Ah, this chapter. This chapter was a pain in my rear. I took some time concocting it before realizing part of it wasn't completely realistic and then having to rewrite it… Blargh. Hopefully I finally got it right.
There's the fact that I had my first final today and I did a lot of last minute cramming for it. That's the reason why the editing kind of sucks. XP Thankfully, I was very calm throughout my final and I remembered to triple check all of my work. Thank god I did, I misinterpreted a sign, which completely changed the answer… I'm still shaking from the adrenalin going through me. Math really gets me worked up. XD
There's a part in here that's inspired by a conversation between KimuraSato, Panhead13, and myself. B) They know the part.
I wrote a sad, very intimate scene for this chapter (the event of which will carry on into the next chapter). I wanted to warn several people now. It may be hard for some people to recognize what happens until late in the chapter but I did try to make it as clear as I could.
Happy things, sad thing. Blah.
Anyway, here's the next chapter of DNC.
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 17
Hands
"Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,
It seems to me most strange that men should fear;
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come."
William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar (2.2.32-37)
Danny silently thanked Valerie as he dashed up the stairs. He had never been more grateful for anything in his entire life.
There was another ghost in Amity Park, and he had no clue as to who it would be. Perhaps it was that Plasmius ghost. Or that hunter one. What was his name again? He really couldn't remember.
He locked the bathroom door behind him and transformed. He felt the familiar surge and smiled. He looked at his reflection, studying his appearance. He never really paid much attention to it before but the white hair and the glowing green eyes were very off-putting. No wonder people ran away, screaming bloody murder, when they saw him…
Danny shook his head and turned intangible, phasing through the wall of his house and flying off in the direction he thought the ghost was. It didn't take him long to find his parents in combat with the Box Ghost.
He sighed. He really didn't need to be there. It was just the most annoying ghost he had ever run into. He decided to stick around in case the ghost caused any more trouble for his parents or another ghost showed up. Highly unlikely but one never quite knew…
"Well, well, if it isn't the little phantom haunting Amity Park."
Danny whipped around and frowned. Plasmius floated at his level, grinning benevolently. He meant trouble for not only him but also for the innocents below. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.
"What do you want?" Danny said with a growl. He genuinely wanted to know but something told him that he would not like the answer very much.
"My dear boy, I am here to test you and your abilities." Plasmius said, as if his intentions had been obvious. "A soothsayer like you is very rare."
"And you would know because you are one."
The grin on the other's face dropped into a frown. It was plain he was not happy that his identity had been partially revealed. Danny just wished that he knew who this other Soothsayer was. Something told him that he should look it up in the books in Sam's library.
"Who, might I ask, told you that?" Plasmius asked.
"A little birdie told me." Danny said. "Although how he came back this quickly is kind of a mystery to me."
"By little birdie, you don't mean the Box Ghost do you? Ah, your silence gives me the answers I need. It is a pity I've let him go on this long. I should have eliminated the wretch years ago."
"Destroy? You can destroy ghosts?"
"We both can, Daniel. You just haven't learned how yet." The grin returned to his face as he spoke, sending a shiver down Danny's back and coming out of his mouth in a wave of clear, blue mist. Plasmius's eyebrow raised. "Now that is unusual."
"It's a ghost sense." Danny said. "Which means there's a ghost nearby."
"Interesting."
Danny, who had not been paying attention to his parent's battle, was set flying as the Box Ghost ran into him. The two rocketed off in one direction, cart wheeling as the flew.
Eventually, they stopped. Danny felt his head swim as he tried to regain a normal sense of balance. Closing his eyes did not help. He shook his head and prayed that his equilibrium would even out soon. Handling one ghost was more than enough of a challenge for him, but two ghosts and trying to steer clear of his parent's inventions? That was something he hadn't practiced with Lancer yet.
Before he could make sense of up or down, a bright pink beam of ectoplasmic energy slammed into his stomach and sent him careening into a building. He clutched the injured spot, finding it burned.
Danny winced and looked around for his attacker. He saw a smirking Plasmius with a smoking hand. It was clear who had shot him.
The grown Soothsayer's moment of victory did not last long. Maddie Fenton nailed him with a blast from her bazooka-esque gun. Danny had never felt any prouder of his mother.
"Man that's hot." Jack Fenton said, eyeing his wife.
Danny would have been completely grossed out if the Box Ghost hadn't interrupted the battle.
"I am the Box Ghost." he said, wiggling his fingers in the annoying way he did. "Beware!"
He flew off in one direction, leaving Danny to face off against his parents and Plasmius. The teen looked back and forth between his opponents. He didn't want to hurt his parents, which was obvious to anyone but he had no such regard for Plasmius.
He blinked. Someone was missing. Vlad. He didn't spot the man anywhere. It was as if he just… disappeared into thin air. Where could he have gone?
"Done thinking, boy?" Plasmius asked. It was clear that Maddie's shot had hurt him.
"I was waiting on you." Danny said, smirking a little. Showing a little confidence never hurt anyone… right?
"Stay where you are, ghosts." Maddie said, firing up her weapon. He could hear it charging from his spot in the air. And it was aimed at him…
Danny looked around and dove into a wall, intangible, hoping he wasn't barging in on anything embarrassing. He was lucky, no one was using the bathroom. He stayed intangible as he wandered the apartment. There was no one home. He knew he only had a couple of minutes before his parents or Plasmius found him.
As if he sensed his queue, Plasmius appeared in front of him.
"Now, my boy," he said, "I have you alone at last."
"I'll ask you again." Danny said, "What do you want?"
"Why, to talk. You could learn a lot from me. I could teach you how to use your powers. We could rule the world. Together."
Danny frowned.
"I already have a teacher."
"Ah, the obese Wiccan who has gone bald. It's a pity that he's gone missing."
"What did you do to him?" Danny said with a growl. His hands heated up and glowing ectoplasmic energy surrounded the tight fists he made.
"I personally have done nothing. My associates on the other hand —"
Danny shot a beam at him, knocking the grown Soothsayer into the wall. It had been a hard hit, as the plaster concaved where it had stopped Plasmius. The teen was not surprised when two rings formed around the waist of his opponent but he was taken aback when the other's identity was revealed.
There, in a heap on the floor, was Vladimir Masters.
He did not notice when he parents charged through the apartment door and he did not notice when he was sucked into a thermos.
Sam sat in her grandmother's hospital room. She had been there for twenty minutes and she already knew she would be getting no sleep that night.
For a while, it had looked like Ida Manson would be able to go home by the end of the month. Then, two days ago she had taken a turn for the worst. It had been more tragic hearing it from the maid, Kate, than her parents who were rushing home and hoping to make it before…
She shook her head. It was inevitable now. Her grandmother had accepted her fate and was ready to die. It didn't matter how much she prayed, there was never an answer and the elderly woman was fading as she watched.
The sunken, hollow look of the woman on the bed frightened Sam. She didn't look the same and she never would again.
Many times, Sam had been tempted to just walk out of the room in order to hold back the tears that pressed against her eyelids. A lump in her throat formed every time she looked at the figure in the bed.
It was during this solitary moments that she wondered about death. It was necessary, true, but she was one of the few who could defy it. She could help her grandmother, but the elderly woman was just as, if not more, stubborn than the girl. She would no doubt find a way to die and stay dead, burrowing away in the realms of the Ghost Zone forever.
She was dragged out of her thoughts by a heavy sigh and a groan.
"Bubeleh?" she asked quietly.
"Sam?" was the reply.
Sam leapt from her chair and grabbed her grandmother's hand, stroking it to let her know she was there.
"Many secrets about you." she said through half-lidded eyes.
"Secrets? What secrets?"
"Do not trust her."
"Bubeleh, what are you talking about? Secrets? Trusting someone?"
"She wants you dead. Will use you. Do not trust her."
"You're not making any sense!" Sam felt tears prick at her eyes. She had prayed that her grandmother's last words, her thoughts, wouldn't be senile and cryptic. And yet, they were. She did not want to remember her going that way!
"She is evil, Sam. Trust the time guardian. He can help. Danny and Tucker, too. Do not lose them."
"I'm not going to lose them. I promise."
"You are brave." Ida said, smiling lovingly up at the teenager. "Very beautiful, too. Not many will tell you that. The books and I have lied to a beautiful girl. Please forgive me."
"You didn't lie to me." Sam said. "You have never lied to me."
"Promise me that you will burn the books when I die. To protect yourself. The White Ones come to seek their master."
Sam's brow furrowed. White Ones? She had never heard of them before. And their master? A complete mystery. There must have been something important in the books that revealed a vital detail.
"If they get their hands on you, they will show you no mercy. And neither will she, when she reveals herself to you. Promise me, Sam. Burn my books."
"Okay, I promise."
The beeping of the machines grew steadily faster as her grandmother's breaths grew quicker. The sound filled her ears and echoed loudly before it all became too deafening and silence took over.
Sam was pushed out of the room and into the hall. It wasn't until she was sitting in a chair opposite the door did she realize what had happened.
.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.
She sat on her floor near her fireplace, every now and again tossing a book into the flames. She had promised, after all. Besides, her body was too numb to sleep and she needed something to do.
She was waiting for Danny's call. He messaged her and Tucker every night but tonight was the first time he had missed their usual time. She wondered if something was going on at home. She hoped not. She prayed that he called soon, she needed to take her mind off the evening events.
Sam picked up the book that she had found, the one that held her grandmother's notes and the one that informed them all about Danny's powers. She traced her fingers across the cover. She would save this one for a while. No need to destroy it at the moment.
She set the book aside and listened to the night. It was deafeningly silent in the mansion. The only sounds were the crackle and pops of the burning books. Not to mention the Morse Code?
Wait, what?
She listened. Yes it was there again. But… it sounded different. She hurried to her phone and hit the recorder app. The message was longer this time.
The first two words were "Katherine Magnusson" again, she knew that. The next word after that was "is." And following that…
Tap, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape.
Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape.
Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, tap.
Tap, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape.
Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, tap.
Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, tap.
The message repeated again a few more times while she decoded it.
1, 0, 9, 1, 9, 9.
…10 ...9 …19 …9…
…J… I…S… I…
…H …E …R …E…
Here.
"Katherine Magnusson is here."
She looked around nervously, tossing the paper into the flames with the still burning books. She added a few more to fuel the flames.
She listened as the message repeated again, but it did not. It changed. She quickly started recording again and translated as quickly as she could.
Tap, tap, scrape, scrape, scrape.
Pause.
Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape.
Pause.
Tap, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape.
Pause.
Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape.
Pause.
Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, tap.
2, 0, 1, 0, 9.
…20 …10 …9…
…T …J …I…
…S …H …E…
She.
Sam went on translating as the message continued. The message was a long one, like the very first one had been.
"She wants the ampulla."
…What the heck was an "ampulla?"
Her phone beeped, signaling that she had a new message.
She scrambled reached for the device, knocking it off her desk. Grumbling she got up and got it. The message was from Danny, thankfully. She opened it and blinked at the words on the screen.
"S.O.S.! HELP! STUCK IN THERMOS! MAYDAY! MAYDAY!"
Stuck in a thermos? How did that happen?
She smiled for the first time that night and dressed in warmer clothes for an excursion outdoors. She was glad all of her clothes were black. They were perfect for sneaking in and out of places.
The reminder of who suggested the attire hung heavily over her head for a moment. She had other things to worry about, like breaking into Fenton Works to free her best friend from one of his parents' contraptions without getting caught.
"That sounded weird." she muttered to herself as she shimmied into a shirt. She shrugged it off. This was her new normal now. Living in Amity Park sure had changed a lot of things.
She easily crept out of her house. The only occupants were herself and the maid, Kate. The maid wouldn't miss her one bit.
She was happy to be out and about, not sulking about with her thoughts and wallowing in mourning. The world was still spinning and right now, she needed that stability.
She slunk down streets and alleyways, bumping into Tucker as she went.
"Hey." she said quietly.
"Hey." he replied, nodding to her. "Got Danny's text?"
"Yep."
"It makes me wonder how he's getting any reception in the thermos. Doesn't ectoplasmic energy interfere with cell phone technology?"
"I have no idea."
They reached the backyard and slid through the hole in the fence, happy that Danny hadn't fixed it yet. The backdoor to the kitchen was unlocked, which was odd but maybe the Fentons figured Danny was out with them and would be back late at night.
Sam quietly tiptoed inside. No alarms went off and she knew they wouldn't unless there was a ghost. The place had ghost fighting equipment built into the walls — something she had learned through one of Jack Fenton's many lectures. That and he wanted a pony but couldn't have one on account of a war. (Which brought her to questioning which war and whether or not the man was truly sane.)
Tucker followed in after her. He was not as quiet or as graceful. He clomped inside and tripped over something near the door. Upstairs, Jack's snores sputtered for a moment before returning to normal.
Sam rolled her eyes and started looking around for the thermos.
"It's probably in the basement." Tucker told her.
She nodded and quietly walked to the door, wincing when the door creaked open. She made her way down, her companion following her. She had never been more grateful for the flashlight app she downloaded shortly after moving to Amity.
The camera flash lit the stairs and the floor, which reflected light back at her. She swept it around the lab, hoping to catch sight of the thermos. It sat rather innocently on one of the countertops.
"Danny?" she whispered, touching the smooth surface.
"Sam? Tucker?" a voice from within the device said. "Is that you? Thank god! This thing is cramped. My legs went numb two hours ago. Wait, I don't have any legs! How did that happen? Oh, whew. There they are. Yeah, my legs are numb."
"Dude." Tucker said, scanning the thermos. "How do we get you out?"
"I… have no idea."
Sam looked at the buttons. One of these had to be the right one…
She pressed one and a light shot forth, sending Danny flying out. He floated for a moment before landing in a heap. Sam bit her lip to stifle her laughter as she set the thermos back on the counter.
"Did you have a nice fall?" Tucker said, chuckling.
"I didn't fall." Danny grumbled. "I attacked the floor."
"Why did you attack the floor?" Sam asked, highly amused.
"It looked suspicious."
Sam and Tucker laughed, unable to hold it back any longer. When the light flickered on, they all froze. They'd been caught.
"Danny?"
It was his mother. The woman quietly tiptoed down the stairs and looked at the three teens.
Sam was very glad that she had set the thermos down only moments ago. Being caught downstairs was bad enough, being caught red-handed at let Danny out of the thermos was worse.
"What are you three doing down here?" Maddie asked, pulling her robe closer to her body.
"We…" Danny began, trying to come up with a reason for them being in the lab, an otherwise forbidden spot for anyone outside of his parents.
"They were trying to make me feel better." Sam said. "After what happened earlier this evening…"
Maddie's stern face softened and she brought Sam into a hug, something the teen hadn't received from an adult in some time. It was a great comfort. She allowed herself to melt into it.
"Why don't we go upstairs for a nice hot cup of cocoa, hm?" the woman said, gesturing for them to go into the kitchen. They trailed up the stairs and sat down at the kitchen table whilst Maddie made stovetop hot cocoa.
When she finished boiling the milk and the chocolate chips had melted, she divvied out the concoction and added peppermint sticks for extra flavor. She set the porcelain cups down in front of each of the teens.
"When you're all done, just set the cups in the sink." she said. "There are extra pillows and blankets in the hall closet. Feel free to stay the night, you two. And don't stay up too late. You still have school in the morning."
When they were sure she was upstairs, Danny asked Sam:
"What happened earlier this evening? Did I miss something?"
She bit her lip and turned away, feeling the lump form in her throat. She didn't want to think about that now. She nervously sipped the cocoa.
"What happened with Val?" she asked, clearing his throat. It was obvious that she was trying to divert his attention.
"Don't know. She probably went home. Now, what happened earlier this evening?"
"Danny, not right now." Tucker said.
"Sam?"
"…She died."
"Who?"
"Bubeleh. She died."
The scene with Sam in the hospital by her grandmother's bedside was inspired by my feelings when my grandfather passed away last year. It's been a rough time for my dad, my uncles, and many of my cousins who were very close to him.
I had a very difficult time seeing him lying in his bed, slowly dying. I actually couldn't look at him for a long time. I can't count the number of times I wanted to cry when he refused to eat. He was always so healthy looking, I didn't want to remember seeing him look so… dead.
I know there are many other out there who went though similar things when a relative of their's passed on. And I want to comfort those who may eventually go through that. It hurts less as time passes and, while their presence is greatly missed, you learn to take on their role in their memory.
I have a final to sort of study for tomorrow. Editing/Production. That'll be fun. And easy. I think I'll do some bookwork to help me.
Anyway, Acen is this weekend. I'll be there and I'll be a pretty, broken doll. So much to do this week!