A/N: Thank you again for all your wonderful reviews! And, of course, I hope you'll keep 'em comin'. In the meantime, I hope you're ready for an update, even if it's still going to be intense for a while. But, of course, you know why! So, let's get the formalities over with: IDNOAC and here is Chapter 40. Enjoy!
TrueHeart—Chapter 40—Turnabout
Armen ran as fast as he could toward his home. But then, he stopped at his next thought. His family would be very upset if he had come home without the permission of the school. He could not risk being in any more trouble, especially since he had gotten behind in his schoolwork. Plus, he had forgotten his jacket and he was getting colder. He turned around and headed back to the school. He would have to just face everything and get through it somehow. He had to do that, if not for himself, for his family.
But once he got to the front of the school, he suddenly got cold feet again. What was he going to do now? He couldn't just act like nothing had happened, even though he had no clue what had actually happened. But then again, he was feeling so upset that maybe he could convince the school that he needed to go home. He bit his lower lip. IF he could convince them! Right now, he could barely think in his native language, much less try to talk to the school in English! Still, he made himself go into the school.
But just as he had come in, his heart jumped in dread. Of all people, Al was coming right at him! But he didn't know that she was headed to the office in order to run an errand for one of her teachers. He began to panic, now wanting to dart right back out of the school and towards home once more.
Al, however, didn't give him the chance. She called to him and he froze right in his tracks. But just as she neared him, she couldn't help but notice that for some reason he was panting and sweating. And then she saw a wild look in his eyes. And somehow, when she saw him that way, she just knew that he must have just experienced another one of those episodes.
The blond girl instantly paused just outside the office. She had been learning a bit of his language in the past weeks; and from the way he looked, she knew she had to try to use it right now. She earnestly pleaded, "Molimo, znam nešto pogrešno, Armen. Čekajte, molim vas!" (1)
Thank goodness for the mixed-up boy that she had noticed something was wrong and had asked him about it! His mind was as jagged as her Croatian, but the girl's effort had been able to reach him. If she had done or said anything else, he would have bolted. But now, he felt the tension in his body suddenly leave as he remained frozen in place.
And just a few minutes later, the girl was at his side…
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Bertrand knew right away that he needed to pursue Danny once he had released Armen. He charged right after the boy as the teen ran as hard as he could to get out of the school. Bertrand easily caught up with him and just as they turned a corner, the shape-shifter took out his little machine and aimed it right at crushed, fleeing boy. He quickly turned it on and pushed the button. He suppressed his laugh when he got the results he wanted. The boy in front of him suddenly halted and bowled over, gasping and then holding his abdomen as he did. But that didn't stop the teen from gritting his teeth and continuing in his dash to the outside.
Bertrand quickly exchanged the now full vial with an empty one as he continued to pursue the human Ghost Boy. He hurriedly pushed the button on his machine once again and this time, Danny groaned louder and slowed his pace again, panting in more pain this time.
Still, the teen was determined to keep going, even though he didn't understand why he was getting these jolts of intense pain—and dizziness—all of the sudden. He doubled his efforts to get out of there.
Bertrand was able to exchange yet another vial, all the while keeping in pace with the teen just ahead of him. Each time, the boy's reaction to the shape-shifter's assault had been the same as the other two times—only it seemed to get progressively worse...
In fact, each time that Bertrand had activated his machine, he noticed that he had more time between exchanging a full vial for an empty one. Curious about that, he watched the teen more closely while the current vial in the machine rapidly filled. It was obvious that the kid seemed to be in pain from the moment the machine was turned on. All the better about that! But, more significantly, the boy was unwittingly slowing his pace down the more the vial lapped in his powerful pheromones. That meant that Bertrand didn't have to hurry as much to keep up with the kid and that the shape-shifter could take his time changing out the vials. He evilly smiled. Sucking all of that precious commodity, then, was definitely affecting the kid—for the worse!
Now viciously beaming with the knowledge that his theory about weakening the Ghost Kid was undoubtedly proven, the shape-shifter continued in his task. And when that vial filled, he quickly put in another empty one before that inferno bell rang.
But just as Bertrand had done that, Danny had finally reached the outside of the school. He instantly turned into Phantom, bolting upward. But Danny was surprised that it was harder to do that then it should have been. But he gritted in determination and poured on his supersonic speed immediately afterward.
This time, Bertrand slowed to a stop and punched the sky in aggravation at his failure to catch up with the teen once he had morphed. But then, he heard a 'ding' and smiled. His little machine had still been able to capture still another bite of the first fruits of Spectra and his labors. He pulled the vial out. It, too, was filled to the brink of the glowing pheromone concentration, just like the last three he had gotten. Its purple color was so deep that, in spite of its intense glow, it still looked almost black.
Bertrand sneered, "Man, is he ever crushed! Perfect!"
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Danny had felt a more rapid—and significant—drain of energy just before he had poured on his super speed. And that drain of energy was accompanied by even more pain and dizziness. But he concentrated harder in spite of it; and his supersonic speed kicked into overdrive. Before he knew it, he had phased through his bedroom wall and landed in a hard skid, followed by a rough stumble, before he rammed into the trunk at the foot of his bed. But he didn't care how sloppily he had landed as he pushed himself off the trunk. And he didn't care if anyone heard him, even though he didn't know that he had returned to an empty house.
He ran over to his bureau and grabbed the picture of Sam he had on it, throwing it into the trash with such fury, that the glass that had protected it shattered into a million pieces.
He then went to his drawer. He yanked it forcefully open, reached in, and started throwing away all those silly little mementos he had shared and collected with Sam. One of her other pictures fell to the floor instead of the trash can, and with an angry tear falling, he immediately zapped it with a larger-than-needed green ectoplasmic blast, creating a large burnt hole in the floor that he was sure matched the same hole that had opened in his heart.
He ignored the rattling bird cage, or that his actions had caused it. Sarah had been jolted out of her sleep over his violent entry right now. She gasped with what she was seeing: a very upset ghost destroying this strange room in which she had somehow ended. She couldn't help but fear that she may be next in this his sites.
After he had either destroyed or discarded anything that reminded him of Sam, he fell to his knees, morphing back to his human form as he did. Like the first, he didn't hear the second gasp from the dove. He buried his face in his hands, knowing that it wouldn't snuff out his pain. He also tried to ignore the pounding in his head that compounded his dizziness. He didn't understand any of this! This couldn't be happening! He had given his former girl the benefit of a doubt all this time—and had tried to forget about all those past misunderstandings—only to have her take him on a cruel ride after all. She had lied, cheated and hid it all from him!
Until now.
And now that he realized how much this cut to his very soul, all his doubts about Sam came crashing on top of him. He felt the pressure of all those thoughts shoving him down.
But, strangely, he found his heart yelling in denial. NO! NONE of this was true! This wasn't right! This was not the Sam he knew! But how could he deny it when he saw and heard it all himself?...But it was so random, so unexpected! It didn't make any sense at all! What went wrong?
He pulled his face out of his hands and screamed out loud, "Nothing went wrong! But, somehow, she went wrong! But how? HOW? WHY?!"
He grabbed his face again, trying to squish his tears that he didn't want to flow. But they didn't want to oblige him and this time, he didn't fight them. He had lost everything and even more. He had lost his Sam, his best friend, his love. He never thought it would hurt this badly. That it would feel as if his heart had been ripped out of him while it was still beating, only for his anguish to strangle it to an agonizing stop. And for what he was feeling, since in a way Sam was there, she may as well have been his heart.
The dove trembled in pity when she saw the now weeping boy... She hadn't recognized him when he first came into the room, but did when he had morphed into his human form. She didn't understand how he had changed like that; nor had she ever thought that the ghost and the boy to whom that evil ghost Spectra had been referring were one in the same until at this moment. This must be him, then—the ghost and the boy—somehow both the same person! But she didn't give it all another thought right now. She was just as upset as he was over what had happened. She just knew that the evil ghostly sorceress had triumphed in her wicked plans and had been able to permanently tear this boy away from his love. And he was in agonizing pain. Just exactly how she felt, now that she was away from her love.
Then she shuddered in fright. That would mean that that cruel ghost would be after him, after the energy Spectra wanted from him, after his….life! She gasped, but as with all her utterances so far, Danny didn't hear her. She turned to look at him as her thoughts pressed upon her…How cruel, too cruel! Crueler than she and her husband had ever been treated in the Ghost Zone…but...but not as cruel as the heartless things they had suffered all those years ago. She gasped in dread this time. But if that evil Spectra got what she wanted, this young couple could very possibly also suffer a similar fate as the one they had endured! And worse, now she and her husband had played a hand in inflicting that same kind of injustice, and that same kind of danger, onto this boy and his love…hadn't they? She felt bitterly remorseful. But she would do her best now to keep that evil creature away from this innocent boy.
But before she could say anything, Danny suddenly ran to his window, morphing into Phantom as he did, and soared upward and away from the bird as she cried, "Wait!"
She dropped her head in defeat when he hadn't heard her.
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Sam bit her lower lip, now concerned that she had inadvertently barged into someone else's need for privacy in an emotional moment. She was about to turn to leave, suddenly aware that she didn't have a coat on anyway, when the crying person she had heard came from around the bushes, wiping her tears away as she did.
"YOU! What are you doing here?" Valerie sneered through gritted teeth when she pulled her hand away from her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I didn't see the sign that said, 'Valerie's Personal Space'," Sam instinctively hissed back, crossing her arms in front of her in defiance—and to warm herself.
"Ugh! You're impossible and impossibly heartless," Valerie growled back.
"Hey, that was a low blow!" Sam yelled, now throwing her fisted hands to her sides.
Valerie frowned even more and firmly replied, "Oh, you should know! You sure hit Danny right where it counts! Glad I finally got a chance to tell you how I really feel! You're a real piece for all that crap you threw at Danny!" She was, of course, referring to what she had witnessed a couple of weeks back between her and Phantom.
Sam had no idea what the dark-skinned girl was talking about. "I don't know what…." she began, but then stopped with her next quick thought. Had Valerie meant the time when Valerie as the Red Huntress had caught her and Danny Phantom together? She must have meant that, since the two girls really hadn't been in each other's company since that time.
"You got it all wrong, Valerie," Sam continued, but her tone had definitely changed from an angry one to a more chagrinned one. The goth girl really didn't know how to explain that.
"Oh, I don't think so!" Valerie firmly retorted, noticing the change in Sam's voice. That surprised her, but she didn't care. The Red Huntress had been ready for a fight and having one with Sam was just what she needed. "You're definitely way down there in the bottom of the barrel with all the other scum for what you did!"
"Oh, now you're crossing the line, Valerie!" Sam hissed, renewed in her anger.
"And you were crossing the line when I saw you about to kiss that scum of a ghost, Danny Phantom!"
"Look!" the goth girl insisted. "I can't explain that, but what you saw wasn't what it seemed."
"Oh, and now I suppose you expect me to believe in fairy tales, huh?" Valerie retorted.
Sam growled and fisted her hands to her sides. She wanted so much to slug the girl in front of her who had caused so much trouble in her boyfriend's life and now, of course, in Tucker's. But her charged mind and pragmatic tendency knew this really wasn't the best approach right now.
She sighed, composing herself, before saying, "Look, Valerie. You have every right to believe that I have been lying and cheating on Danny. But I haven't! Weirder things have happened here in Amity in the past and you know it! You of all people should know that there have been lots of unexplained things in your experience in…ghost hunting. Well, all I can plead is that, uh, I couldn't help myself, and that this is one of those unexplained things."
Valerie stopped in thought, again surprised about what the goth girl had just said. She was right, of course, about very strange ghost stuff happening all the time. But then again, how would that explain her blatant behavior with that Ghost Kid? Maybe Sam had been controlled by him somehow after all, and she really couldn't help herself? She scrunched up her face with her next thought. Maybe that explained it. The Ghost Punk was very powerful even if he was a coward; and no human probably could fight against him—unless they were armed liked the Red Huntress always was.
She was about to question Sam further, when Sam continued, "And I know you have every right not to believe me, but I would never hurt Danny. Not on purpose. I might get angry at him, yes." Suddenly, Sam felt very uncomfortable, but she pressed on, "But I would never hurt him…because, you see…" She automatically melded into her 'old-Sam-poker-face' mode, but just as quickly pushed it away. She couldn't believe that she was saying this to Valerie of all people, but she also knew she must say it. Looking right into Valerie's eyes, she said, "…because, I love him too much to ever hurt him."
The look that Sam gave her was so intense, so sincere, that Valerie shuddered a little. It was as if Sam was looking right into her mind.
But what Sam had said was something Valerie understood completely. She, too, had once felt something for Danny. And she hadn't wanted to hurt him or put him into any danger. That is why she had stopped their relationship before they had gotten too much into each other. Maybe it was a kinda love for him. But then, she instantly stopped in thought. No, it wasn't that kind of love. Not like the one that she had for…but she brushed it from her mind. But she did care enough for Danny to not hurt him.
But with Sam, when the goth girl seemed to look right through her, she felt a familiar feeling. She definitely felt in that instant that Sam's love for Danny was far deeper than whatever she had once felt for him. Valerie suddenly jolted when her other thought resurfaced. It was as deep, if not deeper, than what she felt for Tucker. She now understood that she had only liked Danny…but she loved Tucker. And she still did, which was why she was hurting so much now.
Tears began to well up once more with that realization and Valerie knew she had to get out of there. She stammered, "L-Look, S-Sam, let's just forget about this whole thing, OK? I really don't want to fight with you anymore! Maybe you aren't lying and what you say is true. But I don't know. All I know is that I've just lost the best thing that has ever happened to me. Tucker broke up with me! And if you're feeling anywhere near what I'm feeling, to love someone and then to emotionally bleed to death when they're taken away from you, then I can understand your love for Danny. And I wouldn't wish how much hurt I'm feeling right now on my worst enemy."
Though Valerie could feel her lip tremble in grief, she pressed on, "Now, if you don't mind, you can have my 'personal space' over there if you want. I don't feel that good and I'm going to call my dad. I want to go home."
Sam stood in silence as the morose girl passed her. And for some reason, Sam suddenly pitied her. And her heart went out to Tucker as well. And she knew that Valerie was right. If she lost Danny, she, too, would just die! But she wasn't going to let that happen, not if she could help it!
She hurried to that space and closed her eyes, thinking, "Well, we did say in an emergency. And this certainly qualifies as one! Okay, honey, here I come!" She jolted. Did that endearment just come out of her? She shrugged it off and concentrated.
But after a few moments, she sighed in defeat. She was being blocked and just couldn't get through to him. She was certain that he was extremely upset.
But an idea hit her. She silently thanked her grandmother. And she knew just the person who would help her.
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Tucker had been able to escape from Valerie right after their talk, especially since he had activated his invisibility program. He had run through the cafeteria, thankful that no one could see him—literally. He had wanted to go anywhere but here. But as he darted toward the entrance to the hallway, he couldn't wipe Valerie's face out of his mind, or how distressed she looked when he told her it was over between them. He felt absolutely despicable for all the lies he had told her, including this last one. If only she had told him earlier about her secret, if only Danny didn't have a secret to keep, if only he hadn't…fallen in love with Valerie, he wouldn't be feeling so awful right now. But telling lies was no basis for a trustful relationship. Breaking up was all for the best. But why didn't his heart believe that?
He finally slowed when he thought he was far enough away. But, he didn't want to deprogram his PDA yet. Somehow, he felt he could appreciate the irony of his being invisible right now. It seemed so appropriate, since it totally matched all the hollowness he was feeling inside right now. Still, he didn't know where to go. It wasn't time for class yet and he certainly wasn't going to return to the cafeteria. He couldn't face Valerie again—or his lunch.
He stopped at a nearby corner and slumped against it. What was he going to do now? But really, he wasn't going to try to answer that. He couldn't. Especially now that he felt the pressure in his eyes and the thick lump in his throat. He was just so upset, he wished he could just ooze right into this empty space and not have to ever leave it again.
But suddenly, he heard a door opening in the direction of the cafeteria. Of course, he didn't know who that was, much less if it was Valerie. Though he was still invisible, he didn't think he could even handle seeing her right now. So, he didn't want to wait and find out who that could be. He darted out of the corner and headed to the nearest exit.
But as he ran toward his escape, he was so distressed, he had unconsciously tightened his grip around his PDA; and when he did that, he hadn't realized that he had accidentally pressed the button deactivating the invisibility program. He reappeared just as he turned the next corner. And just as he did, Sam plowed right into him and both of them ended up on the floor.
"Tucker!" Sam excitedly said, jumping up off the floor, and then helping him up. "I'm so glad to see you! There's so much I need to tell you but we haven't got time! We've got to find Danny! He's in big trouble!"
"What are you talking about, Sam?" her friend objected, pulling away from her. "Haven't you've done enough damage for the past few weeks? Just leave me alone!"
Totally shocking him, Sam growled under her breath and clasped firmly onto his hand. She yanked him into a nearby janitor's closet.
Just as she turned on the light and locked the door, she let go of his hand and turned abruptly around to face him. Firmly grabbing him by both of his shoulders, she shook him as she insisted, "Look, Tucker! I know I've said some nasty things about Valerie and I may have been a bit unfair to her. And I may have seemed to have done some things that looked like I did something bad, when I didn't do anything bad, well, I know it looked like…GRRR! You know what I mean! But something more important has happened. Anyhow,…"
She paused as she tried to slow the millions of thoughts that were bombarding her mind right now. But she growled to herself and was just going to get on with it, no matter how it might come out. "Anyhow, I think that all those times when I did seem to do some bad things like…um…"
"Like hate Valerie?" he offered, as she let go of him.
"No, not that! When I cheated on Danny! I mean, when I didn't cheat on Danny! But it seemed like I did because I think I was being overshadowed by a ghost!"
Now his curiosity was peeked about all her blathering. He replied, "C'mon, Sam! That's a lamer excuse than saying that your dog ate your homework! Danny would have known you were being overshadowed! His ghost—"
But she interrupted him. She had a sudden sick feeling about Danny. Her heart began to pound with worry. She just had to get through to Tucker, "Yes, I know and you're right! His ghost sense would have alerted him. But somehow, it didn't. I don't know why, but you still have to believe me! I could actually feel that I was being overshadowed the last time!"
Tucker looked at her eyes and knew she was dead serious. That unnerved him a little, but he was still able to say, "You could? But how?"
"I don't know! Maybe because of my telepathic powers? I've been feeling like they've been going kinda haywire lately."
But Tucker wasn't convinced. He continued, "And what about that other time, you know, like the one I saw?"
She could feel her breathing increase. He had said that he had seen at least one time when she was now sure an overshadowed Armen had kissed her. But he hadn't seen any of the other times when that had happened, did he? She didn't know, of course, since she was too busy resisting the foreign boy. But if he had, it didn't matter at this point. She had to convince him.
"I wasn't overshadowed, then; but I think, maybe, that Armen was! And I couldn't fight his strength when he was!" Then she continued, really to herself as she thought about the past few days, "But all those other times—I mean, just recently—I didn't know then that I was being overshadowed. But I must have been, because I don't remember any of them!"
"But you said you did the last time," he pointed out, now frowning in confusion at her explanation.
"I know, I know!" she exclaimed, now sounding exasperated. "I don't understand all this stuff! And this last time, I was made to say some very awful things to Danny...I think that ghost—which I think was a shadow ghost—wanted to break us up for some reason. I wish I knew why, but I just know that this was that ghost's plans!"
She suddenly jolted at the next wild thought. But somehow, she just knew once again it was true. "And that ghost was somehow responsible for all those rumors, too! I just know it! That was another way to make us upset with each other…And… " She was upset with herself for choking on that last word, but she made herself press on, "And… I think that the ghost succeeded! I think Danny thinks I wanted to break up with him! But I don't want that! But Danny thinks that! And…" She frowned at her next thought but she knew it was true, "And Danny's not only upset, but…something bad's happening to him!"
"I don't know, Sam," came her friend's reply, slightly disturbed how creepy she was sounding.
"You've got to believe me, Tucker!" she desperately said, staring at him with such intensity that, suddenly, impossibly, he was aware of all her thoughts! They flashed at him in fast-forward, but they were definitely there. She was telling the truth. He felt it. And he also sensed what she sensed. That a ghost, a shadow ghost, was involved. And that Danny was somehow in danger! But if she wasn't telling the truth, she so passionately believed she was right that if that feeling was tangible, they could reach out and grasp it at that moment.
His eyes jolted to their most alert state that they had been in the past few weeks with that realization. It totally cleared his tormented mind. He sighed and quietly said, "OK, Sam. I believe you. I don't know why I should with all that stuff you said about Valerie and all that stuff I saw you do and all this weird stuff now, but I do believe you!"
She grabbed his shoulders again, but this time it was with a huge hug. Letting a tear of relief fall, she gently added, "Thank you, Tucker! You don't know how much I needed that and how much that meant to me!"
She released him and hurriedly wiped more tears that had managed to jump out of her eyes. He noticed them, but didn't say anything.
She continued, "And just so you know, I think that Valerie still, uhm,…loves you. I kinda, uhm, ran into her after, you know, after your last…talk…with her. And…and I don't think she's all that bad now. But I'm also gonna tell you that I'll help you get her back."
Tucker smiled weakly when she said that.
She returned his with her own weak one and added, "Don't know how we're going to do that, of course. But somehow, we will. You deserve to be loved by somebody as much as I love Danny. And as much as I love you…uhm, uh, but as a friend, you know." She ended with a smirk on her reddened face.
He smirked weakly back and said, "Thanks! And the same goes for me, you know, uhm, as a friend, that is!"
They paused in embarrassment. And even though she was worried about Danny, she was also now concern about Tucker's feelings. So, although she knew what she wanted to do, she also wanted to ask Tucker for his opinion first. "So, um… What do we do now?"
"Well, find Danny, of course!" Tucker said with a slight frown. Wasn't it obvious that he would want to help his currently endangered friend before trying to sort things out with Valerie?
She also frowned, but in worry now that she had thought that she had upset him again.
But his frown melded into a weak smile as he continued, "You did say that Danny was in big trouble, you know! And it's not like Valerie's in that kind of trouble. I can…um, find her after we find Danny."
She offered him another weak smile and quick hug before replying, "Okay, then, let's go. I can't get through Danny, you know, our way, because he's so upset, but I have another idea! We have to get the Boomerang!"
"Okay, then, what are we waiting for?" he replied, agreeing with what she would do with that device.
And both best friends headed to Fenton Works.
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Tranlation:
(1) "Please, I know something wrong, Armen. Wait, please!"