Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any of the characters. Danny Phantom is the sole property of Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon and Viacom International.

Resurrected Memories

Chapter 25: More encounters of the ghostly kind

Last Friday

In The Ghost Zone

Elsewhere, far away from the Fenton Portal and from many of the ghotly denizen's eyes, a figure dressed in a hooded cloak floated through the realms on his way to his destination.

Pariah's Keep.

Once there, he stood patiently until the gate opened, allowing the figure inside. Within the abandoned castle was no one other than the Fright Knight, the spirit of Halloween and former servant of the former ghost king Pariah Dark who was still locked in the sarcophagus of forever sleep. However, the Knight ghost was now serving a new master, who was standing right in front of him.

"Were you followed?..."The Fright Knight asked.

"Of course not….I'm not a fool…"The cloaked figure said to the other ghost.

Once safely inside and away from prying eyes, the cloaked figure removed his hood, revealing to be none other than Vlad Plasmius, who was in the middle of making plans and to discuss their goals. The reason Vlad was wearing a hard hooded cloak was because he didn't want to take any risks, so far no one but a selected few knew that he had returned and he intended to keep it that way, he didn't want to risk one of Daniel's idiotic ghost playmates learning about him and warning him before he could exact his revenge.

No…He was done playing around and he was done being careless, this time he couldn't afford to take any risks….He needed to be 100% in control of everything.

"How's recruitment coming along?..."Vlad asked his second-in-command.

"I believe that Mongol Warriors ghosts that reside in the realm of savagery have just what we are looking for, however they need some…persuasion…"The Fright Knight said to his employer.

"Persuasion you say…."Vlad said with some interest in his voice.

"They are a group of very violent warriors who are led by a vicious tyrant known as Khagan, a large warrior ghost who rules them with an iron fist….and he is not known for being cooperative…"The Fright Knight explained.

"Oh is he now?...'Vlad said as he now had an idea of securing more warriors for his army.

"He is, his warriors however are loyal to him…or at least until someone stronger comes along…"The Fright Knight said as he knew what Vlad was thinking.

"Well then I suppose I should stop by over there later…"Vlad said as he was making mental designs. He needed more warriors and he knew the Mongols were vicious but they were also brilliant in the field of battle and he needed all the strengths on his side.

He heard rumors of Khagan, he was strong but he was also a brute and Vlad knew that he and his fighters followed a very old code of the warriors, they served and practically worshiped the strongest warrior to lead them and they would kill whoever they deemed weak. Vlad knew that it would be very easy for him to get them on board with his plot.

"Anything else?..." Vlad asked.

"I have managed to find another ghost who I believe would serve us well however he will be tricky to recruit…"The Fright Knight continued.

"What do you mean?..."The fruit loop demanded.

"He goes by the name of Rancor, he is a very skilled warrior and he is very ruthless…It is said that he was the ghost of a human mercenary during war time and he had quite an impressive record…"The Knight ghost continued.

"A mercenary you say?..."Vlad asked with interest in his voice.

"Another detail known about him is that he always keeps his deals and he managed to accomplish his tasks…however his services are not cheap and even then, he will only work if he believes you can make it wild for him…"He explained.

"Well I am certain that I will be able to get Rancor to agree to be a part of our army…I will arrange a meeting with him today…"Vlad said as he knew what he had to do.

Time was on the essence and he needed a strong army, a flawless plan and his many pawns doing their assigned tasks. Such as Spectra whom he ordered to keep spying on Ember and to keep him informed if anything counterproductive were to happen, as well as inform him if anything foul stirs up at that accursed Fenton Works.

Especially with that snot nose brat who would soon pay for all of his insolence.

"I believe its best that we be going…The sooner we have the army, the sooner we invade that eyesore town called Amity Park and take down that brat for good…"Vlad said to the evil knight.

"Yes master…"The Fright said to the middle aged halfa.

Vlad put his cloak back on and followed his minion to his next destination, the realm of savagery where he would gain more pawns for his mission…not that they would know that it was him that they were serving.

It's been months since he started his latest and greatest plan and so far he only had the Fright Knight, Spectra, Skulker, his vultures, the ninja ghosts from the shogun realm, a few thugs for hire, some mindless monster ghosts that he had long had tamed and many others.

But it wasn't enough…He needed the perfect army if he was destined to control all and take all that had belonged to him. He needed pawns that were strong, that were cleaver but who would obey him without question and would get the job done. That included the oblivious Ember who was tasked with finding Daniel's weakness for him and destroying him in the most delectable way possible…not that she knew that yet, but she once she did her task. He wanted Daniel destroyed, because only then the world would truly be his and no one, not Daniel's friends, not that fat oaf Jack, that worthless failure Danielle, that troublesome shrew Valerie or anyone would be able to stop him. They were all nothing without Daniel there to back them up. That was his destiny, to witness his foe fall and take back the world that he was always meant to rule…with his beautiful queen at his side.

"Soon Maddie…You and that accursed world will finally be mine…I promise it…"Vlad muttered as he kept flying as he thought of the only silver lining in his miserable life and the only thing besides his revenge and his right to rule, that he had left to live for in this world.

Taking his darling back and making her his beloved, beautiful and loving queen as she was always destined to be.

But until that grand and glorious day, he had to keep calculative, quiet and cunning. He had to keep his identity hidden and he couldn't let anyone outside of his inner circle know that he was back. This was too delicate of a situation and he had to get everything done before he invaded that backwater town and take back the power that was his and his alone.

This time failure was not an option.

Present time

Monday Morning

Danny Fenton had just gotten out of bed, showered and was in the middle of getting dressed while mentally preparing himself for another harrowing week of school, not to mention another 5 days of being harassed by his fans.

"Another day, another migraine…oh well…"He muttered as he put his trademark white-and-red shirt on.

He suddenly heard some commotion and sighed as he knew some of his fans had returned in order to "wish him good morning". Using invisibility, he peaked outside and saw a bunch of peoples he didn't know but could briefly recognize them from the constant times they have chased them home. It was mostly young teenage girls, though there were some males and adults as well, all wearing his merchandise and holding "I-Heart-Danny" banners while begging him to come out.

"WE LOVE YOU DANNY PHANTOM!...'Some girl wearing a t-shirt with his face shouted at the top of her lungs.

"YOU'RE MY HERO MAN!..."Some large, overweight man in his 30's yelled while he waved a flag with his DP symbol on it.

"MARRY ME!..."A brunette girl with glasses shouted as she was covered from head to two with all of his merchandise such as a hat, T-Shirt, buttons, etc…all with his name and face on it.

Just another typical morning if you were world hero Danny Phantom.

"Seriously, don't these people have jobs or something?...'He muttered before retreating back inside.

He knew the best way to deal with this is just grin and bear it, ignore it and try to sneak to school as soon as possible. He was grateful that Tucker made it official that his fans couldn't come within 10 feet of his house but it didn't make much of a difference by the volume of their chanting.

"DANNY! WE LOVE YOU! DANNY!..."The crowd chanted loudly.

"Every morning…"He muttered as he walked downstairs. Once down, he saw his family was already having breakfast, which consisted of bacon and eggs, he saw his father wolfing down his food which Dani was practically imitating much to their mother's disapproval. He noticed that his sister Jazz was absent from the family meal.

"Morning everyone…"Danny said to his parents and little sister.

"Morning sweetie…"Maddie said as she began to serve his breakfast.

"Morning big brother…"Dani said sweetly before taking a sip of her orange juice.

"How's my boy doing this fine day?...'Jack said jovially to his only son.

"I'm good…"Danny said as he began to eat his breakfast.

"Where's Jazz?..."He asked.

"She said that she had leaved early to meet with the guidance counselor to talk more about her college application…" Maddie explained to her middle child.

"Oh yeah….So she's finally about to apply for Yale, huh?...'Danny said before eating his eggs.

"Yes it is…Little Jazzypants is applying for college and it feels like it was just yesterday she was learning to tie her shoes…and pretty soon it's gonna be you Dann-o…and before ya know it it will be D-Dani…"Jack said and soon burst into tears nearly soaking Dani who was sitting next to him.

"DAD!..."Danielle whined as she tried to make sure her breakfast remained tear-free.

"Oh…Uh…Oops…Sorry Dani-girl…" Jack said before regaining his composure from his emotional outburst. Soon the family went back to eating and talking about their plans for the day.

"So Danny-boy, any plans after school?..."Jack asked his son.

"Nothing' much…Just planning on hanging with the guys and all that…"Danny mumbled before taking a sip of milk.

"So…Uh…everything is going well with Sam, sweetie?..."Maddie asked to her boy who nodded.

"I already told you that things are alright mom, we're still friends and sure maybe it's a little awkward but were making it work….'Danny said and Maddie could tell he meant it.

"I'm glad for that…"She said.

She certainly was glad that her son and Sam had agreed to remain friends, she knew that it was rather complicated still being friends with an ex, but she should know that her son was special and he and Sam had been friends for a very long time. It certainly would have been a tragedy if it got ruined just because their relationship didn't work out.

Suddenly the family heard a large amount of fans shrieking and demanding to see their hero and like every morning.

"DANNY! DANNY! DANNY! DANNY!..." Was being shouted loudly for all of them to hear. The Fenton family tried to ignore it as best as possible….but….

"Ugh! THAT'S IT! I don't know how much more of this I can take!...'Jack shouted, feeling fed up with the noise pollution and harassment his family was being subjected to.

"How do you think I feel?! I'm the one they're after!..."Danny said in exasperation to his father.

"Well enough it enough as far as Jack Fenton is concern, I think it's high time to check and see if we can add some knew features to the ghost shield and see if we can make it effective on humans as well…'Jack said with designs forming in his head.

"I'll put it on the list honey…"Maddie said as she took the empty dishes and began washing it.

"You guys do that…I'll be off…"Danny said as he was about to leave for school.

"Wait son, don't forget this baby…."Jack said as he pulled out a Specter-Detector and immediately placed in on his son's wrist.

"The Specter-Detector…"He said as he eyed his parent's latest gadget that resembled a watch.

"Yep! Gotta have the star ghost hunter of the Fenton family fully alerted…"Jack said in a proud voice.

"Okay…Anyway I gotta get to school and meet up with Sam, Val and Amberline…"Danny said to his father. He knew that Tucker had some big meeting today and wouldn't be at school, which would leave him with the girls today.

Suddenly his father had a strange look on his face once he mentioned the third name…."Amberline is that nice girl that you've been studying with lately, huh?...'Jack asked his son who nodded.

"Yeah dad…"Danny said, not liking the look in his father's eyes. It was identical to the one he had whenever he ribbed him about Sam before and even when they started dating.

"You're becoming awfully close to that girl aren't you Danny-boy?..."Jack said not so-subtly, earning an embarrassed look from his son.

"We're just friend's dad…She's just a new, close friend to me…"Danny said insistently to his father, not wanting to be teased about this.

'Thank goodness…"Jack said suddenly, surprising his son in the process.

"Huh?..."Danny said confused, wondering where this was heading.

"You're mother and I have been worried about you for a while now, son?..."Jack said in an uncharacteristic moment of seriousness…."You haven't exactly been getting out much since you broke up with Sam, you've mostly just locking yourself in your room to sulk and brood…" Jack pointed out.

"I…I guess I have…"Danny said slowly, looking down, wondering why his father was saying this.

"We're just glad to see you're getting better…and that you're making more friends…" Jack said with a warm smile before patting his son on the back…. "I don't know if you have noticed but lately you've been acting like your old self again and I'm really glad for that…"Jack said before heading back to the kitchen, leaving his surprised son behind.

"What did he mean by that?..."Danny thought in confusion. True, he felt a little better since the big breakup, mostly since he and Sam agreed to try and stay friends and they were hanging out again with Val, Tuck and Amberline. He was still a little sore but he didn't realize that everyone, even his admittedly-easily-distracted father noticed his demeanor.

"But what does any of that have to do with Amberline? I mean sure we're friends and I like hanging out with her…but why did dad act like that?..."Danny wondered before shrugging it off.

He had to get to school, he would worry about trying to understand his father's words later.

"I'm going ghost…"Danny said as he quickly transformed into his ghost form, turned invisible and flew out of the house, onto his way to school.

A few minutes later

Danny soared through the sky, enjoying the feel of the wind flowing through his snow-white hair as he was flying to school. He managed to give his fans and the paparazzi the slip yet again and he was now enjoying a peaceful flight.

Suddenly the Specter-Detector started flashing and beeping like crazy.

"Oh man…Already…"Danny thought in dismay as he stared at the infernal alarm.

"ALERT! ALERT! Several ghosts with an entity of scale 4 ectoplasmic power have been detected at 7:48am!..." The Specter-Detector said in its robotic voice.

"Scale 4…"Danny groaned as he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Sam's number. After a few moments of ringing, his ex-girlfriend and still friend finally picked up.

"Hello…" Was said on the other line.

"Hey Sam…"Danny said into the phone as he flew to search for whomever or whatever trouble would arise.

"Danny? What's up?...'Sam asked over the phone.

"I just got an alert from the Specter-Detector about some scale 4 ghosts out and about…"Danny explained.

"Need any help?..."Sam offered.

"No, I'll handle it, I was just wondering if you could tell Lancer that I might be late today…"Danny asked the goth.

"Alright, I'll send him the message but remember that if you need any help, you know that you can ask me right?..."Sam pleaded and Danny could identify her tone.

It was the worried "sure we broke up but I still care about you and want to help you and you should know that by now" tone that she's been using a lot lately. It was obvious that she still cared about him, she still wanted to be his friend even if she didn't love him anymore.

And he was okay with that…He knew that overall, she cared about their friendship and that was the most important thing of all…. He accepted that….and he was starting to feel better about it to.

"I know, thanks Sam…"He said softly over the phone.

"So…I'll see you later…"Sam said, hoping she didn't sound the least bit awkward.

"Later…"He said before hanging up.

Danny let out a sigh, feeling both surprised with himself but relieved more than anything. He didn't want to admit but it was a little harder for him to hang out with Sam post-break up. They had been together for months and they had something special…It was very awkward still being around her but it was more bearable now, especially since his new friendship with Amberline provided him a pleasant buffer, especially when all three of them had been hanging out.

He cared about Sam….and he was happy that that was enough for him. All that matter was protecting their friendship and strengthening the ones they had with their mutual friends like Jazz, Tucker and Valerie, not to mention the new one they both were forming with Amberline

That was enough for him and maybe it was all he needed in order to feel better. He just needed his friends….including the newest one he managed to make during the midst of all this drama and confusion.

Several moments later

As the ghostly teen hero searched for the ghosts that had trigged the Specter-Detectors alarm, and much to his annoyance, he was receiving some annoying help from said device.

"You are approximately 25 yards from the scale 4 entity of ectoplasmic power, and now take a left…"The device dictated and Danny rolled his eyes but complied.

If it was accurate, he'd at least not have to risk being ambushed by said ghosts again, so he supposed that was a plus.

"This better work…"Danny muttered as he listens to the ghost detector device.

After almost 5 minutes of nothing, Danny thought it might have been a miscalculation and was about to give up. However suddenly he felt his ghost sense and suddenly heard a loud explosion, turning around he saw some trouble at the local jewelry store.

"ALERT! ALERT! The entity of scale 4 ectoplasmic power is right below you! Thank you for using the Fenton Specter Detector! Have a nice day…"The device said in it's usual, nasally way.

"Yeah no duh!..."He muttered in annoyance before putting his game face on.

Wasting no time, he immediately fazed into the jewelry shop and saw about five ghosts that almost looked like some sort of samurai's. They were destroying all the glass cases and stealing all the gem goods.

"Our leader will be most pleased…"One of the warrior ghosts said as he admired a ruby necklace.

"Will that be cash or check?..."Danny joked before getting the attention of the ghosts. Once they saw him, they immediately pulled out their swords and pointed at the half ghost teen hero.

"Sorry dude but we don't barter here…"Danny joked once more before dodging one of the warrior's swings.

"Insolent child! You have made a fatal mistake coming here! We are warriors of the Mongol empirical forces and as of right now, you're executioners…"The largest warrior said direct to the ghost boy.

"Yeah…I don't think so…"Danny said before dodging another swing. Soon the other warriors joined in on the attack.

Danny remembered reading something about Mongol warriors during history class, he recalled that they were a ruthless army of fighters who tried to conquer all of china but since he mostly fell asleep in that class, he didn't know much else.

"You will pay for trying to interfere with our mission from our leader…with your dying breath!..."One of the ghost warriors shouted.

"Um…In case you guys didn't notice, I'm a ghost too…"Danny pointed out, only for the Mongol ghost to look more annoyed.

"Do not question our intelligence! We know of you, you wretched halfa! You can still breath…and you can still BLEED!..."He shouted before lunging at the half ghost boy with the intent of cutting him in half.

Thankfully Danny managed to avoid another hit and was now fighting the ghosts with a lot of control. Danny realized that while these guys were big and obviously violent and it was 5 against one, they were pretty slow and easy to agitate and that worked in Danny's advantage.

"You guys seriously need some anger management…"Danny quipped before sending an ice ray at them, managing to freeze one of the Mongol warrior ghosts. Wasting no time, he pulled out his thermos and immediately sucked the ghost Popsicle in it.

"One down, four to go…'He said with a determined grin before turning his attention to the others.

"You two! Take what you can back! We will handle this child…"One of the Mongols, obviously the ringleader, ordered to two of them who did as they were told.

"I don't think so!...'Danny said before descending on the supposed leader.

Danny easily managed to avoid the sword attacks and thuggish punches from the two brutes and easily countered them with his own ghost rays. He suppose he shouldn't really be surprised, if they were scale 4, then he was literally twice as strong as the-

"Wretched half ghost child!..."One of the Mongol's shouted before managing to hit him square in the jaw.

-…But that didn't necessarily mean that they couldn't get lucky or that he should be careless.

"YOWTCH! …"Danny yelled in pain before snapping out, just in time to avoid being sliced in half by the over-eager fighters.

"Ok Fenton, looks like it's time to even the playing field…"He said as he knew what to do now.

He immediately made 3 identical copies of himself, one for each of the remaining ghosts, the two who were actively attacking him and the two who were trying to hightail it out of there with a ton of jewelry.

"Not on my watch…"Copy #1 shouted as he blocked their escape. The two Mongol's were soon ambushed by the two other copies while the original was still busy fighting the leader.

"YOU WOTHLESS HALF-GHOST!..."The leader shouted in rage as he tried to ram into his opponent.

"You guys seriously need to chill out…'The original Danny said before freezing the leader while his two copies were beating senseless the remaining ghosts. Soon Danny sucked out the remaining ghost warriors into his thermos and took a breath.

"Geez, I guess being half is strong doesn't matter if you have twice as aggressive…"Danny muttered as he rubbed his still sore jaw.

Once done, he eyed the damaged jewelry shop, a lot of the windows were smashed opened, along with the jewelry cases but overall at least no one was injured as everyone evacuated as soon as those brutes showed up.

"Oh thank you for saving my store Danny Phantom…"The manager, a stout, balding man said gratefully as he shook his hand.

"It's no problem…uh…Ted…"Danny said as he read the man's nametag….. "I'm sorry about the damage though…"Danny said, not knowing what else to do.

"Oh don't worry about that, that's what insurance agencies are for…The important thing is those troublemakers didn't hurt anyone…"Ted said in an understanding tone to the teen hero who nodded.

Soon more people…fans and the media arrived and Danny took it as his cue to get the heck out of there before anything else crazy happened. Once a safe distance away he glanced at his watch and sighed when he saw that it was already 8:30 and was already half an hour tardy.

"Eh…Not too bad, if I hurry, I might make it before first period is over..."Danny said as he flew in direction of his high school.

Unknown to him, someone was watching him from a faraway distance using a pair of advance spy gear. It was a hulking ghost with green skin, red eyes with a noticeable scar on his left eye and dark red hair. He was also wearing a large black overcoat over what could have easily been a white sweater, torn blue jeans and black combat boots. He also had a noticeable sword at hand, making him look even more threatening.

This ghost was known as Rancor, a skilled fighter who was also a notorious mercenary. He only cared about himself and was loyal so long as him employer so long as they delivered their end of the bargain…but he was also proven to be a very skilled person to have on your side.

"So that's the famous ghost kid Plasmius said…I got to say, he didn't exaggerate…"Rancor said as he put down his binoculars and stared at the device he managed to steal while Phantom was too distracted by those Mongol decoys to notice that the building just several yards had just been ghostly robbed by the very man himself, all to obtain this device.

Suddenly his phone started ringing and he saw that it was the man who sent him the very device in the first place.

"Yes…"Rancor said.

"Did you manage to get the device?..."Vlad demanded to know over the phone.

"Yes, and that ghost kid, not to mention everyone in Axiom lab are still totally clueless…"Rancor assured his employer as he flew back to his rendezvous point.

"Are you positive that Daniel is still oblivious and did you make sure that no one saw you?…"He asked.

"Yes Plasmius, as I said that ghost brat is clueless, he totally took the bait and this entire block is too consumed by the drama from that ghost attack…"Rancor said once more…. "I managed to sneak into that secret bunker within Axiom lab and your ecto-skeleton is well on its way…"He explained to the vampire-esque ghost over the phone.

Excellent, I must say Rancor, you did well…" Vlad praised over the phone

"Were you expecting any less from me?..."He said in a cocky tone to his boss… "Just be sure to have my pay ready for me when I get there…"Rancor said to his employer.

"You'll get your pay as soon as I get my ecto-skeleton…"Vlad said before hanging up.

"Bitter old man…"Rancor muttered under his breath as he flew to the outskirts of town, far away from troublesome eyes and he could do as he will.

"Here goes nothing…"He said as he took a deep "breath" and concentrated, suddenly the sword that on his hip. Suddenly his sword started glowing and Rancor's eyes glowed red as well. With one swing, he managed to rip a miniature portal to the ghost zone.

"Whoa! That can take a lot out of a guy…"Rancor said as he quickly flew in with the goods before said portal closed. He was off to meet with a crazed, old half ghost, egotistical megalomaniac with too much time and power at his hands.

"Another day…another dollar…"Rancor said with a grin as he kept flying to his destination.

Carnivorous Canyon.

-To be continued-

Next time on Resurrected Memories:

High school Hijinks

A/N(1): Oh man! Vlad now has more bad guys on his team and one of them can create ghost portals?! Also why does he want the ecto skeleton? Find out Next time on Resurrected Memories.

A/N(2): Ember didn't appear in this chapter but was mentioned but don't worry she'll appear in the next chapter, along with others. I just wanted this chapter to mostly switch between Danny and Vlad (including his minions), and I wanted to give more light to what exactly Vlad is doing.

I hope you all enjoyed it ;)

REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewers:

Spectrer,VanguardLard and Necrogod: Thank you, I'm flattered.

Invader Johnny: You got that right, Amberline's status is improving and Paulina can't stand losing any spotlight….

Guest(1): You got that right, we have all faced off against our own "Paulina" at one point in our lives and they are all the same deep down: jerks who can only feel big by trying to make others feel small when in reality it is them who are the insignificant ones and the only way to truly counter them is by not letting them intimidate you, such as how Sam and Ember did there.

CyberActor15: I hope this will suffice….

Mighty TAB X, The Blade of Osh-Tekk, Guest(2), Kosmic, Meazm, Mazamba, Warhawk' 42 and Dragoshot: I particularly enjoyed writing that bit and I am glad you all enjoyed it, Paulina had it coming for a long time.

Xeziel15: I know, I never really understood why though other than laziness….Anyways, thanks, I really appreciate the praise.

Wiseguy2415: Eh…I guess in a lot of my other fics Paulina is a raving, sometimes murderous madwoman while here she is just a spoiled brat with an ego the size of the Ghost Zone...Not that it's any consolation.

Runeion: I promise that she'll show up soon….

The Lone Writer: He may or he may not, I haven't decided yet…..

:) Till next time beautiful people and don't forget to review :)