FINALLY! XD Again, I apologize for the computer issues and not properly saving this chapter like a normally do. The next chapter will be up at the normal time, I promise. I thank you all for being very understanding. You are all fabulous people with wonderfully big, forgiving hearts.
The weekend got pretty busy for me and The last scene was sort of rushed. Forgive me. BUT I had a very clear idea of what I wanted once I looked at my notes. And what's better? It matches up almost entirely with what I had originally wrote! Yay! I just have to work in the ending part of this chapter a little better with the next chapter.
I would like to post a warning. The "F-bomb" is dropped in this chapter. Once. And the person who says it is rather unexpected. Just wanted to let you know to expect it. This fic is rated-T for a reason, after all.
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 18
Deceptions
"What is family? They were the people who claimed you. In good, in bad, in parts or in whole, they were the ones who showed up, who stayed in there, regardless. It wasn't just about blood relations or shared chromosomes, but something wider, bigger. We had many families over time. Our family of origin, the family we created, and the groups you moved through while all of this was happening: friends, lovers, sometimes even strangers. None of them perfect, and we couldn't expect them to be. You can't make any one person your world. The trick was to take what each could give you and build your world from it." Sarah Dessen, Lock and Key
The morning was unusually hot for autumn. It was crisp and smelled of burning leaves. The sun was bright and the skies were clear.
It was a perfect day for a funeral.
He learned a lot about a traditional Jewish funeral over the past few days. The preparations, how the viewing of the deceased's corpse wasn't done out of respect, how embalming isn't done unless state law requires it, how flowers weren't really expected… Yeah, he learned a lot.
Tucker felt sweat trickle down his back as he stood off to the side with Danny as they listened to the rabbi talk. They were eventually joined by Sam, an anomaly in white with black trimmings. It was a strangely good look for her.
"I hate cemeteries." she said, her lips snarling upwards. She led the two boys away from the coffin that would be buried within the hour.
"All Necros do." Tucker said. "Too many ghosts. See any?"
Their eyes swept back and forth across the rather picturesque place. He would have liked to be here at any normal time but since the ghost portal incident... He shuddered at the thought. Who knew what could be lurking in the cemetery.
His eyes stopped on a figure lingering at the edge of the trees, just beyond the fence surrounding the burial grounds. When it was spotted, the person ducked further into the shadows.
"Did you guys…?" he asked, trailing off.
"Yeah." Danny said. "Who do you think it could be?"
"Her." Sam said flatly. "Katherine."
"What'd she be doing here?"
"Anyone's guess." Tucker said. "Do you think we should go over and talk to her? I mean, she's here for a reason, after all…"
Sam didn't answer him. She hiked up the long skirt of her dress and marched over. He and Danny looked at one another before they jogged after her to catch up. They flanked her sides, standing as straight as they could.
Tucker hoped he looked courageous, rather than ridiculous. There was no telling, really. He was a nerd, an Alchemist, not a fighter like Danny and Sam. Sure he had learned how to defend himself through Lancer's lessons but he knew it wouldn't be enough should they come to fists with Katherine. He prayed that it wouldn't.
Sam stopped a foot before the fence, eyeing the spot with narrowed eyes.
He noted that the fence was cold iron. An Alchemist's strongest weapon and the greatest hindrance to Soothsayers who could change, like Danny, if he recalled his studies properly.
"What do you want?" Sam asked the shadows. Her fists her clenched. "I know that you killed my bubeleh. It was pretty obvious. What more do you want?"
"She lied to you." a voice from the darkness hissed. It sounded familiar. "She has always lied to you. If she had lived longer, she would have kept lying to you. Is that what you want? A liar?"
"She didn't lie! She never has."
"And yet she kept things from you. I could tell you things. Everything you want to know."
The shadows shifted slightly. Tucker knew exactly where it was. He could simply flick his wrist to contort the fence…
"Don't think about it, Alchemist." she said. Her eyes caught the light, glinting mischievously. He gulped when they met his. "That's right, I know what you're thinking. You're very predictable, you know. All Alchemists are. Katherine could tell you that."
Sam hesitated to speak. She looked back and forth between him and Danny. They had all thought the woman they were talking to was Katherine. Sam was the first to bring this up.
"You're not Katherine." Danny said, raising a brow.
"There are many possibilities throughout history to give you a clue as to who I am. I go by many names, many identities. At one or two points in time, I might have been named 'Katherine.' But as to who I am now is not why I am here. I know what your enemy wants."
"Katherine?" Sam said, surprised. "You know what Katherine wants?"
"Your enemy."
"Katherine is the enemy."
"How do you know? Have you ever asked her?" the person said. It shifted again. "She fights the same enemies as you do. Reapers. They have been after her for years. After me. They'll be after you soon, too. At that liar's death, the shield that was protecting you vanished."
"She's not a liar." Sam said. Tucker placed a hand on her arm.
"What can we do to stop the Reapers?" he asked. That was his main concern at the moment. He had seen what they could do and he wasn't about to let it happen again. Not if he could stop them.
If Reapers had been involved in Sam's grandmother's past, there was no telling what they would do once they found out she was dead. And if a shield had been protecting Sam this entire time, all of Amity Park was in danger…
Tucker gulped. He had heard of such things done before be he had never met anyone with a protection spell on them. He wondered who would have done something like that for Sam. They must have known she was a descendent of Katherine's.
The person in the shadows began speaking again, drawing him out of his thoughts.
"You can do nothing to stop the Reapers at this point." it said. "But, you can delay their plans. They need to release someone of great importance. Tell me, have you ever heard of the Dark One?"
"The Dark One?" Valerie asked, cocking a brow. "Never heard of him."
"He's the only person who can bring down the one who created this whole mess." said one of the Guys in White, as she had dubbed them. Really, they reminded her of those guys in the Will Smith films, only these guys were dressed in white instead of black. The sheer idiocy of it all. If they were wearing black they wouldn't have to worry about stains and such.
They had planned the meeting for the Saturday after the project with Danny and Sam. (The trio got an A, of course.) She had met up with the Guys in White at the Starbucks again to talk about getting her father his position back. So far it hadn't been going well for her. They said that she still had some work to do for them. It was getting infuriating.
"And who caused it?"
"A woman by the name of Katherine Magnusson. She supposedly died in a fire hundreds of years ago, but she apparently staged her death after killing her companion. He forged her a sword and she ran him through with it."
"And this is important to me why?"
"The one who currently has the sword also has something we want. An ampulla."
"What's that?"
"It's basically a jar that the Romans used for perfume, ointment, or wine."
"What's in it?"
"Something important. Your job is to get the ampulla and the sword. Make sure neither of them breaks. We need them both as wholes."
"That's all I have to do. Get in and get out with that stuff?"
"That is correct."
"Sounds easy enough." she said, sipping the hot coffee from the cup they had bought for her. She had gotten the largest size with extra whipped topping, just to spite them.
"You'll have to go over to the other side, the ectoplasmic world." the second agent said.
She stopped drinking and glared at them.
"You didn't mention that before."
"It was implied."
She sighed. The things she would do to help her father. So long as he was happy, she would be happy. They knew that they had her and that she wasn't going to go anywhere anytime fast.
"Fine." she said. "When do you want it done?"
"As soon as you possibly can get it done."
"Perfect."
"Fuck."
Jazz bit her lip and looked around. She found it odd that no one was home yet. She had joined her parents and Danny to go to the Manson funeral for a while, but she had left when the alcohol was brought out. She never cared for the taste but after the month that she had, it didn't sound half bad. And drinking in the privacy of her own home was better than in a place where she knew someone would try to cop a feel.
She kicked off the high heels she decided to wear earlier, the ones that cut into the back of her heels and rubbed wrong. Looking down, she could see the red stains on the nylons. She hoped the blood would wash out.
She couldn't remember why but she blamed those dreams. She loathed them. No, loathed wasn't a strong enough word for how much she despised them. Neither was hate. There was probably something out there to describe how passionately she wanted them to just die away and disappear forever.
She stripped off the nylons and walked barefoot into the kitchen. She knew where the key to her parents' liquor cabinet was. She had seen them open it numerous times. Neither she nor Danny had any real thoughts of drinking the stuff. They'd have some on holidays, when the rest of their family would drink a bottle or five, but the burning taste wasn't appealing. And the effects even less so.
Still…
She quickly dug out the key from one of the kitchen drawers and slipped it into the lock, where it sat waiting to be twisted. The click was soft but it echoed in Jazz's ears. With a gentle tug, she opened the cabinet and looked inside. She wrinkled her nose, not liking the look of any of the bottles. Most of it was too strong for her liking. She quickly shut it and tossed the key back into the drawer.
As tempting as liquor was, she wouldn't fall so far as to drink it. It lead to bad and rebellious behavior. At least, in her mind it did.
She turned around and decided to discard her funeral attire in her room. She was pleased that her parents were still with the Manson's, Danny was with Sam and Tucker somewhere, and Mr. Masters… hadn't made an appearance all day. She guessed that he was out looking for some property in Amity.
She gathered the shoes and the nylons, wincing at the blood, and started up the stairs when the door opened. Danny, Sam, and Tucker walked in, solemnly. They were just as startled to see her as she was to see them. Sam was the first to speak.
"Ouch." she said, looking at Jazz's heels. "What happened?"
"Evil shoes." Jazz said, holding them up for Sam to see. "Remind me to burn these things when I get the chance."
"Will do."
"I'll be back down in a bit. Danny, make sure they're comfortable."
"Always do." Danny said, mumbling. He seemed slightly dazed.
They waited until she was upstairs before they started to talk. Even then, their voices were hushed and low. She couldn't pick up any discernable words. She guessed that they were talking about something important. Hopefully school.
Jazz padded down the hallway to her room. She wrinkled her nose at the sight. She really needed to clean up a bit. She kicked aside some clothes that she never put in the laundry basket and some books that never made it back to her bookshelf. There were some shoes here and there, along with headbands and ribbons.
She quickly changed out of the dress, depositing it like the rest of the clothes in her room, and she changed into some fresh pajamas. She quickly tied her hair back, twisting her wrist in the way that girls do and smoothing it all back.
She moved to the bathroom to remove her makeup and to clean up the broken blisters. She caught her reflection and twisted her face into a look of disgust. She looked rather horrible. She needed sleep. Very badly.
Her stomach growled.
Sleep could wait. Food was more important. And no doubt the three teens downstairs were just as hungry. She would be left to make something for them. But what could they all eat so that they could enjoy something filling and hearty?
While she contemplated what to eat, she cleaned her face and took care of her ankles. She bandaged her heels for the time being. She figured that she would let them breath tonight while she slept.
She started downstairs, pausing at the top to see if she could pick up on the conversation below before jumping in. It was quiet. Eerily quiet.
Jazz gulped, going to her room to grab her Anti-Creep Stick, and tiptoed down the stairs. She made sure to skip over the one that creaked. She strained her ears to hear something.
She picked up some noise from the lab in the basement. She tested her swing and made for the basement door as quietly as she could. The entire time, she listened to the noise below. It wasn't until she reached the door that she realized it was just the three teens talking.
She freely clomped down to talk to them.
"What are you three up to?" she asked.
"Just looking at the portal." Danny said. "Hey, did mom and dad ever finish that project of their's? The one with the vehicle they believe would protect a human from the effects of ectoplasm?"
"Yeah, last week. They had Mr. Master's help. I'm not sure where they hid it. Maybe in one of the large walk-in closets that are down here."
"Uh." Sam said, looking around. "There are walk-in closets down here? Where? There's not a lot of room."
"You'd be surprised at what our parents are capable of." Danny said, chuckling. He scanned the walls with his eyes and his fingers. He knew exactly where to look. Both he and Jazz did. Their parents had taught them all the safe, secret spots in case of emergencies.
"Why do you want to know where it's at?" Jazz asked.
"Sam and Tucker were curious and they wanted to see it."
It was a lie. When he lied, she noticed, he spoke with a specific tone of voice. There was also the way his shoulders tensed. Why did he always seem to lie to her? Jazz really wanted to know.
When they were children, they shared all of their secrets. Especially the ones they wanted to keep from their parents. Somehow their mom would always find out, but they were never punished for helping one another out and not tattling. Somehow they went their separate ways.
Like she had been for a while, Jazz let the lie slide past. Danny would tell her everything when it was time. He just needed some more space. But how much longer would he take, she wondered.
Danny found one of the closets, which proved to be the largest and the one containing the latest invention. It was a submarine-esque looking thing. Bulky and taking up most of the space.
"What is that thing?" Tucker said, adjusting his glasses.
"It's the Specter Speeder." Jazz said, surprising herself. "It's supposed to be able to protect humans from the effects of the ghost world or whatever it's called. Mom and dad didn't really seem interested in making it until Mr. Masters showed his face in Amity."
"Do you think he plans on using it to travel into the Ghost Zone?" Sam said, turning to look at her.
"Who knows. I just want him out of this house. He's really creepy. Especially the way he stares at mom."
"You think so too?" Danny said, raising his brows and looking at his sister for the first time since she came downstairs. "I thought it was just me and that you were picking up on how uncomfortable I felt. Huh."
"It's what big sisters are for, I guess." she said, shrugging. "Hey, I was thinking about making something to eat. Any suggestions?"
"Mac and cheese."
"Steaks."
"Whatever you want to make."
The chorus of the three teens made Jazz roll her eyes. She waved at them, then she headed upstairs. Mac and cheese and hot dogs sounded good. It was too cold out to grill them but she supposed that she could boil them and then brown the skins in a pan. That sounded half decent.
Half of an hour later, she had the table set and the food out. The teens joined her. Danny had leant Sam and Tucker some of his clothes so they wouldn't have to wear their funeral attire the rest of their time there.
"I made some tofu dogs for you." Jazz said. "Mom decided to buy some when she figured that you might be hanging out here. They're on the left. Feel free to eat as much as you like."
The three teens plowed through the majority of the food in a matter of minutes. Each of them had a different reason for eating; although Danny and Tucker may have actually been that hungry, Sam was trying to hide her grief behind food. Jazz noticed how Danny didn't let her overeat. She would have laughed if she hadn't been disgusted by Tucker's eating habits.
When the food was completely gone, Danny cleared the table and he, Tucker, and Sam headed up to his bedroom to hang out. At least, that was what Jazz hoped they were doing. They weren't up there long, just long enough for Sam to gather her funeral wear and for them to walk her home.
Jazz hoped that Sam could handle the death of her grandmother properly with the two boys by her side.
Several hours passed after she returned home with Danny and Tucker. Sam hadn't realized that she still wore Danny's clothes until he was long gone and it was too late to text him at a decent hour. Although it was a Saturday, she figured that he deserved a proper night's sleep for once. They all did.
There were several problems, of course, but most of them they could worry about in the morning. Lancer was still missing. He hadn't been at school the entire week, but upon questioning the main office Sam had learned — forced out of, was probably the proper term for it — from the secretary that his sister was having some troubles with her pregnancy and would like her brother to be by his side.
Then there was Valerie. She seemed fairly jittery as of late. She wondered what was up with their latest addition to their group. She hoped it was nothing serious.
Another on going problem was the threat of Katherine. Sam was beginning to wonder when and if she was ever going to show her face in Amity Park. Not to mention the Reapers who had undoubtedly followed her this entire time.
There was also the person who approached them that afternoon. They had talked for a while with the mysterious figure. The person had explained to them everything. The Reapers, they learned, were not only after Katherine because she was a Necromancer but because she knew the location of the ampulla — she had yet to learn what that was but the person told them to just follow their instincts for the time being. They wanted not only the jar but also the sword that Katherine's Alchemist had made for her. Sam wondered just how she could be related to such a horrible woman for the eighth time that night.
And lastly there was the most recent problem. Had her parents not had guests to entertain, they would have thrown a fit when they saw her in Danny's clothes. She would get chewed out tomorrow, she knew but for the night she was safe. She hoped that they would only ground her for a short while…
Sam was jarred out of her thoughts by a knock at her door. There were very few people in the house who would knock. Her parents, albeit seeing Danny and Tucker leave, would barge right in if they suspected something was up.
"Come in." she said.
The door opened and she released the breath she had been holding unconsciously. It was only the maid, Kate.
"Is everything okay, Miss?" Kate asked.
"Fine." Sam said. "Why? Did my parents say something?"
"No. I just thought… Forgive me, it is none of my business, but I did not like to be alone when my father passed away."
Sam blinked. She honestly hadn't known that. Actually, she thought, she really didn't know anything about the maid. She had applied for a job with the family before Sam even knew they were moving to Amity. She was intrigued to learn that little tidbit of information.
"I'm sorry." she found herself saying. "I didn't know."
"It was a long time ago. A very long time ago. Back when I was still very young."
Sam shrugged, unsure of what to say. After a moment she spoke again.
"A glass of water would be nice, thank you." she said.
Kate nodded and walked away, closing the door behind her.
Sam took this time to dig out one of her grandmother's last surviving books, the guidebook. She hadn't had the guts to burn it or three other. They held far too valuable information to just destroy them.
She browsed through the pages, stopping at the family tree. She frowned. Something was off. The pages looked and felt far too new when compared to the rest of the book. Why hadn't she seen it before? Maybe they had to be replaced at some point in order to protect the family line? That was really the only suitable explanation she could think of.
A knock at the door startled her. She hadn't realized that several minutes had passed and the Kate would be back with the water by now. She let the maid know that it was safe to enter, tucking the book under the blankets with her lower half.
Instead of Kate, her father stood there, looking around curiously.
"Hey." he said timidly, as if he was afraid that she would bite his head off or something.
"Hi." she said, still fairly surprised.
"The maid was getting water for you and I decided to bring it back up. I hope that's alright."
"It's fine."
He set the water down on her nightstand next to her and he sat on her bed, right on the corner of the book. He quickly stood back up, a little surprised.
"What's that?" he asked.
"Nothing. Just a school book." she said, nervously.
He pulled back the covers and cocked a brow when he realized she had lied to him. The thing didn't look like a school book, although it probably could have passed as one a very long time ago.
She bit her lip as he picked it up and started flipping through it. A moment passed before he met her eyes.
"Sam," he said as calmly as he possibly could, "what is this?"
^_^ I'm a clever little thing, I know. There are a few things that were inspired by a miscellany of things. The funeral, oddly, by W.I.T.C.H. I used to read the books as they came out but I didn't keep up with them.
Jazz' blisters? I'm currently sporting a pair from some heels that rubbed wrong. Character shoes are now the bane of my existence.
And Jeremy learning about Sam's secret came from a plot twist generator. Seriously. Sometimes good things come up on them.
Again, I would like to thank you guys. Really, you are lovely, lovely people and you're encouragement keeps me writing on.