(Special thanks to my best friends, fallenalpha01 and FireAsh50 for helping me!)
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Wake up...
Zoey's voice echoed in Sam's ears. Sam groaned in her sleep at the disruption. She buried her face in her pillow.
Wake up, Ivy! There's trouble!
"Wha...?" Sam mumbled as she rolled on her back.
GET UP!
"Ah!" Sam shot up, startled by Zoey's shrieking in her head. The minute her sight cleared, her witchy senses went haywire! Every fiber of her being told her to hop out of bed and run down the street. It was different from the night she met Phantom. It was more urgent.
Her watch artifact throbbed around her neck as it swung frantically.
She looked at her bedside clock.
3:36am
Sam shook her head and hopped out of bed. It wasn't the first time she's had an early wake up call like this. More often than not, it was a sign of trouble.
She leaped out of bed, dressed in a dark purple cami bra and lacy black shorts. She rushed to get her boots and Circle 5 jacket on.
Where, Zoey? What is it? Sam thought.
3550 Amity Blvd. Zoey's voice echoed through her head.
As fast as a serpent and as quiet as a shadow, Sam wasted no time racing down the stairs and out onto the street. Just as the night she had met Phantom, she let her intuition guide her.
This pull was drastically different from that night, however. It was nauseating and made her hair stand on end. Sam sprinted down the street, following the malevolent trail and kept her eyes open for the address Zoey had spoken of.
She saw the ambulance lights before she saw the actual ambulance. The area was taped off by police and said officers were busy keeping the neighboring residents at bay.
"Nothing to see here, folks," a tall officer spoke. "Just go on home; we're handling it."
If only they knew... Sam thought ruefully. The nauseating energy was spilling out of that apartment building. It wasn't as powerful as she remembered from past experiences, which could only mean the demon that had been there had already left. Left to go where was her question.
But the questions came to a halt when she heard the crowd gasp and murmur in horror.
Sam wormed her way through the crowd, only to see an absolutly horrid sight. The paramedics wheeled out a motionless figure on a gurney, covered by a sheet. A limp, female hand fell from under the sheet. The most horrifying part of this was that the whole arm was covered with streaks of blood.
As if blood had soaked out of her very pores.
Sam couldn't stop the tears leaking from her lilac eyes.
I'm too late.
"It was horrible!" a woman, dressed in a short night gown shrieked. "I didn't know what to do! She-she just kept screaming!"
"Ma'am, please, you have to remain calm and...-" said the poor young officer, who was stuck interrogating this frantic woman.
Said woman then clutched his collar desperately. "Calm? My best friend was just freaking possessed and drained by that... that thing!"
The officer wrenched the woman's tight grip off his uniform. He looked at the woman curiously. "Thing? What thing, ma'am?"
The young woman shivered. "There was this creature looming over her in her room. It looked like a child at first, but...i-it just stared at me with it's red eyes!"
Sam gasped. A child?
The officer looked just as shocked, but not disbelievingly at the woman. This was Amity Park, after all. The officer remained calm, despite the woman's chilling tale, and guided her to one of the cruisers to keep her under watch and get her some help.
As the crowd dispersed, Sam took this opportunity to get closer to the building. She only took two steps before a wretched stench met her nose.
Sulfur. Sam gagged as she clamped her hand over her face. The noxious odor killed the last bit of doubt Sam had.
The woman's words about the child shuddered her bones. A common technique among the most dangerous of demons was to lure their victims into a false sense of security by appearing as something helpless, like a child. That poor woman under the sheet probably had no idea of the danger before it was too late.
Sam sighed and put her hands in her pockets, turning to go back home. It was still very dark out; there was nothing she could do, for the time being. The demon was long gone, and while a good old fashioned demon hunt sounded fun, she wasn't prepared. She could come back later to investigate properly; there's no telling what manner of beast had attacked that woman.
Another demon attack. One that she was too late to stop, unfortunately. She looked to the skies, wondering if her ghostly friend, "Phantom" was present. She couldn't see him, nor could she sense him. She was surprised by his absence. He practically had a danger radar for situations like this.
"My ghost sense hadn't gone off once."
Sam laughed, despite the macabre situation. I'm just disappointed with myself that I hadn't seen it sooner.
No matter how certain she was, Sam knew she couldn't just pounce on Danny about his ghostly identity. She had to go about this silently; it was clear that Danny wasn't just an innocent mortal charge she was meant to protect.
If Barbra's premonition meant anything, Danny being half ghost was part of her task here.
Sam smirked as she made it to her Gramm's front door. "This is certainly getting very interesting."
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"Paramedics are baffled at the victim's cause of death," Lance Thunder, Amity Park's local news anchor spoke. "No doctor has ever seen an incident like this. Her body was said to be covered in burns, while also covered with blood. A truly gruesome sight."
Danny sat the kitchen table with his sister and his father, Jack Fenton. His father was a large man, graying black hair and jolly glint in his dark blue eyes, a glint that was currently absent due to the morbid news report. The most outlandish thing about the man was his orange jumpsuit. They continued to watch the TV on their kitchen counter.
"Ms. Lawrence's roommate, Marie Barnes, was unavailable for comment, due to emotional trauma from the event. Dr. Yang, Ms. Barnes' physician is seeing to her."
"That poor woman," Jazz sighed, mournfully. "Her roommate will probably never be the same."
Danny looked down at his cereal, dejectedly. He'd lost his appetite.
Even in the face of sorrow, Jack smiled reassuringly at his daughter and son. "Not to worry, Jazzypants! Your mother and I will leave no stone unturned as we scope out that building," he proclaimed, proudly. "We'll catch the ghost who got to that poor girl! Maddie! Where did you put the Fenton Fisher?"
He got up and headed for the basement to find their mother, Maddie Fenton.
After making sure their father was out of earshot, Jazz looked towards her brother. "Danny, do you really think a ghost did this?"
Danny had his hand covering his mouth in thought. "I highly doubt it. I hadn't woken up once in the night." Danny shuddered. If only he had woken up...
Jazz saw the light of complete guilt in his eyes. "Danny, it's not your fault."
Danny got up out his seat and began to habitually pace, raking his hand through his hair. "I know. I-I know it isn't, but at the same time...Jazz, I'm starting to get a bad feeling about these attacks. None us have ever come across monsters like these..."
It's been a good while since Danny had ever felt this helpless. "That monster in the park nearly made mince meat outta me!"
Jazz couldn't help, but feel bad for her younger brother. He took his job as protector of Amity Park very seriously. Unfamiliar territory such as this must be very unsettling.
She fiddled with the sleeve of her teal sweater before sending him a comforting smile. "That's exactly why we have to find this...uh, Good Witch. Maybe she can help us."
"And how do we find her?" Danny questioned.
Jazz chuckled. "We stake out that apartment. If she truly understands these attacks, maybe that's where she'll be next. Mom and Dad can't stay there forever. She'll probably show up when they leave."
Danny grinned, almost mischievously. "Let's go catch ourselves a witch."
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Later on that day, Danny threw on a white shirt and some jeans, and decided to pay Sam a visit. He couldn't ignore the leap in his heart when the thought had occurred to him. Despite his awkwardness, he definitely found the amethyst eyed girl to be beguiling. Very beguiling.
Jazz didn't fail to give him a giggle when she heard him tell his mom where he was going.
He nervously gathered himself as he walked down her street; Danny, even now, had a tendency to get weak kneed around girls that he found attractive. He was just thankful that his pants didn't turn invisible anymore, like when he first got his powers.
He walked up the steps to her front door before he heard an ever most pleasant sound. The bell like voice of a girl singing.
"I am my mother's savage daughter;
The one who runs barefoot,
Cursing sharp stones.
I am my mother's savage daughter;
I will not cut my hair,
I will not lower my voice."
It was coming from the back garden. Danny crept around the side of the large house, over to the gate. He peeked over the gate to an unusual, yet pleasant sight.
Sam was hunched over a bushel of peonies; green garden gloves covered her hands. Despite it being mid September, it was sunny out and she had been working nonstop since early morning, so she was dressed in a pair of comfortable dark denim shorts, a sleeveless dark purple tunic and a pair of common garden shoes. Her hair was tied back in a low bun with a old sun hat covering her face.
Her expression was completely blissful and calm as she sang to herself.
Danny smiled. She looked so...cute. And her voice was alluring. She was full of surprises.
Danny quickly straightend out his shirt and fixed his hair, before clearing his throat and knocking on the gate door.
"My mother's child dances in-Oh!" Sam gasped at the sound of the knock. She blushed when she saw Danny poke his head in. "Danny!"
"Hey," he chuckled as he closed the gate behind him. He made a beeline for her. "I'm not interrupting, am I?"
Oh, fates, how long has he been standing there? Sam thought to herself, her cheeks still burning. "No, of course not. I'm just fixing up Gramm's garden."
Danny looked all around him, and now that he was actually paying attention to the garden, his eyes widened. "Fixing it up? Sam, you've completely reinvented it!"
Indeed, the lifeless energy of the garden was no more. Everything was green and healthy. Beautiful flowers and shrubs were planted elegantly among the newly replaced cobblestone path, and the once dried up pond was full of fresh, clean water with lily pads sailing along the glassy surface. The swing had been repaired, and the biggest surprise was the little greenhouse that had been built!
Danny's jaw hung open. Talk about a green thumb! How did she mange all this in just a month?
Sam stood up from the planted peonies. She placed her hands on her hips, looking at the garden with pride. "It's just what my Gramm needs. She, Mrs. Thimbles, and Mrs. Moores love to sit out the back porch for tea."
Danny looked at her in amazement. "You have the magic touch."
Sam smiled slyly at him. "Thanks." You have no idea.
"I still have to plant some lavender in their pots," she said, removing the gloves. She looked up at him. "Do you want to help?"
"Oh, trust me, I-I won't be much help," Danny laughed nervously, habitually rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sure your grandma has told you that. I really don't know much about gardening."
Sam scoffed. "That's no problem! C'mon, I'll teach you." Her excitement to show him fueled her boldness and she grabbed his hand to bring him up on the porch. The pots and lavender were already there.
Danny felt a pleasant jolt shoot up his arm as she grasped his hand. Considering that his hands were much larger than hers, her delicate fingers were practically engulfed in his gentle grasp.
It was Danny's turn to blush. "O-oh, okay!" He said stuttered, feeling unexpectedly giddy for his lesson.
When they sat together around the flower pot, Sam explained to Danny that he had to dig just deep enough for the roots to grow, but not too much that they get smothered by soil.
Danny gripped the trowel firmly, his tongue unknowingly sticking out, as his eyed the depth of the soil as Sam had shown him.
Sam giggled at his determined, yet rather silly expression. His lovely ocean blue eyes glinted with curiosity as he scooped up more soil in the trowel; her heart fluttered a little to see he was actually interested in this activity.
She had been tempted to give the soil an extra magick boost, but that kind of felt like cheating Danny out the experience. She was surprised he could do anything with his roguish hair flopped over in his eyes. Her gaze traveled from his handsome face, down his impressive physique.
Probably from ghost fighting...as Phantom. Her inner thoughts hissed.
Before Sam's thoughts could dig deeper into such a bothersome topic, Danny called her name.
"Sam!" He said. "You good?"
Sam gave him a rather sly grin. "I was just thinking that you just might have a green thumb, after all. The lavender will be very happy in that pot."
Danny laughed. "I don't know about a green thumb. Maybe a green...pinky, or something?"
They laughed together, but when it faded, Sam looked down at the lavender. Her gaze was peaceful and loving.
"Peace, grace, purity," she hummed, grazing her fingers over the fragrant plant's downy leaves.
"What?" Danny asked as he sat back to stretch out his long legs. Her random statement was baffling.
"That's the meaning of lavender," Sam spoke, sagely. "And it truly fits. Lavender is such a wonderful herb, it helps me sleep and gets rid of headaches."
"Really?" The blue eyed boy said. "Do you know the meanings for all of these flowers?"
Sam rolled her eyes and sat back with him. "Well, not all of them, but I do have a few favorites."
Danny perked up at this news. "O-oh? Like, um, like what?"
Sam sighed. "Oh, there's so much to choose from. But, I guess, those lavender roses. They're unbelievably beautiful."
Lavender roses, he mentally noted. "And the meaning?"
"Serenity, devotion, enchantment," said Sam, before her cheeks began to turn red, she looked at him. "Love at first sight..."
Blushing as well, Danny gulped. "Um, cool."
Like many times before, Danny and Sam found themselves getting lost each other's gazes. They were sat right next to one another, and without the two really realizing it, they began to get closer.
The shy alarms going off in each of their heads fell deaf on their ears as they got close enough that their lips were only a few inches apart.
Oh, my... Sam felt her lashes brush her cheeks as she closed her eyes.
Danny's eyes begin to close shut also. Just one little peck...
"Button!" A voice broke through the air. "You'll exhaust yourself if you stay out too long!"
With their moment destroyed, they each jumped back from each other; their faces would put beets to shame.
Danny fiddled with him fingers. "I-I should probably get going!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Sam stammered. "Gramm wants me inside, anyway!"
Danny leaped to his feet and zipped down the steps of the porch. "Y-yeah! Yeah, bye!"
Before she could let him leave, Sam summoned her last bit of bravery. "Danny!"
Danny froze where he stood on the cobblestone walkway that lead to the gate. He turned his head to her, his cheeks still a loud shade of red. "Yeah?"
He heard the sound of her garden shoes in the stones coming closer to him. He felt a pair of soft lips press against his cheek.
"Thanks for coming by," Sam said, timidly. "I liked it."
Biting her lip, she turned tail and headed to the back door into her house.
Danny remained still at his spot in her garden, a stunned look on his face. Along with a purple lipstick kiss mark on his cheek.
Before entering her house, Sam turned to him and gave him a small smile and waved to him. "Bye, Danny."
The boy broke free from his daze and a kooky smile came to his face. He dizzily began to walk backwards toward the gate while waving back, not taking his eyes off Sam. "B-bye," he said, almost tripping over one the cobblestones.
She laughed as he left and walked back into the house. She left her garden shoes in the mud room, and went into the kitchen to see her grandma sat at the table, with cards spread out in front of her.
Ida looked up and chuckled at her granddaughter. "Had fun, Button?"
Sam toyed with her pinky finger. "I've always loved gardening, Gramm."
"Mm-hm," Ida smirked. "And I'm sure the lavender will be lovely."
Sam huffed. "Oh, hush."
Ignoring her grandma's teasing, Sam took off her hat and was shocked when she saw a pot of soup cooking on the stove. "Gramm? I thought the stove had broken a few days ago?"
Ida smiled, looking rather innocent. "Oh, it just needed a good, shall we say, tweaking."
Sam raised an eyebrow. "Right...", she quipped. She then also looked at the odd arrangement of cards on the table. "What kind of game of solitaire is that, Gramm?"
"So many questions," Ida rolled her eyes. "It's just a game Mrs. Moores showed me, dear."
"Oh," Sam shrugged. "I'm just going to go shower. I should be done before dinner."
As Sam walked out, she didn't see the mischievous glint her grandma's eyes. "No rush, Button."
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It didn't take long for nightfall to arrive. The moon was full and bright and the streets were vacant; all the authorities, including Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, had already left.
With their parents gone, Danny and Jazz, along with Tucker and Valerie were staking out the apartment building from Jazz's car, waiting for any sign of this mysterious "Good Witch".
"Ugh! We've been here forever!" Tucker whined. "She's not gonna show."
Jazz and Valerie rolled their eyes at him.
"We've only been here for an hour and a half, Tuck," Danny sighed, looking at his watch. "Have a little patience, will ya?"
"How ironic, hearing that from you," his sister muttered.
"Hey!" Danny barked.
"Ssh! We're supposed to be hiding, remember?" Valerie snapped, looking up from her texting. "Danny, are you sure she's going to show up, though?"
Danny groaned as he shifted uncomfortably in the front seat. "Not really, but what do we have to lose?"
"Freedom after getting grounded if our parents find out we've snuck out," Jazz huffed.
Valerie crossed her arms. "Time to study for my test."
"A decent night's sleep," Tucker groaned as he rubbed a sore spot in his back. The backseat of a car was hardly comfortable.
Danny scoffed. "Alright, if I buy you guys milkshakes, will that make for it?"
Jazz laughed. "You drive a hard bargain, little brother."
"Banana, please!" Valerie squealed.
Just as Jazz was about to turn on the car, Tucker looked out his window and saw something rather odd.
"Wait! Wait!" He shouted. He rolled down his window. "Danny, look!"
Danny eagerly looked out his window, towards the apartment. But instead of the figure of a young woman like he expected, there stood the silhouette of a small boy.
"Is that a kid?" Valerie asked.
Jazz squinted to the child better. "At this hour?"
Tucker rolled down his window. "Kid! Hey, kid! What're ya doing here? Are you lost?"
The child didn't respond; he just stood there.
All four of them looked at each other questioningly before getting out of the car. As they got closer, Danny felt a rather unpleasant twist in his stomach. It was different from the cold sensation in his chest that came with his ghost sense. It wasn't just alarming; it was sinister.
As they got closer, they noticed that it was just a completely black shadow of a child, and it was stood perfectly still. Not turning around to face them.
Danny grabbed his sister's arm. "You guys stay behind me," he whispered.
Jazz nodded and stayed put as Danny got closer to the child.
"Hey," he spoke softly. "You okay, kid?" He rested his hand the boy's shoulder. It was like touching dry ice; it was so cold, that it burned him. But that wasn't what made Danny snap his hand back.
It was the child's head turning a full 180 degrees and look straight up at him, blazing red eyes stabbing right through him. Danny yelped and jumped back.
"W-what the hell?" Tucker shrieked as he pulled Valerie behind him.
A awful hissing sound radiated from the boy's throat. His tiny frame crackled and contorted; a sickening ripping sound echoed through the empty streets. Sprouting from the child's body were two large arms with hands adorned with razor sharp claws. The creature grew over 20 feet, with armor plated dark green scales overlapping down its back to the tip of its long tail. It's face turned to that of a horrific serpent with needle like fangs being lapped by a forked tongue, it's red eyes remaining. A mane of dark feathers crowned on its head.
"Danny," Jazz squeaked. "I think you were right. Definitely, not a ghost."
Danny shook off his fear, then looked at the creature before him bravely.
Goin' Ghost! His thoughts cried, while he changed into his ghost form. His green eyes glaring up at the terrifying beast.
"You guys get the weapons out of the car!" Danny ordered. "I'll keep this overgrown garden snake busy."
They ran for the car. Danny shot a well aimed ectoblast right towards the creature's eye. It was a direct hit that caused the snake like beast to topple.
Danny scoffed, but his confidence was soon shot when the monster got up as if it had merely just been shoved; not a trace of damage was seen in its eye.
The creature gave a gravelly chuckle, and pounced towards Danny. For a large being, it was a fast as lighting, making it easy to haven gotten in a good hit and whacked Danny with its whip like tail.
Danny was sent flying on to the pavement. He laid still while he bit through the pain in his head. Before the creature could take advantage of his moment of weakness, Valerie zipped over on her hover board, dressed in her red suit, with a large bazooka heaved over her shoulder. She shot blast after blast at the monster.
"Over here, rat breath!" Tucker taunted as he readied his own gun, firing for its head.
Jazz ran over to her brother. "Danny, are you okay?"
"That thing barely even flinched," he coughed. "It sure packs a punch, though."
Jazz looked at the scaled beast. No matter how many blasts were fired, its steal like scales were hardly scratched. It was too busy trying to take a bite out of Valerie's hover board, or just Valerie, in general. Tucker kept having to dodge it claws down on the ground.
Jazz clutched Danny's shoulder. "Danny, what do we do? Our weapons aren't working and your powers aren't enough."
Danny opened his mouth to respond, but gasped when he saw Valerie get smacked off her hover board and crash into Tucker.
"Hey!" Danny hollered. He sprang to his feet and flew straight for the monster, ready to land a 150 miles per hour punch, but was quickly caught in its tight, clawed grasp.
"Ugh!" He struggled in the tight grip. He delved into his intangibility, only to find it blocked. Whatever this creature was, it was more than just muscle. "Let me go!"
"Nymph..." the monster grumbled. "Where is the wood nymph?"
"Wha-what?" Danny gasped. "Wood nymph?"
The grip grew tighter and Danny could feel his ribs being bruised.
"Where is the remaining nymph?" the beast roared.
"Right here," a woman's voice came from above.
Danny looked up to see a slender female figure perched up top one of the buildings like a tree frog. She was dressed exactly as the boy on the news described. A hood covered in patches and ribbons, along with the same green streaked long hair and glowing purple eyes. A very familiar shade of purple.
A smirk could be seen under her hood. "Struggling, Phantom?"