HOLLLLYYYYY CRRAAPPPPPP! bows continuously* Apologies! Apologies! Apologies! Sorry for the lateness! I went on a weeklong trip with some friends to the mountains and was pretty exhausted when I came back. And sick, yeah I got ill. Then I had to turn around and visit grandparents. I'm still at my grandparents btw. Missed four flights the first day and spent all day at the airport (I fly stand-by). After all that exhaustion my grandmother told me she was sick so I spent a day sick and having to run around FL for the day and drive over from Orlando back to her place which took a couple of hours so today I finally got some rest. Also, I'm on a beta reader search but so far come up empty handed. Long story. Anyway, thanks so for being patient! This chapter is not based off any chapter of the Alchemists Muse's Asylum. This chapter marks the official continuation! Yea! The cliffies will finally be continued! Wow! I'm actually kinda nervous!
Q AND A TIME!
MsFrizzle- You'll learn how and when he was captured soon enough. It's actually quite tragic, I hope you don't break your computer screen.
All righty then. I shall keep the songs! They might evolve later. Mainly because I'm running out of nursery rhyme ideas! XP
Fanfictiongirl12345- Thanks! And I'll totally see if I can use them for later chapters. Thank you for the ideas.
Thanks so much to all who read and all who reviewed! You're all so amazing! I'm glad you all like the story! I hope I can do it justice. *Bows* Please enjoy the next chapter and R&R!
Now I lay me down to sleep
Phantom stood in the midst of a cobbled street. There was a wagon leading a group of townspeople in dressed in black. The world seemed to cry along with them.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
There was a flash of white light. Phantom looked around. White bed sheets and crude cots were in disarray. Horridly ill people occupied the beds and nurses swarmed all around tending to the patients.
Bumps covered their bodies. They all looked so weak and frail. Smallpox… the leading cause of death in the 18th century.
If I shall die before I wake
Phantom was walking through a graveyard at dusk. The sky was beginning to darken. He walked past the many slabs of engraved death markers.
He paused. A young boy squatted down and placed a handful of daises on a small grave. To him it was like a bouquet of elegant flowers. The child stared at the grave with empty eyes, his chin tucked behind is knees. Phantom faintly saw tears falling down the child's cheeks.
I pray the Lord my soul to take
Phantom fell on his back and looked at the stars in the sky. A child was screaming in the background. Phantom looked up with empty eyes and laughed.
He had always been a magnet for death, hadn't he?
Amen
Chapter 11
Phantom looked back at Valerie with empty eyes. She analyzed him again and again and again. She gaped at the scanners. His ecto-energy was going wild! She'd never seen anything like this before.
The ghost practically growled at them. "I. Don't. Want. To. Feel. PAIN!" He roared, throwing an ecto-energy disk at them.
"Watch it!" Valerie snapped, dogging the attack. She landed on her stomach and put her hands over the back of her neck. She heard the blast and waited until the smoke cleared. She looked behind her to see a large hole in the wall. The two Operatives managed to scramble out of the way in time, figures. Valerie looked back at Phantom. He seemed to be complete staring off into space. What, did attacking the GIW's Supervisor and Amity Park's number one ghost hunter bore him?!
Valerie took this opportunity to meet up with Marshall. She stood in front of him, aiming her wrist ray at Phantom. "Don't even twitch, Phantom!" She ordered. Valerie didn't look away from Phantom, she barley tilted her head down, "You all right, down there?" She asked the Supervisor.
Marshall used his sleeve to grab his nose and wipe down. Blood was all over his mouth, nose, and the back of his throat. The sticky, thick liquid was practically choking him. "I've been better," he said, "But right now, we need to focus on putting Phantom back in his cell."
Valerie nodded. "Agreed. Any ideas?"
The Supervisor glared at the ghost. He wasn't fighting anymore. He was just…standing there. Why? Marshall noticed the bubbling ectoplasm on his back was dying down; the skin on his body was slowly reforming cell-by-cell, tissue-by-tissue. That must be it; he isn't attacking because he's healing himself. "He's gone into defense mode." He concluded. "Healing himself."
"He doesn't seem interested in fighting." Valerie said. "And earlier when he said he didn't want to feel pain, I don't think Phantom wants to attack. I think he just wants to defend himself." She said.
Marshall furrowed his brow. "Hmph. I doubt he'll come quietly." He snorted. "But he can't fight him like this. He's never been this powerful before. It doesn't make sense. Even with the restraints gone they've been constantly draining him for years, so he shouldn't even be able to become intangible yet let alone do all this." He shook his head.
Phantom's head tilted to the side and he turned his head to look at Valerie. Just at her, right in her eyes. He stared at her for a moment then seemed to become uninterested again and looked back at the Operatives discussing their next plan of action.
His eyes….Valerie thought. That…that isn't Phantom…is it? "Wait a moment. What's with Phantom's eyes? Is this part of his "triggers"?"
"What?" Marshall asked. "What are you talking about?"
Valerie kept her eyes trained on Phantom, not letting him out of her sight. "I've never seen Phantom's eyes like that before. I've been fighting him since I was fourteen," she said, "he's always had some stupid witty banter to say. Phantom loves the sound of his own voice, but right now he's silent. The only thing he's said is that he doesn't want to feel pain."
"What are you saying, Miss Gray?" Marshall asked.
"I'm not sure. I just know that ghost isn't Phantom." Valerie said. What am I saying? Of course it's Phantom, I'm looking right at him! Still, all these years and I just know that isn't him. At least, not all of him. Can ghosts be overshadowed? No, that doesn't explain this sudden power surge.
"Do you know what you're saying?" Supervisor Marshall snapped.
An operative shot at Phantom again with a ray blaster. The ghost ducked. His body was almost limp, as if he weren't really balanced. He ran and the GIW Operatives and jumped, landing on the blaster. The Operative looked back at him with wide eyes and the ghost leaned in closer.
"Tch." He said. "Don't…attack me.." He hissed, grabbing the operatives face and freezing him solid. The operative's partner held up the pistol with a shaky aim. Phantom hopped off the frozen blaster and walked in front of the operative.
Phantom took another step and the operative flinched. The gun was inches from the ghost's body yet something kept the operative from shooting. Shoot…. shoot…dammit….why won't my body move?! He just stood there shaking. The ghost sighed and the operative shut his eyes.
Phantom stood there, waiting. "I... don't want to-" before Phantom could finish the operative fired at the ghost.
A direct hit in the middle of the chest, down he fell. The operative opened his eyes, his body still shaking. "I…I got-" Phantom advanced on the operative, his body healed, and grabbed his jaw. The operative struggled, clutching onto Phantom's arm as he was lifted into the air.
"I…. warned…you." He said. The operative didn't even have time to scream as Phantom crushed his skull open and the second man fell dead to the floor.
Valerie pushed back the rising bile in her throat. He killed them…Phantom... never… The blood from the operative began pooling. The other one's eyes were frozen in fear. She felt her stomach lurch. I can't believe he did this…he's always been so annoying and talkative and…. a hero…. he may be a ghost but he's never killed…anyone…especially not…humans...never... She cringed and looked at the floor. He's too powerful. How am I supposed to beat a homicidal psychopath?!
Phantom cocked his head at the operative on the floor. "…Don't…hurt me…" He warned.
Valerie's head shot up. That's it! I know how to beat him! She stood up and pressed a button on her suit.
Supervisor Marshall tried to yell but choked again. "What the hell are you doing?!" He said barley above a harsh whisper.
"Deactivating my suit." She said calmly, reverting back into her civilian identity.
"If you do that, then there is no way to defend yourself if Phantom attacks!" He said.
Valerie locked her eyes on Phantom. "Don't you think I already know that? It's my suit after all."
"I advise against this." He said. "Phantom is one of our most powerful ghosts. He's also mentally unstable. I don't know how or why he talks to you, but don't think it makes you invincible against him. He's insane, he's a monster, worse than that he is a ghost." Marshall spat. "He's not your friend."
"I happen to be a ghost hunter, in case you forgot." Valerie said. "I've been hunting ghosts since I was fourteen, that includes Phantom. I have a major in anti-ecto security. I know what I'm doing."
Marshall sat up, trying to stop her. But his body was too weak. He was already feeling dizzy from the blood loss. "I order you to stand dow-"
"I'm not one of your agents." She reminded him. "You can't order me to do anything." Speaking of which, I hope Mr. Masters is all right…. I'm sure he's fine. He was with GIW forces after all and in the Supervisors room.
"Miss Gray!" Supervisor shouted, but she already began walking forward. Marshall hit his fist against the floor. Ugh! Damn it! I can't do anything in this state!
"Phantom!" She said.
The ghost looked up at her blankly. "Don't…hurt me." He said.
"I'm not gonna hurt you." She promised. "See? My weapons are disabled." She held her arms in the air and Phantom looked her over. He saw past her skin, he saw the veins in her body, the blood rushing through them, all the way into her beating heart. Her battle suit was offline. Even if he attacked her now, she'd never be able to reactivate it in time. She was putting her faith forward, but in what? Back-up? Phantom? Herself?
"I just want to talk." She said glaring into his black, empty eyes. Phantom walked in front of her and started at her as if to say go on. "You're not Phantom, are you?" She asked.
The ghost tilted his head to the side. "Who is Phantom?"
Valerie felt a jolt in her spine. I knew it. "Who are you?" She asked.
The ghost suddenly appeared behind Valerie. He took a lock of her hair and ran through it with his fingers. She froze. Don't move… stand still… what's he doing?! He pressed his nose against her scalp; she could feel his breathing on her head. To think a ghost was doing this… whatever he was doing to her… it caused her to feel a chill to make the hair on the back of her neck stand up.
"This scent." He said. "You…I know you." The ghost said. She felt a hand grab her neck. Her eyes meet with his as he drug her to him, powerless to stop him. "Huntress." He spat.
Valerie choked. I have to get Phantom back! God, I can't believe I just said that. But if I don't d something, this guy is gonna- "Phantom," Valerie yelled. His black eyes were unchanging. "Phantom! ..Stop!" She said hoarsely. The ghost's grip was tightening. No! Please! ...I don't want to die! "Danny Phantom…" She hissed. "Danny-"
Valerie felt her sore throat give out. Her world was blurring and her head throbbed.
Phantom looked at her. Phantom….Danny Phantom…Danny….Danny-
Suddenly Valerie felt herself fall to the floor. She took in deep breaths between coughs.
"Right…can't kill you…. Just yet." He looked around. "This…..everything here…" Valerie looked up at the ghost. "…this wasn't supposed to happen." He looked back down at Valerie. "You weren't' supposed to be here." Phantom looked at his feet and feel to his knees. "Confused… I don't know what's going on….What…. what am I supposed to do?" He shrugged. "Maybe I'll just blow everything up…yeah….that'd be best. Safest. Yeah."
Valerie shivered. He's insane! She rubbed her throat and fell back on her backside. Two agents were dead, the Supervisor was unconscious, and she was unable to fight back. Now he was threatening to blow the entire facility to kingdom come!
"Is that honestly your resolution? To "blow everything up"? " Both Valerie and Phantom looked around the empty room.
"W-who said that?" Valerie asked.
"Please, Daniel, I expected better from you." A swirling vortex appeared in midair and a trooper popped out. "Of course, you're not really Danny Phantom, are you? At least, not completely." He said. "Not anymore."
Phantom scowled at the trooper. "Okay, who the hell are you?!" Valerie shirked.
The trooper looked at her. "Ah, right. Miss Valerie Gray. You're not supposed to be here, are you? None of this was meant to come to pass. And you," He looked at Phantom, "aren't even supposed to be in this time." He shook his head. "No… someone has been meddling with my time stream."
"You're what?" She asked. The trooper took off his helmet to reveal a ghost with red eyes and an odd scar similar to the shape of a lightning bolt under his right eye. Eye…his eyes were red. Valerie shivered. She'd never felt such power before. Why hadn't her scanners picked up a ghost this powerful earlier? How did he get in here? And why? What was it with all these ballsy ghosts busting in a GIW facility today?
"You!" Phantom spat. "What …are you doing…. here?"
The ghost grinned. "Just picking something up." He held up his staff. "Time out!"
Washington D.C: GIW Headquarters…
Jasmine Fenton was a busy woman. Very busy. As the head detective of GIW's Ectoplasmic Criminal Investigations, she was always on tough cases.
She had several files tucked under her clipboard that she kept tight against her chest. Her long hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She walked with the same brimming confidence she always had.
"Ms. Fenton?" A young woman's voice called from behind.
Jazz looked behind her but kept walking. The clumsy intern desperately tried to keep up. "Ah, Sheska! Walk with me." She said.
Sheska quickened her pace to match up with Ms. Fenton's, but she couldn't quite keep up. It wasn't suspiring to her. She was awkward, young, and clumsy while Ms. Fenton was an intellectual lady of sonority and a womanly figure.
The young intern nervously shifted her glasses and continued to brig out the file she'd been given. "I uhhh have an assignment from Central Command." She said. "Down in Facility Base: Asylum."
Jazz snorted. Central Command. More like central command others to do their work for them. "I'm already working several cases. Give it to someone else."
"I would, ma'am, but they've requested you specifically." Sheska said with a nervous smile, almost jogging to keep up with her higher up.
"They all request me specifically." Jazz snorted. "What makes this case so important?"
"Apparently it involves an unknown ghost entity. One of our most dangerous ghost may be involved-"
"Bored. Give it to someone else." Jazz said again.
Sheska recalled being given this assignment. "Give this to Jasmine Fenton at all costs." Her boss said. "I don't care how hard she insists she won't take it, make it worth her while. I don't care what you have to do." Sheska sighed to herself. Supervisor Marshall could be a real pain sometimes, but he was her higher up so she had to deal with it. "But this uh could be a real problem for the GIW. An unknown ghost is a huge issue and you-"
"It isn't my problem." Jazz said.
Sheska walked a bit faster. "Ms. Fenton, I must insist that you at least hear me out first before you decide anything." She said boldly.
Jazz sighed. She knew Sheska wouldn't leave her be until she at least had gotten a chance to talk to her. She at a meeting in fifteen, so she didn't have time to argue. "Fine." She said. "Make it my problem."
"A private hunter went to Asylum yesterday to enter the cell of one of our most powerful ghosts. " She said. "She wanted to know if he had any information on a ghost named Clockwork."
Jazz kept walking. "Never heard of him."
"Right, apparently no one else has either. Many of the private hunter's targets had been mentioning this ghost but our records didn't have any information on him. She had a hunch one of our captured ghosts had information, but no such luck occurred. It was one of our more mentally unstable ghosts."
"What makes this important to me? I say give it to someone with a CI who's got time to kill." She said.
"That would seem practical, yes. But we recently got an emergency call that a ghost had infiltrated Asylum. Only hours after the name Clockwork was mentioned."
"Which ghost broke in?" She asked.
"The file doesn't say. Whenever a base is compromised, an emergency signal is sent out. We haven't gotten word about what's going on down there yet."
"Hm. That does seem suspicious." She said. Arriving outside two large doors: Meeting Room 554. "But still, not my problem."
Sheska stopped and looked at Jazz like a kicked puppy. "But-"
"I'm sorry, Sheska. But I'm far too busy to take on a trivial case like this. I can recommend someone, but that's it. Tell Supervisor Michael-"
"Marshall." Sheska corrected.
"Tell him I only work major cases. I don't investigate hunches." She said, stopping just outside the doors.
"Ms. Fenton, I-"
"If you really want my opinion, here it is. This Clockwork or whoever he is, isn't a ghost, he's an organization. This freelance hunter is being asked to eliminate members of this organization without knowing what it is." Jazz said. "Hunters don't ask questions. They're hired to hunt and kill. That's all they need to know. It's quite common. Saying this name must've sparked interest in another powerful ghost and it went after whoever is hunting them. Send an expert on ghost ID and someone to fix Asylum security. I'd say send someone to keep an eye on Marshall, too. Besides that, I only look into really important cases." She began to push open the door. Before Sheska could argue Jazz was halfway through the door. "Come back when you can make it my problem." And the door shut behind her.
Sheska sighed. "Oh man. Supervisor Marshall is going to kill me if I tell him all that." She looked down at her file. "What am I going to do now?"
GIW Facility Base: Asylum Board Room 221…
"Hmmm." Clockwork said. Everything was frozen around him, aside from the ghost child. "Curious. I've stopped time, yet you seem unaffected." He said.
Phantom narrowed his eyes. "Clock….work…." He scoffed.
He rubbed the top of his staff. "It seems you've lost your sense of… composure. No witty banter, no mocking laughter, no evil remarks, nothing? To be honest I didn't expect that from you." He rubbed his chin. "I suppose it is because of the time meeting up with itself. After all, this wasn't supposed to happen, now, was it?"
"You…did this? Didn't you…your fault…Clo…ck…work?" He stuttered.
"You're running out of time here in this time." Clockwork said and Phantom tilted his head. "Confused? Want me to explain?" Phantom narrowed his eyes. "I see how it is. Fine. Your existence is in a chronolock." He said. "It's what's keeping you moving while I've paused time."
"You..did this?" Phantom asked.
"That answer is more complex than you realize. Unfortunately, you're not the Daniel I need to see right now." Clockwork summoned a small ghost portal and pulled out the scythe from his realm, letting the portal close. "Time has already run out for you."
Phantom tightened his fists. "I hate….you…" He said.
Clockwork lifted up his scythe. "Time's up, Phantom."
GIW Facility Base: Asylum Supervisor Marshall's Office…
Vlad managed to get back to the room without much trouble at all. Daniel should manage to free himself even with Aragon after him. All I have to do now is hope Skulker has deactivated the ghost shield system so I can phase back in the office. He should manage to capture the boy just fine once he escapes, even he will be too exhausted to fight any longer. He'll be on the run.
Plasmius fazed his body through the door with ease and transformed back into his human form. He looked around. Odd. The trooper must've come to and came looking for me. He rubbed his chin. It shouldn't be a problem. No one would believe an old man would knock out a GIW Trooper and go off twiddling about the base. I'll just have to wait here.
Vlad sat in his chair and used his communicator to contact his team outside. "Skulker, reactivate the ecto-shields." He said.
"Done." Skulker said, coming through on the other line. "What is Phantom's ETA?"
Vlad sat up. "What? You mean he isn't out there yet?" He asked.
"If he were," Skulker said. "Do you think I'd be talking to you?"
Vlad sighed. "Perhaps Aragon was a bigger challenge than I realized."
"Well? What are we gonna do?" He asked.
"Just stick with the plan. Send the birdbrains in to check out what's going on. Don't let them be seen and don't let that overgrown lizard eat the child!" He ordered. "Our efforts will have been wasted here."
"Copy that." Skulker said. Vlad disconnected and the hunter looked up at the vultures. "Go inside and see what the hold up is. Don't get caught."
"Is something vong vith the plan?" One of them asked.
"Don't tell me da ghost child got eaten, did 'e?"
Skulker shooed them. "Just go!" He roared.
"V're goin', v're goin'! Jeez, no need to be so violent!" The birds went invisible and began making their way to the facility.
Skulker glared at the building. Hmmm….bored…. maybe something interesting will happen.
GIW Facility Base: Asylum Board Room 221…
"Time in!" A voice shouted.
Valerie felt herself lift from a daze. She shook her head. "Man. What was that?" She looked around. "Wait, where is Phantom?!" She looked at the two operatives. What are they going to tell their families? She suddenly saw one of them stir. N-no way! I saw what Phantom's attack did to them! They cant be-
"Supervisor Marshall, sir?" An operative asked. Valerie looked behind her. But…just a minute ago he was frozen solid. "Where is Phantom?"
The other operative stood. "What happened here? I can't remember a thing."
The Supervisor rubbed his head. "I'm... not sure."
Valerie remembered something and turned on her heals. "Sir, we need to get you to sick bay-" She stopped dead in her tracks. Supervisor Marshall was… fine.
"It's a bloody nose, Miss Gray." He said, wiping away the blood with a white handkerchief. "I'll live. But we need to find out what the hell happened to Phantom a.s.a.p." Marshall said, standing up.
Valerie shook her head. This… this doesn't make any sense. She looked at the walls and staggered back. "What happed to the wall?!" She yelled.
One of the operatives looked up. "What do you mean? It looks fine."
She spun around. "Exactly! What happened to the giant hole?!"
"Giant hole?" The other asked.
"AGH! This doesn't make any sense. First that trooper shows up, then the wall gets fixed, and you two are still alive?! What's going on?"
"Trooper?" Marshall asked. "What trooper?"
"He wasn't really a trooper he was some ghost that got in here. I didn't even pick him up on my scanners and-" Valerie paused. "What? Why are you looking at me like I'm crazy?"
The Supervisor put a hand on her shoulder. "I think you should go home, Miss Gray. Get some rest."
"Phantom just got loose and you want me to 'get some rest'?" She snapped, swatting his hand away.
"We need all agents 100% alert. As it stands right now, you'll just get in the way."
"Excuse me?" She snapped.
"You heard me. That battle with Phantom messed with everyone. There's no telling what he did to you." He said. "It's better if you go home."
Valerie wanted to argue. No, she wanted to punch something. She growled and stormed off. How dare he treat her like one of his agents? Whatever. If she got in the way it could mean trouble for her.
She suddenly remembered. She dashed down the hall, running down the corridors. "Mr. Masters! I completely forgot!"
The Supervisor watched Valerie Gray leave the area and he turned to his Operatives. "Make the call." He said.
Washington D.C: GIW Headquarters…
Jazz finally had the only fifteen minutes of rest she'd get all day. That's why she loved showers; the water running down her back, the clean feeling, the warm and relaxed feeling. It calmed her tense shoulders and opened up her lungs. Her aching feet felt good against the warm water falling down. She'd just gotten her shampoo into a good lather in her hair when her phone began ringing on her bathroom countertop. She cursed.
Stumbling out of the shower she nearly tripped and caught herself on her towel holder. She reached for her phone. The caller was Supervisor Marshall of Facility Base: Asylum. Of course it was.
"This better be important." She said through gritted teeth.
"If you consider one of our most powerful ghosts breaking out of Asylum important, then yeah. I'd say it is."
Jazz straightened her back. "You have ten seconds to make this my problem."
"The ghost escaped with aid of several unknowns. All of which escaped without a trace." He said.
"Which ghost?" Jazz asked.
Marshall felt his mustache slightly twitch. "Danny Phantom."
There was silence for a moment. "I'm on my way."
"I'll see you in a few hours."
"A few hours?!" She screamed.
"I expect you to put all your efforts into this case. No exceptions." Marshall deadpanned.
Jazz grumbled. She knew he was right. "Fine. I'll be over there tomorrow." She said.
"Make it here in six hours." He ordered.
"Now see here, Supervisor-"
"I trust you'll be here." He said and hung up. Jazz glared at her phone. So that's what being hung up on feels like. She looked at herself in the mirror. Time to go see what little brother has been up to.
Outside Facility Base: Asylum…
Skulker scratched the back of his neck. Where are those birdbrains? They should've been back by now.
As if they had heard them they reappeared in the air. "V've got trouble." He said.
"Big trouble." The other agreed.
"What's the issue?" He asked.
"Vantom has disappeared vithout a trace. Gone!" The third said.
Skulker cursed under his breath. "Just what we needed! I'm calling Plasmius!" He said.
Vlad felt his communicator buzz and he looked down to see Skulker. Great, just who he wanted to see. He rolled his eyes. "Oh bother, what is it this time?"
"Thought you should know Phantom is vamoose." Skulker said.
Vlad sat upright in his chair. "What?! Are you telling me he got away?" He snarled.
"I'm saying something happened with Aragon. Apparently no one is in there but the Supervisor and his Operatives." He clarified.
Vlad sat back. Valerie must be on her way over here then. "Go ahead and return to base. We can't talk here."
"Copy. Over and out." Skulker said and disappeared from the wrist communicator. Vlad felt his body begin to rage. Anger was forcing him to morph. The next person to walk in he was going to strangle!
The Superior's door flew open. "Mr. Masters? Are you alright in here?" She asked.
Vlad sighed and stood up with his cane and made his way over. He felt himself regain composure. Daniel wanted to play hide and seek? Fine. After all, he has never one to lose at a game. "Never better, my dear." He said, smirking. "Never better."
