Sorry I haven't up dated for a while but I was caught up in the life of a bandie. Yes marching band took over and now, finally, this is the first time where we don't have practice on a day off from school. So enough talk, I hope you enjoy!
Chapter IX
Tucker had never felt so badly in his life as he did at that moment. Not only physically, in where he sported several cuts and burses, but also emotionally, upon seeing his best friend get ready to bring down the last blow, one that would finish Jazz and himself for good.
Their Fenton Specter Deflector had long been damaged to the point where it refused to work properly anymore and Tucker had lost one of his Ghost Gloves in their brawl and he wasn't sure if he would possibly get a good grip on Danny with just one. His powers had somehow doubled making Danny extremely agile, powerful and... ruthless.
That broach was the cause, he knew, but it didn't help the fact that as they fought, Jazz and Tucker were only able to deflect blows and send halfhearted attacks back. They didn't want to hurt Danny; unfortunately the ghost didn't share the same views. Danny was now a calculating destroyer, more nimble and graceful with his deadly movements than Tucker had ever seen; there was no unsure repositioning for a strike, no second guesses that disturbed Danny when he was fighting ghosts before. When he lined up for a deadly hit, he did it with seasoned accuracy.
"Tucker! Move!" Jazz yelled as she rolled away from the green ectoplasmic blasts that flew at their head. Tucker wasn't as fast and it grazed his back, burning away his shirt.
"Danny, stop it! You have to listen to us!" Jazz had to duck again as another ectoplasmic blast raced her way.
"Jazz, he's not listening and we're getting killed!" Tucker screamed rushing towards Danny and Jazz with his one Ghost Glove and reached for Danny but the ghosts avoided it with ease and disappeared.
"We have to get out of here, Jazz," Tucker said, panting.
"We can't leave Danny now that we've found him!"
"Jazz I know how much you want Danny to come back, and I do too, but we need to regroup and come up with another plan. We didn't even know about that broach!"
"Ahh!" Jazz pushed herself up to her feet, wiped the dirt off her jeans and sighed. "You're right, Tucker. We really don't know what to do and I don't think getting killed here will help Danny."
Suddenly Danny appeared behind Tucker and Jazz screamed, "Look out!"
Tucker ducked as Danny swung hand filled ectoplasmic blasts, narrowly missing the boy's head. "How 'bout we run now?" Tucker suggested.
Jazz didn't respond but took off, grabbing Tucker's hand so they wouldn't get lost. They heard Danny follow as trees exploded around them. The Fenton RV was dead ahead and Jazz winced as she realized they wouldn't have enough time to safely get into the RV with Danny right behind them.
"Tucker," Jazz shouted over the explosions. "I want you to get into the RV first and if I can I'll be in after you."
"What do you mean, 'if I can'!"
"Just do it!"
Tucker reached the RV first, according to Jazz's plan and yanked open the door and jumped inside narrowly missing the blast that hit the side of the vehicle. Jazz turned around, and aimed her Fenton Foamer at Danny. She didn't want to use it, but she had no choice. Danny flew closer along with a barrage of ectoplasmic energy blast and Jazz planted her feet firmly on the ground, and swallowed hard.
"I'm sorry, Danny…"
Suddenly Danny stopped in mid flight, turned and darted off before Jazz had a chance to fire the Fenton Foamer. She sighed in relief and stood there for a few minutes, regaining her breath and calming her wild heartbeat. Those few minutes were filled with a welcomed silence and Tucker meekly peeked out of the RV's window.
"Is he gone?" he asked.
"I… I hope so," Jazz said still winded. Tucker disappeared from the window and opened the RV with an annoyed look on his face.
"What were you thinking! Are you insane?" Tucker yelled but moved aside when Jazz entered the RV.
"The two of us couldn't possibly make it in the RV without endangering the other. It would have been best if you were the one who was safe," Jazz explained flatly. "I don't want to explain to your parents why they had to burry their son at the age of 14."
Tucker pouted. "That was still dumb."
Jazz rolled her eyes and started up the RV. "Still," Tucker's voice floated to her. "I wonder why Danny left all of the sudden. I head explosions everywhere and then nothing."
"One of the great mysteries that I would like to leave unsolved until tomorrow," Jazz said tiredly. "Call Sam and see if she made any headway."
Freak Show looked intently at the paper in his hand. The scribble was scarcely legible but what he read was enough to discern what it meant and the coordinates it gave.
Ghost Zone: Zaira Bastion.
Of course Freak Show had never heard of the place before but some of his drones had when he asked them, not to mention the assurance that his boss gave him confirmed the validity of this place.
The man said that there was a book there called Lorum's Letters which, if possessed by Freak Show, could give him untold dark powers. Lorum was a great sorcerer who lived over a thousand years ago and everything he learned he wrote in letter form to pass down to his apprentice. But somehow Lorum had angered a ghost who stole his letters and hid them in the ghost zone. The man told him that no one knew the exact location of the book but from reasonable sources he believed it was in this library.
Freak Show really didn't have anything to loose and it wasn't like he himself was going to go in the ghost zone to retrieve it. The four greenish ghosts that Freak Show had summoned from his trailer a while ago were standing lazily to the side and the newest member of his small band was hovering feet above the ground.
Freak Show tossed the paper to the white haired ghost and said, "Retrieve this item and then come back to the trailer." Once those words left his mouth, the five ghosts were gone.
In one moment, Sam was in heaven; the secret of deep longing finally exposed and the bliss of having her heart free engulfed her whole spirit. Then, she was falling, emotionally careening out of ecstasy with the ground fast approaching.
Danny pushed her away, causing her to fall flat of her back. The rejection hurt more than the injury.
This isn't the real Danny…
"Don't ever do that again." He turned his back to her and Sam picked herself up, wincing as she did. "Get out. Now."
"Danny…"
"SAM!" There was a different voice, it sounded familiar and it only seemed like she could hear it because Danny didn't move. Her vision hazed and Sam closed her eyes to rid it from her gaze but when she opened her eyes again she was back at Zaire Bastion with Kitty shaking her from sleep.
"Sam, wake up! The library's under attack!"
"What? How?" Sam asked wiping the sleep out of her eyes. She was still in the oversized love seat but the blanket that covered her was now on the ground and she was being pulled from the comfort of the pillows.
"I'll have to explain as we move," Kitty cried over the loud shrieking of frightened ghosts running around in chaos. Tables became overturned as Kitty rushed towards the exit dragging the dazed Sam behind her.
"Kitty, Sam," Johnny called from where he stood outside. "Guess who's here."
Sam looked up into the jaded swirled sky and spotted Danny, his red eyes meeting her frightened purple ones. There was no emotion in them.
"Sam, Sam! Snap out of it," Kitty yelled. "Listen while you were sleeping those four ghosts and Danny showed up and started destroying the place."
"I think they're looking for something," Johnny put in. They had run over to where he stashed his bike while they were in the library and Sam glanced back hoping to catch a glimpse of Danny. What had happened? She was somehow with him, somewhere dark and pressing… and she had talked to him, tried to coax him out of this state of servitude and then she had kissed him. And he rejected her. Sam shook her head at the last thought, it was just too painful to mull over and now was not the time.
"Sam, look out!" The warning came a moment to late and Sam wasn't sure if it was her own voice she heard scream or someone else's that seemed terribly familiar. Time stopped and the goth's eyes grew larger and looked up a large bolder hurled towards her.
TBC...