Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.
Metanoia
Chapter 11
Five periods after the ghost attack, Danny still could not quell the violent impulse to start his search for intelligence immediately, to achieve vindication on the Red Hunter's behalf. He wanted nothing more than to take down the bastards that had been harassing his best friend for nearly three years by delivering evidence of the Guys in White's insubordination to the higher authorities.
Danny couldn't believe that Valerie had never told him. The halfa would have thought that his best friend would have confided in him, of all people. What he didn't understand was why Valerie was convinced she would inconvenience Vlad by informing their mentor about the trouble the Guys in White had been giving her.
Perhaps the reason she hadn't told him was because she hadn't thought that Danny Fenton would be capable of doing anything to remedy the situation. Although to be fair, Danny had never given her any indication that he was just as capable a ghost hunter as she was. Phantom and the Red Hunter were now definitely on good terms, and Danny was confident that he would soon be able to reveal his alias to his best friend.
He had initially deliberated asking Valerie to join him in his infiltration of the Guys in White's headquarters, but had eventually decided against it. The ghost hunters had already caused his best friend enough trouble as it was. As incompetent as the Guys in White were, large numbers of rival ghost hunters could prove a threat to both him and the Red Hunter, and he was unwilling to compromise Valerie's safety.
Yet, he had to wonder. Was it wise to infiltrate the headquarters of the Guys in White without first gaining approval from Vlad? His benefactor had specifically instructed him to stand by and await further instructions, an order he was not completely prepared to ignore. If the higher authorities decided that Vlad was unable to control his apprentice, Danny knew he would be forcibly transferred, and the likelihood of ever seeing his mentor or Valerie again would be slim.
Nor would he ever see Sam again, he realised, the beginnings of doubt forming in his mind.
Perhaps it was fortunate that Tucker and Sam had requested to see his hotel room after school. Time spent in their company was time the ghost hunter could spend pondering the current situation before he reached a potentially disastrous decision. Without Vlad to help him on his mission, he would have to come up with his own plan for infiltrating the headquarters of the Guys in White.
Picking up a pen, he began formulating new strategies and recycling old methods that he and Valerie had used in the past to penetrate high security establishments. He glanced at the clock above Lancer's white board and sighed in relief. School was almost over.
The events that Sam had just witnessed had unsettled her more than she would have anticipated. Who would have thought that klutzy Danny Fenton, of all people, would be such a skilled fighter, forcing her to re-evaluate her views regarding him.
She glanced at Danny, who was once again eyeing Valerie with a fierce, unreadable expression on his features. Sam had noticed that her crush had adopted an uncharacteristically serious demeanor ever since the encounter with the Guys in White earlier that day.
The Goth didn't understand why she was so convinced that Danny was lying to them, as she reviewed the information she and her best friend had gathered so far.
Tucker had already discovered that Danny was the heir to Dalv Enterprises, one of the main driving forces behind the American economy. His benefactor, Vlad Masters, was a leading expert specialising in the research and development of anti-ghost technology, and had instructed for his protégé to be trained as a ghost hunter. They had also recently discovered that through his guardian, Danny was acquainted with Amity Park's local teen hero, the Red Hunter. What more could Danny be concealing from them?
Perhaps he already was a ghost hunter, and for some reason did not want to draw attention to himself. After all, ghost hunting was undeniably in his blood. But she failed to understand why Danny would choose to hide his identity from her and Tucker.
His parents had had absolutely no qualms about the public being aware of their identities. Then again, before their deaths, incidents involving ghosts had been rare to say the least, and many had dismissed Jack and Maddie Fenton as a pair of disillusioned crackpots.
However, Phantom had seemed taken back when she had insisted that Danny Fenton was capable of ghost hunting. Surely he would be aware if Danny, his benefactor's protégé and sole heir to Dalv Enterprises, was a ghost hunter, especially if they both worked under the employ of Vlad Masters.
Sam had been more than surprised at how assertive Danny had been during the ghost attack. It had been an unexpected change from his usual demeanor, although not an unwelcome one. What Sam failed to understand was why Danny never defended himself from Dash Baxter's bullying. If her crush was half as adept at martial arts as he had displayed during the battle, he should have no trouble fending off the quarterback's clumsy strikes.
After the ghost attack, he had spoken to the Red Hunter as though they were equals, his voice devoid of any of the awe regarding her presence that Tucker's had possessed. The manner in which Danny had demanded that she informed Vlad Masters about the trouble the Guys in White were giving her had not been a request. He had sounded as though he was completely familiar with the intimate workings of his guardian's ghost hunting syndicate.
Sam averted her gaze as Valerie noticed her best friend's concerned expression and winked, amused by Danny's protective tendencies. "Stop worrying about it." She mouthed at him.
Danny shook his head in reply, cerulean eyes hardening, and Sam was taken aback by the intensity of his gaze.
She frowned as she attempted to figure out the reason behind her crush's concern for his best friend. Valerie must have gotten herself into some seriously hot water to cause Danny to forget his initial outrage of the Guys in White threatening the Red Hunter. She could not help but feel slightly jealous at how protective he was of the ghost hunter, especially since the Red Hunter was more than capable of taking care of herself.
Sam ran a hand through her hair, annoyed at herself. Danny and the Red Hunter were nothing more than casual acquaintances. He had never given her any reason to suspect otherwise. She felt slightly guilty of how suspicious she was of the huntress, especially since she and the Red Hunter were on increasingly good terms due to their combined attempts to deflate Phantom's ridiculous ego. Sam had a feeling that it would be a long time before their jibes began to have any effect on the ghost hunter.
She felt a familiar heat rising at the thought of Phantom. He had specifically stated that the Red Hunter did not see him as anything other than a friend. Did that mean that he was seeking a relationship with her? Despite her longstanding familiarity with Danny, Sam was unsure if she would refuse Phantom.
Phantom had said that he would see her again. Did he mean to seek her out, or would she have to wait until a ghost attack secured their next encounter? As much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't wait to see him again.
She glanced at Danny, who seemed to be scribbling a random assortment of Greek letters all over a piece of writing paper. He paused, nibbling his lower lip while spinning his pen, before proceeding to connect the symbols with arrows in a seemingly random fashion. Whatever he was doing, he was obviously not taking down the notes Lancer had made on the board.
She smiled halfheartedly as Danny favoured her with a grin, unable to suppress her guilt. She felt like she had betrayed him by looking forward to meeting Phantom. Although she now knew that he was much less of a jerk than she had initially perceived him to be, she had always thought that she preferred Danny over Phantom. Now, she wasn't so sure. At least Phantom had displayed an interest in her. Danny only perceived her as a friend. For all she knew, he could still be harbouring feelings for Valerie.
She still couldn't figure out what was Valerie Gray's part in Danny's secret. Maybe it was typical for the personal details of government agents, even those in training, to be removed from the US civilian database. This failed to explain why Valerie's files had also been forged, or why they had been altered at a much earlier date than Danny's had been. Three years previously, to be exact.
Now that she thought about it, everything seemed to have occurred after Danny left Amity Park. Barely a week later, ghosts had begun attacking their town, prompting the Guys in White to set up their headquarters in the wreckage of Fenton Works. Roughly two months later, the Red Hunter had made her debut appearance. But it was not until nearly six months after the initial attack of ghosts that she had overtaken the Guys in White in terms of successful captures, gaining the respect and adoration of the public.
Despite the mounting evidence that she and Tucker had discovered, Sam knew that they were hardly any closer to discovering Danny's cause for secrecy. While they certainly knew more than they did a month ago, their investigations had raised far more questions than they had managed to answer.
She glanced at Tucker, who was seated on her right. To her amusement, he seemed to have fallen asleep in class for the third time that week. No doubt he and Danny had been up late the previous night playing DOOMED. She shook her head, amused. Boys would be boys.
With luck, visiting Danny's apartment later than afternoon would finally put an end to what seemed like an eternity of guesswork. She only hoped that Danny would be able to forgive her and Tucker for their interference.
Sam barely stifled a laugh as Tucker started, rudely awakened by the clangour of the bell signaling the end of the school day. She and Valerie traded knowing looks of mirth at their friend's plight, and Sam felt a rush of affection for her best friend. Tucker would never change.
Danny grinned as he watched his friend flail in his seat, disorientated. His features hardened as Valerie Gray glanced at her watch, no doubt readying herself for her afternoon patrol. He could only hope that she would not run into the Guys in White again.
"I told you to stop worrying." His best friend rolled her eyes when she noticed the serious expression on his face.
"I'm not," he replied in protest.
Valerie raised an eyebrow, completely unconvinced. "I don't need your protection," she stated firmly, placing her hands on her hips in a gesture that clearly signaled the end of the conversation.
Danny raised his hands in surrender, knowing it was an argument he would never win.
Sam and Tucker exchanged fleeting glances, unsure as to what exactly had transpired between the pair. While it was known that Danny Fenton had a ridiculously short attention span, his previous concerns regarding the Red Hunter seemed to have completely slipped his mind.
Valerie roughly tousled her best friend's hair in an affectionate gesture, making her way out of the classroom. "I'll see you tomorrow," she smiled.
Danny waved, half heartedly returning the grin, worry still evident on his features.
"Val's right," Tucker quipped. "You do worry too much."
"Val?" Danny cocked an eyebrow. "Since when did you start using her nickname?"
The techno geek flushed, for once unable to think of a reply.
Sam made a small noise of disbelief. "Tucker's actually quiet." She laughed, favouring Danny with a grin. "You should tease him about Valerie more often."
The ghost hunter returned the smirk, eyeing the techno geek with a predatory expression on his features.
"We're going to uh, Amity Hotel, aren't we?" Tucker asked, blatantly changing the subject.
"Yeah." Danny inwardly grinned, his expression innocent. Subtlety had never been one of Tucker's finer points. But he decided to spare his friend the torment. For now.
Since discovering Tucker's infatuation with the Red Hunter, Danny had always hoped that Valerie would pursue a relationship with his friend. The techno geek could be loud and obnoxious, but he was also loyal, caring, and apart from his unerring love for technology, surprisingly down to earth. His laid back attitude would be a perfect match for his best friend's fiery personality and fierce determination.
The trio rounded the corner as they descended from the stairs leading into Casper High, heading towards the direction of the hotel on foot due to Sam's insistence that they maintained some form of a personal carbon quota to offset the ridiculous amount of electricity the techno geek used to power his many toys.
The agent was certain that the that the moral support Tucker would be able to provide Valerie, whether or not he was aware of her ghost hunting status, would prove invaluable to his best friend. He knew that defending Amity Park from ghosts single-handedly wasn't easy.
But if Tucker ever did anything to hurt Valerie... Danny suppressed the low growl rising in the back of his throat. Vlad and Valerie were the closest things he had to family. If any boy ever upset her, even if he was a friend, Danny would ensure that he suffered the consequences. If Tucker Foley broke his best friend's heart, there would be hell to pay.
However, Danny knew he could trust Tucker not to do anything stupid. There was no way the techno geek would ever intentionally hurt Val, not while he was so enamored with her alias. But whether or not Valerie would ever choose to reveal the Red Hunter's identity to Tucker was none of his business.
He bit his lower lip. Perhaps Valerie was right. Maybe he was just being over protective.
But it would definitely prove useful to have someone else around who was capable of calming an angry Valerie Gray down. Danny's lips curved into a smile. If Tucker hadn't stepped in earlier that morning, it was possible that the Guys in White would not have survived the encounter.
The grin vanished from his features. Thinking of the Guys in White had reminded himself of the self-administered mission he was planning to take on later that evening. Danny still had his doubts whether his decision to infiltrate their headquarters without the clearance of higher authorities was the right thing to do.
The ghost hunter cared little about how the mission could potentially endanger him. He was much more concerned about the consequences discovery would have on the people he cared about. Even if he was the most competent ghost hunter in the world, his skill would not save him from a direct order from the higher authorities to be transferred as a punishment for his insubordination. Although it would have seemed egoistical to be so convinced that Valerie and Vlad would miss him, he knew without a doubt that they would.
The hotel doors shut behind them, and the receptionist eyed him with curiosity as they passed the lobby. This was the first time she had ever witnessed the rich, enigmatic adolescent with friends. Danny grinned at her ruefully. She had probably been under the impression that he didn't like human company. The only friend who ever visited was Valerie, and she had a habit of showing up after her evening patrol, still dressed in the Red Hunter's battle suit, a practice that irrefutably denied herself the use of any inconspicuous means of entry other than his window, fifty stories above the ground.
Danny grinned when Tucker complained about the lack of reception for his PDA the moment the elevator doors closed. He couldn't say that he hadn't been expecting that one.
As the elevator ascended, he found himself gripped by a sudden, irrational fear that he had left all of his ghost hunting equipment out in the open. He shook his head, annoyed at himself. There was no way he would ever be that careless. Another thing that was worrying him was that he had never told his friends exactly how generous Vlad could be when it came to indulging his adopted son. Would Sam disapprove? The last thing he wanted was to disgust her with the size of the suite.
Danny produced an electronic card, sliding the magnetic strip through the hotel lock. Gripping the door handle, he hesitated.
"Guys? About the room. I guess I should've told you, but--"
"Tell us later," Tucker declared, pushing past Danny and shoving the door open. If Danny was hiding something, he wasn't going to have the chance to conceal it from them.
The techno geek took one look at living quarters before him and had to do a double take, astonished by the unexpected display of wealth. Before him was a huge reception, complete with marble floor, bar, and black crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Glass doors lead out into the foyer where Tucker was stunned to discover two pools.
Danny shifted his feet, embarrassed by his benefactor's display of wealth.
"Woah," Tucker finally managed. "You said you were living in a hotel room. This place can't even be classified as a suite! I bet it takes up half of the entire floor."
"What's the matter, Tucker?" Sam teased.
"Sorry if I'm not schooled in the ways of the rich," Tucker replied in mock injury.
"Uh, yeah. Vlad's usually pretty generous." Danny grinned sheepishly, obviously uncomfortable. Would Sam think any less of him because of his living quarters?
"Pretty generous? Dude, your guardian's a billionaire," Tucker exclaimed.
"No wonder you turned me down when I offered to let you stay at my place." Sam laughed, dispatching the last of his doubts as she gave Danny a playful shove. "This place is amazing!"
"Hey!" He protested, rubbing his arm in faux injury. "That really hurt!"
"Yeah?" Sam challenged, her pretty lavender eyes twinkling in amusement. She shoved him again, harder, before tackling him onto the nearby couch.
"You wimp!"
Danny briefly wondered if he could be considered masochistic if he liked it when Sam hit him.
His crush grabbed his t-shirt collar, preventing her victim from escaping. Using her weight to pin him down, she decided on the most diabolical means to torment her captive victim. If memory served her accurately, Danny Fenton didn't cope well with being tickled.
Slipping her hand under the hem of his shirt, she ran her fingers lightly along the ridges of his muscled stomach, grinning wickedly as the boy beneath her squirmed as he begged for mercy, desperate to escape the wrath of her torture.
He grabbed her wrists in an attempt to push her off the couch, and the Goth barely held back a cry of surprise when Danny's poorly conceived attempts to escape resulted in them both tumbling onto the carpeted floor. Sam laughed when she realised that he had still failed to escape from her grasp, the boy beneath her still pinned between her and the floor.
Both were snapped out of their playful struggle by Tucker's crude wolf whistle.
It was not until then that Sam realised that she and Danny were arranged in a rather... compromising position, with her settled on his hips, straddling him. The wide collar of his t-shirt, which she still held in a death grip, had been yanked to one side, exposing his muscled shoulder as she realised how the display they had just exhibited would have seemed to someone who did not fully understand the situation.
It didn't help that her hand was still under his shirt, resting on his delectably hard stomach. Her suddenly hypersensitive fingertips could suddenly feel every sinew of his muscled abdomen, and she had to fight an intense desire to remove the offending shirt that was denying her a view his naked torso. She felt her already blushing face flush crimson with heat at their closeness and immediately recoiled from him as if she'd been burned.
Danny followed suit, instantly leaping to his feet as he gave Tucker a rueful look. Sam couldn't explain the irrational euphoria she felt when she detected a faint blush on his cheeks, coursing through her veins like an addictive drug. Somehow, she felt indescribably coy that he had enjoyed their closeness just as much as she had.
"Sorry about that," Danny apologised, biting his lower lip in a self-conscience grin.
"This never happened," Sam warned, but it was difficult to glare at Tucker when her face was still hot from her recent proximity with Danny.
The techno geek merely grinned in reply, heightening the awkwardness of the situation.
"So," Tucker said, changing the subject. "Who's up for getting trashed in video games?"
"You wish." Danny smirked, accepting his friend's challenge. "But what about Sam?" He asked, frowning.
"She can do other things." Tucker shrugged, seemingly casual as he subjected Sam to a significant look that she deemed completely unnecessary.
She rolled her eyes at him. Under normal circumstances she would have stayed and inflicted several painful defeats on the pair, but she had more important issues on her mind, such as finding out what exactly Danny was hiding from them, not that Tucker was doing a terribly good job of being discrete.
"Yeah," She agreed, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "This place is huge. I'm sure I can find something to do."
"If you're sure," Danny replied, shrugging. "Come join us if you get bored."
"I will." She laughed, hiding her dismay as she exited the salon.
Sam pushed her dark hair out of her face as she accessed the recent developments in the situation. She had not anticipated a suite of this size. How she was going to find any clues regarding Danny's secret was beyond her. She had expected one, maybe two wardrobes to look through and a couple more drawers, not this.
She proceeded to rummage through the large cabinet just outside the salon, doubtful that she would discover anything of interest in such an obvious location. Finding nothing, she proceeded to the chest of drawers at the other end of the hallway. She was relieved to note that the majority of the cabinets in Danny's suite were not being used. The fact that most of them were empty definitely made her life a lot easier.
Sam was glad to notice that the wealth that her crush had accumulated over the past three years had not affected him at all, in terms of dressing and attitude. True, he was now far more self-assured than he had been three years ago, but Sam knew that his newfound confidence had nothing to do with his guardian's wealth. Something major had happened to Danny Fenton in the past three years that seemed to be slowly transforming him into a different person.
'This is going nowhere.' She decided, running a hand through her raven hair. Danny would never hide anything that compromising his secret out in the suite hallway, of all places. She would have to look in places far more personal to him.
The Goth rummaged through another chest of drawers before entering the first room at the end of the hallway. She raised an eyebrow. Danny had to be more serious about working out than she had thought, because the room before her was a seriously heavy-duty gym.
To her disappointment, the room yielded no more evidence of ghost hunting activities than the hallway had, even though she was certain that Danny was training to be a ghost hunter. It didn't help that the search was made far more difficult because she had no idea what she was supposed to be looking for.
Returning to her initial hunch, she decided to check the bedroom. Where else would a ghost hunter conceal equipment he did not want others to find?
It was not until her hand was resting on the handle of the door that Sam realised that she couldn't do it.
She shouldn't be here. How she had managed to convince not only herself, but also Tucker, to interfere with Danny's business now seemed completely beyond her. Sam knew that she was supposed to be his friend, and friends did not rummage through each other's rooms without their knowledge.
This would not be the first time when she would have tried to uncover his secret behind his back, the incident in which she had forced Tucker to look him up in the US Civilian Database was still fresh in her mind. Sam wasn't sure if Danny would forgive the violation of his privacy if he ever found out, although she was curious to see the inside of his bedroom.
'It's for his own good,' she told herself firmly. If Danny was taking on more than he could handle, he could seriously hurt himself while ghost hunting.
Suppressing the last of her doubts, she pushed open the door.
Even blindfolded, she could have been able to tell that this was where Danny spent most of his time. It even smelled like him. His room was surprisingly bare, unlike the familiar cluttered mess she was used to seeing in Fenton Works.
She was surprised and flattered to notice a photograph of fourteen year old Tucker, Danny and herself seated at the Nasty Burger taped onto his mirror, underneath a more recent photograph of Valerie Gray. Even though Sam knew she was being irrational, dull jealousy bubbled at the pit of her stomach. Valerie had been Danny's best friend for three years. Just because her photograph had been placed below Valerie's didn't mean anything.
Sam ran a hand through her dark hair, berating herself. She was meant to be looking through Danny's stuff for evidence of ghost hunting equipment, not pondering her chances for a relationship with her crush. Tucker was depending on her to uncover some evidence, and she was determined not to let her best friend down.
Feeling slightly stupid, she crouched down and looked under his bed. Danny was hardly likely to conceal ghost-hunting equipment beneath his bed, of all places. The area was empty, as she had expected, save for a couple of weights stashed in the corner.
Rising, she brushed imaginary lint off her skirt, unsure how long Tucker would manage to keep Danny busy for. She should look in his drawers while she had the chance. The first drawer yielded no interesting results, nor did the second, or any of the subsequent drawers in his cabinet. Sam was surprised by how few things Danny actually had with him. At least it was great to know how little value he placed on materialistic possessions.
After confirming that his drawers and bedside table were decidedly free of ghost related items, Sam turned her attention to the only wardrobe in the room. Thankfully, Danny Fenton didn't own a lot of clothes.
She cautiously pulled open the wardrobe door, mortified as several pairs of boxers tumbled out onto the floor.
Sam flushed, her earlier embarrassment intensifying. What kind of idiot kept his underwear in the top section of his wardrobe? Although she had to admit, Calvin Klein was a huge improvement from the red and white spotted boxers he had donned in freshman year.
She stared at the boxers on the floor. If just she left them there, Danny was sure to know that she had been rummaging through his stuff. Sam ran a hand through her hair, disconcerted. She should have sent Tucker to rummage through Danny's belongings. It seemed her luck could not get any worse.
Ignoring the burning of her cheeks and the ridiculous palpitations of her heart, Sam picked up the offending boxers, folded them, and placed them back on the stack of clothes. She frowned, hesitating. Had she replaced them too neatly? Her crush was bound to notice if his boxers had not been folded before their visit, which would lead him to suspect that someone had been rummaging through his wardrobe.
Her earlier reaction to their closeness confused her, perhaps more than his earlier response to the ghost attack. She had always thought that her feelings for Danny ran deeper than mere carnality, rather than the strong physical attraction she felt towards Phantom. Yet he had somehow managed to invoke in her fervor she had previously thought only Phantom was capable of.
In a way, she had hoped that Danny's lack of interest in pursuing a relationship with her would help her ease the choice between him and Phantom. Now, it seemed like her emotions had been running in circles. She was right back where she started, with absolutely no idea what to do regarding the rapidly worsening situation she had gotten herself into.
Sam couldn't believe that she had once thought they were polar opposites. She pushed her dark hair out of her face, a new perspective suddenly dawning. Now that she thought about it, she was beginning to see more of Phantom in Danny with every passing day. The alien, fierce resolve that Danny had adopted while defending himself during the ghost attack earlier that day had not been the only incident in which Sam had noticed a distinct change in his personality.
It was possible that the increased self-assuredness that he had gained over the past three years stemmed from interaction with Phantom. If Danny was on friendly terms with the Red Hunter, what was to stop him from being acquaintances with the rest of the ghost hunters under Vlad Master's employ?
The Goth was no combat expert, but she could not help but notice that they manner in which Danny had fought during the ghost attack had been strongly reminiscent of Phantom. Perhaps he was the ghost hunter that Vlad Masters had instructed to train Danny in ghost hunting.
Sam sighed. She was getting ahead of herself. Phantom had admitted that he had heard of Danny Fenton, but he had refused to tell her how close the two of them were, or if they were even acquaintances in the first place. Besides, Phantom had been surprised when Sam had suggested that Danny was a ghost hunter.
She scowled. Although she had initially been disinterested in Phantom's secrets, now she wished that she had questioned the ghost hunter more thoroughly when he had apologised to her that morning. She ought to have taken advantage of the fact that he felt bad about apparently forcing himself on her the previous week.
Sam couldn't believe that she had lost a golden opportunity to finally get some answers. No doubt the next time that she encountered him, Phantom would revert to his typical, cocky self, rendering interrogations impossible. That was, if she ever saw him again. But the Goth knew that if the ghost hunter were to fulfill his promise of seeing her again, conversation would be the last thing on her mind.
The ghost hunter had been pretty rapid to drop any further discussions regarding being called a "halfa" by Skulker. Maybe this was somehow linked to Danny's cause of secrecy as well. Perhaps a "halfa" was a type of ghost hunter.
Sam frowned, unsure. There was always too much room for speculation where her crushes were concerned. She ought to be concentrating on trying to find evidence concerning Danny's secrecy, instead of sitting on his bed and entertaining herself with guesswork.
Rising to her feet, Sam prepared herself to continue her frustratingly futile search. Perhaps soon she would finally be rewarded with another piece of the puzzle in this rapidly growing web of intrigue.
Author's Notes: I credit BlueMyst19 entirely for the bit about the boxers:) I apologise about the lack of updates, but chapter 11 was giving me quite a bit of trouble. I ended up writing a chapter that was approaching 10,000 words in length, and didn't seem to show any signs of stopping soon.
Hence, I deleted some of it and split the chapter into two. At least now I have a much better idea of how many chapters until the end. Sorry that the half you got wasn't very action packed. But since most of it is already written, hopefully the next update won't take half as long. Also, the speed at which the plot moves forward is about to increase significantly.
Check out my new fics, Rules of Engagement and Anathema's Abode, which will be replacing Metanoia as my main fic once I've finished it. I have the beginnings of a sequel for Metanoia in my mind, if you would like one, but I can't tell you guys any more about it without giving away the ending for Metanoia!
Many thanks to my reviewers: hamanor12, YellowQueen, yuuki, shimoragurl, vladimir's disease, Henshi-anichan, cera meia, b4k4 ch4n, raven luvah, kia, cariadiorarua, FieryWitch, Linda, CharmedNightSkye, Secret Spy Guy, Sasia93 and Koccinelle. Your comments and criticism never fail to encourage me!
Please leave a review to let me know what you think.
Hugs and Kisses,
Twisted Creampuff