Valerie shook her head in self-recrimination. She should not have even played that chess game against Vlad, let alone win it, but she just had to gloat, and let him know that she was a puppet no longer. Valerie heads off trying to work out how to carefully reveal the secrets she and Daniel have to their mutual friend, since she knows that Sam will react worse than she did, and the only reason she had been so even-tempered herself was that careful snippets of information she had been fed at the right time. The sooner this problem is dealt with the better. Both return to the Fentonworks and a high ecto-reading is coming from it. Either Jack is cloning or Ember is being passionate about something.
"I just want to check at the Fentonworks. I'll see you in a bit."
"I noticed the high ecto-reading as well. They may well be in trouble."
Valerie sighed internally - Sam would have to accompany her now and this could lead to the inadvertent revelation of important secrets. Still, Val supposed that if she was wrong and the Fentonworks were in trouble she would need the assistance. The two girls nodded to each other, and moved as one. Sam smashed the door open, while Valerie blasted a window on the upper floor. This was in many ways a very traditional pincer movement, each girl using their own strengths. Val's helmet enable her to locate many of the traps Damon had set up and avoid them without either triggering or defusing them. Sam on the other hand being completely human would be ignored by them. Fortunately Ember is on the top floor and since her pony tail is far longer than her normal form, and roaring as she uses it to blast the animal ghosts that have her surrounded. Val knows she has to rescue Ember and quickly, because not only is the ponytail weapon one of last resort, but if Sam sees it, it will be obvious that Ember is a ghost. Valerie activates all her suits weapons, jumps of her board, and produces her cannon from nowhere. She carefully blasts as carefully as she can around Ember and once Ember is relived she starts blasting with her hands.
"I was coping." Ember grumbles.
"Yes, but Sam's here as well." Valerie pointed out.
"Oh." Ember goes quiet at that. "Why are we being attacked by ghosts now?"
"Dalv." Valerie states. "Vlad's part ghost, and since Sam and I were away, he felt his minions could deal with us."
"Why? Jack's a brilliant ghost hunter." Ember pointed out. To Val it seemed strange that Ember's last phrase was said as a simple statement of fact.
"This Vlad comes from my time-stream." Valerie stated."And in that one Jack is overenthusiastic, but not really overly competent. Sam and I are considered dangerous."
Ember looked at Valerie carefully. Val had finally let something slip, but what was it? The two pieces of information that Val had volunteered to her, Ember would mull over in her mind, and eventually work out what it was that Val was hiding from her.
Meanwhile downstairs Sam's sudden attack took the ghosts by surprise. After several quick losses from behind, they turned round to face the new and unexpected threat only to leave themselves open to Jack's melee strengths, which were almost as enormous as his frame. This was very bad. Once the enemies have been dealt with the group gathers round the dining table.
"Vlad is using ghosts. You should let Mrs Master's know - You know how she'll respond." Sam suggests, knowing no better.
"We can't." Jack sighs. "We've been keeping a secret from you, Sam. One we had to knowing your attitude. A big secret about Ember. The first thing you have to understand is Damon has known this secret for seventeen years, and I've known it for fourteen."
"Suspected it for a year before that." Ember grins embarrassed.
"Wait, that would mean...?" Sam starts before Damon interrupts. "Yes, I knew before I married her, though I think I suspected earlier - just didn't want to admit it to myself. After all this would mean that I had fallen in love with someone I was supposed to hunt."
Sam is smart and she puts it together, but her response is different to what everyone gathered there is expecting. "Pull the other one. Ember's more my Mom, than my real mother and you're claiming she's a Spirit. Bwahahaha! I like a good joke as much as anyone but ghosts are evil."
Val looks at Sam carefully and speaks. "Even if that was true, which it isn't, they can and do love. Ghosts tend to be more exaggerated in their behaviour, and Ember's vice is passion. She is more extreme than most humans but she has the same feelings. Nostalgia, love, hate, fear."
Sam looks shocked and upset. She loves Ember, and Ember has been good to her, yet from what this group is saying Ember is an evil ghost. It just doesn't make sense to her. Ember acting as a ghost hunter does, because that way she is guarding her haunt, but she still can't reconcile Ember with what she thinks ghosts are.
Sam storms out yelling. "If you're not going to be honest, I quit!"
Val rolls her eyes. "Forgot how much of a temper she has. I hope that this doesn't get her in trouble."
From the outside two silent and invisible figures watch carefully. One in hope, and the other in desperate fear. Even despite Val's assistance, Ember's status was still revealed and Sam had stormed out, letting Daniel Master's feel he could recruit her. In this case Sam had stormed out in disbelief rather than the betrayal it would have been if she had caught Ember using her hair. But as Clockwork had feared before, despite Val's brave and determined efforts, this world was heading to the future he saw as unavoidable in this time-line.
"Well, we tried." Val stated. "Time to go."
That night Ember dreamt. "A ghost of what might have been. My mother exists, but she is my mother no longer. In my time-line."
"Odin!" Ember cries. This wakes up Damon who knows that when she slips into words this old she is really upset.
"What's wrong?"
"I know whose daughter Valerie is. She was being more literal than we realised. Only one Valkyrie survived the rebellion-me. She's our daughter, or she would have been. But who is dominant me or you? I have a feeling the fate of the world rests on that answer."
A/N. I've found that the three girl's have similar base quirks. Sam does have a temper, but it's not her big weakness. They're different people so different aspects of their similar characters dominate.