of the broad sword at the youth's throat. There was a sexy sly grin. Danny gulped and there was a pinprick of blood, the smallest trickle. It made its way down his throat, the smallest line left behind until it stopped at the silver collar, an incredibly small stain. He stopped breathing for a moment, afraid that any movement would cause a wider gash.

A sigh. "I guess I win, but…it was so easy." He opted for a sexy pout instead of a sexy sly grin. "You're not as much fun as Sam. Now Sam…" There were suddenly bindings around Danny. It looked like regular chains, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't phase out of them or break them apart. He was helpless and who knew what the hell was going to happen to Sam. Shade moved over to Sam, who tried to punch him, but he swooped inside the attack so that his face was mere inches from hers, his arm pinning her left one to her side and had it wrapped around her waist. His other hand grabbed her wrist that had been part of the punch. His eyes widened and then half closed suggestively. "Kitty is lots of fun, lots and lots of fun." She turned her face away from him, disgusted. He turned back to Danny. "She's so very flexible and her skin…it's so soft, but I think you already knew that."

Suddenly, he was next to Danny. It was strange. He had been in one spot one second and the next he was in another. It took Danny another few seconds to realize what had happened and he also saw that Sam was in his arms, his hand resting dangerously high on her thigh. Danny felt anger and jealousy course through him. But, there wasn't a single thing he could do about it. He was completely helpless and was forced to watch. He couldn't tell Sam's expression from his viewpoint, but he had a disturbing feeling that she might have liked it more then she wanted to admit.

"She's rough." He laid Sam down on the floor so that she was parallel with Danny, a few feet away from him. What the hell was going on? Was Shade going to do something that Danny didn't want to see? "And…she tastes so good." With that, he kissed her neck and she tried to pull away, but his body kept her on the floor. She let out something between a moan of pleasure and a whimper of fear. Was she really that torn? Danny felt a pang. He didn't know what the pang was, but he wanted to look away so badly, but it was as if he had to watch what was happening. He couldn't tear his eyes away from it all. "Danny…I'm going to make you watch. You can watch, but you can't touch." A hand stroked Sam's thigh, moving in circles, higher each time. "Me…I can look… and touch." He rolled her shirt higher up so that her smooth stomach was exposed. "You can't handle her. She needs a real man." He scraped his teeth along her flesh and she arched, her nails scratching into the floor. Tears, silent and so many, streamed down her face. He kissed them off her, drinking their essence. "So good…just like honey."

He continued to fondle her. She tried to fight, but he slammed her back against the floor and she hissed in pain as her head hit the floor so hard that her vision swam. He then continued to assault her. His hands roamed along her legs. He traced the devilish designs along her stomach with his tongue. She let out a growl. He laughed and bit her ear lobe. She turned away, but he grabbed her jaw and made her look at him. She spit in his face, and his smile disappeared. He arched his eyebrows and slapped her.

She let out a small cry at the pain.

"You asshole!" Danny yelled. "Stop hurting her. Get away from her! I swear I'll make you pay."

Shade turned his attention from Sam to him. He shoved her aside and made his way to his creator. He sat on Danny and Danny's eyes widened in surprise and fear.

"You know," Shade whispered, "I wonder what would happen if I did this?"

"Wh-what!" And then, Danny went blank when Shade kissed his forehead lovingly. He saw a flash of this dark half's real appearance: silky, long white hair, amazing green eyes with golden flecks, and a gorgeous body. Oh God no. Did this attract Danny? Oh shit no. No way in hell. Where the fuck was it coming from then? What the fuck was it! "G-get o—off of me!"

Shade laughed and did get off, immediately going back to Sam. He squeezed her, but still kept his eyes on Danny. "Do you want to know why you were attracted by that?" He laughed again and gave Sam a kiss, who merely fought back again to no avail. "You were attracted by it because darkness is fascinating. I'm a darkness itself, sin, your deepest desire and that is why both you and Sam want me but don't want me. Well, Sam wants me for other reasons as well." He slowly licked along the length of her slim legs and she squirmed, moaning, hands groping along the length of the floor. Another laugh. "Don't worry, Danny. You aren't necessarily wanting me, myself, just what I represent. I just wanted to know for sure and I was right." His hands disappeared up Sam's skirt and she arched at an impossible angle that fascinated Danny, made him jealous, and completely pissed him off that Shade was doing that to Sam instead of him. "Besides, why do I want you when I can have a lovely creature like this? I told you she was flexible." He grabbed her hair and roughly necked her.

Danny closed his eyes, angry, angry with himself and with this bastard, this bastard toying with Sam and him. He shook his head, gritted his teeth. He tried once again to break from the chains, desperately trying to ignore Sam whimpering, Shade laughing softly. He ignored it and concentrated on getting free. There. He heard the chains groan. Sam gasped and he made the mistake of looking over. Her clothes were ripped and she was pounding on his chest and kicking, trying everything to get away from her tormentor, but she wasn't strong enough. He only grinned and went back for her neck with a renewed vigor.

She looked over at him. Tears were still streaming down her face. "Danny," she sobbed. "I can't fight it. Please…help me."

He snapped.

He took a deep breath. She screamed, but the scream was cut off as Shade's hands went around her throat. He opened his mouth wide and unleashed his all-powerful ghostly wail.

There was a forced cough. A splatter of blood fell onto Sam's face.


He searched through the fridge for something good, anything to eat that he was sure wasn't a freaky experiment. To his delight, he found a fresh turkey sandwich, probably Danny's forgotten lunch. He had, after all, been crazy enough get sustenance from the school, the dreaded macaroni and cheese. Since he figured his best friend wouldn't be hungry, he grabbed the sandwich and took a bite out of it before any objections could be made. On a second thought, he grabbed a Mountain Dew that wasn't open and didn't have any unusual odors.

There was a scream.

The sandwich was smashed against his shirt when he jumped. Mountain Dew fell to the floor, the yellow liquid spilling everywhere, glittering over the tile, the droplets distorting the picture around it. Tucker himself was able to stay up and resisted the urge to cringe. But then, of course, he ran for the stairs, in leaps and bounds, up in a matter of seconds. He burst into Danny's room and tripped when he stopped. He was up again and crawling as fast as he could to them. He was over to Danny first and shook him as hard as he could.

The youth's eyes flashed open, still an angry green, but then faded to the striking blue they always were.

Not wasting any time, he made his way to his other friend and shook her awake, a quite easy thing to do. She sat up, her mouth opened in a silent scream, grasping at her throat. A choking sound then came from her, and she bent over, breathing heavily. Tears fell, so many, wetting the sheet in no time.

"Guys…what happened?" Tucker asked. He rubbed Sam's back, worried. She finally calmed, but stayed bent over. "What'd you find out?"

"Fuck that bastard!" Danny jumped off the bed and grabbed the nearest thing, his bedside phone, and whipped it into an oblivious direction. The cords were torn out of the wall. It hit the window and broke it, an earth shattering sound as the glass broke. The fragments glittered in the sun. The window was now jagged at the edges, a pattern of broken webs. Sam and Tucker looked at it, amazed. However, Danny wasn't done with that and fell to the floor, pounding it with his fists as hard as he could. "Fuck that bastard!" With every word, there was a punch, emphasizing his anger. He looked at his hands, his friends, his hands, and then his friends again. His anger subsided and his eyes glistened with apology and regret. "I'm sorry," he said in a hoarse whisper. "I'll…I'll…" His head bent down in defeat.

She didn't wait for him to finish. Terrified, she ran as fast as she could.

Tucker called out for her, but neither of them went after her. That was good. She didn't want them to follow.

Why did she feel everything around her had been shattered so much like the window had?

She ran blindly on.

Nobody knew, but a part of her would die.


Just run away from it all

Go until you give up and fall

And when you fall solve it with a little cut

Take it all away with just a cut

Be blind to all the pain

Break that damning chain

And I'll be by your side

Your head held high, so full of pride

It's just a cut…just a little cut


She finally found her way home. It was dark a long time ago, but she had been so lost. Everything had been nothing but a blur of lights, a muddle of sounds, and the always nauseating smell of bad blood, as if she were still in the dream, still under Shade, who had suddenly began to cough blood under the assault of Danny's ghostly wail. Nothing had happened after that. They had woken up and she had finally been able to breath, but she knew that there were now fresh markings around her neck, ones to replace the old ones.

An inspection in front of the bathroom mirror revealed that she was right. She had to take off her sweater to see, but there were the marks. Deep purple, yellow at the edges, they were disgusting. She felt branded now, as if she were a criminal. She felt dirty and wanted nothing more then to cast them away, forget that everything happened. She felt like a traitor to Danny. He had been so…angry, so scary. She wasn't sure whether or not he had been angry with her. She didn't think she wanted to know. She fell to her knees, hands gripping the side of the sink, and something fell to the floor with a clatter.

It glinted brightly under the light, so beautiful.

Sam grabbed the razor blade.

It rested in her palm, innocent, clean…sharp. Her head titled to the side. The glint was enticing. She heard a whisper.

"Go ahead. Let it bleed."

Her head came up and she looked around, hopefully for any signs of a person close by. The voice wasn't Shade's or Danny's, but still…it sounded eerily familiar. However, it was oddly comforting, as if it knew all the answers to her problems. She felt compelled to listen to it.

"Just a cut."

A b-bump, b-bump sound rushed to her ears. It took her a moment to realize that it was her own heartbeat. She was hearing her heart. It was strong and steady, but was she really sure it was her own? Was she imagining things? After all, she could be dead and not know it…and that's where the razor became so enticing. It glinted suggestively in the light. It was then she knew that there was something she needed to do.

"Are you really alive?"

The blade went high and then fell.

The perfectly white tile was marred with a splash of crimson.

Her innocence was truly gone.

Danny…are you there? I feel scared. I feel…tired. And now…I feel nothing.

She was alive…she hoped.


Tucker blinked once. Twice. His mouth was open in disbelief. Danny sat at the edge of his bed, holding his head in his hands, red with shame. Neither had gone after Sam when she had run. Neither of them could bring themselves to, although it was Danny who was probably more suited to do so, they still couldn't do anything. Not even a phone call was possible. It didn't occur to either of them yet that Sam had been dealing with Shade for a while now.

And, although Danny told him most everything, he never told Tucker that Shade had…had actually given him a kiss. He didn't even want to start thinking about being attracted to sin and dark desires and anything remotely sick, especially in the form of a male body.

"So…you had to watch Sam get it on with someone who looked like you in ghost form?"

He just had to mention it, didn't he?

Danny's only answer was a nod and a groan.

"Okay, that bites, but…she didn't like it, did she? I mean, you two were totally scoring when I came here earlier." Danny glared at him. "Well, she didn't want it…Shade, did she?"

Danny sighed. "That's what I don't know. She seemed…torn." He shook his head. "I don't know what to do? I mean…I like Sam. I really do, but after that…event…I'm not sure if she likes me." But then again…maybe she had only been torn because what Shade represented, sin and darkness, maybe she had actually found that striking and not Shade himself. At least, that's what he was hoping. If that glimpse of Shade was really what he looked like, he might have to worry. But then again, if Sam liked Danny himself, maybe he shouldn't worry that she would go for looks alone. Damn it all! He just wished things weren't so…so…. complicated!

"Dude!" Tucker jumped up and grabbed Danny's shoulders. "She's probably not sure how you feel. I mean…damn man. She's just as confused, and I bet what happened earlier didn't help." He struck a defiant pose. "You need to go and see her. She needs comforting." Danny looked up surprised. "You both need each other. I may be a friend with you two, but this is only between you and her. I can't help." He shrugged his shoulders. "Besides…she likes you better when it comes to a shoulder to cry on. Now…go!"

Before he even realized it, Danny was pushed outside his own bedroom door and fell against the opposite wall. Tucker slammed the door to make sure he wouldn't come in, although that couldn't stop him. However, it was the idea that the door was shut, as a sort of barrier that was a psychological factor that he couldn't turn back on this. If he did, it would probably become a threat to his masculinity, and he didn't have much to begin with. He couldn't lose the precious bit he had left.

"But this is involving my pride now," he muttered. Suddenly, he had a strange feeling. It was a bad one, right in the pit of his stomach, and for some reason, it had to do with Sam. He suddenly felt sluggish, but oh so alive. He slid down to the floor, head back, staring up at the ceiling, only…it wasn't as if he was himself, in his own body, in his own home. He saw the harsh glare of a light. His chest went up and now, breasts swelling against the bra, skin prickling in the cool air. Sam? Was he maybe Sam at this moment, or was a merely residing in the moment with her? He wasn't sure, but right now he felt calm, wonderfully calm. The blade fell to the floor, skidding across the tile until he saw the whole blade. It glittered happily, stained with a few fresh drops of crimson. He now knew he was no longer innocent. Any trace of it was now gone. "Sam…Don't…" He was suddenly rushing back to himself and he was staring up at his own ceiling in his own home. He jumped up and became intangible, opting to fly straight up and bursting into the sky. "I hope it's not true."

Clouds gathered off in the distance. There was a rumble of thunder from their darkness. They were not weeping, but they would soon be.

Danny had to wonder about the rain. He had often always thought of rain and Sam merged together. She loved it so much but with the turn of events, he had to wonder.

With her innocence gone, would the rain's be gone as well?

Would the sky weep crimson tears?


He watched from the top of a building. The rain began to fall steadily, icy cold and dark. He liked it best that way, just like Sam did. Many times, it seemed that the rain could wash away so many sins. If it did so, would it wash him away? After all, he was a sin itself, made from the deepest, darkest desires, a physical form. Would he melt?

Who cared?

Right now, he was enjoying himself, watching Sam through her window. And right now, she was only in a towel, dripping wet. For some reason, he felt a slight blush rise to his face, to see his love like this. For some reason, she seemed peaceful, even a little bit happy. That was strange. Someone like her…he expected her to dwell on it. He expected her to be disturbed about what had happened. After all, wouldn't most sensible people be disturbed by what had happened, especially since her hero had watched her do some very, very bad things.

She stopped and looked at her right wrist. He peered closer to see what was happening. He saw a bright red line across her wonderfully pale skin.

He frowned.

So that was the cause of her calm. She found an outlet.

Unfortunately, he was forced to leave when he saw a certain ghost boy speed past him and to Sam's room.

He turned away, smirking.

Maybe the games were going to be more fun then he thought.


The object of my affection is the object of my obsession…

So, why don't we have a little more fun? I'm dying for a good game. Everything's been so dull, so let's spice things up a little.

I have a great idea. All you need to do is go a little crazy. And that, that doesn't take very much at all.

After all, it's just a cut…just a little cut…


End Chapter


Author's Notes: Merry Christmas! I think it's time for the gift of giving: reviews! Lots and lots of reviews! Okay, I realize that it was a little disturbed, but I swear that it will all be explained, so I hope you guys don't mind. You guys have been so great and you deserve another chapter, right? Duh! Also, I started a forum called A Dark Half. Maybe someone would be willing to check it out? Anyways, hopefully I'll be able to get chapter seven out this vacation as well. I have basketball practices only for about two hours in the morning and just one game over the break. I don't have to work, so it's all good. Just have some punch or eggnog and raise it high with a nice little cheer.

Happy Holidays.