Confrontation time! Now we shall have everyone meet face to face. Let's see if all our protagonists can talk things out with the antagonists, thus solving the entire dilemma without conflict.
Here's a hint. No, they won't.
There will be a lot of overlap with the scenes since a bunch of things will be happening at about the same time. Still, it should be easy enough to follow. So hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter.
Exorcisms require at least two out of three main components in order to work. Using all three strengthens the effectiveness of the process, but it can still be accomplished with only two.
The three components for an exorcism are a candle, a physical belonging of significant meaning to the deceased, and a circle. Physical belongings are the most common component to be left out due to the passage of time making it more difficult for the living to track down personal effects of the deceased. The second most common component to exclude is the circle, either out of ignorance or lack of time. A candle is rarely the excluded component.
If the living are collecting these components during a haunting, the deceased are advised to take steps to disrupt and remove as many items as possible. It is easier to disrupt an exorcism before it begins than it is to disrupt during the process. It is also easier to disrupt an exorcism targeting another member of the deceased than it is one directed toward yourself.
-Excerpt from "Handbook for the Recently Deceased"
Her attention was so strongly focused on watching the sky for the signal to begin that Melinda almost missed them. She wasn't expecting that she would need to watch out for a trio of teenagers marching out of the falling darkness. Out of all the possible variables she'd taken into account in regards to the night's plan, this wasn't one she'd considered. It was simply too absurd.
The African-American boy in the red beret was a complete stranger, but she remembered Sam. She blended into the stretching shadows with her Goth clothes, but Melinda spotted her now that she was looking for them. The third, wrapped in a red poncho with a spider web pattern, was the most familiar to her. The clothes were wrong, but she certainly recognized Lydia.
"Aunt Melinda," said her niece. "We need to talk."
"In a moment, Lydia, my darling," she said. "I'm busy with something important."
"Yeah, we know what you're planning, Mrs. Livingston," said the boy, crossing his arms. "That's kind of what we need to talk about. A mass exorcism of Amity Park? Don't you think that's a bit excessive?"
Melinda couldn't help being surprised and mildly impressed that they actually figured out her end goal. How in the world did Lydia and her friends manage to piece it together was the real question. Apparently all the complaints about the younger generation not paying attention or actually thinking were completely off-base. These teenagers were bright. They were clever enough to unravel how she intended to deal with the ghost problem.
Unfortunately, she suspected all of them were under the same foolish delusion as the girl.
"And you think it would be better to leave all the ghost to roam the world free, wreaking havoc and chaos? Trust me, I know what's best," she said.
Lydia's eyes narrowed as she spat venomously, "You know what's best? What's for our own good? Like it was for my own good to mess with my mind and take away my best friend? Because that almost got me killed, so I don't think it was really for my 'own good'."
She gestured briefly towards her head, drawing Melinda's attention to the fact that there was a thick bandage around it. The other teenager had sections of their arms similarly wrapped. It added some credibility to her claims about almost being killed, but Melinda figured it was an exaggeration. The bandages might even be just a ploy to win sympathy. Lydia was too soft-hearted and naïve when it came to ghosts. She just didn't want to see the truth.
"Darling, it was for the best. It was never your friend. Things like that don't have the capacity," she said.
"Seriously?" asked Sam, raising an eyebrow. "Ghosts aren't capable of feelings and friendship? No wonder Lydia freaked out on Danny's parents."
"I am sorry about that," Lydia said, looking towards her friend as she tried to calm down a little.
"Look, Mrs. Livingston, how about you put down the necklace, keep the Ghost Shield down, call off the exorcism, and we all talk like civilized and reasonable people?" suggested the boy.
They were still getting closer. The trio had slowed down since the conversation started, but they were still edging closer to her gradually. Melinda couldn't help wondering what they were up to. Her nerves began to prickle uneasily. They knew too much and were clearly intent on something. They wanted her to stop. What was their plan to stop her? She knew they must have a plan beyond merely asking. The children were misguided, not stupid.
"I don't believe I shall," she said. "Destroying all these ghosts will make the world a better place. Wouldn't you rather live in a peaceful, safe, and perfect town? Go home. I'll be finished soon."
Sam took a step forward and said, "You honestly want to kill potentially hundreds of ghosts? Just because you can? Don't you have any human decency?"
"Of course not," said Lydia in a resigned tone. "She just doesn't get it. Living or dead, people are still people. You can have dangerous ghosts and living serial killers just like you can have decent ones. There are always a few horrible individuals in any group. That doesn't give someone the excuse to attempt genocide."
"Genocide doesn't apply to those things," Melinda said firmly. "And don't take another step forward." She pulled the knife out of her purse to serve as a visual warning. "You may be my niece, my darling Lydia, but I won't let you stop me."
She didn't want to hurt Lydia or the other children, but this was important. Even if the worst case scenario happened, Melinda was confident she wouldn't have to go too far. For the living, the Twin-sided Blade of the Trapped dead was merely a sharp knife. A few shallow cuts if they got into range would discourage the teenagers if the warning threat wasn't enough. But she doubted it would come to violence. She could handle it before the situation reached that point.
While the other teenagers looked surprised by the threat, Lydia crossed her arms and glared stubbornly back. The candlelight briefly glistened off something, drawing the woman's attention to the girl's hand. Melinda paled as she recognized the ring she'd purposefully locked away in her safe. Somehow it was now on the naïve child's right hand. She shouldn't even remember it, let alone have it back in her possession. What else might not being going according to plan?
"Where did you get that ring?" she snapped.
Lydia actually smirked at the question briefly before regaining her more serious demeanor. She met her aunt's gaze firmly.
"You mean the ring you took from me at the same time as my friend? Hand over the necklace and I'll tell you all about it."
Melinda grabbed the gemstone protectively with her free hand. There was no possible way she'd agree to the idea, but she couldn't help noticing their focus on her necklace. They certainly understood the importance of the Gem of Osiris to her plan. If they got close enough, she suspected one would try to snatch it.
She stole a briefly glance towards the sky before returning her gaze towards the children. What was taking Roger so long?
"Lydia Deetz, you and your friends will stay out of my way or I swear the next step in my plan after this will be to deal with those two ghosts in Winter River. This does not concern you," she said sharply. "Children should not interfere in the affairs of adults, especially when they clearly don't understand."
"Well, it is my business and I certainly understand. And by the way, threatening and trying to blackmail my Lyds? Not a smart move, witch."
Melinda jerked back in surprise as another shape stepped out of the darkness, a figure she'd thought was gone. From the striped suit to the foul features, the poltergeist was back and looming behind Lydia. She should have exorcised the thing when she had the chance. Her desire to test the gem's limits and a minor reluctance to further traumatize the girl compelled her to spare the poltergeist for later, but now Melinda was facing the consequences. And Lydia was likely paying the price. Foolish, naïve child.
"Be—"
"Don't bother," another voice interrupted, a sharp edge to his tone. "We all know his name, so we can just call him right back. It is more annoying than useful for you to get rid of him. Unfortunately, it does look like Plan A is a complete bust."
Another figure materialized, this one appearing closer to Sam and the boy in the red beret. It looked like a teenage boy with green eyes of an unnatural and nearly glowing shade, inexplicably floating in midair with a wispy tail instead of legs. Dressed in a black jumpsuit with an odd symbol, she'd heard stories of the white-haired ghost. Stories of the local "hero ghost" spread quickly. Melinda scowled at the tricky and dangerous Danny Phantom, the one capable of manipulating the entire town into foolishly trusting him. He looked no happier about seeing her.
"Another one," said Melinda. "Do you never learn, Lydia? First the disgusting poltergeist who uses you and sought an innocent child as his bride and now the fake protector clearly biding his time to strike? You just can't see the truth."
"The almost-wedding was a mistake, so would everyone just let it drop?" the poltergeist shouted. "Forget. About. That wedding! And considering the hero complex he's got, Danny-boy's definitely no fake. He likes protecting helpless saps. Me? I just want revenge."
Before she or anyone else could react to the outburst, a green glow appeared on the horizon and shot straight up. Everyone turned towards it, watching the glowing dome lower around the nearby city. Melinda smiled. Roger finally came through for her. The Ghost Shield was up.
Rewiring the Ghost Shield generator to the experimental battery turned out to be more problematic than he'd originally envisioned. The Fentons might be geniuses when it came to creating anti-ghost tools and weaponry, but their engineering decisions were unconventional. If it wasn't for the fact the things actually worked, Roger would have thought they were complete idiots. And trying to make the unusual and crazy construction of their invention work with the new energy source was more trouble than what he let Melinda know.
But after all his manipulations and adjustments, he finally had it ready. It was perfectly hooked up. His wife's plan was nearly complete. She would be so happy soon. Roger wanted nothing more than to make Melinda happy, no matter the cost.
Once Roger attached the last wire in place, he closed the panel and reached for the switch. The moment he flipped it on, an intense green beam of light and energy shot skywards. He watched it shoot upwards a rather impressive distance before umbrella-ing out, spreading across the sky. It stretched outwards like a green glowing dome that swiftly settled over the city. He listened to the machine hum with power as he smiled with satisfaction.
The peaceful moment was shattered by the roar of an engine. Roger spun around to see a large RV practically hurtling over the shrubbery like it was launched from a catapult. The vehicle hit the ground roughly, kicking up grass and dirt as it veered to the left and came to a halt. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the RV as someone threw open the door and raced out.
While Roger certainly didn't know who he expected to be inside, he definitely knew the Fentons weren't on his list of possible choices. The mountainous Jack Fenton, the thinner Maddie Fento with the hood and goggles hiding her face, and a stumbling teenage red-head he didn't recognize with a bat climbed out of the vehicle. The adults appeared rather grim while the teenage girl looked thankful to be out of the RV.
"Mr. Livingston, I presume?" said the girl. "My name is Jazz Fenton. I believe you've met my parents already."
Confused, Roger nodded. Jack and Maddie waved awkwardly. The teenager smiled briefly.
"Now, we're all civilized people," she continued. "So could we ask you to turn the Ghost Shield off?"
"What? Why would I do that? We need it on for the plan. I just spent a few hours working on it. If I turn it off, we can't destroy the ghosts of your town. You must understand."
Maddie's eyes narrowed while Jazz's grip on the bat tightened. Even surprised and confused by the recent string of events, Roger began to worry what they would do in the face of his refusal. From the Fenton's reputation, he would have thought they would approve of the idea of the destruction of the ghosts. But from their expressions, they might actually be upset about it. Why? And what would they do about it? Roger picked up the wrench he'd been using earlier, uncertain if he would need to defend himself somehow.
"Look, I know it seems like ghosts are nothing but trouble, but the problematic ones just get the most attention. There are plenty of peaceful ghosts out there and even some heroic ones," Jazz said.
"And if you don't turn it off, we'll do it and see how you like the Fenton Foamer we have in the back of our RV," added Jack.
Glancing over, the girl said, "Dad, let me handle this." She then turned back towards Roger and continued, "This isn't going to help anyone in the long run and it'll definitely do a lot of damage."
"It will help. It'll help Melinda, my dearest. Ghosts have made her miserable her entire life, even as a child who just wanted her parents' attention. I love my wife too much to deny her what she needs."
"Hey, if anyone understands the challenges of ghost-obsessed parents, it's me," she said, producing brief looks of guilt from her family. "But it is not an excuse to attempt mass murder."
Uncertainty churned in his stomach again. Any moment of doubt he ever experienced was easily dealt with by either his wife's words or his sheer confidence in her. But those moments where he wondered if they were right did occur. And the teenage girl was feeding into those buried doubts. He didn't really like it.
"A part of you has to know this is wrong," she continued. "You know destroying untold numbers for the crime of simply existing is wrong. You know Lydia, your niece, will never forgive you for this. And you know it won't solve your wife's underlying problems."
"She doesn't have problems," defended Roger quietly.
The girl smiled gently, saying softly, "You know that isn't true. This isn't the plan of a stable and mentally healthy woman. This is the work of someone with high levels of hatred and anger, the type that festers and is never properly dealt with. It is the type that is eventually all-consuming. She focuses solely on a target, often a scapegoat of some form. She might have even chose an external source for her hatred because she refuses to accept that the cause was actually from herself or someone she refuses to blame. But this type of hatred often leads to ignoring many other aspects of her life. It isn't healthy for her or you."
Quietly, trying to ignore most of her words and failing, he asked, "What are you talking about? We're fine."
"Mr. Livingston, you clearly love your wife and would do anything for her. But does she love you back?"
He would have flung himself out there to try strangling the evil old hag for pulling out that knife, protective circle or no protective circle, but Betelgeuse found a teenage half-ghost grabbing him in a desperate bear hug to prevent it. The kid was definitely crazy. And possibly suicidal when it came to dumb hero moves like trying to stop the poltergeist.
He could have easily ripped free, but Danny hurriedly hissed that they would be fine and that they were out of range of the weapon. Lydia was safe. Danny's words were enough to remind him to be careful and not act rash in regard to the woman. She'd already out-maneuvered him once. She was clever and the necklace was powerful, so he couldn't risk being impulsive. He still hated the hag, but he controlled himself enough not to fling himself at the woman hiding behind her circle. Her arms weren't long enough to reach Lydia, so there was a limit to how much harm she could cause.
That didn't stop him from moving more slowly towards the group, trusting that the candles would destroy her night vision and she wouldn't see him until it was too late. And after Betelgeuse quietly assured the teenager that he still wouldn't kill the witch, Danny followed. Honestly, he didn't look much happier about the crazy woman with a knife relatively close to this girlfriend. Betelgeuse suspected Danny would be perfectly comfortable punching Melinda in the face at the slightest move towards Sam.
Then he got to enjoy the look of shock on her face when she realized he was back. And Danny even pointed out the futility of trying to banish him, which meant no one using his name three times. It was a bit of a standoff for the moment, but it was still going better than he expected.
But all their aggressive posturing and barely-veiled threats were interrupted by a green glow on the horizon, one that felt like a lot of ecto-energy even at a distance. There was a lot of interesting metaphysical stuff going on at the moment, almost more than he could properly identify. But it paid to keep aware of what elements were in play, so he tried. There was the Ghost Shield swallowing the city, the spotlight-like intensity and unique signature of the half-ghost teenager, and the rather solidly-formed protective circle. Picking up details inside the circle itself was trickier, but he could definitely notice the power radiating from the necklace. Honestly, Betelgeuse couldn't believe he hadn't noticed the thing the first time he encountered the woman. The amount of power coming from the Gem of Osiris was unnerving and a little enticing. But there was at least one other oddity in there, nearly hidden by the woman's circle and overshadowed by the necklace. He would definitely have to keep an eye open for surprises.
"Not good," said Sam. "The Ghost Shield's up."
"Finally," Melinda said.
"If you start reciting the lines, I'm running over to break the circle and let Beej handle you. I'm not afraid to take the risk with the knife," said Lydia sharply.
Betelgeuse grinned cruelly as he glared at the woman, making sure she knew it wouldn't be a fun experience. Of course, it would be even worse if she managed to even nick Lydia with the blade. Amusingly, Tucker flinched at his expression.
"Okay, that's creepy. You know you look a little like the guy from 'The Shining' right now? After he went crazy and started chasing people with an ax," said Tucker uneasily.
"A cute movie, but I've seen better," he said distractedly. "Though the ax chopping through the door scene was fun." He glanced back towards the woman and said, "Now, if you were smart, do you know what you would say right now?"
"I have nothing to say to a disgusting and foul thing like you," she snarled, tightening her grip on the necklace.
"No," said Betelgeuse before slipping into a perfect mimicry of Melinda's voice. "How could I have ever thought this was a good idea? I was an idiot and I want to surrender to the handsome, strong, and awe-inspiring Ghost With The Most. Here's the necklace and I give up on the exorcism plan." Falling back to his normal voice, he finished, "That's what you should be saying, but you're too crazy to realize it."
"Not a chance," she said, holding the knife in front of her. "My family collects many things. The necklace isn't the only object of power in my possession. Leave now, all of you. Let me finish what I started. Otherwise I'll use this blade to destroy the poltergeist and the ghost fake hero and then I'll perform the exorcism anyway."
Blinking in surprise, Tucker said, "She's threatening ghosts with a knife? Who does that? She can't do that. Can she do that?"
"Beej?" asked Lydia, her body tense and never taking her eyes off her aunt.
It was certainly an interesting question. There was definitely a lot of power present. Focusing on what was behind the circle was trickier, but Betelgeuse was good. The power radiating from the Gem of Osiris nearly hid it by overshadowing everything in comparison, but there was definitely a decent amount of weirdness coming from the knife. He couldn't identify what exactly it was meant to do. But the metaphysical junk he was picking up couldn't be denied. And it was safer to assume the worst when it came to items like that.
"Don't know if it can do what she says, but there is definitely some mumbo-jumbo in that blade," he said.
"I've destroyed ghosts with it before," said Melinda, glaring at him with something approaching a manic expression. "A single cut and they were gone. It was certainly faster than a simple exorcism. Do you want to test me?"
"I'd certainly love to try it," a familiar and rage-inducing voice said.
Melinda spun in surprise at the voice behind her, something that should be impossible. She caught sight of a figure forming out mist just as it wrenched the knife out of her hand. She managed a glimpse of fancy clothes and a plainer knife buried in his chest. But the brief view, her shock, and her confusion were all disrupted as the stranger wrapped an arm around her body to pin her limbs in place, pulled her close until her back rested against his stabbed chest, and the Twin-sided Blade of the Trapped Dead pressed against her throat.
"Oh yes, this is going quite nicely," the dangerous entity chuckled in her ear. "And here I was thinking that hiding in your van would simply give me another chance to have fun with that scrawny girl, but a blade to kill ghosts? That's just what I need for him. Thank you, my dear. Though you really should have paid more attention to what lurked in the back of your vehicle, even if I was mist at the time. Women, alone and vulnerable, should always be on guard. You can never tell what might happen."
Her skin felt like it was crawling at his touch and not just because he was clearly a ghost too. The way he spoke, it almost seemed like a physical substance, oily and foul. As much as she loathed the poltergeist in front of her, the ghost holding onto at knife's edge seemed somehow worse. He reminded her of stories of dark alleys, hungry gazes across a bar, and the monsters that can hide in the forms of ordinary-looking men. He was dangerous in a different way than the ghost who haunted Lydia.
But he was also clearly not an ally to anyone present. Most of the teenagers responded with various levels of anger and fear to his arrival, Lydia showing the greatest amounts of both. Danny's hands began to glow the same shade of green as the distant Ghost Shield and his posture shifted towards one more aggressive. Betelgeuse, however, plunged straight into pure bloodthirsty rage.
"Sanduleak," the poltergeist snarled, hands moving towards Lydia's shoulders as he loomed behind her. "I was hoping to get my hands on you before Juno did. Did you enjoy your nice little visit to Saturn? It wasn't much, but I was busy last time and couldn't focus on you properly. This time, you have my full and complete attention."
"Now, don't be like that, Betelgeuse," he said, the name producing a little more frustrated fury from his audience. "Right now, you can't reach me unless one of the living humans breaks the circle. And you've gone too soft for to risk that."
Melinda ignored the taunts between the specters as her mind raced. The entire plan was spiraling out of control. All her provisions and preparations did not take into account this type of standoff. The knife to her throat was the greatest concern. The ghost holding her hostage, Sanduleak, could kill her in an instant. Even with the power of the Gem of Osiris to help, she couldn't just exorcise him. She would be dead before it could take effect. It would be the same if she tried to banish or bind him. There was almost nothing she could do.
Ghosts ruin everything. Even her attempts at ridding the world of ghosts. It was clearly a universal truth.
"Me? Soft? Just wait until I get a proper grip on you. I'll show you 'soft,' creep," growled Betelgeuse, still focused on the other ghost.
"With this knife, something meant to kill ghosts with a single cut? I figure it'll do some grave damage even to you. It'll certainly even the playing field between us a little," he said, a smirk clear in his voice. "For once, someone might have a chance at destroying the infamous Ghost With The Most. Which might even be better than what I originally had in mind. Taking your Mortal Bride, doing whatever I wished to her for however long I desired, and leaving her mangled and lifeless body for you to find afterwards? Fun, but not nearly as satisfying as actually taking you out. But I could always take care of the scrawny girl later anyway."
Throughout the description, Betelgeuse grew more and more visibly furious. Which was honestly a little impressive considering how angry the poltergeist already looked. If she didn't know better, she would have though from how he reacted to the threats against Lydia that the heartless ghost actually cared about the girl. But ghosts weren't capable of that. It was always just a trick.
"So, he can't get out of the circle to attack us unless someone disrupts or breaks the thing," said Danny, his fists still glowing brightly. "But we can't get to him either to break the circle or attack him without getting into stabbing range the instant he's freed. What do we do?"
Betelgeuse, glaring murderously, suggested sharply, "How about we just sit back and let the hag and Sanduleak fight it out? We let them have their little cage-match and then we only have to handle the survivor."
The reactions of his companions to his idea seemed to be a mixture of surprise, disbelief, mild disgust, and a hint of vindictive agreement. Melinda suspected the teenagers didn't truly want to see her killed by the ghost, but the idea at least brought them pleasure. Did none of them understand that what she was after was for the best? Why did they see her as the enemy? Couldn't they understand it was the ghosts to blame? Ghosts like the ones they were allying themselves with?
"Well, if you want to discuss your brilliant strategies, I certainly don't mind," said Sanduleak. "I'll be perfectly happy to wait in here with this lovely lady and her interesting ghost-destroying tools. The knife is such a nice and useful blade, so I have to wonder what else is available for my new collection." There was a pause and Melinda felt the ghost shift his grip on her. "Perhaps I could find a use for the necklace, the one that even a fool could notice the amount of power coming from it."
Instantly the various voices shouted out in desperate horror as she felt the necklace rip from her neck, the breaking chain stinging sharply. Melinda heard a gasp of surprise and intense pleasure, the grip on her loosening. She pulled free, turning enough to face Sanduleak. The irises of his eyes were glowing an intense and bright shade of green, matching the color of the gem in his grip. She was certain his eyes weren't like that before. Then Sanduleak grinned and threw her back.
She hit the ground hard, rolling slightly. Melinda realized with horror that she'd scraped away the chalk lines of the circle and knocked over a few candles. She bit back the type of language that shouldn't be used in front of children. No circle meant there was nothing to keep any of the trio of ghosts trapped or blocked away. No necklace or knife meant she was depending on her willpower in order to do anything against them. She'd lost complete and utter control of the situation.
"Now this is a rush," said Sanduleak, sounding more unhinged than before. He laughed briefly before adding, "Let's try slicing open every single one of you."
Yeah, that's definitely not a good thing. Though I'm certain that at least a couple of you predicted something like this happening. Our protagonists are really going to have their work cut out for them with this.
Once again, go and buy my book. There's a link on my profile, but it is currently not working for some reason. So just go to Amazon and look up "Dead Man Walking" by A.R. Jones. You can't miss it. You can buy it for the Kindle or download the Kindle app thing for your smartphone. You can probably even download it on your iPad or other computer things. Just go out and support my original piece of fiction, please.
Remember, reviews are nice and I always appreciate them. I love hearing feedback on this and all stories I write. Thanks.