Vlad returned to his mansion, seething with anger. That encounter was one of his most humiliating confrontations with Danny and considering their battles, that was saying a lot. Vlad was still angry over the fact that Jessica knocked him flat on his back. Thank god no one was around to see that, otherwise he'd be the laughing stock of the Ghost Zone.
"Calm down, you can always kill her later" Vlad thought. "Right now, just focus on your number one priority"
Vlad made his way down to his lair. Immediately his hologram program of Maddie popped up to greet him.
"Hello, sweetheart; what do you require today?" Hologram Maddie asked.
"Run the simulation program as usual" Vlad ordered.
"Running simulation"
Vlad found himself located in one of the most dangerous areas of the Ghost Zone: The tomb of the Ghost King himself, Pariah Dark. When Danny sealed Pariah back in his sarcophagus, he foolishly sealed the Crown of Fire with him. Now Plasmius would have to defeat the Ghost King in order to obtain the artifact. That task was easier said than done which was why Plasmius was running this simulation. To prep himself for the inevitable battle.
Plasmius slowly opened the lid, hoping that he could snatch the Crown without awakening the Ghost King. However, that wouldn't be the case; as soon as Plasmius grabbed the crown, Pariah's eyes opened. Pariah grabbed Plasmius by his wrist and tossed him into a pillar.
"I suppose I should reward you for awakening me from my slumber-" Pariah said before Plasmius simply snatched the crown off his head and slammed the lid back atop the sarcophagus, bringing the simulation to an end.
"Well that was simply a waste of time" Vlad muttered. "I do hope that obtaining the crown is that easy when I actually make my move."
"I am so close to finally achieving everything I've ever wanted. Once I get the crown, Daniel won't be able to stop me no matter how much psychotic rage he has"
*Danny blinked twice. It didn't take him too long to realize that he was standing in the graveyard. He heard a foot step behind him and jumped before turning to see a dark figure. The figure was the exact same height as him and shrouded in the shadows, making it almost impossible for Danny to make out any facial features. One thing Danny could see though, was that the figure's hair was messy and in disarray.*
*"Who are you?" Danny asked the figure*
*"Oh, come on, it should be obvious who I am" the figure replied.*
*"Not exactly" Danny said.*
*"Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, I see" The figure said. The figure's voice sounded like Danny's, only with warped and demented echo to it. "Come on, you read all those comic books, you should know exactly who I am"*
*Danny thought for a minute before saying "Let me guess; you're my evil alter ego or my dark side, right?"*
*"Ding ding ding ding ding! Although calling me evil is a bit of a stretch." The figure mocked. "And they say you're an idiot"*
*"Now I know you might be confused so let me explain it to you. I've always existed within you, but it wasn't until you gained your ghost powers that I became sentient."*
*"You're right, this is like a comic book plot" Danny said.*
*"I'd been lying dormant for two years until finally that idiot Plasmius killed our love, setting me free" The figure explained.*
*"What do you mean 'set you free'?" Asked Danny, cautious of this figure claiming to be his darkness*
*"You see, when Plasmius killed Sam, your anger, grief, and guilt became overwhelming, making me grow powerful enough to briefly take over for a couple of minutes" The figure explained as he lifted his head and looked Danny in the eyes, revealing his own glowing crimson eyes. "Remember those moments when your eyes go red and you lose control? Your voice changes and you black out? That's me, taking matters into my hands and helping you out"*
*"I know speak for both of us when I say "I want to hear that bastard scream"*
*Danny nodded in agreement at that statement, although he wasn't sure how far he wanted to go in terms of revenge. He remembered how under his 'dark side's' conrol, he almost burned that man alive. And he certainly didn't want revenge if it meant harming innocents.*
*Dark Danny scoffed. "Oh please, that robber was hardly innocent."*
*Danny looked at the figure in shock. Had Dark Danny managed to read his mind?*
*"Don't be so surprised, remember, I am you" Dark Danny said. "We basically share a mind link"*
*"Getting back on subject, that robber would have slaughtered everyone in that restaurant if he thought it would benefit him."*
*Danny had no argument against that statement.*
*"Besides, I'd never hurt an innocent, at least not intentionally" Dark Danny insisted. "Come on, you and I want the same thing: revenge. And I'll get it by any means necassary.*
*"That's the problem, you don't care what you have to do to get revenge" Danny argued.*
*"Hey, you owe this to Sam; you're not doing this for yourself, you're doing this for her" Dark Danny shot back.*
*"But not if it means putting civilians in harm's way" Danny said.*
*"We won't be putting any civilians at risk, you have my word"*
*"I don't know how wise it is to trust my dark side," Danny replied. "I mean you are my darker alter ego"*
*"Fair enough, I suppose" Dark Danny admitted. "Though this wouldn't be happening if you had been a good friend and protected Sam like you promised.*
*Each word was like a knife to the chest. Danny opened his mouth, but before he could say anything a bony, partially decomposed hand clawed out of the ground and grabbed his ankle.*
*"Your greatest mistake will forever haunt you" Dark Danny sneered.*
*Danny stood paralyzed with fear as the hand's owner clawed its way out of the ground. Danny came face to face with the one person he had been pining for. Sam, her skin gray and peeling away. Her left eye socket was crawling with maggots and her lips were shriveled and dried. There was crude slash on her throat and her clothes were covered with dried blood. Her right arm from the elbow down looked as if it were barely hanging on. Danny, naturally, was taken aback by her appearance.*
*"I just love a happy reunion" Dark Danny said cheerfully.*
*"Does my appearance disturb you?" Sam asked, her voice raspy.*
*Danny said nothing. Even though Sam was a rotting and grotesque corpse, he still loved her.*
*"Well it should" Sam continued. "Considering it's your fault I'm dead in the first place"*
*"Why did I have to die?" Sam asked. "Why did you let me die? I loved you and you let me die. Even though I turned you into a half ghost, I thought you had forgiven me. I thought you loved me."*
*"I did, I mean I do love you," Danny said.*
*"Then why did you let me die?" Sam asked.*
*"Sam, I didn't let you die, and I you have my word that I will avenge your death, even if it kills me" Danny insisted.*
*"I have your word? What good is your word?" Sam scoffed. "You promised you'd always protect me and I believed you. Look where it got me. Why should I believe you?"*
*"Because I'm your best friend and I'd never lie to you" Danny said.*
*"Even if you're telling the truth, what difference does it make? Killing Plasmius won't bring me back" Sam sneered, her words directed at both Dannys.*
*"But it will make sure Plasmius never hurts anyone again" Dark Danny argued.*
*Sam shook her head. Danny walked towards her.*
*"I love you" Danny told her.*
*"I know" Sam said, the hostility no longer apparent in her voice, before disintergrating.*
*"Sam, Sam; come back! Please!" Both Dannys pleaded, the real Danny dropping to his knees and "I'm sorry".*
*"Saying sorry isn't good enough" Dark Danny said. "It's because of you and your weakness that she's gone! And then you have the nerve to replace her with another whore!"*
*"What are you talking about?" Danny asked.*
*"Don't play dumb with me, I'm talking about that new girl who mysteriously appeared almost immediately after Sam's death. Don't you find that a little weird?" Dark Danny asked.*
*"What are you getting at?" Danny asked.*
*"Are you really that dumb?" Dark Danny asked. "Sam dies, this new girl immediately shows up, and you start following her around like a lovesick puppy!"*
*"You mean Jessica?" Danny asked.*
*"No, I'm talking about the pope," Dark Danny sneered. "Of course I'm talking about Jessica!"*
*"What do you mean, I'm not using her as a replacement for Sam," Danny replied, solemnly adding "Sam can never be replaced."*
*"Obviously," Dark Danny said. "So why are you trying to replace her with Jessica?"*
*"I'm not trying to replace Sam with Jessica!" Danny yelled.*
*"Yes you are; you are so guilty that you think you can replace Sam and it'll all be better" Dark Danny accused his light counterpart.*
*"You're crazy!" Danny countered.*
*"Think about it: the two have nearly the exact same height, both have black hair, they're ambitious and have skill with ghost hunting equipment" Dark Danny pointed out.*
*"But Jessica's not a vegetarian, she has green eyes. Jessica isn't goth, isn't a gardener, and doesn't have an irrational fear of figure skaters" Danny said.*
*"True, but it doesn't change the fact that you're trying to use her to atone for your mistake" Dark Danny said. "Don't try to deny it, remember I am you!"*
*"We're getting off topic, how many more people have to be put in harm's way because of your rivalry with Vlad before we put an end to it?"*
*"We are going to put an end to this, it's just going to be on my terms" Danny said.*
*"I've had enough of listening to you and doing things on your terms!" Dark Danny growled. "From now on, we're doing it my way!"*
*With that, Dark Danny lunged at Danny. The two started painfully fusing together. Danny dropped to his knees, screaming and clutching his head.*
Danny awoke with a start, soaked with sweat. Breathing heavily, he rubbed his eyes and checked his alarm clock, seeing that it was three thirty in the morning. Danny went downstairs to get a drink of water to calm his nerves. After that nightmare, Danny didn't want to go back to sleep.
Was the figure in Danny's dream really his dark side come to life? If it was, it would explain so much, yet leave many questions. Specifically, if gaining ghost powers gave his inner darkness sentience, then did that mean Vlad's dark side was conscious? If so, was that the reason Vlad was evil? Does his dark side affect both his human and ghost halves?
Danny tried to brush it off as just a dream. But he had a nagging feeling otherwise.
*'Yeah, keep thinking that'*
That voice sent shivers down his spine.
"Calm down, Danny; now you're starting to hear things. That was not your dark side talking to you; it was just a nightmare" Danny tried to convince himself.
*"Don't be so sure. Or are you really that much in denial?" The voice sneered.*
"Scratch that, I'm not hearing things" Danny said.
*"Finally, he gets it!" The voice replied.*
"I'm just going crazy" Danny continued.
Danny heard the voice scream in frustration, bringing a smirk to his face.
Whazzup! I celebrated my birthday recently (July 22nd), which kinda delayed this chapter. Sorry about the lack of fight scene between Plasmius and Pariah, but I didn't know if I could write two awesome fights between the two. Don't worry, they'll fight eventually. In other news, Danny's come face to face with his dark side and now he's starting to hear voices in his head. (Welcome to my world). A heads up, I'm starting college next month so updates might become more sporadic. As always, I've been Tim D and have a wonderful day.
