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Decree of the Tangible
A Danny Phantom Fanfiction
Prologue
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"But now I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth." – Umberto Eco
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The bottle filled with ectoplasmic goo rolled on the ground solemnly, carving out a path amongst the tile lab floor. It was the only source of light in the dimly lit room aside from a ghostly figure, standing in a corner, its lips drawn back in a snarl. The walls caged in the darkness and blocked out the sun from the outside – even though it was midday, night time still reigned within the confines of the laboratory. A loud clack sounded as the bottle tapped against the tall, dark walls, clashing and moving the shadows with its eerie glow.
The wall seemed to breathe – or perhaps it actually breathed – as the ghost grew larger, its muzzle pushing right through the steel wall and revealing a flat forehead, perked ears, and narrowed, glowing red eyes. From the throat of the beast sounded a small growl as it stepped into the room, its large paws causing a simultaneous sllllick and clack sound. Its cheek, and the whiskers flowing from it, twitched with displeasure as it managed to pull its muscled body through the wall, eyes narrowing further against the darkness. The large leopard ghost let out a mighty roar as it flicked its furry tail side to side.
The uncanny resemblance this lab held to a cage made the beast uneasy. He had been trapped before, and this certainly wasn't the first time he had been set up, either. It was true that he had walked in of his own free will, but this will was promised to be rewarded with prey. The fact that the dealer wasn't here only made his fur prickle more as he tried to ease into a sitting position, his tail flicking about agitatedly. If the dealer wanted him, he might as well come out and tell him what he was to do. A leopard, although usually patient, doesn't like to wait for very long.
Ears twitched as a creaking sound reigned through the silence, echoing off of the hard walls. As the leopard ghost lowered his ears to his cranium, he watched quietly, his eyes glowing, as a slightly muscular, humanoid figure stepped in. Too many shadows were cast over the being to clearly see him due to the small streaming light, though the leopard could tell this was a human, and he could nearly smell the malevolence pricking the human's skin. A small smile started to curl over the predator's lips as he listened to the ting, tang metallic sound swiveling from the human's boots making contact with the floor. If he couldn't strike up a deal with this man, perhaps he could simply devour him – he hadn't had a tasty meal in a while.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," the man told the leopard in a serene, deep, slightly raspy voice. The ghost kept rigid as the human further approached him. The light reflecting off of the man's face allowed the ghost to make out a goatee and, more importantly, an evil smile. "I planned on being here earlier. I simply lost track of time."
The leopard drew his lips back further and bared his teeth, a threatening grin overtaking a huge fraction of his face. "You could have watched the sun," the monster growled, unsheathing and sheathing his claws repeatedly, purposely running them over the ground and not so much as flinching when he was met with a high pitched screech in response. "You were supposed to be here before the sun's height."
"I apologize again for that." Once the man figured it wasn't safe to continue advancing on the potentially hostile animal, he took to sitting in a chair, crossing his legs and settling his hands on his lap. The smile didn't fade from his face as he boldly met the beast's eyes. "Please forgive me for changing the topic so quickly, but… do you remember why I called you?"
How could he forget? If he had forgotten, he wouldn't have approached the human once more in the first place. In fact, he would have rather raked his claws over the man's hide, feeling his blood seep through his paws. The thought still seemed rather appealing, but at the moment that wasn't his focus. Perhaps he could tear the man apart later, when the both of them no longer had a deal to maintain. "You want me to play executioner for you," the leopard purred, flicking his tail once more, relaxing his muscles, albeit slowly. "You have found interest in a ghost, and would like me to get rid of it."
"Not get rid of it, per say." The man's hand cupped his chin as his index finger stroked his goatee. The devilish smile, which had been maintained for a while, melted into a thoughtful smirk. "Have you heard stories about the 'ghost boy,' known as Inviso-Bill to the general public, Phantom as his true name?"
At this point, the leopard's rapt attention was captured by the man dressed in fancy attire. His eyes widened, and the threatening grin on his face before gradually faded to reveal a deep in-bred desire for knowledge. His curiosity led him to inch nearer to the man, his ears raised, his gait confident. "No, I have not. Tell me more."
Man, did that man look pleased. "You see, I have met – and fought – him before," he explained to the leopard, who didn't move his fiery red gaze. "He's rather interesting, actually. He has the build of a sixteen-year-old – a rather weak sixteen-year-old, at that," he added quickly as the leopard tilted his head, "and he seems to try to play protector for Amity Park instead of trying to haunt the streets and scaring kids. Not only that, but he has empathy, and we both know most ghosts lack that quality."
Empathy. The leopard almost forgot what that term meant, after many years of having not used it. It certainly didn't describe him as far as he could remember, and he didn't know any ghosts who had that quality. Hearing the word again made the leopard's antipathy for the ghost child rise like a newly fed flame. "I see," the leopard growled lowly, clicking his tongue against his teeth. His head tilted upward as he stared at the ceiling, wondering if the ghost boy was listening in on the conversation right at the moment. "Have you captured and studied him as of yet?"
The man laughed, a surprisingly shrill sound that made the leopard flatten his ears against his head once more. "No, no I haven't. You see, I simply haven't had the time. I've been much too busy lately with small plans of my own that don't involve that nuisance of a ghost." The man turned his gaze to the leopard, a grin spreading across his cheeks – his gaze was expectant and manic. "So, I was wondering…"
"… if I could capture him for you," the leopard finished for him, mirroring his evil grin.
"If you don't mind, that is," the man added as an afterthought, though he knew the leopard's answer already, which could be seen in the excited glint in his eyes.
The leopard stood up, his heavy paws pressing into the ground as he lowered his chest closer to the ground in preparation. "I will bring the ghost boy to you," the monster promised, purring in pleasure. This was going to be fun. "I need a reason to brandish my claws."
"Excellent!" The man clasped his hands together, his eyebrows raised. "Meet me back here once you have bagged him. I still have business to take care of. And feel free to take your time – I want the capture as… painful as possible." The man stood, rings extending around his middle region and separating, one moving upward and one moving down, as they completely transformed the man's appearance into a monster himself. Disappearing from human eye, the only sign that the man had left the room at all was the whoosh as wind traveled around him as he phased through the wall.
This incredible display was not missed by the leopard ghost as he himself poofed from visibility. "A halfa, huh?" A scratchy, throaty chuckle slithered from his throat. "This just became a lot more interesting."
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This is a story that I planned out the plot of from beginning to end. Right now I'm planning out chapter one, so until I've actually written chapter one through three you're not going to get chapter one. Sorry, but I want to be ahead of the game before I submit anything.
Because I was feeling uninspired, I decided that I'd finish and submit the prologue ahead of time – consider yourselves lucky. Now you know a bit of what I'm planning.