Blackness Phantom

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

Yusei: We're back to the phantom zone.

Serena: Stop playing Amity Park!

Kei: No!

Yusei: In this chapter, we follow the aftermath of chapter 11. Here Danny works on getting a new handle on his powers, while every ghost is preparing for him. Mostly downtime.


The Twelfth Darkness: Steps To War


Danny continues to fly through the forest colored darkness of the Ghost Zone, eyes planted on the Infini-Map as he traverses. Checking his sights he comes upon a special area and smiles seeing the Ghost Portal closed. "It's here…" He pats it, remembering he can't pass through.

"Well, plan B until I can get that power under control." He pats the map, allowing its power to guide him to an exit to reality. After a few turns, he makes it to a portal and passes through.

Out the other side the ghost vegetable sprouts, and checks his surroundings. From the periwinkle shade walls, he can tell he's inside a room. "Alright, where exactly am I? Smells like Dove." He turns around.

And comes face to face with Desiree wearing nothing but a thinly veiled towel. His face turns a bright red – which shouldn't be possible because he's a ghost and not a human right now – before his nose bleeds twin streams of black.

"You might want to leave before someone sees you," says the ebony goddess before going back to brushing her midnight hair.

Danny covers his nose and quickly dives through the walls, seeing that he's home at Fenton Works. "Why is there a portal in the bathroom?"

He reverts back to his human self while looking around, what he last saw still at the forefront of his thoughts. He quickly heads to his room to try and mitigate the problem in his pants the only way the T-rating will allow him.

'Think of something not sexy. Let's see... dad's underwear! No, not working. Mom wearing his underwear!' He quickly shakes his head. "Nope, just making it worse!" 'Okay, Vlad and mom together!' Inside he feels like puking now. 'Okay, that's working.'

"Knock knock!" He turns around and opens his door to find Desiree just waiting, strapped in a towel. That red face of his returns in retaliation.

"Desiree! Put some clothes on! What if my parents see you?!"

"Then maybe you shouldn't go peeking on girls when they shower." She leans in taking a seat on his bed beside him. "Did you finally come to a decision?"

"No, that was just an accident," he says, hoping to explain himself. "I-"

A finger to the lips shuts him up. "It's okay," she says, her mouth degraded into a frown. "I was just messing with you; besides, you're still a minor."

She adjusts her towel and gets back up. "Also, I heard from your techno friend that something happened with you and her. Want to talk about it?"

"No… I have other things to worry about right now," he tells her, staring at his hands. "Clockwork said the scythe gave me a new power. He was pretty vague about it."

"The Doomsickle you mean?" Hearing the name, he turns his head up to her. "Did he tell you about my involvement with your past?"

"Oh that he did mention, yup. So…" He looks at her, "I'd like to ask more about our time together in that chamber, but first I need to speak to my folks."

"What can they do?"

"Make me a suit to restrict and maintain that power." Those diamond eyes of hers widen at his statement, as he phases through the floor down below.

Desiree sighs watching him go. "I'm gonna hold you onto that, Daniel."

Down below, Danny passes through the kitchen, stopping when he spots his old man and mom sitting and watching television. "Hmm?" On screen, he sees a news bulletin, showing the Ghost Sheriffs tearing Skulker and Technus apart.

"It seems the Guys in White's special ghost officers are actually doing their jobs. Stand back Danny Phantom; we got new ghostbusters in town!" says Lance Thunderman as he reports from the scene. Technus and Skulker are both wrapped in a photon stream as their combined bodies are being dragged away by Hygro alone. Vector stands by a vehicle as the ghosts are dragged inside.

"I guess I can take it easier now," says Danny as he reappears into reality.

"Whoa! Jesus crackers!" shouts Jack upon hearing his son. "Son, you gotta stop doing that."

"Sorry, dad. But," he begins, coming up to him and his mother, "I was hoping to get some help."

Maddie turns her attention to her youngest child. "What is it, sweetheart?" she asks, more concerned than sweetly as usual. Though with everything involved with him that's normal.

Danny takes a seat next to her. "It's my powers." He activates his ice power, which turns into the white mist from before. "Can you do me a favor and refit my ghost suit?"

"What's wrong?"

"I need limiters to control my powers," he says while canceling out his frozen skill. "Is there a chance you can help me out?"

The mother and son stare at one another for a bit. He already knows that she's hesitant to supporting him fighting, but he has no other options. "Mom…"

"I suppose you still need my help…" A defeated sigh escapes her throat as she stands, patting his shoulder. "I'll get to work tonight."

"Hey honey, don't you mean we?" asks her super plump husband.

"No, I'll spearhead this myself. You help Jazz with her issue." That catches his attention. What's wrong with his sister?

"Why not?!"

She turns to give him the look she often delivers to her children. "Jack, who blueprinted the weapons?"

Knowing the far truth, he says, "You did."

"Who's the better fighter?"

He can't argue there. "You are."

"And who knows how to best utilize Ectoranium to make sure our son doesn't die?"

Wait, that's new. "You do?"

"Ectoranium?" asks the young half ghost.

"That's the new element we got from the asteroid that almost destroyed the Earth." For some reason, a flowchart appears beside her showing designs on the stone. "As you know, that meteor was made of a new element composed of solid ectoplasm, right?"

"Where did that chart come from-"

"And because of that the government has dubbed it Ectoranium and added it to the Periodic Table of Elements while handing it over to scientists who study ghosts to see how best it can be implemented in containing spectral entities."

"So that they can capture me huh?"

"I figured but didn't verbally assume," she replies. "Everyone hates ghosts now because of what Vlad did so there's no wonder, and if I didn't know you were him I'd be after that ghost you too." She then smiles. "But don't worry. I know just how to help you."

Danny relays a smile of his own. "Thanks, mom."

Jack stands on the sidelines, almost upset. "Should I even be here?"

Tomorrow…

Bright and early for school, Danny Fenton rushes forth heading for class. Meanwhile, his mother remains in the basement of Fenton Works working on the inner mechanism of her new project. She sits with her goggles over her eyes welding Ectoranium to white gloves. "This should work. Jack, the goggles!"

"Right!"

Back with Danny, he finally enters Casper High, a white mist of death following after him with each footstep. In the hallways, he spots his friends Sam and Tucker standing before a water fountain, as if anticipating his arrival.

This can't be good.

"Sam, Tucker…" he begins, turning to his gothic friend first. "I wanted to say-"

"Save it," Sam says, waving him off quickly. "You've made yourself very clear yesterday… I'm just a friend to you."

"I haven't decided yet!" he shouts back, causing everyone's attention to fly to them. "I-"

"Like I said, save it!" She gives him the goth look. "I mean I get it; I'm not the first choice. But, I won't be your second anymore. You like her, you can go to her! Just get away from me!" With a temper as hard and cruel as vengeance, she storms off heading for class.

Afterward, the crowd disperses, words and conversations like 'nerds breaking up' and 'freaks should get along with freaks' being their main component. Among the watchful bystanders is Paulina, standing by her locker with a shaky composure.

The distraught half ghost boasts his eyes towards the friend of his still remaining, and asks, "Are you mad at me too?"

"No, just shocked," is the response his chappy lips friend gives back. He then adds, saying, "I know it's none of my business what you do with your love life, but you've known Sam for years. And I know for sure you had a thing for her somewhere down the line."

"Tucker, if you really wanted us together why didn't you say anything? You knew I was clueless and you just kept it to yourself."

"It wasn't for me to say, and it's not my fault you couldn't figure it out. I mean, you gave her that wus ring remember?"

"Wus? Oh, right." His mind remembers the ring his father bequeathed to him for his girlfriend, who was going to be Valerie at the time. "Tucker, it's done. I don't know if I want to be with any of them, but if I make a rash decision everyone's gonna regret it. No one will be happy with a half-ass decision, and Desiree is willing to wait."

This acutely astounds his techno-geek friend. "You really thought that through huh?"

He nods to that, before frowning making his way to class. "Let's go."

At the Guys in White's 'secret' headquarters, the agents decked out in their bright suits continue to study the ghost they have in captive, the fused Skulker and Technus being. The mechanical compilation remains in a stasis pod, eyes scanning the area.

"So, this is the headquarter's of those annoying tighty whitey men," says the Technus head to his Skulker companion.

"You think it's time to take action?"

"Follow the plan," he says as a reminder, before turning his eyes to the landscape around them. All the scientists are at work studying and overlooking details, as agents pass by with anti-ghost weapons.

"With all these tools I can finally get rid of that whelp, and I mean permanently." The two secretly laugh as Skulker's left eye blinks.

Deep within the recesses of her false bound kingdom, the ghost princess Reina Dark sits atop her throne null of an audience, eyes closed as she sleeps. Her flagrating hair begins blowing in a sudden wind.

She scowls baring her fangs when the arrival of the Fright Knight awakens her. Her majesty questions, "What do you want?"

"Technus and Skulker have made their actions."

Eyebrows lowering, she sits upright to ask, "You expect me to believe that those two have captured the boy?"

"No."

"They've located that scumbag Plasmius?"

"Incorrect."

"Then you waste my time!" She draws the Melibur, her overwhelming killer intent on freezing his blood.

"W-What I mean is, they've infiltrated the HQ of those men in silver and are waiting for you to take action."

This bit of news seems to calm Princess Dark, who releases her killer intent while sheathing her golden sword. She may not have to lay heads on a platter after all. "We go now. Gather the others, because it's time for the Six Circles of Hell to serve their ruler."

"Oh, that reminds me… he finally made his decision. And came to visit you personally." Stepping aside, the Halloween knight allows her majesty to be visited by the prison warden and several of his men.

"Walker…" speaks the princess staring him down, brushing aside her crimson hair to view him. "Have you come to an understanding?"

He gives a white cold frown. "As much as I would like to join you in your hunt for the ghost boy, I still have a prison to run. And I cannot in good conscious release those two from custody. The Observants would have my hide."

"Then consider it a pardon," she says in retaliation. "As decreed by your royal highness."

"You're still technically not our-" A scarlet light builds before them in the shape of a ghost ray. "Nevermind." Walker then whispers to the Fright Knight, "How do you deal with her?"

"I know, right?"

"What was that?!"

Later…

With Danny, he can be seen in class getting his stuff ready to leave Lancer's classroom. As he does he spots his friends leaving, but doesn't bother seeing the look she's giving him.

Sighing, he goes out the door and passes by the water fountain near the locker rooms. There he spots Paulina sitting by her locker, hands covering her face. Though when he notices the sound coming off her and the trashed collection of his ghost self's merchandise, he can tell what that is.

Another much heavier sigh escapes his throat seeing her, before walking away knowing he won't be able to help – along the way he passes by someone else, who throws his hands up happily upon realizing she's no longer in Danny Phantom's court.

On his way home he makes a march for Fenton Works. Along the way, he stops when his breath becomes visible and chilly. "Uh oh." He looks around for the source of his cold, and spots overhead a march of ghosts flying off.

From a glance, he can pick out the Skulker and Technus body double – sort of since it looks vastly different than from on television – the Fright Knight, Aragon as the black dragon, and the princess Reina Dark at the forefront. Danny remains in hiding as he watches them part, before finding a secret place to go from the gathering crowd that came to watch them.

Turning invisible, he changes into Danny Phantom and flies away in the direction they fled from. From high above and his legs in a tail he scans the landscape, noticing some smoke coming far off in the distance outside of the acres of Amity Park.

Down by a secret facility, or not so secret anymore, surrounding by greenery instead of buildings like in Amity Park, this place is clearly decimated. People lying on the ground half dead, debris and scrap metal plastered about, and flames charring the sides of the facility.

Danny enters in and gets a good look around. "Hey. So this is where the Guys in White hideout…" He checks around, eyes taking in the burns, scars, slash marks, and unconscious bodies left behind.

The ghost hero checks out the nearest person, who ends up being alive to his relief. "Phew…"

As he continues to check more people, he notices the black guy he always runs into finally waking up. The phantom flies before him and grabs his no longer clear white collar, asking, "What happened? What did they do?!"

"Ghosts… broke out…destroyed equipment…" is all he makes out, before dropping his head down falling unconscious.

"Man, talk about a…no, this is too serious to joke about," he says before turning his eyes down the halls. "I better get out of here."

Becoming as see through as saran wrap he flees the facility. 'Gotta get the thermos out of my locker! Why do I keep leaving it there? It's like I WANT to get beat up.'

Before he could return to town, he stops before a bullet could hit him. "What the…" Danny glances down at whatever tried to hit him and spots Vector down below. "Oh no, it's him."

"Come down here Phantom." The scarlet pistol cocks as he takes aim at the ghost boy with the scope directed at his skull. He's clearly not in the mood for a friendly conversation.

"Look, I can't stay."

"Then you can tell me why you came out of our headquarters, and what happened to it."

His gray-gloved hands stretch out to her. "Look, it wasn't my fault if you're assuming that."

"Of course not; I know you better than that."

"You do?" This actually surprises him. How exactly would he know him? Just who is this guy behind the mask, someone he knows?

"What do you know?"

"A group of ghosts just left here, and I don't know where they're gonna hit next!"

Vector steadies his aim carefully for his skull. "Then you better hurry up."

"Wait, you believe me?" he asks suddenly.

"You wanna stand here and waste time?" He sheathes his pistol and flies into his base.

Without any other reason to, the now single tailed teenage half-ghost flies off to the city of Amity Park without a moment to lose. He'll find out just who that red sheriff is, one of these days.


Kei: I am so glad that's over. Now we can get to the true battle; next time, Danny and Vector have to work together, against spoilers. Try to guess where Reina attacks next.

Yusei: Serena wants you to stop playing that game.

Kei: Shut up. I will not change who I am just to make other people feel more comfortable. It's just a game.