Chapter 12: Pre-Teen Bonding – Part 1
The Amity Skate Park had always been one of Danielle's favorite hangout spots ever since she had picked up her brother's board when he gave up trying it. She had only been 8 when she first tried, but by some miracle, she had the perfect balance for it. Her mother praised her for it, attributing it to the gymnastic classes they had signed her up for when she was younger. Danielle agreed, remembering all the fun she used to have in those classes, and didn't hesitate to rub it in her brothers face that she was better than him.
Though her taunting had earned her numerous Indian Burns and the mysterious disappearance of more than a few her of toys, Danielle knew for a fact that it was going to forever be one of her favorite hobbies. Not long after, she got Jake to try it too, and as they got older, this love for skating only bloomed. If people thought she picked it up fast, then with Jake, it was instantaneous, almost instinctual.
Danielle had no idea how, but with Jake, it was like breathing. He had learned how to skate at Danielle's suggestion to help him deal with what happened with his parents, and before she knew it he was besting her in only a few months, shocking her and everyone else that knew him. When asked about it, Jake could only boast, saying that his amazing skill came from his lack of limits.
"When you're as great as I am, you don't know the meaning of the word "Limits". I do so good because I know that I don't have any limits. That's why they call me Youngblood." Jake used to say. Danielle, against her better judgement, couldn't help but praise her best friend for his skills, something she did even to this day. Though his ego didn't need any extra boosting.
But what could she say? She had a soft spot for her best friend.
"Come on, Jake! We've got to hurry if we actually wanna have any time to skate today," Danielle said as she finished adjusting her white elbow and knee pads before finally looking up to her friend as he stood in his green helmet and pads. "You ready?"
"You know it," He replied with a grin before taking off his green sweatband from his left wrist.
"I've been meaning to ask, why do you only have one sweatband?" she asked before also noticing, "And where's your board?"
"It's right here," Jake said as he held the sweatband in his palm.
Confused, Danielle said, "Is it invisible or something? Because I don't see anything other than your sweat-"She stopped short as the band began to glow before exploding in a quick flash of light, changing into a green skateboard with black wheels. Blinking away her disbelief, Danielle could only smirk and shake her head. "Of course. Power Putty so you don't have to carry it around. I've gotta admit, that was actually pretty smart of you."
"Hey, when you're as great as me, these things just come naturally," he shrugged as he lowered the board to hold to his side.
"I'm surprised that being a showoff like that doesn't drain you more of your power."
"Oh please, like you're one to talk, little miss "animal reflexes," he shot back with an eye roll. "Aren't you the one who always just wants to eat and nap?"
"Hey, that's different," she said, a blush of embarrassment coming to her face. "You know I can't turn those off."
"The only difference is that I've been cool enough not to call you out on it. And, how do you know I can't this off?"
"Because you'd be complaining more than you usually do, and you already complain enough as it is," she said, her embarrassment fading as her desire for control and dominance over the conversation started to raise again. "And you've got to be joking because all you guys do is make cracks about me acting like an animal. Especially you!"
"Don't hate the Ranger, hate the game," he taunted.
"Oh, eww. And now you're stealing cheesy one-liners from Tucker?"
"Whatever. I'm just saying, it's pretty obvious that I'm just better then you at that too," he said, narrowing his eyes as she glared at him, smirk all over his face. "Yeah, that's right. Give me the look."
"Oh, really now?" She asked, a small quirk of her mouth showing that she was onboard for what he was getting at. "Is that a fact?"
"Oh, it's a fact."
"Well, you wanna bet on it then?"
"You know I do."
"Then name your game, Jamerson."
"Alright, Fenton. We're gonna play HORSE. 3 rounds, first to two, wins. Loser has to pay for lunch, including an extra thick smoothie."
"All you can eat?"
"All you can eat."
"Well, someone's certainly feeling cocky," she teased. "You sure you wanna do this? I'd feel bad and hate it if blew your whole allowance."
"Yeah, keep thinking that. Oh, and ladies get to go first."
"Sorry but I've never been much of a lady, so your charity isn't needed," she said, picking up her board to walk to the half pipe. "And besides, if you're really better, then you should be able to shake me with no problem."
"Have it your way. Alright, first, we're starting on the half pipe, and…" Jake began to explain though trailed of as his gaze turned, following something.
Confused as to why he had suddenly stopped talking, Danielle followed his gaze, and instantly felt her mood sour as she noticed someone else making her way toward them.
It was a girl, roughly the same age as them, who was also dressed in pads and a helmet that had caught his eye. As she skated up to them, skidding to a stop, she smiled at them, which only seemed to bother Danielle more. Whether it was the overpowering smell of the lavender perfume she wore, or the fact that she felt small because even without her skates, she was 3 inches taller than Danielle (thus making her the same height as Jake), all Danielle knew was that she didn't like her.
Her hair was a deep black, the same shade as Danielle's, though unlike Danielle, hers was cut short and reached just below her pierced earlobes which currently housed two purple studs. The studs stood out against her pale skin as well as matched her eyes and the purple streak that went from the front of her side swept bangs to the back edges.
Her complexion was fair, and her face was rounded, much like Danielle's. In fact, she and Danielle seemed to share many features, which Danielle hated to admit but couldn't avoid given that people often asked if the two were related. The young Ranger would heatedly deny this and did not appreciate when the others would make fun of her for it.
If there was one thing her friends understood, it was that Danielle did not like Lilith Nefton.
"Hey Dani! Hey Jake," she greeted them pleasantly. Danielle scowled at her as the sweet flowery scent of artificial lavender mixed with her natural scent assaulted her heightened animal sense. Danielle had come to hate the smell as she now associated it with Lilth, and she could no longer smell it without triggering her instincts to look for the girl.
"Hello, Lilith," Danielle replied, her mood ruined. This didn't seem to bother the other girl who replied with a smirk.
"Dani, I already told you that you don't have to be so formal and use my full name. Just call me Lily." Turning, she noticed that Jake had yet to say a word, looking like he was statue. "Is he ok?"
No because he's a moron. Danielle thought to herself as Jake seemed to snap out of it and a goofy nervous smile came to his face.
"I'm fine! Better then fine! I'm great! We're great! Totally, and utterly great!" Jake replied enthusiastically, moving past Danielle to stand in front of Lily. "So…Lily…what are you doing here?"
"She obviously came to skate, idiot," Danielle said with a roll of her eyes though her snide comment seemed to have gone unnoticed by him.
"I come here all the time to rollerblade," Lily said, looking down to show off what appeared to be a new pair of skates. "I just got this new pair and really wanted to break them in."
"Wow, that's cool. You're cool. Really cool," Jake rambled with a dopey look on his face. Danielle once again rolled her eyes before stepping forward and grabbing his arm. Danielle didn't know if she was saving him from his own embarrassment or if she was saving herself the irritation, but she didn't care which so long as she had a reason to leave.
"Well, this has been fun and all, Lilith, but we should really get going. We'll see you at school," Danielle said, preparing to drag Jake away with her.
"Really? But you guys just got here, didn't you? I was hoping we could all hang out for a bit. Everyone in school talks about how good of skaters you both are, and I wanted to see for myself."
"We are! Though, I'm the best skater," Jake said boastfully as he pulled away from Danielle. A small twinge of hurt shot through her, though she said nothing. "I'm the king of the skate park, after all. The captivatingly amazing Youngblood."
"Well, your highness, I'd be humbled if you and the Queen over there show me just how great you are," Lily said, looking over his shoulder to Danielle.
"I'll pass," Danielle rejected, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Oh, come on, Dani," Jake turned, his eyes begging for her to comply. As she stared into his eyes, a pulse beat through her, a strange sensation she'd never felt before, though it was gone as quick as it came. Blinking, she narrowed her eyes, and Jake knew it was a lost cause. "Fine. Be that way and don't defend your crown as Queen of the skate park," he said, turning nodding to Lily with a smile before walking up the stairs to the half-pipe. Lily looked to Danielle with an apologetic look before following behind Jake.
"That was kinda mean, don't you think? I don't wanna take her title," Lily whispered to him as they reached the top.
"Nah, Dani's tougher than that. And the whole point is to get her mad," Jake whispered back as he set his board down. "Dani hates losing, and she especially hates losing to me when I taunt her. Give it a few minutes, and I'm certain she'll be rolling past us in the bowl." Without another thought, Jake dropped down the slope, preparing to put on a show.
From the ground, Danielle watched the two begin skating, a stunned look on her face, though it quickly morphed into one of anger as she narrowed her eyes in an intense glare. Danielle could feel her fangs extending as a deep, jungle-like growl began to brew in the back of her throat and her irises slowly faded from blue to a light pink.
As the hue glazed over them, which seemed she didn't notice, her mind could only think angrily about the other girl.
How dare she!? Danielle thought, her body beginning to shake as every impulse in her seemed to set on fire, demanding to be let loose on Lilith. I'm the Queen around here, and she's gonna learn that the hard way. She thinks she can come in on my territory, bat her skanky little doe eyes, and take what's mine? Maybe I should spill her blood like the prey she is for thinking she could take Jake from –
Danielle felt her body shake before a startled blue swipe came from her mouth. Blinking, she grumbled as she lifted a hand to her head, noticing her fangs had receded while her eyes returned to normal.
"What the hell was that?" Danielle mumbled to herself. "That ghost that set off my sense must have been making my instinct go wilder then normal. I wonder if that means it's an animal?" Looking around and seeing no one too close to notice, Danielle pointed her nose to the air, turning in various directions before finally catching a scent. "There you are…the back of the skating park. Nobody usually goes there anymore. Which means it's a better battleground then here."
Her ring began to pulse with fury, stirring the animal inside her once more, and Danielle paused to take a few deep breaths. She had to remain calm, at least until she could find somewhere to Morph where no one would see her. Turning to look over her shoulder, she caught a quick glance at Jake, and prepared to call out to him, when she felt her voice cut off.
A sizable crowd had gathered around the bowl he and Lilith were in, but even through that, Danielle could see the smile on his face.
"I guess he hasn't noticed yet," she said quietly, a small bubble of sadness growing in her stomach. Biting her lip, Danielle turned away and ran toward the abandoned bathrooms just before the exit to the park that would lead to a forest trail. "As long as everyone's attention is on him and…Lilith…no one will get in the way while I'm fighting. Besides, this was supposed to be our day off, so at least one of us should enjoy it, right? I'm sure this ghost will be no big deal, and it's better this way."
As she finished, she realized that she had been talking to a broken mirror, the fractured reflections mouthing the words back at her. With a defeated sign, she backed away from the broken sink and got into her morphing stance.
"I better go ghost and get this over with," she said, bring her ring up. As the diamond shattered, the shards lit up and spun around her hand, creating the ring. As she performed the motions, she cried out the morphing sequence. "Ancient Spirit, Hear My Call, ARISE!"
As the light engulfed her and transformed her into her Ranger form, Danielle shot off, turning intangible to slip through the wall, before following the scent and letting her animal instincts begin to guide her.
This had to be one of the best days of Jake's life.
Not only had they gotten the day off any extra Ranger duties, but he was also getting to hang out with Lily! What more could he ask for then to get to spend time with his crush?
I so owe Sam for convincing Danny to give us the day off, Jake thought to himself as he made his way out of the bowl. I feel like the king of the world right now!
Lily rolled out, coming to a stop next to him with a huge smile on her face.
"Well, you certainly know to draw a crowd with all that showing off, 'Youngblood'," she said gasping in large gulps of air to catch her breath. "Looks like all the talk wasn't for nothing. You are really good."
"What can I say? I'm just that great," he replied, not even noticing the puffs of blue coming from his mouth. "But you were pretty great out there yourself. Where did you learn to skate like that?"
"My aunt, actually. She used to be a skater and started teaching me when I was little."
"Wow! That's seriously cool. I had to learn on my own. After what happened with my parents, my older sisters kept trying to find a hobby for me to get into," he explained as the memory of those first few months after and all the practicing he used to do after Danielle convinced him to just try it once. "In fact, I don't think I would have ever even tried to skate if it wasn't for Dani."
"Speaking of which, where is she? I don't see her anywhere," Lily said, looking around the crowd that was still nearby. "You think she left? She didn't look very happy."
"That doesn't sound like her…" Jake said, now also noticing her missing. Pulling out his phone, he saw that he had no missed calls or text messages. "And she hasn't sent me anything or tried to call."
"You don't think something happened to her, do you?" Lily asked in concern.
Jake could feel his anxiousness grow at that question because it was more than possible and likely that something DID happen to her. But he couldn't tell Lily that.
Did a ghost get her? That would be the only reason she would bail like that, right? Jake asked himself. Even when she's super pissed, she wouldn't just leave without saying something and-
His thoughts were cut short as a light gasp escaped his mouth, and the blue wisp floated into his vision. The urge to smack himself and facepalm was strong as Jake realized that he had been ignoring his sense. A pulse from his ring went up his arm and shook his body from the inside and he knew that meant the ghost was close and that he would need to get Lily out of here before things got ugly.
A soft hand on his shoulder brought his attention back to her. Lily looked at him, squeezing his shoulder lightly.
"I'm sure she's ok, but we should probably look for her and-"
A loud roar erupted through the air, startling everyone in the area, before an explosion went off in the distance and vibrated through the ground. A large creature shot out of the woods, taking to the sky for a moment before coming back down toward the skate park. As the creature grew closer, a white streak circled around it with small green balls that repeatedly crashed into and angered the beast.
The creature was covered in light blue scales while the fins on its back, head and the horns on its head glowed green. It's eyes shined red as it looked around for the annoying white blur, but instantly locked onto the panicking humans below it. With a devastating crash, the beast landed, destroying the various structures, before it quickly followed up with a stream of green fire.
"What the hell!?" Jake shouted as the two looked up in fright.
"Is that a DRAGON!?" Lily shouted in fear before feeling Jake grab her hand and begin to run, pulling her behind him and he tried to use his board to skate away.
This could not get any worse! Jake thought to himself. I can't morph with Lily around, and there's no way I can fight this thing as I am. I've gotta find somewhere to ditch Lily, but I gotta be sure it's safe. If anything happens to her, I'll never forgive myself.
A sharp claw dropped dead in their path, bringing them to a halt. The two preteens looked up at the dragon as it roared, bringing up the second claw and preparing to slam it onto them. Jake grimaced as he cursed this stupid thing to hell for forcing his hand, while Lily clutched his left arm in fright as she shook in fear.
The paw dropped fast, leaving Jake next to no time to spin and kneel, pulling Lily down with him and attempting to grab his board.
If I can change my putty board into a shield… Jake thought as he reached out for it, his heart in his throat as Lily screamed in panic, anticipating death.
A loud crash above them, brought both of their attentions upward once more, and both gasped in shock at the White Ranger as she strained to hold the paw up and away from them, a growl of anger and frustration escaping her lips. Her eyes glowed a fierce green while her fanged teeth grit in concentration, leaving her target and drifting down to the two of them.
Jake gulped as he stared into them, and the look said it all. Danielle. Was. Pissed. And she wasn't just regular pissed; she was predator pissed. At him.
Well, I'm as good as dead, Jake thought while Lily looked on in awe at the glowing girl.
"Get. Out. Of. Here. Now!" she grunted through her teeth before looking back up at the paw. As the wheels on her Beast Bracelets began to spin, she cried out, "Strength of the Elephant!", and her body was suddenly flooded with power. Giving another grunt, the young hero pushed her strength upward, knocking the dragon off balance before flying up and punching it in the face, sending it tumbling backwards.
As the dragon's attention had left them, the two preteens got up, Jake being sure to grab his board, and made their way toward cover.
"We need to get outta here," Jake said as they made their way toward the gathering crowd near the exit.
"I can't believe we were just saved by the White Ranger. You think she'll be able to stop that thing?" Lily asked.
"Not alone…" Jake said, slowing to a stop and looking back over his shoulder at her. Lily did the same, though her eyes were trained on him.
"Jake, we can't just stand here. We need to get going and head out of here."
"I need to find Dani. She might still be in here somewhere."
"Are you insane? You can't go back out there!" Lily protested. "I know you're worried about her, but this place just got a lot more dangerous and I'm sure Dani's made it out of here already."
"She might be, but if she's not, the cops and paramedics won't let me back in once they get here. You go out there, look for her and wait for me. I'll come find you as soon as I can."
Lily paused, looking back to the exit before turning to him again.
"You're sure about this?" She asked.
"Of course. I am the amazing Youngblood after all," he boasted.
"Just make sure you make it back in one piece, you got it?" She threatened before skating off toward the exit. Jake wasted no time and ran back, disappearing into a cloud of dust that had kicked up, and finding his way to the destroyed bathrooms, one side still partly intact. Heading inside, he quickly checked that there was no one else there, and once sure, sighed and changed his board back into a wristband, and slid it over her left wrist. "Can't wait to get chewed out for this one. I'm Goin' Ghost!" Jake quickly brought his hand up and posed, ready to morph. As the ring shattered and the energy swirled around his open palm, he swept his hand out, swiftly throwing it into the air and shouting, "Ancient Spirit, Hear My Call, Arise!"
His body was instantly swallowed in green light, changing him into his Ranger form, and as the transformation finished, Jake took off, making his way toward the battle site. He quickly floated over to Danielle as she rested high in the sky, still blasting the dragon as it roared at her in pain and anger and prepared to announce his presence before being cut off.
"So, nice of you to finally find some time in your busy schedule to do your job, Jacob," the white clad ranger said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Ok, ok, I know, I messed up. I'm sorry, alright? So, can we just not do this right now, and bag this thing so we can go home?" Jake asked, changing his Power Putty into a minigun. Grabbing onto it with both hands, he took aim and began charging it, causing the barrels to begin to glow with green ecto-energy.
"Oh, so sorry to have to inconvenience you," Danielle replied nastily as she stopped shooting and turned to him. "Did me fighting a dragon get in the way of you and wannabe girlfriend down there?"
"You REALLY wanna do this right now, Danielle?" Jake shouted back, taking his eyes off the dragon ghost as well.
"Yes, I do, in fact, want to do this right now, Jacob, because if I don't, I will not be held responsible for my actions, should I decide that your life wasn't actually worth saving back there because unlike you, I'm actually a good friend!"
"Well, if you were a really good friend, you wouldn't keep being a jerk to Lily all the time, especially since you know how I feel about her," Jake replied. The two glared at each other, forgetting about the dragon.
"Oh, don't even go there, because if we're keeping score, you owe me big time, pal! You should be groveling at my feet right now because not only have I not called the others and told them about this so they can chew you out, but I also currently am taking out all my anger on that thing, instead of you!
"So, you wanna talk about a good friend, Jacob? How's about the fact that I'm such a good friend, I literally stopped you from blowing both our biggest secret to your stupid crush?" she shouted bringing an embarrassed look to his face. "Yeah, that's right, buddy. I saw you preparing to morph right in front of her and still went out of the way to save both your asses."
"Ok, fine! Let's just bag this thing, and when we're done, I'll treat you to all the burgers you can stuff yourself with, deal?" Jake asked in exasperation, not bothering to wait for a response as he turned back, only to see the dragon's paws as they slammed around the to, grabbing them both in its grip. The ghostly creature brought the two down to eye level with it before roaring at them.
The smell of its breath was disgusting as it blew their hair back, however the two remained silent for a moment. One out of anger, the other out of nervousness. Jake looked to Danielle, a very hard look on her face as she refused to look at him.
"Ok…this one…it might really be my bad," he said.
"YOU THINK SO!?" She shouted back, eyes flashing pink for a moment before changing back to green.
"You think so?" Danny asked, his legs crossed as he sat on one end of the couch. Sam occupied the other, her knees pulled up to her chest, while Tucker sat on the floor in front of them holding his PDA out and projecting something from it. "So, you're saying that Ellie's impulses aren't really her own impulses?"
"Well, yes and no," Tucker replied as he pulled up an image of Danielle that split into two. "So, there are three parts of a person's mind that really makes up who they are. There's the Ego, Superego and the ID. Ellie, control's the Ego because that's, to an extent, where her self-esteem comes from. The Superego is the ethical component of her personality, and this is where all her morals are from. The last part is the ID, which is where the impulses come from, and this is where her instincts come from."
"Well, that's nothing new, right?" Sam asked. "I mean, no offense, but Ellie's never had the best impulse control."
"You're not wrong, but there's just been something going on with her lately," Danny said. "She's almost blown our secret to Jazz like a dozen times last week. She's nearly lost control and attacked her. And it's not just me noticing it either. Jazz asked me the other day if I thought Ellie was acting weird, and when I asked her what she meant, she said she just seems "more wild then normal"."
"Wait, really? It's gotten that bad?"
"Yeah. I had to lie and tell Jazz that it might just be her missing Mom and Dad. I think she bought it but not sure how long that excuse will work, especially since she's caught her tossing and turning in her sleep. On top of that, remember how she tried to challenge me to be leader after we got into it during training?"
"Ok, point taken. I'm assuming that's why you agreed to the day off today and why Tucker is showing us this?"
"Correct and correct," Tucker said. "I found something, but it'll take more digging in the archives to find the full information. Ellie's spirit is the spirit of animals, which means that her ID is all animal instincts now. The problem is that her ID is taking over."
"Her ID is taking over? What do you mean?"
"What I mean is the more she uses her powers, the more untamed she's becoming," Tucker said as he looked from one friend to the other. "Her animal instincts are in combat with her human morality and rationale."
"So, you're saying that Ellie needs to learn how to find a balance to properly control both sides of her, because if not, she's going to constantly be in a battle with herself just to stay in control?" Danny asked, receiving a nod. "But who knows how long that could take?"
"Who knows is right. It could take a few days; it could take years. It all depends on her."
"I don't think we have that kinda time," Sam said. "Is there anything we can do to help or make this easier?"
"I don't know if there's a way to help her learn control, but there is a back-up plan to stop her if she does lose control. But she's not gonna like it."
"What is it?"
"To put it plainly, someone has to be her "handler"" Tucker said, using air quotes. "And that someone is Jake."
"Um, come again?" Danny asked, not sure he heard properly.
"I don't know all the details and logistics, but for whatever reason, Jake's spirit has the ability to control Danielle's impulses."
"Jake? HE's able to control her? I'm sorry, what?" Sam asked incredulously. "He's literally the one holding out the matchstick to light her fuse."
"Yeah, I know. I didn't believe it either but the data's there, somewhere in the archive. I have to find the rest to really understand it, but it looks like he's our only hope."
"Which means we're absolutely doomed," Sam declared.
"You sure there's no other way, Tuck?" Danny asked.
"No, not really. Only other info I've got at the moment is that its either Jake's spirit or her "mate" to put it lightly. So unless you want your 12 year old sister to start dating-"
"And we can stop that line of thinking right there."
"Awe, look at big brother Danny, getting all over-protective of his baby sister," Sam joked as she leaned forward and pinched his cheek. Danny smacked her hand a way playfully, rolling his eyes, before the three turned to the front door as it slammed open.
Danielle marched into the house, her feet stomping angrily as she passed the three, not even giving them a glance as she made way toward the kitchen. Various leaves and twigs fell to the ground behind her, and her clothes were covered in mud and dirt, leaving a small trail behind. Jake, who was in a similar state, followed, closing the door behind him and standing in front of the other with a nervous look on his face as various not pleasant sounds came from the kitchen.
"Jeez, what happened to you two? You look like you flew off a half pipe and tumbled through a mud pit into a bunch of bushes," Sam said, receiving a growl from the kitchen as Danielle rummaged through the cabinets. "Well, someone's not in a good mood I see."
"Screw you!" Danielle shouted at her before the sound of glass breaking could be heard. The others turned to Jake in confusion as a nervous smile came to his face.
"Yeah, so, funny story. We…kinda, sort of, had a bit of ghost trouble earlier," he said.
"What?! Jake, why didn't you call us?" Danny asked. "Are you two ok? Were you able to catch it?"
"Not exactly. See, the thing about it, is the ghost was actually a human. We don't exactly know how, but what we do know is she was wearing this gold necklace that turned her into a dragon, and-"
"A dragon!?" The three shouted in shock.
"Yes! a very large, scaley, fire breathing dragon. We were fighting it, and we were having a bit of trouble, but then we tried to use the necklace around its neck to rein it in like a horse. Well, the dragon didn't like that, and so basically body slammed us into the ground. Then it tried to fly away, but we were able to hold on to the necklace and it snapped of, and she turned back into a human."
"That necklace sounds a lot like our rings. You think it could be another Ranger artifact?" Danny asked the others.
"I mean, maybe? I don't think Clockwork ever ruled out the possibility that more artifacts could exist?" Sam said, unsure either.
"Maybe I can pull up some info in the archives," Tucker said before turning back to Jake. "Hand it over so I can give it a scan and take a look."
"Yeah…so about that-" Jake paused in his explanation as Danielled walked back into the living room, downing a cold glass of water. Walking past him, she stopped in the center of the room, and everyone's eyes were on her as a thick tension set in. Jake could feel his heart racing as she finished drinking and held in the empty glass in her hand, before he asked, " E-Ellie?"
The sound of her name leaving his lips was all it took for her to lose what little cool she was holding on to as her hand began to glow and shake gripping the glass as hard as possible before it exploded into tiny shard that crashed to the floor. Her fist was clenched tight, and as Danielle felt the fury of her anger travel the rest of her body, she whipped around to face him and let out a mighty roar.
Her fangs had elongated once more, gleaming in the light while her eyes were shining intensely green, causing Jake to take a step back in fright as he felt his body shaking. Whether it was her roar shaking the house or his own body shaking in fright, all Jake could say was, "Oh God…"
"HOW DARE YOU!" Danielle shrieked as she stopped roaring but kept her eyes trained on him like prey caught in a corner. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"
"Not good!" Sam shouted as the three jumped into action. Calling up her weapon, she quickly cracked her whip and wrapped it around Danielle, attempting to put her back, but instantly felt the resistance as she lurched forward in a pounce. Tucker quickly wrapped his arms around her waist, using his strength as well to try to keep them both in place while Danny hopped over the couch and stood in front of Jake, making himself a barrier between the two.
"Ellie, calm down!" Danny said. "What happened? Whats going on?"
"That stupid, ungrateful, immature, big-headed idiot gave the necklace away to that stupid tramp, Lilith!"
"You what!?" Danny turned to look at him as a guilty, nervous laugh came from him.
To be continued…