Chapter Twelve

Left For Dead

Author's Introduction

Here it is! The big battle!

Disclaimer

Danny Phantom, and all related characters, belong to Nickelodeon

Dannika Fenton, and all related OC's, belong to me.


Silence filled the gloom, the only sound to be heard was the erratic tapping and clicking of buttons and steady breathing of two sleeping forms. A bright light glared down at Dannika from the television as she fought her way through level five of Left for Dead. She couldn't begin to count the number of times she had awoken her friends with her cries terror and frustration. Tiffany seemed to wake at the slightest whimper from the ghost girl, while Nick had only awoke to the more terrifying screams. Every time, Dannika would lull the two back to sleep with soft murmurs of "Sorry" and "Go back to sleep, everything's fine!" Her goal was simple: play enough violent video games that she might have a chance in a real battle with a ghost. She knew it sounded insane, but maybe a little insanity was what she needed.

The house passed quickly, more quickly than Dannika even realized. In this windowless room that was the entertainment room allowed for no light to shine through and represent the passing of time. Only mere glances at the clock gave the girl any clue to what time it was, but the game played before her made time pass far more quickly than she liked. It felt like only half an hour had passed since the last time she checked the time at 2:45 AM; but when a voice next disturbed her, Dannika was surprised to find the clock reading 8:63.

"Have you been playing that all night?"Nick yawned, crawling up to sit next to the girl. His hat was off, laying on the floor some feet away. His hair was tangled and toppling to the left of his head, his bangs sticking straight up in the air.

Dannika shrugged, pausing the game and tossing the controller down. "Couldn't sleep," she said simply. It wasn't a complete lie. She couldn't get her eyes to close, but, then again, she didn't want them to close.

"So, what are you doing?" Nick asked.

"What do you mean? I'm playing a game…"

The boy shook his head, grabbing the controller from where it lay on the floor. "You've never been into these sort of things, Dannie. You hate games like this, where you have to kill and fight… You always said it was too much like if you were to accept your powers and start fighting. So what's up?"

Dannika glanced at the boy, considering. "Alright," she sighed. "Alright, I guess I have to tell you guys… I'll be needing your help anyway…" Nick glanced sidelong at her, raising a brow, but remained silent. "I've decided to fight," the girl continued. "The Guys In White are trying to make Dad look bad. They want to turn everyone against him so that they can finally have him! And I can't just sit back and let them destroy my home, my family, my life! So… I'm going to fight, and protect it. Protect him."

Nick was silent a moment, his thumbs moving across the controller as he got the game started again. The couple sat in silence, watching the screen as the character ran around slaying zombies. "You think you can handle it?" Nick finally asked.

"No," Dannika admitted. "Not on my own, at least, and not nearly as well as my father."

Nick nodded, accepting the answer. "So what, then? You're just waiting for some ghost to show up? You'll beat it back to the Ghost Zone, and, what? Your dad will still be seen as a traitor."

"Not if I pose as him," Dannika objected. "Not if I pretend to be him and draw attention to myself so that the public sees me and thinks I'm him. Then they'll think he's returned!"

Nick nodded. "This is a great plan, in theory. We'll just have to see how well we'll be able to pull it off." He clicked a few buttons, powering down the Xbox before throwing the controller on the ground. "So, what do you need us to do?"

"As soon as Tiff wakes up, we need to go out and patrol the town. The Guys In White sent a ghost here to tempt Dad," the girl explained, looking over her shoulder at the sleeping form that was her best friend.

Nick looked at the sleeping girl a moment. She looked so peaceful, curled around her pillow with a blanket tangled around her legs and arms. Almost like a child. Suddenly, a pillow was on top of her, jolting her awake.

"WHAT was THAT!" she yelled, scanning the room. Dannika looked at Nick who looked at the wall. Tiffany just grumbled, rolling back onto the floor. "Why'd you guys wake me up?" she complained.

"Time to go patrolling for ghosts." Nick said, as if it were a normal occurence.

"You're kidding?"


About ten minutes later the trio was off. Nick had a few scooters, plenty extra for Tiffany to borrow one and still have one left for himself. Dannika took to the air, scanning the skies and awaiting her ghost sense to go off.

Sssshhhppp "You got anything up there?" The voice came through the walkie-talkie Dannika held in her hand. She clicked the button at the top, and replied, "No, nothing! Tiffany, how 'bout you?"

Sssshhhhsshhpppp " Haven't seen anything… I'll check the news, see if there's been any sittings."

Dannika sighed, floating down to land atop a billboard. She flung her legs over the edge, sitting on the thing length of metal frame and gazing out at the town stretching out before her. The sun was just rising on the horizon, the soft pink hues illuminating the metalwork of the various buildings towering into the purple sky above. It took the girl's breath away, the gentle glint of dawn.

Pppppsshhshssshhhttttt! The walkie-talkie buzzed to life in Dannika's hand as Tiffany's voice filtered through. "Looks like the ghost passed through Nasty Burger, but didn't cause any trouble. He seems to be headed for city hall…"

"City Hall?" Dannika mused. "Why would it target – " Then it hit her. "Tucker!" In a moment, she had jumped from the billboard, tumbling toward the earth ten feet before flying off toward the Mayor's office. "Nick! Tiff!" she yelled into the handheld radio. "Find Tucker! Make sure he stays well away from City Hall, but don't let him figure out that there's a ghost headed there!"

Psshhhhp. "Got it!" "On my way!" The replies came simultaneously and Dannika saw her friends change course below her. Tiffany whipped out a cell phone, dialing in her father's number.

Dannika put on a burst of speed, rushing through the skies to find this ghost. As it turns out, she didn't have to look for long, because the ghost found her. A net came flying through the sky, taking Dannika by surprise and engulfing her in a glowing trap. "Hey!" she cried. "What is this?"

"Well what do you know?" A low, echoing voice drifted to the girl's ears. "I came in search of the Ghost Boy, but I find a Ghost Girl!" Dannika's head swiveled this way and that as she tried to locate the source of the voice. "The resemblance between you and the Ghost Boy is astonishing! Could you be another clone?" A figure manifested before the girl, a bulky hulk of metal and wiring with two faces – one on its stomach and one on its head.

"Clone?" Dannika guffawed. "I'm no clone!"

"Skulker! Isn't that the ghost boy's little girl?" the stomach mused, straining to look up at the head. His voice was high pitched and whinny.

The head, Skulker, scrutinized the girl carefully. "I think you're right!" his deeper voice bellowed. "The Ghost Boy's offspring. We could mount the entire family on the wall!"

"What!" Dannika shrieked, shrinking back in terror.

The stomach didn't look too pleased about this idea either. "Must we mount everything?" it complained. "All those trophies can be pretty menacing in the middle of the night when I get up to charge the suit…"

"Well, can we at least mount their heads? Or skin them into a rug? That would look quite nice in the apartment…" Skulker offered.

"Fine! We can skin them into a rug!" the stomach consented. "But they go in your room!"

"I don't think so!" Dannika objected. Her hands glowed florescent green as she pushed against the net encasing her. Slowly, the threads snapped, until the girl burst forth from the trap. She waisted no time with exchange of pleasantries, firing the first shot at the freaky, talking stomach. The thing opened its mouth right as the blasé was about to make contact. It was an interesting sight, the stomach eating the ecto-plasma. His eyes widened, his mouth contorting. Everything fell still as Skulker and Dannika awaited the outcome and the stomach tried to swallow the glowing green ball. It's cheeks puffed out, its lips pinching together. A second later, the mechanical suit exploded, sending Dannika and Skulker flying. The ghost girl hit the ground, the breath driven from her lungs. She rolled onto her side, coughing and gasping as she tried to catch her breath again.

Ppppsssshhhht The walkie-talkie sounded. "Dannika! You alright?" The device lay about a yard away, Nick's voice filtering through the desolate static. "Dannika, can you hear me? What's going on over there?" Dannika struggled to her knees, pulling herself toward the crackling device. Each movement brought a groan to her lips. "Nick!" she gasped, slamming her hand down on the walkie-talkie. "Nick! Ghost! Found it…" she gasped. She pushed herself to her feet, her knees wobbling beneath her.

Sssshhhhttt "Are you alright? Do you need backup?"

Dannika's eyes were scanning the area, searching for the pretator. "I think I blew him up," she reported. "I can't find him… I think he's toa – "

A blast came soaring through the air, knocking the walkie-talkie out of the girl's hand. Dannika quickly retracted her hand, staring at it, counting the fingers to make sure they were all there. While her back was turned, another blast collided with her, driving her to her knees. "You destroyed my legs!" Skulkers deep voice echoed overhead. Dannika twisted around, barely catching a glimpse of the sparking machine looming above her. From the chest up, the suit was fully operational, bearing a pair of wings to keep the hunter afloat, while from the chest down it was no more than a tangle of sparking wires. The girl could only just make out the glow in the barrel of the gun as it began to hum with life. She threw herself to the side, but too late. The blast caught her fleeting leg. Another blast hit her shoulder before she could even react to the first hit. Her scream reverberated through the air, her shoulder driven to the ground. "You're pathetic!" Skulker taunted. "Not even a challenge! Are you even worth the hunt, Dwelp? Or maybe I should just destroy you now."

Dannika glared over her shoulder at the hulking frame of metal, clutching at her shoulder. As a last ditch effort, she threw her body, rolling to her back as she brought her hand around, a green ball of ectoplasma flying from her palm and in the direction of the taunting buffoon. The strain on her shoulder, forced her eyes shut, when she again opened them, Skulker was right above her, laughing. "Now, we'll put you out of your misery." A gun on each shoulder, loaded and humming. As the weapons began to glow a brilliant blue, Dannika closed her eyes, praying for a miracle. "Goodbye, Dwelp!"


Author's Notes

Well, hope you guys enjoyed that! More to come!

Comments are loved!