This is truly a ghost from her past coming back to haunt her. She briefly experiences the same feelings as she had that awful night: helpless, scared, and alone. What a curse the human emotions she felt proved to be. Dani wishes she could simply dump them, as she sees them as a double-edged sword. She wrestles with the decaying zombie who was once her rapist, throwing him off her. While the zombie screams and tries to stand up, Dani delivers a stunning roundhouse kick to its face. She uses a ghost ray to strike the repulsive thing, spattering it against the concrete wall.
She turns to confront another group of zombies after hearing more screams from behind her. How many servants did this man have? Subsequently, she recalled how many homeless individuals resided in the industrial park, which was essentially abandoned when they first arrived. If VooDoom converted every homeless person here into a zombie, they may be in some serious danger. The monsters encircle her, their numbers reaching far into the double digits that she counts, and they all rush her at once.
Dani curses silently and charges the creatures as well. She shoots a green energy beam that pierces through many zombies. The Halfa scurries up the back of a larger zombie, dodging his thrashing arms with the agility of a spider. Like a cork in a bottle of wine, she rips off his head and leaps on to her next victim. Dani blows a hole in their chest with her fist and does the same to a zombie attacking her from her flank. With five different ghost rays shooting from her fingertips, she cuts through scores of zombies as she raises an open hand to face the attackers. She was simply too swift for any of the zombies, regardless of their overwhelming numbers, to touch her.
Like paper mâché, Dani cuts and chops her way through the undead. Within minutes, there is nothing but intestines, blood, and body parts littering the dusty concrete floor. Breathlessly, coated in entrails and blood, Dani stands in the center, the reigning champion. Checking for additional zombie activity, she surveys the surroundings. Dani looked up to witness a dreadful sight: Ben stood shakily, blood streaming from his head, and a huge cut on his stomach. But Voodoom was almost completely unscathed, and he was grinning evilly as if he had already won.
Ben was about to pass out when Dani swoops in to save him. The extent of his injuries astounds her, and she knows he has to see a doctor right away. VooDoom gets a glare from Dani, but he just stands there menacingly, his smug expression suggesting that he's challenging her to attack him. Ben's condition made it impossible for them to win their fight.
"I know what you're thinking but we have to stop him here," Ben mutters with a cough.
"Be real, dude. You were damn near dead when I got up here."
"And a lot more people will be dead if we don't beat him."
"You said that about that other ghost too. Just who the hell are these people?"
"We don't have time; support me, we're going to attack together."
VooDoom scoffs, "Please, you mean to tell me you believe that'll end in any way other than your death."
Dani needs to decide whether to proceed with fighting this sorcerer or to withdraw in order to tend to Ben's wounds. She always learned from Danny to leave a battle you can't win. Danny also happens to be the same person who told her never to harm a human being. It's not the time to be resentful, she mentally swears at herself. Fighting VooDoom would undoubtedly result in their deaths, as he stated, but since when has she taken a ghost's statement at face value? It was about what she believed to be the correct decision, not what he or Ben thought.
Dani pulls Ben behind her, forcing him to fall on his buttocks and grumble. She advances into a combative position. VooDoom laughs menacingly and wields his staff threateningly in the air. He starts to fade from sight as black fog slithers out of his staff. All that's left of him is a spiteful laugh.
"You're going to die, girl."
"You sound like someone I know," she remarks.
Danny flies above the clouds, not wanting anybody to see him or, more accurately, not wanting to see anyone. He's upset over Valerie's inconsiderate remarks and frustrated that he wasn't even able to find Nancy's location. He didn't want to go visit Valerie, but he had no choice. He's not sure what to do next at this point. Placing his hand to his ear, where the Fenton Communicator was snugly positioned, he makes a call to his friends asking where they are. He initially hears nothing but static, but then he begins to hear bits and pieces of Sam and Tucker talking. As he descends beneath the clouds, their voices become more audible.
"Sam? Tucker?" Danny asks.
"Yeah?" Tucker replies firmly.
"I'm here, Danny," Sam answers quickly.
"What did you find out?" the ghost boy questions curiously, hoping that they lucked out.
"Got some old ghost-hunting equipment."
"I read up on the type of ghost we'll be fighting. Do we have any information on objects or people close to Nancy?"
"Definitely not but why?"
"Apparently her weakness is going to be something attached to her during her lifetime."
"I haven't a clue as to what that could possibly be."
"I'll keep searching then," Sam lies, not wanting to say that is her only weakness.
"Tucker, you find anything interesting in my parent's basement?"
"Nothing game-changing, just the standard gear that would help us in a ghost fight."
"What about you, Danny? Did you get through with your lead?" Sam questions.
"Uh, I found some spots that Nancy may be hiding. I'm going to check it out."
"By yourself?" Tucker interjects.
"Yeah that sounds dangerous, Danny, and where did you get this info from? How do you know it's not a trap?"
Instead of responding, Danny takes off into the sky at a quicker and higher altitude, causing the connection to revert to static. Even though he can hear them calling for him, he remains mute. He was afraid they would worry just about him if he told them about the experience with Valerie and the ghost of the mobster. The Halfa does not wish for them to get more involved than they currently are. Valerie is correct; he does tend to include others in his troubles without considering the potential consequences.
Danny doesn't know what to do at this point. Now that the sun has fully set, he understands he has run out of time and options as he looks out to the horizon. The ceremonial football game was about to kick off, and Danny had no idea how he was going to defeat this new ghost.
Sam is moving quickly past throngs of people in the direction of Danny's residence. The goth adolescent knew that the football game was about to start based on the number of people on the streets. Running through a puddle that soaks her boot, she swears beneath her breath, but she doesn't stop. She's returning to Danny's residence to look for the Fenton Tracker, which, paradoxically, only follows Danny since it has his hair sample, in the hopes of catching him before he does anything stupid. She was astounded that he would leave them to go take on this new menace on his own. Sam is aware that Danny has been quite secretive and has made impulsive judgments after the episode with the police.
Tucker, accompanied by Jazz, is on his way to their school, the site of the memorial football game, when he notices a panicked and familiar-looking goth chick dashing through crowds towards Danny's house. He yells at her, but the cacophony of city sounds muffled his words. Based on her demeanor and her gait, he can only surmise that she's headed to Danny's place to locate something in his parents' basement that will enable her to locate Danny. Tucker mutters curses under his breath, knowing that Sam will burn up trying to catch up to Danny.
"Is that Sam?" Jazz calls out to the younger man.
"Yeah I think so!" Tucker responds.
"I thought you said she'd be waiting for us on Phantom Ave!" Jazz shouts back, trying her best for her voice to carry through the crowd.
"Things change!"
"What?"
A band's sound began to reverberate among the cacophonous sounds of the people lining the street. It was hard to hear what Tucker and Jazz were saying to each other over the din of drums, flutes, cymbals, and cheering. They are unmistakably getting closer to the block where the school was located.
"I said things change!" Tucker yells louder.
"I can't hear you!"
Tucker leads Jazz inside an open corner store, already starting to lose patience. Many others were inside, perusing the aisles for snacks and standing in line to buy their treats. But Tucker didn't care; all that mattered to him was that it was much calmer inside than it was outdoors. He leads Jazz to the back, near the refrigerators that store cold drinks. Jazz snatches her hand away from the man because she dislikes being pulled about like a child. When Tucker looks around, he sees the redheaded woman, crossed arms and anxiously tapping her foot, looking agitated. He knew right away that she was lying when she said she couldn't hear him.
"I said things change," he mumbles pointlessly.
"What do you mean things change?" she retorts in annoyance.
Tucker takes a quick look around the store before glaring at Jazz. "Keep your voice down!" he growls.
"No, I want you to tell me what's going on. You said that we were meeting Sam on Phantom Ave to start the patrol."
"And that's what we were doing."
Jazz scoffs, "So why was Sam running in the opposite direction?"
"Maybe she had to go take a shit. I don't know."
"You must think I'm real stupid, huh?" Jazz snarls.
"What?"
"You and Sam must think I'm a big idiot." Jazz pinches the bridge of her nose and shakes her head. "God, I can't believe I fell for it," she mumbles under her breath.
"Nobody thinks you're dumb, Jazz," Tucker assures.
"Then why are you feeding me these poorly put together lies?"
Tucker narrows his eyes in confusion. "Lies?"
"You think I don't know what this is? You and Sam are playing hot potato with my little brother, so he can sneak around and do whatever idiotic things he believes he has to do."
"Jazz, what are you talking about? We are literally going on patrol. We don't know where Danny is or went."
The redhead shakes her head. "Ya know, for once, I thought I was actually needed. But no it's just another person lying to my face to keep me away." Jazz turns to leave, but Tucker grabs her shoulder.
"Jazz, wait."
She yanks her shoulder away from the younger teen. Jazz is fed up with being lied to time and again. What does she gain in return for her valiant efforts to support her brother in his ghost-fighting career? A constant, fucking slap in the face. Usually, she'd cry and beg Tucker to tell her what was going on; she'd leap through hoops like a monkey to be included. This time, no.
"Screw you. And tell my brother that I'm done covering for him."
Tucker is rooted in place, stunned by Jazz's total 180-degree attitude flip. It's the first time he's heard her snap like that. A tiny part of him feels pleased that Jazz prioritized her mental health and stood up for herself. However, he's annoyed by her response since he was sincerely attempting to involve her, but she steadfastly refused to comply. Jazz is not the only one who is being kept in the dark right now, nor has she been the only one in the past. He lost count of the number of times Sam had called him in tears at two in the morning because Danny had gone on patrol and hadn't returned her texts or calls.
He would lie awake at night, gazing at his phone, wondering if a breaking news story about Danny's body being discovered in an alleyway would appear on his screen. He's met with Sam several times to console her during a panic attack. He's even fallen asleep at her place, looking over her when she couldn't stop hyperventilating. Tucker used to go to school dead tired after staying up all night worrying about the dude, just for Danny to arrive smiling. Alternatively, there were instances during the summer when he would disappear for days at a time, leaving everyone quite concerned and inquiring about his whereabouts from both Sam and him. He has voicemails from Danny's mother, in which she begs him to let her know where her son is. The distressed expressions Tucker gets when he admits to Danny's parents or sister that he has no idea where Danny is. He thus doesn't want to hear others moaning and complaining about not being informed when he himself lives in complete darkness.
Just as Tucker is ready to answer Jazz, the store's electricity abruptly cuts off. Expected screams resound throughout the store, but the power soon returns. Tucker notices a flickering light and spots a man standing beneath it. Being in innumerable life-or-death scenarios over the course of four years allows him to recognize when shit is about to hit the fan. Whether it was a sixth sense or something else entirely, Tucker could sense when things were going to get ugly. There was something quite unsettling about the man in front of him.
His thoughts were interrupted, though, by a loud, angry voice, and he turned to see a couple bickering close to the baby supplies section. Then he hears a glass smashing from his right; the man from earlier was just shoved into the beverage freezer door. Tucker raises his hand to shield himself from the flying glass fragments. In an instant, the whole store descended into mayhem as individuals began fighting, both physically and verbally. Amity Park's seemingly normal and typical residents picked up every blunt or sharp object they could find and used it to beat friends, family, and complete strangers. Things were turning into a gladiatorial match very quickly. Tucker grabs Jazz's hand and hurries her to the entrance of the store.
"Let go of me! I told you not to do that!" Jazz's protests are soon forgotten by Tucker as he rushes past combatants. He ducks his head beneath a tossed can of Coke. The sharp squalls of anguish and rage ring his ears. His eyes widened in horror as he arrived at the front door and saw the clerk putting a shotgun up to the glass that usually separated the customer and the cashier. His entire being begs him to lend a hand and put his life in danger for the stranger. However, a part of him warned him that it was too late and that trying to rush in now would only lead to two horrific deaths.
Since he considers himself to be rather logical, going with the second option makes the most sense. Tucker pays no attention to the voice in his head that calls him a coward. Shutting his eyes, he charges through the corner store door, with the shotgun's deafening boom being the last thing heard. The street appears to be even more congested when Tucker opens his eyes again. He and Jazz are swiftly swept away by a wave of people who appear to be traveling to the same spot. Even when Tucker makes a valiant effort to grip Jazz's hand, they soon part ways. They call out to each other but are drowned out by the citizens.
Tucker retreats into a little alleyway to collect his breath. He pats himself down for his phone, panting. He calls Jazz first, then Sam, and then foolishly tries Danny. Nothing. He then chooses to call his parents, only to have the phone ring with a busy tone. Tired both mentally and physically, the tech-obsessed youngster slumps against the unclean brick wall. Tucker gives a sharp cough. Fantastic. After witnessing a group of strangers attempt to murder one another using Coke cans and diapers, his body has decided it is time for him to have a cold.
His thoughts returned to the corner store; he was unable to comprehend what had transpired—one moment, everyone was going about their business, and the next, they were fighting with one another. Tucker's first instinct is ghosts, but Danny's rogue gallery doesn't exactly have a ghost that can make people go crazy. His thoughts drifted to Desiree, whose wishes come true, albeit with a catch: Danny had just kicked her back into the Ghost Zone. It takes her some time to figure out how to get out again. No, this anomaly is far more deadly than the wishing specter.
Deep down within him, the negative feelings he had in that store were primordial. It was obvious to him that it was not artificial in any way. Tucker escaped his fury only because his need to preserve Jazz took precedence over all other considerations at that precise moment. However, he could sense it, wailing to be released, gnawing its way up the walls of his throat from the depths of his stomach. Whoever triggered the store's mayhem has the power to amp up adverse emotions to the point where acting on them becomes second nature.
Given that humans are emotional beings, this is an incredibly powerful skill. The young man suddenly has a terrifying thought: Amity Park might witness bloodshed if the events that transpired in the corner store translated to the streets. Tucker shudders at the mere thought. Then he has another epiphany; Danny told him about a ghost that could control reality and people's negative feelings. Dammit! How could he be so stupid? Naturally, the ghost they were getting ready to battle is the same one that started the carnage at the store. However, he didn't notice any evidence of this kind of ghost in the shop—or perhaps they didn't make themselves known to him. In his years of fighting ghosts, he discovered that they were fairly conceited and quick to divulge their grand scheme to take over. Tucker finds it a little unsettling that this ghost didn't do just that. This simply indicates that the major conflict is closer than they had believed.
In a haste, he emerges from the cramped alleyway and rejoins the crowd. The locals are walking, their faces painted with blank stares. All prior talk has been replaced with the melody of marching. These people behaved more like zombies than like living beings; something is definitely amiss. Tucker could see they were determined to reach the school. He examines the crowd for Jazz, hoping she did what he did and slipped into an alleyway. Among the throng of people that crowded his range of vision, Tucker failed to spot any redheads. Tucker questions whether he should head to the school and hope that Sam, Danny, and Jazz made it there or whether he should go look for the redhead. He looks down at his timepiece. They had run out of time. Pumping up his resolve to walk to the school, he marches forward. By now Tucker had witnessed police and paramedics pulling out of their emergency cars to join the mob, as well as shop owners who had left their stores unattended. Everyone is making their way toward the school, by which he meant everyone. Not one person walked in the other direction or stood by witlessly. It was as though Amity Park's citizens were a single, cohesive one.
When Tucker looks down, he sees scuttling dogs, cats, and even rats on the ground. When he looks up, he sees cawing birds flying overhead. This is becoming more bizarre by the moment. He screams like a small child when he is dragged into an office building from behind. Fearing for his life, he cowers and screams at the assailant not to harm him while holding his hands in front of his face. With crossed arms and a restless tap of her foot, Jazz arches an eyebrow. It takes a few moments for him to gaze at Jazz slowly, recognizing her right away, and clearing his throat in an effort to gather himself.
"Sorry, I lost my cool there for a second," Tucker excuses.
"Right…" she mutters.
"It's okay, Jazz. Don't let Tucker being a big baby surprise you," Sam mocks with a small smirk.
"And Sam is here. Great. How did y'all even find each other?"
"After you abandoned me-"
"We got separated," Tucker corrects with a roll of his eyes.
"I decided to head in the direction that Sam was heading in and I found her taking shelter in NastyBurger," Jazz explains.
"Which was surprisingly empty, especially on a day like today," Sam adds.
"What were you trying to do?" Tucker asks the dark haired teen.
"Get the FentonTracker so I can find Danny."
"I have the FentonTracker, dummy."
"And?"
"And what?"
"Where's Danny?" she practically yells.
"If you haven't noticed I was kind of preoccupied with not being trampled by the zombies outside."
"Always an excuse with you…"
"Excuse me?"
Jazz puts her hands up and stands in the middle of them. "Hey, don't we have a ghost patrol to do?"
"Ghost patrol? Tucker, what is she talking about?"
"Uh yeah, Jazz, we aren't actually going on a-"
"On a ghost patrol yeah I figured that out the second you told me it in the basement. Whatever is actually going on is clearly more important than us fighting amongst ourselves; so let's put that aside and figure out what our next move is."
"Right," Sam and Tucker agree simultaneously.
"I would say the next step is getting to the school," Sam devises. "We can't worry about where Danny is at the moment. We have to hope he'll show up at the school."
"Jazz and I have seen how the whole 'feeding off negative emotions' thing works. People just start going crazy out of nowhere and attack the people around them. I have a feeling that you have to give into those emotions in order for the effect to take place because Jazz and I got in a little argument moments before it kicked off and we weren't clawing each other's faces off."
"I wouldn't rely on us as reliable data because I wouldn't call me snapping at you for holding my hand negative so to speak. Maybe there's levels to it? There's a possibility that small arguments don't count as negative emotions."
"Don't count? Or don't hit the required threshold?" Tucker interjects.
Jazz looks at him with a raised eyebrow, urging him to go on.
"We don't know if negative emotions directly result in the deadly reaction we saw in the store. It could be that negative actions don't activate anything, but rather the presence of specific negative emotions during those actions. You were annoyed at me in the heat of the moment but you got over it almost instantly."
"So you're saying if an individual expresses specific negative emotion then they'll be susceptible to an outburst? What if you are feeling a negative emotion but don't express it? Could you still be affected?"
"Possibly, if you hit the threshold. The question is what emotions are susceptible to an outburst?"
"I would say rage, animosity, and envy," Jazz answers quickly.
"Why those?"
"They're the emotions most present during a violent crime. If these violent outbursts are solely based on emotions then they'd be characterized as crimes of passion in the justice system."
"Hm, if my theory about this ghost amping already present negative emotions is correct then those emotions being the primary emotions that are increased would make sense."
"Wait, crime of passion?" Sam interrupts. "I found out that poltergeists have a thing or a person keeping them bound to this world, or a founding attachment. It's a fat chance but it could be possible that their founding attachment is an unsolved case? A crime of passion that never got solved, so this ghost goes around preying on other people's negative emotions."
"Your abilities to receive, pick apart, expand on, and theorize with such little information is commendable," a voice speaks in the quiet office lobby. The trio quickly scans around to see who the enigmatic voice belonged to, but they only see themselves. Above them, a figure appears, hovering through the ceiling, smiling gently at them. They levitate into the dimly lit room, revealing themselves to be an older woman with black raven hair. Stepping forward to get a better look, Jazz recognizes the woman's likeness to her brother right away. Stepping in front of the redhead, Tucker and Sam place their arms out in front of her like protective parents.
"Truly commendable," she assures with outstretched arms.
Sam taps the face of her watch, converting it into a wrist-mounted laser, and points it at the woman. Tucker's hands are curled around the pistol grip of the Fenton Blaster, which is tucked inside his waistband. Jazz gasps at how fast their expressions changed, as if she were in the room with two icy-blooded soldiers. Their brows narrowed and their lips twisted into a frown.
"I mean you no harm."
"Those words don't mean much to us," Sam points out.
"Yeah usually we like to be greeted with a wave and introduction," Tucker confirms, keeping a tight grip on his weapon.
"Or we can skip the small talk and get to the point where you tell us 'who you are' and 'what you're doing here'," Sam sneers.
"I get that all of you are on edge and you have no reason to trust me," the woman calmly states, keeping her hands up.
"Tell us something we don't know," Tucker snaps.
"Why should we even bother talking to you? You could be Negative Nancy for all we know."
Diana sighs deeply, "I'm not Negative Nancy. My name is Diana and I'm here looking for my son. Well I was looking for him."
"Was?" Jazz mutters under her breath. "What happened to him?"
Diana nearly made an audible gasp as she peered into the redhead's deep blue eyes. She looks exactly like… She maintains her composure and doesn't say anything. The woman is appreciative that one individual isn't acting extremely combative or passive-aggressive.
"He's lost in this world and Nancy's influence is making it harder for me to track him down," she explains.
"Convenient excuse!" Sam snarls as she steps closer to Diana, with Tucker in tow.
"Sam, she isn't trying to hurt us!" Jazz yells at the younger teen.
"That's just what she wants you to think to let our guards down."
"You can't trust their kind," Tucker adds, finally drawing his weapon.
"Their kind? Tucker? Sam? What are you saying?" Jazz scolds as she pulls them back. "Did you forget that Danny is one of their kind? Not to mention the extreme similarity between her and my brother!"
After pausing to reflect for a moment, Sam and Tucker realize how hasty their actions were. They both lower their weapons in embarrassment and move away from the woman. The way they behaved and, moreover, for cultivating such prejudice, made the two of them feel horrible about themselves. A twinge of anguish shoots through Sam's head, causing her to clutch her forehead. Tucker feels the same stinging sensation and flinches momentarily from discomfort. Their minds were foggy, as though they were unable to comprehend or read their own thoughts. After a little while, the feeling vanishes and they feel in charge of their own thoughts once more.
"I'm sorry," Tucker apologizes sincerely.
"Yeah that was seriously uncool of us," Sam agrees with a nod of her head. "We're sorry for being so aggressive."
"And slightly racist," Tucker mutters. "I know my ancestors are rolling in their graves from that."
"I don't know what came over us."
"This just means that she's getting stronger and soon everyone will be under her influence," Diana states firmly.
"We're looking for my brother," Jazz said.
"I'm assuming the half ghost child is your brother?"
Jazz nods frantically, hoping that she could finally hear some good news.
"I met him in the Ghost Zone, but I haven't seen him since."
The smile drops from Jazz's face, a soft "oh" muttered under her breath.
"I'm sorry…"
Jazz's anxiety began to creep back into her mind and her hope of finding Danny is slowly diminishing.
"You said that she's getting stronger," Sam interrupts. "What can you tell us about Nancy's abilities?"
"You weren't too far off with your theories. She latches herself onto an unknowing host and leeches off their negative emotions. She's able to bring those feelings out of the deep recesses of your brain. You begin to say things you'd never say or do things you'd never do. That inevitably causes a chain of anguish and distress in the surrounding environment. Humans are reactionary creatures; someone insults them then they feel some type of way about that, even if it's not verbal. That gives her a bridge between hosts, able to jump from person to person as long as they stay under her spell. There is no limit to how many people she can control. Give her enough juice and she's able to plant thoughts, beliefs, and even memories in a person's mind as if it were their own."
"This is worse than we thought," Tucker mumbles, taking his glasses off and rubbing his temple.
"That's not even the worst part. It's her other innate ability that you need to be worried about. Wonderland. Nancy has a pocket dimension that she resides in, and allows her to move between worlds that she's captured. She's able to fuse reality and her world into each other. Fortunately, she can't do this outright. Nancy needs to harvest the soul of her hosts in order to turn it into the power she needs to complete her rite. She does that by taking all the emotions of a person, negative and positive. If she fuses your world with hers then there is no hope of stopping her."
"Fuse her world with OURS?" Sam is freaking out. Danny didn't make it seem this dire when he told them about Nancy, or rather did they not take him seriously?
"There has to be a limit. Nothing is truly infinite. Does she have a range of influence? Maybe if we were to go far enough into outer space or went into the Ghost Zone," Jazz comments in an attempt to keep hope alive.
"I had the same hope burning in my heart when I fought her ten years ago. I learned the hard way that these spirits don't abide by our laws of physics or understanding of concepts. There is nowhere to hide. After the fusion, Nancy becomes nothing short of a god."
"You fought her before," Tucker asks anxiously. "Then there must be some way-"
"I lost to her before," Diana corrects. "I tried everything…And I lost everything."
"So you never found her founding attachment?" Sam questions, not willing to give up.
"Your theory about her founding attachment being an unsolved case is possible, but it's impossible to further research said theory because I don't know what dimension Nancy is native to. We'd be looking for a needle in a never ending haystack."
The teens lowered their heads in defeat. They couldn't believe that anything they do at this point is futile.
"I'm sorry but the best thing to do is to go be with your loved ones."
"No…NO, I won't believe it," Jazz yells as she swings her arms. She grabs at her red locks of hair and clutches her head in disbelief. "There HAS to be something we can do. Anything…Please," she pitifully stares into Diana's mis-colored eyes.
Diana is hesitant, wanting to speak but the words keep getting caught in her throat. "You can find her and beat her before she finishes the rite. I couldn't tell you how you're going to do that though."
"I'm sure we have something that can track her down-" Sam starts.
"Finding her is not the problem. She'll be where everyone else is, in the epicenter of ground zero, where emotional levels are the highest."
"So what is the problem exactly?" Tucker exclaimed, leaning forward.
"You'd all die before you could lay a finger on her."
The silence is deafening. A void of totality follows her dreadful words. There was no exaggeration, no stretch of the truth, no overreacting that could be found in her words. That statement held the same weight and certainty as 'the sun is bright'.
The only person who may stand a chance is…
By this point Danny has circled the entire town three times and still no sign of Dani. The young ghost is beginning to get worried that she may be hurt; alone and afraid, he couldn't imagine how terrified she must feel. His green eyes lower to the crowded streets of Amity Park. The mob is getting bigger by the second, everytime he glanced down he saw a bigger crowd. The weirdest part is that they were all walking, seemingly in alignment with each other, toward the school. He's been avoiding that area of the city because of the head-splitting migraine he'd get as soon as he got close to Casper High. As the sun set further into the sky and the horizon became a mess of purplish hues, Danny got increasingly anxious about the events to come.
He hated lying to his friends about finding Nancy's location but he didn't have it in him to tell them the only thing capable of finding Nancy is destroyed. He doesn't have a plan, he never really had a plan. Danny goes with the flow, whatever feels right to him in the moment is the option he's going with. A fatal flaw of his, one might say. This hero shit doesn't get any easier. New foes with new goals and plans that could effectively end his way of life in an instant. How is a 17 year old teenager supposed to deal with this? He should be worried about assignments, and girls, and fucking college. The Halfa never felt more pressure in his entire life. His relationships have never been more scrambled. Danny has never felt less like himself than he does right now. And he still doesn't know what to do.
Go to the school. Tear the head off the serpent. Fulfill your destiny. An ancient cosmic voice echoes in his head. Whoever, or whatever, it felt as old as time itself. Although the voice was low, it commanded high levels of authority. And yet the voice had a sense of familiarity to it like he was speaking to one of his ancestors. It resonated through every inch of his mind and he determined the repeating voice to be speaking true. He didn't question it, he didn't think about it. Danny rockets through the sky in the direction of his highschool.
"Meet me at Casper," are the only words he says into the Fenton Communicator.
"Was that-" Tucker mutters in slight shock.
"Who else could it be?" Sam answers firmly, but her mind is moving a million miles a second.
"It sure didn't sound like him."
"What?" Jazz interjects, hating being left in the dark.
"Danny said to meet him at Casper," Sam tells the redhead.
Jazz smiles merrily. "Really? I knew he'd come through."
"Yeah," Tucker and Sam mutter simultaneously.
Diana could sense the hesitancy in their voices, but chooses not to call them out on it. They didn't need any more division between each other. "Then we should be off. I should warn you; the closer you get to the school, the stronger her influence becomes. You'll see a lot of horrible things and you'll feel a lot of horrible things, but the trick is to keep moving forward. Ignore what you see and the little voice in your head."
No amount of warning could have prepared the teenagers for what's to come. All of them would not come back the same, or possibly even come back at all. An iron trial stood before them that would test everything that has gotten them to this point.
As they step back into the outside world, a thought of certain doom popped up in their mind. A call to the void. The streets are empty on both sides, forgotten posters and abandoned vehicles are the only sign that people were here. The brisk wind of approaching Autumn carried wrappers and discarded flyers along the sidewalk. The sky, now, a sea of dark blues, purples, and oranges. The absence of voices from the mourning citizens left a heavy sense of eeriness in the air.
The sharp twinge of fear fills her lungs as Sam inhales the cool air. Something's very wrong. She couldn't explain it, like seeing Chernobyl after the nuclear accident; something about seeing a lack of people in a place where people usually bloomed is foreboding. It brought out a primordial fear in her; an enhanced sensation that they were in a place where they shouldn't be. Amity Park, a city with almost 100 thousand people, is a ghost town. A fear that whatever took the people will soon come to take them.
"Where is everybody?" Sam murmured as she anxiously fiddled with her hands.
Diana points to the dark red brick building a few blocks away from them. The American Flag waving in the wind. A greenish hue could be seen in the sky over the building like some sort of barrier. Sam shakes her in disbelief; the school is big but no matter how you did it, there simply isn't a way 96 thousand people can fit inside that building. Even if they were to form up on the football field behind the school. Casper High made additions to their school last year, creating a stadium for sports due to their increase in football wins; along with adding another floor and wing to the original layout of the old school. Amity Park becoming the ghost capital of the world generated a lot of income for the city to upgrade their older municipal buildings.
Tucker couldn't help but nervously laugh at Diana's answer. He had a fear, one so deep rooted that he wouldn't normally admit to it or believe that it existed. A fear of the incomprehensible. He is terrified of what he can not understand. Like a tiny clown car stopping and an impossible amount of clowns leaving from it. What Diana said has continuously replayed in his head since she said it. A fusion of worlds? That's supposed to be impossible. Reality being warped and twisted to such lengths is infeasible to him. Even after all he's seen.
The phone, or should he say the computer, in his back pocket gave him all the answers he needed. All the research for the mountain of questions that were constantly being formed in his mind. There wasn't anything he couldn't find out if he so pleased. Everything had a reasonable explanation in his mind, even when exposed to the world of ghosts. That didn't bother him. Science and technology were constantly debunking each other, but almost always there is an explanation for it.
This. This is a whole different level. Reality manipulation, Dimensional warping, Absolute creation, imaginative warping, and possibly even meta and causality warping. Diana referred to her reaching god status. To Tucker that meant a number of things, but the biggest is does she become omnipresent or omnipotent? No, she couldn't be unless she was linked to everything, every dimension, every reality, every world past or present. How would he ever know that? Tucker assumes that they would have been destroyed instantly if that was the case. Having those adjectives did not mean such a being could not be malicious. Evil enough to play with their food when they could destroy anything or everything with a snap of their fingers.
Did none of it matter? Does everything become trivial because such a being exists? No, he couldn't think like those nihilistic pricks in the tech forums; unlike them, he had people around him that care about him. He loves his parents. He loves his friends. He loves, as much as he hates to say it, school. Tucker loves life, and nothing can take that love away from him. Even if their world is about to become the equivalent of a bug in a glass jar.
If they have a chance, small or not, to stop this ghost from fusing their worlds then they have to try. At least they could say they died fighting. Ha. Take that existential crisis. Power of friendship for the win. Tucker glances at the three women he was with, at least he died in the presence of beautiful women. He can check that off his bucket list.
"So what's the plan?" Tucker mused.
"What has ever been our plan?" Sam snorts.
"Kick some ghost butt?" Tucker invites, sharing a glance with the goth teen.
"Kick some ghost butt," Sam confirms with a smirk.
"That's your plan-" Diana begins with a huff.
Jazz puts her hand up. "Don't. It's easier to just go along with it," the redhead advised.
Sam, Tucker, Jazz, and Diana set out for Casper High School, much like a group of oddball, misfit underdogs from a corny children's film approaching their climax. However, instead of an oppressive journey through outrageous and peculiar worlds where they encounter underlying themes and character development, they headed directly toward Casper High.
It was only a four-block walk for them to get to the school.
They stood nervously at the edge of the obvious barrier that covered the school. Diana, having already gone through something similar, is the first to take a step toward the green distorted bubble. It reminds Jazz of a cocoon, deep in the stage of metamorphosis; she's terrified of what the resulting transformation will be. To Tucker, the glossy wall of grassy green resembles a screen protector, one of the ones that hid the screen at certain angles. Although the bubble appears to be transparent, the other side is only a hexagonal mix of colors. Sam, on the other hand, sees a mural of abstract art. A clear film acting as a deceitful window to the otherside, only to show another mess of seemingly random hues; leaving the audience wondering if they are staring into a window or a mirror.
"What's the deal with green? Are ghosts trying to show off their support for eco-friendly alternatives?" Tuckers stumbles out with a tense laugh.
"Researchers suggest it has something to do with a binding compound in Ectoplasm called Ectophyll when it comes in contact with elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen. Although this doesn't cause every ghost's Ectoplasm to inherently turn green," Jazz drones on out of nervous habit.
"It was-"
"A joke," Jazz finished. "I know. I'm sorry. Just a little-"
"Nervous. Yeah I get that," Tucker breathes.
"Look alive, we have to find Danny once we get inside," Sam declared through chattering teeth.
"One more thing," Diana began. "Do not hesitate. The things in there are not to be trusted. It doesn't matter who or what you see, you must remember that the goal is to save your reality."
The woman's statements were met with nods from the three teenagers. They were not prone to losing sight of their objective, particularly when it included Danny and ghosts. Whatever is going on within the bubble is, based on the gravity of Diana's remarks, undoubtedly bad news. The hardest step they took was the one after that, as if they were carrying a bear's weight on their shoulders. Was it their natural ancestral instincts warning them that going forward would be lethal, or was fear keeping them from moving with efficiency?
The gang inhales deeply as they pass past the thick barrier, steeling their nerves. Sam's feet are heavy, the air she had just inhaled appeared to vanish from her lungs, and she felt as though she was walking on syrup. The teenager pushes through the viscous mass to the opposite side. She noticed the absence of light, or more specifically, natural light, right away. Not a star, not a moon, and certainly not a sun. That would imply they landed in utter darkness, correct? Darkness is the lack of light. Sam, however, has the ability to see as though there is a steady white light overhead, giving her sufficient visibility to view her surroundings. Looking up where the sky should be, the teenager saw nothing but darkness, as if she was looking at a blacked-out wall. There are no indications of artificial light or anything that could generate it.
Like the devastation left by a major battle, bodies are scattered over the ground. The corpses resembled soldiers who perished during a battle: chunks of their flesh had been torn from them, bodies were missing limbs and limbs were missing bodies, and bloody viscera were stacked up into mountains of gut and flesh. Dismembered bodies dangle like horrifying Christmas decorations from huge wooden towers. On the ground, shattered bodies formed strange structures in the shape of stars and circles. The big untouched brick edifice they name their high school is the only thing that makes it appear anything like Amity Park anymore.
Despite the gruesome sight, no sinful stenches filled their noses. Not a singular smell. No rotting flesh, or saltiness of blood. Sam couldn't even smell traces of the familiar scents of Earth like cut grass, gasoline, and distinct food. Even when she was sick, she could still smell things. Everything had a distinct smell, even if altered by the effects of illness. It's a strange sensation seeing this mess before them and not being able to smell it.
She glances at Tucker to see if he had the same problem. She'd never be able to tell through the naseousing expression he had on his face. His face is damn near paler than hers. The way his eyes shifted from left to right meant he was trying to comprehend the scene in front of him. It wasn't a second later that he was hunched over puking his guts out. Sam felt like doing the same thing. She never thought she'd thank the internet for desensitizing her.
Her purple eyes landed on Jazz, who is as white as a ghost. She's surprised the redhead isn't screaming her head off right now, or suffering from a panic attack. The woman had a poker face on, but Sam could see the fear leaking from her eyes. It wasn't just fear in her eyes, there are remnants of something else. Like she had just recognized someone. Sam is puzzled by the expression. What could be familiar about this?
Images of that dreadful castle replay over and over again in Jazz's mind. The blood and the gore that covered the inner workings of the structure from top to bottom. The demonic creatures she saw gorging itself on mystery meat. The same four legged creatures that chased them through the never ending halls. Then he popped into her mind. His blood soaked red eyes. His low voice dripping with malice. His beastly form, fur caked with viscera with brolic limbs. The one who plagued her nightmares no matter how much she tried to forget him. Malucard, Prince of the Embodiment of Lust. The threats he made to elope with her still rang in her ears from time to time. She hated how that creature made her feel about herself. Weak and miserable, nothing more than an item to be used. As if her whole existence was pitiful. To think she was one of the lucky ones to get away.
"Ready yourself," Diana calls out, breaking the trio out of their trances. "Nancy knows we're here and why we're here. She'll send her minions to stop us. We mustn't let them stop us from continuing forward."
"Where exactly are we going?" Sam inquired as she took a look around the haunting world.
"To the epicenter."