I don't own Danny Phantom or any of the characters. They are doing a life sentence to their original owners without the chance of parole. The OC's are the property of the respective people who suggested them. Enjoy part 21 of Darkness without light?.
Ghost stadium
As soon as the ref said the magic word Nightmare grabbed his massive battle ax, and faster than anyone could blink swung the weapon aiming to take off Dr. Phobia's head. Seeing the attack coming but knowing he wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time Dr. Phobia went intangible at the last second to avoid the attack. Not giving his opponent the chance to counterattack Nightmare using the same speed as before charged and attempted to send Dr. Phobia into the air with his ax only for the man to once again go intangible at the last second before connecting a good swift kick in an area that was dark and tender.
All the guys not only in the stadium but in Amity Park crossed their legs due to the blow Dr. Phobia gave Nightmare while Nightmare himself was in agonizing pain from where his attacker hit him.
Outside the ring
"Ref there has got to be something in the rule book that states you can't huff a dude in the nards! It is literally hitting below the beat, and fighting dirty like that scum Plasmius!" The Lunch lady hissed surprising the Box ghost and everyone else.
"Sorry but all forms of fighting are allowed in the tournament including that kind of fighting dirty in that sense. As long as you aren't using any unnatural power ups, or using a 1 hit kill weakness that any ghost may have." The ref said as Dr. Phobia walked closer towards his downed opponent.
In the ring
Dr. Phobia once again pulled out his silver mirror, and within seconds, Nightmare saw a flash of bright light. Instantly the mirror Dr. Phobia held reflected the biggest fears of his mind. Upon seeing what they were the doctor couldn't help but flash a malicious smile.
"Getting kicked out of Pariah's royal army due to losing to the Fright Knight, resulting in your personal disgrace. Now to top it off you are not only getting your butt kicked by yours truly, but the woman that you love is in the arms of a box obsessed ghost." Dr. Phobia said to a still in pain Nightmare.
Recovering the blow Nightmare quickly grabbed his ax, and once again decided to cleave the Doctor's head off only for him to go right through him at the last minute.
"And how does that make you feel? Knowing that with all your strength and skill you are just as powerless against me as you were the Fright Knight?" Dr. Phobia taunted while relishing a smile.
"Shut up and fight like a man!" Nightmare roared as he once again took a slash at Dr. Phobia's head only to miss again.
Amity Park at this moment
"Wow this fight is truly one sided. Dr. Phobia might not be the strongest ghost out there, but his psychological skills and speed are deadly. Now I can where Spectra truly gets it from." Tucker explained causing all the teens who were affected by her torment to nod in agreement.
"Go on Nightmare kick that psycho doctor's butt! Show him that is muscle over mind!" Dash screamed into the sky causing a few of the nerds to look at him funny.
"It is mind over muscle not the other way around Dash!" Mikey explained only to get punched in the shoulder.
"I know that, however, in this case Nightmare is the muscle, and Dr. Phobia is the mind. I don't want the person who trained that redheaded bitch to go any further!" Dash explained as he and the masses continued to root for Nightmare.
"While I would like to see Nightmare win as well it looks like he has lost site of his opponent. I mean he is swinging his ax blindly and he isn't even hitting his opponent." Star added.
Ghost stadium outside the ring
"Wow talk about deja vu." Rose said while floating towards Danny's side. "From the looks of it Nightmare is trapped in an illusion just like I was with Apparition. Though when this is over cutie the dream of you and me being together won't be a mere illusion." Rose added in a seductive tone effective confusing Sierra.
"Daddy, why is auntie Rose making the googly eyes like mommy normally does at you?" Sierra asked innocently.
"It is because..."
"I like your daddy Sierra. I want him to be my boyfriend, and when this tournament is over your father will be free, but he will be dating me." Rose explained.
'Auntie Rose will be... taking mommy's place... No I want mommy to be my mommy, not auntie Rose.' Sierra thought to herself as the development of tears in her eyes slowly began to form.
Back in the ring inside Nightmare's mind
"SHUT UP!" Nightmare screamed as he swung his ax with a great deal of strength only for it to go through Dr. Phobia without leaving any damage.
Seeing the opening Dr. Phobia remained intangible until he was within point blank range and fire a strong Lavender colored beam at Nightmare's face. Nightmare at this point seeing the attack went intangible as well. However, instead of passing through him the blast scored a direct hit sending him flying out of the ring. Thinking quickly before he could land into a wall Nightmare quickly placed his ax at the edge of the ring and with one quick swing threw himself back into the ring.
Not wasting a second Nightmare quickly pointed the palm of his hand at Dr. Phobia's shadow and within seconds the specter's other half came to life causing the doctor to raise an eyebrow. With a quick snap of the fingers, Dr. Phobia's shadow quickly turned against his master. As the shadow began attacking his owner Nightmare couldn't help but feel more relieved. However, in less than 10 seconds Dr. Phobia's shadow not only stopped attacking it's owner but went in reverse and actually started attacking it's summoner.
Sadly for Nightmare, it didn't just stop there. At this point, every shadow in the stadium from Danny's to his own started swarming within Dr. Phobia's shadow and merged into one being just before turning into an inky version of the Fright Knight. Not in the least afraid Nightmare kept his game face on as he faced down the shadow version of his hated enemy.
"I don't care if you are a shadow of him or not, I refuse to lose to you once again!" Nightmare spat before summoning his battle ax and with one quick swing cleaved him in half.
Or at-least that is what would have happened had the shadow not broken into two before reforming.
"You are weak just like when I fought you last! I shouldn't have been so merciful when we last fought!" Shadow Fright Knight replied looking at his downed opponent only for an extremely loud wailing to be heard by both the shadow Fright Knight, and Nightmare.
What made matters worse was that as the wailing got louder several cracks formed within not only the Shadow Fright Knight, but the sky itself. Seeing his chance Nightmare instantly figured out what was going on and couldn't help but smile.
'I see this is nothing but an illusion based off of my own fears. I don't know when he got the chance to put me under... When he flashed his mirror at me. So he has been toying with me the whole time?! What a low blow! That is it time for you to feel the power I was holding out for later on.' Nightmare thought to himself he began unleashing his true power.
Outside of the illusion
Dr. Phobia wasn't in the least pleased. Not only did his mirror continue to crack due to the loud wailing, but on top of all this Nightmare's true power outside of the illusion began to show. Many of the spectators watched as a murky violet and yellow aura that spread 5 feet in each direction surrounded Nightmare's body while a massive shock wave of power went out in all directions.
Dr. Phobia could only make himself intangible at the last minute to prevent his mirror from completely shattering as well as keep from being pushed out the ring. While he wasn't helpless without his mirror seeing as he could fight on par with some of the normally strong ghosts his greatest powers came from within his mirror and mind games. Looking around Dr. Phobia eventually found the source of the wailing, and needless to say he was furious.
'The nerve of the prize's brat! Her wailing has spoiled my fun by cracking my mirror. When I win this tournament I am going to make sure his suffering will be horrific.' Dr Phobia thought to himself not amused. 'Sorry Nightmare I had hoped to torment you some more with your worst fears until I literally broke you, but I guess I will need to do this the old-fashioned way.' Dr. Phobia thought to himself as he charged his opponent with his full speed. Unfortunately for Dr. Phobia Nightmare at the last second grabbed his head, and with one quick moment that used about half of his true strength slammed him into the ground causing the entire ring to crumble due to the massive amount of force.
Out of the ring
"End game." Apparition said seeing the state Dr. Phobia was in.
"I have to agree with tall not so dark and chilly here. My old Teacher strengths were his mirror which is now cracked and his mind games. Plus speaking of cracks I believe that slam Nightmare gave him broke ever ectobone in his body." Spectra said with a smirking glee.
"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you, girlfriend. If you face him in the next round he will tear you apart." Ember explained causing Spectra to laugh.
"If my original plan had succeeded without a hitch sometime ago you would be right, but thanks to Danny here I have a way to counter his strength if you know what I mean." Spectra explained smiling as everyone else looked on at the battle.
Amity stadium
"This match isn't looking good for Doctor Phobia seeing as his mirror cracked enough for Nightmare to turn the match around." Sam explained.
"Nightmare! Nightmare! Nightmare!" The crowd chanted happily to see the teacher of Penelope Spectra getting battered and broken.
"Wait a minute? Wasn't Nightmare just recently stuck in a world of illusion?" Valerie asked in astonishment.
"More like a world of his worst fears which is similar to what the Fright Knight's effect with his soul shredder. However, Dr. Phobia could take it a step further by making the fears not only come to life but attack the victim physically and emotionally. The down side was that if anything happened to his mirror the illusion will break with it where as with the Fright Knight you were trapped unless someone defeated him." Tucker explained.
"When Sierra started crying while using her inherited ghostly wail to amplify her crying she unintentionally caused his mirror to crack. In doing so it gave Nightmare the edge he needed to..." Sam never got the chance to finish her sentence as everyone watched Nightmare toss the broken doctor into the air and with one mighty swing of Nightmare's ax sent him flying out of the ring and thrown several walls before stopping.
"That is right Nightmare! When you face that redheaded bitch Spectra destroy her the same way to did her teacher!" Dash spat grinning like a rotten hyena.
"But what if our hero faces her before him?" Mikey asked.
"Danny will destroy her as well! He faces her almost all the time and she has yet to beat him." Dash answered with confidence.
Back in the ghost zone
"Out of the ring! The winner by ring out Nightmare!" The ref said causing everyone other than Plasmius to smile.
Nightmare seeing that the match was over went back to his normal strength leaving quite a few of the finalists worried one of which happened to be Vlad Plasmius.
'Darn it I was so hoping that Dr. Phobia would have taken him out seeing as he was the lesser of two evils. Especially since Nightmare has that insane strength boost and speed I am really going to have a hard time unless...'
"Ref, I here by call a protest against your last calling!" Vlad said causing everyone to glare at the vampire ghost. "Look at me like that all you want, however in case you missed it even if it wasn't intentional Nightmare had outside help during this battle which shifted the tide in his favor." Plamsius explained.
"Oh you mean like how you made the ecto dejecto pills to boost your..."
"Daniel we went over this already natural power ups even if made to work around a ghost's own natural abilities is fair, like for example how Ember get her power from people chanting her name, Spectra getting stronger from misery and so forth. However, A baby crying to the point where it shattered Dr. Phobia's mirror which in turn set him free from the illusion he was under isn't." Vlad explained cutting off Danny.
"What's the matter Plasmius? Afraid that you will have to face him, and he will clean your clock?" The Lunch lady asked with a dark smile causing Plasmius to frown.
"Of course not. However unless you can prove that Sierra's interference wouldn't have affected the outcome of the match it is still unfair outside help."
"As much as I hate to admit it, I will have to look at the rules on this. Intentional outside help would disqualify the being getting it no questions asked. However, in this case it was from a being that didn't know any better along with it being unintentional so I need to see what..."
"In the case of something like this, it would be the ruler of the ghost zone's decision. However, seeing as the current ruler is asleep it the decision is left up to his second in command AKA the Fright Knight." Walker said causing everyone to look at him funny. "I know the rules of anything in the ghost like the back of my hand. Only Clockwork himself would know better." Walker answered causing Nightmare expression to darken while Plasmius couldn't help but smile.
'It figures my fate would be in that armored jerk's hands yet again! No matter even if I am disqualified I will make sure Plasmius suffers for what he did to upset my love.' Nightmare thought to himself waiting for the result.
"Normally I would make the ruling and my ruling would have been for you to fight on." The Fright Knight explained throwing Nightmare for a loop. "However seeing as the prize is going to be the king your fate in this tournament is in..."
"Nightmare goes onto the next round." Danny answered earning a sigh of relief for the shadow manipulating ghost. "Sierra, when Dr. Phobia gets back I want you to heal him like you did me and the Box Ghost. Will you be a good girl and do that for me?" Danny asked earning a nod from his little girl.
'Impressive move Daniel, using that to your advantage to possibly gain a new ally. It seems I am teaching you yet. But still, this puts me in quite a bind. I was so hoping that technicality would have been enough to get rid of that overly strong shadow manipulator. I just hope one of the other combatants can take him out before I have to.' Vlad thought to himself as the next to combatants were called.
"Will Rose Mclain, and Ember Mclain please enter the ring." The ref said causing a devil's grin to appear on Ember's face.
"As much as I was hoping to fight Desiree for my own reasons you will do for a warm up sis. It is payback time for all the humiliation I had to endure because of you!" Ember said smiling while cracking her knuckles.
"I couldn't agree more Crybaby. Time for you to learn where your place is, and that is underneath my perfectly designed blood-red stiletto heels. I will be back cutie when I am done moping the floor with my crybaby sister." Rose explained as she flew into the ring.
As Rose and Ember walked into the ring Pandora looked at the situation and frowned.
"Danny while I do applaud your good judgment you know you just made things harder for on yourself down the line right?" Pandora said with concern.
"I know but it was the right thing to do." Danny answered without a second thought. "Besides, I have someone who thinks the world of me in my arms, and I won't let her see me making selfish choices for my own personal gain only." Danny explained earning a smile from his allies.
"Daddy why does auntie Rose want to be my mommy? Did you and Mommy have a fight or something?" Sierra asked causing Danny sigh.
'How am I supposed to tell her that we aren't together in this time? With her inheriting my ghostly wail her crying will..."
"It is because in this time he hasn't asked me out yet Sierra." Desiree said interrupting Danny's chain of thought. "Though if I do win this whole thing I can promise you that we will be together and raise you as a family." Desiree explained throwing Danny for a loop while earning a smile from Sierra.
This didn't go unnoticed by everyone else including Rose, and Ember both of which didn't like what they were seeing.
"Crybaby, do me a favor. If I do somehow manage to lose, if you face Desiree make sure she suffers the same fate. I know for a fact one of us is the mother and..."
"While I hate your guts for what you have done to me, that is one request I will gladly do. Just do the same for me if I somehow manage to lose." Ember answered while grabbing her sister's hand and giving her a firm shake,
"Ready... Begin!"
Stage out
Sorry for the massive wait for the next chapter. However, writers block and real life issues got the better of me with this one. Any thoughts comments concerns? PM me them, or you can leave them in a review.