Chapter 15: Pre-Teen Bonding – Part 4

Danielle girted her teeth pettishly as she shoved past the other students that had congested around the edge of the dance floor. Though on any other occasion, she would be eyeing the food table voraciously, plotting what she was going to devour first, she hardly felt anything other than rage right now.

The scent of lavender lingered in her nose, nearly dragging her head to turn back to look at them, but she knew she had to stick to the plan, as much as she hated it, evident by the curling of her lip as her instinct to growl grew by the second.

Danielle ignored all the disgruntled looks, comments, and such, finally making it to the table which was thankfully empty of others. With a deep breath and a heavy sigh, Danielle leaned on the table, closing her eyes to focus. She needed to calm down, and she knew that, yet it was taking everything she had to not flip the table and cause a scene. Danielle could feel the wood starting to splinter under her grip as she pressed harder into it, prompting her to ease off and stand up straight once more.

Looking slightly up and to her right, Danielle looked to the empty space, saying, "I don't suppose you have more important things to be doing right now."

"Observing the dance and keeping a visual is my job. Especially when you two are involved," Tucker replied, though he remained invisible.

"Isn't that kinda hard to do if all you're doing is eating?" she asked, turning to look back to the stage as Kwan clicked a few buttons and the music began to slow. Kids began to leave the dance floor, though some stayed as well, forming into couples as they began their awkward slow dancing. "Did you know Kwan was a DJ?"

"Yeah, everyone in school knows. But the better question is how do you know Kwan?"

"I don't but Jake does. Apparently, he's dating Jake's sister now."

"Well that certainly would have been nice to know. I'll have to make a note to avoid Jake's house from now on," Tucker said before turning back to the dance floor and seeing the boy in question making his way toward the tables across the room. "Speaking of which, I can see him and Lily across the room."

"Ew, why are you using that dumb nickname for her now too?" Danielle said, crossing her arms.

"What's wrong with calling her Lily? That's what Jake calls her."

"Yeah, well Jake is a simpering idiot in her presence, so his opinion doesn't really mean much. He'd call her queen of the universe if she asked him to."

"If his opinion doesn't matter, then I guess he was worried about you for nothing," Tucker said mischievously as he turned away from her, though he was still invisible. Danielle's eyes grew wide as she whipped her head around to stare into the air where he was.

"What do you mean, worried about me? Why…would Jake be worried about me?" She asked, her heart thumping in her chest.

"He called us earlier and said he thought you were acting a bit weird, but you're just as grumpy as ever it seems so I guess he was worried for nothing."

"Oh haha. Screw you," she mumbled, turning away as her cheeks glowed pink. She was silent for a moment before saying, "Why was he worried? Did he think I was gonna lose control and attack his little girlfriend?"

"Actually, it was the opposite. He said you were acting weirdly nice, and-"

"Are you kidding me!?" She shouted, grabbing the attention of a few of the kids nearby, though they simply mumbled about her being weird and turned away. Danielle clenched her fists, barely resisting the urge to smash the table to pieces as her body shook violently. Her breathing became heavier with each exhale and Tucker could sense her power growing as he looked at her nervously.

"Whoa, easy, Ellie," he said, floating down to hover in front of her. "You're gonna freak out and lose control in front of everyone in here at this rate."

"That ungrateful asshole," she grumbled. "I'm only acting nice so he can have his stupid date with her!"

"I'm sure that's not what he meant, Ellie," Tucker said, trying to recover for his screw up.

"I can't believe I wasted everybody's time just so he could have his stupid fantasy date, and this is how he repays me. I knew I should have just gone and tracked her down myself."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Tucker asked, pausing as he tried to process if he heard right.

"This whole stupid operation, Tucker!" she growled between her teeth, her eyes glowing a fierce green as she stared directly at him. His body was surrounded by a blue glow made from his scent that she could easily see and track, leaving behind a trail that faded the further it traveled. "I never should have let his begging change my mind. I could have easily tracked the stupid thing all the way back to her, but I let myself get sucked into his stupid eyes, and-"

"Wait, his eyes? What about his eyes?" Tucker asked, before also adding, "Also, how is your sense of smell that powerful?"

"How should I know, Tucker?! There's just something about the stupid necklace! It's like I can smell something off about it. It has like its own ecto signature like all of you guys do, which I guess makes it easier for me to track. Maybe it's because it's a ghost artifact, I don't know!"

"That would make sense…" Tucker said as he thought for a moment before saying, "But you said something about his eyes? Jake said something about your eyes too before he got cut off."

"Oh, so now he's talking about my eyes?! I'm gonna ring his neck!" Danielle threatened, turning to start marching away, but stopping as Tucker slipped in front of her. Narrowing her eyes, she growled lowly, "Tucker. Move. Now."

The Blue Ranger swallowed, a sense of dread going down his spine as he asked, "Wait, you can see me?"

"Of course, I can see you. You're flowing right in front of me."

"Flowing? Ellie, I'm invisible."

"Cut the crap, Tucker, I'm not in the mood. You're right there, all smokey and misty. If you were invisible, I would be able to see through-," her words stopped in her throat as it all seemed to clink. Danielle felt her stomach drop as she looked at him, blinking to be sure before realizing that she could indeed see right through him. A hesitant hand came to rest on her cheek, just under her eyelid as sweat started to build on the back of her neck.

"This is crazy. You've never been able to see me while I'm invisible before," Tucker stated for a matter of fact.

"Tucker…why can I see you?" she asked, looking him right in the eyes. Tucker's eyes opened wider in shock and his pulse quickened, making her more nervous with each thump. Taking a step back, she asked, "Why are you giving me that look?"

"Ellie, I need you to stay calm and focus," he instructed, trying to remain calm at the vibrant, piercing pink glow from her irises. "Can you remember anything about when you looked into Jake's eyes?"

"Uh…I think I can…" she said, feeling herself almost starting to go into a panic. Closing her eyes, she paced back and forth, receiving a few confused looks from students who quickly made to put distance between them and her. She thought back to earlier, trying to think about anything that might have happened. "Back at home…I got this really weird feeling when Jake begged me not to leave and go."

"Weird how?"

"It's hard to explain. It was kinda like…if you were trying to leave, but then you suddenly feel like you're tied by a rope and can't…And it makes me angry thinking about it," she explained as a bubble of rage built at the thought of such restrictions.

"Is that the same feeling you have now?" Tucker asked, though he was sure he knew the answer.

"Not even close," she answered, her voice gaining a dark, deep echo that made Tucker's skin crawl. Looking at her hands, Danielle could feel a suddenly rush of rage as it travelled through her fingertips, one of the other, begging her to release it. Danielle could feel her palms itching, her ring, the switch waiting to be flipped, giving a low glow. "If I were any angrier, nothing he could say would stop me."

"That's what he was talking about…" Tucker said, turning to look over his shoulder and then back to Danielle. "Jake must have seen your eyes turning pink and called us."

"Wait, pink!?" Danielle asked in shocked, her voice changing back to normal. Turning on her heals, she quickly rushed over to the punch bowl, grabbing the ladle out and bringing the silver handle up to her face. She stared at her reflection, mesmerized by the flashy new coloring of her eyes that seemed to draw her further and further in..

"'Cuse us," Lily said as she and Jake finally managed to make their way off the dance floor. "Man, it gets really hot in there."

"Yeah, no kidding," he said with a chuckle, sneaking a glance back to the other side of the room where he could see Danielle as she leaned on the refreshments table. Even from across the room, his super powered eyes allowed Jake to read her body language, of which he was convinced was currently swearing at him, and understood she was not pleased.

Not that he expected her to be, but he couldn't help feeling guilty. She was only here because of his screw up, and she couldn't be having any less of a fun time. In fact, he was sure getting kicked into a car last week was more fun for her then this was.

Though, if he were being honest with himself, part of him was glad that she was in such a foul mood because it meant she was acting more like her normal self. The shimmering white he had seen in her eyes earlier flashed through his mind again, clenching Jake's stomach in anxiety. Whatever that was, he would need to talk to her about it, and maybe the rest of the team too. If there was something wrong with Ellie's powers or, heaven forbid, with her, he'd never forgive himself for not helping.

"Hey, you, ok?" Lily asked, setting Danielle's clutch on the table as they reached it. Her own sat nearby next to her shoes, the empty seat behind them holding her jacket.

"Yeah, I'm good, sorry. Just spacing to the music," he replied, shifting his focus to the DJ this time. Jake watched as Kwan looked around the room, pausing as the lights overhead shifted back and forth illuminating the younger boy for brief enough moments to be seen by the teen. Kwan gave him a thumbs up, to which Jake returned at first, before noticing the music's sudden change and the evil grin on Kwan's face.

The once bass heavy music was shuffled out, changing into a slow, steady rhythm. Jake could feel himself blushing, both from nervousness and embarrassment, and frowned back at the teenager with narrowed eyes, as well as flipping him off for good measure. So…Kwan was choosing to be an enemy instead of an ally? Jake would remember that, and he would get his payback.

"Ooh, a slow song," Lily said, a sly smile on her face as she asked, "Well? Aren't you gonna be a gentleman and ask me to dance?"

"Uh, yes, of course," he said, turning to face her. Swallowing his nerves, he steadied his voice, holding a hand out to her and asked, "Lily, would you like to dance?"

"Why, yes, I'd love to, Jake," she accepted, placing her left hand in his and allowing him to close the small gap a bit before placing both her hands on his shoulders while he held her waist. The two began to sway back and forth side to side to the music, though Jake was finding it incredibly hard to look at her. Lily giggled at this, and said, "Hey, my eyes are up here, Jake. Not down there with your shoes."

"Sorry, I was just worried about your feet," he said with an awkward laugh though he did look up and into her eyes, the purple shining as the lights bounced off them. "You don't have any shoe's on, and I don't wanna step on your feet."

"Sounds more like you're trying to tell me that you've got two left feet," she joked, though her bright smile dimmed a bit as she brought them to a stop. "Hey, so, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, of course," he said, a sudden nervousness hitting him as he wondered what she was about to ask.

"So... would you be upset if I gave you the necklace back?" she asked gently. Jake blinked at her, his brain taking a second to process what she just said. Was this actually happening? No way was he about to get this lucky.

"You don't want the necklace?" He asked in clarification.

"It's not that I don't want it. It's really amazing, but…it's too amazing of a gift and I just don't think I can accept it. I'm sorry, Jake."

"No, don't be!" he said quickly. "It's completely alright and you shouldn't feel bad. Yeah, I don't have any issue taking it back."

Lily smiled, hugging him in appreciation. "Thanks, Jake." The two broke apart and Lily moved past him back to her jacket, while Jake looked out across the room, resisting the urge to fist pump.

This was great! He didn't have to come off like a jerk by asking for the necklace back! This mission was as good as in the bag. Across the room, he could see the back of Danielle's head as she stood in front of the punch bowl, though it looked like she was just staring into the ladle.

"Uh oh," Lily said, drawing his attention as she began to frantically look in her jacket pockets, emptying them.

"Hey, what's wrong? What are you looking for?" Jake asked as he placed a hand on her shoulder. He could feel her shaking, and he was suddenly very worried about her.

"The necklace…" she said, looking at him. "I can't find the necklace! It's gone!"

So much for this being in the bag.

The world grew dim around as her vision centered only on the mirrored imagine before her. The ladle gave a soft pink glow as Danielle suddenly lost any sense of sound around her. The deafening was startling at first, but she quickly recalled this same feeling back when their Spirits first introduced themselves and gave them their powers.

Was this what that was, again? Was Fauna trying to contact her? Was she getting sick? Was this her body rejecting the power all of a sudden? She looked to her ring, but it didn't seem to be glowing or activating like it had before.

"Fauna? Is that you?" She called out while lowering the ladle in her hand. Her voice travelled into the void, though there was no response. No giggle, no flashy white cloak. Nothing. Danielle was starting to feel uneasy about this, crying out, "Are you there…? Is…anyone, there?"

A low chuckle echoed around her, sending her head darting around.

"Tucker?" Danielle asked.

"Guess again," a low, haughty voice said, giving another low chuckle that sent a shiver up Danielle's spine.

"Hello?"She called out but received no answer this time. The hairs on the back of her neck and arms started to stand, and she wasn't sure it if was her animal instincts or her own human ones, but she knew something wasn't right about this place.

"ELLIE!" a voice shouted, shaking her as music suddenly flooded her hearing once more, followed by a loud clang that startled her, sending her heartrate shooting up instantly.

Danielle shrieked as she stumbled back, tripping as she lost her balance. Her back crash into the wall, a throb of pain hitting her, though it went unnoticed as she looked around frantically, gasping in air while she took in the world around her.

"Tu-Tucker?" she asked, looking around until she saw his smokey form looking at her in concern. "Is that you? Where am I right now?"

"You're at the dance. You started staring into your own reflection, and when you didn't respond to your name, I started shaking you," he explained. "You were in a trance of some kinda while you were- "

"Did you hear it?" she asked, cutting him off. Tucker looked at her, confused.

"Hear what?"

"The voice! You didn't hear the voice?" she asked, her pink eyes darting around frantically as she turned around to look for it. "It was this really low voice, and I don't know what it was, but something about it is making skin crawl."

Tucker paused, unsure of what to think. Did she not remember what happened? How she had just spoken to him like a possessed demon from the pits of hell? Something was definitely not right, but if he did this wrong, it would only get worse. He took a deep breath, thinking carefully on how to approach this and not freak her out more.

"Ellie, that was your voice," Tucker said, grabbing her shoulder to steady her. He could feel her jerk under his grip for a second before relaxing, no doubt it being a result of her nerves being so on edge. "I don't know what's going on or where it came from, but we need to get you out of here and somewhere safer where we can figure this out."

"Does that mean you know what's wrong with me?" she asked tensely, not sure she could handle him saying no.

"I think so, but to be sure, we're gonna need Jake for this. I think he's the keyyyyy…." He said, his voice drifting at the end into a low ringing in her ears.

"But… but what about… the necklace?" she asked, shaking her head to rid it of the ringing, only for it to be replaced by the beating of her heart as it pumped against her chest. Its rapid pace made her skin feel hot as more and more blood rushed through her body to her already over stimulated senses.

"We'll call him and give him a heads up. He'll have to meet us after he grabs it," Tucker said, preparing to turn her intangible with him to escape through the wall, when he felt his hold on her vanish. Looking to her, Tucker said, "Come on, Ellie, we need to get you out of here."

"I… I can't leave Jake to do this alone…" she said, standing up right and closing her eyes as she tried to focus on blocking out the extra noises, smells and tingling of her skin. "We can't risk losing the necklace again…or of it activating again. It's too dangerous."

"Well, what do you have in mind, then?" Tucker asked her, looking into the distance where he could see Jake and Lily standing together, talking about something. His visor scanned the two, confirming his suspicion that they were holding each other, and Tucker was becoming even less sure that letting her stay was a good idea.

Danielle opened her eyes, the world spinning as it shook from side to side. What was her plan? she asked herself. Everything was getting to be too much with the room beginning to feel more and more confined, prompting Danielle to say-

"Air…"

"Air?" Tucker asked, confused as he looked up to where she had been looking as well. His eyes feel upon the open doors leading to the outside and understood what she meant. "Air…as in, outside. We need to get you outside."

"I'm not letting that necklace go again," she said, preparing to start toward Jake and Lily, but stopped as Tucker said,

"Don't worry about the necklace right now. Just…get Jake and meet outside. I'll get Danny and Sam." Tucker turned and prepared to fly through the roof, but stopped, looking back to say, "Please, be careful, Ellie. If it starts getting any worse, make sure you get out of here, no matter what."

Danielle didn't reply, her eyes focused as the world around her grew grey and the scents of the people and things around her grew more and more muted. Her eyes focused, finding the two trails easily, almost too easily, leading across the room.

The first was green, shining a bright color as it was infused with ecto-energy, while the other, though not as bright, was purple, infused with small blue dots. That scent, the one she had come to recognize as Lilith's, was coated in the scent of lavender, and Danielle could hear a rumble in the back of her mind but ignored it as she took step after step.

"I can do this…" She mumbled to herself, beginning to wade her way through the crowd with careful strain, pink eyes glowing like glowsticks.

"Look, "I Can Do This" is simply the best Dumpty Humpty single, Sam, and that's just a fact," Danny declared as he gazed at the pond from his spot on the edge of the roof. The lights from around the area reflected off the surface in a prefect image, save for the few times the water ripped. Turning toward the woods, he added, "It easily takes the cake over every other song on "Into the Frying Pan"."

"Oh, for the love of- you are so wrong, it's not even funny," She replied into her Phantom Phones, rolling her eyes before looking toward his figure at the top of the building. Her left leg dangled, swinging back and forth as she said, "We've been over this, Danny. Look it up again, and you will literally see that "Egghead's Roar!" is credited and was voted on as the best. You're just mad that you lost and that you had to play me and Tucker both twenty bucks each."

"Which I'm still not convinced you two didn't rig that somehow," he said with narrowed eyes in her general direction as she gave a heartly laugh on the other side of his headphones. "Be that as it may, it's still not true because it's not musically the best single. "I Can Do This" had way better sound. The only reason "Egghead's Roar!" did better was because everyone thought they were breaking up and because they had Amber Flame on it."

"Speaking of which, remember when Tuck heard about it and spent days panicking," she said, her laughter getting louder as Danny joined in.

"Yeah, and the only way to convince him was to get Jake to-"

"Danny!" Tucker shouted as her phased through the roof.

"Jeez, relax Tuck, it was just a joke. We promised we'd stop bringing it up…in like another month," Danny said, trying not to start laughing again as he turned to face his friend.

"Wait, are you guys talking about the Dumpty Humpty thing again," The Blue Ranger asked, annoyed and suspicious before snapping backing to the task at hand. "Nevermind! We need to change plans."

"What's going on?" Sam asked as a sense of worry began to grow in her stomach. Jumping down from the tree, she landed silently on the ground and looked toward the banquet hall. "Is something wrong with squirts?"

"It's Ellie. Whatever he saw in her eyes, Jake was right when he called about her earlier."

"What do you mean?" Danny asked, rushing up to his friend. "What's wrong with her?"

"Ellie's losing control of herself, but I have no idea what the problem is or what could be causing it," Tucker said, stressed as he looked over his data in his PDA. "Her powers have to be growing at an exponential rate for her to showing these signs already."

"Well, what can we do to stop it?" the white haired boy asked, trying not to freak out.

"She's grabbing Jake and –" Tucker was cut short as a loud roar could be heard, the building rumbling under their feet.

Sam cried out in surprise as she held on to her tree to keep from falling to the earth below.

"Ok, that DEFINITELY can't be good!" She said as she looked toward the building again to see people beginning to pour out of the exits and surrounding the building. "What's going on over there?"

Before Danny or Tucker could reply, the three teens heard the sounds of Jake's ringtone, before his voice could be heard, though barely over the alarms and what sounded like roaring in the background.

"Guys, can you hear me?!" Jake shouted.

"We hear you; Jake, what the hell is happening down there?" Danny asked as he and Tucker ascended higher into the sky for a better view. "Where's Ellie? Is she ok?"

"Ran into a bit of a problem!" the Green Ranger answered, pausing as he grunted. The sounds of a crash echoed in the background before he continued, "We found the necklace, but it's already possessing someone, and I could really use some back up!" Another loud crash came as Jake yelled and his line went dead.

"Jake! Come in!" Danny cried out. Receiving no response, he turned to Tucker and said, "Come on, we're gonna back him up. Sam, you stay put and keep eyes on the building in case anything else happens."

"Understood," she affirmed.

"And if you see any sign of Ellie, report back ASAP," he finished, turning to Tucker and nodding his head. "Divide and conquer. We split up and radio in if we find anyone."

Both Rangers turned intangible and slipped through the roof, beginning their search for their two youngest members.

To Be Continued…