A/N: You may be wondering why it took so long to update. I was doing SO well...but tests and several short papers happened. On top of that, I realized a timeline error in my story...which I've kinda shoved a really weak patch over, but…..that's what happens when you get old and can't update daily like you used to. *cries* Would you believe it's been over 4 years since I started Journey of Secrets and Adrift? We had an unavoidable 2-year hiatus in the middle (volunteer work for my church) but it's just...wow. Some of y'all are still here.
...I've currently planned for 42 chapters, but that can change at any time…(Well...40 chapters and 2 epilogues) If it makes y'all feel safer, I have the outline typed out on what's going to happen. It's just getting the time to actually write it.
I've had midterms. I've had half of this written for a few weeks...actually, make that a month. Already, my finals are looming over my head. Meanwhile, I sit in a building at school wishing for a good place to take a nap.
Chapter 28: Holes
It's honestly disappointing how little Danielle seems to know about her condition. He'd hoped for a little more information when he'd overheard her talking to her friends shortly after scaling the house to enter via the second floor.
"Are you sure it's safer up here? There are a lot of holes…" Dani questions.
"The drones are searching close to eye-level," he shrugs, "Here's the place to be." I can't believe they're using eye-level drones to search for a girl who can fly, he sighs to himself, having called Dani and the other two up to the second floor.
She's wary of him, but her boyfriend is even more so, keeping himself between Dani and the wayward agent. How cute.
As if he could actually do anything to stop Darren if he had half a mind to arrest her.
Dismissing the thought of doing just that, he tunes his ear into the earpiece he'd swiped, getting the latest report on the position of the search team. They're catching up. They'll have spread to this area within an hour.
"We're not staying here, though," he explains, tapping the white earpiece, "The others are getting closer. They might be stupidly rigid in their protocol, but that has its advantages. If they get here, they won't overlook us. They'll search this whole area with a fine-toothed comb."
"So where are we going?"
"I don't know Amity that well. Come on, I'm already trying to work out the details of getting to the portal. Give me a break."
"The next block of abandoned buildings is pretty far away…"
"Yeah, we'll want somewhere a tiny bit closer. An abandoned store? Oh, and you wouldn't happen to know somewhere stocked with anti-ghost weaponry we can borrow, do you?"
"What, y-you didn't get any from your B-b-boss?"
"I am the weapon. In the suit."
"What are y-you, Iron Man?"
"Something like that, but a lot more fragile. Speaking of fragile - your buddy, The Red Huntress? She broke my visor today. That's literally one of the most expensive parts of the suit. It's so useful, too."
"I hope you're not asking for reimbursement."
"If we survive all this, I'll send her the bill. Does she have her bank account under 'Valerie Grey' or 'The Red Huntress'?"
Danielle glares at him for a moment before returning to her thoughts. She's awfully protective of the Huntress, isn't she?
"...Are Jack and Maddie okay?" she asks quietly after a few minutes of silence.
"They're pretty worried about you and Danny. They're not saying much, though. I don't think anyone's been able to get Danny's fiancee to say anything either...the in-laws, however, won't shut up about the wedding," he chuckles, "I think one of them clocked Agent M...or maybe threw something. He had a black eye. Jazz is super-worried...and really pissed off at me."
"What'd you do to Jazz?!" Dani hisses, her eyes sparking green.
"Calm down. You'll set off the drones," he reminds her gently, "As for Jazz...I went on a date with her a few days ago, before this whole fiasco."
"You...what?!" Carlita shrieks.
"Look, I met her on the way to Amity. I was on vacation, remember? I was here to relax, maybe get a few questions answered...but then…" he gestures around, "You don't get a lot of time off when you're a lab rat for the Guys in White, so I was really looking forward to it."
"...What questions?" Ashton presses.
"They're personal, but based on what Jazz told me, the only person who can really help me is Danny. Hence, my motivation to help you save him."
"S-...so you're motivated entirely b-by self-interest."
"Would you trust me if I lied and said it was out of the pure goodness of my heart?"
"So you were using Jazz to get answers?" Dani hisses.
"Well, I didn't intend to. She was just a cute girl whose car I happened to hit - not my fault, I should clarify. Someone else was swerving. I hadn't really had anywhere else to go. Anyway, she was cute, we talked a little…" he shrugs, "Honestly, when I found out she was a Fenton, I felt like the universe was moving in my favor. It was a tremendous stroke of luck."
It had also been a tremendous stroke of misfortune. He was now at odds with a very intelligent, kind woman who also happened to be quite pretty. Thankfully, being as compassionate as she is, she's likely to forgive him as long as he saves her brother.
At this point, he can't tell with any accuracy whether he's doing this for himself, or for Jasmine...then again, seeing as it would be to put himself in her favor…
Yeah, it's all for myself.
"Enough of that. You come up with anywhere, Danielle? We need to get moving."
"...what about the Nasty Burger? It's closed up right now, and I know Danny, Tuck, and Sam used to keep weapons in one of the air vents. As long as no-one's moved them…"
"They probably removed them when cleaning the vents."
"It's the Nasty Burger. They don't clean the vents."
"Exactly why I don't eat that crap," Carlita shudders, "Not to mention that it's terrible for you…"
"It's pretty tasty, despite the name," Dani pouts.
It's...it's bigger than your head…
She almost tears up, remembering Danny's lighthearted expression of horror as he stared at her burger, his wallet fifteen dollars lighter.
"I'm told it's an Amity Park classic," Ashton adds.
"Well, let's check it out," Darren shrugs, "It's better than staying here."
ZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzBREAKzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZ
"That's just disgusting," Valerie gags, dusting off an old Fenton Thermos. It's clearly several years old, but it should work well enough if necessary, "They need to clean those vents more often!"
Suppressing another gag, she digs through the rest of the small back of supplies that'd been where Tucker had once described. Everything's old, but seems serviceable enough. She has all the weapons she needs, but she can probably think of a way to use them, even as a diversion.
About five minutes after she'd come here, drones had started to patrol the area. Thankfully, they don't seem able to scan through a solid wall, and she was able to get some sleep. She heard from some talkative passers-by about Dani running from the GiW and had resisted the urge to race out to find her.
Dani had traveled by herself before. She could handle herself for a short while. Val needed to form a plan, first, before going out to search for her. By the time she'd woken up the next morning, there was still no news that Dani had been captured.
No news is good news.
She glances outside, checking the new positions of the drones. She adds them to the diagram she's made to examine the blind spots. Honestly, she has a pretty good idea of where to find Dani, as they'd discussed various safehouses throughout Amity. If she can slip through the blind spots and get into the air, she can find her no-problem.
She scrutinizes her plan one more time before folding the thin napkin and tucking it into a pocket. With a deep breath, she readies herself to bolt.
She's got a halfa little girl to help.
ZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzBREAKzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZ
It burns her to say this, but he's good. Darren's ability to evade the drones is astonishing. She doubts she could have left their hideout safely without him. His knowledge of GIW protocol is proving invaluable.
She wants to hate him, but he wasn't lying when he said he's their best chance of saving Danny. She's not ready to let her guard down, but she's willing to take the risk if it means saving her cousin.
She's still unsure what he means by 'afflicted' and 'side-effects', but she'll get those answers later. He's clearly using them, and they'll have to use him right back.
I just hope that he's not good at chess, she sighs to herself, thinking of all the times Vlad had tried to teach her. She'd never gotten anywhere close to beating him. There's a small pang of sadness in her heart as she thinks about those quiet nights spent by the fire. They were probably some of the most domestic moments she'd had with Vlad, and it disgusts her that she actually remembers them fondly.
He was just using you to throw you away, she reminds herself, just like this guy.
"How much farther?" he asks, motioning for them to tuck themselves behind a dumpster.
"Not far. Maybe two blocks?"
"Good. We'll wait here for two minutes while they're doing the cursory scan, and then we need to bolt past while it's processing the data. We'll have about thirty seconds."
"But if it sees me, won't it-?"
It's a fault in the system. The net is spread too far to be at its most effective. As long as you don't do ghost stuff, it shouldn't break from it's process. So keep your head down and just run straight over there, okay?"
"Got it."
He holds his hand at the ready, and they begin to sprint to another alleyway when he signals. She finds herself holding her breath as she bolt past the drone, almost exhaling in relief when there's no reaction.
She's almost to the alleyway when the sound of familiar blasters reaches her ears. Relief floods through her senses as she glances back-
-to where Darren is sprawled on the ground, a hand clutched to his chest. Overhead, the Red Huntress keeps her gun trained unwaveringly on her target.
"Valerie!"
"Dani, you okay?"
"Y-yeah, but…"
"Good. Just hide in that alleyway with your pals for a sec. I've got a scumbag to deal with."
"I think there's been a misunderstanding," Daren groans, struggling to his feet.
"Is there, Changeling?"
"I need to talk to Danny," he pants, "To do that, we have to save him."
"Oh, y'all definitely wanna talk with Danny...before you slice him up!"
"I swear, I have my own motivations here. I'm not doing this for some GIW agenda. We need to get out of here, though. That first attack of yours destroyed the drone, and agents and drones will be pouring into this place."
"Yeah, but first, I think you better take a nap. Don't worry, These things don't cause permanent damage to humans." she steadies her aim and pulls the trigger.
A flash of lavender light illuminates the space between the two. Darren remains in place, his once-silver eyes now burning an unearthly shade akin to the previous flash.
"We...don't have time for this, Huntress," he pants, pointing above, "We have to escape."
"Ghost activity confirmed in Sector Twenty-Three," a voice drones from an approaching helicopter, "All agents assemble. Confirming Target Huntress. Confirming Targets A and C. Target: Danielle Fenton detected. Unknown ecto-signature yet unregistered. Acquiring facial data-"
Darren pulls his coat over his head to hide his face.
"Dani! Let's go!" Valerie motions to the girl and pats her sled.
"You can't outrun them!" Darren shouts over the hum of the copter, "Not in the air with two of you. We have to confuse them!"
"Why would we listen to you?!"
"Val, maybe we should listen to him. He really knows what he's talking about-"
"Girl, this guy almost caught me earlier. He could've killed Frostbite!"
"My circumstances have become a little more urgent," he runs, lifting a nearby manhole cover, "If you want to lose them, follow me. Or get caught and fail to save Danny. It's up to you."
She hadn't noticed it before, but he's pale, his voice coming in ragged breaths. Sweat sticks his hair to his forehead. He looks ready to fall over any moment.
The silver slowly leaks back into his eyes as they meet hers, "Please trust me, Dani. I...I need Danny's help, and I don't think I can save him alone."
The hum of approaching drones rips her attention away, and she bites her lip.
"Val, I think we should follow him. Let's go," she motions Ashton and Carlita over. Carlita remains in the alleyway, her eyes wide.
"Carlita."
"I'm drawing the line with going into the sewer," she shakes her head furiously, "I'd rather go to prison!"
"Be my guest," Ashton growls, unhesitantly beginning to descend underground.
"She could tell them I'm helping you out. Sorry, but she's coming with us whether she likes it or not at this point," Darren retorts, walking over to physically pick the teen up, throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of rice.
"Hey! Let me go, you pervert! I'm pressing charges, do you hear me?!"
"Honestly, even kidnapping charges aren't looking that gloomy in comparison to what awaits for me if I get caught. I'm not against knocking you out and leaving you tied up somewhere If you don't want to sleep in the sewer, I would advise you to shut up."
"Why is this happening to me?!"