Bon Ami

Bon Ami really is man's best friend. Ever since Eva rescued him (twice, but one was erased in a return to the past) Bon Ami has taken to Eva. Eva took him with her when she was moving things from her house to her dorm. Bon Ami protected her when he bit her father, who was attacking her. He even defended her again when the truth about Eva's parents came out. I used Bon Ami mostly for foreshadowing and as a minor character. If there is something amiss with Bon Ami, chances are there's something about to happen to Eva.

It was late when Aelita and Eva were allowed to return to their hotel. Sophie gave them a chewing out while the band just watched.

"It's a good thing neither of you were hurt," Sophie finished. "You go to bed. You've had a long day. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little calmer."

The girls turned and started for their room.

"Eva," said Chris. Eva turned. "I'm glad that you did not try to do anything stupid. Sometimes running and hiding is the best thing."

Eva nodded.

When everyone was in bed, Eva was still awake. She hadn't bothered changing her clothes because she knew she had to leave.

"Aelita," she whispered.

"I'm awake," said Aelita. "I can't sleep."

"Me, neither," said Eva. "I have some business to take care of. I'm not going to come back to the hotel room when I'm done. I'm going to sleep on the bus. Okay? Tell them that I felt better sleeping on the bus, okay?"

"Yes," said Aelita. "I'll see you in the morning."

Eva left the room.

As soon as Aelita thought Eva had left the hotel, she took out her mobile and called Kayla.

"Hello?" came the sleepy voice of Eva's closest friend.

"Kayla, it's Aelita."

"It's early, Aelita," mumbled Kayla. "Can't this wait until morning?"

"No." Aelita began telling Kayla what happened at the dance.

"What?" asked Kayla when Aelita told her that she was held at gunpoint.

"Yeah, Eva managed to get him away from me and then he shot at her and almost hit me," Aelita went on. Kayla, I thought Eva was going to kill the guy. She sliced him up so bad that they had to bring him out on a gurney. At one point she had a gun to his head!"

"Oh, my," breathed Kayla. "That's what you were trying to tell me."

"What?" asked Aelita, thinking she missed something.

"Not you. Bon Ami," said Kayla. "About the time that Eva would have been pounding that guy to a pulp for threatening you, Bon Ami started howling. A few thousand miles apart and the dog still knows what's going on with his master."

"He was howling?" asked Aelita. She thought about something else. "Was Bon Ami howling this morning?"

"Yes," said Kayla. "He wouldn't shut up."

"How long did it go on for?" asked Aelita.

"About an hour," replied Kayla. "Why?"

That was about the same time that Eva was having her nightmare. "Kayla, something really weird is going on here," said Aelita. She got out of bed and started up her laptop. "I'm going to send you a video we took this morning. I am not making any of this up, you have to believe me."

"Switch to video chat," said Kayla.

Aelita hung up her mobile and logged in to the video chat room. Aelita sent Kayla the video and Kayla watched it.

"This is really happening?" asked Kayla. "This type of thing is an everyday occurrence there?"

"From what I'm told, yes," said Aelita.

Kayla put a hand over her mouth.

"What is it?" asked Aelita.

"Aelita, Eva snapped at school," said Kayla. "You have to keep an eye on her. You're going to have to be her beacon light. Where is she now?"

"Out," said Aelita. "She had to retrieve her gear bag from the school."

"She's going to get rid of the evidence," said Kayla.

"I hope she doesn't bring that gun back," said Aelita.

"She'll throw it away," said Kayla. "The gun's hot; she wouldn't dare keep it longer than she needed to."

"Kayla, I'm scared," said Aelita. "I don't know how to be her beacon light. That was always your thing."

"Aelita, it'll be okay. She loves you like her own sister," said Kayla. "You'll be fine. You already are her beacon light in some ways. Franz told her to look after you and that's exactly what she's going to do."

"She doesn't need to kill for me," argued Aelita.

"She will neutralize any threat," said Kayla. "I know she wouldn't do it unless it was a last resort, but she will kill someone. Remember when the men in black turned the supercalculator back on? She was willing to fight until the very end to protect us. Our safety, your safety, comes first in her mind."

Aelita shook her head. "I don't like this."

Kayla smiled humorlessly. "Neither do I. But it's our only option."

Aelita sighed. "I'll see you later, Kayla."

"Good night," said Kayla.

Meanwhile, Eva ran back to the school. No one was paying any attention to the outside of the building since all of the action happened inside. Eva walked around to the dumpster and climbed up. She saw her gear bag laying right on top where she expected it to fall. She took it and slipped away.

Eva walked to Lake Eerie and hurled the gun into the water. Her ski mask had her knife wrapped in it and it was bloody. She put the ski mask in a trash can far from the school. Her clothes would need to be washed and her knife needed to be cleaned of the blood.

Eva found a laundromat and broke in. She kept the lights off and ran her clothes through a wash cycle. She loved silence and having time to herself, but tonight she needed someone to talk to. Eva opened her locket. She stared at the picture of herself and Mackenzie.

"Macaroon, I'm so sorry," whispered Eva. "This never was my intent."

Eva closed the locket and picked up her mobile. Hopefully he wouldn't be too upset with her when she woke him.

After the sixth ring, Eva got an answer.

"Hello?" grumbled the voice on the other end.

"Nicky?"

"Eva?" said Nicolas, a bit more awake now. "What's wrong?"

"Nicky, this town we're in is insane," said Eva. "There are ghosts here. I've seen them."

"Really?" asked Nicolas. "That sounds so cool. I wish I was there."

"I'm not sure, Nicolas," said Eva. "These ghost hunters threatened the lives of high school students at a dance. I was able to take them down before things got out of hand, but. . ." She sniffed, feeling tears coming down her cheeks.

"Eva, what happened?" asked Nicolas, a bit anxious. There was some mumbling in the background. "I'm talking to Eva." More mumbling. "Hold on a minute. I have to leave room."

A minute later, Eva heard a door close. It sounded like that bathroom door on the boys' floor.

"Okay," said Nicolas. "Now what happened?"

Eva began crying. "Nicky, I almost killed someone," she answered, her voice breaking.

"What?" asked Nicolas.

"I thought he hurt Aelita," said Eva. "I have never felt such murderous rage since I found out that it was him who killed Mackenzie."

"Your father?" whispered Nicolas.

"He is not my father any longer," growled Eva.

Nicolas let out a shuddering breath. "Where are you? What city are you in?"

"Amity Park, Illinois," said Eva. "We're going to be here for a few days."

There was a moment of silence as Nicolas thought about something.

"Eva, I'm coming," he said.

"What?" asked Eva.

"I'm coming to America," said Nicolas. "I don't care what I have to do, but I'm going to be there with you. You need someone to help you." He chuckled. "How much about ghosts do you know?"

"Nicolas," said Eva.

"Don't argue," said Nicolas.

The lights of a white van caught Eva's eye. She ducked down behind a dryer. "Nicky, I have to go."

"Stay safe," said Nicolas.

Eva hung up. Her clothes were in the dryer. She pulled them out and got dressed, not caring that her clothes were still a little damp. Eva hurried out the way she came, locking it behind her. Sticking to the shadows, Eva followed the van the best she could. It came to a screeching halt and Agents K and O jumped out and ran into an old warehouse. What were they doing?

Sneaking around, Eva heard someone shouting, "I AM THE BOX GHOST! YOU CANNOT STOP ME!"

A moment later there was a yell and a flash of bright light. Eva peeked inside and saw a blue ghost dressed as a warehouse worker being sucked into some sort of containment device. She gasped. Agents K and O came back out and threw it into the back of their van.

"Mission accomplished," said one of them.

Eva felt like she had to do something. The ghost did not seem to be evil and he was scared of the men. Eva had an idea. The plan would probably get her arrested if she got caught or seriously injured, but she wasn't about to let these guys just capture a ghost and do who knew what to him.

Eva ran around the block, predicting the route the van would take. She put her leather gloves on and pulled her mask on and her hood up. She raced around and waited for the exact moment to strike. When she deemed the moment right, Eva ran out in front of the van. The van came to a screeching halt, but not before hitting Eva. It did not hit Eva hard enough to hurt her, but she made it look like they had hit her harder than she had been. She rolled onto the road, keeping her face hidden.

The agents jumped out of the van.

"It's a kid," said Agent K.

"Is he dead?" asked Agent O.

"I don't know," said Agent K. "Call an ambulance."

Eva saw one of the agents kneeling down at her. She jumped up and hit him in the face. Agent O let out a yell of surprise. Eva slammed her foot into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

"It's a ghost!" yelled Agent K, getting to his feet.

Eva jumped into the van and threw it in reverse. She sped backwards before turning the van around and driving off. Eva only went a few blocks and parked in an alley. She went into the back of the van and found more equipment with the same green glowing designs. She found the containment device. It was easy to open. There was a button marked "Release" on the device. Eva pressed the button.

She moved back as the ghost came out.

"I AM THE BOX GHOST! YOUR SIMPLE DEVICE COULD NOT CONTAIN ME!" The Box Ghost turned and saw that the agents weren't around and only someone with the face of a skull was there. "BEWARE!" he boomed.

Eva did not flinch. She could tell that he was all noise and little action. She opened the van's sliding door and hopped out. She glanced over her shoulder to see if the ghost was following her.

The Box Ghost frowned. "You are not going to challenge me? YOU ARE VERY SMART NOT TO CHALLENGE THE BOX GHOST!"

Eva turned to him. She decided that she would need to speak to this one. "If you don't mind, I would appreciate it greatly if you lowered the volume of your voice," she said in her raspy voice. "You do not wish to be caught again, do you?"

The Box Ghost thought about it. "The Box Ghost has decided to lower his voice."

"Thank you," said Eva. "I suggest you go now. Those agents will find their van soon."

The Box Ghost nodded and left, but not before adding in a low voice, "Beware!"

Eva began walking out of the alley and heard tires squealing down the street. Coming toward her was an RV with a ghost logo on it. Eva turned around and ran back the way she came. She looked around for a way out. Looking up, she saw that she could climb up a thick metal rain spout. She switched her gloves, her fingerless gloves able to get a better grip on things. She took a few steps back and ran at the spout. Eva pulled herself up as fast as she could. The RV pulled in just as she made it over the side of the roof.

"Are you sure there's a spook here, Jack?" asked a woman in a blue jumpsuit.

"I'm sure, Maddie," said a large man in an orange jumpsuit.

Eva watched them for a moment. Seeing that they weren't much of a threat to her, Eva turned and ran across the roof, using a cat leap to jump to the adjacent building. She kept doing this until she was sure she was far enough away to take to the streets again. All the while Eva was aware that the Box Ghost was watching her. It wasn't until she made an honest attempt to disappear that she lost him. Only then did Eva return back to the bus.

Danny was asleep in his room. He was too tired to go on patrol, especially what happened at the dance tonight. Tomorrow was Saturday and he could sleep in and he was going to use that time to get caught up on his sleep.

A chill ran through him. There was a ghost nearby, but he could not wake himself. He felt a cold hand rest on his brow for a brief moment before sleep pulled him back down into the darkness.

A voice filled Danny's mind.

"Daniel."

Clearly Clockwork because Clockwork was the only ally of Phantom's that called him by his full name. And who else would it be to not immediately attack him?

"Daniel, listen closely," said Clockwork. "What happened tonight was just the beginning. He is escaping, Daniel. He must be stopped. This time, containing him is not an option. He must be destroyed."

"Who?" Danny asked.

"You know who," said Clockwork.

"Who?" Danny asked again, dreading the answer.

"Dan Phantom."

"No," breathed Danny in horror. "How? I barely beat him once. How am I supposed to do it again when he knows my every move?"

"You will not be alone in this fight, Daniel," said Clockwork. "There is one other who can defeat Dan Phantom, but not alone."

"Who is it?" asked Danny.

"Tonight was just the beginning," Clockwork said again. "This road is a long and hard one, but if you succeed, everything will turn out for the better."

That was the last of what Clockwork had to say. Danny was left alone in his dreams.

In Clockwork's lair, there was a deafening explosion. Dan Phantom burst out of the thermos.

"Freedom!" he yelled. He stretched. "Being stuck in that blasted thermos has put a real kink in my neck," Dan said, twisting his head around. "Much better. Now, down to work. My past self won't be able to stop me once my plan has been put into action."

Dan let out a maniacal laugh as he zoomed out of the clock tower.

Clockwork returned to his lair, knowing already that Dan Phantom had escaped. He knew in about five seconds the Observants would be coming to him.

On cue, two green ghosts in capes with an eye for a face appeared.

"Clockwork, what have you done?" one shouted.

"You allowed the most dangerous ghost in history to escape!" the second roared.

"We put him in your care because we thought you could keep him contained," said the first Observant. "Clearly we were wrong!"

"Now Dan Phantom speeds to claim the Spirit Orbs," the second put in.

"I know," Clockwork said calmly, looking at the Observants.

The Observants were outraged.

"He must be stopped before he becomes too powerful!" yelled the first.

"Yes, he must," said Clockwork.

"How can you be so calm?" asked the first Observant. "Has being the master of time for so long taken its toll on your wits?"

Clockwork frowned. "I know exactly what I am doing," he said. Clockwork's staff began to glow and his eyes shone like fire.

"Clockwork, what are you doing?" asked the second Observant.

"The pieces are in place," Clockwork said. "Now it is all a matter of how the game is played." With a dramatic sweep of his staff, Clockwork teleported.

The Observants stood in stunned silence. The master of time, the jailer of the most evil ghost in the Ghost Zone, had just abandoned them.

Aelita woke up in the morning and did not see Eva in her bed. Then she remembered that Eva was sleeping on the bus. Aelita got dressed and told Sophie that she was going to go to the mall with Eva.

Aelita went to the bus and found Eva standing by the kitchenette in her camisole and boy shorts. Her body sported bruises from last night, several Aelita did not remember Eva getting.

"Did you even sleep last night?" asked Aelita.

Eva turned to Aelita. "No," she answered.

Aelita walked over to Eva and saw that the dark circles around her eyes were darker than usual.

"Did you have another nightmare?" Aelita asked.

"Not a nightmare," said Eva. "There's something coming, something big."

"Does it have anything to do with those bruises?" asked Aelita, pointing to Eva's arm.

"No," Eva said, putting a hand over the bruise. "This was from something else. Aelita, I don't know how to tell you how I know. I just do."

Aelita put her hand up. "You don't have to explain it to me. This isn't the first time."

Eva's eyes reflected how grateful she was that Aelita was not asking for explanation.

"I told Sophie that we're going to the mall," said Aelita. "How about you get dressed and we head over there to get something to eat?"

Eva's shoulders sagged as she walked back to the bunks to get dressed.

They decided to stop at the café Aelita got their breakfast from yesterday. After purchasing their coffee and donuts, they walked out and bumped into the Vlad Masters.

"Good morning, ladies," he said. "How is our visit to Amity Park?"

"It could be better," said Aelita.

"Oh, dear," said Vlad. "You were at the school when those crazy ghost hunters took everyone hostage, weren't you? I am so sorry about all that. You weren't hurt were you?"

"No," answered Aelita.

"I heard that Phantom showed up and saved everyone," said Vlad.

Aelita frowned slightly. "Phantom wasn't the only one who helped us," she said.

Vlad arched a brow. "Really? Who was the other?"

"We're not sure," Eva broke in. "Excuse us. We have plans. Have a nice day, Mr. Masters." Eva gave Aelita a push out the door.

"What was that about?" asked Aelita.

"He's fishing," said Eva.

They got to the mall and began poking around. The stores weren't full yet and they could take their time.

"Clockwork visited you last night?" Eva pricked up her ears as she heard Tucker's voice coming from a secluded area of the atrium. "What did he tell you? Was it something about last night?"

Eva reached out and tapped Aelita's shoulder. She put a finger to her lips and then tapped her ear. Aelita listened.

"He said that last night was just the beginning," said Danny.

"Danny, Tucker, and Sam," whispered Aelita, looking over Eva's shoulder.

Eva nodded and continued listening.

"He said Dan Phantom is escaping," said Danny.

"What?" cried his two friends, forgetting to keep their voices down.

"Not so loud!" hissed Danny. "He said I wouldn't be alone in this fight and that if I succeed, everything will turn out for the better."

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Tucker.

"I don't know," said Danny. "That's all he told me. I think the other person was the one from last night."

"The 'monster' those ghost hunting quacks were talking about?" asked Sam, using air quotes.

Aelita and Eva looked at each other.

"I wonder who he was," said Tucker.

"Same here," said Danny. His ghost sense went off right at that moment. "Oh, no."

Eva froze.

"What?" asked Aelita.

"Take cover," Eva said, looking around.

There was a crash from one of the stores. Eva turned to the store and then back to where Danny and his friends were standing. Tucker and Sam jumped in front of Danny. There was a burst of white light and Danny Phantom flew up from behind them. He quickly disappeared into the store.

Eva ran in, fighting against the people who were running out. Once inside, Eva saw that it was a furniture store. She saw Danny Phantom in the back fighting against a traditional, shapeless ghost.

There was screaming coming from the atrium and an explosion. Eva turned on her heel and went running out of the store to see what was causing the ruckus out there. There were two ghosts, one a wolf in a green sweat suit and another was wild looking humanoid bent on tearing whatever it could get its hands on to shreds. The wolf and the humanoid were going at it.

Eva looked around and saw Tucker and Sam taking things out of their pockets. Tucker was shouting something in another language. The wolf looked up and was punched in the mouth by the humanoid. The wolf yelped and was sent across the atrium.

The mall had cleared out for the most part. Eva did not want to give away that she was the vigilante from last night, but she did not have her mask with her. At the moment she really had not choice.

The humanoid ghost turned to Sam and Tucker. Sam and Tucker began shooting at it with weapons with green designs on the side and the logo from the RV Eva saw last night. The humanoid was shot a few times, but it just made it angry. It charged Sam and Tucker.

Eva ran over to them, intercepting the ghost before it could attack Sam and Tucker, and did a flying kick. The humanoid ghost was stunned. It staggered away from them and turned to Eva, an enraged look in its red eyes. It prepared to pounce on her.

A large amount of room was what Eva needed and she had it. Evasion would serve her better than direct attacks. The ghost charged, lunging for Eva. Eva jumped out of the way, rolling across the floor before getting back to her feet. The ghost came at her again and again and each time Eva rolled or flipped out of the way. At one point, Eva got up on her hands and spun around, her feet kicking the ghost.

The humanoid ghost let out a roar. Eva turned to face it and saw it coming right for her. If she jumped to either side it would catch her, so Eva did the next best thing. The ghost dove for her. Eva jumped into the air and flipped over it. She then executed several front flips and hand springs to put some distance between them. Eva stopped running and began shifting her weight from side to side, preparing herself to kick the ghost again.

"Danny!" Tucker yelled.

A moment later there was a bright light that sucked the humanoid ghost into a thermos. Danny Phantom was hovering above them, having just finished his fight with the ghost in the store.

Aelita ran over to Eva. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Fine," replied Eva.

A snarl caught the girls' attention. They turned and saw the wolf ghost getting up. It was looking at Eva and Aelita. Aelita froze, terrified of wolves. Eva moved in front of her, putting her hands out to either push Aelita out of the way or fight the wolf.

The hand Eva had out toward the wolf ghost was raised and angled so the palm was pointing downwards. "Easy," Eva said in French, her rasp low. "Easy. Shh, shh. It's okay." Very slowly, Eva began moving forward, still speaking in French.

Danny came over to Tucker and Sam. "Okay, I got them both," he said.

"Where's Wulf?" asked Tucker.

Sam pointed. "There!"

Their eyes widened when they saw Aelita and Eva.

"What is she doing?" cried Danny.

Eva kept getting closer and closer. Soon her hand was so close to the wolf ghost she could pet its fur. Now she held it palm up for it to smell. The wolf ghost sniffed her hand before sniffing her arm and the rest of her body.

"Good," Eva whispered. "Good."

The wolf ghost licked her and began wagging its tail.

Eva turned to see Aelita standing petrified in terror. Not far from her were Danny, Tucker, and Sam. They were staring at her with wide eyes.

"Wulf!" Tucker finally said.

The wolf ghost turned to them. "Amiko!"

Danny, Tucker, and Sam walked up to Wulf and Wulf greeted them by licking their faces. Wulf looked at Aelita and said something to Tucker.

"What's he saying?" asked Sam.

"He wants to know if she's a friend," said Tucker. Tucker answered.

Wulf turned to Aelita and walked up to her. Aelita scampered back. Wulf paused, his ears folding back like a lonesome puppy dog.

Eva went to Aelita's side. "He's not going to hurt you," she said. "It's okay. Come on."

Aelita pressed herself against Eva's arm as Eva guided her to Wulf. Wulf sniffed her and licked her face.

"See? He's friendly," said Eva.

Eva turned to Team Phantom. "You work very efficiently. I can tell you've been doing this for a long time."

"Well," said Sam.

Eva put her hand up. "I do not know the details and at the moment I do not care for them." She turned to Danny. "I simply know that Danny Phantom here is also Danny Fenton."

They paled. They opened their mouths to speak, but Eva put her hand up again.

"Aelita and I have our own secrets we value," Eva continued.

Danny narrowed his green eyes. "It's you," he said in a tone of almost disbelief. "It was you last night who took down those men. And it was you who helped me yesterday morning!"

Eva nodded.

"But why?" asked Sam.

"Do I need a reason to help someone?" asked Eva. "Why I did what I did is my business not yours. Do not trouble yourselves with it." Eva turned her head to the main doors. "We need to continue this conversation some place else."

"We can go to my house," said Danny. "I'll head back awhile."

"We'll meet you there," said Tucker.

Just as Danny left, Jack and Maddie came running in.

"Ghost!" Jack bellowed, seeing Wulf.

Wulf jumped and ripped open a portal to escape.

"Are you kids all right?" asked Jack.

"We're fine, Mr. Fenton," said Sam.

"Where's Danny?" asked Maddie.

"He already left before the ghost came," said Tucker. "He said he was on his way home."

"We'll give you kids a lift back to our house," said Jack. "And on the way you can hear me blabber on about ghosts!"

Sam and Tucker looked at each other with strained faces. They knew Jack's driving was insane to say the least.

Gear and Abilities: Eva

The abilities and weapons that Eva and Kayla possessed was probably the easiest thing in the entire series to do. Light and Shadow, black and white, that's what went through my head. Eva was a dark character and so I made her LYOKO outfit scary by incorporating the skull face paint and the white eyes. I also added the skull shoulder armor. I wanted to show that Eva considered herself dead already. The invisibility and possession ability were ghost traits and she was a bit of a phantasm to begin with with being able to sneak around without being seen.