Chapter 11

Danny got up later than he had been wanting to, but he also knew Dash well enough to know that it was kind of his fault. He was always riding Danny's ass about getting more sleep (despite knowing full well that Danny didn't need as much sleep as Dash). Danny knew it was Dash's way of having some sort of control. Everything else lately was so far out of reach for Dash that Danny couldn't exactly blame him for feeling this way.

Dash was gone but he left a sticky note on Danny's phone that had a heart and a tiny cartoon ghost next to it. Danny couldn't help but smile at it as he put it in his pocket.

He quickly threw on a shirt and his shoes before heading out the door. After seeing Clockwork beaten up like that, it was time for action. And they only had so much of that. Pariah wasn't going to be resting forever, and they only had so many people to help them fight an entire skeleton army. He was worried it would be like a video game in the sense that, if killed, for lack of a better word, they would just rise up again, like some sort of shitty RPG quest. Only this time there would be no respawns.

He was going to need a strong army, and he knew just where to start.

"Danny, what are you doing here?"

Danny looked up at Valerie sheepishly, almost regretting this. He really didn't want to pull her into this, but she was the best ghost hunter he had ever met. They needed her.

He had long trusted Valerie with his secret, if anything to get her to stop shooting at him every time she saw him flying around. He didn't hold it against her, and he didn't feel guilty about it. Thankfully, though, she stopped attacking him after he had explained everything. Now Dash and one of her friends knit together every other Sunday.

"We're launching Code Black," Danny replied. Valerie's eyes went wide for a moment before nodding, accepting her role in this war.

"I'll meet you at Fentonworks," she told him as she started closing the door. Then she stopped and opened it back up just a little bit. "And Fenton?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't die."

Next up was Sam.

Last time they talked, they knew the situation was getting bad. He doesn't think, however, that it would ever get bad enough for a Code Black. He didn't want to go to war, but he also wanted the Ghost Zone as is. Plus, if Pariah took over the Zone, there was no doubt in Danny's mind that he would take over Earth, too. Even with people like Iron Man and Thor running around and blasting shit up. Danny was really the only one that had a chance at stopping him.

He knew she would be immediately on board. She would do anything to protect her friends, family, and town. He would have called her, and Valerie for that matter, but when it came to a Code Black there was a strict no-phone policy, just in case the government or whoever came and tapped their phones or something. Sometimes Danny let his paranoia get the better of him, but in jobs like this that was more of a good thing in the long run.

When he made it to Sam's place he didn't even have to knock. Just as he raised his fist the door swung open, revealing a Sam that was half-ready for a fight.

"Well, that was fast," Danny stated. Sam shrugged and moved out of the way to invite him in.

"I was just making some adjustments and last minute repairs. I don't want my suit ripping in two during the next world-threatening fight."

"Well, it's funny that you mention that…" Danny let his sentence trail off. Sam knew just how serious Code Black was. It was so serious he almost didn't tell her, he wanted her to be safe, but he knew that she would be better out in the field than on the sidelines.

"Is it time?" She asked. The energy she had a second ago seemed to disappear as her shoulders sagged a little. Her purple eyes seemed resigned to the inevitable of the battle, but still determined that they were going to win.

"Yeah," he replied, "it's time."

"Are you going to do the speech from Braveheart?" Dani asked her counterpart. Danny snorted. And then he looked at the army. There were familiar faces. Skulker and Ember, as promised. Technus. Dora and her army. Pandora. Arachne, and her spiders. All of them, along with a somewhat revived Clockwork and all of Frostbite's army. There were an impressive amount of ghosts gathered in one area, waiting for him to say something with some intelligence to it.

"Not this time, Dani. No, they need something…Something real, this time."

Dani only nodded, understanding exactly where Danny was coming from. This was a real war that they were starting. Not some petty battle between ghost and halfa. Not some badly played game of chess. War. And it loomed over all of them as more and more ghosts gathered around them, giddy with anticipation. She looked to her original, and watched as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, they were fully green and blazing with determination.

Danny stepped forward, and the ghosts went silent.

"Residents of the Ghost Zone," he started. His voice boomed, grabbing everybody's attention and drawing them towards him like a magnet. "Most of us know what's going on, but for those of you who don't, let me explain: We're about to go to war. I don't know how long this will last. What I do know, however, is that with your help we will win. Pariah Dark does not make the Ghost Zone, we do!" A small burst of cheering and whoops sounded from the crowd, and Danny let the adrenaline coursing through his veins carry him through the rest of the speech. "We are not going to just run away from some big bad guy who's like a million years old! We are going to stand and we are going to defend our home! Defend our family and our friends! We are going to defend ourselves! We are not going to let him have his way!" The more he spoke, the louder he got, and the louder he got, the more riled up the sea of ghosts got. They were pumped full of ectoplasmic adrenaline, and needed to put all of the stir-crazy energy to good use. He stepped forward, eyes blazing as he raised his fist in the air. "For the Ghost Zone!" He yelled. The crowd erupted into yelling and cheering, and Danny turned back to Dani, who had a huge grin on her face.

"For the Ghost Zone?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "That is by far the lamest battle cry I've ever heard."

"I'll let you prepare the speech next time," Danny replied. Then, like a switch, his mood turned. He stood up straighter, and turned away from the crowd so that only Dani could see what he was really feeling. "You ready?" His tone was serious, and almost reluctant. Tired, even. But he had to do this. For the Zone. For Amity. For Dash. He had to.

"I don't think we'll ever be more ready than this, Danny," Dani replied. Danny sighed and nodded before turning to the crowd once more, plastering on a fake grin as he spoke again.

"Let's get to it guys!"