DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN DANNY PHANTOM

Danny gulp nervously as he got into his battle stance, keeping an eye on every part of his opponent. Just then the guardsman who he thinks is Valerie, since he couldn't see the face under the helmet and the mouth piece muffled the voice so he can't tell if he's a boy or a girl, made her move sending her rapier straight for his heart! Danny flinched, raising his own blade but barely managing to block this attack. As he feared, Danny couldn't read any of her tells! None of her movements betrayed her intent, and the only reason Danny was able to react in time was due to his countless hours he spent sparring with Valerie. The guardsman continued with a series of rapid strikes. Danny tried to hold his ground, but found himself being forced back. Eventually they both paused, backing off to catch their breaths. 'Val is it really you? If so please give me a sign.' Danny silently pleaded. Just then the guardsman made a large circular motion with her sword, triggering another memory.


*Flashback*

After finishing up his chores, Danny found Valerie standing in front of one of their practice logs. He observed how she did a circular motion before slashing at the log, slicing it in half. "Why do you do that?" Danny asked curiously.

"Do what?"

"So that circle thing before you attack?"

"It gives me perspective," Valerie answered doing another circular motion. "This is my circle. The full reach of my attacks. It gives me an idea of how close an enemy has to be for me to hit him."

"But why is that necessary?" Danny wondered since knowing one's reach should be second nature.

"Because in battle the greatest danger is fatigue. No matter how good of a fighter you are, if you get too tired then even a child would be able to kill you. So to conserve energy, you should only attack when you're absolutely certain that you are going to hit your enemy." Valerie did her circle again, only this time when she swung at Danny missing him by a hair. Danny could tell by the look in her eyes that it was intentional. "Or miss if you are just trying to scare him."

*Flashback Ends*


Drawing his own circle, he envisioned both of them inside invisible bubbles. 'These are our circles, if she attacks me when I'm in her circle, that means she's trying to kill me.' Danny thought to himself. The guardsman quickly resumed her attacks with a series of rapid jabbing motions. All when Danny was within her circle! Danny began to fight back as well, seeing as how his life was on the line, but his gauntlet blade was proving to be a severe disadvantage. While cool and effective, the fact that it's strapped to his arm meant that Danny was limited on its uses in battle, not to mention that the spring and locking system weren't all that strong and could break at a moment's notice. Yes, he needed a real sword for this fight. Again his hand started twitching, wanting to draw Striker out, and again Danny had to resist the urge to use it. Luckily the guards he knocked out earlier had all the swords he needed and more. Now he just needed to buy himself a few seconds to get one.


Options:

Smoke bomb: very effective as a diversionary device. But he only has one left and may need it to cover his escape. (curses being poor)

Throwing knifes: effective mid-range weapons and excellent for creating a distraction. Plus he has plenty that he got from the thugs and bandits he's been hunting. Downside, if this is Valerie then it would be a futile attempt and a waste of a good knives.

Bolas: good for ensnaring and at this close range, it will trap even Valerie. The only problem is that he can't just use it. It would take him a few seconds to get them ready at which time she could kill him.

Arm cable: good for scaling walls and hooking large objects, but not very effective as a weapon.

Yo-Yo blade: good melee weapon and in the hands of an expert can be deadly and unpredictable. Except that Danny is no expert.


'Going with the yo-yo' Danny decided. Swinging the yo-yo wildly, he kept it fully extended as it flew around his person, not retracting it once. Keeping the guardsman at yo-yo's length away, while Danny inched his way towards the fallen guards. Suddenly the stepped forward, well within range of the yo-yo kill zone, slicing its string and sending the yo-yo flying across the room until in got impaled on the wall! "Hey I just got that!" Danny complained. While he may have lost his yo-yo, he managed to get close enough to the fallen guard's swords. Kicking two of the swords up so he could grab them without having to bend down.

The first thing Danny noticed as held the swords was how bad they were made. The swords were terribly off balance and heavy. It felt like he was fighting with a sack of potatoes. 'Whoever they hired to forge these swords had no idea what he was doing. Still beggars can't be choosy.' Danny said to himself. Using one sword to attack on high, and the other to hit low, Danny seemed to have gained the advantage as the guardsman started to back off using her one sword to fend of his two. But the tide change again as Danny's movements began to slow down. The awkwardness of the swords was draining his stamina faster that he expected making it harder to hold on to them. The guardsman noticed this too and started to press on her attack, knocking off one of the swords right out of his hand. With one sword gone Danny grasps the remaining swords with both hands. This helped him maintain better control making his attacks more effective. As the two combatants fought, the guardsman rapier broke under the stress of the battle! Shocked by this turn of events, Danny wasn't going to waste this opportunity and pointed his sword at the guardsman's face/helmet. "You lose," Danny declaring victory.

"Are you sure," the guardsman mocked. Suddenly Danny felt a stinging sensation on his leg. Looking down he saw an asp slithering right next to him before turning into Bertrand.

"That was for the smoke bomb in my mouth! Ugh I can still taste it." Bertrand spat.

"Oh crud, I forgot about you," Danny cursed as his vision started to blur.

"Yes, so how's about you surrender this time?" Bertrand mocked.

"That's one option, however I choose...SMOKE BOMB!" Danny threw his last smoke bomb filling the room with a strong pepper cloud. (Good thing he didn't use it during the fight.)

"Not again!" Bertrand coughed. After some of the smoke cleared he saw that the intruder was nowhere to be seen. "Where is he!? Find him!" he ordered.

Just outside in the hall, Danny limped away as fast as he could. He could feel his body burning from the venom coursing in his veins. Not sensing anyone nearby, he pulled out a vial of APA (All Purpose Antidote) out of his emergency medical pouch. At least he hopes it's APA, hard to tell with his vision blurred. Plus since he bought it on the black market so there's no guarantee that it is even APA to begin with. Seeing as how he doesn't have much of a choice, Danny drank the contents of the vial. Thankfully the medicine began to subside the pain almost immediately, making him feel very relaxed. "Oh crud," Danny cursed as he started to get drowsy. He had forgotten that APA puts you to sleep for eight hours after drinking it. That is why they say never to use it in enemy territory. Danny struggled to stay awake long enough for him to find a place to hide, and hope they don't find him until it wears off. Unfortunately he took the wrong step and fell down a flight of stairs. He soon heard several footsteps, which he assumes are guards, heading straight towards him. "I'm sorry everyone, I've failed. I've failed you all." Danny cried as everything faded to black.


In the darkness, Danny floated in a sea of anxiety. All around him he heard voices of his loved ones accusing him of his past failures:

"How could you Danny? How could you just leave your kingdom, your home just when we needed you most?"

"You've disgraced our family honor!"

"Why Danny, why did you steal my crown? You are no better than Vlad Masters!"

"This job was bigger than the both of us. I still needed you help, but instead you abandoned me, and now look at what your failure has wrought!"

Danny saw a vision of Amity Park being burned to the ground with a giant Vlad Masters laughing manically as lightning rained destruction down on his home city. But the most frightening thing was that Vlad was not just wearing the ring; he also had the crown, the dragon amulet, and four other objects which he assumes are the other Relics. "No, NO! It can't be!" Danny cried.

"But it is! Vlad has all seven Relics and is now the Wizard King; and it's your fault, all because you didn't stop him! All because you failed! Failure, failure, failure..." the voices of his friends and family repeatedly accused.


"NNNNOOOO!" Danny screamed waking up in cold sweat.

"Aw finally awake are we," this strange female voice suddenly said. Danny turned to see this beautiful woman sitting right next to his bed. The weird thing is that it looked like she was inhaling some kind of greenish mist. Even weirder, every time she inhales the mist her wrinkles disappears and her skin becomes more vibrate and colorful. Almost like she was becoming younger and dare he add prettier. Danny wasn't sure if this was real, or a hallucination caused by the venom and/or APA.

"Who are you?" Danny said weakly, trying to sound more confident than he felt.

"Now that's a fine thing to ask someone after breaking into their house," the lady snickered.

"Spectra," Danny figured.

"Correct, and you would be the infamous mercenary for hire, the Grey Ghost. You're definitely a lot more hunkier than I was led to believe." Spectra licking her lips. Danny flinched fearing for his identity, but he found it strange that his mask was still on. "Oh don't worry, I didn't peek. That's not my style. I prefer if you unmask yourself for me." Spectra said seductively. Leaning so close to his face that he could smell her breath, which was not all that bad to be honest.

'Is this woman trying to seduce me?' Danny panicked. Just when it seemed like she was going to kiss him, she pulled back grinning playfully.

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes," Spectra said getting up. "I have already provided some water and clean clothes for you to freshen up," Spectra directing his attention to the washroom. Danny noticed all of his gear as well as his sword Striker, was on the table next to the washroom. "The dining hall is the third door to your left, I hope you'd be joining us." Spectra blew him a kiss before leaving.

Danny got up to check out his gear. So far no sign of tampering, but just to be sure he activated Striker's generator. Thankfully the blade came to life proving that the crown was still inside. Danny was tempted to just grabbing his stuff and leaving this forsaken place, but he still had a job to do. After he cleaned himself up and got dressed in the clothing provided, he made his way to the dining hall.

Waiting outside the door to the dining hall, stood the guardsman, who he thinks is Valerie. "The mistress is expecting you," the guardsman directed opening the door.

"Thanks," Danny said dryly tossing the guardsman a copper coin. Inside he found Spectra sitting on a large and rather fancy table carved from fine marble. Sitting right next to her, that shape shifting midget Bertrand. "The sword stays with me," Danny insisted pointing to Striker strapped to his back. He wanted to bring his other weapons as well but the clothes they provided made it impossible for him to conceal any of it.

"Fine, fine," Spectra waved off. "Please sit down. And might I add, you are even more handsome than I expected." she said admiring his face. While ever fiber of his being told him that this is a bad idea, he decided to play along with Spectra's flirting and came to dinner unmasked.

"Thank you my lady," Danny said respectfully taking his seat. Which looked really weird with an oversized sword on his back. After he sat down several servants came in placing down salads, roasted chicken, warm bread, honey, and what looked like blood wine. One thing that he noticed was that all the servants looked depressed, empty, devoid of hope, almost exactly like Freddy did! He also noticed that they were setting up an extra spot on the table. "Is someone else joining us madam?" Danny asked.

"Please don't be so formal, we're all friends here, just call me Penelope," Spectra insisted. "As for your question. Yes, but not until later." Spectra taking a sip from her glass. "I must say I'm quite impressed with your performance. Not everyone can break into my house, evade my traps, and fight off not only my right hand man but my personal bodyguard as well."

"Considering how I nearly died, I wouldn't call my performance impressive." Danny sulked ripping off one of the drumsticks off the chicken.

"Maybe not, but you were able to fend off my attacks and that accounts for something," a familiar voice said from the door. Danny quickly turned to see her! His old partner Valerie. It seems that the years have been good to her; as she seemed not only taller than he remembered, but more developed and attractive as well. But the biggest change he noticed was that she now had a crew cut instead of her long curly hair. Yes normally Danny prefers girls with long hair, but this new short hair style works for her. It made her look more dangerous and hot!

"I believe you've met my bodyguard Veil, the one you were fighting earlier," Spectra introduced.

"Oh I didn't expect such a beauty to be in that ugly armor," Danny said smoothly.

"Watch yourself Grey Ghost, I've killed men with better pick up lines than that." Valerie warned taking her seat. Across the table he could see Spectra sneering at them.

"Alright, no more flirting," Danny promised. "But I am curious to why am I here? Why didn't you just kill me when I was helpless?"

"Killing you would be a waste," Spectra answered. "Since you are a mercenary you have no loyalties anyone. So how about you come work for me." Spectra offered. Snapping her fingers a small treasure chest appeared filled with gold coins. "I can pay you handsomely for your services. Though not as handsome as you." she teased.

"Tempting, but I'm on a job right now, and can't take another until I either finish or my client can't pay. Call it professionalism" Danny said.

"And when you say, he cannot pay, does that mean?" Spectra ran her thumb over her throat.

"Usually," Danny answered.

"I'll double your pay if you take out client right now," Spectra said snapping her fingers again and more gold coins appeared on the table.

"I must say, for someone who lives in such a impoverish town you are rather loaded," Danny commented.

"Yes well, I do have connections," Spectra gloated.

"Connections?" Danny wondered.

"You've heard of the DALV group, no?" Spectra asked.

"No can't say that I have," Danny shaking his head. Though he couldn't shake the feeling that this is important.

"Well..." Spectra started to say, until Bertrand coughed warning her that she was saying too much. "Let me just say that they can make us both richer than our wildest imagination."

"I don't know, I can imagine quite a bit," Danny challenged.

"You'll get it, but only if you agree to work for me. And you can start by killing your previous employer." Spectra demanded.

"Deal!" Danny said grabbing a knife off the table and throwing it at Bertrand! The little shape shifter screamed in terror as the knife stopped. Floating mere centimeters from from his face and right between the eyes! Danny saw that it was Spectra herself that magically stopped the knife.

"Nice try," Spectra laughed in amusement using her magic to return the knife to Danny. "But you'll never convince me that my dear Bertrand will ever betray me. So tell me, who really sent you here to kill me?"

"No one did," Valerie/Veil said taking a sip of her wine. "Otherwise he would have attacked you directly. He just attacked master Bertrand because he doesn't like him. Then again, who does?" Veil joked. Bertrand glared at both Danny and Veil as he took a bite of his chicken. "So the question is who hired him and for what?"

"Bullet," Danny finally answered. "But as she said, not to kill you. He wanted me to find out what happened to the other Hunters and if possible rescue them. But I'm sure he was hoping for some sort of confrontation between us."

"Interesting, but why not kill me? I'm sure he'll pay well for the deed." Spectra asked.

"Well mis...Penelope," Danny corrected himself. "Let's just say that I don't intend to get myself involved in this little private war of theirs against your kind. I'm just in it for the money."

"Let me get this straight. If I release the Hunters I'm holding prisoner, then you'll be free as well?" Spectra asked excitedly.

"Yes," Danny said.

"Done!" Spectra clapped summoning one of her servants. "Release the Hunters and provide them a ride back to town." Spectra ordered.

"Whatever," the servant shrugged as he left to carry out her orders. Again Danny noticed that strange mist that Spectra is inhaling, only this time it seemed lighter and originating from the servant.

"So will you take me up on my offer?" Spectra asked after the servant left.

"After I confirm my pay, yes." Danny answered.

"I look forward to a wonderful partnership," Spectra toasted.


After dinner Danny returned to the room that they've provided for him. His mind racing with all he had just learned. Valerie, now calling herself Veil, working for Spectra, and this DALV group. He just can't shake the feeling that it is all connected some how, and he needs to find some answers and soon. His best chance for finding answers is Valerie! He just needed to find a way to talk to her in private, but that's assuming that she is still on his side. Danny felt tired, but he didn't want to go to sleep; because ever time he closes his eyes, that's when the nightmares come.

Back at the dining hall, Spectra was still there sniffing the mist from the chairs that Danny and Valerie was sitting in. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Bertrand asked. "I mean letting the prisoners go and bringing Grey Ghost in?"

"You know that misery keeps me young and beautiful, and that Grey Ghost is like a walking spa treatment! He has more misery than all the prisoners and even the servants combined! Between him and Veil, I can stay young for years to come!" Spectra said ecstatically. "It's a good thing I caught a whiff of it before you idiots had a chance to kill him!"

"But he is also dangerous!" Bertrand reminded her. "Who's to say that he won't cut off our heads the moment our backs are turned."

"Easy, we just have to make him loyal to me," Spectra grinned as she started admiring herself in the mirror. "The only question is, should I use magic?" Spectra casting a hypnotic spell on her servants causing them to dance. "Or my beauty?" she said kissing her reflection.