Chapter 14:

"What are you doing here Plasmius?" Danny demanded as his friends also got into fighting stances. "Don't you have a cat to look after now?"

"It's quite simple little badger, I'm here because I've been hearing rumors that you are to be the new king of the Ghost Zone," Plasmius replied, completely confident despite all weapons pointed at him. "I didn't believe them of course, but now it seems there is some truth to those claims. I simply cannot allow it."

"You won't lay a hand on Danny," Sam growled, charging her wrist ray.

"The throne rightfully belongs to him," Percy added glaring. "And we won't let anyone stop him from taking it."

"This conversation is between Daniel and me," Vlad replied looking annoyed at the others. He created three duplicates which immediately started charging ectorays. The duplicates charged the group, forcing everyone away from Danny and scattering them. Danny was about to go help his friends but a shot in his shoulder drew his attention back to the original Plasmius.

"It's rude to turn your back when you're talking to someone," Plasmius scolded, lowering his glowing fist. "Now where were we?"

Danny growled and charged at him, his sword forming in his hands.

Nico had ended up alone with a duplicate when they all got separated. The duplicate taunted Nico tried to appear intimidating, but Nico just stared at him with a bored expression. Realizing that his taunts were useless, the duplicate fired at Nico. Nico easily dove to the side to dodge the side. Rolling onto his feet, Nico raced forward and slashed with his sword. The duplicate laughed and turned intangible, floating back slightly. The laugh quickly turned into a gasp of shock and pain as the dark blade managed to cut the duplicate on the side. Nico smirked as he saw the wound and a brief flash of fear went through the duplicate's eyes.

Now more wary of Nico, the duplicate tried to keep its distance and fired blast after blast at Nico. Nico was forced to be on the defensive, dodging and reflecting the blast with his sword before he melted into the shadows. The duplicate looked at the spot where Nico disappeared with surprise before he looked around for Nico, turning invisible as well. Unfortunately, it didn't do the duplicate any good because Nico could sense it's position. Coming up behind the duplicate, Nico struck out with his sword and managed to stab the duplicate in the chest. The duplicate flickered back into visibility before evaporating into pink smoke. Satisfied, Nico went to help the others.

Percy really hated ghosts. He never really cared for them before but with each blow, he dealt going right through his foe only increased his dislike. The fact that the ghost kept taunting him didn't help either. Dodging another blast, Percy ended up next to Annabeth.

"Any ideas wise girl?" Percy asked, keeping a close eye on the duplicate. "Because at this rate we'll be tired out before we even land a good hit."

"It takes a copious effort for him to become intangible," Annabeth replied quietly. "If we can surprise him we should be able to land a hit."

An ectoblast forced the two to separate. They dodged a few more blasts before meeting up behind a tree for cover.

"Sounds good, but how do we surprise him?" Percy questioned, flinching as a blast flew by his face when he tried to sneak a glance at the duplicate.

"We come at him from the front and you manipulate water to strike him from behind," Annabeth replied. "That should distract him long enough for us to make our move."

"But we aren't near any streams or even water fountains. What am I supposed to use."

"There's a rain pebble seaweed brain!"

"Oh... Okay, Let's finish this," Percy said with determination. Tipping his sword firmly, Percy dashed from behind the tree with Annabeth following close behind. Ducking under a blast, Percy attempted to charge forward before he was forced back by another blast. As Annabeth made an attempt, Percy reached out with his senses until he found the puddle. It wasn't a lot, but it would be enough. Sending his will and power into it, Percy sent the water straight to the duplicate's back. The duplicate shouted in surprise at being soaked and Annabeth immediately ran forward, landing a blow that destroyed the duplicate. After taking a second to catch their breath, Annabeth and Percy left to find the others.

Sam and Tucker had a lot of experience working together to fight ghosts, but Plasmius, even a simple duplicate, was still a very challenging opponent. They ran around on opposite sides of the duplicate, dodging blasts and firing their own weapons. While their stratagem was working fairly well and most of their shots hit their target, their weapons weren't powerful enough to do a whole lot of damage. As a result, Sam and Tucker were wearing out far faster than the duplicate. When the two ended up near each other, the duplicate fired a large blast at them. Tucker, not being as fit as Sam, ended up stuck to a tree held in place by pink ectoplasmic goo.

"Just give it up children," the duplicate sighed as if he was talking to stubborn toddlers, easily blocking Sam's blast. "Daniel is barely a threat to me and he is a Halfa. What could you ordinary teenagers ever hope to accomplish against me."

"How dare you call me that!" Sam shouted, rapidly firing several shots. A few hit but most were blocked by a shield. "I am not ordinary! I am a unique individual and I'm proud of it!"

"Yet you are still just a human and always will be," The duplicate mocked, firing a blast which Sam was able to dodge. As she rolled back onto her feet, she glimpsed Nico coming up from the shadows behind the duplicate. She locked eyes with for a split second before turning her attention back to the duplicate.

"Well, this ordinary human is going to kick your butt!" Sam sneered, firing again.

"Hardly," the duplicate rolled his eyes, sending a glop of ectoplasm which hit Sam's foot and cemented it to the ground. "Your weapons are useless, neither of you can move, and there's no one around to help you. You are completely at my mercy and there's nothing you can do."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Sam smirked, crossing her arms in satisfaction. "After all, I'm still able to be a pretty good distraction."

"What are-" the duplicate never got to finish as Nico took that moment to run his sword through the duplicates chest. The duplicate dissolved as well as the ectoplasm binding Sam and Tucker.

"Thanks for the save man," Tucker said as the two joined Nico.

"Do you think you could get me a blade like that?" Sam said, admiring the black metal. "A dagger would be perfect for me."

"I doubt it, but I'll look into it when I have free time," Nico shrugged, sheathing his sword. "Let's get back to the others."

The two nodded and the three began hurrying back.