Danny Phantom: Secrets and Trials

By: DJ Rodriguez

(Author's Notes: Hi everyone! How are you all doing? I hope all of you are doing well.

Before I go any further, I want to give praise and thanks to God. Lord, thank you again for helping me with this story. It's been a bit rough for me these past days, especially with the news of the hurricanes and other natural disasters that are striking all over. I pray for the ones in Puerto Rico, Mexico, and the United States that have suffered from these natural outbreaks, and I hope that the ones who did not make it are in Paradise with you and your Son Jesus. Please continue to be with me, my family, my friends and the rest of the world that need you badly, God.

I am sorry for the delay, but I have been somewhat distracted due to the chaos that seems to be going all around the nation. Plus… well… I haven't gotten much reviews as I hoped from both this, and my Total Drama/Hyrule Warriors story that I am also doing. A bit hurt not seeing some of the regular reviewers not leaving their words, but it's cool. I just hope they are all okay.

Ahem! Now, to thank those that were kind enough to review! Let me see…

To Nightwing5123: Thank you for the review, my friend. I believe it would be best if Danny showed that he could win a fight WITHOUT fighting. I have seen in real life on how conflicts end without throwing a punch. Also, heh… watched a lot of Jackie Chan Adventures episodes where the hero Jackie manages to win with minimal effort.

To TheBlade17: Thank you for the review, as well. Yes, sadly many students & others nowadays are taking the easy routes when it comes to education and more. But in this story, the teachers will NOT accept anything less than one-hundred percent of actual studying from their students! They have high expectations of them, realistic ones at least.

To Dreams Come True 996: Thank you for kind review, and also for answering my questions! Yes, Sam likes it when Danny is more passive. She wants him to just ride the waves out, the turbulent ones that most arrogant ones try to make. However, that is not to be as Danny is changing… and for the better in my view. He will not be baited into fighting like before, but that doesn't mean he's going to just roll over like in the past. It's natural for emotions to get the better of anyone, and I should know very much. The trick is to channel and let it flow in the right direction, instead of merely bottling it up or exploding without real purpose. God bless you as well, my friend!

And finally to bluemarvel0: Thank you for the review. Yes, Danny and his divas are maturing well. Sure they will have their ups and downs, their ebbs and flows from time to time, but they are learning. They have a ways to go, but I believe they are on the right path. As for Pariah Dark, I believe it was one of his loyal minions that set him free shortly after Danny sealed him away. Perhaps Fright Knight…? We may never know. Hehehe…

As you can see, only four reviews. I did wait awhile until more came, but they never did. So… just glad with what I received. So again everyone, thank you!

This chapter features Desiree and Dora going to see Darien & Jessica Destryuk after school, Danny and his friends plus divas get a little surprise, Kitty gets an audience with Pariah Dark… and also see Vlad as he recovers from his expedition at home & gets some guests that drop in on him. I really hope you all like this chapter!

I do not own Danny Phantom or the characters from said series, as they belong to Butch Hartman when the cartoon series aired on Nickelodeon. I do own my OC creations, but always want to show & give credit where it is due. I also do not own the Yu-Gi-Oh series; the manga versions appearing in 1996 & published by Shueisha. Written by Kazuki Takahashi and featured in Weekly Shōen Jump magazine. The anime series appeared in 1998, directed by Hiroyuki Kakudō and owned by company Toei Animation Studio.

Any songs I might use here in this story, I will give full credit and props to those that created it. The artist/artists will receive the full credit and right that is his/hers/theirs. Same with movies I show here as well.

Now, on with the story!)

Chapter 10

The day had passed fairly quickly for the students & teachers at Casper High School, and the whole school was still buzzing on how Danny & Paulina had stood up to Dash Baxter in the cafeteria earlier. Many of the students came to Paulina and asked on how it was now to be labeled as part of the Geek group due to hanging out with the three freshmen earlier… and the beautiful Latina just stated with a smirk that it just made her a Hot Geek now! It was a fresh spin for the social chain at the education establishment; while most would try to break the links in the chain, Paulina essentially used it to her advantage to make the lower-end seemingly better now with her in it! The freshmen and sophomores saw this as a ray of hope for them, especially those that were of the nerd-variety.

Many of the teachers were proud of Paulina and Danny, especially Dora and Desiree. However, some were still a bit suspicious on how Mr. Fenton, the one who used to take hits & verbal jabs from Dash, now grew a spine in just a short amount of time. And while many enjoyed the new look and maturity of both Danny and his ladies, Sam Manson did not. The lovely but skeptical gothic teenager had always treasured Danny's inner strength in just taking the hits, but never lashing out. But, in her own eyes, it seemed that Danny was losing that as he was getting more assertive, confident and aggressive with those who tried to bully him or others.

It was now 4:30 p.m., the last bell ringing and many of the teens & young adults were high-tailing it out of school. Well, most of them. Paulina and Star had cheerleading practice, so they had to stay after-school so they could go over drills with their fellow cheerleaders. However, at the moment, all of Danny's friends/allies were grouped together near the entrance/exit of the campus.

Desiree asked the young man, "Are you sure about this, Danny? I mean, there is still a chance that neither of them will take the case with little evidence…".

The halfa answered in a tone that only was meant for them, "It's better that you two go and take a shot. Two adults are a bit more convincing than a group of teenagers. At least you two have some credibility, in a way. Just ask them if they are willing to accept the case, and if they do take it, to give us at least two or three days to scrape together some physical evidence of any kind.".

Dora replied, "Your words make sense, and your plan sound Danny. I just hope and pray that everything goes our way.". When it came to the legal system and how it operated, both in the mortal and spirit world, it was often erratic at best

Mr. Fenton admitted, "Yeah, me too. But, it's the only thing we got at the moment, so we better make it count as best we can.". The ladies and Tucker were really impressed with Danny, because in the past he would automatically go for any action that was only thought out on the fly. But this time, he was taking the situation seriously and planning things out.

Paulina checked her watch and saw that it was now 4:35 p.m., and she said, "Well everyone, me and Star have got to get going. What are you all going to do for the night?". Danny answered he was going to start his Bible Study Time at home from 5:00 to 6:00, than after that do his homework and chill out after it was done.

Valerie stated that she was going to hang out with her father at home after she finished her homework. The African-American beauty was a bit sad that tonight she would not be able to hang out with Danny, but the smile on his face and nodding of his head showed he understood. The ladies had managed to get the dating rotation down concerning their man: Valerie would have him on Monday, Paulina on Tuesday, Star on Wednesday, Dora on Thursday, and Desiree on Friday. The weekends would be free time, meaning they could do whatever they wanted to. They also made a pact that stated that neither one would get in the way of the other's date with Danny. However, if they needed some dire help, they would not hesitate to answer the call.

Desiree and Dora answered that after their meeting with the Destryuk's, they would most likely go to their new apartment. The duo had managed to get an affordable apartment, actually close to the Fenton home! They had managed to pay for the next six months thanks to some gems that they were given to them by their teachers, which they sold to a jeweler for a hefty amount of cash. However, now they needed to make a steady cash inflow since they now had jobs at the school. The nurse & assistant Mythology teacher were going to go over some of the work that was now their responsibility.

Tucker answered, "I'm going home to see if I can see some past photos concerning Vigoro and the circus. Might be a long shot, but if there is a chance he or his flunkies might have posted some old photos of the place that is uncensored, gotta take it.". Danny smiled, glad that his friend was now getting into the plan to help Triple Trouble & deliver Mr. Strongarm to justice.

Sam replied, "Well, I have nothing else to do so… how about we just hang out together Danny? Just the two of us at your house?". Danny replied that it was no problem, in his view it was hanging out with a good friend. No more, no less. However… for Samantha, she saw this as an opportunity to get closer to Danny and to try & pry him away from the others. The divas felt a slight but noticeable shudder going through their beings, as if something was telling them that letting Sam being alone with their intended was a not a good idea. However, they knew that the young lady was the best friend of Danny so they ignored the feeling for now.

Jazz was the most that looked worried, as she suddenly got the flashback from the visions that she had seen during the weekend. She looked very worried at Samantha, and her eyes showed it. She looked away, but Valerie had seen the look of concern in the elder Fenton sibling's eyes. Normally, she would have let it go like she just did with the strange feeling concerning Sam & Danny. But this time, the feeling was stronger and she had seen something else in Jasmine's eyes… and it was fear. Valerie's conscience told her that something was up with her friend, and she resolved to talk to Jazz about it at a later time.

Paulina shook her head slightly to clear it up and said, "Well, I guess that's that. After practice, Star is going to be at my house for a bit so she could help me a little in making my Yugioh deck for the upcoming tournament this Saturday.". The lovely and luscious beauty had managed to get a lot of good tips concerning the game from her new acquaintances earlier. And she wanted Star's advice on what kind of deck to make with the cards she had, and also the ones she wanted to use. She especially wanted to use the card that Danny got for her earlier before the Technus fiasco.

Danny said, "Okay than. You two have a good practice, and let me know if you need any kind of help with the game.". The blonde and raven-haired beauties smiled warmly & gave their intended a big smooch on each cheek, giving him lipstick kiss marks on them! The left sported a perfect-pink kiss mark, the right a sensual-purple mark. The lucky young man blushed brightly as he grinned in a goofy way, the girls giggling minus Samantha… who was glaring at the duo, and if looks could kill, they would be mere ash on the sidewalk!

Tucker gave his friend a friendly noogie and stated, "Dude, you have got to teach me your secret in getting love like that from the ladies!".

Fenton chuckled as he took the noogie for a bit before wiggling out, and replied, "It's not that big of a secret, Tuck. Just treat them with love, respect, dignity, honor, passion and compassion. Also having a good sense of humor works too.". The girls really liked Danny's answer, especially other females who were around the group. The young men around who heard him took down notes, so they could try their luck with the lady of the dreams.

The cheerleading duo giggled before going off to the football field, waving goodbye to everyone before disappearing. Desiree looked to the remaining group and said, "We should get going as well. All of you take care, and we'll see you later.". The former genie spirit and Dora gave the halfa hero teen a hug, sandwiching him between their bodies and making Danny blush even further. Even if he has matured in some ways, just getting affection from any of his bonded made his body blush & his heart speeding up but in a good way. Some of the students who saw as they walked past them merely saw this as a friendly gesture, but some of the males were wondering how was it that Fenton was having luck with the beautiful & fair opposite sex.

The duo adult women smirked as they released the hug, glad to have the effect on the lad. Both waved goodbye to the group as they left to go see the Destryuk family, walking down the sidewalk and turning into a corner where they disappeared. Once they were out of sight, the two divas ducked into an alleyway that was fortunately empty. Looking around to make doubly sure they were not seen, Desiree used her earth abilities to pull both herself and Dora down into the ground! The two disappeared deep into the earth, where the buxom beauty was using her gift to move them quickly to Downtown via underground.

Desiree had discovered that her earth power could be used as a means of transportation, similar to how certain animal burrowers like gophers, prairie dogs, meerkats, etc. do when they made tunnels into the ground. By using that ability, she could move through the earth with incredible ease and swiftness! One might say she could be the human version of a Graboid, the formidable monster worms from the 1990 film Tremors featuring Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Michael Gross, Reba McEntire and more!

Danny looked to his remaining companions and said, "Alright everyone, let's get going too! Val, mind if I walk you to your home?". The African-American beauty smiled and said that she would like that. While she could certainly take care of herself in any kind of situation, she wanted to spend even a little bit of quality time with Fenton. She took his arm and both walked away in the direction to where her house was at. Tucker waved goodbye to them, saying the same to Sam before he too walked home.

Samantha looked at the direction of Gray and Fenton, growling slightly as a look of annoyance and anger was on her face before stomping off. Jazz looked at the Manson teen, clearly seeing the jealousy burning bright all around. Normally, she would jump at the chance to use her psychological skills to aid Sam since she knew very well why she was acting like that. However, again she received another brief flashback of the vision she saw during the weekend. So she just watched the young lady go off, wincing again from the vision and sighing as she walked off back home.

Little did Tucker realize it, but he had some followers trailing him. It was two men, full-grown adults that were wearing black suits and ties. In fact, one would mistake them for the characters from the 1997 movie Men In Black featuring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. On their right-breast area of both men were badges of sort; blue field with a silver muscled arm on it with a capital V overlapping them in the background. That was the logo of Vigoro Strongarm, meaning that the duo were hired hands of said creep! The Caucasian man kept his eye on the teen and asked his partner, "Is he the one that hacked into the website?".

The African-American man replied, "Affirmative. Our own hackers managed to get a visual ID on him before he left the system, but that is all. We need to find out how this little punk managed to get through our firewall system… and why.".

His comrade said, "Yes. He could be a regular hacker who does what he did just for kicks… or he is looking for dirt on the boss. Either way, we need to see where he lives and find out more.". The two followed the techno-savvy teen, but kept a distance so that they could keep an appearance of bystanders instead of followers. If a concerned citizen saw them trailing after Tucker, he or she would alert the authorities & that would be quite the hindrance for the two henchmen.

Meanwhile, Danny was now enjoying his walk with Valerie as he escorted her home. The former ghost hunter was almost molded to her intended beau, just loving being near and walking with him. After some time, they were about halfway to her home when Valerie remembered something. She turned to Danny and said, "Say Danny, I… well, is anything wrong with Jazz?".

The Fenton teen was a bit surprised and puzzled by the question but answered, "Ummm… no, I don't think so. Why? Do you think there's something wrong with her?".

Valerie replied, "I honestly don't know. But… well, when you accepted Sam's request to hang out with you at your home, something flashed in her eyes. It looked… well, it almost looked like fear.".

Danny was a bit taken aback by what Val just said and asked, "Fear? Fear of what?". She answered that she had no idea, and had only seen the emotion just for a brief moment before it vanished. Valerie asked if he had seen her acting up in any way that was a bit out of character for her at all during the weekend. The halfa thought on it a bit, and did remember that his sister seemed a bit more withdrawn than usual, diving more into her studies or so she claimed.

After a few moments, Fenton looked to his intended and answered, "She does seem a bit more withdrawn, if just a little bit. I'm sure it's nothing to be worried about, since she does like to dive into her studies and such.". Valerie wasn't so sure, since something kept nibbling at her mind that perhaps something more was up with Jasmine. However, she put it aside for now since speaking up any more on it would cause Danny to worry.

Valerie said, "I see… well, maybe it was my imagination or something like that.". While she did state that and leaned more into the halfa, the Water Diva vowed to talk to Jazz about it when she had a good chance to.

~In the Ghost Zone~

While the mortals were going about their ways, there was action picking up at Pariah Dark's castle. Said Ghost King was on his throne, waiting for his loyal minion Fright Knight to complete his mission. About an hour ago, he had sent the armored spirit of fear & terror to go and bring to him Kitty Melicent. Of course, the black knight was puzzled by his request and was about to ask his liege on why he would want the biker ghost… but seeing the intense glare from his master stated that no questions should be asked on the matter. Just that it needed to be done. So with a tremble and sudden burst of speed, the spectral knight had left to complete his mission.

Pariah Dark seemed to be in deep concentration when the doors burst open… and coming in was Fright Knight, carrying a bound Kitty who looked really ticked off at the moment. The black-armored warrior kneeled near the raised dais of the throne and stated, "My King! I have brought you Kitty as you requested! Forgive me for the long wait, sire. She put up quite a bit of resistance…". Indeed she did, as Miss Melicent had used every evasive trick in the book to keep away from him. While impressive, the Fright Knight had managed to outmaneuver & capture her.

The bound beauty struggled for a bit, than looked up to see Pariah Dark staring intently at her. She froze, feeling the immense presence and strength that rolled off the ruler of Purgatory. His attention turned to his minion and he commanded, "Very good Fright Knight. Now leave us. I have some… urgency to discuss with Miss Melicent here.". The warrior kneeled before vanishing in a flash of black fire, leaving Kitty still bound up and looking up in fear at Pariah.

Said Ghost King lifted up his hand and made a sweeping motion, the ropes that bound the biker beauty vanishing. Kitty got up slowly, knowing that any kind of rash action or words would carry some serious consequences. Pariah spoke, "Do not be afraid, young one. I am not here to harm you. Rather… I have an opportunity for you.". Now THAT she was not expecting, as her fear vanished to be replaced by confusion. She rose up slowly, rubbing her wrist to get some feeling back into them as she kept her gaze on the powerful being.

She inquired, "An opportunity? W-What do you mean, your Highness?". Since she was still a spirit, Kitten knew that she had to pay respect to those high above her. And the being before her certain was high above her in terms of station and power.

Pariah slowly rose up, walking off his throne and towards her. She took some steps back as he descended down. The Ghost King, for a moment, loved the fear that he was putting into the young woman before him. However, he realized that he still needed her, so he turned off the smirk and adopted a serious face once more. He answered, "I have heard on how you returned back to the Ghost Zone with the annoying Box Ghost in tow… and also that you have a slight golden aura around you. I can see that as well.". Indeed, the formidable specter could see the faint but undeniable golden light surrounding Kitty.

He continued, "I also heard that you are now friends with the… half-ghost child Danny Phantom, and his Elemental Divas. Am I correct?".

Kitty nodded slowly and answered, "I am. I asked for their friendship, and they all accepted.". The beautiful former flame of Johnny 13 came to the conclusion that honesty at this point was the only way, least she be caught in a lie and be… punished for telling it.

The Ghost King said, "I see. And also… that is good. For it is for that reason alone that I am giving you this opportunity.". He turned his gaze away from her, walking to a window and looking in the direction of the land in the distance. It was the same one that, some time ago, the terrible demon beast Vertigo had come & attacked the land.

Pariah continued, "I am many things, Miss Kitty. BUT… a fool, I am not. I have sensed that dark times are coming, not just for the mortal realm but the Ghost Zone as well. I fear that soon, many demons and devils will start to come through the small holes that are slowly opening up everywhere. Vertigo was just the beginning of a much larger threat that is still there.".

He turned to her and pointed to his scarred eye stating, "I lost my left eye in taking on a high B-ranked demon! While I am strong in my own right to take on some high-ranked demons and low-ranked devils… I know even my power, even when combined with the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage, will not be enough to fully stem the flow of those accursed beings when they arrive.".

Now that surprised Kitty. While she knew that Pariah Dark was an extremely powerful ghost, and knew on how he lost his eye thanks in part to historic teachers in Purgatory, she was just floored to hear him admit that he would be no match against a whole army of those beings who ate spirits like her for breakfast/lunch/dinner.

Said ruler of the Zone continued, "While I am powerful, I know that I need allies to aid me. I need someone that is capable of truly going head-to-head with the vile filth from the Underworld. And what I desire at the moment… is an alliance with your companions, Danny Phantom and his Elemental Divas.".

Kitty was stunned silly, and it showed with her eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Pariah had a look of slight amusement on his face as he beheld her shocked look, but then schooled it back to his serious mask. It took her awhile to find her voice, and she asked, "What?! But… why?! I mean, your Highness… you and Danny have been enemies ever since you were released from your coffin! And surely there are other powerful ghosts here that are willing to…".

Pariah raised his hand, silencing her as she was mid-way in her speech. He stated, "Young lady, this is very hard for me to do. I am a prideful spirit, this you know. And normally, I would not even both with that child. But… he has changed. He and his ladies have been touched by the divine, and also being trained by their servants. While there are some powerful spirits that I would like to recruit, it hurts my warrior's spirit… but even I know they would not be much of a match against what is about to come back into the planes of existence.".

He continued, "That is why I need you. You will be an emissary for me. To be my representative so that when the time comes, myself and the young warriors can gather together so we can be ready to face the threat. As you can very well know, having Fright Knight to represent me would have been… an unsound choice.". Even Kitty could see the wisdom in that. If the knight had been chosen to be an emissary for the Ghost King in this particular endeavor, it would not have ended well at all between said specter and Phantom.

Pariah turned and went back to the throne, sitting in it and looking once again ominous to the biker babe. He stated, "I am counting on you to convince your friends to see me soon, so that an alliance can be formed between myself and the celestial warriors. My dear, I fear that soon… something will take place that will literally shake the foundations of both mortal and spirit world. That is all for now.". The moment he said that, the doors behind Kitty opened, indicating that she was now allowed to leave.

The young woman took a few steps back, keeping her eyes on Pariah for a few minutes, then turned and rushed out the door which closed with a loud bang the moment she left. The Ghost King looked at the doors for a moment, than snapped his fingers. Appearing from out of nowhere were two skeletal minions, who kneeled automatically to their leader. His gaze did not leave the door as he stated, "You two will be on a scouting/reconnaissance mission. You will keep an eye on Kitty Melicent at all times, and report to me on what she does via this Two-Way Scroll. OBSERVATION only! Is this understood?". He tossed to them a special scroll, on that was aptly named.

Said scroll was unique, as anything that was shown or written down on it would be sent back to Pariah Dark who had another scroll by his side. The green ecto-covered skeletons bowed and again vanished in a flash of smoke. The grim King of All Ghosts was deep in thought as he said to himself, "So the wheels of Fate turn now. The rest is all up to my new emissary… and the ones touched by the divine.".

While Pariah was contemplating, Kitty was rushing from the area at break-neck speed. Her mind raced with a lot of things, but one thing remained dominate throughout all of them. She thought, 'How am I going to explain this to Danny and the others?! I just won their trust, and now this happens?! What am I going to do…? What can I do?!'.

~Back in the mortal realm~

While these things happened in the Ghost Zone, things were happening back in the mortal plane. Vlad Masters was back in his manor, in a robe as he had finished drying from being in the shower. His body was almost completely healed from his battle with the Guardian Shrimp, still a bit tender in some places but that would soon pass. After unpacking his things and getting settled back down in his manor home, he had been relaxing and enjoying being back on home soil. He had put the Elemental Key of Water next to the Fire one on the fireplace mantel underneath a glass container, and was admiring it before he decided to go to his Study Room to look for the next elemental key.

Vlad said to himself, "Another key has been removed, thus more small pocket dimensions that connect this world to Hell are now forming. And holes that are already formed most likely have gotten bigger. So, I must think carefully on which next key to get.". He checked the charts and maps, crossing off Europe since it did, on a technicality, possess the Water Key.

He stated, "Two elements down, three more to go. Fire and Water are collected, all that remains is Earth, Wind and Thunder. So, where to…". He would have said more until a cold front of sort came into his studies, causing him to freeze in mid-sentence and action. He knew on what it was, so he stood at attention.

The room quickly became enveloped in complete darkness, such so that no amount of light could penetrate through. Vlad stood firm, though his face had one of fear on it. Even though he had seen many abominations and powerful foes, the ones coming in were on a whole level entirely. Quickly, white figures that were like phantoms appeared before him. It was the Four Riders of the Apocalypse; War, Famine, Pestilence and Death.

Famine spoke, "Hack… cough… You have… retrieved… cough… another Key… Very good…".

Vlad smirked and replied, "It was not easy as the last one, considering there was a huge & unusual guardian protecting that key.". However, the powerful A-rank devils were not interested at all on their pawn's endeavors.

Pestilence stated, "We care very little about the problem you encountered, mortal. How soon can you gain the other keys?". Vlad was a bit put out by the rider's comment, but held his tongue since it would be very unwise to mark a snide remark… especially to ones powerful as them.

He answered, "It will still take time to locate the next key. Look, you all have been waiting for… well, who knows how long to come here to the mortal plane. I'm sure you can wait a little bit longer, especially since the barriers are weakening. Not by much, but it's better than nothing right?".

War remarked, "You speak true on how long we have waited, mortal. But with release close at hand after so long a time, our armies are very itchy to go forth and taint this world with our touch!".

Death spoke neutrally, "We shall give you time, Masters. But be warned of this… our patience grows thin with each passing day, so do not delay for TOO long. Understood?". Vlad nodded his head rapidly, showing that he understood completely. With that, the apparitions vanished from sight, and the darkness fled the room to show that he was still in his Study Room. The halfa let out a breath, knowing he had dodged yet another fatal bullet from his associates.

He said to himself, "Oh boy… such an impatient bunch! Oh well… I'll take this time to choose my next target, and also see how Danny and his little pests are doing. Maybe do something to discredit the lad, hehehehe…". The billionaire looked to the map, wondering which continent to strike next.

He looked to the remaining areas on the map and said, "Australia… Africa… Asia… North America… and Antarctica… which one to choose next?". He took his time, studying each area and remembering the kinds of legends & lore that came from each continent. After about half an hour of internal debate, he made his decision.

He took a pin and nailed it on the continent of… Africa! He had an evil grin on his face as he stated, "Okay now, let's see what kind of info I can dig up concerning the land where it is truly the survival of the fittest. I can only hope that an Elemental Key is there. And in the meantime… better check what Daniel and his ladies have been up to since I left. I can imagine all of the really nasty things I can do to crush his reputation for good. Hehehehe… hahahahaha!".

The whole manor was filled with the laughter of the evil halfa, while a cold & calculating one went on down below in the depths of the Underworld.

~At Fenton Works~

While Jazz was walking back home alone, Maddie and Jack were once again hard at work in the basement laboratory. They were trying on some equipment that was designed to protect them against demon/devil attacks… in theory at least. Mrs. Fenton had made a latex suit that broadcasted different vibrational frequencies all over the body, which made the body vibrate just slightly as if one were sitting in a vibrating chair. Right now, her husband was wearing it, the design black with blue lines all over it. In fact, one would think it looked like the suit used by the characters in the 1982 movie Tron. Jack made a few punching moves like a boxer, showing he was ready for the first test of the suit.

He looked to his wife eagerly with a determined smile and stated, "Okay honey, let her rip!". Maddie nodded, and turned some dials on a machine that had caused a large laser cannon to be aimed right at Jack! The weapon had been modified, able to send a laser pulse that had been tuned to the devil's frequency. The adults had managed to find the unique vibration that the blood of Toxic Latch held, and was now using it for their experiments!

The mature beauty pushed some buttons, and the laser cannon's parabolic tip started to crackle and glow with red energy! She looked to her husband in concern, only receiving the thumbs-up sigh from him. She crossed her fingers, and pulled a lever… which caused the weapon to fire a thick bolt of red lighting at Jack! He stood his ground and took the hit to the chest… which resulted in an explosion that caused him to fly backwards into the wall!

Maddie gasped and turned off the machine, running to her husband and kneeling down to hold his head. She lightly slapped his face and exclaimed, "Jack! Jack! Dear, say something!".

The large man groaned as he came to, rising up and stating, "Ugh… I see that test failed. If we found the right frequency, the suit would have harmlessly deflected the blast. But at least we know this suit can take a hit.". Maddie sighed, glad that her intended was okay but also amazed that he was focused more on the failure than what actually occurred to him.

She helped him up and said, "It seems we haven't found the right wavelength. I need to adjust the suit's vibrational patterns. And maybe this time, we should test it on a dummy…".

Jack exclaimed, "Nonsense dear! I'll be the one to test the suit, to make sure that it works! I mean, you don't need a dummy when you got me to help you test these things!". Now one would really have to bite their tongue in order to not make a smart-aleck comment that followed with his declaration. However, Maddie just smiled and liked on how her husband was willing to put his body on the line for science like that.

While the adults tended to one another & the suit, nearby Toxic Latch was laughing his head off even though he was still a large vial of blood. He stated, "Heh! What fools these mortals be! Each time they use that strange device to fire, I absorb a little of its energy essence, and that in turn heals this blood. Soon… I will regain my strength and take shape once more! Not as powerful as I was originally, but better than just wallowing in my own blood.". He continued to look on as the Fenton's made adjustments to the suit, amused on how they thought technology would help them out.

Soon, the plans of his Master will come to fruition and the mortals & spirits would all be nothing but food or playthings for them all!

(Author's Notes: And… cut! That is it for this chapter! Sorry if it is a bit short, but best I could do for now.

Thank you Lord for helping me out with this chapter, and thank you once again for the wonderful readers and reviewers who look into this story. Jesus, continue to be with me and the many others out there who need you very much, now more than ever!

Danny is starting to enjoy his time with each of his divas, while Sam tries to do her part in putting a wedge between her crush and the ladies. Jazz is spotted by Valerie due to her fear & uncertainty from the visions thanks to Toxic Latch, and it seems that Kitty is in a sticky bind thanks to Pariah Dark. Vlad having a discussion with the Riders, and his next target going to be Africa! And ending with Maddie and Jack testing out some new equipment, not realizing that they are actually healing Toxic Latch's essence!

Now, here is a bit of a spoiler just for you all. North America is going to house the Elemental Key of Thunder! That is all I will say for now, so hoping you like this little tidbit at least.

Now here are the questions for all of you:

How would you present your case to Darien & Jessica Destryuk in regards to Vigoro Strongarm so they could take it?

If you saw someone following Tucker like the minions of Mr. Strongarm, what would you do?

How would you aid Valerie in getting Jazz to open up on what is bothering her?

What kind of advice would you give to Kitty after her little meeting with Pariah Dark?

And finally… what kind of Element Key should be in Africa? And what should the guardian be like?

R&R, no flames, enjoy and leave long reviews!)