Can anyone say: Early update? I was just too excited not to post this early! Next week, expect the chapter to be on Monday, as what I intend. If I ever do finish something early, I will attempt to post it before my scheduled day. Now, I have some news.
Some bad news: I just recently learned that Ars Falcis officially closed on October 2012 because the hosting web company had problems against it supporting their strong Christian values. Which, I do understand. However, it received more hits than any other page in their registry and the author of it is very upset. The site had been there for 10 years and they didn't want to associate with the author's "brand."
Some almost good news: He does have another website, the Library of Knowledge, but it does not hold the same information. Although, he's talking about making it into a book so we'll see.
In other, more pleasant news, things are going smashingly over here at iOc's studios. I've been researching ghosts – and freaking myself out quite a bit doing so – and I've been looking into other things that have to do with this story. That includes creating a timetable for the characters' classes. (headdesk) I did manage to do it. And create a long list of teachers working at the school. As well as list all of the classes that they teach. I think it's mostly for me so I can keep the inessentials straight. Oi vey.
And some great news: I'm also close to completing the next chapter for this and FH, for my Soul Eater followers who are wondering what's happening with that. Yeah, I got stuck. Sorry.
Anyway, I want to remind people that I am simply reworking the first three chapters of this fic. The rest have never been read by anyone else's eyes but mine. This chapter is very similar to the original version; however I added in a scene that many of the original followers haven't seen. It was supposed to be in the next chapter but I bumped it up because I mentioned something and never brought it in. I also found a quote for this chapter. :D The original version was lacking it, making me wonder if I actually looked for one at all. But it's all good.
Now, enjoy this chapter or I'll send my army of flying rodents at you.
Summary: Samantha Manson, or Sam, has many things to deal with; her parent's disappointment, she knows all of the police force by name and face (and not because she wants to), moving to a new city, her grandmother's slowly dying, her Necromancy is getting stronger, she has no instructor to teach her, and she's not exactly the most popular girl in school. As she learns about this new city, she learns of its mysterious secrets and as to why so many haunts happen there. While trying to find out how to help this city, she finding that she slowly crushing on a kind of cute geeky boy whose parents hunt supernatural things. AU. She eyed the yellow tape, daring it to keep her from the school grounds. After a moment, she decided to ignore the forbidding warning of the black DO NOT CROSS letters.
Disclaimer: I do not hold any legal rights to Danny Phantom or to any of the characters you are going to read about. This story, however, is my own original idea, with a nod to Meg Cabbot's Mediator series and Kelly Armstrong's Darkest Powers trilogy for inspiring me somewhat.
Do Not Cross
Chapter 3
Ennui
"Life goves us choices. You either grab on and just go for it, or you just sit back on the sidelines." Christine Feehan, Night Game
The lights flickered on, humming to life to brightening up the enclosed space. The light reflected off some of the shinier pieces and the walls. It was none of the interesting, however, shiny parts that peaked the curiosity of Samantha Manson, it was the large hole in the wall at the far back end of the laboratory.
She walked over to it, eyes amazed. Danny's parents had built this? It looked like it could work but she had no honest idea if it would or not. She gently brushed her fingertips on the cool steel, a chill crawling up her spine.
Oh, yes, this could eventually work, she could feel it. Ectoplasmic energy waves radiated off the thing. Some day soon, this could make it easier for ghost to find her and to ask for her personal help. It would also make her job for sending them back a whole lot easier.
"I really wouldn't touch anything." Danny cautioned. "Most of the things my parents make tend to explode, come to life and eat my underwear and homework… or attack me."
"Your parents' inventions actually work?" Sam gasped, turning around to gape at him. Were the Fenton's capable of doing something only Necromancers could do?
"Not work, attack me and my things. I don't know what they have against me but whatever their problem, they seem to think I'm the cause of it."
Sam eyed him over. He didn't glow any special light, like Tucker. She blinked, activating a trick she and her grandmother call the Mind's Eye, mostly because it allowed her to spot the friendlies and unfriendlies. She guessed that Tucker must have his Mind's Eye activated all the time because he needed to look out for a Necromancer (wherever she might be) or to spot ghosts.
In her Mind's Eye, Danny had the normal glow of a human or at least it appeared he did. His color was… slightly off. It was as if he was ill or something. He looked perfectly healthy. He radiated normal body temperature.
It was then that she noticed. There was ectoplasm pretty much everywhere in the house. It seemed to be caked in layers on everything that it could. And it wasn't just visible with her Mind's Eye, either. What the hell was going on?
Is it possible for a human to be infected by ectoplasm? she thought. I thought I remember something sort of like it in the books bubeleh lent me, but I'll need to look it again.
"I think it's time to head home." Tucker said. "It's after seven already."
"Seriously?" Same asked, switching her Mind's Eye off in a blink. She checked her cell phone and cursed. "Dinner's at seven thirty and if I'm not there to supervise what they make, I just might have to cook something for myself. Again."
"Do you need help getting home? I know these streets can be pretty confusing and it's on the way to my house."
Sam was about to tell him no, but the soft flicker of his glow made her rethink it for a second.
"Alright. Bye, Danny. Maybe I'll see you at registration in two days."
"Bye." Danny said, waving feeling quite dumbfounded at the sudden up and leaving of his old friend and quite possibly new friend. He shook his head, went back upstairs, turned off the lights, and closed the door.
Nothing had been disturbed. He wouldn't get into trouble. Everything would be alright.
.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.
"So, how long have you known you were a Necro?" Tucker asked, hands stuffed into his pockets.
"A what?" Sam asked, wrinkling her nose.
"A Necromancer. I call you guys Necro for short. So, how long have you known?"
"Since I was three, I guess. I saw an old lady in my room. She was trying to get me to help her. It's a good thing my bubeleh came in and saw her and not my parents. They would have sent me to a shrink for talking to myself, despite the fact that it is quite normal for a three-year-old to do that."
"Neither of your parents is a Necro? How does that happen? I thought that it was a genetic trait that's supposed to go through the eldest child of every generation of that Necro's children. That is, unless, your family is one of the older Necro clans. The Manson surname does trace back to around the times when things started to go all wacko…"
"Huh?"
"Okay, a really, really, really long time ago, the Manson family were actually Magnusson family line. The Magnusson family were known for powerful kings of Norse-Vikings. The reason that they were so powerful was because they had many Necros in their family. All of their eldest children were male heirs, until one king gave birth to a girl, Katherine. She gave birth to triplets all male heirs for the throne and all three Necros. Those three sons would go on to each have a set of triplets on their own and then those triplets to have their own triplets. It seemed that the gene seemed to skip a generation and then reappear in the next.
"Any of Katherine's line have been considered cursed. It seems as if you are pretty much a direct descendent. Lucky, most would kill to be in her line. Any Necros that have her as an ancestor are known to be a lot more powerful."
"I'm really not that much more powerful than any normal Necromancer. Honest, Tucker. And besides, I'm an only child, not one of three."
He considered her words for a moment before trusting her words. A person would know if they were more powerful than any other of their kind or if they had any missing siblings. It was, after all, something that they could simply sense.
"So, how long have you known?" she asked.
"Known what?"
"That you were an Alchemist."
"Since I was two and I accidentally messed with my mom's frying pan. She was pretty miffed about that. I think she still is."
"What's it like, being one?"
"It's like being a baker or a chef. Or maybe a scientist… You need all of the necessary materials in order to concoct whatever it is you want to make. It's like being a god of metals and stuff. I'm like some powerful sorcerer-scientist guy. What's it like for you?"
"Kind of like being the nanny for other peoples' messes. I clean one thing and then I have to clean another thing up. It's more annoying than anything else."
"Have you tried raising anyone? Like, bringing them back into their bodies?"
"Not really. There was that one time I brought my grandpa back to life in the hospital after he died. The nurse had a mental breakdown. My grandpa, on the other hand, had a nice chat with me. He seemed surprised that I'm a Necromancer. I haven't talked to him in a while, though. It's only since I've been in middle school that I've been able to summon just the spirits of people and not send them into their bodies."
"You're ahead of the rest of the curve for our age, though, if that's any consolation. Most Necros can't do that at least until their in their thirties or forties."
"Hey, I've got a question." Sam asked when they reached her gates.
"Shoot."
"How do you know so much about Necromancers?"
"I have a guidebook."
"There's a guidebook? How come nobody ever told me that there was a freaking guidebook? Why am I the last on to find out about it? …There's seriously a guidebook?"
"I don't know, ask your grandma."
"Hey, another question, do you see the amount of ectoplasm in the Fenton's basement?"
"Yeah, the visible stuff's caked on the basement but it's all over the house. You just turn off your special vision to ignore it. I usually keep mine on unless I'm there. I've been looking for a Necro for a while."
"What happened to yours?"
"She… she died at a young age. Reapers… What about your Alchemist? What happened to him?"
"He was thrown off a bridge by a ghost. Big battle, caused a lot of panic. Nobody else died, just a lot of happy doctors from all of the injuries. His mom was pretty upset but she had another son to pay attention to, so it turned out alright in the end, I suppose." she hummed, stopping
"Well, I think this is where we say goodnight." he bowed, causing her to laugh, and started to head towards his home.
"Hey, Tucker, one more question."
"What?"
"Do you notice that Danny's life force is different from other humans'?"
He froze. Was it? Was Danny different from other humans? No, not really. He closed his eyes and thought back. His life force, when he looked at it, did seem a little off but he never really thought about it.
He was about to say so, when Pamela ushered the Fentons out of her home and to the gates.
"It was nice meeting you." she said, faking a smile.
"Hi, Pamela." Tucker said, waving.
"It's Mrs. Manson." she snarled rather bitterly. She grabbed her daughter by the wrist and pulled her in. "Come along, Samantha, we have much to talk about."
.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.
After managing to break from her mother's gossip, Sam slipped into her grandmother's room. There were still many unopened boxes stashed in the corners, but her bed was made up and ready for the elderly woman.
"Bubeleh?" Sam called, looking around.
"Bathroom, give me a minute." came the reply. No sooner had it come, then the toilet flushed and the sink started to run. The graying woman came out, wiping her hands on her worn nightgown. "Alright, what is it that you need?"
"Is there a guidebook? On being a Necromancer?"
"Ah."
The woman made her way over to one of the boxes and dug around inside of it. She pulled out a wooden container, unlocking it with a key she always wore around her neck. Sam had often wondered what it was for but she never had the courage to ask.
Her grandmother pulled out a leather bound book with strange writing on the cover. It looked far newer than it probably was. This has been passed down for generations. Since your great-great-great, something-great ancestor Katherine Magnusson. She wrote it, you know. It has our entire family history, marking who was what. Oh look, there's your Great-uncle Vinnie. He was a Soothsayer, you know."
"Soothsayer? What's a Soothsayer?" Sam asked, eyeing the rather obnoxious family tree. The book was a curiosity; as the family became more diverse, one had to flip of section of paper that were attached to the ones bound inside. It did list a lot of her family members. Where was she? Ah, there.
"Soothsayers are a part of this book. It'll do you some good to read it."
"How come you never gave it to me before today?"
"You think you're the standard for Necromancers? Ha!" The elderly woman laughed. "Samantha, you are not ordinary. This book can only give you the very basics of our world. It is meant for those who do not quite grasp what you are already capable of. You are beyond your years. Katherine only wrote it for her sons, who unfortunately were not gifted."
Sam closed the book and looked at her grandmother, who sighed and patted her cheek.
"My dear," she said, "you have never needed this book."
"You've been keeping it from me, though. Why not give it to me when I was younger and I needed it?"
"Your powers were too immense even for you. I had to ask a witch to help me suppress your powers for a long time. Samantha, I am sorry for that but with the way you kept growing the way you did… it would have killed you. This book, it's not meant for you. It never was."
"Then why don't I know what a Soothsayer is. And what's this about a witch? Why would I need a witch to suppress my powers?"
"Don't worry about that. Ignore that I ever said that."
"What about the Soothsayers? Where are they all now?
"None exist anymore. They all died. Only one lived and she too has been dead for some time. Soothsayers no longer play a role in our world. We have no need for them anymore. Their time ended long ago. The only reason they hung on was because there were still prophecies to fulfill."
"Bubeleh, what on earth are you talking about?"
The woman sighed and shook her head.
"I am old and I am tired, Samantha. Please, let me sleep."
Sam turned off the light and left the room, leaving her grandmother to her thoughts. She turned herself to her own room, still awaiting her to organize the boxes and decorate the walls.
She ignored the boxes and moved to her new bed, an iron monster of a thing in which fabric could be draped over if she was in the Romantic mood. Sam kicked off her boots and opened the book, beginning to read.
"Necromancers," it read, "are diviners to the dead…"
The putrid smell of sunscreen and chlorine filtered through her senses as she made her way over to her parents, who were lounging on some chairs out back by their pool.
She wrinkled her nose at her mother's taste in swimwear. It was a rather stringy thing that just covered what it needed to. Her father wasn't much better.
"I'm going out to explore Amity some more, mom." she announced.
"Will that Fenton boy be there?" her mother asked airily.
"It's possible. I mean, he lives in town, so I might bump into him."
"Sammy…"
"He's not that bad. Just give him and his family a chance, please?"
"Sam…" her mother sighed, sitting up.
"I'll be fine. I'm a tough girl, I can fight whatever comes my way." Really, she could. Dead or living.
"At least wear something a bit more colorful." She scrunched her nose at her daughter's dark apparel. The woman's eyes darted down to the necklace she had taken off to tan. "Here, wear this."
"Fine." Sam grumbled. She easily slipped it on. The necklace didn't look half bad against her skin. It was a simple locket embellished by a strange symbol and a silver chain. It was actually kind of nice.
"Have fun, and try not to ruin the family name, dear."
"Love you too, mom."
She headed through the large house and stalked out of the front doors, one of the few people currently employed said farewell to her and wished her luck. She nodded politely and ducked out the door.
It was an unusually hot day. The heat licked at her skin, coating it in a light sheen of sweat and making her hair stick to her neck. The sun seemed to taunt her, as if it knew her secret.
She glared at it, skin bunching up at the corners of her eyes. Sam muttered a curse and moved on through Amity Park. A few people looked at her, mostly adolescents, but the vast majority ignore her. She didn't appear to be anyone special, or wealthy for that matter. The only thing that set her apart was the dark hue of her clothes.
She bobbed and weaved through the crowd, enjoying the last few days of summer before they tuckered down and chilled off. She faltered in her steps when she nearly collided with a girl.
"Hey, watch where you're going." the girl said, her Hispanic heritage very discernible in her speech. "Tsch. Weirdo. Wait as sec. Are you new?"
"Uh, yeah." Sam said, blinking.
"Hi, I'm Paulina." the tanned girl said, introducing herself. She gestured to the blonde who was about the same age. "This is Star. We were planning on going to Nasty Burger. You should join us."
Sam hesitated, mulling it over for a few quick seconds before concluding that it would be best if she wanted to make friend who was female.
"Why not? I was planning on looking around Amity. So, what's this 'Nasty Burger' like?"
"Well, it used to be called Tasty Burger." Star clucked, quite obviously not liking the fact that she was sharing her gal-pal with someone else. "But a prank later and it has been known as Nasty Burger."
"Sounds… delightful."
"Trust me, you'll like it." Paulina said, draping a dainty arm around Sam's shoulders and drawing her into a friendly hug. "So, where are you originally from?"
.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.
Sam was not having fun. Paulina was a chatter box and most of her talk was about her looks and how popular she was. She and Star, along with a few others from the "It crowd," were talking about what they did over the summer.
"So, like, what did you do over break, Sammy?" Star asked, twirling a blonde tress around her pointer finger.
"I stayed at home." she replied, toying with her salad using her fork. "My parents went to Maui, though, so I kind of had a break from them for a while. And it's Sam, not Sammy."
"Sounds awfully dull." one of the football players commented. "Unless you held a party. You did hold a party, didn't you?"
"No. I mean, it's not like I hadn't thought about it, but it was nice. I got to do some soul searching. It gave me a lot of time to think."
"'Soul searching'? Sounds pretty lame." Paulina clucked.
Sam shrugged, sipping the Dr. Pepper in the cup she had been given at the counter. She really had gone soul searching, the pun being completely intended. She had sought out ghosts and whatnot during her vacation from her parents. They still didn't know how many times she broke curfew in that time. She kept her face placid, as if she simply stayed at home and free of any deviousness. It was something she had learned over the years, something that was needed for her line of work.
The group rolled their eyes and went back to talking about how much fun they had over summer break. Sam tuned out most of the conversation. Smiling, nodding, and laughing on cue with the rest of them.
It was boring. She wished that Danny or Tucker would show up and save her from the ennui that was hanging out with the It crowd.
As if a it were a sign from whatever reigning deity heard her prayer and decided to answer, the two boys walked in, vividly talking about something. They saw her, smiled and waved. Then, they stopped, seeing who she was with.
"What do those losers want?" Paulina scoffed, nipping a French fry in distaste.
Sam frowned. So that's how it was when you hung out with girls like Paulina.
"They're not losers." she stated. "They're actually very nice."
The group gaped at her. In mere seconds, she was kicked out of the booth, along with her salad and drink. She straightened herself, and headed over to Danny and Tucker, who had just finished ordering.
"Hey." she said.
"Uh… hi?" Tucker replied, unsure.
"I got kicked out. Nothing new, though. So… What're the plans for today?"
"Just the usual," Danny said, retrieving his cup and filling it at the nearby soda fountain. "Hang out, talk about stuff, make sure my parents don't blow up the house."
"Sounds exciting."
"I'm being serious about that last one. Do you know how many times the town's fire-fighters are called in a week? I've already lost count and it's only Monday!"
The employee placed their items on their tray and sent them on their way. Sam wrinkled her nose at the food but said nothing, and followed them to a booth.
"So, where were we?" Tucker asked Danny.
"Uh… We left off at the clichés." the dark-haired boy commented as he nibbled on his burger. He turned to Sam and explained, "We're talking about modern horror films. Feel free to jump in, I know you have some strong opinions on them."
Sam smiled. She did indeed.
"Have you guys ever noticed how it's always the black guy who gets killed first?" Tucker questioned, waving his triple stacked burger.
This was something she could definitely get used to.
.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.
They moved on from clichés to too predictable plots and tropes.
"Ever notice that no matter how fast the girl is running through the forest and no matter how slow the bad guy's going, she'll trip and he'll instantly catch up?" Sam asked, pointing out a rather laughable trope.
"Oh god!" Danny groaned, smiling. "And that's usually the girl who lives in the end, right? It's so… so… Tucker, don't you dare say anything perverted."
They stopped outside the Fenton's residence and place of business, perching themselves on the concrete steps, shaded by the building it was adjacent to. The door swung open to reveal Danny's mother, clad in a teal jumpsuit that clung to her like a second skin.
"Danny, there you are. Hi, Tucker. Hello, Sam. Why don't you kids come in? Jack and I want to show you something." Maddie said, ushering them past the door and into the air conditioning. Tucker and Sam sighed, pleased by how their sweat was finally cooling and the air chilled their bare skin. Danny looked slightly worried.
When she led them to the kitchen and the door to the basement was gaping open, Danny knew it was time to panic.
"Oh, don't worry, sweetie." his mother told him. "We're just going to start up the Fenton Portal."
Jack, dressed in an orange jumpsuit that matched his wife's, was setting up chairs for an audience. He smiled and told the three of them to sit.
"Where's Jazz?" he asked Maddie.
"Out with her friends. We'll show her later, dear." she said. Jack seemed to wilt slightly at the news but quickly shook it off.
"Now, you're all wondering why you're here." the man said, straightening to his full height. It was rather intimidating. As he spoke, he gestured to the giant hole in the wall. "We are here to present the Fenton Portal. It was manufactured by myself, Jack Fenton and my gorgeous wife, Maddie."
"Oh, Jack." the woman cooed, obviously flattered.
"With funds from the government, we developed this beauty. And now, for it's first test run…" Jack lifted two cords, one leading to the Fenton Portal and the other to an outlet hidden behind desks. With a gleeful cry, he plugged the two together.
The portal sparked to life in a flash of life, then… it crackled and died.
Jack and Maddie held their stances for a minute, two, then three. When nothing happened, they slumped.
"What could have gone wrong?" Maddie asked, looking over everything. Nothing seemed to be out of place, everything was where it should have been. "I don't get it."
"Anything?" Jack pleaded, overly desperate for an answer. Maddie shook her head.
"Come on, Jack, let's go. Kids, let's head upstairs. There's nothing we can do right now."
Danny, Tucker, and Sam followed the adults upstairs, stopping in the kitchen as the door closed behind them in finality. They winced at the sound and went to the living room, making themselves comfortable on the couch.
"We're going to go out grocery shopping." Maddie told the teens. "We'll be back in an hour or so. Stay out of the basement. Don't do anything inappropriate. Have fun."
All three sat, poised until they heard the sound of an engine rolling away down the block. Danny leapt up, looking rather fierce.
"We have to do something." he said. "My parents have been working on that portal for the past two years. The previous one failed too and I won't let it happen again."
Sam and Tucker looked at one another, then dashed after him as he headed to the basement door.
"Are you sure?" Sam asked.
"Positive." was the response.
"Tucker, camera me." The girl held out her hand as she followed Danny down the stairs. The dark-skinned boy gawked at her open palm.
"Camera? What makes you think I have a camera?" he asked.
"You're a techno-geek. Now, camera or face my wrath."
Grumbling, he dug it out of his pocket and handed it to her.
"What are you going to do with a camera?" Danny asked Sam, looking around the room for something. When he found it, he straightened up.
Bee-beep! Flash!
He blinked the white square away.
"What was that for?" he asked her.
"I'm making memories and chronicling your heroisms." she said, checking the little screen. "Damn, blurry."
Bee-beep! Flash!
"Sam!"
"Stop that." Tucker scolded, trying to swipe it away from her. This ended with him taking an elbow to the gut, winding him. He managed to wheeze out, "Sucks."
"Great, now I can't see." Danny said, waving his hands around in front of him.
"Box." Sam said. However, it was a little too late. Danny already tripped. He grunted and he fell on the cold floor.
She helped him up, rolling her eyes.
"It was just a camera flash." she told him. "People take more than that and they're just fine."
"I'm not most people" Danny told her.
"He's not most people." Tucker chorused in a breathless voice.
"Figures, I managed to wrangle the two wimpiest boys as friends." she scoffed.
"Hey!"
"I thought you were going to help your parents, Danny. Not blink like an idiot. If you're cowering out, I'll do it."
"No, no, they're my parents." he said, stepping into the white jumpsuit.
"Stop!" Sam said, grabbing his arm before he stepped in the strange hole in the wall. She explained, "I'm not letting you go in there with your dad's face on your chest. It's kind of… creepy."
She peeled off the patch and signaled for him to carry on. She snapped another picture of him, checking the screen. She tugged on her necklace; it suddenly felt too tight, too warm against her skin.
"Sam?" Tucker asked.
"Hm?" she hummed.
"Did anyone remember to unplug the portal?"
"Shit!"
Le gasp! I swore? WTH?! I never swear! …Er, right. For those that don't know, I don't like swearing or cussing or whatever you call it. This is probably because I'm around five and six-year-olds all day and they've been a good influence on me these past six years.
Katherine is a fictional person in history, don't go looking for information on her.
By the way, never watch "Dateline" while writing, you get strange ideas.
Anyone note how I said "fire-fighters" instead of firemen? I'm a Midwestern girl and that's what we call 'em in Chicago.
Anyway, this is my longest chapter so far. The next one will be shorter, unfortunately. I think. I aim for around 3,000 words a chapter, so we'll see. I'm still fixing all the minor details for it. Look for the fourth chapter next Monday!
Thank you to everyone who has followed and faved this and me. You are wonderful people. Also, many thanks to my reviewers.