To mikaela2015: Thank you for your review. I'm really glad you liked it. As for the re-write, this was my first story ever back in 2006/2007. My beta-readers helped me so much (I could never, never have done this without them) but due to real-life stress and not enough time I had to shorten the story. I was happy I could complete it but there was more I wanted to include. I just wanted to try it one more time.
Thanks to xseriouslyx for favoriting and following this. Thank you!
There is violence in this chapter. Blood (ectoplasm) is mentioned.
Chapter 7: Confrontation
Plasmius and Skulker looked over at Juukka. They realized the creature had put everything together. The ghost's eyes radiated an intense glow and his body was trembling. He released an enraged howl and slammed its claws deep within the concrete, creating cracks that spread in all directions.
Plasmius, still in control of Danny's body, could only stare in disbelief.
Daniel... He has ruined everything.
The hybrid felt anger swell inside him. He gritted his teeth and was overwhelmed with a wave of resentment.
And this is exactly what I hoped for.
His concentration was broken. He could already feel Daniel's presence returning. And this time he had neither the willpower nor the energy to push the boy back.
You... you ruined everything!
Yeah, I guess I did.
Vlad's hands fisted at feeling triumph and smugness flowing out of the teen's self.
I had a feeling that Skulker would slip up and say your name eventually. It's over, Plasmius.
No, this can't be! I was so close.
I admit you were. Push me back if you want to, but that ghost knows you lied to him.
Juukka howled, dropped on all fours and charged towards the overshadowed Danny.
"Stop, I command you to stop!" Plasmius fired several ectobeams from Danny's palms. Juukka avoided them, willed himself intangible and dived into the teen's body.
What are you doing, you stupid beast! This body is mine to control!
You're helping me? Awesome!
"Danny! Danny! Say something!" Skulker, still angry with himself for giving their plan away, was shaking the boy's shoulder. A furious Plasmius duplicate landed next to him.
"It's too late now, you fool!"
The flames around Danny's body gave way for a bright and green aura. The boy let out one final scream, and the outline of Plasmius emerged from his back with Juukka holding onto his waist. Plasmius hit the ground, and as soon as they became tangible, Juukka stood up, grabbed the hybrid by his collar, held him up and punched him in the face before blasting him away. Skulker immediately moved in to defend his ally and fired two missiles.
Juukka's eyes flashed, shot two beams from them and destroyed the incoming projectiles. The ghost hunter launched himself into the air, swooped down, activated his energy blade and struck at his prey, only to be blocked by the protective bracer on Juukka's right forearm. Juukka's eyes flashed again and Skulker barely avoided the attack by going intangible.
Skulker created some distance, circled around the ghost once, rushed in, went tangible and avoided a slash by diving to the right. With his prey wide open, the hunter moved around and struck his blade at the creature's back. Juukka hissed, growled and shot a vicious glare at his attacker.
Danny fell to his knees. He was panting, sweat was rolling down his face and dripping onto the ground; his body was trembling and hunched forward, his head was resting on the ground. Even with the help of this ghost, it had taken a lot of energy just to drive his archenemy out. Plasmius wasn't kidding when he said he was a master at overshadowing.
The Plasmius duplicate teleported next to Danny, grabbed him by his throat and lifted him in the air. His expression held total anger, his blood red eyes burned with rage, his voice overflowed with resentment. "Once again you took something away from me. You took away my revenge against Jack, you stood in the way of the woman I love; you took away my perfect son and now you've taken away my destiny." His tone of voice was dark and sinister. "Ever since you came into my life you've only caused me pain. All I ever wanted was love." His face contorted with something that came dangerously close to pure hatred. "I'll make you pay for this."
Danny felt a chill running down his spine. He knew the next moments could be brutal, but he was not going to back down. Not anymore. "Yeah?" He scoffed. "I can say the same about you." The Plasmius clone tightened his grip around his neck but he didn't flinch. "You ever wonder why you're only feeling pain, Vlad? Why you don't get any love?" Danny stared his nemesis down, his eyes holding an intense glow and determined look. "Because you only know how to hurt others. You make everyone around you feel miserable. You waste every chance you get to change your life." Danny was now looking at him earnestly. "You always focus on what you don't have, instead of looking at what you've already got," his expression softened, "or what you could still have."
The man's eyes narrowed. His hatred seemed to subside but his anger remained, and Danny could tell he was barely able to keep himself under control. The teen cringed involuntarily as he imagined what Vlad would do to him.
"What are you saying, Daniel?"
Danny composed himself. He waited a few moments before answering. "You had Danielle. You had someone who cared for you."
Plasmius' eyes ingnited with fury. "That girl is a failure! A living reminder of what I'll never have! You were the one I wanted, Daniel! You're the son I was always supposed to have!" His next words were spoken slowly. Bitterness dripping from each one of them. "And Jack took that away from me."
The young half-ghost looked at Plasmius solemnly. "You can't have me, Vlad. You know that."
Plasmius clenched his teeth.
'We could have been family." Danny looked into the man's eyes, and for a moment the fury within them abated. "I understand how much you have suffered and how much you had to go through after the accident." A hint of surprise spread across Plasmius' features. "And I'm really sorry for that." He gave the man a hopeful look. "We could still be family, Vlad. Things can still be different, but you have to let go of the past."
The fire in Vlad's eyes returned. The air around him distorted, the glow of his aura intensified, lightning arced across his body, and Danny winced at the sight. "How dare you, Daniel? How dare you presume to understand my past? Or to understand all the misery I went through?" His voice rose. "And it was all because of your father! I've suffered for over twenty years because of him! And now you want me to let it all go? And for what? To join your little family?" Mockery and bitterness underlined his every word. "To become that distant uncle who visits only once in a while? And then is forced to see what he can never have!?"
Danny said nothing. He felt he understood Vlad, yet it was exactly because he understood he knew there was nothing he could do for him. They were both half-ghosts. They understood each other better than anyone else would ever be able to. They should have been friends. Instead they were each other's worst enemy. He couldn't change Vlad. No one could. The only one who could really change Vlad was Vlad himself. He would only be able to help if Vlad wanted his help.
The boy suddenly felt very tired.
"Just give it up, Plasmius. It's over." He felt no desire to taunt his archenemy. Not out of fear for retaliation, but out of a kind of pity he couldn't explain himself.
The Plasmius duplicate looked like he was about to say something, but seemingly decided against it in the end. With a frustrated scream, he threw Danny to the ground.
Skulker and Juukka were still locked in their struggle. The hunter had thrust his blade with all his might at his prey, but was once again blocked by its claws. He brought his blade down again and again; the force of his blows were finally driving the ghost back. Juukka blocked one more time and used the momentum to push Skulker away from him. With his opponent off-balance, Juukka dashed to Skulker's right, shot two beams from his eyes and blasted the hunter into the lake. He turned and rushed towards his other target.
The Plasmius duplicate spun around and saw Juukka approaching. The man's eyes ignited with fury once more. He shot his younger rival a dark look. "This isn't over, Daniel. That creature will be mine." He launched himself at the animal ghost and materialized a sword in his hands. Juukka lunged but was blocked by an ecto-shield. Juukka's body flashed and there was one more. They dashed around the ecto-shield and lunged again. The duplicate struck at one of them with his sword but only hit air as the clone dissipated before his eyes. He spun around and struck at the original Juukka. The ghost ducked, then blasted the sword out of his hands with an ecto-blast.
Juukka jumped over the duplicate, wrapped his tail around his neck and slammed him into the ground. The duplicate grabbed his tail, yanked on it to pull himself to his feet, and then shot a current of red electricity through his opponent. Juukka cried out, but then opened the tip of his tail - a number of projectiles folding out like a flower - and aimed at his enemy. The duplicate created another sword and cut off the ghost's tail.
Juukka cried out in agony as he reached with his hands for something that wasn't there anymore. For a moment the duplicate looked with disgust at the tail in his hand before throwing it aside. The animal ghost barely noticed it; he frantically tried keeping his hand on the gushing wound.
Danny had managed to stand up and saw to his horror what the Plasmius duplicate had done. "Juukka!" He wanted to help, but his legs gave way and he fell to his knees.
In desperation, he did all he could at the moment. "Vlad! Don't do this!" But the man seemed deaf to everything around him.
The duplicate dissolved his sword, rammed his fist into Juukka's abdomen, then blasted him from behind. The ghost cried out as he slammed head first into the ground. The duplicate then delivered a brutal kick to his stomach.
Danny finally managed to keep himself on his feet.
Plasmius was now looming over Juukka. He grabbed the creature by the arm, pulled him roughly onto his back and then shot a current of red electricity into its body. The ghost did not make a sound. It twitched, it trembled, and its eyes were clenched shut. "You exist only to serve me!" There was an edge to the man's voice, and Danny could tell Vlad had reached the end of not only his patience, but of his sanity as well.
Plasmius increased the current further and shot another wave of energy into Juukka's ghostly form. He still did not make a sound. He only looked up, and gave the hybrid a defiant glare. Plasmius hissed. "Foolish creature. You will submit to your rightful master." He reached for Juukka's emblem, his hand was now radiating a crimson glow and charging crimson sparks that arced between his finger tips and onto the emblem. A malevolent grin of dark delight settled on his features. His eyes were brimming with a blood red radiance. "You'll beg me for mercy by the time I'm through."
"You aren't going to do anything, Plasmius."
The duplicate spun around; Danny Phantom landed in front of him. The hybrid clenched his fists. "Come to me, Daniel. I will enjoy tearing you apart limb from limb." His fangs glinted in the moonlight.
Danny cringed. Plasmius had finally given in to his rage. No, not given in; the man had embraced it. The thought made the young half-ghost shiver, but he steeled himself. There was no going back now. He knew what had to be done.
Plasmius was going down.
"You really don't know when to quit, do you!" Danny fired two ecto-blasts; the duplicate materialized a new sword and deflected both attacks, one into the lake and one into the air. He rushed towards his young rival, thrust his weapon down with all his might, but to his shock Danny catched the sword between his hands. The boy's hands were charged with ecto-energy.
"You— let go!"
"Don't think so, Plasmius."
A short distance away, Skulker checked upon the original Plasmius after he had been blasted into a wall by Juukka earlier. The older hybrid fell to his knees. He panted.
"Skulker."
"Yes?"
"I'm directing all the energy I can spare into the duplicate. I want you to join the fight, there's still a chance..."
"You can count on me." Skulker rose to his feet.
"Focus your efforts on Juukka first. My duplicate will neutralize Daniel."
At that moment Danny broke Plasmius' sword into pieces.
"Impossible!" He dissolved his weapon, charged an ecto-blast, and fired. Danny went intangible and passed through the duplicate's body.
The duplicate spun around, and erected a shield expecting a counterattack. Surprise washed over him when the boy was nowhere to be seen.
"Coward," he hissed, "Come back here and fight."
"Oh, I'm fighting alright; you're just way too slow."
The duplicate was aghast to see Danny hovering above him. Before he could react, the teen swooped down and delivered a kick to his chest. Crying out in pain, the duplicate fell and slid several yards across the pavement until his head hit a nearby container. Visibly trembling from anger, he rose to his feet, materialized another sword and lunged at the ghost teen.
Danny landed and immediately dived to his right when the duplicate struck. As his enemy moved to strike again, he fired an ice blast and froze the duplicate's hands together with his weapon. Danny moved back as his nemesis charged hot energy to thaw his cold bindings.
"You RAT!"
The duplicate dissolved his sword, teleported and backhanded Danny across the face. He put his fists together, rammed them into the boy's side, and slammed him into the roof of a car below. He swooped down and Danny barely avoided a massive ecto-beam that blasted the entire car.
The duplicate teleported a second time and gave Danny an uppercut, sending the teen into the air and making him cry out in pain. He teleported a third time and punched Danny in the face. He teleported a fourth time but with a painful grimace the boy spun around and hit the duplicate with an ecto-beam as he re-appeared. Danny moved above his dazed and disoriented nemesis, charged a swirling energy orb between his hands as fast as he could and blasted him a second time, sending the man towards the ground.
Danny flinched as he rubbed his chin. For someone who's worried I'm getting stronger than him Vlad really packs a punch.
The Plasmius duplicate stabilized and launched a volley of energy disks. Danny changed his legs into a spectral tail, dived down and dodged the incoming projectiles in a zig zag pattern.
"Payback time!" He changes back and drives his fist into the duplicate's stomach. The hybrid gasps for air, disbelief and surprise visible in his eyes.
"And these two are for overshadowing me!" He slams his fists into the man's face. The duplicate stumbles backwards, clutches his face with both hands and utters a seething growl.
At the same time Skulker went invisible and converged on Juukka who was still recovering from Plasmius' attack. This is my last net; better make it count. He approached from behind, became visible, fired the missile and captured his prey again. He checked his onboard computer and pushed several buttons. "Starting energy drain." Electricity shot through the net and he looked on as the animal ghost writhed in agony.
"Juukka!" Danny flew over the disoriented Plasmius duplicate, blasted him in his back and to his knees with an ecto-beam, then charged an energy disk in his right hand and threw it at the net.
Before the ghost hunter could react the disk had cut the net and ended the draining process.
"No! I'll get you for this, whelp!"
"Grrr..."
Skulker's angry expression changed into one of horror as his quarry ecaped from the net and jumped to his feet.
Danny smiled, and the animal ghost gave the boy a grateful glance and nod before turning to his opponent. Suddenly the teen felt someone grabbing his ankle, making him yelp in surprise.
"We're not done yet, Daniel."
"Sorry, Plasmius," the boy said grimly while glaring at his archenemy over his shoulder. "It's over." His eyes turned blue and an aura of cold formed around him. The man screamed in pain as a biting chill spread along his arm. Danny went intangible to escape his opponent's grasp, flew into the air, went tangible and fired four energy blasts in quick succession. The energy wasn't aimed at the older half-ghost himself but slammed into the ground around him. The impact threw debris into the air and blinded his adversary momentarily.
While the duplicate's vision was shrouded - and struggling to get onto his feet - Danny dived into the lake, causing the original Plasmius to look on in confusion. Within seconds Danny emerged in front of the duplicate. The duplicate cried out in frustration as he rose to his feet. He charged his fist with ecto-energy and smashed it into the ground where Danny stood. The teen went intangible, phased through his enemy and willed himself solid behind him. A furious scream filled the air as the duplicate was blasted in his back a second time.
The duplicate cursed the young halfa under his breath. He created another sword and infused it with his ecto-energy. He spun around and struck at his rival. Danny's ghostly form briefly split around the middle as the weapon went through him. The boy then charged an ecto-blast and released it just before the duplicate could strike again. In a flash of green light his enemy was thrown backwards. He landed on his back and slid several yards until he reached the original Plasmius, who knelt down and stopped him with his hands.
Juukka lunged at Skulker. The hunter evaded the lunge, another slash, a second lunge, and finally managed to fly into the air. The animal ghost looked up and shot several beams from his eyes at his enemy. Skulker accelerated and avoided the first volley but was hit in the back by the third attack, damaging one of his rockets. SKulker spiralled downwards and crashed into the dark water of the lake. Juukka jumped after him.
The original Plasmius looked at his unconscious duplicate. "I can't believe this, Daniel is winning," he murmured. He took a breath and calmed himself before absorbing his clone. Danny landed before him. Plasmius simply stood up and chuckled.
"Well done, Daniel. But now that I'm whole again, the real battle is about to begin."
Danny sighed as he put his hands on the small of his back, stretching a little. "This is really getting old." He spread out his arms in front of him. "Will you wake up already! You've lost, Vlad. What do I have to do to get through that thick skull of yours?"
Nothing, because I haven't lost yet," he said seriously, taking on a fighting stance. "I'll show you how my experience and skills are still superior to those new powers of yours."
Danny chuckled happily as he crossed his arms.
Plasmius looked surprised as well as slightly annoyed. "Care to tell me what's so funny, Daniel?"
"Yeah, that so called 'experience' is what's funny, because that isn't going to cut it this time, Plasmius." Smiling, Danny moved his hand through his hair. "As for the battle, it hasn't just begun, it's already over."
This time it was Plasmius' turn to laugh, although it didn't came out as confident as he had hoped it would. In fact, he scolded himself silently as he believed the teen had picked up on his uncertainty. "Surely you must be joking! You'd wish the battle was over." Grinning evilly, he added, "You really shouldn't underestimate me like that, my dear boy."
Danny chuckled and stepped closer. The boy couldn't help but smile a little at seeing the confusion in the man's eyes. "Well, you shouldn't underestimate me either. If you didn't, you would have known by now."
"Known what?" The half-ghost said irritably.
"Haven't you noticed something?"
"Noticed wha—?" Suddenly Plasmius could feel it. No, he wouldn't. As he turned around his irritation changed into shock as he saw another smiling Danny who had been standing behind him. "You... You duplicated yourself," he stammered in disbelief.
The other Danny, whom Plasmius had turned his back to, responded, "Yep, but now you're looking at the original. I'm the duplicate."
"But how? When?"
The original replied. "After I dived in the lake."
He still couldn't believe it. Daniel mastered duplication. When did you learn...?"
Neither Danny replied. Instead, the original one fired an ecto-blast that exploded just in front of Plasmius' dumbfounded face.
"Aargh!" He stumbled backwards, covering his blinded eyes.
Both Danny's rushed towards Plasmius. Before the older half-ghost could react, the original Danny had placed his hands on the man's chest while the duplicate had placed both hands on his back.
"What are you two—?"
He felt a deep, paralyzing, almost agonizing chill spread throughout his body. "You'll regret this—" The ice covered his face and captured Plasmius' shock and surprise in a moment of silence.
With a satisfied smile, the two Dannys stepped back. The duplicate flew towards the original Danny and landed directly next to him. They gave each other a high five before giving the frozen Plasmius another look.
The duplicate gave the other Danny a nudge and said playfully, "How much time do you think he needs to get out? I'll bet ten seconds or less."
"Nah," the other Danny replied, "you're giving fruit loop over there too much credit. I'd say fifteen seconds or more."
"Deal," the duplicate said. "I'll count."
"Fine with me."
The duplicate raised his left hand and started counting on his fingers. "One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississipi, four Mississippi, five Mississippi," he switched to his other hand, "six Mississippi, seven—"
Suddenly the glow in Plasmius' eyes intensified. A large crack formed at his feet which quickly travelled upwards. The crack split the ice block in half. Two hands emerged and pushed the halves apart.
The duplicate looked at the original Danny with a smug expression. "I win."
"Awww," the original said playfully. A green glow formed over the duplicate, he jumped in the air and flew into the original's body, merging the two Dannys together again.
His smile faded. "It's now or never," the teen muttered, seeing that a steaming Plasmius had almost freed himself. He took a deep breath and released his most powerful weapon: the Ghostly Wail.
Enraged, Plasmius shattered the remaining ice into pieces with his energy. "I've had enough of this! I'll—" The wail enveloped him.
"No! Nooo!" He used his hands to shield himself from the waves. He stumbled and was pushed backwards, but still desperately tried to keep his balance. He tried to will himself intangible, but the energy of the wail had already penetrated his ghost core and disrupted his focus.
Danny did his best to limit the size of his attack, trying to prevent any damage to the buildings to his right and the streetlights at the waterfront to his left.
It became harder and harder for Plasmius to resist the intensifying wail. The waves of energy kept increasing in both frequency and power, finally lifting him up and blowing him away. Realizing he had lost, Plasmius gave up struggling any further and surrendered his body to Daniel's attack. He could feel the boy's ghostly wail tearing up his remaining energy and he resigned himself to his fate. The wail threw him on the ground, and a painful jolt ran through his spine. He groaned helplessly as the force of the wail kept pushing him further, tearing and staining his once pristine white suit.
Danny finally halted his attack. A wave of dizziness set over him; he fell to his hands and knees and tried to avoid dropping face down on the ground. Panting heavily, he lifted his head to see what he had accomplished. Plasmius was lying on his back in the distance, motionless. And aside for a few fallen stacks of boxes and crates, he had succeeded in keeping everything else undamaged.
"I did it," he said with a weary smile. "I really did it."
After taking a few breaths he felt stronger. He carefully focused the remaining energy inside of him and slowly drifted towards his nemesis.
He cautiously landed next to Plasmius. The man's eyes were closed, and his head was slightly turned to the left. Danny assumed Vlad was unconscious, but not wanting to take any risk he took a step back. The boy took in the condition of his archenemy with mixed feelings; while they had battled each other many times he couldn't remember a moment when Plasmius had ended up this hurt. Ectoplasm dripped from the edges of his mouth, his white suit was torn and burned, green stains were visible on parts of his body— originating from wounds and injuries underneath his clothing. Danny knew he shouldn't care about the condition of his worst enemy, but he felt uncomfortable seeing him like this. And as much as he tried, he couldn't suppress a pang of pity.
He was feeling sorry for him.
"Let me go. I can get out on my own, you know."
Danny looked in the direction of the lake where the voice came from. He walked along the wharf, looking and listening cautiously. Suddenly, a few yards away from him, an armored hand grabbed the edge of the brick lake wall. He recognized Juukka's claws immediately. Quickly closing the distance, he could see how Juukka was trying to pull himself up. Much to Danny's surprise, he was holding Skulker, allowing the hunter to lean on his shoulder.
Danny went down on one knee and grasped Juukka's hand, intending to pull him up. The animal ghost glanced at Skulker, who was looking considerably annoyed but didn't say anything. Juukka then nodded in Danny's direction and the teen knew what he meant.
Danny grabbed Skulker by his shoulders, then lifted him into the air while Juukka let go. He laid Skulker down on the ground, and noticed from the corner of his eye that the ghost had climbed out of the water. He wondered why Juukka didn't just fly, but then realized he had never seen him use that ability.
"What a humiliation, to be rescued by my very own prey."
Danny shot an irritated glare at Skulker, who was now sitting up. "Instead of complaining you could thank him, you know."
The hunter shot a glare back, "You know as well as I do that I was perfectly able to get out on my own, I didn't need any help."
"Yeah, but he didn't know that. And it's the thought that counts, right?"
The hunter considered Phantom's words for a moment before grinning slightly. "I guess it is, whelp." He then looked at Juukka, who was now standing on all fours trying to shake off the water. Skulker's words sounded surprisingly honest and earned him a confused look from the young halfa.
"Really? I thought that you—"
"You thought that I would use this opportunity to attack him, right?"
Danny didn't reply, but gave a slight nod.
The hunter chuckled. "If I wanted to, his head would be hanging on my wall before sunrise." His expression lit up with a grin of anticipation. "He wouldn't stand a chance."
Danny rolled his eyes. "Sure, in your dreams."
Skulker glared at the boy, "There's also enough room for the head of a certain ghost child I know."
"Oh yeah?" Danny retorted with a scowl, "I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you." He placed his hand absentmindedly on his neck, while looking at Skulker in slight discomfort.
Still sitting on the ground, the hunter pulled up his left leg and let his left arm rest on it. He continued to gaze at the animal ghost who was now wringing excess water out of his ears.
After a moment of silence, Danny slightly raising his hands in front of him. "Hold on, you just said 'if I wanted to.' Does that mean you aren't interested in capturing him now?"
Skulker lifted himself to his feet and checked his onboard computer, giving the impression that he was ignoring the question. However, before Phantom could react, the hunter answered. "Yes. Even if I could, I would not capture him now."
The teen raised an eyebrow. "Why? Is that because he pulled you out of the lake?"
Skulker shrugged off-handedly and replied, "To some extent. I can't think of any prey that would have even bothered to rescue me if my life was threatened." He glanced at the teen, his voice earnest. "Except for you, ghost child."
Danny looked up in surprise, but didn't reply, giving the hunter a nod instead.
"Though you may think otherwise, I am a ghost of honor. I know when it's the right time to hunt and when it is not. Although I did not need it, that creature assisted me, and because of that this hunt is over. It would be dishonorable to attack my prey after what he did for me. As a hunter I acknowledge his strength, but it also serves as good knowledge."
Skulker flashed a predatory grin towards Juukka before looking back at Phantom. "I look forward to my next hunt with him. But rest assured, I will be better prepared for it."
Danny frowned, but whatever he planned on saying was forgotten when he saw Skulker look over towards Plasmius. "You know, ghost child... In a way, I'm glad Plasmius failed in capturing him."
The hunter then looked at Phantom, placed his right hand on the boy's head and pushed it down slightly. The gesture - although a bit painful - was done in a playful manner, so instead of retaliating the ghost teen allowed it.
"Hey!" Danny protested, "What's the big idea?"
Skulker chuckled. "Perhaps having you interfere was best. You did good whelp. Now I have two worthy preys to hunt down. I truly look forward to my next hunt with you as well."
Danny's annoyance was replaced by a confused expression as the hunter withdrew his hand. But the half-ghost then dismissed it with a roll of his eyes.
"Yeah, me too," he replied sarcastically. "It's always great fun to have missiles and nets thrown at me. Oh, but the best part is when you're about to slice my head off with that blade of yours."
Skulker laughed heartily. "Admit it, ghost child, deep down you know our hunts benefit both of us."
"Whatever, dude. Only you'd think anyone enjoys getting shot at." But inside, Danny knew the hunter did have a point. His fights with Skulker kept them both conditioned. His battles with all his enemies was what made him stronger… but he wasn't about to openly admit that to one of his more formidable opponents.
Both Danny and Skulker turned towards Juukka, who was now moving in their direction. Little drops of water on his armor glittered in the streetlights, his eyes were half-open, showing he was tired. He only made small steps, his eyes vulnerable, and gazed at both Danny and Skulker with uncertainty. Still keeping some distance, he sat down on his hind legs, and then nervously began to fiddle with his ears.
The young halfa couldn't help but smile a little. It was obvious Juukka wanted to interact, but was afraid to make the first move. His smile faded, and honestly he couldn't blame this ghost after all Plasmius and Skulker had done to him.
Danny was the one to break the silence. "How are you feeling? Is everything okay?"
Juukka closed his eyes and nodded. He understood.
Danny tilted his head a bit, trying to get a look at Juukka's back, especially where his tail had been. The animal ghost noticed what the ghost teen was trying to do, and he turned around to give him a better view.
"Oh man," Danny said as he inspected the stump, which gave off a faint glow. He also glanced at a vertical, glowing wound on his back which was already beginning to close. "I'm sorry about your tail, I—"
Skulker interrupted him. "Don't worry about his tail; he has regenerative powers. In a few weeks a new tail will be grown in its place."
"It will?" The boy looked back at Juukka as if looking for a confirmation. The creature nodded.
"I'm glad to hear that," Danny said with a smile. "When I saw how Plas—Plasmius!"
Danny turned around. Plasmius was already standing. He was panting, sweat was rolling down his face and dripping onto the ground; his body was trembling and hunched forward, his hands were on his knees. He was staring at them. His angry glare faltered, and as the realization of his failure sank in, pain and loss washed over his features.
Again Danny felt sorry for him, but it couldn't be helped.
The older hybrid continued to stare at them for what felt like an eternity. His expression had become unreadable. Danny began to feel uneasy but no one seemed willing to break the awkward silence. To everyone's surprise Plasmius suddenly smirked, stood up straight and pushed his cape back. For some reason the man seemed reinvigorated, he flashed a confident grin towards Danny, flew into the air and disappeared behind the warehouse.
"Plasmius!" Danny took off as well. Skulker followed behind, while Juukka made himself intangible and phased through the wall of that same warehouse.
After landing on the other side of the warehouse, Danny sprinted several yards before halting. He looked in all directions but couldn't spot Plasmius anywhere. Skulker landed behind him and Juukka phased out of the building.
"I don't get it," Danny said. "Where did he go?"
A scream pierced the silence. Danny, Juukka and Skulker ran towards an alley to their left, two buildings further down the street. As they reached the alley, they could see someone coming out, staggering on his feet, clutching his left arm. It was a man dressed in a formal but torn black suit, his hands and face covered with small cuts and bruises.
Danny gasped. "Vlad."
"Please... help me."
