Warning: This story contains violence, adult situations and strong language. Please be advised.
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.
Chapter Eight: Winging It
When we arrived in Amity Park, the kids were already gone so they wouldn't see me. Mom went to get some supplies as I stood in the living room surrounded by my family. Surprisingly, Brit was the first to hug me. I pulled her in, kissing her hair. Brit knocked the hood off my head and I gasped.
"Don't do that," I cried, yanking the hood back over my head. I tightened the drawstring. "I will not remove this hood until my hair grows back!"
"Oh, come on, cue ball, lighten up," Brit joked with me. I didn't find it funny.
"You are making fun of me after I went through a traumatic event?!"
"You didn't go through a traumatic event," Brit rolled her eyes. "You are bald!"
"That is the traumatic event," I retorted.
Dani nudged me playfully. "Hey, cuz."
"Danielle," I smiled widely, pulling her in for a hug. I held on for dear life. "I've missed you!"
Tucker moved in next, engulfing me in a huge hug. "Dude, it's been lonely around here."
"I'm sure you've had someone to keep you company," I smirked as Valerie hugged me next. "How have you been, Val?"
"Good," Valerie smiled as she released me. "It's to have you back, Fenton."
"I have to say it's good to be back," I smirked. As Val stepped aside, Jazz came in. She had on a wide shirt, covering her waist. It didn't do much good, though. I could tell she was pregnant. I am surprised that Mom and Dad haven't figured it out.
"Uh, Jazz," Dad commented, his voice hesitant. "Have you always been so… generous?"
"Of course, Dad. You know how much I love my little brother," Jazz said, not even looking to our father.
"That's not what I meant," Dad said. Jazz turned to him but I see a smile fighting its way on her lips.
"Then what do you mean," Jazz asked, giving him an innocent look.
"I mean, uh, I meant, uh, never mind."
"Works every time," Jazz whispered so low I could barely hear her. I'm not used to straining to hear things.
"Are you home for good, soldier," Joseph asked me.
"We're heading back to Venezuela first but then I'm home for good," I nodded.
"Venezuela," Brit declared, surprised.
"Yeah," I nodded. "We headed south after I left here."
"How is it this time of year," Brit asked me with a big smile.
"Depends where you are," I said, putting my hands in my pocket. My fingers brushed something hard. I pulled the object out of my pocket, staring at the power egg. "That's strange. How did that get there?"
"That's a good question," Dad said, his brow furrowing. "Does that have the trademark F on the back?"
I flipped it over, displaying the Fenton F. "Yeah. What does it mean?"
"The one we gave you didn't have the trademark," Dad remarked. Well, I knew it wasn't mine. I don't use it. "I don't know how it ended up in your pocket. Did Maddie give it to you? She was the last one to have it."
"No, Mom didn't give it to me. I don't know how it ended up here."
"That is really strange," Dad remarked. He seemed to dismiss it, though, because he changed the subject. "So, what do you mean it depends where you are?"
"Oh," I said, shaking my head. "At sea level, it's mild. The higher in elevation you go, though, the more treacherous it gets. There's snow really high up." I put the egg back in my pocket, leaving it be. I have to push it to make it work so it's not what has powered me down. I'd say we were hit with something that blocks our powers for six hours. That seems more likely.
"Come on," I heard Tucker say gently. I looked in his and Valerie's direction but he wasn't there anymore. I looked around the room and finally found him by Sam's side. Sam was holding her shoulder, looking down. She looked beautiful. I didn't think she could be any prettier. Tucker had his hand behind her back, urging her to do something.
Sam gently shook her head no and I saw tears glisten in her eyes. Did she do it? Did she move on?
"No," Tucker retorted. He looked up at me, his stare cold. "Danny, please, I need your help here. I can't do this alone."
Danielle took Sam's hand, gently pulling her to me. She and Tucker delivered her to me and I saw fear smothering Sam's personality. Sam was practically falling apart in front of me. I swallowed, stepping forward. "You don't have to be afraid of me, Sam."
"I'm not," Sam whispered, keeping her eyes diverted. "I just can't take anymore heartache, Danny. If you aren't coming back to me, tell me now. Don't lead me on. Please."
"Do you want me back," I asked, looking at her. She didn't look at me, even as I stared at her.
"Yes," Sam squeaked. Her voice broke and she took in an abrupt breath of air, trying to keep herself from crying.
I lifted Sam's head to force her to look at me. "I've missed you, Sam. I'm tired of living this way. Please, can I come home?"
Sam let out a strangled laugh, beginning to cry as she came into my arms. Her happy tears turned into sobs as she melted into my arms. I wrapped my arms tightly around her, taking in everything about her. I began to cry silently, thanking God for Sam. She's gave me so many second chances, that I don't know where to begin. I was just thankful that she took me back. I don't deserve her; I'll never deserve her.
"Okay, I've got the necessary tools. Let's go," Mom's voice came into the room. Mom said something incoherently.
"Let's go, guys," Tucker said. He bumped my shoulder and then Sam's.
"We're ready," Sam said, wiping her eyes. She stood on her own feet but she was attached to me.
Mom exited the door and we all followed her. I held onto Sam's hand and she held onto my arm. We boarded the Ops Center, my four party members awaiting our return. The rest were gone.
"Our deepest apologies, Duchess," Gauis whispered when my parents went to the front of the plane.
"Thank you, Gauis," Sam nodded.
"How is William," I asked.
"I saw him last week. He's good. Victoria says he's eating properly and he's got healthy energy levels."
"That's good," I said, taking a seat. My team crowded me. I looked at Jazz. "You're coming too?"
"I'm pregnant. I'm not dead."
I lowered my head. "That's more than Esmeralda can say."
"Oh, my God," Tucker declared. "You're freaking kidding me! There's another one!"
"Yeah," I answered him. "When I went to the network, Gauis and I were assigned to a home with three other roommates. I stayed in my ghost form for more than sixty hours but I couldn't take it anymore."
"Ack hmm," Jazz let out loudly. I looked up, surprised to see her wide eyed.
"Ghost form," Joseph asked. His brow furrowed up. What's his problem? "What are you talking about, Danny?"
"Danny, he doesn't know," Jazz declared.
"What," I asked. Then it donned on me. "Oh, my God," I declared. I looked to the rest of my team and everyone had the same wide-eyed appearances. I covered my face with my hand. "I'm an idiot."
"What are you talking about," Joseph asked. I could tell he was really confused and I knew he wouldn't let it go. I've had so many dreams of Joseph in the future, I completely forgot that he didn't know. Mom and Dad were in the cockpit and that's all that concerned me.
"Honey, I haven't been completely truthful with you," Jazz said gently. "We were going to tell you when we told everyone else. I'm sorry."
"Tell me what," Joseph asked.
"It's a long story, Joseph. I'm so sorry," I said, looking up. "Three years ago, I was involved in a bad accident. I tripped and fell into the ghost portal, turning it on from the inside. When I came out, I had white hair, green eyes and my clothes colors had reversed. I'm Danny Phantom. I'm half ghost."
"What," Joseph asked, his eyes going wide. He sat down, hunching over his seat. "But… how is that possible? A ghost and a human rolled into one."
"I'm part ghost," I said, shrugging. "The how is my parent's department."
"And your parents don't know," Joseph declared, looking to Jazz.
"No," Jazz answered. "We're supposed to tell them graduation. They don't know yet, though."
"Why did you say that in front of me," Joseph asked. "I mean… you couldn't want to tell me before you tell your own parents."
"I have these visions when I sleep," I said softly. "I've dreamed dozens of times about you knowing. It just kinda slipped my mind."
"You saw me coming, before I came," Joseph asked.
"Yeah," I said, giving a tight smile. I know it sounds weird… and creepy.
"Well, no wonder you had no problem with me," Joseph said, giving a weak smile.
"I walked with you to make sure you were the man I know from my dreams and I approved. If you weren't that man I knew from my dreams, you would have got a much deeper analysis and you may not have got what you wanted."
"Well, lucky me, I don't change much," Joseph said, taking Jazz's hand in his. He kissed it gently.
"Any more questions," I asked.
"Sure," Joseph shrugged. "But I think your parents should be here for those questions. If anything sticks with me, I'll let you know."
I laughed. "Man, you are unbelievable."
"You're telling me," Jazz smiled gently to her fiancé.
"Go on," Joseph said, turning his hand in the air. "Sorry I interrupted."
"Sorry I didn't realize what year this is," I laughed. "Anyway, I couldn't power down so I was forced to stay in my ghost form for more than sixty hours. Gauis and I went back into the real world three days ago and I almost had my reserves rebuilt. I decided to go check out the communities when a teenaged boy approached me. He told me his sister had been raped by a ghost and was pregnant. Now the ghost had threatened to kidnap her and make her his bride. He also told me that his deceased father had come to the real world to protect his sister. Serguis, Gauis and I got with their ancestors and we defeated the ghost wanting to kidnap the girl. When we got back, she went into labor. She didn't make it."
"What," Joseph asked, surprised. "Why not?"
"Ghosts are like batteries," Tucker began to explain for me. Goodness, I've missed him. I never have to talk with Tucker around. "Ha ha! Anyway, as long as she was pregnant, the baby was supplying her the energy she needed. As soon as he was born, though, it was like she had her batteries removed. I agree with her father. She had been dead for months."
"Yeah, me too," I nodded softly, bowing my head. "The way she went told me that. She just drifted off to sleep, oblivious to any pain. She died a long time ago. The only thing keeping her alive was that baby."
Joseph whispered to Jazz. "How does Tucker know this?"
"He and Sam are becoming half ghost. Tucker can read minds."
"Oh," Joseph said, his eyes widening again. "Go on."
I smiled sadly. "There's nothing more to tell. We went back to the tent, our powers vanished and I found Mom and Dad in Valentinus' tent. That's it."
"You're powers are gone," Sam declared, rising up in her chair. "Why didn't you tell us you didn't have any powers?"
I hadn't? "I must have forgot. Sorry. Yeah, Mom hit us with some kind of power blocker. We won't have powers for a while."
"That's not true, sire," Gauis said. "We had powers until we come around you and your family. It's affecting us using distance, not contact."
"You're kidding," I said, crossing my arms. What could have taken our powers? Mom and Dad only have the egg for remote power removal but you must push the button continually for it to be activated. "I'll have to ask Mom and Dad what they're using. I don't know of an invention to do as you suggest."
"You're okay, aren't you," Sam asked me, rubbing my arm. I felt the fabric pulling at my skin and it made me smile.
"I'm terrific. There's only one thing that can make me happier. Get rid of those ghosts in the network community."
"What did the assessment tell you," Jazz asked me. She started to rub her back absentmindedly.
"Well, for one, the ghosts have organized themselves and they call the network headquarters. They're divided up into groups and everyone has a job to do. Gauis and I each had jobs to do to maintain our keep. There's also a long list so it may be desirable to join this network. The ghosts aren't overly powerful or strong. Most of them have partners or mates that they team up with and that's where things get dicey. Gauis also called to my attention that they are trading real world items and they are collecting energy to enrich their powers. They collect energy in vases called vessels and they are able to draw power from it, enabling them to push their bodies to the extreme."
"It's not just vases," Gauis spoke up. "Energy can be collected in anything, so long as it doesn't pass the power threshold. That's when it becomes an eleven and it is no longer serviceable to them. As long as it hasn't become an eleven, the ghost can draw energy from it and the ghost becomes virtually unstoppable. The procedure is illegal."
"Is that how the Reality Gauntlet, the Ring of Rage and the Crown of fire were created," Sam asked.
"Yes, madam," Gauis nodded. "Any object may become a vessel. It is a capital offense to create a vessel, though."
"Why," Joseph asked. "What's the harm?"
"The power in the vessel can be siphoned away, giving the ghost more power to work with. While it may help a ghost that has a low power level stand a chance against a stronger ghost, it is against natural order. Ghosts have all the tools we'll need instilled in us. It could just as easily turn a ten into a nightmare. We cannot have other ghosts disadvantaged."
I grumbled. Yeah. Like us becoming twenty-two's isn't disadvantaging anyone. Why are we the exception to the rule?
"How many vessels are we talking here," Joseph asked. "There has to be a reason they feel they need these things. Why do they feel threatened?"
"They're playing with a very dangerous element," Serguis remarked. "Humans do not understand the power emotion has over a ghost. It fuels us, it can drain us, it can even hurt us. It's the last thing we have that connects us to our previous life. We do not feel pain the way we used to, we don't eat, we don't drink, we don't sleep the same way we used to and we don't mate the way we used to. Our entire world was turned upside down when we became ghosts and we felt the heartbreak of that loss. We could feel sad when we knew a loved one was suffering. We missed our previous mates. We missed our family. We got angry. We experienced happiness. It was the only thing linking us to humanity and some of us went too far. The emotion was always manufactured, bottled or ghost generated, though. When we were introduced to human emotion," Serguis hummed, "we became addicted. Not all of us find it enjoyable but all ghosts find an attraction to it. It reminds us of who we were and gives us energy. It's a drug and it's being unregulated."
"So they're afraid they will be raided for emotions," Joseph asked. "What kind of emotion are they marketing?"
"It tasted like human," Gauis remarked. "I ordered admiration and it was disgusting. I don't know why it tasted so bad but I'd say they bottled it at the source."
Mom and Dad exited the cockpit now that the ship was in the air. "Okay. We're heading south and everything will turn out okay."
"Hey, Mom, what are you using to control the powers? My team would like to get their powers back."
"Oh," Mom said, looking away. "I created a force field to control the powers. The only way to get their powers back is to leave the area or take a jellybean."
"Uh, Mads," Dad said, cocking his head at her in shock. "When did you do that?"
"I didn't tell you," Mom said, giving Dad a soft smile. "Sorry, dear. I just thought it would be a good idea to control who had powers and who didn't." Mom reached inside her jumpsuit and pulled out four jellybeans. "Here, boys. Sorry for the inconvenience."
Gauis was the first to take it and his glow returned. I remember the jellybeans from when Mom and Dad knew my secret but when I ate one, I powered up immediately. Serguis, Marcellus and Valentinus popped them next but Valentinus didn't power up. "Uh, ma'am, perhaps mine didn't work. I may need a second one."
"It will work if you swallow it," Mom said, crossing her arms. Tucker cocked his head as he studied Mom.
"What are you hiding," Tucker asked.
"Me, hiding," Mom asked, putting her hand to her heart. "He's the one who pretended to swallow the jellybean!"
"I know what Valentinus is hiding. I don't know what you're hiding," Tucker said, partially crossing his leg.
"I'm not hiding anything," Mom remarked. "But I'm not going to give him another jellybean. All he has to do is swallow it and it will work."
"I did swallow it, ma'am," Valentinus remarked.
Hey, Tuck, can you hear thoughts still, I asked.
I thought he wouldn't be able to.
It's ain't, Tucker replied. I cocked my head towards him. "Go head, Valentinus," Tucker spoke. "It's faint. Your lie."
Oh. It's faint. His voice cut out. I'm surprised he can do it at all, though.
"Fine," Valentinus grumbled. I saw him visibly swallow and he began to glow.
"We'll be fine," I commented. "You don't need any extra reserves."
"What is our strategy," Sam asked.
I scoffed. "Beats the hell out of me. There's too many to take at once and I can't find them in the mountains."
"We'll take them in the network," Mom commented, sitting down beside me. She pulled me to her shoulder, rubbing my back soothingly.
"At once," I asked, rising back up to look at her. I wanted to make sure she wasn't pulling my leg.
"Of course," Mom remarked. She pulled me back to her lap. I yanked myself away from her, letting her know I wasn't going to accept this.
"You do not know these ghosts nor do you understand their numbers! It's not possible!"
"Really," Valerie asked cockily.
"What part of certain death if we get caught did you not understand," I asked sarcastically.
"Well, no offense, but that's just you and your guard. This is Team Phantom," Val said, looking to my party briefly.
"Do you think I would just lie down and die depending on who I was with," I asked, incredulously.
"Of course not," Val rolled her eyes. "But we are better. We are the best ghost hunters. They're just your team."
"We are not weaklings, miss. The numbers of ghosts underground is staggering," Gauis spoke.
"You forget who you are dealing with," Mom said, once again pulling me to her lap. She did it a little rougher this time, causing me to wince.
"Ow," I spoke, rubbing my arm. I wasn't used to pain.
"I've got it under control. This won't take an hour," Mom said, rubbing my head.
(04)
We finally arrived in Venezuela, allowing us all to step off the ship. Mom stepped off right behind my lead and I turned to her. "Okay, first off, I need to meet the family of this girl that died in delivery."
Shoot! "I forgot to grab the supplies," I realized. I promised I'd give them some tools to help raise the child.
"You might have forgotten but I didn't," Mom remarked. She pulled out a long rectangle from her pocket. "I've got everything they'll need here but I need to see the deceased woman."
"Why," I asked. What did she expect to find?
"Hopefully this is a rare event but God forbid it would happen again, I want to know how to fight it. No one will survive if we don't learn where it goes wrong."
"Okay," I nodded. Sam came around Mom, grabbing my hand.
"I'm going with them," Sam replied. "You guys set up camp."
"Do you want any additional backup," Joseph asked. He wrapped his arm around Jazz's waist.
"No," I answered. "You guys will need more backup than we will." Oh! "Hey, Sam, you didn't grab my communicator by any chance, did you?"
"No," Sam said, surprising me. She's usually on top of everything.
"I did," Mom replied. She pulled out a box of mints but inside it were shrunken objects. She put the miniature communicator in the palm of her hand, pulled out her eyedropper and dropped water on it. The device expanded and Mom handed it to me. "Here you go."
"Wow," I said, impressed. Not with the technique, Mom does that all the time. I was impressed with the way Mom was on top of everything. She's been on the ball.
"Close your mouth," Mom joked, closing it in the cliché way. "You'll catch flies."
I led Mom and Sam back to the farmhouse. It was later but they should still be up. I didn't make it to the door, though. They had a guard post erected since I left here earlier.
"What business do you have here," a ghost asked me.
"We're here to see Amaya," I replied. "I have some things for her."
"Do you speak Spanish," the ghost asked me. I used to. Then Mom took my powers away and won't give me a jellybean.
"No," I said, sighing. "Xavier should be there, though. He can understand me."
"Very well. I'll let the family know you're on your way in."
"Thanks," I nodded.
We continued walking the few yards remaining but before we got to the door, Mom spoke hesitantly. "How did he know perfect English? He's Hispanic, right," Mom asked.
"Ghosts are multi-lingual," Sam replied. "No matter what language you speak to them in, they can understand."
"Oh," Mom remarked. She wringed her hands together and I looked at her in suspicion. Is Tucker right? Is Mom hiding something?
"Are you okay," I asked.
"Just nervous, that's all," Mom smiled at me. We finished the trip to the door and I knocked. Xavier was the one to the door.
"Hello, Xavier," I bowed my head. "I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you, Danny," Xavier said in English. "Who is this?"
"This is my mother and my girlfriend," I said, introducing Mom and Sam. Mom stepped forward.
"Maddie Fenton," Mom introduced.
"Sam soon-to-be Fenton," Sam said, forcing me to roll my eyes. Yes, soon to be, but not yet.
"Pleased to meet you," Xavier nodded.
"We have some tools to help with your grandson and my mom would like to take a look at Esmeralda's body."
"That's fine. Amaya is preparing her for burial now."
Xavier led us into the house. I'd wait until Mom was with Esmeralda before I told Xavier what was going on. I just hope I won't have to speak to Amaya before I can talk to him.
Xavier led us to an outside shed. Amaya was washing Esmeralda's legs when we entered but she didn't look upset. I furrowed my brow as I watched her communicate candidly (in her own language) with someone else in the room. I glanced around the room and I saw Esmeralda rocking her son, as she watched her mother prepare her deceased body. Wow, that is one strange sight. I've been to my own funeral before and I know how weird it is to see yourself dead.
Xavier began to speak in Spanish to Amaya and she responded in Spanish as well. I missed being able to understand them. Mom walked over to Esmeralda.
"Hello, dear," Mom said softly. "How are you?"
"Better than expected," Esmeralda responded in English. Amaya stopped talking with Xavier, looking at her daughter in shock. Amaya shot off some words in Spanish to which Esmeralda responded back in Spanish. I couldn't follow any of it. After about a minute of communication, Esmeralda turned back to us. "Sorry about that. My mother didn't know how I could speak English."
"Is this your first time speaking English," Mom asked, intrigued.
"Yes," Esmeralda replied. "I've never had any experience with it before but I can speak it flawlessly. Don't you think?"
"How do I sound to you," Mom asked me.
"You are speaking Spanish to me," Esmeralda replied. "I know I am not speaking Spanish, though, because my mother told me I wasn't." She giggled.
"I'd like to ask you some questions about your pregnancy and the delivery if that would be all right, Esmeralda," Mom said.
"That's fine by me, ma'am," Esmeralda replied. It was weird seeing the language thing done from another perceptive. I know it sounds like English in my mind so it makes sense that she hears Spanish. I guess that means that to the people from my castle, it's like we are speaking Latin. Neat!
As Mom busied herself with questioning Esmeralda, I walked over to Xavier. "Hey," I said softly, looking over my shoulder. "My parents don't know I have ghost powers so if you could translate everything I say to your family and relate everything they say to mine, I'd appreciate it." I turned to him only. "I can't even understand you right now because I don't have any powers. Can you help me out?"
"Sure," Xavier nodded. "You should tell your mother, though. She loves you very much."
"I know," I nodded. "Believe me, I will. But she just loves me too much. That's why I can't tell her right now."
"I'll explain it to Amaya," Xavier replied. I turned to Sam.
"Hey," I smiled, wrapping my arm behind her back.
"Hey," Sam smiled back to me. She placed her head on my shoulder, sighing in deep contentment.
"I'm back, baby," I said, holding her close to me. "I promise, I'll never do this to you again. I'm so sorry I betrayed you."
"Danny, Vlad wasn't as innocent as you think he was," Sam said, tilting her head to look at me. "I don't have evidence but I know he had something to do with it. This started back when Megan disappeared. I know he was involved in that! I can't prove it, I just know. A mother knows."
"He's gone now, though, Sam," I said. I took in a big breath, relishing in her scent. "We'll never see Vlad again. Let's just pick up the pieces of our family and prepare for the future."
Sam lifted her head to look at me. "What do we do? Do we remain on schedule for our wedding? Do we take it slow? What do you want to do?"
"I don't know, Sam," I said, sighing. I removed my arm from her waist, rubbing the back of my neck with it. "I want to marry you but I think right after high school is too soon. We'll wait."
"Sammy is born in 2010, Danny," Sam replied. "If we aren't married before then, she'll be born out of wedlock."
"I'm not looking to the future, Sam," I said, looking to my feet. She'll hear the subliminal message. "I'm just going to live my life the way I want to, without influence from my visions."
"Sammy will be born and so will the rest of our children," Sam said firmly, crossing her arms. "I said it before and I meant it. I will rape your ass!"
I smirked. "I'm not saying Sammy won't be born, Sam. Apparently, we don't have control over that sort of thing. I wonder if abstinence will help in this matter. Will the semen travel to you to do it?" I wrinkled my nose. "I try not to think about it."
"You didn't succeed," Sam snickered. "No. Abstinence would help. I can't get pregnant without sex and you can't get pregnant without oral."
"I'm done," I declared, waving my hands. "Megan was my last one. So help me if Vlad comes back to impregnate me, I will kill him with my bare hands."
Sam snickered. "No. I do believe yours and Vlad's kids are over. But who knows," Sam gave me a sly smile. "We may have one or two in the works. It doesn't have to be during this lifetime." She raised her eyebrow.
I smiled, nodding my head. "Never know. That's a possibility."
"But we will have our five kids plus the girls," Sam replied. "I know it's a big family."
I scoffed. "Yeah. Huge."
"But I'm attached. We have the money and we have the stamina," Sam snickered. "Who knows? We just may save the Halfa race?"
I rolled my eyes. "I doubt it. Not even if you and I had a dozen babies apiece. I mean you have twelve and I have twelve, would we achieve that kind of goal."
"Don't sell yourself short, Mama," Sam kidded. "Entire populations have been built on fewer populaces."
"They won't be halfas, though, Sam," I said softly. I know she was kidding and I should just go with the flow but I felt strongly about this subject. Vlad literally impregnated me twice in hopes of saving the halfa race. Before we became a couple, he talked about wanting to impregnate me with multiple children and having me deliver as soon as the children could survive outside the womb. Yeah, this is a sensitive issue with me.
"Well, in the dream about the Superiors, they were halfas."
"That's what we called them," I replied. "I don't think even Lilly or Megan are halfas. They're probably something else. There's probably four types of humans now: human/ghost, halfa/superior, the Half… What the hell did I call that name?"
"Amalgamate," Sam said, rolling her eyes.
"And whatever Lilly and Megan are," I concluded. I truly felt this way. My daughters could fell temperatures, they could feel sensations, they had powers, they never complained about not being hungry or thirsty, they didn't seem to have reserves. What exactly were they?"
"Don't forget Adam and that little boy there," Sam said, nodding to Esmeralda. "They're not exactly humans, ghosts, halfas or amalgamates either, are they?"
"No, they're not," I said, sighing. "This is just screwed up."
"Yeah," Sam agreed, sighing. "We should really look up Adam and see how he's doing."
"I was thinking the same thing and I know Mom is going to insist on it."
"No doubt," Sam smirked. "She's amazing, isn't she?"
"She's suspicious," I said, frowning. "I can't put my finger on it but she's acting weird."
"She just got you back, Danny," Sam said, snuggling into my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, holding on tight. "You don't know how much your absence affected her. It scared her to death that you were going to die again. She was really upset."
"Well, I'm not going anywhere again," I said. I held Sam against my chest and Sam melted into me. I could stay like this for the rest of eternity and be okay with it.
(04)
We stayed in the farmhouse for the biggest part of the night. Eventually, the humans went to bed but the ghosts remained up, watching Mom doing her tests. After she questioned Esmeralda, she gave her body an autopsy and examined the baby. Mom didn't reveal any of her findings but I knew she was happy to be given this opportunity. She was like a schoolgirl.
When Mom finally finished her lab experiments, she sat down with the ghosts to tell them how to help the humans keep the child under control. Mom had tons of gadgets in that rectangle that she was handing over to the family. When she found out ghosts were living in the real world, she promised she'd deliver some more tools to help keep their identities a secret. I guess with Grandma Fenton now living with Grandpa, Mom has a couple ideas how that could be possible.
Once everything was taken care of, we went back to the ship. The rest of my team had set up camp which was just making the Ops Center into a stationary object. Mom, Sam and I went inside the Ops Center to find our family sitting around the table with mugs of coffee while my party stood in the back, their arms crossed behind their backs.
"We're back," Mom announced, grabbing a mug from the cabinet and moving to the coffee pot. Sam had a seat when I nodded to her, moving towards the coffee pot myself. I brought Sam and I a mug back.
"How did it go," Dad asked.
Mom sat down as I handed the second mug to Sam. "Informative," Mom answered. "Her body didn't have a thing wrong with it. If she was given an autopsy to find out what killed her, no one would be able to discover the cause of death. The baby literally kept her alive. It's hard to explain but the child sucked the life out of her but at the same time, put energy into her. I wished I had a pregnant ghost to examine and then I could say with certainty that a ghost pregnancy is vastly different then a human one. My theory is that while a human fetus is given nutrients through the umbilical cord, a ghost fetus is given life."
"Life," Dad said, frowning. "How does a ghost generate life? They're already dead."
"Yes, but a ghost maintains life energy at all times. It is what makes them sentient. I think the ghost generates life energy and that is a ghost fetus' nutrient. Esmeralda was giving her little one human nutrients but she had no way to supply her child life energy except for the life energy that kept her alive. Esmeralda told me that when she was in the early stages of her pregnancy, she was constantly tired and always sick. She bruised easy and she always seemed to be hungry. Then when she was three months pregnant, her energy returned. She was very hard to injure, food was rarely needed, she was impervious to disease and she felt well rested. Imagine if the child was too weak in the beginning to protect his mother but once he entered the second trimester, he was strong enough to keep himself alive and his mother. I'd say by the fourth month, Esmeralda was too far gone. To ever save a human pregnant with a ghost, we'd have to either terminate the pregnancy before three months or somehow keep her energy levels up from the fourth month until she delivers. The child is too strong to terminate after that point and the mother is too protected to die."
"Too strong," I said, furrowing my brow. Where had I heard that before?
"What," Mom asked, looking to me.
"During one of my cleanups I heard a ghost declare a woman too strong after a certain point. It couldn't be," I said, thinking over. It wasn't in Mexico but it was after I dropped the girls off. I spent a lot of time in Mexico, heading south. Was I already in Venezuela when I heard that? It was Diego that said that. He told the girl guard that those women would be too strong after a certain point. No, he said his previous one would be too strong. "Crap! Diego was getting them pregnant!"
"What," Mom asked. My entire family leaned in, listening to me.
"I followed two people one night to this location where a group of ghosts were living. The boy was delivering the girl who had either been sold or sold herself into bondage. When we made it to the location, the head ghost was named Diego. He was taking the girl—I can't remember their names—and he gave a female ghost his previous girl. Diego told her to get rid of her fast because pretty soon she would be too strong to destroy and he had no use for them when they got like that." I swallowed hard and I saw my team look down. "She wasn't his first."
"We need to find her," Mom declared. "How long ago was this?"
"Jeez," I huffed out. "It was after I went out on my own. I just got to Venezuela. Maybe three weeks ago. It could have been sooner." I looked to Sam. "Do you remember when that was?"
"Jeez," Sam copied my reaction. "That's when you were almost killed, right? He was going to behead you, right, forcing you to use that gun Mrs. Fenton gave you."
"It's when I went bald," I said, thinking back. I heard Mom gasp, followed by everyone else.
"Why didn't you tell me Danny was nearly killed," Tucker declared.
I covered my face. "Oops. Sorry, guys, it wasn't really that bad. I used that gun Mom gave me and it took care of everything." Not really but I can't explain that I used the Ghost Stinger to cover my body with a 'shell' with Mom and Dad in the room.
"It wasn't that long ago," Sam replied. "I don't think it was three weeks ago. It couldn't have been. It hasn't even been two weeks since my miscarriage."
I saw Mom cover her mouth in shock. I nodded, thinking about it. "You're right. So there still should be time left, considering Diego wasn't talking about her being too strong in just a few days."
"You've been in contact with Danny," Mom declared. "I didn't even know Danny knew about the miscarriage!"
"Tucker called me," I lowered my head. "Sam spent several days in the castle and I spent a couple days with her. I knew. Sam and I have been in contact since I left. We may have been separated for a week before she found a way to get a hold of me."
"I can't believe you didn't tell me you knew where he was," Mom said, shaking her head in disbelief.
"I didn't know where he was," Sam responded. "We caught up to him right before we told you and Mr. Fenton that he was missing but he didn't fight back. We weren't going to take him in with him not resisting. We knew he'd leave again. So we started working on a new plan. That's when we told you we didn't know where he was and we tried to guilt him in coming home. When he turned the girls over to us, though, we knew that what he was doing was important. He would never leave the girls unless it was important."
"Okay," Mom nodded. "So you were talking the same way we talked with him after he gave us the girls."
"Yes," Sam nodded. Sam held her head high when she lied but after she spoke, her head lowered, her chin resting on her chest—a sure sign that Sam is lying.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Mom said, resting her hand on top of mine. "I couldn't imagine going through what you went through at such a young age."
I lowered my head, nodding. "He's okay, though. Sam and I have both seen him and we know he's taken care of. I'm just glad Sam's okay."
"I've seen him, too," Mom smiled. "He is so adorable. The most beautiful purple eyes I've ever seen, sorry Sam."
"No, I agree," Sam smiled. "They're warm and transfixing. I stare into them for hours upon end."
"Well, let's work on a plan to get those ghosts out of there," Tucker said, standing up. He walked around the table, pulling down a huge monitor from the ceiling. He completed the trip around the table, picking up a laptop and sitting back in his spot beside of Valerie. He opened the laptop, typing in some commands. The screen came to life.
When a map of the Ghost Zone came up, I knew what he was doing. "The network is in the third quadrant. It's opposite of the island."
"We haven't done any real business in the third," Tucker replied, zooming the image on the third quadrant. There are four corners of the Ghost Zone the same way it was thought there were four corners of the Earth. We're located in the second quarter and the island is located in the third. The castle is located in the first.
"No," I agreed. "That's how it got to be so bad. We weren't looking for any other portals. I was only aware of Vlad's and ours. The natural portals are becoming less stable so it's easier to open them. The portals in the Andes are so unstable that all it took was a blast to open them."
We studied the map, taking in the scenery. We marked everything in the Ghost Zone so even though we didn't do much business there, we knew were everything was. There was a lot of big haunts there but then again, you find that anywhere there's a big civilization. The first quadrant is littered in huge haunts—case in point, the castle. In our quadrant, they are simple, like my grandparents' haunt. You can find bigger haunts but they are few and far between.
Once we knew the area we were dealing with, I drew out a diagram of the network to the best of my party's and my ability. Gauis and I had only been there for three days and Marcellus and Serguis never got to go so it was really up to Gauis and I.
"Okay," Mom spoke up. "This should be really easy. All we have to do is go in the network and they will not have powers. Capture them and we're done."
"You underestimate them, ma'am," Gauis began to explain. "These ghosts are terrified. They will not go down without a fight. Even without powers, for the most part these ghosts have been around longer than you have."
"Don't forget the vessels," Serguis spoke up. "I'm not sure how your tool would work on pure energy. They may be able to draw energy from them even without powers themselves. That could make things interesting."
"Agreed," Gauis nodded. He looked to me. "The best we can hope for is the ghosts rebelling. I am weary of thousands of ghosts fighting for their lives."
"Yeah," I nodded, agreeing. "Mom, I think the best bet we have is to go in there and take out a small group." I pointed to the communicator. "We can be in constant contact, we'll go in and use stealth. If any of us get into trouble, I can have backup here in five minutes."
"Why would it take your party that long to get to us? We'll be in the same area," Dad asked me, furrowing his brow.
"Danny isn't talking about us," Gauis spoke. "If we are discovered, we would be of little help. We would be calling in reinforcements from the castle. That's the backup he speaks of. If we have to call in for help, we'll be okay so long as they can get to us in time. You can rest assured we could be rescued."
"Imagine the ending of Jurassic Park three," Tucker said, a smirk on his lips. "If we call in for backup from the castle, we'll have the entire army coming to our aid. These guys are Romans."
"Some," Gauis smirked. "I, for one, am Frankish."
"Well, I'm Roman," Valentinus smirked. "We also received Roman training."
"Will they respond to a distress call," Mom asked us. I fought not to laugh. Yeah. They'll come if their King, Duke and Duchess is in trouble.
"No doubt," I nodded. I was still fighting a smile.
"Have no fears, ma'am," Gauis said, a ghost of a smile on his lips, "If we need reinforcements, we will have them within minutes."
"Okay," Mom conceded. "We will go in using stealth but if anyone's cover is blown, we are to alert the others. I'll reactivate the egg."
"You're going to deactivate it," I asked, trying not to sound too excited. Of course, I didn't succeed. I was going to get my powers back!
"Yes," Mom nodded. "We can't have these guys losing their powers. That'll make them suspicious."
"Okay," Sam spoke up, coming to her feet. "To take these ghosts down, we'll have to act fast. Most ghosts need to be weakened before capture can be possible. Try to root out who's the weakest. If there's more than three strong ghosts, do not proceed. Try to take them alone but if you have to take them as a group, try to stay in the shadows. They will not suspect a human so we're going to have the element of surprise. Try not to disclose your location and take them out as quick as you can. Do not call attention to yourself by using high energy weapons. This means you will need to use hand-to-hand combat and weapons like the Jack-o-nine-tails, the Specter Deflector and the fat sticks; things to that extent.
"Trying to hit a ghost if you haven't done it before will be tricky." Sam walked over to Gauis. She went to put her hand on his shoulder. "We're from two different realms and if we don't watch, we won't be able to touch them. It's kind of hard to beat an enemy you can't touch. However, touching a ghost is as easy as mind over matter. If you don't mind, it don't matter," Gauis then was pushed back suddenly. "Even if they are intangible, you can hit them. Their next move is to turn invisible. We have the glasses so use them if you can. If they aren't functioning properly, you can always locate an invisible ghost if he's targeting you. If he's fleeing, he's gone, though. Listen to your instincts and let your senses tell you where he is."
Tucker stood up, going to the cabinet. He pulled out a box. He opened the box, emptying it on the cabinet and dropping water on them. The objects resized to their normal size. "These are the power identifier and the invisibility goggles. Turn them on and they will tell you everything you need to know about your enemy."
As he handed the goggles to Mom and Dad, I got nervous. They identify us. Tucker passed out thirteen goggles; one to everyone but Jazz. Finally, Tucker retrieved another box from another shelf and rehydrated those objects as well. They were the low grade weapons.
"Here," Mom said, grabbing a communicator from the wrack. "You're going too, right, Joseph?"
"Yes, ma'am," Joseph nodded.
"You'll need one of these."
"Be careful," Jazz said, pressing her swollen abdomen to her fiancé. Joseph wrapped his arm around her back.
"I will," Joseph said, rubbing his nose to hers. "You don't worry, Princess. I'll be fine. I promise."
"I love you," Jazz said, kissing him gently. Joseph rubbed her face gently, stepping away. Mom stared at Jazz a moment longer than normal. They're returning to normal and they're starting to recognize there's something different about her. According to my team, everyone else knows Jazz is pregnant so it's just the situation. She'll have to tell Mom and Dad soon and I imagine she will. As Mom said about me, if Jazz had been caught with that thing, I would have given her a pregnancy test no matter what! She's not as lucky as I was. Mom knows girls can get pregnant.
I grabbed four communicators and four Fentonfones and connected them, handing them to my party. As my party was putting their communicators on, the rest of us programmed ours to pick up ghostly frequencies. Jazz helped Joseph do his.
Dani handed out backpacks and we packed our weapons inside. Brit knew what to do but she wasn't as skilled as us. She finished second to last, only Joseph after Brit. Once Joseph had finished packing his pack, we exited the ship. Even Dani, Gauis, Marcellus, Serguis, Valentinus and I had weapons. Using our powers would draw attention to ourselves. We would be relying on weapons the same as everyone else.
Before we opened the portal to enter the Ghost Zone, we made sure we were synced up. Once I was sure, Gauis opened the portal and my party and Dani lifted us through the portal. Dani got Dad because he was nervous about flying. Once we were inside, though, we were capable of floating ourselves.
"You have good control over your powers, don't you, Danielle," Mom asked.
"Now," Dani nodded. "I just knew Dad wouldn't want a ghost to fly him in so I decided to do it. You okay, Dad?"
"Ye-yeah," Dad said, breathless. Flying still scares him.
"That was a unique experience," Joseph said, crossing his arms. I could tell he was a little shaken.
"You'll get the hang of it," I smirked.
"Please don't threaten me," Joseph laughed. I laughed with him. He knows I dream of the future and that's what he's talking about.
I led the way to the network but stopped just on the outskirts. "Okay. Anyone wanting to back out needs to do so now. It's going to be long, hard and time consuming. Are you sure you want to go through with this?" I looked at my parents, Brit and Joseph purposely.
"I'm ready," Brit said, pulling out the ghost baton.
"So am I," Joseph nodded.
"I'm not worried," Mom said.
"Neither am I," Dad agreed.
"I just need to make it clear. If our cover is blown, make it known. I'll reactivate the egg."
"Got it," Sam nodded.
I looked to Val and she nodded. "I know. Don't use my suit. Only in an emergency."
"That's right," I nodded. I looked to my sister. "You either, young lady. Hand and weapon."
"I've got it," Dani rolled her eyes.
I looked to my team. "You guys know what to do. Don't use your powers. Follow the rules Sam set. Got it."
"Yes, sire," they addressed at once. I looked to Sam and Tucker.
"I'm not worried about you two. I know you are the ones who know exactly what to do." I took a deep breath. "But don't over exert yourselves. Watch your back." I looked to Tucker as I stepped up to Sam. "You know your biggest weakness. If you monitor yourself, you should be able to prevent any mishaps. Be careful."
"You've got it, dude," Tucker said, humor absent from his voice. He knew he was at risk for overusing his mental abilities. With such panic from disappearing ghosts and an invisible enemy, he is going to be disadvantaged.
"Sam," I said, taking her hands in mine. She scared me to death. If I got hurt, she would have no warning. Something like a blast could distract her enough to get her killed. It scared me.
"Don't worry," Sam said, smiling at me. "Just look out for yourself and I'll be fine. Besides, I doubt I'll really be apart from you if you know what I mean."
"I do," I nodded, reluctantly. It wasn't something to be proud of. How is it fair if she has to fight her ghost and mine, too? "Just be careful, honey. I know you can take care of yourself. Don't get distracted, though."
"I won't," Sam said. She squeezed my hand but my powers were back now meaning I didn't feel it. I just felt the fabric pulling and the vibration of her pulse.
"I love you," I said.
"I love you, too," Sam said. I pulled myself away from her, trying to control the fear I felt. The best way to keep Sam safe is to keep myself safe. I had to protect Sam at all costs.
Please, Danny, if there were ever an opportunity for her to get killed, now would be it, Tucker said in my head. Don't get hurt, no matter what you have to do to prevent it.
I will, I nodded.
Tucker and Valerie said goodbye at the same time as Mom was instructing Dad in her affectionate way. Finally, we split up. My party, Dani and I could go to another part of the community so while they did it in the open, flying to the other side, I went in one area and then flew to the opposite side. My family had to remain unseen so they went in close to where we were. I landed in an alley, creeping towards a street. I didn't hear anything over my earpiece so that was a good sign.
I heard my first noise in my earpiece, the sound of gurgling. I heard soft fight sounds and then it was all quiet. The first of the ghosts in my team got one. Before I got to the street to spy on the ghosts, the noises were coming in succession. At least half of my team was fighting now.
I stopped and pressed myself against the wall, peeking over my shoulder. Five ghosts sat lounging in the back of a tavern, unaware of my presence. They were sitting in a circle so it would be difficult to grab one without at least one of them seeing me. I looked around me, seeing a better viewing perch. I darted across the alley, jumping up and grabbing a brick windowsill. I pulled myself up, walking along a narrow ledge. I was now looking above the group.
The tavern was a brick building with two floors. The building I was on now could connect me to the tavern if I followed this ledge far enough away to jump across the alley. I would have to keep a generous distance so I wouldn't alert them to my presence and the sound of me hitting the tavern wouldn't travel to their ears. I continued down the ledge. Finally, I was far enough away. The jump was about two hundred yards so I would have to use a mixture of powers and skill. I looked above me and saw that the building I was on and the tavern were level. I used my fingernails to very carefully climb up the side of the building. I walked back about ten feet, took a run at the ledge and jumped. About a third of the way there, I felt gravity pulling me down. I used my powers to get me to the other side.
Once on the tavern, I silently made my way back to where the ghosts were. I made it to the edge of the building and jumped down to the ground, only using my powers to make me land soundlessly. I was using my human abilities more than anything else. I only used my powers to make sure I survived the crazy stunts I was doing.
The circle of ghosts were now all turned away from me, allowing me to mark out which was the strongest. I pulled out the goggles, slipping them on. There were two sixs, one eight and two nine's. Nothing I couldn't handle. I rolled into the alley, grabbing the chair of one of the sixs. I pulled a small weapon, shocking him until he was weak enough. He let out soft cries of alarm but I had him in the thermos in twenty seconds.
The four remaining ghosts had all come to their feet but they were looking in the opposite direction. Don't you know you never take your eyes off the direction your buddy disappeared in? I grabbed the one closest to me, shocking him with my hand over his mouth. The others didn't even notice him disappear.
Once I had the eight in the thermos, I moved in the shadows to be behind them. The ghosts were turning slowly, trying to find out what they just witnessed.
"What was that," one of the nine's asked as he turned to the eight's previous position. "Hey, where's Matthew?" I grabbed the second six as their attention diverted away.
"Shit, what happened," the second nine asked as he looked around. "What happened to Matt, Tim and Ray?"
"I don't know," the first one remarked. "Have you seen anything?"
As he finished speaking, I grabbed him. I heard the other ghost exclaim in fear. I sucked my current victim in quickly and blocked the second nine from exiting the alley.
"I don't think so," I smirked. I hit him four times, reducing his power. I sucked him in, cleaning out the alley.
I opened the tavern's back door, twisting the lock. All I need to do is create a source of panic and they won't even think of unlocking the door. I went around the building, canvasing it. There was an upstairs but the windows were barred. I can't imagine them thinking the bars could keep a ghost out or in without some kind of failsafe. All I have to do is make sure they can't exit the doors.
I entered the tavern, locking the door quietly. I looked around the room, my goggles tucked in my back pocket. I didn't want my appearance to scare them away. Most were obliviously chatting in booths but a few were observant at the bar—probably looking for ghosts to attract. I needed to go after the bar first, then. I quietly went behind the bar, trying not to draw attention to myself. I wanted to take out the ones being observant first. Then I'd create the panic. They won't mindlessly twist the doorknob forever, after all.
I hutched over, tucking myself down low to stay out of sight. I waited until the bartender bent over before grabbing him. I pulled him into my space, shocking him four times. I sucked him in the thermos. I stood up, acting normal. A ghost waved his hand at me, watching the dance floor. No one was looking at the bartender; they were either watching the customers or watching their emotion drinks. I stuck the prong in his back, grabbing his mouth and pulling him back. I sucked him in the thermos.
I progressed slowly the same way until the bar was mostly empty. I slowly walked around the bar, sapping the ghosts in the back once and sucking them in until the bar was vacant. Now it was time to create the distraction.
I returned the wand to my pack and pulled out three jellybean-sized objects. I crushed them in my hand, feeling a few sparks. They don't hurt humans, Mom told me a long time ago. They attack a ghost's core, immobilizing them. Once the capsules were crushed, I had to get them away from me. I tossed them in the middle of the crowd, the perfect location to start a distraction. I walked away calmly as the capsules hit the floor. Dozens of ghosts shrieked, hitting the floor. They wouldn't be going anywhere. They were the means, though. The rest were the end.
The room turned into a riot as the paranoid ghosts panicked. I retrieved my thermos, going through the crowd, easily capturing ghosts. I made sure not to draw attention to myself so no one even looked at me once. The force of the suction was enough to capture most of the ghosts. The ones that didn't go in got a shock from my wand. Within ten minutes, I had the entire group in my thermos, including three discs in my pocket. That's taken care of.
(04)
I went through businesses and homes like that all night. I had my corner of the city cleaned out by the time my watch said eight the next morning. I knew we weren't done yet. The biggest danger was dealing with the bosses. They were on the top hill and that's when I think we'll have to band together. Sam, Tucker and I were the first to meet in the middle but my party and Danielle were right behind us. We were waiting on the humans now.
"They're going to know something is going on," I said, looking up at the mansion. "We'll have to move soon if we want to get the jump on them."
"We can proceed, sire," Gauis spoke.
"No," I said, shaking my head. "Mom and Dad will want to be there."
"Whatever you want to do, Danny," Gauis said. We continued to wait.
Valerie joined us next but Mom, Dad, Joseph and Brit came over at the same time. While they were the inexperienced members of the group, I found it odd. "What's going on?"
"Brit got into some trouble," Mom remarked. My eyes widened.
"Don't worry," Brit said, her breathing hard. "Ghosts were a little harder than I thought. I didn't expect them to be so hard to take down."
"I'm so sorry," I said, swallowing. "I'm so used to my family knowing how to beat a ghost. Maybe I should have left you two out of it. Did you have any issues, Joseph? Jazz will kill me if I got you hurt."
"Nah," Joseph waved it off. "After throwing three punches, I finally hit one. I'm not used to not being able to hit something and apparently, it wasn't used to being hit by a human." He gave me a smirk.
"Mom, Dad," I asked.
"We were fine," Mom smiled. "No problem whatsoever."
"Good," I said, breathing deeply. "Now the real trouble begins. These guys are bosses."
"These guys aren't going to be one ounce of trouble," Mom replied. "Once these guys don't have powers, they won't stand a chance against us."
"Still, prepare for the worst," I remarked. We floated up the hill to the enormous mansion, phasing through the exterior. Joseph was apprehensive about flying at a wall and trusting it to not smack him in the face but Brit eagerly tested her hand first. When her hand phased through the wall, she giggled, flying through it first.
Once Joseph saw all of us phase through the wall, he tried it. His face was scrunched up as he appeared through the wall. He really did think he was going to hit the wall. Mom removed the egg from her jumpsuit and pressed the button, forcing my party to walk on the floor. Dani and I continued to float because we weren't using our powers to fly.
"Sorry," Mom whispered.
I put my index finger to my lips to silence her. Ghosts can hear the softest sounds so I wanted us to be absolutely quiet. Mom nodded her understanding.
I heard a soft cry over my Fentonfone and I knew we were near one of them. Sam, Tucker and I were on the move and phased through the wall. The feeling was weird when I passed through the wall. Sam sent out the Jack-o-nine tails as I crushed a capsule in my hand. This time, I wasn't shocked. I hoped they would. My fear was dismissed though when I tossed the capsule at the eight there and they hit the ground, convulsing. It worked!
Tucker sucked them in the thermos and we returned to the rest of our team before they joined us. "That was fast," Joseph commented.
"It was," I agreed.
"Told you," Mom smiled at me.
We continued down the hallway but nothing suspicious popped at me. I reached the end of the hallway. "What," I asked. I should have come across more ghosts by now.
"You are very foolish," a voice spoke up from behind. I turned around to find upwards of twenty ghosts boxing us in. "Why would you come into the slaughterhouse?"
"It's as we feared," Gauis said, pulling out an ecto-sword. "The vessels are unaffected by the device." He extended the size of the sword, preparing to fight.
"And you are," he smiled. Mom reached her hand in her pocket as the ghost started laughing. Oh no. "Do you really think we would leave that wonderful device in your pocket, child? You are more naïve than I thought."
"You don't know us," Sam spat. "We're not ghosts."
"Any of you are no threat, my dear," he smiled at Sam. "She's pretty, eh?"
"You won't touch her," Tucker declared.
"I might be pretty but I'll kick your ass," Sam hissed.
Tucker was the first to move, retrieving a vault pole. Sam pulled out two medium sized buttons. It looked like those closet lights that work using batteries. She secured them on her hands, smacking the buttons together. A green force extended, creating either a shield or a weapon. The ghosts moved towards us, allowing me to flip one on his back. I stuck the wand in his chest but the zap traveled through my pick and went into me. He gave me a smirk.
"Not so fun, is it," he gave me a full-mouth smile.
I stuck the wand back in my pocket, elbowing him as I twisted back to the front. "Not as fun as that was," I spat. I have to find the vessel he's got on him. The ghost threw an energy blast at me and I pulled out the energy snatcher. The thing started to fizzle as I caught it but it carried out the action I commanded of it. The ghost tried to catch the blast but he wasn't strong enough to catch the energy he was throwing. The energy slammed into his core and he screamed in pain. He faded away but he wasn't obliterated. He went back to his haunt.
I looked around to see Brit being forced against a wall. A ghost ran his hand up her thigh and Brit screamed in rage, shoving with all her might. I moved towards them but another ghost grabbed me by the waist and threw me to the ground. "Oh, no, boy. You don't come into our haunt and escape unscathed."
"You won't hurt my sister, either, bastard," I hissed. I wished I had my powers. Brit's in trouble! I pushed against his weight but he was just too much for mortal me. "Brit, the Specter Deflector," I screamed. The ghost punched me in the mouth and the son of a bitch hurt! I felt a pool of sweaty, metallic tasting substance collect in my mouth. I spit the blood out, the bodily fluid phasing through him. I focused real hard, forcing my head towards his. This is going to hurt.
My head and his hit at the same time and we both screamed in pain. I used the distraction, though, to push him off me and suck him in the thermos. I charged at the ghost, flipping another one that was trying to get in my way. Brit's hands were secured with ectoplasm above her head, linked to the wall, as the ghost went to tear at her blouse. I sacked him, forcing him into the wall. Tucker made it to Brit just as I forced the bastard off her. He used the Jack-o-nine tails to cut the ectoplasm.
"Are you okay," Tucker asked.
"Yeah," Brit said, her breathing coming through heavy. "Thanks," Brit said, her voice breaking.
"You stick with me," Tucker said, wrapping his arms around her.
"Sam, go to Mom. Dani, go to Joseph. Valerie, go to Dad. Stay together and watch each other's back."
"You got it," Dani declared, kicking one ghost. He fell into another one as Dani took a run at him, using him to vault herself over three ghosts. She landed on the back of a ghost attacking Joseph, wrapped her legs around his knees forcing them both to the ground. Tucker sucked the ghost in the thermos.
Gauis and Marcellus had paired up while Valentinus and Serguis paired up. Everyone else had a buddy. I sucked the ghost threatening to rape Brit in the thermos.
I surveyed the ghosts, trying to find out who had the egg. If I could locate that ghost, I could take care of this mess. We were working better in the buddy system but the ghosts were still stronger than us. There were thirteen of us while there was just a few more of them. One ghost threw Serguis off him and I saw him stick his hand in his pocket. It's him!
There were about eight ghosts who weren't fighting anyone, the bastard I wanted being the ninth. When those eight saw me set my sights on their boss, they moved in towards me. I caught one blast while the second one hit me in the shoulder. I heard Sam gasp but she grunted in rage next and I heard the thermos activate. She's okay. I broke open another capsule, with only one more remaining, and dropped it. The capsule worked more like bondage than to incapacitate. I used the thermos less the two got out and tried to avoid the remaining six.
I was just about to reach the ghost when I felt like my heart stopped. Despite being right on top of the ghost with the egg, I turned around. "Sam," I heard Tucker scream and I anxiously searched for her and Mom. Mom was the only one I saw and she had sent out the Jack-o-nine tails. As soon as she could, she sucked the ghost in the thermos and turned. I turned in the direction everyone else was looking in to see Sam crumpled up on the ground.
Tucker was nearing her by the time I felt my mind unfreeze. I ran to her side as Tucker started feeling for broken bones.
"Sam," I finally found my voice.
"Don't touch her," Mom cried. I looked to Tucker and he had already put his hands around her neck.
"You know what to do, Danny. Don't fail us now."
"I won't," I said, my voice broken. I grabbed Sam's feet and put them together. Tucker counted to three and we rolled her over like a log. Mom made it to us next.
"I've got her," Mom said. I looked up with murderous eyes to the ghost with the egg. I needed that egg to save Sam's life.
"Shit," the ghost with my egg remarked. "Retreat!"
"Oh, no you don't," I hissed, bolting to my feet. I missed his shirt by an inch. The ghosts could move faster than I could but I wasn't going to let him get away. I pressed the button.
"Sire," the Record Keeper announced.
"I need backup," I instructed. "Bring medical attention, too. Sam's hurt. Do not let anyone leave this area!"
"Yes, sire," he announced.
"Tell the army what they're up against," I replied. I knew he already knew.
"I will tell them they will lose their powers. I will have a medical team there pronto, sire."
"Thank you," I said. I ran back to my family. There were no more ghosts in the room. I looked to my hands.
"I'm sorry, Danny," Serguis said. My eyes instantly flew to Sam. "No. The Duchess is fine. I don't think the ghost has the egg anymore. We can't heal her."
"Then that means he's put it in the room," I declared. "We just have to get her out of the room."
"It's too dangerous to move her," Mom said, looking up at me. "We could risk paralyzing her."
"We can heal her once she's paralyzed," I declared. "Right now, Sam just hit a wall and she's at risk for internal bleeding."
"Okay," Mom said. "We'll try to move her the best we can." Mom began putting us around Sam to have her moved. Once we could lift her safely, we moved her out of the area the egg covered. I looked to my party but they still weren't glowing.
"What's going on," I asked, hysterical. "Why don't they have their powers back?"
"I don't know," Mom replied. Mom started patting her hazmat suit down and produced the jellybean pouch. Please, just let us heal her. Mom opened the pouch but her face fell. "I'm out."
"You're out," I cried, devastated. "How could you be out?"
"I don't carry many jellybeans on me," Mom said, her eyes welling with tears. I knew this was tearing her up. "My job is to have an advantage over the ghosts, not give them back the advantage. I only had a few on me. The rest are in the lab."
"Which is thousands of miles away," I said, rubbing Sam's hair. She was still breathing but she was knocked unconscious. Tucker was rubbing her hair on the opposite side.
"We'll have to wait for the medical team to get here," Gauis spoke. "We don't have a choice."
"If they don't have it with them and they didn't leave it in the room, the only other option is they stuck it in one of our pockets." I stuck my hand in my pockets, feeling for the egg. There was nothing in my pockets. The rest of my team started doing the same thing and Tucker patted Sam down. Nothing. "How," I asked, baffled.
"I don't know," Mom remarked. "How are they still powered down?"
AN: Oh, no, it wasn't as easy as Maddie thought it was! :) These next few chapters are my favorites. I hope they are yours too. At the time I was writing this, I had come across a new fan fic and I instantly got hooked. A shout out to InvisibleoOne for her inspiration. She owns the plot of Sam getting hurt. I'm sure she's not the first to write about it but I was reading her story when I wrote this ;)
Also, anyone interested in the progress of this story. I am proud to announce I have finished the series. I am still putting finishing touches on it (I will probably erase the entire last scene altogether. I'm not satisfied with it) but for the most part, I'm finished! Thanks for everyone pushing me along! I hope you enjoyed your chapter!
Any feedback would be appreciated.
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