Pokewing Z: Dimension Rifters, Episode 37: Masters of Disaster!
A mega-crossover fic by Dustin Dixon, Caleb McGlone, and Rob Volzke.

The Disclaimer is ON A BOAT MOTHERFUCKER...currently passing by Episodes 1 and 25. Please read.

"Another night, and Amity Park is all clear." Valerie Gray, the young ghost hunter, monologued to herself, as she glided around the skies of the aforementioned city, searching for anything that might have been a risk to the safety of its' fair citizens. This night, had proven to be fruitless, something that Valerie was okay with, given recent events that had happened in the city. "Well, I suppose it's time to turn around and-"A loud beeping noise cut the young girl off, which caused her to immediately raise her Ghost Radar, scouring it intently. The radar was showing a small blip of light, very close to the center point of the radar screen. "Wait, then that means..." She looked up just in time to see a streak of silver fly across the sky in front of her. Her lips curling into a smirk, she revved her glider, speeding off after the light. "Looks like I get to take one down tonight after all."

(Title)Masters of Disaster!
(Subtitle) A disaster of sisterly proportions!
(Jingle) Synthesizer
(Image) Ash stands, battle-ready, staring down a shadowy figure and an evilly-grinning Wayne.

Guest Voice: Jennette McCurdy as Victoria

"Say, Enma?" Ratty's voice was very questioning as he walked into the main lobby of the Spirit World Castle, glancing up to his boss, who was working on some paperwork, such as always seemed to be the case.
"Yes Rattabald?" Enma knew he hated that name, but it was funny to the reaction on the young rodents face, which he sure enough saw this time. Ratty just sighed, taking it surprisingly well, and then proceeded to ask his question.
"How long have you known that Ash was the last Kamoa?" Enma stopped what he was doing, hoping that nobody would ever have asked that question. He sighed, pretending to collect himself, as he let his answer escape his lips.
"All you need to know, my friend, is that I have known for quite a while."

"Damn it." Valerie was following her radar intently, but, even so, she seemed to have lost the signal of the streak of light she was chasing. "Damn it." The young ghost hunter repeated. "How could I...huh?" She glanced up, and noticed something that puzzled her; a figure with long, flowing silver hair, pale, almost ghostly skin, sitting on the edge of a rooftop nearby. Cautiously, but quickly, she hovered over to the building, touching down off of her glider. The 'thud' her boots made as she landed on the hard surface harder than she had intended, caused the glowing, ghostly figure to turn around, and Valerie almost stopped in her tracks out of shock. This ghost, which had from a distance appeared to be nothing more than a beautiful young woman, now stared a hole through her with bright, blood red eyes. Valerie took her footing, but was still found speechless, and trapped in a staring contest with the ghost. The latter decided to speak first.
"I've been to a lot of places in this world," The ghost spoke, her voice surprisingly serene. "But I've yet to see somebody follow me like you have. What do you want with me?" It took Valerie a moment to regain herself, but she did manage to speak quickly.
"I don't answer to ghosts," She rebutted coldly, pulling out her Ecto-Gun and aiming the sights onto the girl. "I eliminate them." She cocked the gun, readying it for fire. The ghost just sighed.
"Sometimes I wonder about you humans."
"CAN IT!" Valerie shouted, pulling the trigger, causing a huge beam to come flying out of the barrel, headed right for the ghost girl. Instantaneously, however, her form became translucent, and, still sitting, she disappeared through the roof of the building, causing the shot to go careening off target, hitting the side of the next building over before harmlessly dissipating. "DAMN IT!" Valerie shouted, anger now getting to her. She quickly pulled out her ghost radar. However, after staring at it for a moment, she determined that there was no signal. Distressed, the ghost hunter let out a long sigh, and flew back off into the night sky. What she failed to notice, however, was a female figure exiting the building, and watching her exit, before continuing on her own way.

The next day, at Casper High School, during lunch block, Ash and friends were exiting the lunch line, having all collected their daily meals, and were deciding on a place to sit.
"Is it just me or is the lunch room more crowded than usual today?" Ash spoke up, not seeing any tables that had five seats available.
"No, I think you're right." Yusuke agreed. "We usually have a few spots, but I don't see them today."
"Hey, what about that table?" Jenny spoke up, pointing to a table off in the corner of the school cafeteria. "There's just one girl sitting there." Ash, Yusuke, Danny and Jazz all turned their heads to where Jenny was pointing, seeing the one girl sitting alone at the empty lunch table.
"Who is that girl, anyway?" Jazz asked aloud. The person they were looking at was a pale skinned girl, with long, jet black hair parted down the middle. She wore fairly heavy eyeliner, and sported black jeans, a red tank top, and a black zip up jacket. She was also wearing reading glasses, and had a book in front of her, with a tray of half eaten food off to the side of her.
"I'm...not sure." Danny spoke after a moment. "I don't think I've ever seen her around."
"Maybe she's new?" Yusuke chimed in.
"Guys, stop staring." Jazz scolded slightly. "Let's go welcome her to Casper High. She looks lonely."
"Eh, you guys can do it. Ash said nonchalantly. "I'm not one for meeting new people. It just isn't me." This caused Jazz to give him the death glare, which rendered the former speechless.
"It wouldn't hurt you to learn some people skills, Ash." Jazz scolded again, this time more seriously, as she grabbed him by the shirt, and began to walk to the table. "You're coming with us." Ash attempted to struggle at first, but knew it wouldn't matter.
"All right, all right, just let me go, Jesus..." Ash grumbled something under his breath as the gang walked over, sitting down at the table with this new girl, who glanced up when she heard a sound, smiling when she saw people. Her baby blue eyes matched her complexion well, and she seemed to be a very serene person, to the point where even Ash felt more relaxed just sitting down next to her.
"Uh...hi there." Ash said slowly. The girl turned her head upward to acknowledge his greeting.
"Hello." the girl said, almost emotionlessly.
"Well...nice meeting you!" Ash said cheerfully and started to stand up, only to be firmly replanted in the spot he sat down in by Jazz, who gave him another death glare as she did so.
"We saw you here and we thought you might like some company." Jazz said. "I'm Jasmine Fenton, the guy in the white shirt is my little brother Danny, and these guys..." she trailed off, pointing at Ash, Jenny, and Yusuke, respectively. "...are Ash Ketchum, Jenny Wakeman, and Yusuke Urameshi."
"Hello." Jenny smiled politely as the five took their seats.
"'Sup?" Yusuke smirked, sitting next to Jenny.
"I wasn't expecting anyone to sit over here, to be honest." the girl admitted.
"Are we bothering you?" Ash asked eagerly. "Cause if so, say the word and we're gone."
"Ash!" Jazz snapped.
"Well, I'LL be gone, anyway."
"The hell you will!" Jazz gave him her infamous Mental Taser once more.
"Okay already! Just turn that thing off!" Ash griped.
"ANYway..." the girl sighed. "I don't mind. Allow me to introduce myself, since you all have already had your turn. My name is Victoria Masters. But you can call me Vikki." the girl, apparently named Victoria, said, immediately causing Danny to spit out the milk he had begun to drink.
"Masters?!" Danny nearly shouted, causing Victoria's expression to become one of complete confusion.
"Do you know anyone with that name?" Vikki asked, a strange smile appearing on her face.
"Uh..." Danny trailed off, thinking of what to say. "Why, do you?"
Vikki nodded. "Actually, I'm looking for someone…a family member. The only one I have left."
'Don't say Vlad, don't say Vlad.' Danny thought.
"His name is Vlad Masters."
'DAMMIT!'
"Do you know him?"
"Actually, yeah, we do." Jazz spoke up. "He's old friends with our parents."
"Is he now…?" Vikki asked. "Do you know where he is right now?"
"Not right this moment, unless he's at home in Wisconsin." Jazz answered.
"Thank you, I'll check it out ASAP."

Later that day…
"Why the hell did you tell her we knew Vlad?!" Danny shouted.
"If what she's saying is true, then maybe we can brighten up that old stick in the mud's life by introducing him to a family member he may not know he ever had." Jazz explained.
"It's Vlad, Jazz. He's not gonna care unless she can help him get Mom away from Dad." Danny sighed. "You care WAY too much about stuff that isn't any of your business."
"And you care way too little, Daniel Jacob Fenton!" Jazz scolded harshly. "Am I the only one who gives a rat's ass about socializing and making friends around here?!"
"Gah! The full name of death!" Sam said, as she and Tucker walked up next to Danny. "You must've really pissed her off."
"…Your middle name is Jacob?" Tucker asked, causing Danny to facepalm.
"…Yes. Yes it is." Danny said, shutting his eyes in embarrassment.
"Hello?! We're way off base here!" Jazz interrupted shrilly. "Why can't you be more social?!"
"Who made you his boss, Jazz?!" Sam stepped in. "Did you not stop to think that this Vikki girl's related to Vlad?! You know, your brother's WORST ENEMY?!"
"She's got a point." Danny threw up his arms in disgust. "Back off."
"Whatever…" Jazz sulked for a second, and then stormed off angrily.
"What the hell's HER problem?!" Danny shouted, punching a locker next to him, causing it to dent.
"I'm not sure, but I don't think Ash helped her mood any earlier." Tucker commented. Danny just sighed.
"Whatever. At least she's gone now."

Jazz and Danny walked in the door to Fentonworks, school being over for the day.
"I'm going to go find mom and dad." Jazz spoke. "Maybe they can get in touch with Vlad so he can come meet Vikki." Danny responded to this with a very pissed off sigh.
"Really? You're still on about that? Give it up Jazz. Helping the enemy is a BAD idea." Now it was Jazz's turn to get pissed.
"Danny, have you ever stopped to think that maybe Vlad is just lonely? Maybe this will help him to become a better person, finding some family."
"Have YOU ever stopped to think that maybe this girl is just another ally for Vlad? We don't know her, Jazz!" This had escalated into a shouting match, which had caused the parental figures to come into the room.
"Daniel! Jasmine! What is going on here?!" Jack raised his voice, which was quite powerful, causing both children to come to sort of an attention. Danny just sighed again.
"Nothing dad. Sorry for yelling. I'll be in my room." Danny began to walk upstairs, the remaining three watching him. When he was out of sight, Jack and Maddie looked to Jazz, who immediately took up her plan of action.
"Mom, dad, we made a new friend today. Her name is Vikki Masters." Jack spoke up immediately.
"Masters? I wonder if she is related to Vlad…" Jack became lost in thought, while Maddie and Jazz just sighed.
"Honey, I think that was the point she was trying to make." This caused Jack to look at Maddie questioningly, then to Jazz, who nodded.
"Ah, very well then."
"Right. Anyway, she's been looking for Vlad, and I was wondering if you guys could get in touch with him? Tell him that she's looking for him. We figured he was probably in Wisconsin at this point." A large grin spread across Jack's face.
"I would be DELIGHTED!" Jack responded gleefully. "I can't wait to hear good ole' Vlad's voice when we tell him he has a relative!" Jack immediately rushed to the phone, picked it up, and happily dialed Vlad's number. After a few seconds, he heard Vlad gruffly say "Hello?"
"Hey V-Man! How's it going?" Jack greeted.
"What do you want, you oaf?" After a few seconds, Vlad spoke up again. "I mean, hello Jack…what did you call for?"
"Seems there's a girl here in Amity Park who says she's looking for ya, Vladdie. Jasmine says her last name's Masters. She a relative of yours?"
"What? I don't have any relatives... well, aside from my parents, but I haven't spoken to them since the ecto-acne incident."
"Well, maybe ya had some ya didn't know about. We were thinking maybe you could stop by here in Amity Park and meet her."
"Look, I don't just have time to go gallivanting around because some poor orphan thinks she can fool me into inheriting my vast fortune! No dice!"
"But Vladdie…!"
"End of discussion, Jack! I WILL. NOT. MEET. THIS. GIRL!" Jack then heard Vlad hang up the phone very harshly.
"What got into him?" Jack asked. "You'd think he'd be thrilled that he might have another relative in this world!"
"I'm sure Vlad's just in shock."
"More like he doesn't give a sh-" Danny was interrupted by Maddie harshly clearing her throat. "…Never mind. Going to my room." He then walked the rest of the way up the stairs. Jack walked off shaking his head, and Maddie followed close behind.

"Fine." Jazz said, scowling. "If he doesn't want to meet her willingly, I'll MAKE him meet her."

The next evening, Jazz and Vikki were racing toward Wisconsin in the Specter Speeder.
"I wonder why he didn't want to come to Amity Park to meet me?" Vikki wondered aloud, sounding kind of sad.
"Vlad's a bit…" Jazz paused, trying to think of a word to use for Vlad's description that wouldn't upset Vikki in any way. "…eccentric. Anyway, he's gonna see you whether he wants to or not this time!" Jazz smirked, flooring the pedal on the Specter Speeder.

Vlad stomped angrily toward his front door, determined to give whoever it was the harshest talking-to he or she had ever had in his or her life. As he swung open the door with a shout of "WHAT?!", Wayne stood on the other side, a look of deep thought on his face.
"What are you doing here?" Vlad asked, a smirk forming on his face. "Motoko kick you out for Spring Cleaning?"
"…" Wayne remained silent, seeming to stare intently forward.
"I said…did Motoko kick you out for Spring Cleaning?!" Vlad repeated, louder than before. Wayne stayed silent. "…Wayne?"
"I need to…I need to talk…" Wayne said, after several seconds of silence.
"Why not talk to Motoko?" Vlad suggested. "She follows your every order."
"Because the demon inside forces her to. She's a mindless drone, Vlad. I need to talk to someone who can think for himself. Someone who won't go on the defensive every time I get near them." Wayne said, the same intense look on his face.
"Whatever it is, it seems serious…I can't believe I'm saying this, but…come in." Vlad offered. Wayne nodded and stepped inside, allowing Vlad to shut the door behind him.

"Care for a drink?" Vlad asked.
"Got anything really strong?" Wayne retorted slowly.
"I would bring up the whole 'You're 16' point, but I imagine you don't care."
"Ha, true…"
"Come on, I'll let you 'hit up' my liquor cabinet, as the young folks say…" Vlad opened said liquor cabinet, grabbing a flute and filling it with some vodka.
"Most people drink that from a regular cup, you know…" Wayne smiled faintly.
"What is it you young folks say? Oh yeah, 'screw the rules, I have money'!" Vlad laughed slightly as he finished saying that. "Anyway, you have my attention, Wayne. Talk."
"Something happened the other day." Wayne spoke up after a few minutes. "I got into a fight with Ketchum."
"So? That's nothing new." Vlad scoffed.
"True, but it went bad, Vlad." Wayne explained. "Had Valerie Gray not intervened… I wouldn't be here right now… Ash would have finished me off."
"You're joking, right?" Vlad seemed to be skeptical. "Ketchum? The kid who refuses to kill any human being?"
"No, I'm not. The Ketchum I fought the other day was a completely different person than the one I've known. Like a whole new, ruthless person. I have no doubts someone else is in there."
"Why does this bother you? You know this line of work is dangerous." Vlad reasoned.
"I started to think, after Valerie begged him not to kill me." Wayne reminisced. "Is this really what I want to do with my life?"
"Why are you thinking that now?" Vlad asked, as Wayne downed the vodka quickly.
"Because I threatened her father. In spite of that, Valerie intervened on my behalf. Nobody's ever done that for me…" Wayne's eyes seemed to stare beyond the large room, seeming to stare beyond time itself. "Well, there was one person…"
"Look, I don't pull off the concerned role very well, Wayne, but if I were you, I'd weigh what either path you take would yield you in the long run." Vlad said. "If you're serious about this, then maybe it's best that you get out while you're still young."
"You could get out too, y'know." Wayne suggested. "Not that I'm going to or anything."
"No…it's a little late for that, Wayne." Vlad said. "As I said, you're still young. You still have a shot at a normal life. I lost that chance about 20 years ago."
"Heh, well—" Whatever Wayne was about to say, he never finished, for at that moment, the doorbell rang.
"You're popular today, aren't you?" Wayne commented, with a bit of a chuckle.
"Why don't you go down to my lab for a bit while I see who this is?" Vlad asked. Wayne flashed a thumbs up and walked out of the room. Vlad walked briskly over to his front door and opened it.
"If I've told you damned Fudgy Scouts once, I've told you a thousand times, I DO. NOT. WANT. ANY. GIRL. SCOUT. COOKIES!" Vlad shouted, then opened his eyes to notice Jazz standing at his front door, flinching somewhat. "Jasmine?"
"Uh…is this a bad time?" Jazz asked, her voice cracking somewhat.
"No, not at all my dear." Vlad changed his tone very quickly. "Why are you here?"
"I have someone here with me. She says she's related to you." Jazz explained.
"Oh, not this again." Vlad slapped his face with the palm of his right hand. "Look Jazz, I already told your father, I'm sick of people coming around claiming to be a long lost relative of mine!"
"But…"
"I told you, I don't want to meet her! Sorry you wasted your time, you can go now."
"No! To HELL with that!" Jazz protested, causing Vlad to gasp and his eyes to widen. This prompted Jazz to continue. "You always go around looking so lonely, so I thought maybe this might help you out a little bit! The least you could do is SEE her, you stubborn son of a bitch!"
"…Very well." Vlad said after a few minutes.
"Vikki! He said he'd see you!" Jazz called out. Vikki climbed out of the Specter Speeder and walked up to Vlad.
"So I hear you're a relative of mine." Vlad said, walking back to his living room along with Jazz and Vikki.
"Yes. The only one you have left, to my knowledge anyway." Vikki said, sadness slightly present in her voice.
"Stop right there. I know you're lying. My parents should still be alive." Vlad argued.
"No…OUR parents are dead. They died three years ago." Vlad stopped dead in his tracks, as did Jazz.
"OUR parents?!" Vlad nearly shouted.
"YOUR parents?!" Jazz repeated.
"Yes…I'm your younger sister." Vikki said, closing her eyes.
"Sister?!" Vlad shouted again. "Preposterous! I have no sister!"
"I have a birth certificate and pictures to prove that I am indeed your sister." Vikki explained, pulling out a birth certificate from her backpack, as well as a few pictures, assumedly of her, in various stages of her life with Mr. and Mrs. Masters.
"…Why didn't they call me?" Vlad asked after several minutes of just staring at the certificate and pictures.
"You were unlisted, and you never gave them your number or address." Vikki said.
"What happened? How did they die?" Vlad asked.
"They were in an explosion. You made Dad proud enough to try his own hand at a ghost portal, but it was faulty. When he fired it up for the first time, it exploded, killing him and Mom instantly. I was upstairs when it happened. Instead of killing me, the explosion did this…" As she finished speaking, two rings formed around Vikki's midsection, transforming her into the same ghost Valerie had seen a couple of nights ago.
"She's a ghost…" Jazz gasped out.
"Yes. I am half-ghost." Vikki sighed, changing back seconds later. "I've had three years to try out these powers and see what I can do…and I've gotten pretty good at them, if I do say so myself."
"Pretty good, you say…?" Vlad pondered after a few seconds of silence. "Why don't both of you have a seat?"

As Wayne relaxed for a few minutes in Vlad's study, sipping a glass of bourbon, he noticed a wall slowly open up. His eyes widened as he saw who emerged.
"You…what the hell are YOU doing here?!" Wayne growled.
"I could ask you the same thing." came the person's reply. As the person stepped into the light, she was revealed to be none other than Janine.
"There are a million people I didn't want to see today, and wouldn't you know it? The one at the top of the list is the one I see. The universe fucking hates me…" Wayne muttered, taking another drink of his bourbon.
"Do you even realize WHY I'm here?" Janine face palmed.
"To piss me off with another 'I won't give up, I'll get my old brother back!' speech?"
"No…to help you out." This statement caused Wayne's eyes to widen a bit. A few minutes of dead silence were shared between the two siblings, until finally, Wayne broke said silence.
"…Why? Why the hell would you help me?"
"Because you're my brother."
"Oh god damn it, I KNEW IT!" Wayne angrily threw his glass of bourbon against the wall, shattering it into a million pieces and leaving Vlad's rug soaked.
"No, it's not like that…I don't care what you do…you're still my little brother. I don't want to watch you die…and I'm sure Ash is planning to kill you regardless of the promise he made to me." Janine explained.
"If you don't want to watch me die, then turn your head…assuming I fail." Wayne countered.
After a few more seconds of silence, Wayne spoke up again. "Look, this would be counted against you BIG time by the Spirit World. Enma may not seem like much of a threat, until you consider the fact that he can open rifts from, and even TO, anywhere. The Kamoa are the only race supposedly capable of doing that. In addition to that, there's a higher power than Enma—"
"Two, actually." Janine stated calmly. "The Observers are slightly higher than he is."
"Oh right, those freaks." Wayne commented back. "Anyway, you may face THEIR wrath, Enma's wrath, AND the wrath of the one being who rules above all…The Overseer."
"I'm well aware of what will probably happen." Janine said. "I don't fear any of these people, Wayne."
"You do realize the Overseer is essentially God, right?"
"Of course I realize that. I wasn't born yesterday."
"And you still say you want to help me…?" Wayne's expression seemed to show genuine confusion.
"It's like I said…I don't care what you've become…you're still my brother." This comment caused Wayne to shakily extend his right hand.
"I can't believe I'm about to say this, but…welcome to the team…"
Janine looked down at Wayne's hand for a few seconds before gripping it with her own.

"Thank you for the offer, Vlad," Jazz politely remarked. "But I need to get back Amity Park. I have homework and stuff of that nature."
"Are you sure, Jasmine?" Vlad replied, his voice sounding sincere, to a point. Apparently, it was enough to convince Jazz, who actually smiled at Vlad.
"Yes, I really have some things that need to be attended to, but I appreciate the offering to let me stay. You two have fun." She smiled one more time. "I'll see you at school tomorrow, Vikki."
"Yes, thank you again Jazz." Vikki arose from her seat and exchanged a friendly hug with the red headed teenager, who proceeded out the door shortly thereafter. Vikki returned to her seat, looking at Vlad with a big grin on her fact. "I can't believe I've finally found you, Vlad." She was sincerely happy to have met him, as was evident in her voice.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, it is great isn't it?" Vlad commented. "It's unbelievable…and it seems you have come to me in my hour of need."
"Hour of need?" Vikki asked incredulously.
"Yes, hour of need." Vlad answered, his back turned to Vikki so he could hide the sly look on his face. "You see, dear sister…I've been beset upon by a foul ghost boy named Danny Phantom. Recently, he has teamed up with a boy with wings. They've been hounding me for about four months now."
"Is it because of your ghost portal?"
"No, something else. They think I have this stone called the Spirit Stone. It's an all-powerful stone that grants the powers of the universe itself to whoever holds it. They want it for themselves, to enslave all humanity. I've tried to stop them, by hiring people to fight them, but time and time again, they've proven too strong!"
"…" Vikki remained silent for a few minutes, before slowly speaking up. "Now that I'm here, brother, they'll never bother you again. I'll make them see the error of their ways!" she stated confidently.
"You would?" Vlad questioned, his back turned to her. "But I couldn't put you in such danger…" he smirked, having planned out the transpiring events in his head already.
"I'm fairly certain they won't be a problem for me, Vlad." Vikki said, a slight smirk on her face.
"You realize these teens want to destroy everything, correct?"
"And? Obviously they have to be stopped. I know I was given these powers for a reason." Vikki stated.
"Very well…" Vlad said. "They've made their base of operations in Amity Park. I have a person or two that I've hired to attempt to get rid of the ghost boy and his accomplice…excuse me while I go fetch them…" Vlad then turned and opened the door to the adjacent hallway and Vikki took a seat. Vlad walked out without another word, silently closing the door behind him.

"So why exactly are you here, anyway? I know you said you wanted to help me out, but…how is this helping?" Wayne asked, arching a brow as he stood facing the nearest window, gazing out into the night sky of Wisconsin with still a slight feeling of unease.
"Vlad agreed to help me train." Janine stated, glancing over at Wayne before continuing. "Since I chose this path, eventually the day will come where I must fight Ash."
"That's another thing I was going to ask you…I know how you feel about Ketchum…are you really willing to fight him for me?" Wayne's expression was completely blank as he turned to Janine, staring her down.
"I admit I'd rather not fight him, but you're my brother…if he's going to end up trying to kill you, then I'll kill him." Janine said confidently.
"Can you live with that?" Wayne asked.
"If I couldn't, I wouldn't have offered to join you, Wayne."
"Wow…" was the only word that escaped the tyrant's lips. For the second time during this day, he was left speechless." I thought you were a stupid whore for years…" he motioned to Janine to walk closer. As she took him up on his gesture, he placed his right hand on her shoulder. "…But this may be the first time I actually consider myself proud to be related to you."
"Wayne…" Janine smiled, then threw her arms around her younger brother in an embrace.
"Whoa…whoa." Wayne said, gently shoving her off. "I didn't say we've graduated to hugs."
"Sorry." Janine said, rubbing the back of her head with her left hand. Just then, Vlad walked in.
"We have a bit of a situation…" Vlad said, then proceeded to explain the events that had just transpired with Vikki, with Wayne listening intently, his eyes widening ever so slightly. As Vlad finished his explanation, Wayne only had one thing to say…
"…When the HELL did I become YOUR lackey?!" Wayne shouted.
"From the moment my easily-exploitable sister with ghost powers walked in the door." Vlad said sternly. "If we can fool her, we'll have a new ally in our little axis of 'evil'."
"…When this is over, you're going to suffer greatly. You realize this, don't you?" Wayne asked.
".I guess you decided to stay the course after all. Well then, let's get on with the performance." Vlad motioned to Wayne, and the two of them walked off.
"…Using your own sister… is that all we siblings are good for?" Janine monologued, turning her attention to the night sky.

The next day, Vikki was back in Amity Park, with Wayne in tow. As she took a swig of her bottled water, she glanced over at Wayne, who was taking a drag from a cigarette as he looked over the side of the wall they were leaning against.
"Where'd my brother find you?" Vikki asked.
"I fell out of the sky. Now be quiet. We're trying to spy on Phantom and Ketchum." This caused Vikki to drop her water bottle.
"Ketchum?! You mean Ash Ketchum?!"
"You've met him, huh? He's such an annoying jackass." Wayne scowled, glancing over at Ash and company talking.
"I can't believe Ash is a demon bent on destroying the world." Vikki gasped.
"C'mon, don't lose sight of why we're here." Wayne said, dropping his cigarette and stomping it out.
"Yes…" Vikki peeked around the corner, unable to make out what everyone but Ash was saying. She could tell he was pissed off just by his motions. Putting her hand to her ear, she was able to hear what was being said a little better.
"That's just GREAT, Jazz! You took Vlad's half-ghost sister to see him! You do realize he wants me DEAD, right?!"" Ash flung his hands up in rage.
"Calm down! I didn't take her for that purpose, and I sure as HELL didn't know she was half-ghost!"
"Hey, you wanna find the Spirit Stone and give it to him as well?! That'd be the only thing worse than Vlad getting a new ally!"
"Why are you so negative?! Who says she'll help Vlad?!"
"She's his god damn sister, Jazz! Of course he's gonna get her to help him!"
"Or maybe he'll genuinely try to bond with her! You don't know any more than Danny thinks he does!"
"Neither do you, Jazz. Neither do you. You HAVE been wrong in the past. Remember Jamie? 'Oh, he's such a wonderful guy! I'll just ignore the fact that he's borderline psychotic toward my little brother!'"
"Thanks Ash, I needed to be reminded of that…you know what? You can be such an asshole."
"Yeah? Well, this asshole's gonna go beat something up. Preferably that damned Box Ghost."
"Well, go ahead! You won't get any argument from me!"
"TCH, yeah right! You want to fight about everything I say or do! Why the hell do you care?! I'm not your damn boyfriend!"
"Just go away."
"I got a better idea! I'm gonna go put an end to this right now! That way I can get you the hell out of my hair!"
"Fine, whatever! I'm out of here!" Jazz then stormed off.
"Put an end to this…?" Vikki whispered to Wayne.
"Think about it. He's wanting to kill your brother."
"…!" Vikki's shocked look quickly turned to one of determination as she transformed. "Not while I can help it, he won't."
"Hang on, kid…I'll give ya a hand." Wayne smirked, as a purple aura surrounded him. "Wait right here, we'll lure him to one of my traps…" He then stepped out from behind the wall and fired a Devil Gun at Ash, which hit him right in the back, between the shoulder blades.
"ASH!" Jenny cried.
"Well, look who rears his ugly face once again." Yusuke growled, leaping up from the bench the group was sitting at.
"Yusuke, Ash might be hurt and Wayne's the first person you turn your attention to?" Jenny scolded Yusuke.
"YES, because of three very important reasons. One, Ash is stronger than me. Two, that shot would've barely hurt me. Finally, three, if I take my eyes off of Wayne, he'll get away, as usual." Yusuke pointed out.
"What can I say? The man knows me." Wayne smirked.
"'The hell do YOU want, Wayne?" Ash asked.
"What else would I want, Ash? I want to fight you and your friends."
"Here?!" Ash looked shocked.
"No. The same place you went to save Janine." Wayne's eyes narrowed.
"Or I could settle this right now, Wayne." Yusuke threatened. "Remember what happened the last time you fought me…"
"You may nearly have beaten me, but I did manage to break your nose." Wayne smirked.
"Only cause you caught me by surprise, jackass." Yusuke answered indignantly.
"Well now's your chance to get back at me…meet me at the docks in about an hour."
"Fair enough…we'll meet there." Ash spoke up again.
"Ash, you shouldn't try to—"Jenny started to speak, but Ash held up his left hand to silence her.
"I'm fine. That didn't even hurt." Ash looked over at Wayne. "We'll settle the score once and for all."
"So we shall." Wayne said, turning around and walking away.
"That was unusually blunt of him…" Jenny observed.
"Yeah, well who cares? Wayne's going down. Then I can get out of this dump." Ash muttered, walking away from Jenny and Yusuke.
"What's with him? Jazz doesn't usually get to him THIS bad." Yusuke commented.
"I think he's starting to miss home." Jenny sighed.

Almost an hour later, Wayne and Vikki sat waiting for Ash and friends.
"Where the hell is that jerk?!" Wayne shouted. "I told him to meet me here in an hour."
"You know, you could've been nicer about inviting him to fight to the death." Vikki commented casually.
"…It's a FIGHT TO THE DEATH." Wayne slapped his forehead. "Gah, I'm SURROUNDED BY IDIOTS."
"Hey, I realize this is serious, I just don't feel the need to be overly cruel about it." Vikki snapped back. "And you said ABOUT an hour."
"Same difference." Wayne grumbled.
"No. It isn't."
"It doesn't matter what I did or didn't say…he should be here by n—" Wayne was cut off by laughter from the shadows. "…So, you're finally here, Ketchum!"
"That's right, and I'm gonna put an end to this!" Ash sounded more determined than ever before.
"More like I will." Wayne commented casually. "Face it Ketchum, you're as good as dead."
"How many times have I heard that before?" Ash rolled his eyes.
"You two are boring." Vikki said, transforming into her ghostly alter-ego.
"And you're a liar." Ash commented angrily.
"I didn't lie to you, I just didn't tell you I had ghost powers." Vikki answered defensively.
"Lies by omission are still lies." Ash stared down Vikki as the Rift Sword formed in his right hand.
"You're one to talk. It was so nice of you to leave out the part where you're trying to destroy the world!" Vikki pointed a finger at Ash.
"…Seriously?" Ash looked over at Wayne. "How many times are you going to use that lie?"
"What are you talking about?" Wayne looked puzzled.
"You lied to Valerie, to Keitaro, and to pretty much EVERYBODY you've ever met!" Ash yelled. "The sad thing is several of them didn't realize your lie until it was too late…"
"What's he talking about?" Vikki repeated the question Wayne had asked seconds ago.
"He's just trying to pull one over on you, Vikki." Wayne calmly explained.
"Aren't you tired of this yet, Wayne? The truth comes out in the end. It always does."
"The truth is already out, Ash. You're a horrible monster, and you have to die!"
"Would the two of you just shut up, already?!" Vikki shouted, before turning to Ash. "Look, he's right. You've done nothing to convince me that you're a good person."
"And has Vlad done anything to convince you he's good?" Jenny suddenly interjected.
"He's my brother." Came Vikki's quick response.
"You never thought he might be using you?" Yusuke chimed in.
"He wouldn't do that."
"Y'know what? At this point, I don't care." Ash suddenly drew back his Rift Sword.
"Ash!" Jenny called out.
"Can't hear ya, too busy saving the day!" Ash replied, as the familiar blue Spirit Energy began to swirl at his feet, and eventually fill his blade. He leapt into the air and shouted "SPIRIT SLASH!", releasing the blue flaming blade of energy at Wayne. However, to his surprise, Wayne stuck out his sword, and the blue energy blade dissipated soon afterward.
"Did I forget to tell you I picked up a new trick?" Wayne asked, grinning evilly. "Your energy is now MINE!"
"Son of a…" Ash stared on, his jaw dropping in disbelief. "Well…let's see how you like a DOUBLE DOSE!"
Once again, the blue energy swirled around his feet, and flowed into the Rift Sword. Jumping up again, he fired two consecutive Spirit Slashes at Wayne. "SPIRIT SLASH DOUBLE!"
Wayne just continued to grin as he held out his sword and absorbed the two energy blasts.
"I knew I'd face this attack one day. I also knew I'd have to be prepared for it." Wayne said, with a laugh. "And after a bit of research into the different types of energies, I figured out exactly how to prepare. Turns out your Spirit Energy won't really work all that well on someone else who can use it."
"What…?!" Ash looked completely stunned.
"Yeah, I kinda learned how to use your Spirit Gun."
"Bullshit." Yusuke said, though his voice was evidence of his doubt.
"Oh, you don't believe me?" Wayne glanced over to Yusuke. "Fine, I'll show you."
Before Yusuke even had a chance to react, Wayne's right index finger shot out a blue blast of energy and sent him flying into some crates.
"HOLY SHIT!" Jenny shouted. Before she could go help Yusuke, however, she was sent flying herself by an ecto-blast from Vikki.
"How the HELL can you use Spirit Energy?!" Ash shouted in disbelief.
"Funny that, Spirit Energy's EXACTLY like Demon Energy, but can only be used by humans. And since I'm half-human…" Wayne smirked.
"Some 'human'. You want to wipe out your entire race." Ash accused, pointing an angry finger at Wayne. "You destroy any living thing, even those that actually feel sorry for your unworthy ass. Why your sister still cares about you, I'll never know. I can only pity Vikki here, since I doubt she's gonna realize what an evil bastard you really are!"
"Your endless speeches bore me, Ash." Wayne said. "Vikki, if you would do the honors, send these three to the afterlife."
"…" Vikki stared at the weary Ash, the recovering Yusuke, and the shocked Jenny. 'Are they really evil?' she thought.
"You don't have to do this…" Ash said. "You don't have to become another puppet of his…"
"Did you hear me, you ditzy bitch?! I said KILL THEM!" Wayne roared.
'And this guy…he's so…frightening…'
"Do what your heart's telling you to do…" Ash closed his eyes. "If killing me makes you realize the truth, then go ahead…"
"ASH!" Jenny shouted. "You'd better not come near him!"
"I…I…" Vikki stammered, raising her right hand.
"DO IT, OR I'LL KILL YOU AND YOUR FUCKING BROTHER!" Wayne bellowed, causing Vikki's eyes to go wide.
"!" Vikki raised her eyes to meet Wayne. "You…you son of a bitch. I actually believed you. You lied to me…! And so did my brother…"
"I didn't even really try to hide the fact that I hate your brother OR you. And for the record, I don't work for him. HE works for ME."
"Well, he's about to be free from you!" Vikki shouted, as all of the windows within the warehouse suddenly broke at once. An extremely loud thunderclap could be heard outside.
"You're an idiot. You're raising arms against me? I could wipe the floor with a HUNDRED of you!"
"Guess we'll find out if you can back up your claim or not!" Vikki retorted, as, to everybody's amazement, a thundercloud appeared out of thin air, sending a bolt of lightning at Wayne, who just barely managed to dodge it.
"Whoa…!" Jenny gasped.
"She can summon lightning?!" Ash exclaimed.
"Foolish little wench…I'll make sure you suffer." Wayne's eyes turned amber. "You REALLY have no idea what you're messing with, do you?!"
"I will defeat you, Wayne…" Vikki stated calmly, summoning another thundercloud. This time, the lightning managed to hit Wayne square in the chest, sending him flying back into some crates, only a few feet away from where Yusuke had landed.
"…" Wayne, to the four standing heroes, appeared to have been knocked unconscious. With the threat over for the time being, Vikki turned to Ash, Jenny, and Yusuke, as she reverted into her human form.
"I'm sorry…I almost would have…I thought because you didn't want to speak with me originally…" Vikki felt tears welling up in her eyes.
"Don't worry about it." Ash smiled. "I'm just…dealing with some issues right now…"
"He's homesick." Jenny explained. "We all are."
"Damn straight." Yusuke chimed in.
"Why don't we all get out of here?" Ash offered. However, before any of them could do just that, they were interrupted by Wayne's scream of rage as the crates he fell into were blown away by the sheer amount of Demon Energy he was exerting. As the cloud of dust formed by this action disappeared, the four heroes could see that his eyes were now red.
"You bastards…I didn't expect to have to power up to full again so soon…" Wayne let out a forced chuckle as he stepped forward.
"That should have killed you…!" Vikki commented.
"If I were a full human, there's a good chance it would have. However, I believe I've already established that I'm only HALF human. The other half…well, let's just say it makes me a hell of a lot stronger than any pathetic human!" Wayne stepped forward slowly, his grin widening.
"I didn't think I'd get to kill you all so soon… but it's funny how life works, isn't it?" Wayne cackled. He raised his hand to fire a blast at Vikki, but before he could, another ecto-blast hit him in the back, sending him to his knees.
"Weren't you forgetting someone, Wayne?!" Danny said, floating down to ground level.
"What are you doing here?!" Wayne looked shocked.
"I think a more pertinent question is why I wasn't here before…but for completion's sake I'll answer your question. Why would I pass up an opportunity to kick YOUR ass?!"
"Yeah right, like you even c—" Wayne was cut off by Danny blasting him again. This time, however, Vikki joined in, shooting out a prolonged ecto-blast.
"Ash! Do it now!" Vikki yelled.
"Right!" Ash replied, then brought his sword to his side once again. "Can't say it's been nice knowing you, Wayne!" he said, as the energy flowed from his feet into his Rift Sword once more. He jumped into the air and unleashed the blade of energy. However, before it could connect with Wayne, someone leapt out from the shadows and snatched him up, leaping to the safety of the complete opposite side of the warehouse.
"You broke your promise, Ash…" came a somewhat sad voice, as the person who snatched Wayne came into focus.
"Janine?!" Ash shouted, unable to believe his eyes. Indeed, it was Janine who stood before he and his friends.
"You promised you wouldn't try to kill my brother…"
"…" Ash looked down, unable to face his former partner.
"You're no different than what you claim Wayne is."
"Your brother's a threat. You know that."
"He's still my brother…and next time we meet, we're enemies." Janine turned and jumped through one of the broken windows, Wayne in tow.
"I'm sorry..." Ash trailed off, looking at the space where Janine stood only seconds ago.

Hours later, Vikki rang the front doorbell to Vlad's Wisconsin castle. Vlad answered seconds later, with a look of shock at Vikki's angry expression.
"You lied." Vikki said. "The only thing I wanted was to reunite with my only remaining family…"
"Vikki…I guess the truth came out?" Vlad looked away from his sister.
"You USED me! You wanted me to get rid of Ash so he wouldn't keep you from getting everything you wanted!" Vikki shouted. "Why didn't you just tell me that from the beginning?!"
"Because you wouldn't have done what I wanted you to do." Vlad admitted.
"You're unbelievable…all I wanted was my brother to be there for m—"
"TOO BAD!" Vlad interrupted, shouting at the top of his lungs. "I hurt your feelings. YES, it's terrible. NO, I'm NOT sorry."
"How could you be this way…?"
"You want things to be okay?! Too bad! Nothing's EVER okay!" Vlad continued to shout. "If the world were a just place, Mother and Father wouldn't have died and left you on my doorstep, so to speak. I have enough trouble in my life without dealing with a bratty teenage sister! If it were a just world, that idiot Jack Fenton would've been hit by that prototype's malfunction instead of me!"
"That prototype hit you?"
"Yes…it gave me ghost powers." Vlad said, slowly transforming into Plasmius.
"So you not only lied about Ash and his friends, but about yourself! I can't believe I ever considered you a brother…" Vikki looked down, then quickly turned around and flew off. Vlad silently turned around, the only thing he could hear was Vikki's last words to him just now repeating over and over again…

Jazz stood at her locker the next day, depositing her Algebra book. As she shut the locker, she was surprised to see Ash standing to her left.
"What do you want?!" Jazz said, annoyed.
"I just wanted to say…I owe you an apology." Ash looked down. "I wish I had half of the courage you do…"
"Courage? You get out and kick bad guy butt! You're so much braver than I am!" Jazz smiled.
"But you have the courage to attempt new things…you weren't afraid of Vikki bonding with Vlad."
"You were right to be suspicious, though."
"No I wasn't. My own fear of the situation made everything worse…if W—" Ash cut himself off quickly, before continuing with what he was going to say. "…HE hadn't been as idiotic as he tends to be, she would have finished me simply because I was acting rashly."
"You're homesick. You don't have to apologize for missing your mom and girlfriend…"
"Maybe not, but I wanted to let you know I'm sorry for exploding like I did anyway."
"And I'm sorry too…just remember, if you need to talk, I'm here for you." Jazz said, hugging him before walking off. Ash stared longingly at her graceful figure disappearing amongst a crowd of people, saying one thing to himself before turning around and leaving.
"…Stop this, Ash. Don't hurt her."