Wulf decided to hide on Skulker's Island while Danny was in the prison, just in case they needed his help. Danny hung freely from the broom, holding on with his left hand, and directed Steven. Jared had offered to swap but Danny decided against it. He needed to be visible or they might get shot at, they still might but it was less likely.
"Straight through that gate Steven. I'll deal with the guards, just keep back in case they weren't warned of my temporary truce with the warden," Danny commanded from below. Steven complied, gasping in pain as Jared squeaked in fear and hugged Steven tightly as they went through the gate. Danny gracefully dropped to the ground and immediately put his hands up in surrender. There were guards already swarming around him. Steven landed his broom cautiously behind Danny. He kept the broom out just in case but made no move to get his ecto-gun or wand.
"Easy boys. Just here to visit Walker," Danny called, trying to sound as normal as possible despite his injured throat.
"You're under arrest-" a guard began. Danny rolled his eyes.
"Just get Walker," Danny interrupted. The guard scowled and shot at Danny. He couldn't dodge without letting the wizards directly behind him getting hurt instead, so he took the hit. He glared angrily at the guard as he recovered. Jared started forwards but Steven caught the wizard's elbow and stopped him from interfering.
"If you want a fight, you'll get one," Danny snarled threateningly.
"Stand down men," Walker ordered as he entered the hallway.
"You got what I ordered you to get for me punk?" Walker growled in an authoritative tone. Danny raised an eyebrow.
"You didn't order me to do anything Walker. I made a deal with you. There's a difference. And I have a few plus an extra you didn't tell me about," Danny answered stiffly.
Walker scoffed and surveyed the halfa.
"You don't look on top form punk. And those two look a little green to take on my men," Walker observed. Danny narrowed his eyes.
"The bandage is for show. Guys in White are sniffing around Amity Park. And don't let their appearance fool you. If you go back on your word Walker, I won't take it lying down. I promise you that," Danny retorted.
"That's right," Jared added. Danny shot the young wizard an angry look before turning back to Walker.
"So are you going to break the rules and go against our agreement?" Danny challenged. Jared shrank back towards Steven, startled by Danny's glare.
"Don't do or say anything alright. This is a very dangerous place in the Ghost Zone especially for Danny," Steven muttered. Jared blinked in surprise and bit his lip.
Walker and Danny glared at each other for a few moments before Walker smiled at the halfa.
"Fine, so how are you handing over my prisoners?" Walker decided. Danny nodded and pulled out his thermos.
"One by one, I'll release them. I did encounter Ember but she got away. Her guitar's in here. I'll be taking that back. Might be able to use it to track her down," Danny suggested. Walker nodded.
"I'll allow that," Walker agreed.
"I wasn't asking," Danny retorted. The tension could be felt by all as the two wizards followed Walker, Danny and a group of guards into the cafeteria. The guards set up a perimeter around Walker, Danny, Steven and Jared.
"Alright punk, let's have the first one," Walker commanded. Danny scowled in dislike at the ghost but tapped a couple of buttons on the thermos and pulled off the lid. He pressed one final button and a large ghost with blue skin, glasses and light brown hair spilled out onto the ground in between Walker and Danny. The ghost looked up and gasped at Walker.
"No! You'll never take me alive!" The ghost shouted and floated to his feet and made to run away. The guards surged forwards and grabbed the ghost before he could.
"How many times, you're a ghost," one of the guards grumbled. Danny smirked at the ghost.
"I really need to use that one," he muttered before glancing at Walker.
Walker nodded expectantly.
"If I hear you're using that collar Walker, I'll be back. You realise that right?" Danny interjected before he pressed the release button again. Walker didn't reply. The next ghost was the Box Ghost.
"Beware! I am the Box Ghost!" the Box Ghost announced. The guards stepped forward and grabbed the ghost before he could make a terrible box pun and an equally awful threat that didn't intimidate anyone.
Three ghosts later, Ember's guitar was released. Danny wordlessly picked it up and handed it to Jared.
"Hold on to that for me. Try not to wreck it any more than it is," Danny requested softly. Jared nodded, eager to make up for speaking out of turn earlier. Danny turned back to the warden and released the next ghost which happened to be Desiree. The guards grabbed her arms.
"No! No male may touch me unless I wish it!" Desiree screeched outraged. Danny rolled his eyes. Walker raised an eyebrow.
"She's a troublesome one," Walker commented. Danny snorted.
"Not really," Danny muttered under his breath, not sure if he wanted to give Walker the idea of using Desiree's powers against her like he did.
Danny was grateful that Grindelwald ended up being the last ghost since he did want to make his capture a bigger deal. He'd already returned Dan to Clockwork but Grindelwald had orchestrated a prison break somehow before. Danny wanted to warn Walker before relinquishing his responsibility for the ghost. In total, Danny had caught almost thirty ghosts within the last week of properly hunting for the ghosts. He had waited until his ribs were fully healed before getting back in the game properly. He still fought off ghosts if he saw them causing trouble but he was now actively hunting Walker's escapees.
"Alright, Walker, last ghost. You'll be happy to learn that this ghost is the one responsible for your prison break," Danny announced and pressed the release button. A ghost with blonde hair, red eyes and dark flowing robes emerged.
"Gellert Grindelwald," Danny introduced. Jared muffled a gasp. Danny glanced at the wizard to check that he was alright before turning to Walker and Grindelwald. Grindelwald scanned his surroundings before scowling.
"Walker's prison," he realised softly. Walker grinned evilly.
"I'm impressed Phantom. I might not arrest you after all," Walker declared. Danny rolled his eyes and then returned his gaze to the ghost he'd released. Grindelwald scowled openly at the guards surrounding him. The other returned prisoners had been led away to be detained. Grindelwald surveyed the room before his gaze fell on Danny, taking in Steven and Jared behind the halfa. Grindelwald took half a step closer to Danny.
"I should have killed you when I had the chance," Grindelwald hissed. Danny raised an eyebrow.
"You tried, remember? I stopped you. In fact I seem to recall that you ran away from me," Danny taunted coldly. Grindelwald snarled angrily.
"You were out of your mind," Grindelwald reminded him.
"I was. How does that reflect on you?" Danny retorted calmly. Grindelwald scowled. Walker motioned for his guards to take Grindelwald away. The deceased wizard glared at the approaching ghosts before his gaze darted around the room and he turned to Danny.
"This time is different," Grindelwald growled and thrust a hand towards Danny. A red spell erupted from his fingers and struck Danny. Recognising the spell as not a lightning spell, Danny didn't bother to dodge. Better it hit a halfa than a wizard, magic didn't affect Danny like it would Steven or Jared. But to his horror, his entire body seized up. His mind was still functioning properly but he couldn't move a muscle, not even his lips or eyebrows. He only remained standing due to his steady stance.
Internally, Danny scowled in anger. Steven instantly noticed that Danny hadn't reacted. Usually he would taunt a failed attack but he said nothing. Grindelwald grinned broadly. He turned to Walker and his guards and conjured a long silver blade out of nowhere.
"Come any closer, I'll slit his throat," Grindelwald warned. Steven and Jared gasped in fear. Steven, knowing that Grindelwald didn't see him as a threat and so wasn't watching, slipped his hand into his pocket. His broom had been returned to his extended pocket as they walked. Walker laughed and Danny's internal scowl deepened.
"Go ahead. I don't care about him. Be doing me a favour. Been trying to put that punk away for eight years," Walker replied. The guards around him smirking evilly too.
Steven pulled out his ecto-gun and nudged Jared. Jared glanced at the older wizard.
"I think Danny's been stupefied. Try to reverse it. Mightn't be able to, but try," Steven ordered quietly. Jared nodded fearfully and discretely pulled out his wand, shifting the damage ghostly guitar into his spare hand. Grindelwald raised an eyebrow.
"Fair enough then. But I want to savour this," Grindelwald commented softly. Danny focused on his powers and felt the slight chill in his fingers as he tapped into his ice powers slightly. He didn't channel his ice energy enough to alert anyone to what he was doing and knew his human blue eyes would be glowing slightly, but would remain blue. The Ghost Zone was naturally cooler than the Real World and prone to sudden cold breezes so any residual cold air around him wouldn't be noticed.
Internally Danny smirked and nodded to himself. He could access his powers despite being unable to move. When he got the opportunity, he'd duplicate and hope that whatever Grindelwald had done to him didn't carry over. It shouldn't. Wounds didn't. But there was the danger that this magic could. Magic wasn't meant to work on him. Lightning spells did. Spells that heated the environment affected him over time and spells that cooled the area when he was too hot. But those didn't affect him directly. Whatever spell Grindelwald used shouldn't have worked.
Unless Grindelwald's magic followed different rules. But when they fought at the Nasty Burger. He may have been disorientated but he clearly remembered spells Grindelwald cast not working. Except… Grindelwald was surprised to learn that. That didn't make sense. If magic never worked other than when recreating the circumstances of death, then Grindelwald should have noticed that in the Ghost Zone before the prison break. If Danny could move, his eyes would've widened in realisation. Grindelwald's magic must work in the Ghost Zone. That was how a seemingly weak ghost unable to fight at the Nasty Burger organised a large scale prison break. Grindelwald's magic worked in the Ghost Zone but not in the Real World, or at least followed normal magic rules there. Grindelwald's surprise when spells didn't work suddenly made sense. They had worked before so he thought they would work in the Real World. Obviously he never needed to use his magic prior to that fight to defend himself or intimidate anyone.
Steven lifted the gun slowly and pointed it at Grindelwald. The ghost wizard considered Walker.
"I want to be free," Grindelwald informed him.
"No one leaves my prison. Not without my say so and releasing criminals… that's against the rules," Walker retorted firmly. Grindelwald scowled and pressed the silver blade against Danny's throat.
"I'll kill him. I'm not bluffing," Grindelwald warned, beginning to realise that Danny wasn't going to be a viable bargaining chip. Walker nodded.
"I'm aware. I told you. I don't care if that punk lives or dies. Go ahead, you're still not leaving this prison," Walker replied evenly.
Grindelwald clenched his teeth and scanned the room again. There were far too many ghosts for him to simply fight his way out. He growled in annoyance and narrowed his red eyes at Walker. Walker folded his arms, the dare was clear. Danny watched the ghost for any sign of movement. He wouldn't have put it past Walker to move against Grindelwald just to get rid of Danny. Danny could see that the situation was at a stalemate. Steven and Jared couldn't make a move without getting Danny hurt at least. Grindelwald couldn't make a move without losing his precarious position of power. Walker wouldn't make a move until he knew what Grindelwald was planning. And Danny, he couldn't make a move, end of. He could use his powers but that wouldn't stop Grindelwald from killing him in time.
After a few moments of silent stillness, a single shot rang through the air. Steven shot Grindelwald in the back with the ecto-gun. The blow wasn't enough to get Grindelwald away from Danny, but it gave Danny the room to try and use his powers in self-defence. Grindelwald stumbled forwards and Danny formed a ghost shield and used that to push Grindelwald away from him. The guards surged forward and grabbed Grindelwald in the chaos and subdued him. Danny dropped his ghost shield but the damage to his secret was done. Jared knew he was something more than a muggle. But then again, Danny should have known that this hand over wouldn't have gone smoothly and left Jared in London. However, despite being out of danger, Danny was still frozen. Also he'd been cut by the blade Grindelwald held against his throat. It wasn't deep but the cut was severe enough to cause a trickle of blood to flow down his neck and was soaked into the t-shirt neckline. Luckily it was red and wasn't too noticeable.
"Danny? Can you move?" Steven called, clearly surprised that Danny had been able to use his powers. Unable to move, Danny couldn't answer and internally scowled in annoyance.
"Well, while we're making arrests… men!" Walker remarked with an evil grin. Danny let out a wave of cold air as a warning shot as the guards made to move closer. He also flashed his eyes bright green. He mightn't be able to move, but he could still defend himself. Walker and his men hesitated. Steven frowned and stepped forward, Jared stunned in shock.
"Danny, can you move?" Steven asked again softly. Danny flashed his eyes green again, both as an answer and out of annoyance. Steven understood. He turned to Walker.
"You have an arrangement with Danny, right? He gathers your prisoners and you don't arrest him. Honour it!" Steven hissed. Walker frowned at the wizard and glanced at Danny.
"This time only. Next time I see you, I'm placing you under arrest," Walker decided. Danny didn't react. Any reaction could be seen as a threat. Steven took Danny's non-reaction as an agreement and nodded on his behalf. Walker and his guards left the cafeteria.
"Next time I see you can include if you're still here when I get back by the way," Walker called over his shoulder.
And another theory to answer the big question from the previous fanfic. What do you think?
And how is Danny going to leave the prison when Steven and Jared's magic doesn't work on him?
Little interesting fact: I wrote A Ghostly Crisis and Aftermath of the Crisis before Student of a Halfa.
Until the next chapter.
