The New Adventures of Danny Phantom
A Danny Phantom Fanfic by Quill N. Inque
I do not own Danny Phantom.
Chapter 24: In the Court of Queen Dora
Danny Phantom's footfalls echoed eerily through the massive stone structure as he walked down the torch-lit hall to Queen Dora's court. Green flames flickered in their sconces, their shadows dancing crazily, while tattered banners and threadbare flags hung from the rotting wooden rafters. At every door and hallway Danny passed, more armor-clad phantoms stood at stiff attention, silently guarding the ancient structure as they had through time immemorial. Somewhere, water leaked from a derelict pipe, its drip-dripping adding to the subterranean atmosphere.
Statler: Sounds like my house!
Waldorf: Naah, your place is WAY dirtier!
Though Dora was a friend of his, Danny couldn't help shuddering slightly. This place is even creepier than when Aragon was king…
His progress was halted abruptly by two things: the huge double doors that marked the entrance to Dora's throne room, and the menacing-looking warriors that guarded it. These two ghosts were different than the others Danny had seen here; their armor was matte black, and they radiated both confidence and deadly skill. Danny knew instinctively that these knights were a cut above Dora's regular rank-and-file soldiers.
Statler: What are you waiting for? Run him through!
Waldorf: Turn the little bastard into a shishkabob!
He swallowed nervously as he approached the two guardians. "I've been granted an audience with Queen Dora," he said, trying and failing miserably to keep his voice from shaking.
The warrior to his left spoke, his voice deep and laden with unspoken threats. "Be ye warned, boy," he growled, "That insolence and un-chivalrous behavior in the presence of Her Majesty will not be tolerated."
Waldorf: Maybe they should've sent Dani's boyfriend instead!
Statler: Yeah, Chad would fit right in! HAHAHAHAHAHA!
"I'll keep that in mind," Danny said, trying in vain to smile as the doors opened with theatric sluggishness.
Before he could even take a step, a loud voice cut through the air like a knife. "Hear ye, hear ye! The Monarch of Pandora cometh! All hail the Queen!"
Statler: I love a woman who knows how to make an entrance!
Waldorf: That is so hot!
The spectral nobles gathered in the chamber dropped to one knee, echoing the statement with one strong voice. "All hail the Queen!"
Danny was momentarily confused, but then, figuring it was better to be safe, dropped to a knee as well. He wasn't sure if such rules of etiquette applied to him here, since he was neither a citizen of Aragon nor a full-blooded ghost.
But hey, when in Rome…
Waldorf: I remember going to Rome once!
Statler: Really?
Waldorf: Yeah, I remember waking up with a hangover and not much else!
The breathless and slightly unnerving silence that greeted the Queen's imminent arrival was broken only by her soft footsteps, her delicately pointed shoes tapping on the worn stone tiles.
Statler: OFF WITH HIS HEAD! I've always wanted to say that…
Waldorf: Nah, that's too quick and painless! Having the ghost kid drawn and quartered would be MUCH better.
Quill: I'm speechless.
Waldorf(clasping his hands in prayer): Thank the Lord!
Danny kept his head bowed out of respect, as did everyone else, until the regent was seated upon the oversized throne, which sat on a raised dais in the center of the chamber. Dora's voice was warm when she spoke, and even though he couldn't see her face due to his position, Danny could hear the smile in her tone.
"You've no need to kneel to me, Danny," Dora said. "For without you, I never would have become Queen. Rise, my friend, and tell us: what brings you to Aragon?"
Danny got up off the floor, brushing off his pants as he did so. "I need your help, Dora," the hero said simply.
"Do tell," she murmured, and all fell silent as Danny told his tale. When he was finished, Dora's normally bright green skin had paled to a lime-ish shade, and even her courtiers seemed to exhibit a wide range of shock and horror.
Waldorf: It must take a lot to horrify a ghost!
Statler: Yeah, this story would make Stephen King have nightmares!
"It's true then?" Dora asked. "Vlad Plasmius has returned?"
"Yeah," Danny replied. "And suffice to say, I can't defeat him on my own this time."
One of the nobles, a fat, skeletal man in a Shakespearean outfit, scoffed imperiously. "What goes on in the human world is none of our affair, boy! This clone of yours was created with human science. Why should we involve ourselves in a war that has nothing to do with us?"
Statler: BOOO!
Waldorf: Peace-loving pansy!
"Because once Vlad's done conquering my world, he'll start on yours next," Danny replied quietly. "You know this is true, Dora."
"Preposterous!" another specter exclaimed. "The Zone is too big for any ghost or man to completely explore, even Plasmius!"
"Right," Danny snorted. "You make sure to tell him that as he's leveling this place."
Statler: Ooh. Nice comeback!
The chamber erupted in a flurry of furious debate, but the ever-increasing volume was silenced when Dora spoke, calmly but firmly. "Enough."
Silence was immediate.
"We owe a debt to Danny and the humans," the Queen said. "Without his help, my brother would still hold sway over our fair kingdom, and that is the truth. It is only proper, my lords and ladies, that we repay this debt now, in his time of need. Sound the call and gather our forces to us. We will fight with Danny!"
Waldof: YEAH! WAR, BABY!
Statler: Let's see an epic battle!
The fat ghost in Baron's garb stood up again. "If you wish it, my Queen, then we shall go to war."
A rousing cheer erupted from the assembled patronage, and orders were shouted as Aragon prepared for battle. Somewhere, a herald blew upon a ghostly horn, and its deep tones drew warriors to the castle in droves. In short order, a veritable army of armor-clad ghosts was tromping and clanking across the castle courtyard, in ranks fifty wide and fifty deep armed with a variety of remorseless pieces of metal: spears, axes, swords, and iron maces were all very much in evidence.
Statler: It's like something from Lord of the Rings…
Waldorf: I always hated that movie! HAHAHAHAHA!
Danny peered over the parapets of Castle Aragon, awed by such military might, as Dora stood serenely by him.
"Magnificent, aren't they?"
"Yeah," Danny said with feeling. "I had no idea you had so many soldiers. That clone will be hopelessly outnumbered."
"True," Dora replied. "But I would not expect such an advantage to last for long…"
Pariah's Keep, the Ghost Zone
Daniel Phantom strode past the charred corpses of the skeletal guards without even blinking. He felt no remorse for them; he wanted something, and they were in his way. So he got rid of them. The evil halfa strode into what was once the center of Pariah Dark's ghostly empire, the ruined throne room where the Ghost King slept even now.
Statler: A ghost KING?
Waldorf: In that case Quill would be his royal bi—
Quill: UGH! Don't EVEN go there, Waldorf! Honestly…
But the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep wasn't the objective, and neither had Master instructed Daniel to liberate the king from his enchanted slumber. It was what lay beside the scepter that Daniel had been sent to retrieve.
Statler: HEY, YOU! Loyalty's overrated, kid!
He'd followed his genetic donor, that goody-goody Danny Phantom, into the Ghost Zone days before, as destroying the world can really take it out of a guy. He'd followed him and his puny friends to New Mexico, where Master's portal was being held. And after Phantom had jumped inside, he'd decided to see what he was up to.
That was after he'd killed all of Area 51's personnel, for daring to steal Master's property.
Waldorf: DAMN! That's COLD!
Statler: Why can't the other characters be more like him?
Daniel had soon realized that Phantom was building an army, and had reported his findings to Master straight away. But Master, in his infinite wisdom, already had a plan in place for such a contingency. And for this scheme to work, Master needed the scepter, the same scepter Pariah had secretly used to summon and control his legions.
These spectral armies would soon be under new management.
Daniel plucked the Scepter of Sorrow from its hiding place in a dark corner of Pariah's throne room, and left as silently as he had arrived.
Castle Aragorn
Danny shook Dora's hand firmly as she handed him an elaborately carved bugle, made from the horn of some long-dead beast.
"Use this wisely," Dora said as she pressed the weathered object into the boy's palm. "Blow on it when your darkest hour has arrived. When you do, we will come, as will all who side with you in this war. Every ghost who calls himself your ally will be drawn by the Horn of Heaven's call. But take heed, Danny Phantom," she warned. "We place great trust in you by bestowing the Horn upon you. After its duty is done, you must return it to us."
Statler: 'Horn of Heaven'? Hardly!
Waldorf: I would've thought a ghostly item would be from the other end of the religious spectrum!
"I will," Danny said firmly. "I promise to bring it back, once Vlad is defeated."
In his lair, the aforementioned villain laughed to himself as he watched the proceedings via a one-way portal into the Ghost Zone. Through this, he could observe what was happening there, but couldn't access the Zone directly. The proto-portal was good for surveillance and spying, but not much else.
Vlad smiled as his laughter turned to quiet chuckling. "Oh, I wouldn't be too sure of that…"
A/N: I'm back! ^^ Hope you guys enjoyed this installment, 'cause things are gonna heat up before long! What will happen when Vlad has an army of his own? Will Danny defeat his evil alter-ego? You will know the answers to these questions and more in the next few chapters!
Your humble servant,
-Quill N. Inque