(I promise more frequent updates- and I'm sorry for such a long wait! The next chapter is going to be very long :-p!)

(I don't own DP BTW)

Chapter 6

Breaking Down

"I'm warning you young lady! One more slip-up, and that Spring Break trip is gone!" her father threatened, his already tight face on the verge of tearing a muscle.

A barely conscious Taylor stood in front of her parents. Her long curly hair was matted with sweat, and her forehead was shining with exasperation. Normally bright brown eyes were bloodshot, and bags hung heavily below them. Her clothes were torn in several places, and her body looking slightly alien as it gained muscle.

Danny had smiled weakly as he led Taylor to the house- no doubt trying to ignore the death glare Taylor's father had given him. It was going to be a long ride from there, and he knew that they were all in trouble.

"But Dad!" Taylor whined, trying to think of some kind of excuse to why she had come home bruised and beaten.

"No buts! You need to learn responsibility before responsibility makes an example out of you!"

"But-"

"Your father is correct sweetheart." her mother agreed.

Taylor growled in defeat and anger. How could they be so simple minded? Didn't they realize what she was going through? They both claimed to be geniuses, but they couldn't see that their own daughter was fighting crime every night- doing the right thing.

"I am not going to be controlled anymore." she whispered angrily. "You two don't know the first thing about my life- so you can't even punish me fairly!"

"Oh yes we can!" her father replied. "And if you want your spring break trip- you'd better get those grades up."

"Oh a B! How fucking horrible!" Taylor screamed quite suddenly, startling both her parents.

"Taylor Marie Hector!" her mother said, her purple mug of coffee almost dropping from her hand.

She knew she had done it. Looking to both of them, lost for words, Taylor growled and stormed up the stairs, leaving two shocked parents in her wake.

"Lima beans!" she shouted roughly at the Tucker hologram guarding her room.

"Okay okay!" the hologram replied, gritting his teeth nervously and thrusting himself to the side so she could enter.

The calm atmosphere of her room did nothing to clam Taylor. She collapsed on her bed, shaking the hair out of her eyes. Darkness enveloped her completely- and a few rays of light from a street lamp hit her wall.

Taylor wished it would all go away- all of the fear and responsibility. It was hard to believe that just a time ago she was a carefree student in Delaware- worrying about her grades and what college she was going to attend. Now the weight of the world literally rested on her shoulders, with Danny of course.

"Why does everything have to be so complicated?" she muttered into her pillow helplessly.

In the next room she could faintly hear her parents talking in hushed voices- a very bad flaw most parents had. They were always too easy to hear. Taylor sat up in a crouching position, her eyes narrowing in the dim light.

"I don't know what's going on with her, but I'm worried." her father said in his usual concerned voice.

"She's a teenager! Of course she wants to be on her own." her mother answered, sounding just as lost.

"Tell me..when did we become the enemy?" her father asked.

"When we moved here.." her mother answered slowly.

There was silence before her father continued. " I don't know what we're going to do with her- but it has to be something."

Taylor groaned and flopped back down on her bed lifelessly. They never got it. Ever.

With thoughts of the fight swirling in her mind- Taylor fell asleep.

It was the only thing she could do

I'm flying rapidly through the woods. I'm scared- frightened. The air is so thick that I can barely breathe. I'm trying not to lose my mind, but I feel it coming. I'm about to break because I can't stand this pain!

And there's a young girl...

She's standing in the woods..she's bleeding...

"NO!"

Taylor shot up in her bed, sweat pouring down her face like water. Gasping for air, Taylor kicked the sheets away from her body and stumbled to the bathroom. The bright light made her flinch as she turned the light on.

When she looked into the mirror, a terrified and pale girl stared back at her. She could barely even recognize her own face.

"What' s happening to me..." she whispered fearfully.

"That's a good question." came a voice from behind her.

Taylor gasped and turned around to see Danny leaning against her doorframe, his hair looking slightly tussled as though he'd been flying.

"Don't ever scare me like that again." she greeted angrily. " I could have screamed and woken my parents up."

"Wouldn't want to do that." Danny agreed nervously.

He walked over to her, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Do you want to talk?"

Taylor turned from him, slightly annoyed. "About what?"

"You know what it is I'm talking about. The Serpent Ghost Stone."

Taylor scoffed and pushed by Danny into her room. He followed her relentlessly.

"I don't want to talk about it now. Okay?" she hissed, making sure not to wake her parents.

"And quite honestly- I wish we'd just forget the whole thing! This is impossible."

Danny sat near her on her bed and supportively took her in his arms. She remained stiff against him as he stroked her hair gently.

"I know this is hard. Maybe we all need a break."

Taylor looked up at him, slightly grinning. "Seriously?"

"Yes." he assured. "We'll leave tomorrow."

Taylor groaned. "But my parents-"

"Don't worry about them." Danny said with a wink. "They'll be over it by breakfast tomorrow."