Okay guys, I warned ya, so don't say I didn't!
My Microsoft Word trial died.
Which totally (sort of) explains this positively late chapter. But thanks to this giant lapse of time, I've written the next couple chapters in my notebook, and I'm typing them up when I get some time. So... Here's the reward for your patience...
Chapter 3
Valerie silently watched from a distance as the ghost boy sucked the Box Ghost into some sort of metal thermos. I'll have to ask him what it really does afterwards she thought to herself.
But in the meanwhile...
Now was her chance; the hover board's jets blasted the sled forward right in front of the ghost boy.
The specter didn't look surprised, as if he was anticipating her arrival. Valerie noticed a flash of fear that rippled across his face. She smirked.
"What's the matter, spook?" She taunted, "Forget your ego at home?"
The ghost boy scowled and replied, "Don't play stupid, I know you have that... thing with you, and I'm not going through that again!"
Without warning, he shot off into the skies, away from Valerie.
Oh no you don't!
Valerie urged her jetsled after the ghost kid, who was increasing altitude. She felt the built-in oxygen mask activating, supplying her with just enough breathable air to reach the ghost's height.
Phantom was flying faster than ever. Valerie had to urge her jetsled forward to get within seeing range of him. She gritted her teeth in frustration and commanded an Ecto-Laser gun to fold out her sled. It quickly targeted its quarry and fired in rapid succession.
Valerie smirked as one of her shots had hit its mark. She could see Phantom plummeting toward the ground. Valerie's jetsled automatically changed flight patterns and sped towards the ghost boy.
The ghost boy caught himself before falling too close to Amity Park Downtown. Valerie's laser gun rounded off some more unexpected shots at Phantom, sending him far from Amity Park, toward the forests that surrounded it. Valerie followed, her jetsled reaching top speeds.
Valerie watched as Phantom tried to pull back into the air, but the laws of physics were not on his side today; he pulled upward only enough to end up crashing into the forest into many large trees, snapping them in half. Finally, he smashed into the ground in front of a giant oak, leaving a large crater in his wake. Valerie lowered her jetsled in front of the barely conscious boy.
Without giving him time to recover, Valerie mercilessly shot Phantom in the chest, slamming him into the large tree behind him. He slowly lifted his head, trying to find some method of escape. His invisibility flickered, and his intangibility failed altogether. As a last resort, he tried a basic ecto-blast, but the green beam had fizzled out before reaching its target.
Valerie watched as the ghost boy slowly tried his options, each of them failing him. She smirked as he began crawling away, his chest wound leaking precious ectoplasm. He didn't get very far, though. Almost immediately his arms gave out and he collapsed onto the grass, coughing harshly.
Swiftly, Valerie forced him against the trunk of the tree, pressing the barrel of her ecto-gun against his neck.
"You're not getting away this time, spook," she hissed.
Valerie kept her gun trained on Phantom as she retrieved the earrings. The ghost was fatigued; Valerie could tell that he was using much of his energy merely standing up.
The earrings snapped together, and the staff Valerie had been granted the previous night appeared. She grasped its frigid red handle and advanced toward the ghost boy.
"You ruined my life!" she spat, thrusting the tip of the staff inches from his face. The scarlet orb instantly sprung to life, dark crimson smoke spiraling within it.
"You destroyed the town and kidnapped the mayor!" she continued vehemently, but the ghost had shut his eyes and turned his head away. "You're a menace! A ghost! A freak!"
The ghost flinched at her last exclamation, but his eyes were still closed. Valerie growled.
"Open your eyes!" she demanded.
He did not.
"Open your eyes, now!" she shouted.
He refused.
"OPEN YOUR EYES!"
"No,"
Phantom's reply came out soft and hoarse, but clearly nonetheless.
"I don't want to go through it again," he said quietly, but Valerie ignored him.
She fumed for a moment before an idea sprang into her mind.
Sighing miserably, she said, "It's just that… I gave up so much when my dad lost his job. My friends ditched me and I had to work for money so I could get into college. I was angry, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you… I'm…Sorry,"
"…What?" Phantom whispered, puzzled.
"I'm sorry," Valerie said, forcing as much regret into the apology she could muster.
Her plan worked: Slowly, the ghost boy turned his head toward her and cautiously opened his eyes.
Big mistake.
Immediately, his green eyes met the wicked crimson orb. Phantom let out a surprised gasp before his eyes dulled and drained into a malevolent crimson, matching the color of the glass sphere. His legs gave out as he succumbed to the spell, and he fell onto his knees, his eyes still trained on the orb.
Under her mirrored visor, Valerie smirked. Finally, Amity Park would be rid of its ghost threats after so many months of attacks. Her eyes trailed over to Phantom, staring into the swirling depths of the orb, dazed.
"Stand up," she said to him. At the sound of her voice, Phantom's eyes, which had been glazed over, snapped into focus; he rose.
"You know where my apartment is, right?" Valerie asked. Phantom's now crimson eyes stared into her green ones.
"Yes," he intoned.
"Go into my room and stay invisible until I come back," Valerie ordered. Phantom gave no indication he heard but silently faded from view. The air grew warmer as Phantom's presence receded. Valerie grinned.
I win, ghost boy she thought, smirking.
Valerie stepped back into class, ignoring the teacher's reproachful glare and the jocks' snickers at her slightly disheveled appearance. She hadn't noticed Tucker and Sam trade worried glances, but frowned when she noted that Danny still had not returned.
The school bell rang loudly, signaling the end of the day. Hoardes of students scrambled outside into the sunny afternoon. Valerie herself walked out leisurely, relishing her victory over Phantom.
It was short-lived, however, when she saw a worried Sam and Tucker. The third member of their trio was still missing. She walked over to the two teens.
"Hey guys," she greeted, "Where's Danny?"
Sam spun around, and Valerie was taken aback by the suspicious glare the girl wore.
"We don't know," she said through gritted teeth, "You wouldn't have happened to see him anywhere, would you?"
"I saw him on my way to the bathroom," Valerie replied smoothly (It was partially true, after all). "Haven't seen him since."
Sam growled.
"You lying b-!"
"Sam!" Tucker intervened, holding back the girl as she struggled to tackle Valerie. Puzzled, and slightly hurt, Valerie took a step backward.
"We should probably look for Danny," Tucker chuckled nervously, "Right, Sam?"
The Goth girl gave both Valerie and Tucker a murderous glare before stalking off, Tucker following after her.
Valerie stood there, perplexed at Sam's behavior, before shrugging it off.
After all, she had more important matters to tend to this afternoon.
Valerie stepped into her apartment cautiously. The door creaked loudly as she closed it, and the floorboards seemed to squeak ominously not unlike something from a horror movie.
The apartment's not destroyed, that's a good sign Valerie thought to herself. She snapped together the earrings and gripped the ruby staff once more.
Her room was slightly colder than usual. The leaky pipe in the ceiling dripped slowly, and the puddle it formed was frosty.
Phantom was definitely here.
"Ghost boy," Valerie called. The crystal sphere began to fill with acrid crimson smoke.
At her call, Phantom obediently shimmered into visibility, looking slightly paler than usual. Valerie noticed that his chest wound was still leaking ectoplasmic blood which pooled around the ghost's boots. She grimaced. His eyes were still a menacing red, giving him a slightly more evil look.
It occurred to Valerie that it was highly possible Phantom was merely pretending to be under a spell and waiting for her to let her guard down.
Time for a test then Valerie thought to herself.
"Phantom," Valerie said, watching as the ghost's eyes snapped into focus on her, "Have you ever… Obliterated another ghost before?"
"…Almost," he replied.
"So you know how to Obliterate a ghost?" Valerie asked.
"Yes,"
"Show me," she commanded.
Almost immediately, Phantom's white-gloved fist lit up with a deadly emerald glow. The air in the room suddenly froze as white sparks danced around his hand. The glow only grew stronger, lighting up the entire room. The cold intensified still. A deathly chill emanated from Phantom's hand, which was now encased in a brilliant white radiance. Valerie gripped the staff tighter as its tip swirled faster and faster…
"Now" she said, with grim determination, "Obliterate yourself, ghost!"
Erm… Did that count as a cliffhanger…?
(And yes, 'Twisted' should be getting an update pretty soon… But I want to write a One-shot first…)
Edit: Sorry, fixing spelling mistakes.
Hope you enjoyed, R&R!