Tucker had never seen death up close. Well, not an actual death. He was friends with a half ghost who had been regularly fighting full-fledged ghosts for months. But he'd never watched someone die.
When he was five, his grandmother had gotten really sick. His parents explained the concept to him, told him that he wouldn't be able to see her anymore. But when the time came he wasn't in the room, they'd merely told him she was gone.
He supposed in a way he'd become desensitized to the idea. After all, the ghosts they fought were dead, but they weren't in pain. They existed in the ghost zone and most even seemed kind of pleasant, when they weren't trying to hurt them that was. So death had never really felt.. real.
But all of that changed when he heard Sam scream. It was like watching it in slow motion; the coaster cars ramming into a frozen Danny Fenton at high speed.
He'd been friends with him since forever. They'd grown up together, trudged through Middle School with one another, became friends with Sam.
Taking away everything ghost related, which was difficult with Danny's parents in the mix, they had tons of adventures that had brought the three of them closer together. And now it was over. It was all gone, just like that, in the blink of an eye.
The Fenton's screamed behind him and Tucker's stomach twisted itself into knots as he stared blankly ahead. After everything they'd been through, after fighting off the Guys in White and traveling around the whole country looking for those ridiculous gems, it was all over.
Turquoise eyes drifted over the side of the car at the mess of orange gelatin splattered against the ground that didn't even resemble anything close to his friend. What had Freakshow done to him? How had this happened?
The boy fought off a surge of sickness as the ride jerked them to the right, slowing down on a long stretch of flat track.
Nothing felt real. Not the danger of what awaited them, not the reality of seeing Danny killed, nothing. All he could focus on was Sam's sobbing. Awful, heart breaking cries as the girl curled in on herself, trembling fingers tearing at her own skin as Tucker's hands balled into fists.
He couldn't move his body, every inch of him stiff as his gaze lifted to one of the television screens Freakshow had created. If he looked long enough, prayed hard enough, begged the universe, would Danny reappear?
How many times had he seen his best friend overcome even the worst odds? How often had he surprised them, coming back when no one thought he could? Danny Fenton was a fighter, and he was stronger and braver than anyone knew. He wasn't actually dead. He couldn't be dead.
"What's that? You want more?" Freakshow's voice echoed around them, the volume causing Tucker to wince as his body shook uncontrollably.
Disgusting cheers thundered from the stands, the crowds hollering their approval and demands for more. More death, more destruction. More, more, more. Tucker wanted to scream.
"Well, since you insist. I'll give you more, much more!" Thrusting his hand into the air, power radiated from the gauntlet in waves, energy bursting into the sky as crimson tinted the world around them.
Tucker's hand was moving without thought, his arm wrapping around Sam's shoulders as she caved into him, her sobs quieter though still wracking through her body in wave after wave.
Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Tucker kept his eyes glued on the screens as the coaster began to rise up an incline, the fiery breath of the demented clown creating surges of sweltering heat around them.
As horrifying a thought as death by clown fire was, what disturbed the boy even more were the pictures that flashed across the screens.
Different parts of the world were being destroyed by Freakshow's power; monuments were defaced and buildings crumbled to dust.
The screaming was nearly deafening, the smallest images of people running from the catastrophizes only to be wiped out by falling debris or transformed into deformed clowns.
"It's all mine now." Freakshow smiled, blood red lips twisting into a cruel grin as he flickered across the screens.
The gauntlet was humming with power, the gems blinding as the next screen displayed fields of crops all withering and dying, fires erupting and wiping out entire farmlands in seconds and consuming cattle with painful shrieks.
"My revenge." He boasted, fingers tightening around his staff as he looked towards the ride.
Another screen flashed images of freeways and bridges colliding and twisting into massive loops as cars fell into the water below.
Crashes and fires were immediate, the blood and the gore making Tucker turn away, burying his face in Sam's hair as he shuddered at a young girl's terrified scream that cut off too abruptly.
"Your nightmare."
Tucker hugged Sam tighter, his arms shaking as tears slid down his face. How many people had he killed just for the sake of it? How many lives ruined, how many cities destroyed?
"There! A kingdom fit for a Freak, and a freakdom fit for a King!" Freakshow cackled, the maniac laughter wrapping around the teenager's chest and cutting off his air as he struggled to breathe.
Glancing up, he realized it wasn't actually the psychotic man, but rather the smoke from the fire choking him as they neared the top of the track which would send them racing towards a fiery hell.
Would it kill them right away or would they suffer through the burns? He'd burned himself on the stove once trying to make s'mores with Sam and Danny and it had hurt for days. How bad would that be covering his entire body?
Coughing loudly, Sam's sobbing had come to an end as she sat against his chest, red rimmed eyes staring at the clown as it swayed back and forth, red and orange and blue flames shooting out across the length of the track.
This was never supposed to happen. After all they'd done, how could it end like this? Hadn't they done enough to deserve a break? Why did they have to die; why did they have to suffer?
Tucker had wanted to go to college. He'd wanted to invent new gadgets, upgrade to different software. He wanted to kiss a girl for God's sake. Didn't he deserve to have those moments? To go to his senior prom, to finally see Sam and Danny end up together. Hadn't they sacrificed enough? Was saving their town over and over again not enough?
The clown swayed and fire shot from its mouth, the inches between it and them disappearing as it reared back, readying another blast as Tucker cringed away.
He could feel the heat, could taste the smoke in the air. But he couldn't feel the flames. Opening his eyes, his breath caught in his throat and he wondered if he'd already died. Maybe he'd blocked out the pain and had died somewhat peacefully. Although if he hadn't that meant-
"Danny!" Jasmine's voice cried out, the dark haired boy holding up a large ectoshield as the fire beat against it. Tucker could see the strain on him, forcing the shield to remain intact until the cars had safely passed.
"He's alive!" Jack Fenton's voice drifted up to Tucker, the boy's parents in awe and shock as Danny sped after the ride.
"He's alive." Sam murmured, twisting in her seat to see him as Tucker glanced at the track ahead.
"Yeah, but we won't be for much longer." He pointed, the slamming of the metal blocks rattling his teeth as Danny pulled up beside their car.
He looked paler than usual, his skin papery as dark circles shadowed his eyes like bruises. He looked pissed off, which Tucker didn't blame him for. But it made him wonder. Danny had always been a half ghost. Was it possible that now.. That after what happened.. Was he a full ghost now? How else could he be there, how else could he have survived?
The next slam of the metal blocks sent heavy tremors through the tracks, Tucker falling into Sam as a weight settled in his stomach. Freakshow really went all the way, hadn't he?
Danny glanced over at his friends but unlike before no smile graced his features. Instead his hands glowed as he pulled his arms back and shot an ectoblast into the metal blocks. It destroyed them with ease, pieces of shrapnel flying away as Tucker ducked and covered his head.
"Nice one!" He yelled, turning to look over his shoulder as Danny fell behind, settling into a steady flight beside his family.
"He has ghost envy!" Jasmine was shouting, leaning over the back of her seat as Danny furrowed his brows in confusion. "Use psychology!"
Tucker almost laughed at that, Danny's sister always trying to help through the strangest means possible. Although he and Sam often helped by being a distraction that usually caused more harm than good, so, who was he to judge?
Regardless, it seemed to click with Danny as the boy stopped midflight. "Psychology? That's it!"
The boy could see a plan forming inside his friend's mind and relief washed over him. Danny was okay, they were out of immediate danger, and he could finally take Freakshow down. Maybe things would work out after all. Maybe-
"Oh no, you don't get to leave this world with a smile." Freakshow thundered, his voice shaking the earth as Tucker grabbed ahold of the safety bar holding him in his seat.
Behind him the ringmaster towered over everything. Power radiated off of him, the gems glowing like fire on the gauntlet as the demonic man swung his hand towards Danny, the appendage now twice the size of the boy as the halfa darted out of the way.
"That's so not fair." Sam scoffed beside him as they watched their friend dive out of the way of the Freak.
"He'll beat him," Tucker assured her, blue hues flickering to the end of the ride where the track was cut off as they began to climb another rising incline. "I hope.."
A/N
I really wanted to hit 100k words by the end of this, but these chapters are coming out WAY shorter than I had planned. Plus side, the next chapter should be longer as it concludes the final fight. I can't believe I started this a year ago and now it's almost over!
Leave your reviews, leave your comments, leave me anything! Your support keeps me going and pulls out the motivation to continue writing! Plus I just love seeing your feedback!