It was after midnight by the time Skulker managed to gather up the last of the ecto energy. He hefted a large metal cylinder onto his back. Despite the fact it was ten feet tall and weighed near 700 pounds, he managed to carry to the ghost portal. Not bothering to set the targeting scanners on the portal, he simply flicked the on switch and flung the cylinder through. He clapped his hands together and shut the portal off.
"Glad that is over!"
Near a construction site in Amity Park, a portal shimmered to life. The cylinder fell through it and smashed against a large old tree that was standing in the center of the site. The ecto energy poured out and saturated the ground around it. Within an hour, all of it had disappeared underneath the broken up earth.
Danny Phantom shot over the skies of Amity Park as fast as he could go. Once again, he had blasted his alarm clock with his ghost ray while he was sleeping. He had five minutes to get to the school for his first period class. As he flew through the heart of the city, his ghost sense went off.
"Always when I am in a rush!" Danny stopped and looked around, a green bolt of shot through street below him, moving effectively through the traffic. "Hopefully this will be an easy one." Danny adjusted the backpack he was carrying and flew after the bolt. Despite the bolt having to dodge traffic while Danny simply flew over it, Danny was having trouble keeping up with the bolt. "Damn that thing is fast."
The green bolt suddenly leapt and shot up the side of a tall building. Danny followed and fired several ghost beams. He missed the bolt and Danny cringed as his ghost beams shattered several windows. The bolt jumped from the building and landed on the roof of another building and continued its course.
Danny checked his watch and sighed. "Maybe I can catch second period."
The chase took Danny from one end of the city to the other. The green bolt continued moving at high speeds regardless of what is moved across. When the bolt passed a guy with a hotdog cart, it suddenly stopped. Danny's jaw dropped at the sight before him. The green bolt in question was a four and half foot tall blue hedgehog. "I don't believe it." Danny landed as the hedgehog was being handed a large chilidog. "Sonic?"
The hedgehog smirked. "Hey Danny! Do you mind covering me on this one? Don't have pockets for a wallet."
After paying for a round of chilidogs and giving up on classes for the day, Danny took Sonic to the warehouse to talk with Jack Sparrow. He would have to face the wrath of his parents later. At the warehouse, it took Danny awhile to get use to the sight of Captain Jack Sparrow talking to Sonic the Hedgehog. "So this Sonic is the one who helped us in Nocturn's realm."
"Who you calling, this?" Sonic looked insulted. "I am the one and only."
"That is not what I meant. And why were you setting off my ghost sense and glowing with ghostly energy?"
Sonic shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He walked over and leaned against the wall that Danny used for target practice. "I am certainly no ghost." He turned intangible and fell through the wall. Sonic rubbed his head and stood up. "Now I am confused."
Jack Sparrow held his hand up. "I have a semi plausible explanation." He held up a handheld device that looked a crazy combination a light bright and an erector set. "Sonic's body is composed of a pure ecto energy that has been mutated to an extreme degree. Do you remember how you got here?"
Sonic scratched his head. "Not sure! I can't seem to remember much. I woke up in some park in the middle of the city."
"The Park!" Danny suddenly had a panicked look on his face as he checked his watch. "Sam wanted me to join her protest in the park after school. She is trying to save some old tree. There is no way I am going to make it time. She is going to kill me."
Sonic spotted some rope on the floor and smirked. "We can put this on hold for a bit. I'll get you there in time."
Danny yelled as he was pulled through the city by Sonic. The hedgehog had tied the rope around his waist and Danny was doing his best to hang on to his end. Danny focused his intangibility power through the rope so both of them were intangible. Green ghostly energy had enveloped Sonic as he reached full speed. They shot through buildings and caused everyone the past to look around to try and find the source of the yelling. As they entered the park, Sonic skidded to a halt. Danny continued to fly and lost his grip on the rope. He solidified in time to crash into a large group of bushes. His ghost form gave out and he fell out of the bushes. He was sore, but his ghost form had taken the blunt of the damage. He was lying face up on the ground when Sam suddenly appeared over him.
"I was worried you wouldn't make it." She helped him to his feet. "Where were you all day? Lancer went on warpath trying to find you."
"I was chasing the Sonic the Hedgehog from Nocturn's realm who apparently is a ghost in this world."
Sam's eyebrow went up and she gave him a confused look. "Even after all that we have been through, I find that hard to believe."
"I'll talk about it later." He looked around. "So, what about this protest?"
Sam pointed to a very large tree. It was at least fifty feet tall and its branches looked they had been twisted. It was covered in countless names that had been carved into its bark. "This tree has been here since Amity Park was founded and they want to bulldoze it down and put in another basketball court."
Around the tree, the ground already been dug up and a few bulldozers sat ready several feet away. Sam led him past a bent up metal container that was lying next to the tree. Danny's ghost sense went off. He stopped and looked around for the ghost.
"Are you alright?"
Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "It's nothing, sorry." He spotted Tucker, Amber, and a small group of people he didn't recognize standing around the tree with protest signs in hand. "I see you managed to some support."
"Well, Tucker is only doing this because he is our friend. Amber needed to get out and do something. The others are nature preservers from around the state." She handed Danny a sign. "You join the group; I'm going to climb the tree with the megaphone."
"You can count on me."
Sam kissed his cheek. "I know I can. Now don't be afraid if the police come." Sam ran to the tree and began to climb it.
"Police?"
Less than thirty minutes into the protest, the police did appear. Danny did his best to hide behind his sign. He wasn't sure what would his parents would ground him for first. Skipping school or getting arrested. As the police began to clear the crowd, the ground began to shake and crack. Small green vines began to sprout from the cracks. Danny jumped clear as the vines began to wrap around the legs of anyone near them. "What is going on?"
"Danny!" The tree Sam had climbed had begun to grow rapidly and she had to hold on to avoid falling off.
"I'm coming!" Danny looked around and found everyone full distracted. He jumped into the bushes he had originally crashed into and transformed.
Danny Phantom flew out of the bushes and found himself an impasse. He needed to save Sam, but he couldn't leave these guys to these vines. Before he could decide, a green ball of energy rolled past him and began to carve through the vines. The ball turned blue as it stopped rolling and uncurled into Sonic.
"I got things down here."
"Thanks!" Danny flew at Sam as fast as he could.
As he was about to reach her, a large group of branches and vines busted out of the tree and formed into a giant arm and hand, it swatted Danny out of the air like a fly. More branches and vines grew out of the tree until it formed a one hundred foot tall, roughly humanoid figure from the waist up. Below the waist, it was a tangle of roots and vines that disappeared into the ground. A beck like mouth formed from razor sharp leaves and a set of glowing red eyes formed. Thorn covered vines wrapped around the body and large leaves grew in to look like body armor. The tree it originally had been was atop its head, like a crown.
Danny's ghost sense went off. "This can't be good."
The plant creature seemed to stretch and let out a loud yawn. "After a thousand years of sleep, Undergrowth lives again."
"Who!"
Undergrowth glanced down at the floating teen. "I am the living embodiment of nature itself. For too long, I have slept while humans have destroyed by children and ruined the very planet that gives your kind life." He waved his arms out and the trees in the park began to grow larger. "My consciousness, my will, shall spread across the globe, and the concrete jungles, shall become REAL jungles"
Danny watched as Sam still clung to the tree that was atop Undergrowth's head. "That sounds great, but can I have the girl that is trapped on your tree head."
Undergrowth chuckled and backhanded Danny, the ghost teen crashed into the ground. "I think not meat-thing." He reached up and plucked Sam out of the tree. "I heard your attempts to save my tree. You will be a perfect queen to tend my garden."
"You're what?"
The ground rumbled and thicker vines shot from the ground. One vine wrapped around a policeman and lifted him of the ground. Red flower peddles sprouted from the vines and incased the policeman in a giant red flower bulb.
"Within these bulbs, I will transform humanity into plant hybrids that will help spread my children across the world." He held Sam up to his face. "And you shall lead them."
"As much as I am for making the Earth greener, I'll pass."
"You have no choice in the matter." A slit appeared at the center of his chest and opened up. Red vines grew out of the slit and began to wrap around Sam. "I will transform you into my perfect servant." The vines began to pull Sam into Undergrowth's body.
"Hang on Sam!" Danny shot into the air and held his palms together. A large sphere of concentrated ghost energy formed in-between them. He held the sphere out and a large beam of energy fired from the sphere. The beam sliced through the left shoulder of Undergrowth and his left arm fell off and crash into the ground. The arm instantly decomposed.
"You can´t destroy a being who's able to regenerate itself!" The shoulder and arm quickly regrew. Undergrowth flexed the new arm and several large thorns fired from it. Danny dodged, but one managed to graze his neck. Danny put his hand on the wound and found it bleeding a little bit. His vision started to blur. Undergrowth laughed as Danny ability to float seemed to waver. "You're feeling the effects of one of my toxins. Not fatal, but you'll be in condition to fight me."
His laugh was cut off as a green bolt shot through the air and cut through the vines trapping Sam. Sam fell and was caught by Danny. He floated down and landed as softly as he could. The green bolt landed on top of Undergrowth's beak and the plant ghost was now staring at Sonic the hedgehog.
"Don't you know, you're supposed to take a girl to a movie before trying to mutate her?" Sonic tapped his foot.
"I don't know who you are, but I can tell you are an abomination and must be destroyed."
"Now that is just rude." Sonic seemed to vanish as Undergrowth attempted to squish him with his hand. He ran across Undergrowth's chest and stopped on his shoulder. He laid down and stretched out. "Hey, slow-mo!"
Undergrowth's hands turned into razor sharp talons and he tried to grab the hedgehog. Sonic moved at the last second and Undergrowth's talons cut into his own shoulder. "Curse you!" Sonic continued to run around Undergrowth's body while the plant ghost tried to catch him.
Sam helped Danny limp away from Undergrowth. The toxin was beginning to make it hard for Danny to walk. It was all he could do to keep his ghost form. The number of trapped people in the giant flower bulbs had grown considerably. Both of them watched as Tucker and Amber were captured and encased in the bulbs.
"What are we going to do?"
Danny tried to look at Sam, but couldn't focus on her. "Just point me in the right direction."
"You're in no condition to fight." A loud growl issued from the bulb that had trapped Tucker. The ghost werewolf busted out of the bulb and howled. "Tucker?"
Danny squinted. "Where?"
The werewolf started to approach them, but a vine wrapped around his leg. His claws grew and glowed with green energy. The ghost werewolf sliced the vine off and turned to Undergrowth. He roared a challenge and charged at the plant ghost. He climbed up Undergrowth's body, slicing into it as he went.
"This is turning out to be a really weird day." Sam nearly dropped Danny as he stumbled and returned to his human form. "Come on Danny, we need to get you out of here." A group of large trees sprung out of the ground and blocked their path.
"You will not escape me!" Undergrowth tried to smack the werewolf off of him. The werewolf latched onto his hand and began to run up his arm. "This is beginning to annoy me." He grabbed the werewolf with his other hand.
Sonic dashed across Undergrowth's chest and leapt into the air. "Hey, checkout my new trick!" He was glowing with green ghostly energy. Sonic curled into a ball and spun at high speed in the air. Several thin green glowing needles flew from the spinning hedgehog and exploded against the plant ghost's face.
"Insolent pest!" Undergrowth reached for the hedgehog, but a series of explosions went off against his back. He dropped the werewolf, who quickly restarted his climb up Undergrowth's body.
Valerie Grey flew past on her hover board; she balanced a pair of rocket launchers on her shoulders. "I don't care what size you ghosts come in, you mess with my town, I'll take you down." She fired another pair of rockets that exploded against his face.
Undergrowth roared. "Enough of this!"
Purple flower buds began appear on his body. The buds burst open and clouds of purple spores filled the air around the plant ghost. Everyone who breathed in the spores passed out. The ghost werewolf dropped from Undergrowth and turned back into Tucker when he hit the ground. Valerie fell from her board, but luckily Sonic managed to catch her as she fell. Sonic had been holding his breath, but had to take a deep breath after setting Valerie down. He stumbled around for a moment and then dropped to the ground. Vines quickly wrapped around the fallen and entrapped them in giant red flower buds.
Undergrowth chuckled and turned to the last two in the area that hadn't been trapped. "Now that the annoyances are dealt with, I will have my queen to tend my garden."
Sam leaned Danny against a tree. "I'll tend your garden, but you have to let Danny go."
"There are no negations in this matter." He picked Sam up. The Red vines from the opening in Undergrowth's chest wrapped around her and pulled her inside of his body. He laughed. "Now my work can begin!" He glanced down at Danny and his eyes narrowed. "Another half-breed!" The ground under Danny cracked a tree burst from the ground and carried Danny up so he was just a few feet below Undergrowth's face. "No doubt you will be as much trouble as the other one was."
"Other one?" Danny's vision was too blurry to see the ghost clearly. "What are you talking about? What did you do with Sam?"
"Nothing you need to be concerned with now. I don't know why you are here, but I will not allow you to become a problem." The branches of the tree formed a cocoon around Danny. Large thorns grew out of the branches.
As the branches began to tighten, Undergrowth noticed one of his red flower bulbs was glowing green. He leaned down to examine it. "Chaos Surge!" The flower exploded and a green glowing Sonic charge out it. He launched a spin attack and smashed through the forehead of Undergrowth. He busted out of the back of the plant ghost's head, uncurled and flew to the tree that had trapped Danny. Another spin attack tore the branches apart and freed him.
"Insolent Rodent!" Undergrowth regenerated the damage Sonic had caused. "I will turn you to fertilizer for that."
Sonic simply gave a quick salute and picked up Danny. "Rain check!" He shot through the air and Undergrowth was hit by a sonic boom.
Flying the entire distance between the park and the warehouse in just a few seconds, Sonic turned himself and Danny intangible and crashed inside the warehouse. He had stopped glowing green, but his fur and quills were now a faded blue rather than the normal color. "Guess I over did it!" Sonic tried to stand, but fell down. He looked at his gloved hand and saw a green slime-like substance dripping from it. He looked around, but soon realized the substance was coming from him. "What…" Sonic passed out on the floor of the warehouse. Danny started to move, but soon joined the hedgehog in dreamland.
Danny felt like he was stepping out of a fog as he opened his eyes. The blurring of his vision was slowly clearing up. He lifted his head and saw a large yeti with white fur, looking at him. He yelled and scrambled away from him. This proved to be a mistake, it was incredibly cold wherever he was, he was in his underwear, and he had been lying in a large pile of furs next to a fire. He quickly scrambled back into the warm pile of furs.
"What is going on? Where am I? And where are my clothes?"
The yeti smiled and walked over to Danny slowly. "My apologies for your confusion."
His voice was amazingly friendly considering that he towered over Danny and looked like he would rip the teen limb from limb. He stood nearly nine feet tall with small horns on his head that looked like they were made of ice. Only his face was free of white fur and despite the pair of white fangs and red eyes, didn't look as fierce as Danny would have thought. He was dressed in black furs and his left arm seemed like it was made of ice.
A puff of blue steam issued from Danny's mouth. "Who are you?"
The yeti-like ghost bowed slightly. "My name is Frostbite. I lead the tribe of the same name. I am sorry about your clothes, but when I found you, you were covered in sweat. They needed to be removed and cleaned when I brought you here." He motioned to the dome shaped hut they were in. "This was built so you could remain warm while you recovered."
"Where did you bring me?"
Frostbite handed Danny his clothes and a fur coat. "Get dressed and turn into your ghost form. I will explain what I can."
