...and here...we...go.
Review replies;
Night-Waker: *salutes solemnly* He was hero. :( Thanks for reading!
SOLmaster: Well, given their last meeting, the Man might have a bone to pick with Danny. =P Thanks for reviewing!
Zim'sMostLoyalServant: Well, at least one of my twists is surprising. :D Thanks for the review.
LightandDarkness Warrior: *scare chord*. Thanks very much!
TweenisodeOrange: It's gonna have ramifications, I can say that much. Thanks!
Chapter Nine: The Game Changes
Danny stood up, pointing at the Man in the White Suit.
"Y-you can't be here!" he exclaimed, "You got banished!"
"Yes," growled the Man in the White Suit, "That was quite a setback."
He crossed his arms.
"I cannot sustain a corporeal form in your dimension," he explained, "But I can project myself, with some effort."
"Why are you here?" demanded Danny.
"To explain," replied the Man in the White Suit, "To clarify your connection with the Warlord. Sit down, Mr. Fenton – you may not like what you hear."
In his time, he was known as Alexander. In death, he was always simply 'the Warlord.'
At the height of Pariah Dark's kingdom, he was the finest of the king's generals. All before him was wiped away – even the Observants could do nothing but swear fealty to his cause. He was fiercely loyal, and had even sworn an oath that he would never betray Pariah.
Then he found out the prophecy.
An ancient text had foreseen the rise of the Warlord, of an apocalyptic threat destined to destroy humanity and bring him to his rightful place as ruler of all ghosts. It spoke of armies descending from the sky, and of the towers of man torn asunder by great winds. It was a warning of apocalypse, grand in scope, not simply of man but of all mortality.
Pariah saw it as a threat to his reign and he immediately declared the Warlord an outlaw, and ordered his remaining generals to arrest him. Unfortunately, the majority of the army was loyal to the Warlord, and deserted with him, deep into the heart of the Ghost Zone, a void known only as the Well of Souls. And there he would stay for two thousand years, building his forces.
But his betrayal was not with punishment. Pariah made a vow to his kingdom, designed to prevent the Warlord from taking the throne. He proclaimed that lordship over the Zone could only be won by trial of combat – and at this point, Pariah was still more powerful then the Warlord.
Not long after, disaster struck Pariah, as the ancients sealed him within the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. As they were working as a team rather than an individual, their claim to the throne was void, and the kingdom came to an end.
Meanwhile, the Warlord waited in the Well of Souls. He did nothing but train for two thousand years...
"...which brings us to now," finished the Man in the White Suit.
"So, what, he wants the throne?" quizzed Danny, "Wouldn't he have to go after Pariah Dark first?"
"And therein lies his problem," replied the Man, "For you see, Pariah has since been defeated in trial by combat."
Danny blinked.
"Eight months ago, Vladimir Masters inadvertently awoke Pariah Dark," said the Man, "In the ensuing battle, the king was defeated by..."
"...me," Danny realised.
"Yes," nodded the Man, "You...my liege."
The last two words were dripping with sarcasm.
"So, what, he has to kill me to get the crown?" asked Danny.
"Or permanently incapacitate you," replied the Man, "The rule is not particularly clear on that."
"So," sighed Danny, "What do I do?"
"Isn't it obvious, Mr. Fenton?" quizzed the Man, "You change the rules."
"I've just realised," said Spongebob, "I don't think I've ever changed my shoes."
He and Sandy were wading through ankle-deep sewerage in an attempt to get to Axion Labs. Unfortunately, the lack of a compass or any visible landmarks meant that they had gotten very, very lost.
"Any particular reason you decided to tell me that?" asked Sandy, slightly irritably.
"Nah, just struck me."
Just then, a voice echoed from down the tunnel.
"...every time, every time Plasmius drags you out here, you still fail to get the dipstick! I mean what is it, rocket science?"
"I'll have you know that the whelp is a very worthy adversary..."
"Yeah, too bad that doesn't work both ways."
"Are you questioning my skills as a hunter, wench?"
"I'm not questioning it, I'm stating the obvious..."
Spongebob and Sandy rounded a bend to find Skulker and Ember sitting on opposite sides of the tunnel arguing.
"...hi," said Spongebob, meekly.
"Move along," snapped Skulker, "We're having a stress-related break-up."
"Break-up? We haven't been 'together' for three months..." corrected Ember.
"...wait, you were dating?" quizzed Sandy.
"Yes," Skulker and Ember replied testily.
"But isn't Skulker basically just a blob..."
She shook her head.
"Never mind," she shrugged, "Do either of you fellers know a way out of here?"
"Sure," shrugged Skulker, "You phase through the roof."
Sandy narrowed her eyes.
"Oh, right," nodded Skulker, "You can't do that."
"No kidding," muttered Ember, rolling her eyes.
"I think I might."
All four looked up.
Vlad Plasmius was standing on the other side of the tunnel, arms crossed. He was flanked by a suited man that Spongebob didn't recognise.
"Vlad!" exclaimed Spongebob, "And...who are you?"
"Agent Phil Coulson," replied Vlad, "Now I believe we have..."
"I'll handle this," interrupted Coulson.
Coulson raised an arm. Vlad rolled his eyes but stopped talking.
"Phil Coulson, Agent of SHIELD," he said, "We're trying to gather up the ghosts so we can fight back against the Warlord."
"Shouldn't you be in City Hall?" quizzed Skulker.
"Overrun," snarled Vlad, "We barely got out."
"So it takes the Warlord to drive you out of office," said Ember, "How the mighty have fallen..."
"Head to Casper High," explained Coulson, pointing down the tunnel, "Three hundred metres that way, take a left and go straight to the end, you'll find a ladder. Damon will meet you there..."
"...and why should we trust you?" demanded Spongebob.
"Does anybody else have an idea?" snapped Vlad.
There was a long silence.
"I didn't think so," sniffed Vlad.
"We'll meet you there," said Coulson, "Just as soon as we finish finding the other ghosts down here."
"Good luck," grunted Ember, "If they don't wanna be found..."
"I've done this before," smirked Coulson, "We'll find them..."
Jimmy and Jazz had met up with Valerie's team not far from the Amity Park Mall and were now sneaking down North Maple Street to the rendezvous point indicated by the radio. They climbed over a pile of rubble, and Jimmy raised an eyebrow.
A large green helicopter, the words 'British Army' stencilled on the side, sat in the middle of the road, preparing to take off. A half-dozen soldiers were gathered around, aiming rifles at all angles. A moustached man in a green officer's uniform was standing next to the helicopter, looking over a small map.
"Looks like these guys are RERE," whispered Jimmy.
"But...they're British," Valerie pointed out, "The heck are they doing over here?"
"Guess we'll find out," shrugged Jimmy.
He climbed over the ridge. For a second, the soldiers turned their rifles to him – then somebody shouted 'Friendly!' and they turned them away.
"Neutron?" quizzed the officer as the group reached the helicopter.
"How do you know my name?" demanded Jimmy.
"You reputation precedes you," replied the officer, "Colonel Atkinson, Royal Extraterrestrial Research Enclave. I think we can help each other."
"You wouldn't happen to know Dorian Fletcher, would you?" asked Jimmy, shouting to make himself heard over the rotors.
"I did," said Atkinson, "I knew him quite well."
"Wait...knew?" asked Jazz.
"Yes, knew," replied Atkinson, "Another thing the Warlord needs to answer for, I suppose. Now come on, we've already found Turner and we'll need you too..."
"Change the rules?" asked Danny, "How? Do I just...say he can't have the crown?"
"Not so simple," replied the Man in the White Suit, pacing before him, "You haven't had a coronation. You have no authority."
"So I just find a crown, right?" shrugged Danny.
"The Ghost Zone does not work the same way as the Earth," corrected the Man, "A coronation would take weeks, weeks we do not have. No, you must initiate emergency powers."
"Emergency powers?" Danny repeated, somewhat redundantly.
"You must travel to the Well of Souls," explained the Man, "There you will find the Great Obelisk where a king, even uncrowned, can assume 'emergency powers' – absorbing the essence of the Ghost Zone into your person. You will, essentially, become almost all-powerful."
He stopped and looked Danny in the eye.
"This will also initiate the Realm Divide."
"That sounds bad," Danny gulped meekly.
"The Realm Divide is the reason no king has ever attempted this," nodded the Man, "It will sever all paths and portals between the Ghost Zone and the Mortal Realm. The two realms will become separate, as if an infinitely tall wall had been placed between them. If you are on the wrong side when that happens, there is no going back."
"But...if I do this," Danny realised, "I'll have to be in the Well of Souls, which means..."
His face paled.
"I'd be trapped in the Ghost Zone," he breathed.
"A noble sacrifice for all humanity, I'm sure you'll agree," said the Man.
Danny shook his head.
"There's gotta be another way!" he exclaimed, "I mean, I can't just abandon everything and shut myself away for eternity! Come on, there's gotta be another option."
"There is," replied the Man, grinning smugly, "If you were to, say, die in some kind of incident unrelated to the Warlord...well, no king, no problem."
"Out of the question," snapped Danny, "Come on, you've gotta help me, there's gotta be..."
"Help you?"
The Man in the White Suit laughed bitterly.
"You banished me into a pocket dimension for all eternity," he exclaimed, "You ruined millennia of planning! And after all you did to me, you want my help?"
He shook his head.
"Don't you see?" he sneered, "This is the freedom your Nicktoons so desperately fought for."
He began to fade. Danny reached out for him, but his hand went right through his chest.
"No," he begged, "Please, there's gotta be another way..."
"Enjoy your freedom, Mr. Fenton," snarled the Man, "I hope you choke on it..."
He laughed as he faded into nothingness, leaving Danny alone and on his knees, his face pale as a sheet.
"Danny!"
Sam and Tucker ran up the hill towards him, picking him up by the shoulders. Tucker reached into his backpack and pulled out a bottle of water, handing it to him.
"Danny, say something!" he pleaded, "Are you alright?"
"I'm doomed," replied Danny, hollowly.
AN: Oh, that Man in the White Suit! He's such a troll!