ami_imperfect | (no subject)

"I wish I agreed. You don't have anything to compare it to yet."

Though, Danny has to admit, it's a strong contender. The first mine was interesting. After five, the novelty is wearing a bit thin.

"Sense any ghosts yet, kids?" asks Maddie cheerfully, waving something that looks like an extremely short light saber over the rock walls.

"Not yet, Mom!" Dani hollers back.

To Danny she hisses, "How could it be worse than this? We haven't done one fun thing since we got here!"

"We were on vacation the first time I met..."

Danny stops suddenly and looks away.

"Um... never mind."

Dani smiles sadly at him, guessing what he means. "It's okay, Danny, you can say it: that's when you met his Fruit Loopy-ness."

"Yeah. Mom and Dad's college reunion. That was boring and creepy and embarrassing, and that was before the fun started."

"Whoa. That's, like...the trifecta of bad right there."

"Right. Don't get me wrong, this trip reeks, especially since it's your first. But at least there's not much happening."

Right on cue, the two halfas' breath chills and fogs.

Danny sighs a white cloud. "And now there is."

Dani facepalms. "You and your big mouth," she mutters, white pluming around the words.

Looking back over her shoulder she hollers, "Think we got something!"

Edited 2010-08-03 15:12 (UTC)

"Good work, kids!" There's a rising hum as weapons power up, and both parents charge ahead down the tunnel.

In confirmation of the Phantoms' ghost sense, something indistinct can be seen swooping some way down the passage, and a distant cackling rings out.

Danny, now in ghost form, glowers. "Fine. Let's catch this thing, and then we can have a real vacation, huh?"

And so saying, he takes off down the tunnel.

Danielle is a half-step behind him, hollering, "Right behind you!"

And a half-step behind them is Jazz, Ghost Goggles perched on her head but not pulled down over her eyes.

"Not so fast, guys! We don't know how stable that tunnel is!"

Far from listening to her, Danny launches into the air and picks up speed.

"We'll phase Mom and Dad if we have to! Relax! This'll all be over in a minute..."

Rolling her eyes and muttering to herself, Jazz pulls the Ghost Goggles over her eyes...

And gasps.

"Danny, Danielle, hold it!" Jazz yells. "It's a trap!"

"What?"

Dani skids to a stop, a fairly interesting feat considering she's in mid-air right now.

Danny's stop actually sends him into a somersault, ending up right above his parents, who have also stopped in confusion.

They've gone far enough, though.

"Shit!" Danny yells and throws up a hasty, umbrella-like shield as a sudden rockfall descends from the ceiling.

Ordinarily Dani would be sarcastically chiding Danny about his vocabulary, but she's too busy shielding herself and Jazz.

Danny wouldn't be in a position to listen anyway. He's straining to maintain his shield, and when a piece of debris bounces is under it and hits him, he screams in pain.

"Danny!" Danielle screams.

"That's ectoranium!" cries Jack. "Hold that shield, son!"

"Danny," Maddie says in a carefully controlled voice, "we're going to back up now. Move with us, okay, sweetie?"

Danny nods, teeth gritted, and drifts slowly backward, away from the glowing green rocks.

Jack and Maddie shift rocks aside as they go, clearing their own path and keeping the ectoranium chunks as far from the children as possible.

Still shielding Jazz Danielle also starts to slowly inch backwards, giving Danny and their parents room to clear the rockfall.

By the time they're fully clear and Danny is able to drop his shield, the passage is completely blocked.

Danny drops to the ground, reverts to human, and doubles over, panting, with his hands on his knees.

Dani is the first one to find her voice.

"...the hell was that?"

"Evidence that we're on the right track," says Jack with grim satisfaction.

"Jack!"

"You guys were nearly killed," Jazz puts in.

"Exactly, Princess. If they want to keep us out of this tunnel that badly, then I want to know why."

"What?" Dani screeches again, only this time more out of anger than surprise. "You can't be serious, Dad! This is supposed to be a vacation!"

"A working vacation, sweetie..." says Maddie in a conciliatory tone.

"That means work and vacation," snaps Danny, his breath recovered. "Not three days of walking around mines and having rocks dropped on our heads!"

"I want us to do something together as a family, something fun!" Dani jumps back in. "Not something that's going to result in me or any of the rest of you getting killed! Damnit, if I had wanted to be used as a tool I would have just stayed with Vlad!"

Edited 2010-08-08 00:20 (UTC)

Everyone looks stricken at that.

"Sweetie, calm down..."

"No!" Good and angry now, Dani stands up and goes ghost again. "If you guys want to cause some more cave-ins, go right ahead; you can just do it without me. I'm gonna go wait in the car."

With that, one angry halfa zips out of the mine and flies back to the RV.

Danny goes ghost as well, then thinks better of it.

She's his clone, after all. He knows when she needs a few minutes.