A/N: Well, oddly enough, I had this chapter out on time. It didn't get out till Sunday, though, 'cause my Internet card has a limit and I didn't want to go over. Sorry. This week I had a strange surge of inspiration. Maybe the hope of Canada on my horizon has opened up my writing pores. Anyways, fun chapter. Not much action, but fun nonetheless. Takashi and Sam take up most of it. Maybe that's why I liked it so much. You can read for yourself. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own EVERYTHING...except those meddling Danny Phantom characters. Those aren't mine at all.
Chapter 35 Future Making
Takashi found his master in the main dining room of the Tower. It was being prepared for the annual reunion ball for the gods and goddesses. The marble floor was polished to mirror-like perfection. Shining, elegant silver plates and utensils were placed precisely at each seating area. The red cedar table seated 200 guests and took up the entire rectangle shaped room.
Plasmius was conversing with a constant swarm and buzz of his servants. He walked around the room, inspecting the surface of everything like an important critic. Chefs, servants, and maids followed him, all talking rapidly to get enough out of their brief time with the god before briskly walking away to do what they were told.
The ghost spotted his Guardian the second Takashi walked into the room. His red eyes fell on Sam, and he smiled. He turned to his clingy servants and shooed them away with a bored wave of his hand. The results were instant. Everyone stopped talking, spun on their heels, and darted out the doors.
"Ah, Takashi," Vlad addressed the Guardian, "I see your mission was successful."
"Yes, master," Takashi said. He yanked Sam beside him and said emotionlessly, "I have retrieved the human girl you asked for. What are your next orders?"
"Are you so eager for another mission?" Vlad asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Do you wish me to be otherwise?" Takashi returned with another question.
"Good answer," Vlad said as if congratulating a dog. Takashi didn't react. He kept his face its usual deadpan expression when around Vlad. The ghost didn't like his Guardians showing emotion. He claimed it was unbecoming to their kind as well as a show of weakness.
Vlad proceeded to bend down to look Sam in the eyes. His piercing red gaze bore into her, daring her to say something. With each passing second, Sam's rage rose. Her chest heaved to keep the emotion inside her. But it soon boiled out uncontrollably, and she snarled at the evil man, "This will never work, Vlad! Danny defeated you before. He'll do it again!"
"How adorable," Plasmius chuckled in amusement. "You still think this is the past." He leaned himself closer so that their faces were an inch apart and flashed her a sinister smile. "Or are you hanging onto your hope and anger to make me believe you're not scared?"
"I don't care if you think I'm scared," Sam hissed quietly.
Plasmius stood up suddenly and grabbed Sam's chin in a cold, painful grip. The girl flinched before being forced to stare up at Danny's arch enemy. She swallowed the lump in her throat, gritted her teeth in persistence, and glared at him. He only smiled back.
"If you are not afraid, then I might as well tell you what the days ahead will be like for you," Plasmius said with smooth confidence. "You will be put in a cold, wet cell with one meal a day. Your last few days on this earth will be miserable. The second you come out of the cell, you will know it will be your final hours as well as your pathetic boyfriend's. When Danny gives his life away to save you like everyone knows he will, it will be seconds afterwards when you will join him in the afterlife. Let me tell you now, your death will be slow and painful, a punishment that stupid ghost boy needs after years of foiling my plans. Now, girl, I'm sure you truly have something to be scared at."
Sam shook in his grip, either from fear or anger. Maybe a mix of both those emotions. Either way, when Vlad released his hand from her chin and stepped back to proudly inspect the damage his words had brought to her, one of those feelings propelled her to lunge at him with a sharp, desperate battle cry. Her arms raised into the air for a blow to the ghost's face.
She only got a single step forward before Takashi was between the two. Sam's strike managed to hit the Guardian in his ready, open palm. Before she knew it, Takashi had her pinned painfully to the floor with a knee shoved in between her shoulder blades and a fist full of her messy black hair in his harsh grip.
"You were slow, Takashi," Vlad stated with interest.
"Sorry, master," Takashi said, looking up at the ghost with a slight look of contriteness. "I had the assumption you would want to punish her yourself. Please forgive me for my delayed actions."
Vlad thought about this, staring dully down at the two. "Don't hesitate next time," Plasmius said finally with a shrug. He turned slightly, red cape snapping behind him, before saying over his shoulder, "Bring her with you. I want us to have a talk. Walk with me, Takashi."
"Yes, master," Takashi said with a fervent nod. He swiftly yanked Sam to her feet, ignoring her winces of pain. He held her by her arm. The Guardian knew he had the right grip on the human when she complained that he was cutting off her circulation. Without a word or a glance at his captive, Takashi continued to drag Sam along as he picked up his pace to catch up with the ghost.
Plasmius preferred a kind of silence the first few seconds as the three of them walked down one of the hallways leading off from the dining room. Takashi didn't dare break the quiet air. He took this time to think. Sam followed the Guardian's actions and reverted her eyes to the floor to dwell on the harrowing words from Plasmius.
"I will be leaving sometime soon in the future to visit Poseidon," Plasmius said. "As much as I wished there to be no war, the Rebellion proves to dash these wants of mine. I predict the first attack in a few weeks."
"The Rebellion is not nearly strong and organized enough to overthrow you, master," Takashi stated, hoping that Vlad's good mood would allow him to speak freely.
"You are right, Guardian," Plasmius said, glancing briefly over to his slave. "Nonetheless, they will be foolish enough to strike us soon. My rule can not allow what they stand for. I want to crush them on that first assault. I want to demolish all that they stand for, kill every last one of its members, and make an example out of their failure to any of those who would wish to defy me."
"That is why you seek the sea god's assistance," Takashi stated like before. He only pointed these things out to generate a kind of conversation Vlad liked with all his Guardians. Stating things alerted the ghost to what kind of track the mind of the Guardian was on.
"Correct," Vlad said, nodding. He always liked how Takashi was so in sync with him most of the time. The Guardian, even from the start when he was a rebellious little thing, had always known what Vlad could be thinking and what he was capable of. Conversations with Takashi were usually short and to the point, just how Vlad liked them when speaking to his Guardians. "His command over the cyclopes will be much help to me."
"Do you wish for me to come with you on this visit, master?" Takashi questioned.
"No, that won't be acquired of you," Plasmius said quickly. "I have another task for you that is of most importance." He made sure Takashi was looking at him before saying, "You are to take care of the Sam girl. Make sure she does not escape. Feed her once daily. That is your sole duty until she dies."
"Yes, master," Takashi said. Sam thought he was sounding like a robot. She wondered how he had ever survived this way. No wonder he had been so ready to betray Vlad. He was treated horribly and had no escape...until now.
"Do you know why I've given you this responsibility?" Vlad asked, voice losing its light tone.
"If anything goes wrong, you will know who to blame and who to punish," Takashi answered seriously. Again, it was another statement. It had been two years since he talked this way normally. He missed Ember a lot now. Even their silly banter he wished he could have back.
"Exactly," Plasmius said, smiling. "You understand the consequences of failure, Guardian."
"Yes, master," Takashi said again.
"Good, then," Vlad said with finality. "You may take Miss Manson to her cell. Guard the door until you are summoned by me."
"Yes, master."
Plasmius continued to walk down the hallway with his hands clasped behind his back calmly. Takashi took Sam and dragged her down a hallway that branched off from the first without another word. He kept the pace swift and steady and never so dared as to give the human a glance or open his mouth to speak to her.
They came to an elevator soon enough. Sam peered with much curiosity out the window as they rose high above the waking city. A burning red sunrise was painted on the horizon. Sam wondered if this would be the last time she would see that sun.
The doors opened with a quiet whoosh of wind. Takashi led Sam down many hallways and corridors as if he'd gone this way thousands of times before. Everything looked the same to Sam. She was amazed by the memory of the Guardian. He made no hesitation at any time through their brisk journey. How did anyone know where they were going? Escaping this place would be most difficult. How had Theo done it?
Takashi swiped a card he had in his jacket pocket over a scanner stationed beside one door that looked like a bank vault. The door gave a loud resonating sound when the thick, metal bolts were rolled away to allow the two access. Takashi waited for the door to fully open before charging into the room beyond. After entering, the door closed shut behind them with another boom that seemed to fill the entire chamber.
This room was a long corridor of doors much like the first, but smaller. Sam assumed they were all cells, and this was the jail Vlad had created for people like her and Theo. It was astonishingly cold. Sam found herself shivering in her handcuffs. Panic rose from her stomach to her throat. She feverishly gulped down the emotion. She didn't want to be weak. She needed to be strong.
A door at the end of the lengthy corridor had a touch pad that proclaimed the cell free with a green light. Most of the other pads next to the cell doors were red with a name of the captive stationed inside. Takashi used his card again, flashing it over the pad before punching in a combination of numbers at a lightning quick pace. The distinct noise of the door unlocking sounded. Takashi glanced at it, down the corridor, and then typed in another code.
He pulled Sam inside the room and said quietly, "I turned off the security camera inside your cell for a few minutes. If you have questions, now is the time to ask them."
Sam stood dissonantly beside the Guardian as her senses took in the room. It was small. Very small. She would hardly be able to lay down in the cool, wet room made entirely out of concrete. There was no window. A loop of metal was on the wall as well as the floor at her feet. Instantly, the girl felt like she was going to cry. A small sniff pushed the tears away.
"Do you really think these Rebellion people won't be able to defeat Vlad?" she asked in a whisper.
"If they play their cards right, there is a large chance that they could succeed," Takashi said. Gently now, he took her to the far wall and turned her toward him so that her back was flat against the coarse, misty surface.
As Takashi brought her hands up over her head to latch the cuffs to the loop of metal there, Sam asked shakily, "What will he do to Danny when-." She choked up here, and try as she may, a few tears slide down her face.
Takashi finished securing the handcuffs and glanced down at the human to see her crying softly. "Sam, don't," he told her. He tenderly brought her head up to look at him by placing a finger under her chin. "I'm not going to let him use you at all. You just sit here for a few days and survive. That's all you have to worry about. So...uh...stop crying, please."
"You can't do that," Sam said, sniffing to clear her tears. "He'd kill you on the spot if you let me go."
"I'm not an idiot," Takashi said, eyes hardening. "I know perfectly well what will happen to me."
"I never said you should risk your life for mine," Sam protested.
"I'm not doing it for you, human," Takashi spat back. "If there is even so little a chance of Plasmius being killed because I let you go before he gives the order to kill me, I'm going to take it. I despise being his mindless slave! And if being free means helping you and Phantom along the way, then I'll do anything in my power to do so."
"Good," Sam said with a fretful sigh. "I hate it when boys try to prove themselves by giving their lives away for girls. It's very nice, but it's stupid. Danny knows I'd rather die than to be saved if it kills other people. But he'd never let me go. Stupid boy." She paused here before saying with a sad, wistful smile, "I love him."
"True love," Takashi murmured with a dramatic roll of his dark eyes. He shook his head before saying quietly, "It's a cute quality in humans."
"I'm sure Guardians can have it too," Sam said slyly. "You have to fancy someone in the Guardian world. Why else would you risk so much to get away from Vlad? What's her name?"
"I'll tell you the next time I visit," Takashi said quietly. He stroked her palm reassuringly with a forefinger as he said, "You're a strong human. You'll get through this, Sam."
"You're pretty sweet, Takashi," Sam said. She gave a bitter laugh. "For a Guardian, I mean." For the first time in her history with the Guardian, Takashi laughed.
-Danny-
The boy woke with a start. He sat up quickly in his bed and looked around in wonder. It was hard getting used to having his own room again and a comfortable bed that didn't sway to the rhythm of a ship. He was so used to sleeping half a night in a hammock with a random few hours on watch duty each evening that Danny found himself waking at odd hours the two nights he had stayed at the Rebellion's main base.
"I gotta stop waking up like that," Danny muttered to himself before letting out a yawn and taking the time to stretch. "Gonna give me a heart attack sooner or later." He smiled at the ridiculous idea.
Pulling on his clothes for that day, the teen's eyes were drawn to his lone window that shown bright with sunlight. He could see the other rooms and complexes out there, seemingly floating in the puffy, white clouds that dotted the sky. The Rebellion base was near Vlad's Terra, but no one had found it because of a technology that no one had remembered except for the leader, Mandrake.
To start out his group, Mandrake knew he needed a place of refuge for his people. He found a small gathering of island Terras near the main Terra and called it home. Before doing that, he had created a hologram screen. It covered the place like a sphere of protection, cloaking the area in what looked like sky. The trick had been fooling the gods and goddesses for many years now.
Danny had been blown away when they were given the tour. The island Terras all had bamboo pathways and structures that connected to each other with bridges and ladders which made a tranquil, dream-like appearance to the sky kingdom. Every surface beside a Terra itself was made out of the hollow, lightweight material.
The boy's new outfit given to him when entering the base was some loose, cotton pants and a cotton, robe-like shirt that reminded the boy of the get up of oriental monks. He wasn't even allowed shoes. He didn't mind, though. The outfit was comfortable and great for training with Theo. Everyone else wore them too, except for higher ups like Rhodes and Mandrake. Normal people had dark, navy blue outfits. Nurses and doctors had deep purple. Technical people had rusty red. And warriors like Danny, Theo, and Zara were a brownish orange.
Danny was just leaning his head out of the window, sucking in the fresh air to clear his sleepy head, when there was a rapid knock on the door. Not realizing where his head was, the teen rammed it straight into the top of his window. Danny gave a scream as he lost balance, fell to his butt, and rubbed his head furiously. He hoped he wouldn't be getting a bump. That would just be embarrassing.
"What is your problem?" Zara yelled at Danny as she flung the door open. She loomed over him with a look of confused stress that didn't have the time for his hopeless antics.
"You made me hit my head on the window sill!" Danny grumbled, still rubbing the sore as if the friction would heal it.
"This window?" Zara asked, dubious. "It's harmless, kid. Don't go blaming things on the window."
"I didn't blame the window. I blamed you," Danny corrected her.
Zara put her hands on her hips and gave the suffering boy a look of perilous proportions. Danny zipped his mouth shut and pretended he hadn't said anything. "You want to run that by the five thousand year old Guardian again, boy?" she asked down at him.
"Nope," Danny said, smiling cheerfully. "I didn't say anything."
"Good answer," Zara said. She grinned, stuck out her hand, and helped the teen to his feet. "Now," she muttered in pretend thought. "Why was I here again? Oh yeah! Now I remember. Rhodes is having a baby."
"I know," Danny chuckled at her. "She's been having a baby for months now. It's what female humans do."
Zara crossed her arms and decided to let the jab at her intelligence slide just this once as she returned it with a cruel smile, "Yeah, genius, but she's having it right now. As in, this very instant."
Danny's face went pale in horror. "She's birthing it now?" he managed to squeak out.
"Why else would I visit an ugly face such as yours?" Zara asked emotionlessly.
"Holy crap!" Danny said with a hand on the side of his head. "Is she okay?"
"Let's see," Zara said, tapping her chin. "She's having a baby. Oh, she's peachy, I'm sure. How 'bout you ask her yourself?"
"I...uh...um," was Danny's only pathetic response.
"Oh brother," Zara chuckled in amusement. "You're pitiful. Come on, ghost dork. I'm gonna do you a favor. We're gonna go give fox lady a visit." She quickly grabbed his arm before the boy could escape and began to drag him out of the room. "This is gonna be fun!" she told him over her shoulder, grinning diabolically. "Oh, I hope you puke!"
The bamboo walkways were normal with their capacity until the two neared the infirmary complex. People with purple robes rushed and clogged the pathways, making Danny and Zara wait a few times for things to clear. They managed to get into the large building set upon a Terra, but their luck stopped there when a nurse prevented them from going into Rhodes' room.
"This is Danny Phantom, woman," Zara pressed the blonde, stone faced human. The small, short statured nurse stood at the door as if stationed as a bouncer. Her arms crossed in front of her chest, and she looked up at the Guardian with a hard frown.
"I know who this young man is, Guardian," the nurse told Zara firmly, "But no one but Theo and the medical staff is allowed inside this room. Those are the rules. For once in your life, go by them."
"Hey, don't provoke her, lady!" Danny butted in quickly. He stood between a steaming Zara and the glaring nurse, playing peacemaker. "Are you sure we can't come in?" he asked the nurse politely as he strained to keep Zara at bay. He flashed her a quick smile, saying, "Theo and I are like best friends. And I know Rhodes. They wouldn't mind, I'm sure."
"No means no," the nurse said. She stuck the two with a proud, evil smile before telling them, "I even turned away Mr. Mandrake. You two aren't stepping a single foot inside that room."
Danny and Zara shared glances before they simultaneously turned toward the nurse with wicked and devious intent in their eyes and on their smiling faces. "You sure?" Danny asked one more time.
"Rules are rules, Phantom," the nurse said. Her blue, unyielding eyes seemed to dare the two to try otherwise. "You best go by them."
"Get her!" Zara cried, rushing forward with impatience. Danny didn't need any more prodding. He was right behind his companion with eagerness.
Things happened fast. The nurse jabbed out a palm, hitting it right on the bridge of Danny's nose. She had been quicker than the boy had ever seen Theo move. As he stumbled back a bit with a cry of pain, the nurse grabbed Zara by the front of her shirt, swung her into a wall, and then threw her up over her blonde head with a vicious battle yell. Danny looked up from Zara's fallen form just in time to get the heel of a foot shoved into his gut. With his air knocked right out of him, Danny fell to his butt to struggle for a breath.
"What's this all about?" Mandrake asked as he just then entered the room with Melody and Bob. He put his hands on his hips and looked down with bemusement at the two fallen warriors. He looked up at the smug nurse and asked, "I hope you didn't do this to them for no reason, Miss Angela."
"No, sir," the nurse said with a secret smile. "They wanted to come into the room. I told them no, so they attacked me. I was only doing my job."
"Must have been a badly planned attack," Mandrake observed.
"A human's luck," Zara croaked as she swiftly got to her feet to dust herself off. She shot glares at the nurse the entire time. Bob and Melody got Danny to his feet, the child worried half to death and the blob smiling in morbid amusement.
"I think my nose is bleeding," Danny said miserably.
"It is," Mandrake said, nodding.
"Jeez, lady!" Danny accused the nurse. "You didn't have to be so brutal!"
"Cotton swabs can be found in the room just over there," the nurse said, pointing in the right direction as if her advice would make things all right again.
"Thanks," Danny muttered, stalking off with Melody on his heels.
-Minutes Later-
The group of heroes had decided to settle for less after some more talking to the relentless nurse. They all sat on a bench by the door, waiting for their time to enter the room. All their personalities displayed in their positions and expressions.
Mandrake sat ram rod straight, leg over another, and hands placed precisely on his bent knee as he waited with uncanny patience. Danny was next to him, leaning forward and twiddling his thumbs in nervous anxiety. Melody was after him. She was cross legged and as silent as a mouse. Zara sat beside her, slumping greatly in her seat and looking terribly bored. Bob floated at the end. He was, like in all times of stress, a nervous wreck. It was surprising that he hadn't passed out by now.
After what seemed like hours to most of the group, the doctor walked confidently out of the room they all wanted to get into. He was taking off his bloody latex gloves with a kind, victorious smile on his soft features. He nodded to the nurse before addressing the anticipating ones on the bench. They all seemed to lean toward him when waiting for his words.
"It's all done," the man said with a chuckle. "The birth was perfect. Rhodes and Theo now have a beautiful, healthy baby boy. You guys can go in and see him. But please be quiet."
The group was anything but quiet as they rushed into the room, squeezing their way through the doctor, nurse, and door. Melody and Zara were in first. The little girl gasped in delight at the sight of the baby Theo held in a bundle of cloth. He bent down to show the baby to her.
"I guess cat ears were the dominant gene after all," Zara stated as she stared intently at the small ball of red fur. It had the short, feline fur like Theo's, just a dark crimson color. Large cat ears adorned its small head. Wide, violet eyes stared out at his new world for the first time. What they didn't see was the little, puffy fox tail which was wrapped with him in the blankets.
"He is so...small," Melody whispered in wonder.
"You were that small too, Melody," Rhodes said with a weak smile. She sat on a cushy bed, sweat collected on her brow. She appeared to be worn out but thoroughly pleased with herself. She looked at her husband and baby with happy longing in her violet eyes.
"He's beautiful, Rhodes," Mandrake congratulated the woman. She smiled her thanks.
Bob looked at the baby, hesitantly poked it in the head, and recoiled when the baby's ear twitched in annoyance. He spat something at Theo, and the half sphinx laughed. "He's not that squishy, Bob," he told the green blob. Bob decided to protest with a rapid tirade in his own language that Theo rolled his eyes at.
Theo looked up suddenly when feeling Danny's reluctance. He smiled slightly before taking a step toward his friend and giving the bundle of fur over to the ghost boy. "Hold him, kid," he said to Danny. "It's not like he's gonna attack you."
"I...um...okay," Danny said, scared half to death to have something so small and fragile in his arms now. He laughed nervously before saying, "I just don't want to drop him or anything."
"You won't," Theo said, guiding Danny by the shoulder back to the bed Rhodes was on. While Danny looked down in amazement at the baby, Theo quietly ushered the others out of the room and returned to Danny's side. "He's cute, right?" he asked Danny. "You better think he's cute, or I'm gonna have to beat you up for being wrong."
"He's amazing, Theo," Danny reassured him.
"You alright, hon?" Rhodes asked the boy when she saw tears forming in his eyes.
"Sorry," Danny said, wiping the tears away with his shoulder. "I've just been really thinking about stuff lately, wondering why in the world I'm here and if I should stay. To kill or not to kill Vlad. If it is worth risking all our lives to get rid of Vlad. Just a lot of stuff has been going through my head.
"But this is what it's all about, right?" he asked the two with a bright smile. "The next generation. You guys have already decided that your lives won't be easy or happy ones, but you're willing to fight and to die for your kids or your kids' kids. All you guys want is a place where your kids can be free and prosperous. Vlad in command of everything will never let them live that way. That's why it's so important to fight now. Fight now before it's too late to change the future."
"You're an awesome kid, Danny," Rhodes told him. She leaned forward to rub his arm sweetly. For a second she reminded him of his own mom. He missed his mom and family a lot these days.
"Guess what we're naming the little guy?" Theo asked, throwing an arm around the boy's shoulders. Danny gave him a dubious, confused look. "We named him Danny," Theo said with a smile. "You like it? I always thought it had a certain ring to it. Hey, at least it's better than Bob, right?"
A/N: I wanna draw little baby Danny now. I got this visual of him in my head, and he's freaking cute. Ha ha! Anyways, fun chapter. Next chapter you guys will find out what Mandrake really is and will be accompanied with a pretty sweet fight scene. I'm excited for it! So, I'll be seeing you guys in two weeks!