Cross my heart and hope to die
You never cross my fucking mind
Do you know what your little lies do?
You know what I had to fight through
Nothing that you say is mildly true
Spit deceit through shifty smiles
Two faces you've had for a while
You act like such a fucking child
Who are you now?
-Honestly (Encore); by Gabbie Hanna
"Blake González, the world's second known halfa." There was a brief pause, one that seemed to grow heavier the longer it lasted. "What do you want me to do with her?"
"Isn't it obvious, Clockwork?"
"It's her heritage."
"She has the potential to become the biggest threat known not only to Earth, but to the Ghost Zone, as well."
With a huff, Clockwork turned to look at the figures behind him. The time ghost had spent a good minute or two glancing at his time portal, observing the halfa in question. He understood the concerns, he knew there were dangers with her being alive, but he felt it wasn't his responsibility. What difference did it make if there was a halfa out there? It's better she be on Earth than stuck in the Ghost Zone.
"That's still no concern of mine," Clockwork responded, his form changing from a young boy to an old man.
"You're the ghost of time, Clockwork."
"We must preserve the sanctity of humans and ghosts."
Transforming from an old man to a young adult, Clockwork pursed his lips and turned his gaze back to his time portal. He'd paused the stream on an image of Blake González. She had to have been around fourteen at the time, with her dark hair curled and unkempt. She looked almost pitiful, in Clockwork's eyes. But that didn't excuse the request being given to him. It wasn't the first time "higher up" ghosts went to him to take care of their problems. In fact, it seemed like it happened on an almost daily basis.
But, of course, Clockwork knew he was exaggerating to an extent. Not every "higher up" ghost went to him for assistance. There were plenty of other, more capable beings in the Ghost Zone. Besides, Clockwork liked to keep to himself. It gave him the chance to just watch, maybe interfere when things got a little too rough. That was his job, after all.
Looking at the figures behind him, Clockwork's eyes narrowed just slightly. They were very persistent. They believed, wholeheartedly, that the annihilation of Blake González would restore some kind of balance. Sure, Clockwork was aware of the halfa's heritage, but what use would there be in killing her? What if she had the opportunity to become something else? It'd be an interesting turnout. The infamous Blake González, daughter of the most powerful ghost in the Ghost Zone, not destroying everything in her path. Or, more importantly, not turning into a homicidal maniac.
That almost made Clockwork smile.
"Like you said," Clockwork drawled, "I'm the ghost of time. I don't interfere in human affairs unless it's absolutely necessary."
"This is necessary."
"The lives of billions are on the line."
"Does that mean nothing to you?"
"There are a lot of things that mean nothing to me." There was a brief pause as Clockwork transformed into a child. His hand gripped his staff tightly. "This halfa will become the most powerful being the world has ever seen. . ."
"Another reason to destroy her!"
"But there will still be one other halfa in existence," Clockwork added.
"Plasmius."
"Killing Blake won't solve this halfa issue of yours."
"Vlad Plasmius gained his powers through a failed experiment. Blake González was born half-ghost."
Transforming into an old man, Clockwork sighed. There was no use getting through to them. They wouldn't listen to him, it didn't matter what he said. So why not go along with their little game?
u.u
Blake could practically feel Quinn's eyes burning into her. It was a little hard to ignore, honestly. The two had remained in the park for a number of hours, sitting on a bench and watching people go by. It was natural, almost soothing. Almost. There was this. . .feeling in the pit of Blake's stomach, one that she was finding very hard to ignore. For the teen, it was a very familiar sensation.
Was there a ghost coming? Did Blake have to run? Would Quinn have to do something reckless?
Questions kept filling Blake's mind, filling her with a sort of uncertainty. The need to be safe was very important, but so was the desire to be completely invisible. While Quinn and Blake possessed the ability to actually turn invisible, that wasn't enough in their eyes. They just wanted to go through life without drawing a lot of attention to themselves.
"How're you feeling?" Quinn glanced at Blake for a moment.
Blake only snorted in response.
"I don't understand why you can't just answer the question."
"I don't want to answer it."
"You know the best way to blend in is to look as normal as possible, right?" Quinn hissed, glaring at Blake. "I was asking if you're alright because you're brooding again."
"I don't brood."
"Oh, of course you don't," Quinn grumbled. "You just look miserable all the time and wonder why people give us weird looks."
"People give us weird looks because you chose the shittiest human disguise ever," Blake sneered.
In a way, the statement was true. Quinn's human disguise could be seen as sloppy, and that would be putting it mildly. In the Ghost Zone, Blake's companion was a shapeshifting type of ghost, one whose transformations seemed limitless. The only problem, however, was the way Quinn saw human beings. Some areas were a bit underdeveloped when compared to others. For some people, those little areas could be seen as disfigurements, and Quinn was doing what she could to make subtle changes. Being able to physically blend in with humans was harder than she thought.
"I'm still adjusting, okay?"
"You should be done by now."
Quinn scoffed in response. No shit, she thought.
A few moments of silence ticked on between the two, appearing to add a bit to the growing tension between them. But to make matters worse, that feeling in Blake's stomach seemed to become heavier. It was like someone had dropped a weight inside her, and it was the most uncomfortable sensation ever. But, in its own way, it felt familiar.
Blake felt herself unconsciously stiffen when the sensation intensified. She wrapped her arms around her middle, as if hoping that could relieve the feeling. She looked up for a little bit, her amber eyes scanning the people who walked by. Was there anything unusual about them? Were there any subtle differences? How would Blake be able to notice them?
You're looking too much into this, she thought. You're probably just nervous or something.
Nervous about what? Blake had been in the park for most of the day. She hadn't been doing a whole lot, so it's not like she was drawing a whole lot of attention to herself. But the chances of something going wrong were still possible.
"I think we should leave," Blake mumbled, looking over at Quinn.
A look of confusion came across the ghost's face. "Why?" she said. "Is something wrong?"
"Something doesn't feel right."
A hardened look came across Quinn's face. If Blake felt something was wrong, then that meant it was time to go. Whether or not the teen was aware of it or not, those little moments of unease that she felt were part of her ghost powers. If danger was nearby, then Blake's body would start shooting out hints to leave as quickly as possible. Quinn understood that feeling because she felt a milder form of it. All ghosts — maybe not all, but some full-ghosts — felt a danger-meter go off in them whenever trouble presented itself.
"Okay," Quinn said, standing up. "Let's go somewhere else."
Nodding, Blake stood up and felt a little bit of relief at Quinn's words. If they could get as far from the park as possible, then maybe she'd start to feel a bit better.
u.u
Clockwork watched with mild interest. Blake González was smart, she was able to catch on to the sudden change in atmosphere. The one thing that needed to be determined was how well her fighting style was. Clockwork had gone a couple decades into the future and personally hand-picked the best ghost available. It'd be a challenge, but for someone like Blake, it should be a piece of cake.
Besides, depending on how the fight panned out, Clockwork would be able to come to a definite conclusion on how he wanted to handle Blake.
(A/N):
Sorry for the wait on this chapter, but hopefully you guys enjoyed it. Let me know if there's anything that could use some improvement. I'd appreciate any kind of constructive criticism you guys have to offer.
Nothing in this fandom belongs to me. All I own are my OCs, my subplots, and the clothes I wear. If you've got ideas for OCs or subplots, be sure to PM me or leave a review. I'll add them in as soon as possible.
In future chapters, I'll try and figure out good ways to explore Blake's background. I know it's probably a bit confusing right now, probably because my writing isn't the best, but I'll hopefully get better once I get familiar with this story. But, again, any help with ideas or whatever from you guys would be awesome!
If you guys think you have ideas on what Blake's heritage might be, you can leave a review. I know I haven't done a whole lot on her background, but if you guys have any guesses, I'd love to hear them. We know she's half-ghost, so maybe like who her parents are and all that.
Leave a random fact in the comment section! It could be on something new or old, it doesn't matter to me.
Thank you all so, so much!
Be kind to one another, okay?
Sloane Johnson
