A/N: As expected, not many of y'all are still here, but I still plan to finish regardless! I've considered the idea of either re-writing and uploading to the other popular site or just...uploading there without a rewrite...but I'm not sure.

But welcome back to those who returned! (And, uh...good luck with all y'all on rereading. If it helps...I had to reread it all, too LOL)

ChaosTen: Sam and Danny have always had pretty good range between the two of them. (Most anyone else, Sam needs to see, though sometimes she can still sense emotions of friends from a little bit of a distance.) I also have no idea of the distance between Pariah's Keep and Ghost Writer's library, so...? Not sure how to answer the question.

Chapter #35: Options

"..'ve heard Ross, he just screamed the whole—hey! Look who's back to the land of the–well, I guess 'living' isn't the word," Ramirez grins, his face too close for comfort.

::Ugh, that psycho?:: Danny feels Sam shudder.

"–gotta like–"

::That Darren guy…::

"–decor–"

::Danny, don't–::

"It all has a nice vibe, doesn't it?" Ramirez finishes with a question.

"If you think so," Danny replies, not having listened to most of it, "So what's the plan, huh? Is Fright Knight just going to march an army into Amity Park, or is he aiming for the Far Frozen first?"

"Don't know, don't care," Kovich drawls.

::You were getting that feeling from him? Towards Jazz?::

::Danny, the guy's already on his death bed.::

::All the more reason to—oh, right. Speaking of deathbeds, I forgot to tell you…::

::What?:: Her voice is laced with apprehension, ::So help me, Danny, if you're hurt–::

::–Vlad's dead.::

The stock sound of a record scratch plays in her mind, ::... What?!:: More static, ::Like…dead dead?!

::Fright Knight's got his corpse on the throne and is pretending it's giving him orders.::

::Wow, even I think that's a little creepy,:: there is, though, a slight hint of respect in her voice.

::... Sam, when I die, if you–::

::–Oh, calm down, I'll make sure to bury you properly…as properly as possible - and make sure there's enough room for me so that they can throw me in there after I die and we can rot together for eternity - Just try not to get vaporized.::

::... You're going to pretend I didn't hear that?::

::Hear what?:: she asks innocently.

::Got it.::

"–ey! Head-in-the-clouds!"

"Oh, Ramirez. You were still talking?"

"What happened to Burgess? We never saw him at that place."

"He works for us now," Danny answers.

Kovich snorts, unsurprised, "As the saying goes; if they cheat with you, they'll cheat on you."

::But seriously, Danny?! You 'forgot' that?! That seems like pretty important info.::

::I got a bit distracted with Ghost Writer and the GIW guy…just didn't seem like the time to bring it up.::

::Any time is a good time to bring up that bombshell,:: she groans, and he senses her rubbing at her temples, ::I'll pull the group together. Since Vlad's not playing a chess game with us, do we know the Fright Knight's next move? Is he a chess guy, too?::

::Not that I know of. I think he's a bit more–::

"Where in the world is your head at?" Ramirez grasps Danny's neck and wrenches his eyes to his, "Thinking of your girl?"

"Always."

This reply earns him a laugh, "Wonder if she knows you survived…then again, I guess she knows best?"

"Hard to say," he coughs against the hand tightening around his throat, "I wasn't entirely expecting to survive a sword to the chest, either."

"Oh?" he grins salaciously, "Maybe I should go to soothe her broken heart," his voice dipped, "I think about her a lot, myself. She's quite a catch."

"She is," Danny agrees with a wide grin, "But I don't think your fishing rod can catch her."

Ramirez's grip tightens abruptly, and he slams his head against the stone wall, sending stars through the halfa's vision. Danny's grin widens, however, his eyes narrowed in derision. A knife flashes, and he stops himself from crying out as it cuts into his ear, sparking against the stone.

"Oh, it'll handle her just fine," Ramirez hisses, "...so long as I've got the perfect bait."

"A sale at the Skulk and Lurk?"

"The what?"

::Hey!::

::Sam, we're on bookshelf number…six?::

::I'm not buying all of them from the Skulk and Lurk!::

"Oh, right, I guess the Hiss and Howl works, too."

It seems Danny's stopped Ramirez's rampage with sheer confusion. The young man repeats the words over and over, his brows furrowed in confusion. He asks Kovich something in Spanish, earning a shrug.

They proceed to bicker between themselves.

Danny closes his eyes and leans against the stone, preparing for the planning meeting ahead of him.

ZzzzzBREAKzzzzZ

"Dead?" Maddie whispers, "Vlad is…?"

"Danny said he even mentioned you and he didn't even twitch."

The blood drains from her face, and she tightens her shaking hands, "I…We left him out there, but even I think it's a little…"

"Disrespectful?" Jazz finishes for her.

Dani is silent, her eyes focused on the floor. Sam tries to ignore the storm of emotions washing through the younger halfa, the flickers of chess games by a fireplace. Each is accompanied by a single thought, a question she'd never been able to bring herself to ask.

::Was it all a lie?::

"So Danny-O's at that castle?" Jack questions, pulling Sam from the waves of emotion.

"Yeah, and two of the pirates from the cruise are the ones keeping an eye on him. Neither of them are good news. We got the drop on them before because they didn't really know how to deal with halfas in comparison to ghosts."

And Impurity went knight templar on them but I'm not explaining that part.

"Our goal for now is just to get Danny out of there. We'll need him back and in heroic order to stop The Fright Knight."

"Do we know anything about the layout?" Maddie asks.

"Not much, but–" Sams is interrupted by a knock at the library door. The yeti that slinks in is smaller and thinner than the others she's seen, though still more than intimidating.

"Good day, Lady Sam," he greets with a bow, "My name is Blizzard. King Frostbite has sent me to aid you in the…ah…reacquisition of The Great One. Forgive me, but I thought I heard a question about the layout of Pariah's Keep just before I knocked?"

He deftly removes a scroll from a pack, and spreads it upon the table.

"Where did you…?"

"I made it," he grins, "I couldn't sneak into the dungeons, but I know where the entrance is and I've noted the guards and patrol schedule," he dumps more papers onto the table with a proud, fanged smile.

"This is perfect," Sam grins, "Well done!"

"All for The Great One," he bows again, "I assume we're wanting to keep this as covert as possible?"

"Yeah."

"Then the issue would be those in the dungeon. Perhaps we can lure them out?"

"I doubt that. Anything happens, they'll know that we're there for Danny. The two humans, at least, will stick closer to him than ever."

"So we'll want to surprise them, then," he nods, "... I'm assuming you'd prefer that they, ah…" his tail swished, "... that they remain human?"

Sam's fingernails bite into her palm as she recalls her confrontation with Impurity upon the pirates' commandeered boat.

The glock in her hand aimed at Ramirez, whose dark eyes dared her to pull the trigger, "I don't support killing innocent animals. I'm pretty sure you hardly count."

"Ah-ah-ah," a gentle rumble whispered in her ear. An ashen hand grasped the barrel, pulling it away from the pirate. She could feel Impurity's breath on her ear, and a gentle kiss on her neck. She turned her head, spying the red eyes beneath his bangs. His eyes met hers, and the gun was pulled to press against his abs.

"What are you doing?!" She hissed, ensuring her finger remained away from the trigger.

"I'm the only one you're allowed to kill," an arm wrapped around her waist, "You're my murderer. I won't give you away to anyone."

She'd been fully prepared to end Ramirez's life at that moment. The thought shook her at the time, but now…

"... We gave them their chance."

::Sam–::

::We'll try our best, Danny, but this is war now. Besides…:: A suppressed fury, one she'd buried a year ago, claws its way back into her consciousness. It's accompanied by memories of a body scarred with countless, tiny cuts, ::... Impurity won't care so long as I'm not the one who pulls the trigger, right?::

::Sam, that's not the problem–::

::Danny.::

Her firm voice stops his mind in its tracks.

::Sometimes, people need to face the consequences of their actions.::

::It's not our place to pass judgment.::

::For what court? Through what legal system? We're not litigating your freedom, here, we're freeing a prisoner of war and I'm not risking your life on charity. If they surrender or step aside, fine. But we're not going out of our way to spare them this time.::

Discomforted silence bubbles between them.

::... Danny, I hate saying this. I hate doing this to you,:: she fights the tears budding in her eyes, ::And it's all my fault, really.::

::Sam, don't–::

::It's okay. I'm okay with that,:: she assuages, ::But, Danny…

::Our worlds don't have any option other than you.::