Okay so after that long time in between updates, would anyone believe that I actually wrote this chapter in FOUR DAYS? I was hit with sudden inspiration for this story and pounded out this chapter faster than ever. I only waited to give some time for the previous one to sink in a bit.
Also if anyone is curious, here is what Karma, Fate and Irony look like: : / / post / 166702401422 / i-finally-finished-my-ghost-sisters-karma-irony (just remove all the spaces and the () around the periods)
Also Trishntrips has also been kind enough to paint Fate and Karma! You can find their beautiful portraits here:
Karma: : / / post / 167449731312 / thanks-to-ladyaudentium-writing-one-of-my
Fate: : / / post / 170534132322 / for-ladyaudentium-so-i-realized-i-had-asked-to
Thank you so much Trish! I absolutely love your art, and I hope everyone enjoys the chapter!
(Clockwork)
All was quiet in his castle. Dan and Valerie were both resting from a day's hard work training with Karma. From what he heard, after she had switched tactics to using her ability to assume any form she wished, the two Champions had fought together flawlessly.
The Master of Time materialized into Jazz's room. The sight that greeted him was not at all what he expected.
Frostbite lay sleeping, propped up against the bed, obviously exhausted from keeping a close eye on the still comatose orange-haired ghost. With a wave of his staff, Clockwork gently enveloped the ice ghost in a purple hold and, using a portal, placed him into the adjoining bedroom where he would get a proper rest.
Task finished, Clockwork directed his gaze back to the young female ghost who had yet to awaken. She looked much improved, her skin glowing a bright and healthy ectoplasmic green. For the first time since she entered her coma, Jazz truly looked as if she was only sleeping and about to awake at any given moment.
"Maybe if you kiss her, she'll wake up faster," a sarcastic voice quipped disdainfully from behind him.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of your company, Fate?" Clockwork asked with the minimal amount of propriety possible.
The leather-wearing ghost stepped up beside him, her muscular arms crossed as she stared down with uncaring white eyes at Jazz. "She lives after all," she sneered. "Although I have my sister to blame for this one—for once—not you. If I'd had it my way, Jazz would have faded out under Pariah's hand, and Dan would have once again spiraled back down to the villain I made him to be." She sighed angrily. "But for some unknown reason, everyone but me is obsessed with his redemption."
Clockwork smiled indulgently. "It is because you spend too long choosing the future and not long enough getting to know those that you are deciding the lives of."
Fate scoffed. "I don't have time for that kind of shit, nor do I care. Their lives mean nothing to me. This is just the duty I've been assigned to until the end of eternity. I will never understand how you are able to have the patience for such drivel," her face twisted up in disgust, "such sentiment."
"Perhaps that is just the difference between us. I always wish to know better the ones who will change history." The Master of Time continued to gaze down at Jazz who had yet to wake. A smirk pulled the corner of his mouth. It seemed her fingers had twitched with Fate's last statement. Thankfully, the white haired ghost seemed not to notice.
"Hn, well whatever, I'm here for a different reason than to merely not understand you. I, and no doubt everyone else, received your summons for the Council Meeting. I sure hope you know what you're doing; this is not going to go well at all."
Clockwork sighed heavily. "I am aware this is not the most ideal solution to the problem at hand, but I have looked into the possibilities, and this is the only one where Pariah Dark is fully defeated with minimal losses on our side. Please try to keep an open mind about this, Fate."
The white ghost laughed harshly and without humor. "The day you stop interfering with my timeline choices is the day I will have an open mind of Dan Phantom and Valerie Gray working together in peace and harmony." With that final cutting statement, she turned and began strutting towards the door. "I'll see you at the Council Meeting. I look forward to watching you and your plan crash and burn."
Clockwork couldn't do anything more than watch the antagonistic ghost take her leave through the door. Getting the majority of the Council to vote along with his plan would be incredibly difficult without Fate's support. He could feel himself aging up into an old man, but the sudden breaking of a light and airy voice returned his youth to him.
"Who put a stick up her ass?" Jazz's voice was slightly hoarse from lack of use, but as Clockwork turned back to face her, he felt the stress and the worry of Fate's derision fade from his being.
"I'm sure she will blame me for that too. Even though I'm pretty sure she sat on it herself." Despite himself, a chuckle found its way into the end of his statement. His joy at finally seeing Jazz awaken drowned out everything else. Now with her back, everything felt right again.
She chuckled hoarsely too. "Maybe one day you could actually do something she blames you for."
"I can only hope," he replied gently, as he sat on the edge of the bed and put one of his hands over hers. Jazz responded by gripping his fingers a bit tighter. "It's good to see you well again Jasmine."
"I wish I could say the same. God, you look awful." She smiled to soften the blow of her words. "You really do need me around here."
Clockwork closed his eyes and nodded. For now all he wanted was to enjoy her company. A comfortable silence fell over them. Jazz still a little too weak to remain awake for long, and the blue ghost was just willing to relish in the fact she was still here.
(Valerie)
As Valerie opened her eyes, it wasn't hard to see that she was again in Dan's mindscape. Her bedroom was darker than usual, and she felt slightly out of body. Her limbs didn't carry with them the same weight as normal. The only question was, where was he?
Rolling over, she was able to spot him leaning on the window sill, head hanging between his shoulders. Somewhat unnerved at finding him in such a vulnerable position, the Huntress was at a loss as for what to do. Would he snap at her if she drew attention to it? Would he open up?
She realized then he was wearing the black workout outfit from their first training session with Karma. Up until this point, he had made an effort to appear in only his jumpsuit, and she had forgotten all about his Karmic markings. The collar was just high enough to hide the band around his throat, and of course the long sleeves hid everything else.
"Your tattoos shrunk," Valerie stated upon realizing what was different about them. Before, they had extended in sleeves down to his wrists, but now they had receded to mid forearm.
Dan lifted his head to casually regard his arm. "Yeah… who would have thought…" The end of his sentence trailed off as he continued to stare unseeing at his own appendage.
"Well, Karma seemed like she had some faith in you. Although, at the time I don't know how she did."
"At the time." He lowered his arm once again and stared curiously into her eyes. "What makes you say that?"
"Well, when she intervened, you were trying to forcibly undress me because I was only wearing a bathrobe borrowed from Clockwork." Her eyes narrowed into a glare. "Not to mention the time just before that in the bath where you nearly drowned me."
A wince, whether of regret or physical pain, crossed his features momentarily as he looked away and once again put his head between his shoulders. Valerie lessened her glare to suspicion. Something about him was, without a doubt, different.
"No wonder you hate me so." His response was so quiet, Valerie wondered if she was meant to hear it at all.
"Those aren't the only reasons I have to hate you. They're only the most recent."
The ghost snarled with sudden rage as he violently pushed against the window and turned to face her, face twisted with a snarl. "And do you intend to hold those reasons over me until you finally fade me out?!" he demanded, eyes glowing.
Valerie tensed up and stepped out from underneath the tangle of sheets. If he were going to attack, she needed to be ready. "I might, if you don't give me reasons to look past them." She hesitated a moment before adding, "which, against all I expected, has started to happen."
The snarl dropped from Dan's face. Obviously, he was surprised that she had acknowledged his few good deeds. A grin started to stretch across his face. "What was that, Valerie? I don't believe I heard you. You'll have to speak up. As I fused with Vlad, I sometimes suffer from his old-man hearing." The ghost floated up closer to her and angled his one ear towards her.
Rolling her eyes, Valerie decided to indulge him. "I said, YOU'RE NOT BEING A COMPETE DICK ANYMORE!" she yelled as loud as she could directly into his ear and watched with satisfaction as he quickly covered the abused ear and jumped away. Crossing her arms, she stared him down triumphantly.
"Jesus, woman what was that for?" Dan demanded as he tried to determine if there was any permanent damage.
"You said you wanted me to repeat myself. I was merely doing as you asked while also making sure that it doesn't go to that fat head of yours. Your ego is hard enough to handle like it is now."
"But did you truly need to do that? What if I have permanent damage now, Valerie dear?" Dan whined as he continued to massage his abused appendage.
"I thought that's what your healing factor was for, you big baby!"
"I'm sure it would help if you kissed it better." He grinned widely, and Valerie only stared at him with a deadpan expression.
"That's dumb."
"Oh come now, what could be more harmless than a kiss on my injury. It's juvenile really, Valerie."
She found it hard to disagree with his logic on that, even if he was wrong with where he was truly injured.
Heaving a heavy sigh, the Huntress rolled her eyes before taking a step towards him. "Fine, if it gets you to shut up about it." At least he was asking for once and not forcing her to do it.
As she got closer, her heart started to beat faster in fear. Nothing good ever came from being this close to Phantom.
He leaned down slightly so she could reach his pointed ear. Biting her lip nervously, she tightened her grip on her arms.
Time seemed to slow as she neared him. His sharp, winter-like scent accented the air around him. It did nothing to calm her nerves.
Her cheek nearly brushed against his, the fine hairs on her skin barely registering him next to her. The cold from his skin seeped into her heat.
Her mouth pursed, and just as she was about to make contact, a sudden breeze in her hair alerted her to movement.
A cold hand appeared on her chin, and in the next moment, it tilted her face slightly upwards.
Another pair of lips hovered just slightly out of reach of her own.
Snapping into action, Valerie's system went into high alert, and before Dan could move a muscle, she jumped back, once again establishing a decent amount of space between them.
"What the hell?" she demanded, a blush of anger darkened her cheeks. "What happened to 'this is juvenile, Valerie'?" she deepened her voice to imitate him in her mockery. "That was anything but juvenile!"
His grin lessened to more of a smirk, but no less self-satisfied. "Perhaps you are right, but I could not resist. Your reaction was as I anticipated." He levelled a serious stare at her. "Although if I truly had wanted to kiss you, I would have."
"Did you learn nothing from me electrocuting you earlier?!" Valerie demanded, slightly breathless with disbelief.
"Then allow me to try again." In an instant, he had closed the distance between them.
Alarm bells and sirens blared in her head as all her instincts told her to run. Something, and she wasn't sure what, stilled her gut reaction to strike out in self defense. But what she did know, was that is was nothing of Dan's doing that stayed her hand. Instead, she jumped backwards in surprise, but tripped onto the bedside table, her hands landed on the top to keep herself from falling backwards.
Dan did not hesitate and placed his hands on either side of her hips, and leaning in, effectively trapped her. His crimson irises stared deeply into her teal. "May I have an adult kiss from you, Valerie?"
"Why?" her voice shook slightly. He was close, much too close. Her heart pounded heavily in her ears, but she could not look away from his gaze. It was hypnotic, but not in a bad way. It was just…intense.
There was a beat of silence as he thought over her question. "There are many reasons, but the best one would be for you to accept it as an…apology." She could see the wince at his final word, but Valerie was too shocked to react much.
"W-what?" she stuttered, confused. "What kind of apology would that be?"
"One that serves many purposes. I quite enjoyed kissing you before. I am also curious as to what it would be like if you are willing to let me." His baritone voice was level with honesty and his eyes clear of any malice. The very same neutrality as before was once again present.
Her heart beat faster for a different reason than fear now, but Valerie dared not ask herself what it might be. It was a road she wasn't sure she was ready for yet.
"I-I…" she struggled for a reason to say no, but her brain was shutting down. His close proximity was making it hard to think properly. A blush heated her face and down her neck. Had he really just said he desired her, and meant it?
He brought a hand up and gently pushed a wayward curl away from her cheek. The action rendered her speechless. It was a simple gesture, but at the same time incredibly intimate.
"You have my word there are no ulterior motives to this. A simple kiss is all I ask for," he intoned lowly. There was an edge of something to his voice, but the Huntress could not identify it.
"That's it? Just a kiss? You're not trying to lead into something more?" She hoped there was as much skepticism in her voice as she was feeling. More than once he had taken advantage of her vulnerability; she did not want it to happen ever again.
"I believe you once said you would like restraints better if they were on me. If it makes you feel better, you may restrain my hands to ensure they do not…" he grinned slyly, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, "…wander."
The line sparked a memory in her mind back to their encounter right before Pariah made his rather dramatic entrance to the human world. She had said that, hadn't she? Feeling more confident and in control, Valerie firmly planted her hands on his wrists, securing them to the nightstand.
"Alright, Phantom, you get one kiss. Better make it count," she taunted him and watched as his eyes lit up at her challenge.
"As you wish," he intoned lowly before closing the last of the distance between them.
His lips were cold upon her own, but much to her surprise, gentle. Greater still, Valerie felt her eyes close and tilt her head to better accommodate him. Stretching her lips open, he deepened the kiss, pushing her head back into the wall behind her.
A growl vibrated in his throat, and muscles in his arms flexed as he fought to keep his hands down. She could feel him gripping the table so tightly, she feared it would break. Perhaps if it had been in the real world, it would have, but here, it must have been made of something sturdier.
In the next moment, he pulled away breaking the kiss, but rested his forehead against hers. He breathed heavily as he tightly shut his eyes, a trembling had started up in his limbs.
Valerie smirked. "Well, all things considered, that wasn't terrible."
His red eyes opened to meet hers. "That's cruel, Huntress."
She hummed in agreement as the scene faded from around them.
Coming back to true wakefulness, Valerie sat up and pushed her legs off the side of her bed. Memories from the mindscape flooded back to her all at once. A deep blush colored her face and neck.
He had kissed her.
And she had let him, given him permission even, and then she had to go and enjoy it!
What was she doing? This situation was getting out of hand. What would her father say?
A pit of longing sank into her stomach. She missed him, everyone. Being here without them was hard for her. The Resistance was such a strong pillar of support for her, and to be away from it for so long was truly beginning to wear on her. For her, it had been weeks' worth of absence from her people, but how long had it been for them? She needed to ask Clockwork. He had delivered a letter to her father at her request not too long ago; perhaps he would be able to arrange a personal meeting with him.
A girlish giggle caught her attention, and the young woman whipped her head up, braided hair flying over her shoulder. A threadbare stockinged foot phased through the wall and out into the hallway.
Chilled to the bone with fear and burning with curiosity, Valerie leapt from the bed, ran to the door, and threw it open. She burst into the hallway where the mysterious ghost disappeared to revealed the space to be…
…empty.
The Red Huntress narrowed her eyes and scanned the area carefully. Sometimes with lower class ghosts, their invisibility was not always perfect, and if she concentrated just right, sometimes a distortion in the air could be noticed.
Nothing.
Wary and suspicious, Valerie retreated back into her room. The feeling like she was being watched persisted. Unable to deal with not knowing for sure if she was alone, the Huntress grabbed her gauntlet from the chair and activated its ghost radar. As it refreshed, the watcher feeling disappeared, and the map came up blank.
Sighing with relief, the young woman started to get dressed for the day. Pulling off the oversized t-shirt, she pulled on her black sports bra and tank top, followed by her suit leggings. What she wouldn't give for a new set of clothes rather than the same ones all the time. But beggars couldn't be choosers, and Clockwork had been accommodating, or as much as he could anyways.
"A simple kiss is all I ask for…"
The memory shot through her system in sharp reminder that it happened. Shame welled up inside her stomach. How could she have allowed that? Further more, how could she have allowed herself to enjoy it?
Her ghost radar suddenly blared an alarm.
"How interesting indeed…" a wizened voice intoned curiously from behind her.
Activating her battle suit, Valerie turned around in one fluid motion and drew her blaster.
Behind her stood an extremely tall ghost, at least seven feet tall with purple curled horns, and a body made of what appeared to be the night's sky. From what she could see, he didn't have any legs, only tendrils of continuing darkness from his body.
"Perhaps Clockwork's ridiculous plan isn't so ridiculous after all." He smiled revealing two sharp fangs.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Valerie demanded, standing strong as her blaster primed for a powerful shot.
"Who would have thought that behind the closed doors of the mind, the Ravager of Worlds and The Ghost Slayer weren't the enemies everyone thought them to be." Completely unfazed by her weaponry, he instead took several steps forward. Like all ghosts, he was cold, but his chill was different from Dan's. Dan was like winter, this newcomer… he was cold like death, of emptiness. It unsettled Valerie in ways Phantom never could.
"I don't know what you're talking about," The huntress denied, a fear deep in her stomach that he could tell she was lying.
The mysterious ghost chortled evilly, "How pathetic, you can't even admit it to yourself!" He leaned down so his blood red, pupiless eyes stared deep into her soul. "It seems our little Dan Phantom has done more than ravage the world."
His implication hung heavily in the air between them and after a moment, the red of his eyes seeped out to match the rest of her vision. Without breaking eye contact, she aimed the barrel directly into his chest and fired. The first shot was more powerful than the rest by far, but each tore a hole in his shifting body.
"Stay out of my head, you bastard," she growled between gritted teeth as she watched with satisfaction as he doubled over in pain, clutching his new wounds. Much to her surprise, however, they did not bleed the typical green blood of ghosts and closed almost immediately.
"It seems the infamous Red Huntress still has some bite after all. I'm sure your precious Dan Phantom will enjoy that very much." With a cruel laugh, he faded into a black smoke, the glittering of stars the last to dissipate behind him.
Glancing down to her radar, it once again registered her as alone in the room. Slumping down onto the bed, the adrenaline rush faded from her body leaving her weak. Her limbs shook with the residual fear of the encounter. Where had that ghost come from? Surely he hadn't been here the whole time?
Holstering her gun, Valerie shakily pushed to her feet and began to make her way to the training room. Maybe Karma would be able to give her some answers.
Striding into the training room, Valerie saw that Dan was already there and dressed similarly to her, with a black tank top and sweatpants. Upon her entrance, he turned and regarded her with something close to satisfaction. A smile stretched his face, which the Huntress returned with a glower. She was definitely going to regret the kiss from earlier.
Karma stood tall in front of the flame haired ghost, they had most likely been talking before she arrived. As she turned her red eyes to the young woman, her purple face drew into a frown. "Valerie, is something wrong? You appear… disturbed." Immediately, her eyes shifted to Dan. But he was still staring at Valerie and did not notice.
"Yeah, I was minding my own business in my room when some night-sky-horn-wearing motherfucker appeared out of no where and started threatening me." She used her fingers to gesture beside her head to indicate his curved horns. Dan looked at her like she was crazy while Karma visibly tried to hide her amusement at her description.
"It seems ghosts have already responded to Clockwork's summons for the Ghost Council. I suspect others will be arriving shortly, including—"
"KARMA!" a high pitched girly voice interrupted the red ghost, and out of nowhere a green and purple blur dashed up behind Dan, jumped, and used his back as a springboard to get to the other female ghost.
Dan, not expecting extra weight to be pushed onto him, crumpled to the ground in a rather unceremonious heap. Valerie wasn't able to hide her snort of laughter in her surprise.
The green and purple object appeared to be another ghost who clung to Karma like a tree, both arms and legs wrapped around her tall form. "How could you leave me with Fate? It's been so boring without you, and Fate is so mean, I have to resort to playing with the human world!" the childish being whined. Valerie took note of the oversized purple sweater, pale blue hair and black leggings that adorned the newcomer.
"I'm sorry Irony, but Clockwork needed my help here. I have been quite busy training Valerie and Dan how to fight together and eventually what they will need to know to defeat Pariah Dark." Karma patted her head comfortingly, most likely in hopes that the other ghost would let go. Unfortunately it seemed to have the opposite effect as Irony gripped tighter.
Although the mention of "Dan and Valerie" perked her head up, and Irony turned her green, pupiless eyes back to the male ghost and the human woman. A rather unsettlingly happy grin stretched over her face upon laying eyes on them.
"Oh yeah, I remember you!" She pointed to Dan, "But you used to be smaller, I liked you better as a halfa. Especially with your parents being ghost hunters." She detached herself from Karma and floated right up to Dan's face, grinning darkly for such a juvenile looking being. "It was just so ironic."
Dan snarled viciously, a growl resonating deep in his chest, "Don't patronize me. I could tear you limb from limb right now, and there'd be nothing you could do about it."
Irony giggled girlishly, and clapped her hands. "Ohh, you're scary aren't you? No wonder Fate likes you so much!" Her complete and utter obliviousness to Dan's increasing temper was astounding.
"Hey, cut it out. He hasn't done anything to you, but if you don't stop, you're gonna find out what he can do. And it won't be pretty," Valerie spoke up before Phantom snapped. The last thing she needed to be doing right now was trying to calm down the maniac he was bound to become if this continued.
Irony switched her green gaze to the Huntress. "Oh? Standing up for him? Isn't he the one who destroyed everything you love?" She got up in Valerie's face, just like she had done for Dan.
Her words stung deep to Valerie's core, but bringing up past sorrows now would not do any good. "I said," she drew her gun and once again primed it for a powerful shot, "cut it out." Aiming it directly at the chest of the purple clothed ghost, she wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger if Irony persisted on being difficult.
"Irony, that is enough. It is not productive to be baiting either of them right now." Karma stepped in and put a hand on her companion's shoulder.
"Yeah, no kidding, this isn't any fun anymore anyways. They're both so serious now." She sighed disappointedly and crossed her arms. "I'm gonna go find Clockie. Maybe he can entertain me for a while." And with that, the young ghost flounced off, short hair bouncing with every step.
"Good riddance," Dan mumbled under his breath and turned to Valerie. As she reholstered her blaster, they shared a look of mutual understanding. One of the few things they agreed on was their dislike of the ghost named Irony.
"What was that all about?" Valerie asked the red female ghost still standing in the room.
"Please forgive my sister; she is rather unskilled with people. She takes great amusement in manipulating others. I am afraid that she spends too much time with Fate and as such has picked up her mean tendencies," Karma explained with a sigh.
"Well she certainly seems… interesting." Valerie paused for a moment trying to come up with something else to say but when she was left with nothing, continued on with her question before they had been interrupted. "So, I hate to keep harping on this, but I'd really like to know who the ass-fuck was in my room earlier, with the horns and everything."
"That was Nocturn." Dan, surprisingly, answered her question. Much to her surprise, the red ghost nodded in agreement that he was speaking the truth. "The bastard has a hard time keeping his nose out of other people's business. Especially when it comes to dreams. That's where his power lies."
Her face darkened with a deep blush that extended all the way to her ears. "Goddammit. That asshole must have seen what happened…" she trailed off, not brave enough to finish her sentence with Karma standing right there.
Dan seemed to catch her meaning as he snarled silently, and looked away. No doubt trying—and failing—to hide his own blush. "Why is he even here? What makes him worthy of this all mighty 'Ghost Council'?" Phantom asked derisively, using his fingers to make air quotes.
"Any ghost who hosts unique powers, or is the leader of a nation, has a seat on the Council." Karma explained.
"So does that mean… Pariah…?"
"Yes, before he was consumed by greed to possess everything, he had a seat at the Council."
There was silence after Karma's explanation where Dan and Valerie once again shared a look of understanding. That didn't sit well with either of them. A heavy silence fell over them as the human and ghost processed this new information. Just as Karma opened her mouth to continue, the training room doors burst open with a loud bang, causing everyone to jump.
"There you are! The meeting's begun, and everyone is waiting on you, Karma," Fate yelled angrily into the room, breaking the silence that had fallen with a sledgehammer. "And bring those two, I guess. Clockwork insists they be there." She sneered before letting the doors fall shut behind her with a much quieter click.
"Well, there goes my attempt at delaying the inevitable," The female ghost admitted with a small smile and chuckle. "We should go before she comes back. Then we'll be in real trouble." Without any more warning, the red ghost began to herd them towards the door.
Not having too much choice in the matter, the ghost and human allowed themselves to be pushed forwards.
"I should warn you now, though, this will not be easy. Fate is not the only one against us, but even if she were, she holds a terrible sway over the Council. If we want even a chance at success, you both must be on your best behavior." She placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "No arguing or fighting of any kind will be permitted. You are only invited as observers, and as such do not—technically—have any say in discussed matters."
Dan scoffed, his face scrunched in indignation, "We have no say, even though we're the ones who are going to be risking everything to fight at the forefront of this war? What kind of bullshit is that?"
Valerie couldn't help but agree, even though she remained silent.
"I know, it is not fair, but that is simply how the Council works. I am sorry Dan, Valerie, I truly am." Her voice and face conveyed the truth of her statement.
All too soon, they reached the double doors of their destination. "Ready?" the red ghost asked as she braced a hand against the wood of the door.
Dan and Valerie glanced at each other—one last look that they both knew this needed to work. A silent agreement passed between them that they would be on their best behavior possible.
"Yes," they answered at the same time.
Karma smiled like a proud parent and pushed inwards.
The doors swung open silently to reveal a room full of all sorts of different kinds of ghosts seated about a round table. Clockwork and Fate sat facing the door, and as the human and ghost entered, all eyes turned to them.
Valerie recognized only a few faces, and some were welcome. She nodded slightly to Frostbite and Clockwork. Others not so much, she glared at Nocturn, who returned it with a coy smile, and Fate, who glowered darkly back at her. The rest were strangers to her.
Irony sat just to the left of Fate with one of the Observants next to her.
A rather sickly looking male ghost with blue skin and a green crown peered at her down his nose. He was one of the few ghosts to have a visible difference between his iris, pupil and sclera. His stringy, gray hair did nothing for his complexion and clashed horribly with his ratted black cloak and bright purple tunic.
Beside him sat a beautiful woman with blonde hair, green skin and red eyes. Her blue dress complimented her perfectly, and Valerie hoped that she wasn't that other ghost's wife. How awful it would be for the girl to live with him. At least she wasn't peering at Valerie like she was dirt on her boot.
At a table by himself was a rather bland-looking ghost with scruffy black hair, a scraggly beard and a gray scarf wrapped around his equally gray neck. he sat with a computer in front of him but wasn't looking at Valerie at all, no instead he was rather fearfully fixed on Dan. As she turned to peer at her partner in crime, so-to-speak, he was smirking widely enough to include both sides of his mouth, red eyes glittering with dark amusement.
Elbowing him, she got his attention, and amusement faded from him like a light switch.
"Thank you, Karma, for joining us and bringing with you our two Champions." Clockwork gestured towards the empty seat to the right of him. "Now if you would please take your seats, we may begin." Karma floated around the back of the chairs to her seat, leaving Dan and Valerie to sit side-by-side at the two open chairs closest to the door.
"My apologies for my late arrival, I was unaware we had begun the proceedings," Karma said as she gracefully took her seat.
The sickly ghost scoffed, "How typical of a woman to be late. We have been waiting to begin for quite some time now. Unlike some, I have a country to run, and my time is valuable."
Valerie bit her tongue so hard she feared it would bleed. It wouldn't be good at all for her to cause a scene here.
"Be calm, Aragon. I too have my own people to lead and I can assure you, time does not pass the same here as it does elsewhere in the realms," Frostbite spoke up, and it was only through the close contact she'd spent with the snow beast that she could hear the anger in his normally soothing voice.
"We have delayed long enough. Let us get down to the reason this Council meeting has been called to order," Clockwork commanded, the butt of his scepter crashing into the marble floor and echoing throughout the room. "Council is now in session. I called this meeting for one purpose. As I am sure everyone here is aware, Pariah Dark has returned. He is as powerful as before, if not more so, and a plan must be enacted to stop him." He paused for a moment for dramatic effect. "I have taken the liberty of taking steps in the direction of the best plan. Hence why we have two extra guests sitting in on this meeting. For those who may not know them by face, this is Valerie Gray, the Ghost Slayer and Dan Phantom, the Ravager of Worlds."
All eyes turned to them, and Valerie held her chin a little higher and straightened her spine. But after a moment, she realized eyes were not on her, but the ghost beside her, and none of them looked friendly.
A seed of anger took root in her stomach, not out of jealousy for being overlooked, but rather in defence of Dan.
"Yes, Clockwork, we all know why we're here. To listen to you preach your match making game plan to the Council as if it were a legitimate strategy," Fate spoke derisively. "What kind of viable plan is pitting two mortal enemies, who couldn't stand the sight of each other against one of the most powerful ghosts the Zone has ever seen?"
"I agree; this plan seems wholly foolhardy," Aragon spoke up, while the blonde woman at his side sat silently, eyes drawn down into her lap.
"I can assure you, as can Frostbite and Karma, that much has changed between young Dan and Valerie during their stay here." Clockwork insisted.
"Surely not enough change for Phantom to consider saving the world instead of destroying it?" the observant questioned with a skeptic tone.
"Well, I would not be so sure. Surprisingly, I find myself on Clockwork's side on this one," Nocturne grinned slyly, nothing but ill intent behind his words as he locked eyes with Valerie. "I have evidence of my own that our 'Champions' aren't quite the enemies they wish everyone to believe."
The Huntress glared viciously at the dream ghost while futilely fighting a blush. He only grinned wider, as he steepled his long, clawed fingers and rested his elbows on the table.
"Please, don't be ridiculous, Nocturn," Fate spat as she pushed herself up from her seat. "I can't believe we even need to have this meeting for something so simple." Her white gaze fixed itself firmly on Dan's face. "Dan Phantom was created by my hand personally, and I took great care with crafting him into a villain more than capable of conquering every existing realm. To think that he would be softened so easily is an insult to both his character and mine." She began to walk around the table behind Irony, Aragon, and the woman in blue.
Her sclera darkened to black, leaving a white ring around an equally dark pupil. Her white mohawk seemed to float weightlessly, revealing her other eye to be a milky white with a jagged scar running through the middle of it. The air became charged with the static electricity that came with ghostly powers and Valerie's heart began to speed up. This ghost was doing something, but the young woman couldn't be sure of what it was, and that worried her more than anything.
Turning to Dan, Valerie noticed with horror that he sat in a trance state, red eyes glazed over and eyes half closed. Grabbing his arm, and shaking him did nothing. He just continued to stare listlessly ahead. "Dan, snap out of it! Dan! Dan!" Valerie whispered, desperate to bring him back to awareness.
"Now, Dan, show them who you truly are," Fate demanded with a terrible echo to her voice as she stopped behind the villainous ghost.
Reaching out, she put one hand over his head and instantly white flames sprang to life, wreathing Phantom's body entirely. He roared with fury as the red of his irises bled to the whites of his eyes, and a second set of fangs extended from his gums.
A smile revealing her upper and bottom fangs stretched her face in a demonic way. "Now that's better."
I realized I haven't had a cliffhanger in a while. Fate is such a bitch and I love it.
Nocturn is so much fun to write, I hope I did him justice!
Thanks for reading, leave a review if you'd like! I'd love to hear your thoughts!
