Hello, peoples of the the Internet! Temporal Break here, wishing you a Happy New- wait, that was 13 days ago. Hmm...well at the very least, have a Happy Today! Just a few things before we get started.
A. This chapter should not have been so late coming. Long story short, I got stuck on one part in here, and it took me over two weeks to get it right. So yeah. It'll be better next time. I hope.
B. I've always been confused about the Phantom time progression, and I'd like to get it right so that ages can be correct. Specifically, I want to know Danny's age during Kindred Spirits, and Danny's age during the Disastroid incident.
That's all for now, so sit back and enjoy Chapter 3 of The Lost and the Found.
Chapter 3: Fiends on the Other Side
Most days, Skulker would have been hunting in the dark corners of the Ghost Zone for rare and exotic specters. Most days, Skulker would have been terrorizing the citizens of Amity Park and getting a laugh out of their panic. Most days, Skulker would be fighting the ghost boy, Danny Phantom, in an attempt to hang the half-ghost's pelt on his wall.
Today was not most days.
Today, Skulker was scouting a small town in some Clockwork-forsaken desert in an attempt to kidnap a specific person for an anonymous dealer. Normally, he would have terminated the deal with quick word and even quicker bullets, but this man had gotten some dirt on the iron-clad mecha ghost that would've driven his career to a humiliating stop. So instead of hunting spectral majesties or squaring off against the ghost whelp, he was stuck on a desert plateau getting sand in places he didn't know he had.
"At least the suit can be cleaned," Skulker muttered bitterly to himself. "But I'm sick of waiting around for this, this stupid fleshbag to show up! I'm a hunter, by Pariah's beard, not a witless spy; I hunt, I don't stalk!" As minute after excruciating minute passed by, the hunter grew more and more irritated with his current position and agitated disposition.
"I could go in there right now, find the girl, and get back to hunting. Sure, a few buildings might be leveled, and a couple people might grab a ticket to the other side, but hey, it leaves room for other retail and residents. Besides, this town isn't even on the map, no one would miss it."
A passing vulture spotted the hunter stooped in the sand. In a passing moment of insanity, it decided that Skulker was a struggling survivor, and swooped down for a meal. The doomed bird perched on his iron clad shoulder and began to peck at his skin; moments later, a cloud of black feathers exploded where the vulture had perched before. Pleased to have killed something, Skulker picked up the bird, holstered his blaster and turned his attention back to the avian corpse.
"Hmm, not bad weight for an Earth creature, and the plumage is, um, was, especially fine. Maybe I can fix it up on my island; it would be a shame to let such a prize go to-". A raven colored something colored something caught his eye at the base of the stone tower, and he turned from his prize to…
The girl.
The girl was right there.
At the lip of the town.
Completely unaware.
Skulker nearly fried the impudent child for wasting his time, and then remembered that without his target alive, he would become the laughing stock of both this world and the ghost world. So he kept quiet, and started his jetpacks in preparation for the abduction.
"Then, once I clean my hands of this affair, Phantom will be mine!" he chuckled, flying down to capture the girl.
Danielle stood at the edge of the town, mouth agape at the sight. Just for reference, She had seen the inside of a madman's lab, she had seen an emergency operations center balanced on top of a ghosthunter's home, and she had even seen a giant metal tower capable of rendering the Earth intangible, but her eyes had never beheld anything like what she saw before her.
Two walls of stone rose up on side, plateaus of rock and gravel dominating her view and reaching into the purple sky. Cliffs protruded from the plateaus, with bits of vegetation hanging from their jagged ridges. The towers of rock looked untouched from a distance, but a closer inspection at the base of the monoliths revealed a settlement unlike anything she had seen.
There were buildings. Real brick and mortar buildings. Shops. Houses. A quarry and a water pump. Electrical wires ran from roof to roof, indicating that this already impressive settlement had a means of power. Where there was no space for a house, buildings were carved directly into the side of the mesa. All of it appeared to be made from either the rock in the plateaus or the desert sand.
While the town itself was incredible, being built from granite and sandstone, Danielle realized that each building was completely different; size, shape, and model varied from structure to structure. One had intricate carvings etched into its walls, with a stone rose placed at the top. Another appeared to growing insulated wires, adapters, and switches like a horribly mutated tree, or something Tucker would build. Yet another appeared to be built in commemoration of the Parthenon, only built with granite in place of marble, but as grand as the original.
Despite the differences, the town was well constructed, thought out, beautiful, completely organized…and completely quiet. Looking back on it, Danielle hadn't seen anyone walking around, no one talking or hanging out; as a matter of fact, there was literally no sound, except for the whispers of desert winds and…
…the roar of a jet engine?
How odd. No machines were running, and there were no aircraft flying overhead, so-
BANG!
"Of course" Danielle mumbled irritably, now tangled in a glowing green net. "It's the ghost I'M supposed to be hunting."
She turned her head to face the ghost while struggling against the radiant bonds. Standing, er, hovering before her was her captor, a seven-foot tall mecha-ghost with glowing green eyes, a flaming Mohawk and goatee, a belt with an emblazoned "S" on its buckle, and a wrist-mounted laser cannon with the bad end pointed at her. Danny had mentioned his rival to Danielle, and now she was meeting him face to face.
"Skulker. I've heard of you. Greatest Hunter of the Ghost Zone"
"I don't know how you know me" the ghost seethed, "but I do know that I should turn you into a pile of ashes for wasting my time." Hate began to fill its glowing eyes. "It was time I could have spent hunting Phantom, time I could have spent tracking green ringed ectopi and other rare creatures, time I could have spent beating the final boss of Doomed!"
"Wait, what?" Danielle blurted, startled at Skulker's gaming hobbies.
"Butitdoesn'tmatternow" he continued hastily, "Because, unfortunately for you, my employer wants you alive. He mentioned that you ruined his life or something like that. At the very least, he didn't sound happy." The tech knight picked up the net and slung it over his shoulder, not noticing a leg poking out of the ropes. "I'd be careful if I were you."
"And I'd be more competent if I were YOU!" Danielle exclaimed, and planted her foot squarely into Skulker's back.
"OWWWW!" Skulker fell forward and face planted into the ground, groaning in pain from the impact. Unfortunately, he also released the net in the process, giving the captured girl ample time to escape. Danielle quickly untangled herself from her bonds and ran for cover.
"Ugh…that was a cheap trick, child! NOW TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE SO I CAN WIPE YOU FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH!" Skulker scanned the buildings, and then spotted a red beanie and black ponytail disappear behind the tech-tree house.
"There you are, you impotent sap." Skulker growled under his breath, stomping toward the lab. "You have sufficiently wasted my time and my patience. Now, even my deal will not save you from utter destruction." As the otherworldly hunter rounded the corner, he saw the unprotected child standing in a rather peculiar fighting stance; that is, the stance itself wasn't peculiar, but the fact that a child would fight an immortal being was.
"HA! You're not only cowardly, you're stupid to boot! Oh, this is too good; why, I ought to…to…"
Skulker trailed off as a familiar white band, pulsating with power, grew out from the girl's waist. At once, the band split along its middle, traveling along her waist and legs. Red denim and blue cotton morphed into black and white rubber, sneakers into white boots, bare hands were covered in white gloves, and the hoodie disappeared to reveal snow white hair knotted into a single braid. When the transformation was complete, Skulker merely stared, mouth wide open from the sight.
"I-impossible", Skulker stammered, taking a cautionary step back. An odd move for the stoic hunter of the Ghost Zone. "You couldn't possibly be him, could you? Danny Phantom?"
"No, I am not Danny Phantom.", the girl said, clearly annoyed. "Anyone with eyes can see that; unless of course, your eyes are for novelty purposes only."
Indeed, the titular savior of the Ghost Zone appeared to be standing before him; on closer inspection, however, Skulker realized that this could not be Danny: There were white marks on the inner parts of her black pants, a diagonal stripe was emblazoned on her dark top, and her hair was long and braided, with a square piece of chrome metal at the end. As a matter of fact, the only thing similar to the half-ghost hero was a stylized white D inscribed on the chest of the shirt.
The Phantom's insignia.
"B-but if you aren't Danny, then whoOOF!" Skulker was launched backwards, eventually leaving a Skulker-shaped imprint in a sandstone wall on some unlucky structure. Shaking the stars out of his eyes, he gazed upward to see the monochrome-clad figure brandishing a flaming green fist.
"Actually, my name is Dani, with an I.", Dani grinned, winding up for an ecto-charged helping of punishment. "And as the new protector of Los Vagabundos, it is my hope that you will enjoy your customized, personalized butt-kicking."
Woohoo! Danielle's finally in ghost mode! Surely this can only mean good things for our half-dead hero! Well...maybe not, but you'll have to read the next chapter to find out.
Just one thing before you go. I've used Danielle's ghost disguise from Kindred Spirits and D-Stablilzed in this chapter, save a few changes (such as a braided ponytail and no midriff: sorry, guys.) However, since I want this series to be different from the Danny Phantom series, I want Danielle to wear a different costume. That's where you come in.
Simply put, I want the readers to suggest or describe alternate costumes for Danielle, and I'll choose my favorite as a new costume for her. Just don't make it overly sexualized or inappropriate; Dani's only in her teens, after all.
That all for now, and don't forget to review it if you loved it or review it if you loathed it. See you for Chapter 4.