Gryphon's Keep
Objects of Interest
~*~*~*~*~
One of the deadliest, fiercest hunters known to specter or man still exists-the gryphon. Majestic though they are…there is no longer a "they," seeing as Skulker has hunted all but one and crushed their eggs. Still, he has the final gryphon on the run, badly wounded….and is about to add another check on the "extinct" chart before Danny steps in. After chasing the hunter off, Danny is kidnapped by the selfsame creature he protected-and whisked away to the Ghost Zone!
Hallo, everyone. So far, it seems interest in this story has been rather low….though I guess it's a bit of a peculiar one. If anyone thinks I should just delete the story-and we can pretend it never, ever existed-just let me know, okay?
….ah, well. I hope to get this published as soon as my darn internet is working again.
But enough chit-chat, folks. Danny right now is currently in a good mess of trouble, and we learn a bit more about birds in general. *No goin' to sleep, folks. Birds often find…shiny things they find that catch their interest. Never quite sure of what to do with the glimmering new object of fascination, often, they….
Well….
…you'll just have to find out, no….?
Malachite is extremely intelligent, but her thoughts may come out as a little scattered. I didn't think it somehow fitting for her to think in actual words as in images and dashes. Obviously, she can't talk. ^^
~*~*~
Quote:
"Oh I have slipped the surely bonds of earth
and danced the skies on laughter silvered wings.
Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth of sun split clouds
and done a hundred things you have not dreamed of,
wheeled and soared and swung high in the sunlit silence.
And there with silent lifting mind
I've trod the high untrespassed sanctity of space
Put out my hand and touched the face of God."
~*~
Consciousness and unconsciousness flashed through Danny's mind as he continued to drop, each flailing desperately at once another for dominance as a stream of color and ink black shadow continued to intermingle-like that of a nearly ruined watercolor.
He thought he could vaguely hear someone scream. It was hard to tell. The shock factor building in his veins was far too much.
Even the searing pain that had been present in his right arm and leg were somewhat numbed, though no less excruciating.
Was he falling?
He couldn't tell.
It was difficult to be aware of anything. Except the dull sensation of pain, that was.
His am was still on engulfed in cold fire.
And his leg-
Even worse.
It was rapidly becoming difficult to breathe.
And then, Danny saw white as his body was roughly jerked ever so slightly, lungs deflating as spots danced across his vision.
Without any further anew, the child gagged as he began to violently cough.
And soon, lost consciousness.
~*~*~*~
Luckily for the boy, it was not so hard to catch him.
In a flurry of feathers, while Skulker was blindly stumbling about on the ground, desperate to obtain his focus and last wind, Malachite had allowed her body to swoop into a dive-straight ahead for the child falling three feet, four feet-six-all in under a few split seconds-
Like a falcon, she'd maneuvered herself closer to Danny's freely bleeding body that roughly resembled a discarded, broken puppet, doll, or marionette.
And, like a hawk obtaining prey, her taloned foot had closed itself over the-not-dead-and-not-alive boy.
There was a sharp intake of breath on the ground, and a slight thud. Someone had fainted.
Malachite didn't know who it was, and didn't quite bring herself to care. With another quick glance at the limp-not-moving-but-breathing-child, the clawed appendages closed reassuringly over the limp ghost-ling's body as the gryphon cast her catch an interested glance.
Silver-twinkling-hair had now transfused to raven. And ghost-dead-flesh had now taken on the hue of the living.
Not alive…and not dead.
She had never heard of such a thing. How very fascinating. A ghost hybrid.
How in the world was it possible for someone to be half alive, and half dead?
Inwardly, the gryphon snorted, and made her descent back down to earth, slowly dropping altitude.
She was dead inside, but she still breathed.
Was that not proof of enough?
There had to be a safe position in the air to carefully drop the boy back down. Perhaps on a snowbank, somewhere. It wouldn't do to cause the boy more injury, and Malachite would have hated to clip his…nonexistent wings, but still.
He looked so....right in the sky….rather like one of her own ki-
BANG!
Malachite started, circled into a dive, and narrowly avoided another shot-this time fired by Sam.
~*~*~
Jack had fallen into a dead faint the moment Malachite had managed to rescue the boy from eventual death.
But Sam had immediately-with some help from Tucker, and a few grunts between them-raised the fallen Fenton Bazooka straight towards Malachite once she began to drop a few feet in midair.
Sam had mentally urged the beautiful bird to continue to fall, a deep set glare on her features.
No one was going to make a snack out of Danny.
Her fingers inched towards the trigger.
She'd never approved of hunting, but this was the one time she had to take a hint from a still groaning Skulker.
That bird was big enough to kill an unconscious Danny Fenton-who still clutched the boy with a bloody set of claws, dark, dark eyes peering at him with bright interest.
Pondering her prey, huh?
Sam's eyes narrowed.
Not while she was live.
And, she fired directly at Malachite's flank, praying beyond belief that Danny would safely land in a slight puff on a nearby bank.
Still clasping the boy, Malachite swerved to the right to avoid the next shot, now feeling distinctly panicked….as well as annoyed.
What was this-open season?
She glowered at the skin-lings below.
Ingrates. The bird glared at the dark haired girl who'd fired at the bird from below, her violet eyes ablaze as the boy-with-a-red-cap struggled to hold the other end of the oversized weapon.
The little girl had quite a bit of nerve. Malachite respected that as she hovered two or feet above the ground, gently letting go of the boy at last.
He rolled away from her, groaning as his eyes blearily flickered open, then shut.
Malachite felt a slight pang in her quivering heart-but then rapidly shook it off as Skulker's angry roar echoed throughout the school grounds.
And she took to the air once again, leaving Danny on the ground.
~*~*~
Maddie had been directly aiming for Malachite's heart with fiery eyes, but, much to her surprise-
Danny fell with a slight gasp onto the snow, as the bird turned a midnight back on him and took, once again, to the air.
"Danny!"
~*~*~
The turkey had dropped him on the ground. Not hard-but enough to make the barely conscious lad whimper in discomfort. Maddie cringed in response. Poor baby.
She had to get them out. Much as her pride in her ghost battling hated to admit it, they had to get out of here.
Now.
Her pride for her family came first-as well did her love…
…and rapidly deepening concern.
Aside from a scratch or two-she was alright. Jack…well, at best, Jack didn't look good.
And Danny……
Her heart was throbbing in her throat.
Malachite had dropped Danny. Either it had finally grown tired of being additionally shot at while her boy was still locked in her grasp-making it more difficult to maneuver herself properly….
…or, the ghost-bird wanted to drop the boy someplace where she could scoop him back up after dealing with the hunter.
And then, eat him for breakfast.
Her insides froze, and then, boiled.
She couldn't make a decent shot without fear of hurting Danny by accident until the bird dropped to the ground.
But Sam had nearly caught her just before Maddie had.
The woman was quite impressed-Sam would make a very fine ghost hunter, indeed-but that was the least of her concerns right now.
Much to her distress, Jack was down once again-but Jazz could look after him-if only for a minute or two.
After the bird let Danny's now very wan body drop to the snow, Sam shoved the bazooka aside, only to accidentally leave its full weight on Tucker's body.
"Oooof!"
Tucker stumbled to the ground with a yelp as an enraged Skulker continued to shoot at the
As Jazz attempted to revive a feebly stirring Jack, Maddie ran forwards, more then slightly breathless as another streak of emerald fire roared into the air.
The hunter ghost had recovered.
Heart pounding quite wildly, face deathly pale, Madeline Fenton ran North a few kilo closer to Danny's limp body, blood trickling down from a small cut on her cheek as Jack began to shift ever so slightly, groaning.
Jazz managed a sharp intake of breath, an icy dread beginning to dissipate with hysteric, warm relief.
"DAD!"
~*~*~
This was it. Cold green eyes narrowed.
Once he had birdbrain here stuffed, the little hybrid brat was next.
With a pained scowl, Skulker continued to shoot at Malachite's still fleetfully dodging form, now becoming quite angry as more and more artillery was wasted.
He smirked inwardly.
Well, it wasn't as if he would run out of weapons in a mechanical body equipped with over 547 selections in attacks. And Ember had claimed he couldn't even manage to hunt down a TV remote!
Feh. He rolled his eyes.
Women. Still, he found them much more frightening then a wounded and desperate prey going on the vicious, final counterattack.
Keyword: vicious.
Skulker rose into the air as his aerial rockets continued to propel the ghost into the sky, a slight smirk on his face as he readied the blaster straight for the evading bird's neck.
But, much to his growing frustration, he continued to miss.
If Artemis of The Hunt could see this, she'd have an absolute fit.
Or die in hysteric giggling.
Skulker fired indiscriminately into the sky, Malachite's chest beginning to heave as maneuvering became much more difficult.
She was still losing ectoplasm like there was no tomorrow. Soon enough, she'd slip up out of exhaustion.
And that was the moment Skulker savored, almost as much as the actual victory.
As one tiny error or faulty was inducted, the ghost would force an entire coup de grace on the flailing beast.
And send it hallowing to its doom in a barrage of feathers, emerald, and bullets.
Oh, yeah.
Skulker smirked as he aimed for Malachite's injured foot once again.
He loved this job.
~*~*~*~
Jazz gave her father an uncertain hug as the man dazedly made his way back up, a gloved hand at his head.
"D-Dad!"
She pulled back ever so slightly to give the still unfocused man a worried look.
"You okay…? Don't try and get up, it's…."
The rest of her words were somewhat blurry as Jack rubbed his forehead, looking puzzled.
~*~*~
The man frowned absentmindedly as he tried to recall what had just transpired.
And then, grey eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as they took in Maddie, Sam, and Tucker, (Who was currently rubbing a bruised backside) surround a small body.
One that Jack knew all too well.
Much, much too well.
And was being much, much too still.
The man started, an arctic freeze beginning to flood his already panicked body as he, much to Jazz's alarm, bolted up.
Without another pause, Jack seized her by the arm, and half yanked a yelping girl through the air as he sped his way back to the Fenton RV.
~*~*~
The young hybrid's head currently lay in Maddie's lap while the anxious woman rubbed small circles on the boy's bit of unblemished flesh with her gloved fingertips, occasionally crooning lovingly into the vaguely shifting child's ears.
"Sweetie….it's okay….shhhh…..it's okay…we're going to….get you out of here….."
She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling sick to her stomach.
Jazz and Danny were in open range of being hit.
….as were Sam and Tucker…..!
Tucker uneasily rubbed at Danny's shoulders while Sam anxiously glanced at the aerial battle still raging overhead.
With a soft caress at Danny's bruised cheek, she turned ever so slightly to the RV now racing towards them, signature green F flashing in the weak midwinter sun.
~*~*~
And so, it would end.
It really wasn't much of a surprise for the flailing creature, who was still violently struggling against her own limbs-which were dripping in more then just fatigue.
She couldn't hang on that much longer.
And Skulker knew quite well, judging from his painfully smug grin.
How she longed to release a torrent of curses at him.
Eyes narrowing, a brief sadness overtook them as she continued to maintain elevation-albeit a bit wobbily.
Kunzite. She had never earned vengeance for him-nor had she been able to drop Skulker's motionless body at his graveside.
Nor would she be able to avenge her unborn hatchlings.
She quivered slightly, as a soft breeze overtook the already chilly air as she dived to attack once more, knowing, with dim resignation, that it was nothing short of futile.
Maybe she would not receive revenge for her family.
But she could, at the very least, join them soon enough.
~*~*~
Much to Maddie's relief, a now flushed Jack had managed to bring the roaring, gadget laden gas guzzler over to the now haggled four, and Jazz could be seen waving in the front seat.
She inhaled ever so slightly.
Okay.
They needed to take Danny to the hospital. ASAP. Stat.
NOW.
As Jack hurriedly wrenched the RV to a screeching halt and gestured wildly at something, the woman, boy, and girl cast their glances from the enormous vehicle-back to the ground where Danny lay.
Maddie managed a startled shriek before voicing had become absolutely impossible out of sheer, creeping dread.
Correction:
Where Danny HAD laid…..
~*~*~
Every fiber of his screaming flesh was screaming for release as Danny fell to the ground again with a slight grunt, limbs roaring in shrill protest as his now ungloved, violently trembling fingers clasped the cold metal of the Fenton Ghost Thermos.
Shuddering, the boy continued to drag himself through the snow, inching ever closer to where Skulker had cornered the shuddering, shrieking bird into a corner on the ground.
He had to seriously admire this bird's nerve. Driven to a final stand, and still in defiance.
Danny winced as the wound on his arm continued to bleed, and, now feeling effectively dizzy, he nevertheless dragged himself forwards, breathing ragged and unchecked.
For a split second-just a split second-the three had shifted their glances from him, to Jack pulling in a dumbfounded Jazz into the ghost RV.
But that had been all Danny had needed to silently phase into the frozen ground below him, still clutching the cold thermos he'd managed to grip from a snowy clump, nearby. Skulker hadn't knocked it too far out of reach.
But he'd only been able to glide so far before it became impossible, and the boy had fallen to the ground after rephasing through the Earth, nearly driven to tears as his body could no longer handle transfiguring back to his ghostly counterpart.
In a flash of translucent rings-just as Maddie had jumped up, swinging her head wildly around for her missing little boy-he had transformed back into a human just before Tucker pointed him out to four frantic humans.
"DANNY! DUDE-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
As if in response, Danny, breathing still unsteady, paused for a moment or two.
Then, raised the ghost thermos into the air, directly at Skulker's back.
~*~*~
Skulker inched closer to the trembling mess of feathers and plasm, looking amused.
"Well, now, Polly. Bit of a scare you gave me, huh? I was so ever afraid you didn't want to enjoy yourself in this game."
If looks could kill, Skulker would be left maimed in a pile of what used to have been limbs. The hunter chuckled merrily.
"Oh, I do rather prefer when my prey gives me a good fight. Don't worry; you'll get your due for it."
With another smirk, he raised his wrist's handgun directly at Malachite's chest cavity, still lightly snorting.
"Never fear. The ones who put up a decent fight get the honor of having their pelts hung on the wall-should the decoration be right.
And, judging by your feathers' color scheme, you'll look lovely on the mantle, next to your hus-!"
~*~*~
What. Was. Danny. THINKING?
Yes. Jack was going to ground Danny for this one. Quite possibly forever.
He staggered out of the car, feeling ready to inject the contents of his breakfast directly onto the ground as Danny aimed the Fenton Thermos directly at the ugly ghost hunter's behind.
Feeling hope flutter into fear, he swallowed as he raised his own ghost slasher, readying to fire.
If Danny managed to get ONE, there was still that turkey or Hunter to worry about….
Malachite pawed the ground with her bleeding foot.
She would not regret anything, now. Though she would have rather succeeded and died in the process, she could, at the very least, make him remember the sting of her kind.
She had lunged forwards…..
…and staggered back, eyes lost in a firestorm of light as astonishment rippled through her incredibly sore body.
~*~
Skulker had glanced back just as Danny had set the Thermos to fire…..
Too late.
In an explosion of light, the thermos released its full rage upon the screaming and struggling Hunter as he continued, fruitlessly, to attempt to scramble away.
Too late.
The Hunter ghost was swept into the inferno, and, still yelling in helpless rage, was drawn into the brilliant, green and silver appendage.
And, the boy thrust the lid on the thermos, still gasping as he took in the enormous, wide eyed bird that was again peering at him, this time in stunned incredibility.
But also a bit of weariness. It seemed she too, expected to know the same, unknown fate that had befallen Skulker in the odd device.
Danny staggered lightly, as he struggled to maintain balance on one leg. Meanwhile, Jack was cheering in the distance.
"C'mon, son-you can do this! You're a Fenton!"
Maddie whipped around to say something sharp that Danny couldn't catch.
Actually, judging from his swaying body and now, readily becoming more unfocused viosion….
Danny swayed, still keeping eye contact locked with the creature, thermos till clasped in his hands.
Malachite's bright eyes had pierced his own while he'd been falling. Remarkably enough, they had rather reminded the boy of the Ghost Zone fugitive, Wulf.
His own eyes flickered.
If he remembered correctly-for whatever reason, Malachite HAD saved him. Whether she had been planning to make a meal out of him or not, Danny the boy didn't know.
And didn't care.
The burning pain now rifling itself freely through his body, Danny cast the bird a small smile as he swayed once again.
"Y-You might want to get out here," he commented, watching the odd bird's face retort in surprise.
"I'm not going to…hurt you. And Skulker isn't either. I promise."
He cast a look at Malachite's scaly leg, wincing ever so slightly.
"At least….not more then he already has."
Malachite cast him a bewildered look as Danny lightly smiled once again.
And then, fell to the ground.
~*~*~
Malachite uncertainly made her way back to the child as the odd-glowing-machine-that-the-hunter-had-vanished-inside-of fell lightly to the side, a small green button now glowing ever so slightly on the side.
She nudged it ever so slightly with her beak, still caught in the frozen stasis of shock.
…..?
She had expected death that day. She had fully expected Skulker to overpower her, some point or another.
And now….the hunter himself was….
Was he dead? Was that what the boy had done? It certainly didn't seem so, for the child certainly lacked the look of a predator.
Not knowing whether to feel elated or not, disappointed or not-for she had just lost her chance to be honorfully reunited with her slain kin, but had…with the…child's help (she inwardly groaned at the thought. A child had saved her-her pride was never going to recover from this one) she had succeeded in her fiery desire.
Why had the not dead and not alive boy helped her? She had settled their debt. Now, she owed the child her life. Splendid.
Nevertheless, Malachite bent her domed head over the motionless boy, who still lay in the concourse of frost.
The boy….
Much as her pride roared in fierce protest, she did have to meekly admit that the child-halfling-ghost did play…..a fair role….
She sniffed him very lightly, feeling curious.
How very interesting. Such an odd creature for the Hunter to seek out….and so very small. Malachite didn't even believe he would make little more than a mouthful-hardly a good meal. Not even a snack.
Still, Skulker most likely didn't threat to kill him after her because of that. She very much doubted that was the case.
The Halfling was a little one….must be a hatchling child. Perhaps twelve years-maybe fourteen, at best.
She blinked.
How very, very young. Gryphons that were the-ghost-human-hybrid-child's age would
Only be beginning to learn how to fly.
She watched the boy lying in the now impure snow-for red was falling was rapidly as green still dripped from her wings. Still, were she to return home and find the Spring….she was fairly certain healing could take place in perhaps two hours or so. At the very least, it would take her three and a half days to fully recover. Perhaps four.
Did the rules of ghostly reconstruction apply to the little one? Malachite gazed at him uncomfortably as the child continued to remain motionless. But she still heard and smelled his heart readily beat, so he still lived.
Honestly, was he not going to lick his wounds? Malachite bent over him, vaguely wondering if she was to do it herself.
He was still so very young…..
Malachie raised her head, vaguely noting that car tires were screeching on the road some ways away….and getting closer.
She didn't much care, once again. It was too easy to be preoccupied with the young one.
Where was his Mother? Would she not come for her injured little one?
The boy's scent was neither that of human or ghost….but he couldn't be completely unique. Surely his not-dead-and-not-alive mother was around SOMEWHERE. Surely, she must be worried.
The only other life forms around were those of humans. The boy must not have a relation to them-for they were one hundred percent flightless fleshlings.
So….who were these people? Surely not the boy's fellow kin-they reeked of human flesh and blood.
She bent her head again, uncertainly shielding him from the chill with an outstretched wing….and managing to drip green liquid on the child.
Ooops.
Again, he was rather intriguing-even for the still bleeding specter.
Ever more curious, she bent her head to the feebly stirring boy in the snow.
~*~
After somewhat becoming aware of his surroundings, the boy started, every nerve screaming in panic.
The bird….thing….hadn't gone away, like he had hoped.
It was…..nibbling at his hair.
Danny froze momentarily, heart thudding wildly beneath his ribs as he struggled to keep his now labored breathing in check, erotic though a task it was.
The bird didn't really seem interested in pecking Danny's brains out, which, needless to say, he was glad for.
Rather, the bird's actions seemed akin to those of a canary or a parrot's…though he certainly wasn't going to tell this thing THAT as it continued to sniff him, deadened eyes boring into his own.
A trembling palm made its way to the bird's enormous, scaly gray ankle. Malachite jumped ever so slightly, and sent him a reproachful glance in his wake.
Danny lowered his now green and red hand.
"S-Sorry…." He muttered, hand falling back to snow once again. He shot the bird a sympathetic glance, regardless.
"Ouch….that had….to hurt."
~*~*~
Suddenly, Malachite swung her head around, pupils narrowing to slits once again as Jack and Maddie aimed Spectral Rifles….
…directly at the bird once again.
Maddie scowled at Malachite, fingering her weapon.
"Step. Away. From. My. Baby.
She inched ever so closer, eyes burning with resolve.
"Now."
~*~*~
Again, these people had quite a bit of nerve….
The bird briefly considered slashing all five of these wretched people open and feasting upon their bodies, but thought better of it. Obviously, they still feared her.
Her pride felt slightly soothed by that particular balm.
Even injured, she was still one to be feared.
The-girl-who-had-a-scent-rather-like-Danny's-but-alive stepped forwards, a growl ready to escape her….
…but it soon dissipated under a wave of fresh concern for the boy who still lay curled up into a small ball on the patch of fresh snow, readily continuing to stain it with fresh crimson-!
She felt ready to faint, herself.
"Danny? Danny?!"
The bird switched its gaze from the orange haired girl to the boy she now finally affirmed was named…Danny.
Escaping would be easy, now. She simply had to claw her way directly into the ghost dimension before….
She cast a look at the little body still wracked with pain, even in unconsciousness.
Pity swelled inside of her rapidly as she considered the lone creature that still lay against the frost, pale skin readily blooming in while his midnight hair stood out in dark contrast.
The poor little hatchling.
~*~*~
The humans still readily circled her, eyes fixed carefully upon her. She knew that the guns would fire the minute she made a move.
What a rather dull thought. They were humans-not specters. She needn't fear their overly slow movements and reflexes.
Phhhfff.
It wasn't as if the bird had anything left to live for, anyways.
She had counterattacked Skulker while Predator and Prey stalked one another-and she had fully anticipated her death.
But she lived. And Skulker was….momentarily, at the very least, if not quite possibly forever….gone.
But the Halfling….
What was she to do with him….?
….
……………….
…dim acknowledgement of her plan swept through her body.
Yes.
Yes.
Why not?
She could, at the very least, help him recover from his own wounds back at her home. Malachite could easily take the child away from the human dimension-and directly into her own home in the Ghost Dimension.
Her eyes flickered back to the woman who was still giving the child resting near Malachite's foot a look of tender love and pain.
The bird pondered who she was.
Of course, taking the child, it seemed-would break the violet-eyed woman's heart.
But she was no thief. She was not…..taking Danny…..
….merely borrowing him.
She wanted the child. And wasn't she, as a gryphon, allowed to assert her authority in the way she might wish?
And, since the child HAD saved her…she might as well take him…under her wing, as the expression went. Ironic.
Very, well, then…
Malachite's eyes narrowed as she paused a minute or so, then, one swipe of her still injured foot, swiped a way directly into the empty chill of the air.
And a dim, emerald light, swept into the air, recomdandant of the very selfsame slash pattern the bird had left.
Jack's eyes widened.
He'd seen this kind of madness before-ghosts that could cut their ways into different dimensions.
But as long as the winged freak decided to leave Danny alone, it was all good. Everything was all-
In the blink of an eye, the bird's forefoot closed around the young hybrid.
~*~
In the blink of an eye, the bird's forefoot closed around the young hybrid.
Careful though Malachite had tried to be, she still brushed against Danny's injured leg.
The fourteen year old started slightly at the pain, and inwardly groaned.
Would this never e-?
But his mind abruptly ceased all thought as the forefoot curled itself around his limp body.
In a chorus of rifles being set directly to fire, Danny's began to frantically claw at the iron like bound, finding, much to his increasing panic, that the rings that he fully expected to burst at his waist-
….did not come.
Alarmed, Danny began to kick at his holds with his one good leg, but the grip merely tightened.
And Malachite, after a few, wobbly steps-just as Maddie's reloader flashed into a blow-the bird staggered away, a shell shocked Danny still desperately fighting for freedom as Sam seized the motionless thermos, ready to send it crashing onto the bird's side-
Too late.
~*~*~
With an anguished shriek from behind him, and Maddie's face contorting into wild terror-Malachite leapt directly into the heart of the spectral round, Danny still secured in her steel grasp.
Someone fired at the hole-desperate for it to remain open-as Danny extended a helpless hand towards the fresh, chilly air of home.
Amity Park.
But, as the portal sealed neatly behind a readily panicking Danny, he only heard more anguished shouts and screams.
His hand fell ever so slightly, hope dying in his chest.
……….no.
~*~*~
The air was growing increasingly thin. It was getting extraordinarily difficult to take shaky breath after shaky breath.
Danny had long ceased fighting the iron like grasp of the overstuffed, black bird-and now, hundreds and hundreds of miles above the barren, mismatched doors and craters….
He now hung on for dear life, fear drumming itself directly into his very core.
He still could not transfigure back into a ghost.
And this bird had taken him away from his friends and family.
Danny's head spun sickeningly as he swallowed, feeling absolutely nauseous by this point.
Mentally, he berated himself, eyes stinging with the hysteria threatening to overtake him.
Why, oh why, hadn't he forced this ghost into the thermos, too? It was as bad as Skulker-if not even more so!
He forced himself to take a deep breath.
And another….
…and another.
Boy. It was rapidly becoming harder to do so in here….
Shakily placing a hand at his bloodied arm, Danny accidentally let out a small whimper of pain as the broken flesh throbbed in angry response.
Malachite swung her head towards Danny, cast him a small glance, and then began to fly faster.
The talons-careful not to pierce his flesh, curled even more tightly around his body as the bird's tendrils squeezed ever so slightly, as if in a gentle reassurance.
Danny did not feel it.
~*~*~
Desperate to keep consciousness, whatever the cost, Danny still tried transforming into Danny Phantom.
Again.
And again.
And again….
…but no dice. All that came was a lurch of pain racing along his backbone like flame, and so, after awhile, he ceased trying.
Was this bird going to feed him to a nest of chicks…like her?
The thought was a little sickening. A chick the size of this poultry would have to be a little over his own height!
Or…did she just want to eat him herself?
Danny closed his eyes.
Okay.
He could get out of this one. If he managed to hold her off long enough-if he had to make do without powers….then Sam and Tucker could arrive with the Speeder.
His stomach lurched again.
There's a difference between flying and being yanked along by an enormous bird-thousands of feet in midair, not knowing whether it would spot some other, more preferable prey-and drop him.
He hung on.
~*~*~
It was surprisingly quiet, so high up.
There was little TO hear but the sound of the wind rustling as you rushed past.
There was an empty, somewhat solidarity gloom in the deafeningly silence that rippled only with the occasional gust solidating to a sorrowful lullaby.
After awhile, Malachite had noticed Danny beginning to shudder violently, and had simply clasped the boy even more tightly-before awkwardly drawing the boy closer-to her side and body heat.
Danny blinked at the notion.
Did she not want her prey to freeze to death before they got there….wherever that "there" was?
What the reason was, Danny didn't know.
And he was rapidly losing the battle to keep his eyelids open as he could now steadily hear the lulling throb of the bird's heartbeat.
Air growing increasingly thinner, feeling readier then ever to slip off into darkness, and
Overwhelming drowsiness tugging at his core, the young hybrid was, at last, pulled into it once again; face pressed against glossy midnight feathers.
~*~*~
Whew….
Okay, everyone. I certainly hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Poor Danny…
I'm experimenting with different writing styles (For those who haven't seen my work, I generally put an emphasis on thought and emotion) but one of my readers from TWITD suggested that I might want to try creating balance between that and the action actually going on. Huh. Interesting…..
Anyhoo, everyone-please, wish me luck in my classes. College is coming up rapidly-and graduation from high school is just next year. I hope to become an elementary school teacher-and achieve an ultima (Doctor's) degree in English after I go for my bachelor's and master's degree.
Bless you-and take care! ^^