CHAPTER 7
Compatible
…
Sam had been to Sable only once before, and it wasn't a pleasant experience. Kraeva had kidnapped and tortured her. She glanced at the scars littered across her exposed skin. When it came down to it, Kraeva could have done a lot worse. Instead he was almost teasing. Sam figured that's all it had been. Just another thing that would rile Danny up to challenge him. It didn't matter now. Kraeva was gone and her wounds were healed. But it bothered her a lot that she'd been used like that. Sam had remained strong throughout the whole situation but Danny was the one hurt in the end.
"Sam, you okay?"
The Goth blinked and looked to her left. Danny was flying beside her, the light of the Ghost Zone exaggerating his ghostly aura. She'd tried to touch it once. It wasn't tangible, but the air surrounding Danny in his ghost form was always a few degrees cooler and made sparks jump across your skin.
"Yeah, just distracted." Sam shrugged, turning to focus on their destination. They hadn't flown for long, but already the dark castle was in sight. It was Sam's first good view of the castle's exterior and she was sufficiently pleased. Dora had explained to her how this particular lair first. It belonged to whoever was the current king of the Ghost Zone, and its appearance was influenced by the owner's desires. She appreciated the obvious Gothic influence in the outer architecture. There were a few noticeably Greek and medieval additions that probably made Dora and Pandora smile.
Sam's focus turned to the garden and she grinned. She found it funny that the women in Danny's life had such a big influence on him.
"You're laughing, should I be worried?" Danny teased.
"Shut up, I can laugh," Sam retorted, blushing lightly.
"Promise I won't tell Tucker," Danny said.
"Cross your heart?"
"And hope to finish dying." Danny traced an X over his heart, grinning at his own joke. Sam snorted, shaking her head, and pressed a button on the strap of her booster to go faster. The FBR was surprisingly easy to maneuver. There were three buttons, to increase power, decrease power, and turn the rocket on and off. The rest was about control, which could be problematic for some people. Sam yelped and jerked upwards, rising several feet, as Dash tumbled past her. His flight was shaky, full of unintentional twists and flips.
Sam was willing to admit she'd had a bit of trouble at first, but quickly got the hang of it. Morgan had no problems at all, the only person she couldn't fly circles around was Danny.
As they approached Sable's island, Sam shifted and rolled so her back faced the ground before leaning forwards. The maneuver successfully aimed her feet downwards so she could land with ease, just as Danny instructed them to do on the flight over. Dash face planted, having cut his engines before properly positioning himself, while Morgan simply decreased the power on her rocket to let her hover.
"Why are we here?" Dash asked gruffly, mustering his dignity after the poor landing.
"Pit stop. We won't be here long, and I want you guys to get used to the Ghost Zone's atmosphere, as well as moving in it. Here, humans are the ghosts. If you're not careful, you could end up falling through something."
"We didn't do that last time," Dash said with an annoyed frown.
"Last time, we were in a hurry to rescue Sam, and you guys spent most the trip in the Fenton Speeder. It maintains the internal atmosphere of the human world," Danny explained as he ascended the castle stairs. He paused on the top step, looking to one of the stone phantoms overlooking the castle doors. The blade of its scythe was stained a dark green, and the cloak draped over its shoulder's bore several large tears. He gave the statue an almost defiant stare and entered his lair. His steps left frosted footprints on the stone, which Morgan made a show of following closely.
"You said we can fall through stuff, what does that – !" Morgan's question was cut off by a yelp of surprise, and Danny turned expecting to see her halfway through the ground. Instead it was Sam on her hands and knees, slowly sinking into the floor.
"That's how." Danny grabbed Sam's arm and pulled her back up. "The first few months with my powers, stuff like that happened all the time. I'd go intangible, invisible, or start floating without any warning."
"So that's what was happening when we thought you were ditched us all first year," Sam said, regaining her composure.
"Yeah, sorry about that." Danny rubbed the back of his neck and gave his girlfriend a nervous grin.
"I guess I can forgive you," Sam sighed in feigned exasperation.
"Oh, thank goodness. I might have done something drastic if you didn't," Danny said.
"Loser love," Dash scoffed.
"Says the guy who doesn't have a girlfriend," Sam spoke with disdain. "Or boyfriend, if you swing that way."
"Which I don't."
"Doesn't matter to me." Sam shrugged
"We're only gonna be here for a few minutes. Try and walk through a wall without falling through the floor. Even better, try flying without the FBRs. I have something I need to do." Danny gave his human companions a jaunty wave and teleported away. Sam blinked away spots as the light faded and sighed. It seemed like Danny would always have his secrets
…
For once, Danny's slip away hadn't actually been for secrecy. What he needed was quiet, which he rightly doubted he would find while around Morgan and Dash. The castle of Sable had only one tower, which overlooked the courtyard garden. With a bright flash of light, he appeared in the tower's topmost room. Rather than having walls, there were seven thin columns holding up the white stone ceiling. Thin veils curtained the open spaces, but could be tied back to the columns. There were three low torches emitting a soft green light, casting Danny's elongated shadow over pale cushion in the middle of the room, the only furnishing to be found.
It was Danny's meditation room, and the single most Greek influenced location in the entire castle. There was actually an almost identical room somewhere in Pandora's acropolis.
Danny seated himself on the plush cushion, legs crossed and eyes closed. He had only one goal to accomplish during their brief pause at Sable. Try to contact the Ancient. Clockwork had been teaching the halfa more about the relationship between the King of Ghosts and the ancient beings ever since the purpose of his role had been revealed. There was a lot to know. The relationship was fairly one-sided, with the Ancients choosing their King without consult or consent, bestowing power when they see fit, but for the most part remaining a silent force. One of the most recent things Danny learned was that he could contact the Ancients through meditation. It wasn't guaranteed to work, but he was determined, and the power of the Ancients could come in handy in the banished lands.
Nothing happened at first. The halfa sat perfectly still, hardly even breathing, as he concentrated on the tendril of power connecting him to the Ancients. In his mind, Danny saw a vast darkness illuminated by a pale string. He pictured himself reaching towards it, tentative at first, cautiously probing the powerful connection deep within him.
Outside his mind, Danny's aura pulsed in long, low beats. Dimming almost to nonexistence before strong, and fading again. He slowly floated off the cushion. Sparks jumped his skin to the floor, skittering across the pale stone before fizzling out. He could feel a tingling at the back of his neck and new it must have been working. As he teased the connection, Danny heard the call of the Zone itself and let his mind sink into the chaos. He could feel everything, every ghost scattered across the plane of existence, every fading echo of beings long lost to the void, and the dull roar of ancient and eternal powers.
Danny focused upon the dull roar, calling on its source, when a sharp cry disturbed him. The fearful shout of allies awaiting rescue. His connection broke, and the roar started to fade. He tried to latch onto the power he'd been following, but it slipped away from him. Desperate, he focused on the yetis' calls, reaching for the ghost that had trained him.
A ghostly wasteland flashed before his eyes, with crumbling islands and shattered lairs. He glimpsed a hulking figure with a limb of ice before everything was lost.
Danny returned to reality with a sharp gasp and dropped from the air. He hunched over, clutching his chest, as the crackling energy that had been building up within his being was released all at once. Spears of ice shot out from the ground surrounding him, followed by a surge of electricity that shattered the spikes.
Danny punched the ground in frustration, ignoring the sound of marble cracking beneath his fist. He'd been distracted by Frostbite's call for help and lost concentration. If he'd stayed focused, he might have made contact with Ancients. If not that, he could properly shifted his attention to the yeti king. But Danny didn't have enough experience in all things kingly to maintain that level of focus while immersed in the Ghost Zone. He wanted to try again, but knew it was about time for them to leave. He didn't want to put off the rescue any longer than necessary.
Danny flew from the meditation room and down into the garden. He placed a hand on the trunk of the weeping willow as he passed and walked through the archway that led into the throne room. During his grand showdown with Kraeva they had busted through the wall. Rather than repair it, Danny turned it into entrance, since there hadn't been one from the throne room before. As he suspected, Sam and the others had eventually found their way here.
Morgan was showing off her affinity for the Ghost Zone by jumping through the pillars lining the grand hall. Her jumps gained a surprising amount of air, and her descent was lagging. Danny saw the abandoned FBR and grinned. Morgan would probably be able to fly in the Ghost Zone in no time. Dash was sticking his hand through the wall, struggling to keep his feet from sinking into the floor. Danny had to admit the jock wasn't doing too badly.
Sam sat upon Danny's throne legs thrown over one of the arm rests with her head propped up in one hand, and appeared to be sulking.
"Something wrong?" Danny asked.
Sam squeaked in surprise and jumped, swinging her legs around to sit correctly. She must have been really deep in thought, since Danny had approached her from the front.
"I can't get the hang of it. I tried to put my hand through the wall, and my feet went through the floor. This is the only place I don't starting falling through stuff," Sam admitted with an annoyed scowl.
"Furniture in Sable is both ghost and human proof. No one can phase through it," Danny explained. He sat down on the armrest formerly occupied by his girlfriend's feet, and Sam leaned against him. "Obviously different people have different affinities for ghost stuff."
"Morgan's good, Dash is even okay, and I suck?" Sam asked.
"Think of it this way, my accident would have killed a normal person." Danny's breath hitched even as he mentioned his half-death. The panic attacks from his death day had stopped, but that didn't make the subject any less sore.
"I'm sorry, Danny."
"For what?"
"For making you bring it up," Sam said, hugging her knees.
"Hey, I'm King of the Ghost Zone, remember? I'm tough. But I'm really surprised you can't do this stuff. You're supposed to have a great affinity for this stuff."
"What makes you say that?" Sam asked, giving Danny a quizzical look. The halfa realized his mistake and quickly scrambled for some kind of excuse that wouldn't lead her anywhere near a DNA test.
"Undergrowth!" Danny burst out, a little louder than necessary. Sam's eyebrow crawled up her forehead, and he elaborated. "When Undergrowth first came to Amity. Everyone was really hazy about what happened, remember? That's because of the spores he released. But He sort of, um, claimed you as his daughter and gave you plant related ghost powers to, to take care of the 'children'."
"Oh." Sam blinked in surprise. As Danny said, no remembered much of that week. Just that a plant loving ghost had attacked, and Danny Phantom saved the day as always.
"He first picked you because you were sort of ranting about the bad influence of the human population on nature. He agreed." Danny chuckled. "But the ghost powers thing, it wouldn't have worked if you didn't have an affinity."
He nodded slowly, deciding his explanation was reasonably acceptable. It probably wasn't a lie either.
"And now?"
"Undergrowth's involvement could have messed something up, ruining your affinity. Because even if you weren't 'ghost compatible', you still should have Dash's skill level."
"You better be right, ghost boy," Sam said. A sly grin spread across her face.
"What? It's not my fault, it's Undergrowth's!" Danny protested, knowing that smile never meant anything good.
"But I can't punch Undergrowth, can I? Not after Ember and Klemper double teamed him."
"I wish I could have seen that," said Danny wistfully. First because he rarely saw Klemper fight seriously, and the overly friendly ghost actually had a pretty powerful cold core. And second because Ember had promised to be Klemper's friend. Danny had yet to see the two ghosts at the same time, since Ember was doing everything to avoid Klemper, she'd promised there was lots of annoying clinging during one of her rants. Danny had been delighted.
"I'm sure Dorathea's already told you the full story."
"Many times, but it's just not the same."
"Oh, poor you."
"Poor me." Danny nodded with a smile, then raised his voice so their companions could hear. "We should be heading out now. The sooner we're done here, the sooner we get home."
"Yes!" Morgan said, pumping her fist. She lunged for her FBR and swung it onto her shoulders, blasting into the air and maintaining a hover several feet above their heads. She hung there for several seconds before turning and phasing through the closest wall.
"Does she know that most of the walls in Sable are human proof?" Sam asked, powering up her own FBR.
"I doubt it." Danny shook his head. "We'll meet you outside."
He followed Morgan through the wall, and wasn't at all surprised to see her sitting dazed in the middle of the hallway, holding her head.
"Your wall is broken," Morgan mumbled, rising unsteadily to her feet with Danny's help.
"The wall is phase proof. You should be more concerned about your head."
"'M fine," the blue-haired girl insisted. "Just, no more walls."
"Sure. This will be faster anyways." Danny grinned, grabbing her shoulder.
"Oh, wait no, not –"
"–that!" Morgan stumbled as Danny teleported them outside of Sable, clutching her stomach. "I'm gonna hurl."
Morgan ran to the edge of floating island and flopped onto her stomach, hands pressed to her mouth. Nothing happened for several seconds, and she slowly sat up. "I'm good!"
"Good, because we need to go." Danny flew upwards, and the others followed. Dash must have practiced while the halfa was meditating, because his flight wasn't so shaky now. Morgan was obviously still affected by the teleportation and bump to the head and avoided to any tricks as she joined them in the sky.
They had barely flown a hundred metres when Danny heard a shout. He turned, expecting either a ghost to be attacking, or for someone to be falling from the sky. Instead he saw a familiar blue, ghostly horse running towards them. Its rider had been the one to shout.
"Wait!"
Danny froze, instantly recognizing the voice. "Bellefire!"
The ghost horse whinnied and increased its speed, and his rider yelped. Bellefire came to a stop in front of Danny, huffing and stomping on the open air. Danny ran his hand along the loyal animal's mane, then glared at the rider.
"Wow, why didn't you go that fast for me?" The young woman asked, leaning over Bellefire's neck.
"Jazz, what are you doing here?" Danny asked.
Jazz steeled her gaze, lifting her head and sitting upright. "I'm helping."
…
'See' you next time!
