DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN DANNY PHANTOM
Plots and Plans
Human World somewhere in Oklahoma
The train sped along it track. Its open car trains like these that Hobos have often told tales of adventure and freedom. For Dani as she watched the landscape speed passed her she could only think of one thing, how bored she was. She thought it would be fun being on the run with her two best friends, but so far all they've done is stowaway on rides and practice their powers. Heck they haven't even had a decent fight since both the police and ghosts just run in fear of them. Danny was at the rear of the car washing his sword with the magic water. Even though he was down wind Dani could still smell the stench of blood byproducts. Vale was at the far end of the train, going through the pictures she took of the magic schools. Dani glanced at them for a few minutes, but the dead language, fancy jewelry, and graffiti didn't interest her in the least. They've been on the run for a few days now and their funds were getting low. Danny and Vale withdrew their entire savings before the government could freeze their accounts. They were nervous about carrying so much cash in their pockets, but at least they didn't have to resort to stealing, yet. "Hey guys, I know we're on the run here but seriously what are we going to do. I mean we're not being very productive living like hobos."
"Your right cuz," Danny spoke as he shrunk his sword into its amulet form. "Okay I need suggestions here."
"What about that fur-ball, should we find a way to contact her?" Vale suggested.
"No, I really don't trust her or any of the Advisors." Danny answered.
"What about Aunt and Uncle, shouldn't we let them know we're alright?" Dani asked.
Danny shook his head, "No, we're fugitives now. Most likely the GiW is staking out our homes waiting for us to make contact."
"Fine there is nowhere in this world we can go so why don't we just hide in the ghost zone!" Vale crossed her arms and pouted in anger.
'Hide in the ghost zone' Danny was about to reject that idea as well when a flash of inspiration hit him. "That's a great idea!" he shouted. "Come on guys we need to get Colorado!" Lucky the train they were on was heading in that direction. So after a few more train hops and riding on top of buses the trio made their way through the Rockies. Dani gasped as the stopped at ruined building deep in the woods.
"What's wrong Dani?" Vale asked the shivering little girl.
"This is the lab where I was created," Dani finally admitted.
"And if we're lucky there is a portal here we can use," Danny said. After rummaging through the wreckage the group finally found the portal. After a little tinkering they got the portal working. "Well girls, if there's anything you want to do before we go. I mean you know we might not be coming back for a while."
Dani and Vale looked at each other. Dani really didn't have anything in this world and Vale isn't stupid enough to risk saying goodbye to her dad. They silently displayed their determination. Danny nodded to them and they all transformed into their ghost forms and entered the portal.
Ghost Zone Princess Dora's Rebel Camp
Dora and her generals looked at the cloaked figure that entered her camp. He showed up about a week ago promising to support her effort to reclaim her throne, but she didn't trust him so she kept putting off meeting him. Unfortunately she learned that her brother was being supplied by the new halfa Inviso-Bill, who is the apparent heir to Vlad Plasmius. Everyone in the ghost zone has heard about Vlad Plasmius, the power mad halfa who for twenty years build up a large power base in both the human world and ghost zone, even she was wary of him. Dora has already seen firsthand at the overwhelming troops and weapons her brother has under his command. Even though she has a bad feeling about this stranger, she's going to need help if she wants to win back her kingdom.
"Your majesty, thank you for allowing me an audience," the stranger bowed.
"Yes you said that your masters could help me against my brother? And what do they want in exchange for their help?" Dora asked.
"Yes, they will assist you and in exchange all we ask is for your support when we're ready to strike against the GiW." the figure answered.
Dora's eyes widen when she heard his conditions. "You wish to attack Humans! That's madness it could start another human/ghost war!"
"All the more reason to form an alliance," the figure argued. "This hasn't been confirmed yet but our spies in the GiW report that they are planning another invasion. All the clues point to the Dragon Kingdom." He handed Dora some documents.
Dora didn't understand most of what was written, but the map did show an attack plan in the area of her kingdom. Dora slumped into her chair. All she wanted was to reclaim her home, not fight a war. Dora wasn't around during the first war but she heard enough stories that gave her nightmares for months, and she didn't want those events to happen again. "Yes, you'll have the support of the Dragon Kingdom after we reclaim my throne!" As she finished her generals cheered her decision.
"Excellent," the figure raised his right arm and thousands of skeleton warriors appeared. "These are merely the first, we will send more during the attack," The figure promised as he disappeared into a black portal.
-Location Poindexter High School-
"You're saying that Princess Dora needs help against her bully brother?" Poindexter asked. Ever since he was seen beating Danny Phantom he's been hailed as a hero, even to the point that they renamed the school after him. After Danny saved both worlds, Poindexter's legend grew even more as the only ghost who defeated the famous hero.
"Yes, her brother staged a coup and threw her out of the Dragon Kingdom," the cloaked figure said.
"It doesn't matter; if she's being bullied then I won't stand for it. Who's with me?" Poindexter cried out.
"Hey everyone! Poindexter is going to add rescuing a princess to his résumé! Go Poindexter!" one of his fan club members chanted. Soon all were chanting and vowing to follow him.
"If you're all going then you will need these," the figure pointed to crates of weapons.
-Walker's Prison-
"Okay Technus you're free to go," Walker said as he opened the front gate.
"Sir, are you sure about this?" Bullet asked.
"I don't like it either but it is in the rules," Walker said as he watched Technus meet with his benefactor.
Technus floated to a cloaked figure, "Well I guess I owe you my freedom, but I get the feeling that I wasn't a charity case."
'You would be correct. Come and take a look at this." The figure handed him several schematics. "These are the designs for the GiW battleship. According to my sources they will have three of them within the end of the month."
"So what do you want me to do? Even if I had the materials it would take me over a month to make one," Technus said.
"No, no, no we don't want you to build one, we just want a counter weapon to destroy them," the figure stated.
"Oh then that's easy. I'll be done by the end of the week." Technus boasted.
-Location Unknown Advisors Council-
"WHAT, IS THIS TRUE!" Vizier screamed.
"Yes sire I'm afraid the exiled knights has led the clone to the magic schools," Scribe nodded.
"What about Maddie? Why didn't she destroy them when she had the chance?"
"She did destroy them but the humans had a hidden school that she didn't know about," Scribe defended his companion. Several Advisors began voicing their complaints, protests, and arguments.
Vizier called the council to order, "Enough this bickering is pointless. Where is she now?"
"She's still searching for the mother and Phantom, the GiW claim to have found the crown of fire in the possession of the Fentons. So they went into hiding after being declared him enemy. The female clone disappeared as well, witness say that she was planning to join him." Scribe reported.
"Alright enough, we must trust that Phantom will keep the mother safe for the time being. Now, what about our other plans?" Vizier turned to the others.
Everything is proceeding on schedule. If all goes well, the Dragon Kingdom will be in our grasp and the clone and the humans will suffer a humiliating defeat."
Human World Mystic Island
Tucker was enjoying himself going over the data he just collected. Thanks to the program he developed and the equipment he jury-rigged, he had just about finished recording and categorizing everything inside the echoing caves. He looked over to his partner and said, "Well this has been very enlightening, but I have to get back to my day job. So I'll be taking my copies home now."
"Mr. Mayor whatever makes you think I was planning to keep my end of the bargain?" Bill snapped his fingers and two clone soldiers appeared next to Tucker.
"Nothing except…," Tucker waited for the bomb to drop.
One of Bill's employees ran up to them. "Sir, the data it's gone!"
Tucker laughed, "All the data are protected by a computer virus of my design. Any attempt to access it without the decryption key will result in total deletion. So now you're going to have to record the echoes all over again. We can negotiate a price for the key later."
"What makes you think I won't just remove your equipment and record the echoes myself?" Bill asked knowing that Tucker has something up his sleeve.
"Other than you won't have my filter and sorting program, which will take days to for your goons to make. The recording equipment has another failsafe that I designed. While it was recording the echoes, it was also creating a counter-wave. If anyone tampers with the equipment it will automatically play this counter-wave…"
"Erasing all the sounds in the caverns, clever Mr. Mayor," Bill finished. "You know if you don't get re-elected I might just have a chair for you in my board of directors."
"And I might just take up your offer. There's my ride." A helicopter landed in an open field and Tucker entered.
As the helicopter took off the man turned into Bertrand, "Sir should we…"
"No he's earned his little victory, and besides I would much rather have someone like him on my side than against me." Bill headed back to the cavern to pondering a way to get Tucker on his payroll.
-Some Distance Away-
Mordred looked over the message he 'borrowed' from Bill's trash. "Lancelot must know of this," he said to himself as he drew a circle on the ground. Looking around to make sure there was no one around he stepped into the circle. The world around him vanished and he found himself in a black void seated in the round table, or rather a broken round table. After a few seconds his comrades appeared around the table as well.
"Mordred, why did you call this meeting? Has something happened to our lord?" one of the knights asked.
"In a way, I encountered Danny Phantom," Mordred responded. The knights muttered over this revelation.
"So is he as powerful as they say?"
"His swordsman skills are childish but the potential is there; and his magic level is that of a squire. With proper training he could be a knight within a month," Mordred reported.
"What about that battle footage Masters showed us? Can he really conjure the white flame?"
"Yes he can," Mordred confirmed, "It's still raw and wild but he nearly killed me with it. No doubt my father gave him the sword."
Lancelot sat quietly as he thought about what Mordred had just said, "Will he hinder our plans?"
"There is a good chance of that. He already attempted to destroy the Magic schools and he already knew about me and us." Mordred said. "But something else has come up," Mordred pulled out the paper and handed it to Lancelot.
Lancelot eyes widened as he read the report. He slammed his hand on the table. "He dares betray me like this!"
The other knights figured that whatever was written must have something to do with the queen. "Sire, should we abandon the Dragon Kingdom?"
Lancelot regained his composure, "No you all will stay with the plan for now. We need to establish a power base of our own. I will deal with Masters myself when the time is right." Mordred nodded; the image of the table and knights vanished and he found himself back on Mystic Island. He searched around making sure he was still alone then headed back to the school, however he failed to notice that his shadow was smiling at him.
-Amity Park-
Sam spent the few days dealing with the ghosts are now coming out after Danny's disappearance. Since she was still new, and couldn't come up with a better name, she kept all her ghost hunting a secret. So far she wrapped up Desiree, rooted down Ember, and stopped Cujo from watering the plants. Of course her heroics wasn't just limited to fighting ghosts, she also took it upon herself to fight other evils in the city. Sam walked towards a certain car dealer lot. A year ago she asked Danny to trash the trucks there, but since he was a hero he didn't. Sam on the other hand had no reserves about doing the deed herself. Summoning some trees she flipped the trucks and made the lot unusable for some time. Her next target was Paulina. Same spotted her and a group of her shallow friends at cheerleading practice. Sam smiled sadistically as she grew a patch of poison ivy on the ground they were practicing in. The girls continued their routine unaware of new leaves they were rolling and landing in. Satisfied she didn't even bother to watch the girls break out as she summoned roots to pull her underground.
Sam burst out of the ground outside of city limits. "That was fun; I can see why Danny used his powers Dash." Sam often accused Danny of being immature using his powers to prank Dash, but for some reason when she uses hers on Paulina its poetic justice. Sam laughed as she lay on the grass, then she grew a small tree that produced a single apple. Sam overlooked the natural beauty in front of her as she ate her apple. Then glared that the sight of the city behind her. "With these powers I could really do some good," Sam swore. "First I'll have to deal with those escaped prisoners, that'll show Danny I'm not just a sidekick anymore. Then I'm going to kick that rich boy's butt. No one but no one use SAM MOSSON!" Sam froze again, "Dammed I've got to stop calling myself that."
-Guys in White New Headquarters-
"Okay men, the new battleships, Whirlpool and Crystal Salt, will be completed by the end of the month. We've been given the green light to commence with the next phase of the plan." The Chief turned on the slide projector. "The plan is to coordinate our ships for simultaneous attacks on Pariah's Keep, Skulker's island, and Dragon Kingdom." The Chief went on for about an hour about strategies and new equipment they'll be bringing. "Any questions," the Chief asked. No one responded. "The operation will begin in two weeks, dismissed. Agent Fenton, may I speak with you."
Jazz waited until everyone else left, "You needed to see me Chief?"
"Yes, we have some new recruits and well I'm not sure of their loyalties." The Chiefs expression told her that he didn't trust her either. "So I need you to take them on a special assignment. This is you target." He handed her a folder.
Jazz opened that file and wasn't too surprised to see who her target was. "I'll get right on this Sir. When do I meet these new recruits?"
"They will be waiting in the Admin office. Please don't dilly dally, you have a two week time limit if you want to participate in the invasion."
Jazz picked up her things and headed towards the Admin office. "Excuse me but I'm looking for…," Jazz froze as she saw Maddie and Jack in the lounge wearing white suits. "Mom, Dad what are you doing here?"
"After the YOU raided our house, Jack asked for an application and signed both of us up," Maddie glared at her husband.
"Isn't this great! The Fentons are a family of ghost hunters. I always dreamed of us being part of an elite team," Jack grabbed the ladies into a big group hug.
"You might not think so when you see this," Jazz handed them the folder. Their jaws dropped from seeing that their first target is their son.
Ghost Zone Clockwork's Tower
"No, No, NO! I told you I cannot interfere," Clockwork protested.
"Danny, who is this guy?" Dani asked.
"Clockwork the ghost of time," Danny answered. "I'm not asking you to do anything against the Advisors. I'm asking if you can help me with my sword. I mean I'll need to master my magic to deal with the fallen knights, and there is no one left who can teach me human magic, so I'm asking if you could send me back to find a teacher."
Clockwork shifted between his old and infant forms. True the treaty prevented him from acting against the Advisors' plans, but the exiled knights were not part of their plan. This might be the loophole he needed. However he couldn't just help Danny with human magic that is treason in the ghost zone. There was one option, it's a dangerous gamble but then Danny has proven himself against the odds. Clockwork opened a door at the far end of the room. "This gate is called 'The Three Trials' it will take you to three points in time. You will remain in each era until you complete one of the three trials then a gate will open to send you to the next time period."
"What are these trials?" Danny asked.
"It's called the Quest for Mind, Body, and Soul. I can't tell you any more than that," Clockwork said.
"Great let's do this," Danny feeling pumped and charged towards the gate, only to be tripped by Clockwork.
"Still trying to do things the hard way, I haven't told you the conditions yet. In order to start this quest you must first leave your sword and your ghost powers behind. There are guides to help you, but you will have to find them yourself. Also you only have one year to complete this quest, if you fail you will be trapped in whatever era you are in. Even I will be unable to recall you. So knowing this do you still want to attempt it?"
Danny gulped after hearing the conditions, "I have to leave my powers behind; and I will be gone for a year?"
"You have a year, but only three days will pass for the rest of us." Clockwork reassured him.
"If I fail I will be trapped in that time period?"
"Yes, you won't even be able to use natural portals like the Bermuda triangle."
"Then I better not fail then," Danny enlarged his sword and plunged it into the floor. "I'll be back for this!" He then ran into the gate.
"Danny, wait!" Vale cried as she chased after him only to be blocked by Clockwork. "Get out of my way!"
"While he's gone the sword in vulnerable. I'm forbidden to stop anyone from taking or destroying it." Clockwork warned.
Vale looked over to the sword and knew she should remain behind to protect it but every fiber of in her body told her she should follow him. Listening to her instincts she darted for the gate.
Dani was having the same mental crisis, but she did leave Juvi to be with them so…Dani rushed into the gate as well.
Clockwork smiled as he watched the halfa trio entered the gate.
"You know this may constitute a violation of the treaty." A familiar voice came from behind.
Clockwork turned to see Maddie-cat on the floor. "I did nothing to violate the treaty."
"Oh, sending the mother of our future king through the Three Trials, and trapping her in time? Is that not a violation?" the cat accused.
"Danny Phantom is my charge. I merely sent him on a quest to help him against the fallen knights. It's not my fault that your mother wanted to follow him. You know I don't infringe on one's right to choose, and besides there is always a chance they might pass the trials." Clockwork shot back.
"Well this may work to our advantage. I was looking for a way to get the two of them together without any rude interruptions. You don't mind it I wait for them do you?" The cat asked as she made herself comfortable on the floor.
"Just don't expect any hospitality and don't claw the furniture." Clockwork warned.
-Location Unknown Time Unknown-
Danny opened his eyes and glanced around, it looked like he was in a wheat field. "Okay where and when am I?" Danny asked himself.
"Judging by those temples over there I'd say Greece," Vale replied next to him.
"Thanks Vale…VALE! What are you doing here?" Danny demanded.
"You didn't think we'll let you have all the fun cuz?" Dani's head popped up from the wheat.
"Bu-but why? This is my quest, and if you're all here who's protecting my sword?" Danny realized.
"I think we have more immediate problems right now," Dani said pointing to several soldiers heading their way.
"Strangers, trespassing is a crime punishable by death!" one of the soldiers threatened.
To Be Continued
Next Time…Quest for Mind, Body, and Soul pt 1
Danny begins the quest to master his powers. But first he must survive against the greatest warriors the world has ever known.