A/N: I've decided to keep the fic rating at PG, but I'm gonna make a few future fight scenes more intense than what I had been making them…which makes me happy because I love hard hitting action. Thank you so much for all these awesome reviews! You guys get me so motivated to update that sometimes I want to skip my proof reading and just post it. Enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: Danny is not mine!
Chapter 10 Fire Sunrise
Danny had no time to react as Theo flung himself through the air straight toward the ghost boy. Theo grabbed Danny by the shoulders, forcing both of them to the giant checkered floor. The momentum sent the boys rolling head over heels. The whole time they were yelling incoherently at each other, trying to gain the upper hand in the now physical battle. The verbal one had seemed to have flown out the window.
"You little brat!" Theo hissed into Danny's face. "You ghosts in the future think you're God's gift to the earth! But guess what. You're just a simple demigod, Danny!" He shoved a knee into Danny's gut, knocking the air right out of him.
Danny choked to try and get a hold on his breathing again. Glaring daggers up at Theo, the ghost boy turned intangible and sunk into the floor, out of harms way. Theo growled, cursing under his breath as he watched Danny vanish before his eyes. He spun around just in time to get his face smashed against Danny's fist as the ghost flew past him.
Theo stumbled back with a wince of pain, knowing he'd have a black eye the next day. He spotted Danny flying back toward him with his tight fists blazing with green ectoplasm flames. Theo crouched down and sprung high into the air, letting his feline genes take over his human ones. As Danny flew past him, Theo extended a leg as he fell back down toward earth. His heel connected with Danny's shoulder, forcing the ghost off balance and spinning out of control.
Danny gave an alarmed yell as he collided face first into a giant checker piece. He spun back around, acting quickly, and grabbed onto Theo's foot that was coming at him for a kick. Danny grinned evilly when seeing Theo's look of distress before Danny flung the other demigod as hard as he could across the board.
Airborne now, Theo tried desperately to regain his balance so he could land well. The teen landed on his feet, but the angle he did so made him roll over. Theo went with it, rolling a few more times before jumping up and doing a 180 in mid air. He landed and skidded to a stop, glowering over to where Danny was hovering a few yards away.
"What exactly is going on?" Dionysus asked Athena as he watched the two demigods stare at each other. "Aren't they friends?"
Athena's feelings about the fight between Theo and Danny were not shown on her face. She leaned her massive form down to say to Dionysus, "Apparently they are not as tight as it seemed on the surface. I'm interested on where they will take this. Sooner or later they will get tired of this course of action. When that happens, it will be up to them to make the right decision."
Dionysus shrugged, saying, "I just hope the new guy beats Theo." Athena gave him another annoyed frown, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. How was she ever related to him?
Now that they were serious, Theo and Danny were all over the place. Theo was quick and smooth in his movements, but he wasn't able to give hard punches or kicks. Danny had a difficult time keeping up with the speed Theo produced. On the other hand, his punches, kicks, and ectoplasm blasts usually sent Theo flying. After only a few minutes into the fight, it was clear they were evenly matched.
Theo ducked and rolled sideways to evade a kick from Danny. He sprung out of the roll and hit Danny in the forehead with the palm of his hand. Danny had a second of whip lash. This made him growl before he grabbed Theo's shoulders. He then blasted right for a checker piece, using Theo as his stopping shield.
The force of his body slamming back first into the game piece made Theo gasp in pain. He brought his legs up and perfectly kneed Danny in the chin. The hold Danny had on Theo's shoulders was released. Theo sprung off the checker piece with his back legs, launching himself at Danny. As if tackling the ghost in mid air, Theo drove his shoulder into Danny's chest. They both landed on top of a checker piece.
Danny was up first, surprisingly. Breathing hard from the battle, he latched onto Theo's wrist and flung him into another checker piece. Theo squeezed his eyes shut on impact, blocking out the pain running throughout his bruised and beaten body. The moment he landed, he jumped back up toward Danny, forcing both of them to fall in an arch to the ground.
Rolling again on top of each other, the boys gave growls of distaste. It was when they finally came to a stop with Danny on top of Theo that the two saw what had happened to them. Panting and sweating profusely, the two stared at each other, their eyes only inches away from the others.
"What are we doing?" Danny barked down at Theo.
"I don't know!" Theo shouted back. "You started this fight!"
"No! You did! You were the one who jumped at me!" Danny pointed out, voice still loud.
"I wouldn't have jumped at you if you hadn't provoked me like that!" Theo said.
"I wouldn't have provoked you if you hadn't been so mean to me," Danny said cruelly into Theo's face. "It's like your favorite past time is to insult Danny Phantom these days. I'm sick of it!"
"Well, I'm sorry if you annoy me at times!" Theo shouted back. "You don't know what you're doing, Danny! Why can't you just admit that? Is it because you hate to let someone else have a piece of the limelight? Huh?"
"Fine!" Danny screamed his frustration. "You win! I'm confused and scared half to death! I don't know where I am and don't understand what is going on!" He saw Theo's scowl soften as he heard these words, as if he didn't know Danny could ever say them. "But that doesn't mean you can't trust me for once in your life!" Danny quickly added, his anger still there. "Why can't you trust me?"
"Trust is something that has to be earned!" Theo shouted back. "I've seen so much treachery and backstabbing that it's hard for me to trust anyone now! Trust is something that is quick to lose, but earning it takes time!"
For a moment the two stared at each other, silently reviewing what the other had said. Then, as if realizing it at the same time, they faintly smiled sheepishly at each other. Danny got to his feet and reached down to pull Theo to his feet. The demigod grabbed hold to his hand and was soon on his own feet.
"Jeez, do you pack a punch," Theo said as he rubbed the back of his neck that was throbbing the most, winning the competition of pain running throughout his body.
Danny nodded as he wrapped one hand around his aching stomach, using the other to touch his sore jaw. "Can we never do this again?" he asked with a chuckle. "Because, dude, you can be painful!"
Theo looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Dude?" he asked, smiling wryly.
"Why can't I just call you 'dude'?" Danny asked hopelessly.
"What part of 'blending in' do you not get?" Theo asked.
"Hey!" Dionysus yelled at them from across the giant board. "Either start hitting each other again or get on with this game!" Both boys looked up with shock. They had completely forgotten about the game that had been going on before the fight had broken out. Right away they looked up to Athena, red coming to their shameful faces. Athena only silently loomed over them, but they caught the small smile she was trying hard to hide. That was all they needed.
"You know what?" Theo said as he observed the game board with his hands on his hips, "Its two against one. That should definitely be enough to kick Dionysus's butt."
"Two heads are better than one, as the saying goes," Danny said. Theo gave him a sideways look, having never heard it before. Danny smiled nervously while scratching the back of his neck out of habit. "Let's just get on with the butt kicking!" he said quickly.
After that, the game lasted around 15 minutes. The two boys took turns moving the checker pieces. Sometimes Danny would have to fly up to observe the board from a different view, making sure they weren't doing anything they would regret. Dionysus saw Danny do it once and copied him, trying to make it look like he knew what he was doing.
Whenever any of the boys weren't sure of the move they were making, they would move it anyways then give Dionysus pretend confident smirks. The technique worked. They saw Dionysus sweating with nervousness over each of his moves. The god spent most of his time mumbling to himself and glaring over at the demigods. Theo and Danny would only grin back.
Soon, the game was over. Theo and Danny had swooped straight into making their pieces kings, easily exploiting Dionysus's intimidation to get him to move out of the way. After that it was just waiting for the god to make a dumb move so they could bump him off the board. It was a simple plan, but of course Dionysus wasn't smart enough to realize that.
"The winners are the demigods," Athena announced the moment Danny and Theo pushed their piece past Dionysus's last piece. Danny and Theo jumped back in surprise when the board vanished under them as well as the checker piece they had just been pushing. They looked around to see that they were back in the time stopped temple with the fire bowl.
"Yes!" Danny yelled in triumph of the win. He pumped his arm as he hovered in the air. Theo only watched the ghost cheer with a grin plastered to his face. He looked confused as Danny held up his hand to him.
"What are you doing?" Theo asked, puzzled.
"It's called a high-five," Danny said with a laugh. "Don't tell me you've never seen one before."
Theo silently held his hand up over his head like Danny was doing, shaking his head with confusion. "I will never understand you, Danny," he said as the ghost kid high fived the other demigod.
"You don't have to," Danny said. He paused before adding teasingly, "Dude."
"We are not going over that again," Theo said, his grin betraying his stern tone.
The clearing of Athena's throat brought both boys out of their joking mood. They turned toward the goddess, serious now. They noticed that Dionysus was nowhere to be seen. He left the moment he lost the game. It was now only Athena and the demigods in the temple.
"As a reward for telling the truth, giving me back my symbol, winning the game, and settling your differences," she said calmly, "I will grant you one wish that is reasonable for both of us."
Danny and Theo shared a surprised glance. Danny shrugged, not knowing what to wish for. He wanted to wish for all the symbols to be returned, but he knew Athena would say it would be unreasonable for her. Theo, knowing the limit of the wish, would be better at deciding what to wish for.
Theo didn't waste time thinking too deeply on it. He pulled out his map and pointed to the Middle East on it while saying, "We wish to go here, Arabia, before sundown. We wish to be placed by the well the phoenix sings at each morning, where Apollo comes to listen to it."
Athena leaned down to look at the map more closely. She then leaned back, smiling slightly down at them. "You know your territory and its gods well, Theo," she said with pride. "Because of your knowledge, I will grant your wish. You, Daniel, are very lucky to have this demigod with you in your quest."
"Thank you," the boys said in union.
The companions then faced each other with huge grins on their faces. They both knew that it would have taken them at least three more days to get to that well in Arabia, and that would be with Danny flying them most of the time. With this wish, they had just gained three extra days to their quest. The news made both of them excited.
"Nike will help you there," Athena said as she faded into the shadows of the temple.
"Hey, boys!" another voice said from behind them. The demigods spun around and saw Nike standing there. She was tall and slim with bright, blue eyes and long, golden hair. She looked around their age. The white robe she wore was constantly billowing around her body, as if it was in the wind. But what really popped out with her were the long, feathery wings that were stretched out behind her.
"Whoa!" Danny breathed, in total amazement. "You have wings!"
"It's not polite to stare," Nike said, putting her hands on her hips. She was a spunky little thing. She looked over at Theo and waved while saying with a hyper tone, "Hey, Theo! I haven't seen you in a few years! Still making maps?"
"Uh…yeah," he said with a sweet smile. It was odd for him to see her again after not talking in about five years. She acted like it had only been a few days, though. "Are you going to take us there?" he asked her even though he knew the answer. It was just something to prevent any awkward silence.
"Oh, yeah!" she said with a cute giggle, as if remembering something important. "Hang on tight, boys!" she leapt forward, grabbed the two by a wrist, and then powerfully flapped her wings a few times to gain altitude. She grinned down at them before blasting out of the temple, soaring high into the sky.
Danny watched as the temple became a little dot on the ground. The city of Athens appeared the moment they left the temple. Soon the busy city was only a tan dot surrounded by green rolling hills. He looked over to where Theo was beside him and noticed the troubled look in his eyes.
"What?" Danny asked in a low voice so Nike couldn't hear him. "I know you enough to see when you are worried. Why?"
Theo watched as the city vanished on the horizon. They were now flying over the Mediterranean Sea. The experience of flying with Nike was strange, yet comforting at the same time to Danny. He was surprised how his arm that she was hanging onto wasn't sore or hurting. He just guessed it was another normal goddess thing. He was finally getting used to the weird life of being a ghost.
"I'm just thinking," Theo said quietly.
"So you always look worried when you think?" Danny asked jokingly.
Theo smiled warily back, trying to keep up the good mood. "We just have so much to do in such little time," he said with a tired sigh. "I'm fine." Danny didn't believe him for one second.
-The Next Morning-
"Now…we wait," Theo told Danny from where they were hiding behind some bushes. Nike had taken them to a small oasis in the middle of a desert wasteland in Arabia. She then said she had to quickly get back to Greece, taking off as soon as they landed.
The boys hadn't bothered with a fire and went to sleep right away; letting the open sky above them filled with stars as their illumination. To secure protection, they had fallen asleep with their backs leaning against each other. So if one of them woke up, the other would be woken up as well. Danny didn't know why Theo wanted them to sleep that way, but he guessed it was for the best.
Groggy and sore from their brutal fight, the boys woke up a few minutes before sunrise the next morning. Danny found out that his once empty sack now had a symbol in it. He placed it on the ledge of the mud brick well that was in the middle of the desert oasis. Now all they had to do was watch to make sure Apollo got his harp back.
Things went smoothly according to plan. From their spot behind the bushes, the boys watched as an orange and red feathered bird gracefully swooped down to the well and landed on its ledge. As the phoenix flung water into the air to bathe itself, it let out a beautiful song. Danny couldn't help feeling hypnotized to the wonderful tune as he closed his eyes to soak it up. Theo was doing the same, his worries gone for the moment.
As it sung, the sun slowly rose above the sand dune horizon. It painted the sky blood red, as if mimicking the phoenix's bright feathers. The sight was so brilliant, that it almost took Danny's breath away. For a moment it felt like he was on vacation or something. He knew people would kill to see something like this, and he was getting it free.
The moment didn't last long. Soon the bird was done with its morning bath. It gave a last little twitter before it took off into the air, flying toward the sunrise it seemed to have created by magic.
The boys didn't watch it leave because they were too busy spying on Apollo as he walked up to the well where his harp was. He picked it up with a faint smile, glad to have his symbol back. He looked around for a second, trying to find the demigods who had returned it to him but with no success. The god gave up after a short period of looking; walking back to a chariot that he had ridden there, which vanished along with the god as soon as Apollo stepped onto it. Soon it was only Danny and Theo there.
"That was the easiest god yet," Danny said as he stood up with Theo. "Why can't all the gods be that way?"
"If they were all like that, then we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place," Theo stated bluntly, but he was still smiling.
They turned around to leave and came face to face with someone. The boys put on the brakes, letting out stifled gasps of surprise. The man was bent down so he was at their eye height. A cruel, haunting smile had already made itself known on the man's lips as he looked them over like cattle being chosen for a feast.
"Hello, Theo," the man said coolly as he pinned his gaze on the demigod.
A/N: Another cliffhanger. I think I like torturing my poor, innocent readers. Two quick notes before I leave you guys. Firstly, my new picture will be up BEFORE the fourth of July. I'm making that deadline for myself because I'm horrible at updating without commitment. Lastly, did you see the announcement for the five new Danny Phantom episodes? AH! I've already seen them, but I'm excited to get them in good quality and for other watchers to finally see the next season! Watch them! They are good! Ha, ha! Have a flipping good Independence Day, people! The next update will be soon!