Danny flew up into the darkening sky, heading straight for the nearest spout of ghosts. The wind whistled by him, and for a split second or two, he recalled the joy of being able to fly freely.
Coming near enough, Danny stopped and stared at the spout before him. "What the heck is going on?" he wondered, watching all the ghosts fly past him and into the clouds. "I've never seen ghosts come out of the Ghost Zone like this before." A chill came over him as he hugged himself. "I'd better figure it out soon; if I don't, all that cold energy inside will freeze me to death. Maybe laying off on the ghost powers for four years wasn't such a good thing after all."
A bright bolt of lightening rapidly shot down from the sky, only inches from Danny. The man shouted in fright and floated back a few steps before looking up to the clouds. "Something's happening up there," he said to himself. "That's where all the ghosts are going." His legs came together to form his ghost tail. "I'd better check it out."
He flew up into the clouds, following the spouts of spirits, and only stopped once he was above the thick layers of haze.
Danny gasped. "You have got to be kidding me," he said in horror, staring at the sight before him.
All the ghosts were moulding into one large being. It seemed to be the shape of a man, but Danny was unable to properly tell yet, due to the swarms of ghosts.
"I come all the way from NASA, Texas, just to visit my family, and this is what I get?" Danny complained, as his hands began to glow green. "I'm beginning to wonder if everyone didn't just open the ghost portal to annoy me."
"Quite on the contrary, Danny Phantom," a deep voice boomed through the air. "I've been patiently awaiting your arrival for a very long time."
Danny looked about to find the source of the voice until he realized that it was coming from the giant mass of spirits before him. Mouth gaping, he raised his head and looked up.
Two red eyes opened and a wide yet sinister grin looked down upon him. "It's an honour to finally meet you, Danny Phantom, " the ghost announced as his body continued to take shape. "I've only heard about your awesome powers since you were but a boy. And to think that after all these years, my patience has paid off; I'm finally meeting the famed Halfa most ghosts in the Ghost Zone are talking so highly about."
His body finally took shape, and all the ghosts ceased to flow upwards. The ghost stood at least twenty-feet tall, and was dressed in a king-like suit with a cape. He smiled deviously down upon Amity Park's hero.
Danny bared his teeth and clenched his fists. "Who are you?" he demanded to know. "I've never heard about a ghost like you before!"
"Why, I'm simply heartbroken, my boy," the ghost replied. His body illuminated and he began to shrink down to an average man's height. "Allow me to introduce myself; I am Lord Deavon, otherwise known as… the Ghost Keeper."
"The Ghost Keeper! " Danny gasped as he covered his mouth. I remember Skulker telling me about the Ghost Keeper, he thought. He said that he was a Ghost that imprisoned other spirits and sucked out their afterlife to make it his. Apparently, he holds some kind of grudge against humans.
The Ghost Keeper smiled. "You are right," he said, catching Danny's attention. His eyes narrowed. "I do hate humans."
Danny stared at him in shock. "You can hear my thoughts? " he exclaimed.
"I can hear the thoughts of all ghosts, Danny," Ghost Keeper replied. "That is how I gain my powers. I take the ghosts with the most fearless thoughts and drain their powers to make them mine." He chuckled softly. "And when you're in this form, I can smell your energy, even when you are in the Human world and I in the Ghost world."
"What do you want with Amity Park, Ghost Keeper?" Danny growled. "You may have a grudge against humans, but I hardly doubt anyone in this town has done anything to you."
"Silly Human," the ghost said. "I am not here to seek revenge over this town; I am here to fight you."
Danny got into ready stance. "Well, you're not going to get a fight, Pal," he said. "I've got greater powers than any other ghost in the Ghost Zone. Messing with me is the last thing you want to do."
"You don't seem to understand, Daniel," the Ghost Keeper replied, as his smile washed away. "A Human like you does not deserve such supernatural gifts."
"Oh, yeah? And how's that?"
"Merely for the fact that you are running from your destiny."
Danny's frown faded away and he stared at the ghost in silence.
"You left Amity Park four years ago in the hopes of putting your ghost fighting life behind you," the ghost continued, pointing at Danny. "You went to become an astronaut, your childhood dream, and you hoped to never need to face your powers again." His frown grew. "Foolish child; you don't seem to understand the power you possess. A human as idiotic as you should not have them."
Danny blinked a few times before frowning again. "I may have done so, but I never regretted having them," he replied. "As long as I can use them to keep my family and friends safe, then that's all that counts." His hands began to glow blue. "Now, if you don't go back to where you're supposed to go, then I'll just have to use some Ghostly Ice on you."
The Ghost Keeper smiled again and crossed his arms. "I will not leave until I have what I came for," he said. "Danny Phantom."
"Well, you're not getting him," Danny growled back. "So unless you want me to stuff you into that thermos I'm sure my parents still have, I'd advise you to get the heck out of this world!"
The Ghost Keeper growled back. "Your stupid gadgets won't stop me, Human," he hissed.
"Then, it might as well slow you DOWN!"
With all his might, Danny threw his arm forward and tossed a ray of blue light at the ghost. It hit it straight in the chest, pushing the Ghost Keeper backwards a few yards. The ghost groaned painfully.
"Get the heck away from this town!" Danny yelled.
The Ghost Keeper glared at him, his eyes flashing. "Unless you surrender yourself to me, don't COUNT ON IT!" he shouted. He threw a ghost ray of red light at Danny.
Danny gasped and made his body intangible, allowing the ray to pass through him without harming him. But when he returned to normal, the Ghost Keeper leaped upon him and a physical fight broke out between them as they plummeted out of the clouds.
Danny tossed his feet and fists into the ghost while the Ghost Keeper did the same. "I won't let you take me or anyone else in this town, Ghost Keeper!" Danny growled.
"If you don't, then I'll curse this place to merge into the ghost Zone, Danny!" the ghost yelled back. "And if I do that, everything will die, and all of your people will turn into ghosts!"
"That's impossible! We would only become intangible!"
"Not where I would send you! Without a ghost shield, you will all die! Now surrender yourself!"
Danny punched him in the face and managed to break free. "NEVER!" he hollered before swooping around and flying towards the carnival.
The Ghost Keeper rubbed his cheek and growled like a wolf as his eyes glowed red. "You will pay for your incompetence, Danny Phantom," he hissed. He created a red plasma sphere in his hand and threw it at the man.
Danny felt the sphere strike him in the back, causing him to recoil and scream painfully before plummeting towards the ground.
"You have three days before I come after you myself, Danny Phantom!" the Ghost Keeper shouted angrily as his voice roared over the town. "If you do not surrender yourself, then prepare to lose EVERYTHING!"
Tucker had gone and found Jazz and Sam and had just enough time to explain what had happened before Danny's parents showed up. Jack and Maddie had seen from their house what had happened and immediately race out to the Carnival.
But by the time they had arrived, all the ghosts had vanished over the clouds, and everything fell silent.
Tucker pointed upwards. "Danny went straight up there and disappeared," he said. "We haven't seen him since he left."
"How the heck did all those ghosts come out anyway?" Sam wondered. "Don't they normally need a ghost portal for that?"
"Not necessarily," Jack replied with a frown. "There are other means of ghosts entering our world."
There was suddenly a bright flash from inside the clouds, and out flew two ghosts. One did not seem the least bit familiar to anyone; but the second did.
"That's Danny!" Jazz exclaimed. "He's fighting some kind of ghost!"
"I don't recognize that one," Tucker noted. "Do you, Sam?"
"No, but who cares? " Sam complained. "He looks nearly ten times stronger than Danny is!"
They watched as Danny broke free and started flying towards them. The other ghost shot a plasma sphere at him, causing him to recoil and scream in pain before continuing his way down freefalling.
"You have three days before I come after you myself, Danny Phantom!" they heard the first Ghost shout angrily. "If you do not surrender yourself, then prepare to lose EVERYTHING!"
They watched as the ghost disappeared over the clouds again.
"He's after Danny?" Jazz said worriedly. She looked at her parents. "Do you think we should have told him anything?"
Her parents looked at her until Danny crash landed on the ground ahead of them. The man traveled over it towards them, causing them all to jump out of the way as he ploughed through. He only came to a stop a few feet away.
"Danny!" Sam gasped as she and Tucker ran over to him.
Danny groaned weakly and painfully pulled himself up onto his feet. He held a gloved hand up to his head.
Tucker reached out to him once he and Sam were nearby. "Danny, are you alright?" the black man asked.
Danny pushed Tucker's hand away from him. "Don't!" he warned, straightening himself out and looking up at the sky.
Just as the man had expected, the ground began to tremble again and, although the clouds broke away, the sky turned an eerie shade of purple.
"This is beginning to feel way too familiar," Sam said worriedly.
Danny ran off a few feet. "He's throwing us into the Ghost Zone!" he said.
"The Ghost Zone?" his parents and sister echoed.
Danny looked down at his hands for a moment. "This will be tricky," he muttered to himself.
"Danny, what are you talking about?" Sam asked. "We'll be fine, won't we? We'll just be like ghosts in that realm-!"
"Not where he's planning to take us," Danny replied. He held up his arms and opened his palms. "Please work," he begged to himself. Shutting his eyes tightly and clenching his teeth, Danny took a deep breath and his hands began to glow a bright green.
Everyone stared at him for a moment until they noticed that up above, a strange ectoplasmic shield began to spread over the entire town and area. People that had come out from hiding pointed upwards and began wondering what was happening.
Tucker already knew. He pulled on his hat and stared at the shield in horror. "That's a ghost shield!" he exclaimed. "Danny's throwing a ghost shield over the entire town! That's the largest man-made shield ever!"
"Danny, stop it!" Maddie exclaimed loudly. "That's too much for you!"
Danny ignored them and continued to create the shield. He groaned painfully, beginning to feel his energy get drained with every second that passed. His legs began to shake, but he just had to hold on until the shield had been completed. Then, his father's machinery would be able to sustain it.
"Danny, STOP!" Jazz cried out. "You haven't used this much energy in nearly five years!"
"You're going to kill yourself!" his father added.
Danny yelled painfully as the shield continued to creep over the town. Slowly, it began to join with the ground, and just as it created a perfect dome over Amity Park, the world outside transformed completely until the town was hovering in the Ghost Zone.
Danny's hands stopped glowing and fell to his sides. He looked up dizzily at the shield as everything began to blur.
"There," he whispered to himself as he began to sway. "All… all done."
He felt forward to the ground as people shouted out his name in echoes. Then, a black curtain fell over his eyes and all went silent.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: For some reason, I got a cross between Dan Phantom and Vlad Plasmius when I designed the Ghost Keeper. Don't ask why, I have absolutely NO idea, haha!