Blackness Phantom

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

Yusei: Morning. Before we apologize for the long wait, we'll be-

Kei: Get on with it!

Julia: This short chapter will feature Danny, of course, and a little chat with Clockwork.

The Eleventh Darkness: Heretic Goddess of Death

Bullets rain down upon Danny Phantom, who flies away avoiding their paths. 'Gotta avoid those.' He fires a beam towards the red sheriff, which bounces off of his armor. "Did that just happen?"

"These Pilfergeist suits are built from the green stones that made the Disasteroid, now dubbed Ectoranium. Do you really think we'd be wearing these stupid suits if they weren't practical? Because they're ugly as hell!" Vector fires again, forcing Danny to turn intangible to pass through them.

'Phew. At least that still works.' Hygro cones in from behind, and the Doomsickle forms in his left hand to block the lime colored saber.

"Must you make this difficult?" speaks the sheriff, his tone as gruff as the blade he wields. Black sparks release as the scythe's staff holds up against the sword. "If you really wish to protect humanity you wouldn't make this harder on yourself."

"And if you want me to come without trouble you wouldn't be a douche bag trying to capture me with force!" This response is answered with a punch, sending him flying until he corrects himself. Hygro flies in to slash him, but a well-timed dodge allows Danny full evasion. He then raises his scythe and slashes his arm, ripping off the armor.

Though as he looks closely, he notices that the man's flesh is still intact. 'While it's good it didn't cut him, why?' Backing up quickly he fires a beam of ice, his opponent blocking using an energy shield. "All this anti-ghost stuff is really getting old!"

Another bullet fires, which explodes into ectoplasm and catches him. Hitting the ground, Danny is back solid. "I'd make a joke, but this is too serious and gross."

The red sheriff flies down towards Danny, drawing her sword and aiming it directly between his eyes. "This is why I told you to give up. If only you'd listen to me, Danny."

"Good work newbie," says Hygro from where he floats. "Now, capture him."

Vector raises his blade and stabs downward, narrowly missing his head. The man's eyes flare yellow before he says, "Get out of here."

"Say what?"

"I said go!" Vector draws a gun and aims. The sudden aggression awakens something in Danny, causing a hole opens up underneath him. He falls through, the hole closing up being him. "There."

"Vector!" Hygro lands behind the red sheriff. He presses a circular red light on his chest, and his armor flies skyward into nothing. The man underneath is revealed to be a middle-aged man with dark gray hair and blue eyes. He has a green scar on the front of his face, crossing his nose and his left eye. The man pushes the armored warrior by the shoulder. "I'm disappointed in you. How could you let him go?!"

"I…there's no guarantee that he's really a menace," Vector replies earnestly. "Just trust my judgment."

"Your judgment is as worthless as ghosts in general. You were hired for the Ghost Sheriff program solely because of your experience with the ghost boy, nothing else. I'd figured you'd be ecstatic to end his afterlife."

The red sheriff looms his visor downward before a reading appears on his visuals. "We've got a ghost attack, down at Amity Park Mall!"

"Let's go." Hygro takes out a pistol and aims high. "Electroplate!" Up from above, a silver beam shoots down and encases him in a forcefield of energy. The beam turns green before disappearing with a flash of light, revealing Hygro in his armor. He summons his speeder and they fly away at once, heading for the heavily populated area.

There, the metal heroes see to their shock a strange being just whaling on the building with beams and missiles. It's a mechanized suit standing 10 feet tall. It has a head on the left and another head on the right, both strangely familiar.

"Bring us the ghost boy now!" speaks both heads in unison.

From above the two sheriffs arrive at the scene. Vector speaks, "That's Skulker, the hunter who wears a mechanical suit full of ghost hunting equipment; I recognize that tech."

"He's different from the file," says Hygro before drawing his sword. "But, that doesn't matter. We can at least bring in one ghost."

Vector draws a pistol and aims at Skulker, firing bullets that pierce into his metal body. The white-haired head speaks, "That was poisonous!"

"Technus, that must be the anti-ghost officers the government sent," says the metal head.

"We'll test our powers out on them!" Again in unison, the bulky ghost raises their arms and summons machine guns, missiles and a laser cannon. In no time at all an alpha strike unloads on the sheriffs.

The Ghost Zone…

Falling in through the hole, Danny corrects himself upright and looks around. 'How did I…oh, that power. I need to get some answers now.' Seeing a trail of frost up in his direction, he comes to a thought. "Hmm…that must lead to Frostbite's home. But, I need to find Clockwork."

Returning the Doomsickle to his arm he flies off in search of his ghostly ally. His eyes scan around as he flies about, the green world before him less of a boot to an ant than he first arrived. Nothing at this point could surprise him.

Until he reaches Clockwork's tower. The entire landscape is covered with a crimson field, domed overhead by a spire. Danny comes up to it pressing a hand to the dome, and immediately draws it back as it burns him. "What the?!" He fires an ecto beam, that bounces off and hits him.

He's gotta stop doing that.

"What happened to you, Clockwork?" A thought suddenly comes to mind, and his hand stretches out. Eyes go bright blue before he fires, sending out an ice beam. That white mist crosses over and makes a hole, and Danny flies through.

As he enters, the hole closes up behind him. A figure watches from afar.

Inside the tower, Clockwork eyes his guest. "You've arrived just in time."

"Clockwork, we need to talk-"

"You want to know the truth about your powers, and what happened to make you like that," he quickly responds, causing Danny to kick the air before him.

"Stop doing that!"

"No," he says, turning around as he ages into an elderly man. "We won't have much time, and I'd very much like to keep quiet so my jailer doesn't hear something she might take advantage of."

"Guess I'll ask about that later…" The undying time lord turns over and gives a hand gesture to Clockwork. "What's going on with me? Why am I getting new, dangerous powers? And what's going to happen to me?"

The time lord turns into a child as he says, "Daniel, you probably already understand that you possess memories of Desiree that never happened and the reason why she only recently confessed her feelings for you."

"You knew the whole-" He stops at that. "Of course you do. You set this all up."

"When I saw the future involving this, I saw an alternative future where you could save everyone from the Fallen. They've been hesitant acting out because you wield the best weapon against them, but when they take action you'll be outmuscled and outgunned. That's why I felt it best you learn to turn your former enemies into your allies for the battle, starting with her."

"…and my powers?" He points to his left arm.

"In a different timeline, you were fused together with the Doomsickle by the ghost Dunames. But when Desiree stopped you the scepter was removed from your body."

"Wait, how does that work?"

"The Artifacts of Darkness remain static even if time is rewound." Clockwork becomes an adult. "Because it still held traces of your molecules it could restart your powers if it fused back to you."

"Okay, I get that makes sense. But why are my powers so different? So strong?" Danny asks, holding up his hands to summon ice.

"That's because the substance that the Artifacts of Darkness are made of are now apart of you," he tells him, causing Danny's eyebrows to rise. "It would never have worked if you still had your ghost powers."

The ghost boy pokes at his arm. He then comes to a realization: "You mean…"

"The Artifacts of Darkness are composed of black ectoplasm, the same kind as the spirits who have fallen off the path of reincarnation, as well as one of my time medallions." Danny stares at his hands once more, the white mist of his power revealing itself again.

"Then, I'm not a half ghost…I'm half them."

"Daniel, your ghost powers have evolved further beyond what they were; the white powers are your ice powers to the next level, but…you're still not used to it." As Clockwork explains he flies up to him, turning into an old man. "You're going to need a way to better harness this power, or else it'll destroy everything around you."

"What?!" Danny waves his hand, dispersing the mist. "You gave me this power and didn't tell me the consequences?!"

"I actually did ask if you were willing to take the risk."

"Yeah, but you could at least tell me exactly what's going on!" he says, looking at his arms. "What exactly can I do?"

"Go to your parents. They can help you get your powers together," he says, before turning around suddenly. His eyes gaze down the hall where a bit of noise has gotten his attention. "But first, get out of here. My warden has returned."

"Warden?" Footsteps come forth into the main room. They come closer, slowly like a lion stalking its prey. Soon the owner comes into the time room, revealing her presence and appearance.

She is a tall woman, statuesque, dressed in black leather with green stripes stretched around her outfit from neck to toe. Her high heels remain intact as she walks, a blade on each heel instead of the traditional one. She has a dark emerald cape flowing down from behind, her hair a jelly-like liquid coming down her head moving in a squid tentacle motion. Her emerald eyes gaze down upon the miniature ghost boy, the olive lips she owns pursing upward in a U.

"Well, well, well…look who came to visit." She smiles as she stalks towards him, hands to the side held outward. "Danny Phantom, I presume."

"Who are you?"

"Not too quick on the upswing, are you?" Clockwork asks Danny.

"He told everyone to avoid contact with you until we were all together, except me." She extends her left hand, a blade larger than a longsword firing out at him. He quickly moves to the left avoiding the blade, and the other five that followed. "And I can see why."

"Danny, go!"

"But Clockwork-"

"You're the only one who can leave her force field, so get out of here." Despite the urgency of the situation, his voice betrays that notion.

She draws another sword, swinging it until it disassembles into a chain sword. She thrusts it forward, causing the blade to extend to impale him. He summons the Doomsickle and blocks and gets pushed through the wall.

"Is this how you wield the Doomsickle? Sad. Pariah Dark would be so disgraced if he wasn't absorbed." She flies through the hole, finding Danny flying to the dome.

"Come on, weird power!" He holds a hand out, sending that white mist to create a hole through the red wall.

She stops just before the dome, watching him escape. "Go ahead, run. Take away all the apparent fun. For soon, this world and ours shall be one." She then flies back, her body reverting to a murky form.

Danny continues to make his escape, looking back at Clockwork's tower. His eyes check down on his ribs, where black ectoplasm drips down from a wound. "It's not healing at all…"

He takes out the Infini-map. "He said something about my parents helping…what did he mean?" As he flies, a figure follows after within his shadow.

This figure reveals itself in the light, a top hat is a culprit this time.

Yusei: This chapter ends, and soon another shall begin.

Kei: Now if you'll excuse us, we need to go see a movie. Next time, Danny speaks to his parents after watching a battle with Skulktech.