Well, after three chapters of build up, we are finally getting a little bit of action. Woo hoo! I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm a firm believer in plot build up and I've been updating so fast, I doubt I'm even really giving people time to digest the last chapter before the next one is popped out.
Vlad Masters does not own the Packers. If you do not know why I bring that up, please refer to the author note at the beginning of the last chapter. I think that will clear things up.
A bit of a warning: I'm sure everyone has noticed how this is rated M. This is not only for the adult scenes between Dan and Clock that will eventually be happening (yippy!) but also… well for chapters like this. This chapter is not going to be pleasant, as is the point. I'm keeping it in the realm of what would (probably) be appropriate of the show, but a few scenes may or may not give you a 'What the hell is wrong with this woman?' reaction.
You have been warned, now welcome to my nightmare.
Chapter Four: The Wicked Will be Punished Through Evil
"Uncle."
Clockwork looked over to Opal after the portal closed, leaving the two of them alone in the Library.
"Hmm?"
"I think I understand your motivation now, the one that encouraged you to pick that man."
She looked over at him and frowned slightly.
"Danny Phantom is going to face so much before this is over. I can feel it in my heart. There may be times when he might falter, might fall. Dan is twisted, will be able to face this world that we have hurled them in without flinching. I think… young Danny will need that strength, without taking the risk that comes with having to make it his own."
Clockwork peered in the dim light at his niece. She looked worried, but smiled softly at him all the same. She trusted him.
He only hoped she'd be able to stay this optimistic before it was all over.
#---------#
Danny felt a little disoriented from the sudden shift from the Library to this new world. Shaking his head slightly to try to get rid of the strange buzzing in his ears, he looked around himself. Everyone else was there with him and they were taking in their surroundings.
It was night but when he looked up at the sky he didn't see any stars or the moon through the thick clouds. They were in an alleyway that looked as if it hadn't been cleaned out by the city in a while. Trashcans were overturned, and Danny scrunched up his nose from the odor coming from the trash strewn out around the tin basins. A cat yowled close by, the only sound aside from their own breathing.
"Sam," he said as he turned to his girlfriend, "do you have the compass?"
Sam nodded and traced her hand over the silver locket hanging from her neck. Opal had given it to them before they had left, saying that it was used to find outsiders from other worlds. Apparently people crossing over between worlds was more common than Danny would have originally thought, and the compass was a good way to lock onto someone who needed to be put back in their own reality. After ensuring the thing wouldn't go off and point to any of them, they'd been sent on their way.
"It's not giving off any signs of knowing where this guys is though," Sam said as she inspected it. "It's just spinning in circles."
"We're probably not close enough," Samantha said. She looked like she was getting a little ill from the smell, and Danny wondered if being in a place like this could hurt her. From what they'd been told about this world, plants were little more than weeds on a planet like this. "Can we please move? I'm not feeling well."
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Danny said and started to make his way out of the alley and into a street. There were lampposts, but they were all flickering badly, moths flying around the bulbs, a few faintly buzzing as they turned on and off periodically.
Danny looked around, but he didn't see anyone who they could go and ask where they were. In fact, he didn't see anyone at all. The city street was devoid of any people, only having some cars parked awkwardly in the road and a few pieces of trash skittering around in the wind. He shivered, the night air chilly in just his jeans and t-shirt, and his breath came out in little wisps.
"Why is it so cold here?" Tucker asked, shivering a little as he looked around too. "Even for October, it's freezing. And where is everyone?"
"Do you think the book was already rewritten?" Sam asked.
Danny took a few more steps forward and the broken concrete crunched underneath his feet, small pieces skittering slightly in his wake. He knew Opal had said this world was dangerous, apparently a planet full of war, where almost everyone was either a gang member or a mercenary of some sort, both ghosts and humans. He had expected it to be loud, not so quiet and still that his heart seemed to be thundering in his chest in comparison.
A soft sound suddenly caught Danny's attention and he looked to his left. There was a building, windows boarded up and a glass littering the floor in front of it, a soft whimpering coming from it. It sounded like a soft sobbing, like someone softly crying to themselves. A dull neon sign above the door read BAR, the door of which was hanging slightly ajar.
"What the hell is that?" Dan asked as he crossed his arms. "Sounds like some brat in there."
"Maybe someone's hurt," Sam said, sounding worried all of a sudden. "Come on, let's go help 'em."
She rushed for the door and opened it before anyone could stop her and peered inside.
"Hey?" she called into the dark room. "Is anyone here?"
"Sam," Danny said and came in after her. "You see anyone?"
Another sob sounded and they looked up, seeing a faint outline of a bar and several stools and tables knocked around and broken. Sitting in front of the bar, a small figure was on the floor, curled up into a ball and crying softly, shaking a little.
"It's a kid," Sam murmured and moved closer, her arm outstretched slightly. "Hey, are you okay?"
The person just continued to cry, rocking back and forth. Danny's eyes widened slightly when he saw something was sitting in front of the kid, a small mess, oozing dark liquid that looked suspiciously like…
"Don't!" he said and grabbed her hand suddenly before Sam touched the child, who stiffened slightly from the sudden shout and looked up. They both recoiled when red eyes glowed out at them, tears falling from them.
"It killed my cat," a scratched voice rasped out, sounding neither like a girl or a boy. "IT KILLED MY CAT!"
Sam screamed suddenly when the 'child' stood, standing much like a broken doll would and claws coming from it's sleeves instead of hands. Giving a loud cat's yowl, the thing jumped out at them, before a large ecto-blast hit it right out of the air, knocking it through the back wall of the bar. The two teens looked to see a frowning Dan, energy still swirling around his raised fist.
"All right, this place is officially fucked up," he snorted. "And you two, stop being so stupid. That thing obviously wasn't a human."
"We were tying to help," Sam yelled at him, still seeming shaken from the unexpected attack.
"In a place like this, even if that had been a child, there was no helping it," he replied. "I'm here for one reason, to find the bastard who that librarian couldn't keep out of her domain and grab that damn Quill. If you're along for the ride, you had better be able to keep up. Now come on. And get back in your ghost form Danny. You would have been able to handle that if you hadn't been walking around in that state."
He turned away from them and left the bar quickly as Tucker rushed in.
"You two okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, we're fine," Danny said before two white rings warped around him, turning him back to Danny Phantom. He had to admit, it had been dumb to be walking around as a human in a place he'd been told was dangerous. "Just caught by surprise, that's all."
"What was that? A ghost?" Tucker asked as he looked at the smoking hole.
"It had to have been. It certainly wasn't human," Sam said. "But it was… different looking than any ghost. I mean, it was… twisted."
"Hey," Samantha called into the bar. "Come along you three. Staying here long won't do any of us any good."
The three teens left the building quickly, joining back up with the older versions of Danny and Sam. The plant woman was shivering, her face looking as if she was going to be ill any moment. She looked as eager to be away from here, and Danny couldn't blame her in the least. He had a feeling it had nothing to do with what had happened in the bar either.
Without any location to really head to, the group ended up just following the road north. The entire city looked broken down, as if looters had stripped the place several times, and after a while, everyone just stopped trying to fix up the windows or doors. There were a few craters that decorated the street and sidewalks, even a barrel or two that had fires burning pathetically in it.
Danny wasn't sure how long they had been walking, or how many times Sam would check the compass, only to shake her head and they would have to keep going. Every once in a while he got the eerie feeling that someone was watching them, but when he looked around, nothing was there. He had expected to see someone by now, and after a while he stopped suddenly and sighed.
"Is there even anyone left alive here?" he asked and looked up the sky. "How do we know this place wasn't already cleared out? Maybe this guy already took everyone from this world, or wrote it so there wasn't anyone left alive by the time we got here."
"Yeah, I think Opal would have said something if it was this bad," Sam agreed. "It's a complete ghost town."
Danny wondered if they would even find anything here, and if they did, how long would it take searching? They had no direction to go in, and just hoping they came across something eventually wasn't exactly optimistic. Danny was finding himself really missing the Clockwork that could see into the future. At least that way he would know he was heading in the right direction.
A small skittering suddenly made them look up where the sound had come from. Danny, powering up an ecto-blast in his hand, peered into the alleyway it had come from. However, after a few minutes, nothing happened and the ghost boy sighed in relief. Thinking it was just a rat, he dropped his hand.
"This place is definitely reading a ten on the creepy meter," he muttered before a sudden scream split through the air.
"G-get away from me!"
There was no one around, but Danny knew he'd heard that. Everyone had, judging from their reactions. Thinking it had come from their left, he turned himself intangible and quickly flew through the buildings in the way. Ignoring the cries of surprise at his sudden departure, he looked wildly around, trying to find the person that was screaming.
He saw a young boy running down the street, and he guessed from the kid's appearance, he was only about seven or eight. There were several… things running after him, and if Danny had to guess, he would have said they were dogs. But, they looked wrong. Meat was hanging off of them in a grotesques manner as they ran, and Danny could see blood and bone peaking out from tattered flesh. These things shouldn't have been alive, much less hunting.
The boy suddenly tripped over a jagged piece of the street and fell to the ground. Looking behind him and over his shoulder, he screamed as a dog almost descended on him before it was blasted away by Danny, who landed quickly between the boy and the pack.
"Leave him alone!" he shouted and blasted at another one, knocking it into a lamppost. He expected the others to run since he'd effectively taken out two in a matter of seconds, but they only snarled at him. One jumped at him, snapping at his leg and he had to kick at it to keep it at bay. His foot connected with its snout with a crunch and the dog's body proved to be as fragile as it looked, its head quickly caving in from the blow.
The other dogs rushed forward then, but not at Danny. They quickly descended on the fallen dog, ripping at it even as it yelped and cried out. Flesh was torn from it savagely, and in only whined and barked, unable to defend itself. Covering his mouth, Danny quickly turned away from the sight, feeling his stomach lurch. He tried not to concentrate on the sounds of snapping jaws and howls and instead looked at the boy, shaking and looked up at him in a terrified manner.
"Let's get out of here," he said and quickly grabbed the boy. He didn't want to be there if the dogs decided they were still hungry when they were done.
The boy didn't fight as Danny picked him up bridal style and flew off through the wall. Seeing his group running towards him, he quickly dropped down to his feet in front of them.
"Danny!" Sam cried out. "Where did you run off to? You scared me!"
"Danny, who is that?" Samantha asked him and looked down at the shivering boy. He was probably shaking from fear and the cold, since his clothing was ripped and seen better days. His feet had dirty tennis shoes but no socks on, and his pants and shirt were tattered and patched in several places. He had a jacket, but it was threadbare and looked like it would have been better being thrown away years ago.
"He was being chased by… dogs," Danny said after a moment and put the boy down on his feet. "Are you okay?"
The boy trembled for a moment but nodded.
"Yeah, thanks to you," he answered. "My name is Malcolm. What's yours?"
"I'm Danny," he said. "That's Sam, Tucker, Samantha… and Dan."
The boy didn't seem to notice the similarity between the names, or the icicles hanging from Daniel's voice as he named the last person.
"Say, do you happen to know what's going on around here, little man?" Tucker asked as he bent down a little to talk to him.
"What?" Malcolm asked. "What kind of question is that?"
"Well, we're a little knew to town," Sam said.
This, however, only made the kid's eyebrows raise even more.
"You guys must be from pretty far away not to know what's been happening. Man, and here I thought this stuff was occurring everywhere," he muttered. "Must be unlucky to have ended up in a place like this."
"Why? What's been happening here?" Samantha asked.
A loud howl echoed in the distance and the boy looked around wildly.
"I can take you to where everyone is, but we should go now," he said and tugged at Danny's hand. "Come on, it's this way."
He led them off the main road and down a smaller street for a few blocks before slipping into a narrow alley with a rickety looking fire escape. Climbing up it, it took them to the top of a five-story building and went across the roof to what looked to be a busted air conditioner. With a grunt, he pushed a lever down and a hatch popped open, the air condition tilting on its side to let them in.
"Through here," he said and pointed to a ladder leading down. "Go ahead, I'll come down last. Don't bother to try to phase through, it's ghost proof."
The building was well lit, and it hurt Danny's eyes a little compared to the poor lighting the city had had. Looking around, they seemed to be in a kind of pharmaceutical store, shelves full of medical equipment, and more first aid kits than he could count. Many of them were opened already, and some contents were poured out on the dirty floor.
"It's a way down," Malcolm told them. "We'll go ahead and use the elevator. No one lives above ground anymore. Not since Judas came."
"Judas?" Samantha asked.
"That's what he calls himself," Malcolm said. "He's… well, the one who made everything like this. He calls himself a prophet, says we're being punished for our sins…"
He trailed off, looking a little downcast and looked away.
"The elevator is over there," he said and pointed. "Come on, I'll take you to Angela. She can explain everything to you."
The elevator was actually pretty old. It didn't even run electronically, and had to be manually lowered by the crank attached to several ropes. Danny helped Malcolm turn it since it was giving him some trouble. Honestly, it looked like it was more rust than metal, and they were all kind of surprised it could work at all.
It was slow going, and they passed more floors than just five. Most of them looked abandoned, and none of them looked in any kind of good shape. Almost every single one had busted furniture, or a mess scattered everywhere, or was just bare except for the thick layers of dust on the floors and walls.
When they reached the bottom, Danny was sort of surprised to see there it wasn't even a floor of the building. Instead they were in huge cave that looked like it was still in the progress of being mined out. There were several people milling around, carrying supplies or cooking over small fire pits. There couldn't have been more than about a hundred of people here, but it still looked fairly crowded. In one of the corners there were dozens of bed and cots, all of them busted and uncomfortable looking, and in the other a large supply of weapons placed on racks or in piles.
Some people looked up at one of the elevators coming down with a loud thump and immediately stilled at seeing the group. Many of them looked just like Malcolm, poorly dressed, fearful, half starved… broken. It made Danny feel uncomfortable to know there was a world that allowed this kind of thing to happen.
Malcolm stepped forward and smiled softly at the people, letting them know it was okay.
"Where's Angela?" he asked to an elderly lady who was bent over from a bad back and leaning heavily on a cane.
"She's in the back," a croaked voice replied. "Malcolm, who are these people? How could you bring a couple of ghosts in here?"
"They're good guys," he said immediately. "That boy saved me from the dogs. He calls himself Danny."
"The dogs? You mean you were outside?" she cried out in horror, several people moving in to scold him all at once.
"I was looking for Lily," he argued back.
"Boy, Lily is dead. You know that," the older woman scolded.
"NO SHE ISN'T!" Malcolm cried out.
"Enough!"
Everyone looked up to see a female ghost, arms crossed and frowning. Unlike the others, her clothes weren't ragged, instead looking like a type of military uniform, khakis and a tank top, boots, an unbuttoned army shirt rolled up past her elbows, and fingerless gloves, all black and green in a camouflage pattern. Her skin was a dull green and her hair was only a shade or two darker, tied into a tight ponytail. Metal dog tags hung off of her neck and one of them looked like it had a clear bullet hole in it.
"Malcolm," she said, her tone sharp, "I thought I've told you plenty of times not to go out on your own. We've been devising search parties, and doing the best we can. You aren't going to help you little sister by getting yourself killed."
"But-"
"Putting that aside," she said, cutting him off quickly. "Who the hell are these people? Survivors of some kind?"
"I'm not sure, Angela," Malcolm said. "But they rescued me! That ghost boy took three dogs out in less than a minute. He's really strong!"
The ghost called Angela looked at the group with a scrutiny. Danny blushed a little at the obvious praise and scratched the back of his neck.
"But… they don't seem to be from around here. They claim they don't know what's going on, and when I mentioned Judas, they were completely clueless. You think they're from somewhere else, somewhere where it's safe?"
"There's no such place on the planet anymore," she replied then looked at them. "But they do seem different. You guys… really don't know what's going on here?"
"Not really," Tucker replied.
Angela sighed.
"Great, I don't know if this is good news or a very fucking bad omen," she muttered. "Forget it, come on in the back with me. We can talk. And you Malcolm, get back to the chores you were assigned. We'll look for Lily later."
"But-"
"Now Malcolm," she barked, and the boy wilted, scurrying away.
"His sister has been missing for a month. She was only five, and he's the only one who still has hope. We've been searching for her for so long to appease him, but no one really expects to find anything," she explained. "Anyway, let's go."
She walked past the people, all of them giving the new comers curious stares. Danny felt a little bit like he was on display somehow and ducked his head.
Angela reached a small door and slid it open, revealing what looked to be a kind of war room. There was a small desk with several papers scattered over it, guns resting on walls, and a map of the city pegged up on the wall with several red push pins in it, revealing to them that they were in Chicago, probably a suburban area, judging from the part of the map that was circled and scrawled on.
"So," she said as she sat down on the desk and looked at all of them. "Who are you guys first off, and where did you come from? I don't mind helping new comers, and you more than welcome to stay here with us, but I need to know what's going on before I let strangers live here, and honestly, if you have news of the outside world we don't know about, I'd love to hear it."
"I'm Danny Fenton" Danny said, "and this is Sam, Samantha, Tucker and-"
"Enough of the social party," Dan suddenly snapped. "We're here to find something. Danny had to do his stupid little saving people crap and we got drug here."
Angela narrowed her black eyes.
"Looking for something?" she asked. "What?"
Danny glared at Dan, becoming more and more irritated by him. Still, he guessed it was best to just get the story out of the way. These people might be able to help, and Danny had a feeling in his gut that this Judas guy had something to do with the Quill. Heck, maybe he was the thief.
#---------#
"Do… you really expect me to believe that line of bullshit?" Angela asked once Danny was finished explaining.
"Why would we lie?" Sam asked indignantly. "It's the truth."
"Oh, so you're telling me some dumb ass broad got her ass kicked and lost this stupid pen that can change history, and we got fucked over because of it? That there's some book out there that could make life perfect or fucking hell?" she snapped. "Even if that is true, it's still fucking bullshit."
"B-O-O H-O-O," Dan drawled. "Look, from the sounds of it, you fucked this place up on your own just fine, that's why it got picked. So you gonna tell us about this Judas asshole or do I have to beat the shit out of you 'till you do?"
"Bring it asshole," Angela hissed.
"Stop it," Samantha snapped, suddenly getting in Dan's face. "Don't you dare Danny. We have a job to do, and this isn't going to help."
"Do you think you can tell me what to do Sam?" he snarled at her. "I don't care if you were my friend, I'm not-"
"I don't care either," Samantha hissed in his face. "You are nothing like the Danny I knew, but you are needed. Now you can either shut up and just let us get through this, or I can poison you into submission. I can guarantee you, I'm faster than you are."
The two glared at each other and Sam and Danny cast each other an awkward look.
"Uh, anyway," Tucker said, trying to break the mood. "I guess it doesn't matter whether you really believe us or not. We just need to find this guy and get the quill back. Maybe it's this Judas guy, maybe not. But since he seems to be our only lead, hopefully you can help us out. Either way, if we can take care of him, it'll help you from the looks of it."
"Take care of him?" Angela asked with an arched eyebrow. "If only it were that easy, but… I guess it certainly can't hurt to let you know what's going on. I figure you all are just crazy, delusional, or stupid, but I can't have you all wandering around in my city with you heads stuck up your asses."
She slid off her desk and ran her hand over her hair, sighing.
"Judas came about a year ago, claiming to be sent by the gods. With all the wars going on, he said we were slowly but surely killing ourselves, and our planet. He said if we didn't stop… he would have no choice but to punish us."
"I take it you didn't believe him," Sam muttered.
"Of course not," Angela snorted. "Territories were being fought over, countries were tearing each other apart, and for mercs like me, we loved the money coming from it. Civilians were usually safe, except for countries that were already conquered of course, but hey, that's just war. You think all the politicians were just gonna say 'Okay, let's all be nice to each other,' just cause some lone wackjob told us to stop and behave?"
She crossed her arms and shook her head.
"But he was right. Maybe he was just a nut, but he was a powerful one. When he saw no one was obeying what he said… some sick stuff happened. This plague came, killed a lot of people. Hell, even ghosts like me were susceptible to it. Humans died, and ghosts just… faded away. If that wasn't enough, some living things started to change. It's not rare to see a living thing begin to rot a little, even though it should be alive. Animals that it happened to went crazy and started hunting everything, people began to act the same, like out of some sick zombie movie. Even the sun was blocked out. It's night all the time now, and it never gets warmer than fifty degrees if we're lucky.
"Now Judas rules over us like the god he claimed chose him, and we're powerless to stop him. Some have gone to him, begging for mercy, but no one knows what happens to the humans. They're never seen again, and the ghosts get… changed somehow, acting like enforcers. If anyone is caught out in the city, getting killed by one of them is pretty high risk. Hell, as far as I know, I was the only sane ghost left before you guys showed up. Maybe he takes them in, and they're safe, but I don't believe it. He said he was here to punish us, and that all shall be purged. I think the only ones that have a chance of surviving are the ones who are crazy enough to try and wait him out."
"Where can we find him?" Danny asked.
"Haven't you listened to a word I said, boy?" she snapped at him. "He can't be beaten! He killed a whole planet, and the only life that exists are hovels like this, scattered around in cities that have been torn apart! You really want to go up against that?"
"And do you really want to stay here for the rest of whatever, hoping things just don't get worse?"
Angela faltered, hanging her head slightly and sighing.
"I use to be proud, a person who fought in countless battles, brought people to their knees. I've never been scared, but this is… pretty overwhelming. I don't know where you really came from, but wherever it is, I don't think it can compare to this."
She looked at them, and shook her head.
"Judas doesn't live in Chicago," she said eventually. "No one who want to stay alive lives in the same city he does. And getting to him is said to be impossible. There are rumors that he can see what's in people's hearts, that he can see what a person's intentions are right when they enter his territory. There was an attempt to take him down about six months ago; no one survived and they didn't even get killed by any kind of defenses. I saw on live cameras, they all just… started killing each other until everyone just… stopped moving. It took forever, and I think Judas made it last on purpose, to teach us a lesson about trying to fight back. That's why only the ones seeking redemption bother seeking him. He can make us do things, things we can't stop."
"And you don't believe us, after everything you've seen this guy do?" Tucker asked. "He can control you, but he can't stop us. We can save you guys, maybe even have it that Opal can fix it all. Things could go back to normal, or even better than before."
"I…" Angela said. "Fuck this. Stay the night, and we'll give you a place to sleep and something to eat. We don't have much, but I refused to turn anyone away, even if they do sound crazy. I'm going to have to think about this, all of it. Maybe you're right, and there is hope, or maybe it's some pipe dream. Either way, I promise to give you an answer in the morning."
End of Chapter Four
A gruesome chapter, but one I kind of enjoyed writing. I don't often do horror, so it's nice to break the mold. It's a sort of a downer for a chapter, but I'm not quite sure it was bad enough to rate M. Maybe more around a T. Again, I've never written horror, so I'm not real experienced in putting this on a scale.
Well, anyway, please review. I'm really curious to know if I did justice to this chapter, and all the opinions will really help.
My vacation is almost over, so I think after this it'll be the one chapter a week schedule like I planned at the beginning. Going back to school is going to take up some time, so I doubt I'll be able to crank out as many chapters as before. So, hope everyone liked it, and the next one should be out next Saturday.