Chapter Seven:
"A broken heart will turn into a stronger one within hope."
- Toba Beta
"Tucker, I'm worried about her."
"Jazz, she just lost her mother. It's normal for her to be like this. She just needs time."
"She's been through so much already; it's not fair. When is Simon getting here again?"
There was a pause.
"Early next week. He said it was the quickest he could get a plane out here."
"I just wish he was here. I love her, but she needs her dad."
"I know, Jazz. He'll be here soon."
Holly rolled her head to the side, shutting her eyes tightly. Her mom had always jokingly encouraged her eavesdropping, saying that was how she survived as a teenager. Holly had always made a point to always listen to her mother's advice (well, usually), but in this case, she was willing to make an exception. It hurt too much to listen further, to listen to the reminders of everything she had lost.
In her short life, Holly had lived through a lot. Her teachers and friends thought that that sometimes made her fragile, but in reality, it had only made her strong. At a very young age, Holly had accepted that sometimes life sucked. She just never thought it would have the audacity to take her mother away after everything else.
Her mom had always been there for her as long as she could remember. She was there throughout the Chemotherapy, the recovery, and the insignificant little bumps in between. Even when her daddy was forced to move away, her mom had been there beside her the entire time.
And now she wasn't.
Holly loved Tucker and Jazz, she did. And she loved her daddy more than life itself. But her mom was gone now and she wasn't coming back.
And it broke her heart.
"So, Sam... you with us?"
She bit her lip, running a hand through her hair. A secret society? A rebellion?
"Danny, I –"
Her words were cut off by a sudden exhalation from Danny. His ghost sense. She looked at him, eyes wide.
He turned from her, shoulders tense. "Livia," he said quietly. "Would you mind checking on Star for me? Tell her that I'm calling a meeting for the Guards in an hour."
Olivia stood, Sam's eyes following her as she made her exit from the room.
As soon as the door closed, Danny slouched back in his chair with a heavy sigh.
"Danny?" Sam said hesitantly. "Aren't you going to go get the ghost?"
He shook his head, pulling out a phone from his back pocket. "No. You guys have taken care of the ghost situation for this long; it wouldn't do well for me to show up again. I'm staying out of the public eye as much as possible until we're gone."
She stared at him, fists clenched.
"You've got to be kidding me," she snarled. "You know there's a ghost and you're still going to let your friends and family deal with it? Possibly get hurt?!"
"They've managed just fine without me for the last ten years; I trust that they'll still be fine," he said, rolling his eyes. "It's senseless to jump back into action now - it'll only add suspicion."
She stared at him, her eyes wide.
"You've got to be kidding me," she murmured. "You're unbelievable."
She'd spent years of praying for his return, for the day she'd see those sparkling blue eyes again. And yet here he was, before her now, and instead of euphoria, she merely felt loathing and contempt at the imposter before her.
"No, Sam, you are."
He stood from his chair, reaching forward to rummage in the desk drawers. "You only ever wanted me to be the hero; that's all you ever saw in me after the accident. But guess what, Sam, I'm not your hero anymore. I have things to do, people of my own to protect, and Amity Park can damn well take care of itself," he said cooly, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.
"You know that's not true! Those people need you –"
"They haven't needed me for ten years! They've had Tucker and Jazz and my parents – hell, they've even had Vlad. Meanwhile I have other people to save, people that have no one else to look out for them," he snapped. "And you know what, you can give me all the shit you'd like about how I wasn't there for them, how I wasn't there for you, but your record isn't exactly crystal clear either, Sam. Where have you been? Off in New York. Gone. You escaped. So don't you dare tell me that I have a responsibility to those people out there when you yourself couldn't even be bothered!"
His eyes were bright now, flashing to that familiar green that had haunted her dreams for so many years. One thing was for certain; his temper hadn't faded in the slightest.
The room was silent for a few moments.
"Look, Sam, think what you want, but I can't go out there, and neither can you. The sooner we get out of Amity Park the better. Tucker and Jazz can handle it – they'll be fine. Just…" he sighed, running a hand through his hair, "go get some sleep, okay?"
She nodded quietly, glancing over her shoulder at him, lacing her fingers together as she began her way down the hall. After all this time, all the waiting and hoping, it all came down to this. This shell of a man who had taken on the form of her best friend, her Danny, and replaced him with the callous leader; the man who put his goals above all else, without a care for the everyday citizen.
And it broke her heart.
"Valerie, are you even paying attention?"
The dark-skinned girl raised her head, a single brow quirked. "Of course I am, Star," she murmured. "You were ranting about Kwan again."
The blonde sniffed the air angrily, eying her friend skeptically. "Your ability to generalize is astounding, Valerie. And your listening skills? Top notch."
Valerie cringed, offering her friend a week smile. "Sorry, Star; I'm just a little distracted tonight. I promise, I'm listening."
"Forget it, Val, I've got to go anyway. Danny called a meeting for the Guards, and I have a few questions for him before we get started. Don't wait up," Star said, rising from her chair, her expression dark.
"There's a meeting tonight?" Valerie asked incredulously. "Isn't he supposed to clarify these things with me?"
"It's a security briefing, Val. No big deal. Besides, it's your week off; you're not supposed to worry about these things," Star said. She grabbed her jacket from the coat rack by the apartment door and offered a weak wave. "I'll be home later. Get some sleep, Val. We're worried about you."
And without another word, Star shuffled out the door and into the snow, leaving Valerie to stew in her thoughts.
Being in Amity Park again, seeing Sam… It was almost too much to take
For the last ten years, Valerie had striven to reach the highest position in The Wheel imaginable. Before the Incident, in her days as the Red Huntress, Valerie had made it a point to protect as many people as she possibly could. Safety above all else, she would tell herself as she patrolled the skies, Ecto gun positioned on her shoulder. And, if she ran into Phantom, well, she could call it a good night.
The structure of Valerie's life had been destroyed once by ghostly fiends, and she swore she would not allow it to happen to anyone else.
But then the Incident occurred and suddenly, Valerie was at a loss.
How could she protect the innocent from a world that had completely isolated itself from society? The aptitude tests arrived shortly after and she was positioned as a Guard and suddenly, everything fell into place.
As a Guard she could keep her peers safe, could protect them from the dangers the outside world presented. And as a Protector? The possibilities would be endless.
She worked day in and day out, striving for that promotion. Eventually the day came and she ascended into the ranks, prepared to make a difference where others had not.
And now that there was the possibility that she might lose her position, fall back into the ranks
helpless
she had to do something.
Danny didn't seem to care; seemed as if he'd rather be demoted than continue to serve under Lukas, but Valerie couldn't see it that way. Refused to.
Lukas had provided her the tools to create change, and she would not let him down.
Even if it meant making sacrifices along the way.
She knew that Star was worried about her and she could see the concerned looks that Danny frequently sent her way. But they didn't understand. Couldn't.
She had a job to do, and it didn't matter who stood in her way. Star was her best friend and Danny? Well, she didn't know what he was exactly. She knew that seeing his reunion with Sam had caused an unfamiliar twinge in her chest. Danny had helped her throughout the years, had been her rock, and seeing him reunite with his former best friend? Valerie was unprepared for the ache that stemmed from seeing them together.
But she knew she couldn't let Sam Manson, of all people, destroy all that she had worked for.
Even if it meant hurting Star, hurting Danny.
And it broke her heart.
Author's Note: This chapter was the biggest pain to write and, personally, I blame that on Sam. Hopefully from this point on, we can move away from Sam's yelling at the world trend, and actually push into some character development for her.
I know that there are probably a few grammatical/spelling errors in the chapter above, and I greatly apologize for them. I'm in a hurry to get the chapter posted, and while I think I got most of them, I'm sure a few slipped past the radar. (The offer still stands that if anyone is remotely interested in beta-ing Wheels in Motion, just let me know in a PM or a review. It would help greatly with actually managing to update on time.)
Speaking of updating... I'm terribly sorry that it's taken so long to get this chapter out, and I know it's not even tremendously long to make up for the wait. What can I say, the summer got away from me between work and getting ready for college. On that note, I'm not sure when I'll be updating again because I move into my dorm tomorrow. :D (I'm not excited at all, can't you tell?) Classes don't start for another week or so, so maybe I'll manage to crank out a really fast chapter. We'll see. :P
Thank you again to all you lovely reviewers! I can't express how much seeing your reviews means to me; seriously, you guys are unbelievably fantastic.
And thanks for being patient with me, for those of you who are still reading. Also, don't forget to review if you have the time! :)
Until next time. - Inky