Chapter 5
Danny reached out a trembling hand, and the door swung open.
It looked like a usual church, with an altar at the front and pews filling the back. But the pews were inhabited by various ghosts, and at the altar were one human, and one ghost.
"The Ancient One." Sam breathed. The Ancient One looked almost like God himself. He seemed to be very old, with long white hair flowing down his back, and a long white beard that almost reached the floor. He was wearing some sort of ceremonial robes, crimson velvet. Kneeling before him was Emily.
She was in ghost form, dressed in her usual black and hot pink hazmat suit. Her bright blue eyes gazed up at the Ancient One. Only a single tear on her cheek gave any sign that she had any awareness about what was happening.
"We have gathered here today to bond together this human girl and this ghost, namely Jeremiah Bates, of the Purists. Although this is being done against the human's will-" the Ancient One added with a glare at the Purists in the front pew. "-I, as the oldest, wisest, and most powerful ghost in the Ghost Zone, cannot be biased. Now if we will all please remain silent while the ritual is performed...I can proceed." Now the quiet muttering of the ghosts watching died down, until the church was completely silent. The Ancient One began to speak in a rhythmic, steady tone, almost a chant.
The language was strange, unfamiliar to the three friends. Danny found himself transfixed by the chanting as Tucker whispered aloud the English translation from his PDA.
"Let today be the day that these two are bonded. Let today be the day we are freed. Let today be the day that we are one step closer to our ultimate goal, which is different for each of us. For some it is complete control over the human world, as we had in the ancient times. For others it is almost the opposite, the simple wish that humans, halfas and ghosts will coexist peacefully together. But the one goal shared by all is to be free. For many years now, ghosts have been shunned, exiled to the Ghost Zone. People believe we are something to fear. But with a Bondage performed, ghosts can be freed. People will not suspect ghosts if they look like humans. People are only suspicious of us if we look like what we are-ghosts. But if a ghost and human are Bonded together, each one of us will achieve our goal. For the peace wishers, they can work together with their human, existing in harmony, sharing life with each other. For the old-timers, they can have full control if they want, with the human just watching helplessly. And for all of us, we can be freed from the prison of the Ghost Zone. We can step out into the world without the fear of being captured, examined, and sent back to the Ghost Zone. We can experience life again. Let us now say the traditional chant."
It started out as a quiet whisper, like fall leaves rustling along the ground. "Life, life, life, life." the ghosts whispered. Then it became a crescendo, growing louder and louder, until each ghost was chanting as loud as they could.
"LIFE, LIFE, LIFE, LIFE!" Danny was broken out of his trance by a hard shove by Sam.
"Nice going, Einstein! You're going to let Emily be Bonded!" Danny shook his head to clear it of the echoing words, and formed a ball of green ectoplasmic energy in the palm of his hand. He aimed it at Emily. The ghosts were still chanting. He really didn't want to do this...but it was the only way he could think of to save Emily. He fired the ball of energy. It hit Emily square in the chest.
The force of the ball knocked Emily onto her back, where she lay still. The Purist overshadowing her flew out her body and through the far wall. The chanting stopped in the middle of the word. The Ancient One glared at Danny.
"Fool! How dare you interfere with my ritual! When the chant of life is stopped before it is finished, the Bonding Ritual is only partway completed! It is ruined! Ruined!" Danny gave the Ancient One a withering look.
"That was the point. Gee, for the oldest and wisest ghost in the Ghost Zone, you're not very smart." The Ancient One looked even angrier at this. He rose higher into the air to be at eye-level with Danny.
"How dare...you question...my POWER!" The Ancient One roared. A blast of red energy flew like lightning from the Ancient One's hand and knocked Danny out of the air. Danny's head connected with the marbled floor of the church with a sickening crack. He changed back to human form and lay there, unmoving.
Sam panicked. Here they were, two ordinary humans facing a roomful of ghosts. And the only two people who could possibly help them were unconscious. She had just enough time to register that before the Ancient One spoke again.
"I don't want to kill you two." he said, with a sinister grin. "After all, you weren't the ones who questioned my power and authority. But I will do this." A bright blue blast of energy hit Sam right in the chest. As she started to fall, an identical blast hit Tucker. Then everything went black.
"Sam? Sam, wake up!" Sam came to and saw Emily bending over her. She looked perfectly fine. Hopefully the ritual hadn't had any lasting effects.
"Emily!" Sam gasped. "You're okay!" She glanced around the room. All was silent. The Ancient One was gone, as were the ghosts that had previously occupied the pews. Tucker was sitting up, looking her way. Danny was still lying motionless next to her. Emily smiled her usual, caring, compassionate smile that brought tears of gratitude to Sam's eyes.
"Yeah, I'm okay. The question is, are you?" Sam mentally examined herself. Other than feeling a bit sore, and slightly nauseous, she felt all right. She reached behind her and felt a large lump on the back of her head where it had hit the floor.
"I'm basically okay." Emily helped Sam to her feet. Tucker was already getting up. For a moment, everything seemed like it would be okay. Then, with a sickening feeling, the memory of everything that had happened rushed back to her.
"Emily!" she said urgently. "Emily, you have to save Danny!" Emily looked down at the floor and shook her head.
"No." Sam's eyes narrowed in puzzlement.
"Yes, you have to!" Emily shook her head again.
"No."
"You're the one with the most powerful healing powers in the universe! You love Danny, you know he'll die without you. YOU HAVE TO SAVE HIM!" Sam's voice was now rising in a panicked crescendo. Emily shook her head a third time, tears coming to her hazel eyes.
"No. I'm sorry, but I can't. I want to, but I can't."
"Well why the hell not! You've saved his life countless times before, what's the problem?" Sam yelled in frustration. The tears started flowing down Emily's face.
"Em, what's wrong?" Sam asked in concern, her voice softer now. The tears started flowing faster.
"The Bonding Ritual didn't completely leave me unscathed." Emily said softly, looking down at her feet. "The ritual wasn't completed, but there was one effect. The Bonding Ritual took away my healing powers."
A/N: Wow, that was a long chapter, a little more than two pages. Anyway, I am SO SORRY I didn't update in, like, months. I was busy working on my Star Trek story and my new Harry Potter story, Poems of a Cripple. But I'm updating now, so did you like it? Please, as always, Review!