Long chapter this time around… To be totally honest it ran away from me and there just wasn't a good stopping point. Internet is still down but that just means I was able to finish making all my Christmas gifts on time this year! Hope everyone is having a good holiday season so far!
Here is to staying safe in a mad world.
Disclaimer! I dont own Danny Phantom... its probably a good thing too.
Dan felt a curious chill run through him at her words. She was right, Sam had proven to him that she would have no issues killing him and yet even though he had attacked her multiple times she had merely restrained him, had even healed him. Dan wondered why, wondered if she could see something in him he thought no longer existed. Silence filled the cave as Dan pondered his own actions over the last day and what he remembered just before being released from his prison. Before getting out of the thermos he had been talking to Clockwork. When Clockwork had first taken charge of the thermos he had simply ranted and raged, making whatever threats he could think up and snarling whatever insults he had learned in the past years. He knew a lot of insults in several languages and yet that had only kept him busy for all of a day. It had taken several months for him to get bored with the cursing and spitting at Clockwork every time he came near the thermos to chat. Then he tried antagonizing the great ghost but Clockwork had laughed at him every time almost always turning the tables on him in some way. He tried breaking out of the thermos but Clockworks abilities kept it strong and unbreakable. He didn't have the energy to break free and somehow Dan knew he never would. Dan didn't know how much time passed but eventually when Clockwork started talking to him Dan actually started to listen. Dan had learned all sorts of things from Clockwork from history to physics to simple survival skills. He told himself he was bored and since there was nothing better to do he might as well learn but in truth listening to Clockwork had started to make him feel normal again. Sometimes a feeling of rage would overcome him as he listened driving him to throw what most would call a tantrum. He didn't understand those waves of fury and Clockwork didn't seem to care so he just accepted them in the passing time before learning how to suppress them. Then one day Clockwork had come and told him that he was going to put Dan into a sleep similar to hibernation and when he awoke he would have to make a choice. He could come out and rejoin the world or he could be destroyed. Dan hadn't understood what Clockwork was going on about but before he could ask any sort of questions he had lost consciousness. The next thing he knew he sensed a presence outside the thermos and been dropped when he had asked a question. He had been released or at least the seal had been broken and he had found himself surrounded by ghosts and off to the side had been Sam. Age had done her no wrong and in his eyes she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. An immediate sense of calm had fallen on him as he said her name but then he had been attacked by those stupid ghosts. She had run and Dan had briefly lost himself in the anger and bloodlust that always seemed to be lurking just beneath the surface of his mind. Then he had found her again and surprised her but she had fought back with absolutely no fear, waking him back up to the reality that she was alive and within his grasp. Sam had run again whether from him or the other ghosts Dan wasn't sure but he had already decided that he would not lose her again. In that mindset he had pursued her to this point and now Dan realized what Clockwork had done. He hadn't realized it before but all those years in Clockworks company had reformed him. He wasn't a good ghost by any means but he was no longer purely driven by hatred, rage, and evil deeds. Remembering Clockworks words Dan realized that his survival now depended Sam.
"What exactly do you want me to say Sam? I'm not a good ghost. In my timeline I destroyed both realms and killed millions. I came to your timeline and tried to kill you to seal my own future; I haven't done a single good thing since becoming a full ghost." A memory of a little girl named Fearless flashed briefly in Dans mind making him pause for a moment but then he decided that she didn't count against everything else he had done. "You know my crimes so what is it you want me to say?"
Sam sighed and to his absolute shock the vines started to loosen around his body retracting back into their seed forms. His feet touched the ground as hers did and Dan had to hide his grin when he realized he was taller than her by a full head. If he wanted to he could put his chin down comfortably on her head and for a moment he was sorely tempted to.
The idea was squashed as she stared up at him a look of determination and wariness etched into her features. "I am trusting another show of force will not be necessary. If you try and attack me I will destroy you, if you so much as twitch out of line I will beat you to a pulp, and I swear if you call me Sammy one more time I'll pump you so full of electricity you will be able to power a city for a month if you survive."
Dan couldn't hide the grin that spread across his face at her words. He really liked this new badass Sam but he didn't want her to realize it so pretending to be meek he asked "Anything else my Queen of Thorns?"
Sam winced "You're going to have to work on that because with that get up sarcasm doesn't do you a hint of good."
Dan paused looking down at his outfit as she turned away from him to pick up her glowy flower thing and backpack. "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded walking after her to peer over her shoulder.
Sam rolled her eyes and held her plant up. "Never mind Dan. We need to figure out if those Goons on the surface are gone and heeeey!" she cried dropping her plant as Dan grabbed her shoulder and turned her intangible before shooting off through the ceiling.
"I have ghost powers and you made me drop my plant before I could get the seeds!" Sam complained as they passed through tons of rock.
Dan chuckled, he had wanted to grab her around the waist but he remembered how those black combat had hurt when she was merely human and he was a half ghost. Plus he had already pushed his luck beyond what he thought was fair. "Now you will have more energy if you need to fight." Dan answered and they both went silent as Sam stewed the last few feet of travel. Dan turned them both invisible as they came out of the ground and were treated to a very strange sight.
It was evening above ground and in the fading light Goons were swarming around the carcass of the beetle like flies around garbage. The Goons didn't notice their presence since they had come up behind some jagged rock on a slight rise so they had a nice view of the scene below with the added bonus of being somewhat hidden. Dan watched the Goons in annoyance and could practically feel their necks snapping like twigs in his hands. Without even realizing it a growl issued from his throat as he started to move forward. Sam grabbed him eliciting an extra loud snarl but he caught himself before he tried to strike out at her. Sam tugged him down before the Goons noticed his presence an eyebrow raised in question. Dan ignored her clenching his hands shut his claws pricking his palms as he fought to suppress the wave of aggression and annoyance that swamped him.
Managing to do so if only just barley he asked in a slightly strained voice "Why did you grab me? I was going to take care of the Goons before they noticed us."
Sam raised that same eyebrow this time mocking "Oh you mean you don't like to be grabbed? Besides we shouldn't destroy them just yet I want to know what those Goons are doing. There haven't been many instances when I've been able to simply observe their actions. It almost looks like they are taking samples or something."
Before he could think of a proper retort a loud squeal interrupted them coming from beyond the rock.
Without a word they both scrambled to the top of the rocks peering into the ever encroaching darkness where the Goons now hovered. The carcass of the beetle shivered and started to break apart near the center and Sam had a horrible foreboding feeling.
"Ok forget what I said before if that's what I think that is we can't let that thing hatch. You destroy the carcass and whatever is inside I'll take care of the Goons that get in the way." Sam said transforming.
They both leapt into the air soaring towards where the carcass sat shivering. "Don't think you're strong enough to take care of the Beetle yourself?" Dan asked unable to resist one last sally though he was happy to be rushing into battle once again.
Sam snorted. "With my powers it will take too long and I have no idea how this thing regenerates. You have the fire core. Burn it to ash."
"How?" Dan started but in the next instant they were upon the Goons and he had to turn his attention to the beetle carcass where the shell was starting to crack open. Dan activated his fire core and sent a burst of flames down on to the shell. The fire didn't even scorch the surface and he flew lower taking out a Goon or five as he did. The shell was smooth except in one place where a web of cracks breached the surface. He sent a powerful blast of ecto energy down at the cracks and was disappointed to only see a slight dent form. The beast inside squealed again as if sensing the danger it was in, and Dan realized he would have to crack the shell to fry what was inside. He landed on the shell and slammed an ecto charged fist into the center of the cracks. The impact sent a jolt through his whole body and made his hand ache. Ignoring the ache he slammed his fist down into the shell again this time breaking through. A series of clicks echoed from the shell and it rocked slightly as an orange eye glared at him from within. Instinctively Dan leapt into the air as a spiked leg stabbed through the tiny opening making it slightly bigger.
"Oh no you don't." Dan growled and let loose a fire attack funneling it down into the hole. A god awful shriek issued from the shell forcing him to stop and cover his ears. At the cry Goons began to swarm towards him and he could see Sam was having difficulties as well.
"Get down here!" Dan yelled to her and to his surprise after locating him she did blasting any Goon that followed too close.
"Is it dead?" she asked arriving at his side while the Goons surrounded them from above.
"No cover your ears." Dan answered and took a deep breath.
Sam realized what he was about to do and she slapped her hands to her ears dropping from the air so she was next to his feet. She didn't even try to stop him realizing that if they were going to kill this new Beetle they would have to work together without the Goons influence.
Dans Wail shattered the encroaching night shredding the Goons that had surrounded them causing dissolved ectoplasm to rain down as a mist. He turned in a circle as the Goon on his other side began to move forward in an attack, happy to see that Sam had taken his advice and covered her ears without complaint. Finally there were no more Goons and he cut off his attack slumping slightly from the excess energy drain. His vision started to go foggy and suddenly Sams face filled his vision her hand gently patting his face.
"Hey don't pass out on me just yet." She said and he sat up realizing that he was now sitting on the shell. Sam sat beside him a strange look on her face. It was concern he realized and as he looked her over he could see that she had been injured while fighting the Goons. A few scratches showed on her pale skin and he felt a surge of satisfaction that he had been able to destroy all the Goons that had dared hurt her. The shell beneath him shivered slightly and Dan looked around curiously. The hole he made was several feet away and every so often a horn or scythe like appendage would poke from it each time making the hole a little bit bigger. A truly ugly plant grew near the hole weeping a blue resinous liquid into it.
"What?" Dan asked feeling wiped and unsure as to what he should say. Being tired was a strange feeling really, usually he could use his wail much longer and not even feel a thing. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he felt so worn but it had to be a long time ago.
"You went spacey there for a minute. I pulled you down here since all the Goons are gone. Nice shot by the way." Sam answered and watched as he moved his hands trying to light up one of them with ghostly energy. Realizing what he was doing Sam reached out covering the hand with one of hers and sent a bit of energy down the physical connection. His hand brightened briefly and Sam could once again feel that strange bond like sensation. She hadn't been going nuts those two times she had heard his voice and not wanting to question how or why it got there she reached out like she would if she were checking his physical body for wounds. What she found concerned her, his energy levels were low, dangerously so and while she was sure that he wouldn't dissolve if he exhausted all his energy he could very well go into a catatonic state if he were not careful. Whipping off her backpack she rummaged through it before pulling out an orange flavored Fenton ecto bar. "Eat this right now before you body goes into shock." Sam said unwrapping the bar and shoving it into his mouth as Dan started to protest.
Dan was surprised to find that the bar was good. He had never been an orange flavored person but he practically inhaled the rest of the bar his core craving more even as he finished it. Sam handed another to him and stood as he inhaled that one too. She left him a third and moved forward a clear blue glint of light catching her eye. With a grimace she picked up yet another ectocrystal. It was a decent one not as pure as the crystals undergrowth had given her but still good enough that it would power something like a Goon. Sam had figured out why these Goons had seemed so different or maybe more aware. Dark Parmius was using the ectocrystals to supplement their power and give the creations a more stable core. She had found a half destroyed primary Goon and had seen the sparking around its center as the crystal mimicked a damaged core. The Goon had dissolved moments later unable to heal the damage done to its body and the crystal had reverted back to its normal state but the information she had gained was invaluable. These Goons had been an upgraded version which meant trouble wasn't far behind. The shell beneath her feel shook slightly and Sam directed a glare at the hole her plant was dripping its very flammable sap into. She was going to have to take care of the beetle before it fully hatched and she hoped that with three ectobars in him that Dan would be able to light up the beetle before they left. Regular fire would work she supposed but ghost fire burned hotter and consumed ectoplasm which would destroy the beetle far more efficiently. Dropping the ectocrystal into a pouch with the others she had collected she moved back over to where Dan was slowly getting to his feet.
"Do you have enough energy to blast this thing with some of your fire?" Sam asked tapping the shell with her foot for emphasis.
Dan nodded and floated up into the air forming a glowing ball of flame in his hands. Sam collected her plant and floated up to join him before he let the ball drop into the hole. There was a brief whoosh and flames lit up the interior for a moment allowing them to see the full shape of the beetle inside. The Beetle shrieked and thrashed shaking the shell around it as it burned. Sam covered her ears and Dan added more flames to the opening creating a literal oven inside the shell. The shriek cut off after a few seconds and soon the thrashing stopped as well. Flames licked the opening and spread following the trail of sap that had leaked down the shell. Soon the whole carcass was in flames and Sam pulled Dan up higher in the air as the heat became unbearable. Dan leaned against her and Sam grabbed him before he started to fall. Sending a quick surge of energy into him Sam found that he had used what little energy he had to send the fire into its current raging state.
"Idiot!" Sam snapped and knowing nothing could survive the raging inferno below her she flew holding onto Dan back through the ground and into the cave.
Her plant still sat withholding the tiniest hint of a glow, looking rather forlorn in the darkness. The glow brightened rapidly as she moved towards it stopping only when its glow filled most of the cave with light. Gently she laid Dan down flat and lifted the plant up letting it wrap tendrils around her arm so it would be secure as she worked.
She was going to have to give him the other crystal she realized. Dan's body couldn't pull enough ectoenergy from the environment on its own and the amount of power he wielded left him unable to create a balance. The crystal would allow him to recover faster and have an easier time adjusting to the new and less ecto abundant environment. Swiftly she pulled the pouch of lesser ectocrystals out and dumped them out of the bag before placing the whole lot of them on his chest. That done she pulled out the other ectocrystal Undergrowth had given her from its hidden pocket. Dan didn't have any pockets that Sam could see and she knew he wouldn't want to wear any kind of pouch on his waist so he could keep the crystal on him. With a sigh Sam pulled a small spool of wire from her bag and wrapped the larger end of the crystal before looping it over so it could hang off some cord she cut to make a necklace. He probably wouldn't like the idea but he could always hide it under his shirt if he wanted. She fastened the cord around his neck and let the crystal fall to his chest before checking his energy levels again. They were still low but stable and Sam knew that he would probably be unconscious for a while so she transformed back to human, pulled out her sleeping bag, and went to sleep herself.