A/N: Phew, it's been ages since I could really work on this, but here you go. Nice long chappy to make up for the absence.
Last we left off, Caleb had finally revealed his sins, the reasons for why he is labeled a traitor and how he got perfect neutrality. Now Team Phantom, along with Colette and the disguised Wonder Chef, are about to face off with The Traitor, a very familiar boss and one that Caleb is still very much afraid of...
44
Leaping through the swirl of violet had left Danny feeling a bit dizzy. He shook his head to clear his mind as he heard soft gasps of awe around him. Once assured of where 'up' was this time, he took the time to look around as well.
He and his friends all stood on an outcropping of rock, smooth and flat, with a strange glowing circle of lines and runes just ahead of them. A little further from that, the outcropping ended, and all around them was this massive swirl of violet and black that all seemed to be drawn towards some distant point, dragging chunks of floating rubble and rock along with them. Far ahead of them, floating like some impossible island, was a sizable chunk of a throne room, pillars, banners, throne and all, with a tiny figure sitting on that throne.
"I read this part." Sam muttered apprehensively, "This is the throne room of Vinheim, where the Heroes of Union faced off with Mithos Yggdrasill for the final battle to recover the Great Seed and save the two worlds." Colette nodded once.
"Yes." she agreed simply. Tucker winced, grip tightening on the Lens gun in his hand.
"Don't tell me the black guy dies in this one. I hate movies that end with that." he complained.
"Nobody's going to die." Caleb sighed harshly, then paused and seemed to reconsider his statement, "Well, not for too long, hopefully. Resurrection spells typically don't work if someone's been dead for more than fifteen minutes." He took on a grim expression, holding up the Wonder Fork like he was going to beat someone with it. "So no Sacrifice spells, okay, Colette? You're already dead; Lloyd would have my head if you managed to get more dead than that."
"God, it's crowded on this little chunk of rock!" Valerie complained, "How are we gonna get from here to over there, where that guy's gonna get his ass kicked?" Sam gestured towards the circle of light.
"We do what the Heroes of Union did; step on the teleport magic to get taken to the floating island. Then we'll see what the fake Adam turned into." she remarked and glared at the distant landmass, "Hopefully something big and ugly so we can justify beating his face into the ground." Colette gave a little smile, weak and uncertain.
"He was actually kind of... pretty. Well, the first time we fought him, at least." she chirped, and Caleb sighed in dismay, dropping his face into his hand with an audible smack.
Danny looked around at the floating boulders, peered ahead at the distant floating island, then gave Caleb an uncertain expression. Would the android really be able to handle taking on his Trial? He took a few steps forward, making his way to the magic circle as his friends fell into step behind him, all of them silent and grimly determined to get past this final Trial.
The world seemed to stretch and fade once he was in the circle, but it only lasted a second, hardly long enough for him to get dizzy from it, and he was soon standing on the giant floating island he'd spotted. Danny took a quick stock of his surroundings as the rest of the team materialized around him. There were a few stone pillars still standing, damaged, but otherwise fine. A long carpeted path of rich red cloth ran under his feet and up to the throne several feet away, the only bit of furniture in the broken remnant of a room. It was pushed up against a chunk of wall which still had a couple of tapestries draped across the brick, a statue of a tall, willowy woman on either side. Danny squinted -those statues looked familiar- and then his mouth dropped open slightly as he realized they looked a lot like that shadowy figure he'd seen when they first entered the Book so long ago. A woman with long flowing hair and holding a staff decorated with wings and a sphere on top; was that Martel, the sister of Mithos and now Caleb's sister?
Sitting on the throne, lounging really, was a tall, slender figure dressed in a white outfit that was freakishly form-fitting. It had long blonde hair and an almost pretty face that belied his true nature, cheek resting on one hand and the other lazily draped over its lap, looking for all intents and purposes like someone sleeping during their shift of an easy job. Danny glared at the figure as Colette and Wren both gasped sharply behind him; no doubt, this was what Mithos Yggdrasill looked like when the Heroes of Union faced him. This was the crazed angel who tore a world in two, murdered millions of people to resurrect his sister, and vowed to do the exact same thing if given the chance.
This was the maniac whose soul now existed in Caleb as a new life, chained by the burden of guilt for crimes he didn't commit and didn't mean to repeat.
"Hey, guys..." Tucker remarked suddenly, breaking the tense silence created by Team Phantom's collective glare at the figure ahead of them.
"Guys..." He was ignored in favor of glaring even more pointedly at the Trial.
"Guys!" Tucker finally shouted in exasperation and Danny redirected his glare at the techno-geek.
"What?" he snapped at last and Tucker pointed at the magic circle behind them all.
"Caleb hasn't shown up yet." he replied in a flat tone and the group turned around in shared dismay, scanning the area for the red-haired android. Not a sign of him was found on the island. Sam dug out her binoculars and peered through them at the distant outcropping of rock they had all been standing on just minutes ago.
"Oh, for crying out loud! He's still over there!" she griped in irritation and lowered the binoculars to glare again, "What the heck is he thinking? We can't defeat the Trial unless he's the one doing the most damage and he's got to make that last hit!"
"It's possible he's still afraid." Jazz mused aloud, her tone thoughtful as she folded her arms over her chest, gazing towards the distant flash of red and green. "I just don't understand him. After all the encouragement and the reminders that we're still his friends, he's still unwilling to face his Trial?"
"I wouldn't want to, either, if my Trial was the guy who could split a planet in half without blinking." Tucker grumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes.
Danny scratched his head, wondering if he should go back and give that whole pep-talk thing another try, when Sam lifted her binoculars again and stiffened. "Oh, he's finally getting in the circle!" she exclaimed, "I guess he was getting himself psyched up for this?" She put the binoculars away as a flash of light went off in the distance, quickly followed by a milder one that didn't blind the group as Caleb appeared on the island with them, clutching the Wonder Fork tightly in both hands again.
"What kept you?" Valerie demanded, hands on her hips as she glared at him. Caleb shot her a glance and she stepped back in alarm, hands dropping from their places as she caught sight of a familiar emotion in his eyes, one that she normally saw in the eyes of the citizens of Amity Park during major ghost invasions. Sheer terror. And now it was in the eyes of their teacher, the angelic android that boasted complete control of his emotions and situations.
"Something wrong?" Danny asked him in concern, sharing a worried glance with Wren as the chef withdrew further into his hood and cloak, watching the android seem to huddle behind the fork, dread clear on his face.
"I'm about to face the one being in existence that scares me witless." Caleb returned in a tight voice, eyes squeezing shut in a grimace, "What do you think?" Danny winced. Had to give him that one, though. The redhead took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "All right. Here goes." he murmured and began walking ahead, still hunched behind the Wonder Fork, feet silently padding over the red carpet that guided him straight to the throne. The others followed, gripping their respective weapons and on full alert for any movement that would mean an incoming attack. Danny and Wren simply ghosted along, one hovering, the other stepping just as softly as Caleb, but both just as wary and distrustful of the blonde figure on the throne.
When Caleb crossed some invisible threshold, the figure on the throne opened its eyes and smiled at him, the kind of smile a predator would get if they saw their favorite prey walk blindly into their grasp. The group stopped dead in their tracks, staring up at the Trial, frozen, waiting for the next move to be made. Danny swallowed hard, eyes tracing back and forth rapidly between Caleb -who'd suddenly gone rigid- and the figure of Mithos Yggdrasill -who was still smiling at the android-, and had the sudden desperate wish that he hadn't gotten himself involved in all this because, really, what could a fourteen-year-old half-ghost do to a bazillion-year-old insane angel with a ton of magic and who would gleefully rip your soul out and eat it for dinner with a side of Nasty Sauce?
"Home." the Trial with Yggdrasill's face suddenly murmured, his voice carrying over them all despite having only spoken softly. It echoed all around the teens, around them and in them, and it made them shudder. Sam lifted her hands to her shoulders, gripping them and her dagger together as she huddled, wide violet eyes staring at the blonde on the throne. Yggdrasill fluidly rose from his seat, hovering in the air on massive songbird wings of all colors, and slowly stretched out a hand towards Caleb, fingers uncurling in offering. "We're going home."
Caleb dropped the fork. It clattered to the floor near his feet and the sound startled the group, all eyes going to it in surprise, then up at their teacher in shock as he let the strap of his bag slide off his shoulder, leaving it sitting on the torn red carpet and looking pathetic. Colette's hands flew up to her mouth, wings fluttering as she hovered in the air.
"Oh no..." she breathed as Caleb took a step forward, helplessly dazed expression on his face as he lifted his chin to gaze up at the Trial.
"Home. I'm going home." he echoed softly, and the Trial smiled wider, more triumphantly, at the startled cries rising from the teens.
"Hey! What the hell? Caleb!" Valerie snapped in alarm, "What's going on?" Jazz lunged forward, grabbing the back of Caleb's coat and digging in her heels, trying to hold him back as he took another step.
"He's been enthralled somehow!" she yelled over her shoulder, "Help me get him back! We don't know what'll happen if the Trial grabs him!" Danny dove in to help, grabbing onto an arm as Sam darted in to grab the other, Tucker and Valerie rushing to latch onto his coat-tails. All together, they pulled, grunting in effort as they dug in their heels and managed only to hold him in place, the android leaning forward as he continued gazing up at the Trial.
"The Trial's doing something." Colette told the group, frustration clear on her face as she bobbed in place, hands clenched in fists and shaking, "The Trial is saying the same things Mithos did and I can feel some kind of power in his voice... I don't know how to say it!"
"Home. We're going home." Yggdrasill crooned again, unconcerned with the teens clinging to Caleb, his hand still outstretched. His eyes narrowed slightly and glowed; a similar aura of power enveloped the android and Jazz, Tucker, and Valerie all cried out in surprise as his jacket suddenly came free, sending them all tumbling backwards with the article of clothing in their hands, the Eternal Sword Pin gleaming on the lapel where it rested.
"Home... I'm going home..." Caleb breathed softly, moving forward in the same slow, steady pace that drew him ever closer to the Trial.
"Ack! What happened? His coat just... popped off!" Jazz exclaimed, eyes wide as she lifted the jacket in her hands to stare at it. The Wonder Chef drifted close and reached out to pass a hand over the fabric himself, a frown on his face.
"The Trial's still got the same mana signature as Mithos... as Caleb." he murmured, and stood up, glaring up at the blonde angel, "He's resonating his mana, drawing Caleb to him. If they come in contact, that resonating mana might shake Caleb's soul to pieces. It would do the same to me, if he cared to try."
The aura flared again and Caleb's sleeves slid free, sending Danny and Sam sprawling with matching yelps. The halfa scrambled to push himself up and threw a hand forward, erecting a Ghost Shield to cage the android. "Caleb! Stop! What are you doing?" he yelled, panicking as the redhead finally stopped and simply dropped to his knees, head tilting back to keep his eyes on the hovering angel.
"We've got him trapped now." Sam huffed, getting to her feet and picking up the Wonder Fork herself, "Danny! Keep Caleb in place; don't let him out of your shield!" The halfa gave her a startled look and she shook her head. "The rest of us are gonna whale on that Trial until he snaps out of whatever headcase magic mumbo jumbo it put on him!" she told him and ran back to join the other three teens and the two Heroes with them. In hardly any time at all, beams of light, yellow and crackling white-green and red, lanced through the air and hit Yggdrasill dead-on, making the angel shudder and glare back in a fury.
"O holy wings, I beg of thee to reveal thy glory. Angel Feathers!" Colette's voice rang out as glowing pink-white chakrams raced forward and clipped the other blonde. Danny scrabbled forward, opening a hole in the shield just long enough to let him tumble in. Once inside, he hurried to the android's side, crouching by him and reaching out to put a hand on his arm, concern on his face.
"Caleb? Are you okay?" he asked lamely. Really, there wasn't anything else he could think of saying. What do you say to a guy who just faced his previous life's form, the one person that scared them to death, and narrowly avoided getting... well, he didn't know what Yggdrasill was planning on doing to Caleb, but knowing the angel, it probably wasn't anything good. The android had lowered his head, face shadowed by the fringe of his hair.
"I'm sorry." Caleb whispered, "I thought I had steeled myself enough, but hearing his voice... seeing his face... all my plans and ideas left me." He shook his head slowly. "There wasn't anything I could do... I was... I..." he trailed off and whimpered, hugging himself tightly, "He called me... and I just followed... I can't fight him... I can't!"
Beyond the dome of ectoplasm, the battle raged on. Sam had passed the Wonder Fork on to Wren, choosing to ignore how a true ghost or spirit or whatever he was could hold a solid and real object, and darted in and out of range of the Trial version of Yggdrasill, slashing at his wings each time Valerie, Jazz, Tucker and Colette managed to knock him out of the air. She stole quick glances at the shield every now and then, seeing the faint shadows of Danny gripping Caleb by the shoulders and shaking him, presumably trying to snap him out of whatever spell was put on him.
"Get away!" Yggdrasill hissed and threw his arms out as a ring of holy light suddenly spread out from him to pass over the group, "Retribution!"
"Dammit! I'm paralyzed!" Valerie yelled in frustration, falling to her side and curling in pain as everyone else dropped with any of a dozen different ailments crippling them, "S-somebody! Heal!"
"On it!" Wren called out, running from person to person with a bowl of something in his hand. He spoon fed a few mouthfuls of stew to the huntress after pulling her mask off and grinned as she uncurled, an expression of surprise on her face as she smacked her mouth to better taste what she'd just eaten.
"What the... are you seriously telling me beef stew just cured paralysis?" she exclaimed incredulously, getting up as Jazz went right back to firing at the Trial. Wren patted her on the shoulder absently, tracking the flight patterns of the winged monster above them.
"It cures everything, that's why I keep some in a sealed container for quick reheating. Stay on the move because I don't have the equipment to make the Ultimate Recipe, and that's the only one that can resurrect you if you get killed. Otherwise, let's hope Caleb pulls himself together soon." he remarked and darted off, the fork strapped to his back and peeking out from under the cloak.
"Do you fools truly think you can do anything to me?" the Trial growled, "I am The Traitor, who exists because one who called himself Hero and Savior turned on those he swore to protect. You are nothing against my power, the power of Yggdrasill!" He lashed a hand towards the shield of ectoplasm, eyes glowing as his aura shone brighter. "The other Traitor, come forth! Join with me, my missing soul! Come forth, Mithos!"
Caleb snapped his head up with a sharp gasp, throwing his arms out and knocking Danny aside in the sweep, wings unfolding and flaring on in their bright red glory. Crashing to the floor from the sudden blow, Danny's concentration broke, the Ghost Shield falling around them. He cried out and covered his head before uncurling to look up in dismay. "Caleb! Don't listen to him!" the halfa yelled, the android rising to his feet and lightly pushing off from the ground to hover in the air, "You said it yourself! You're not Mithos!"
"I... I can't... can't... fight him..." Caleb murmured brokenly, wide, frightened eyes gazing down at Danny without truly seeing him, "I'm scared... I'm scared, Raven... I'm sorry...!" The young phantom stared up at him, as if seeing for the first time -without the jacket and sleeves that made up his armored outfit and helped with the illusion of invulnerability- just how innocent Caleb was, despite all the years he existed, all his experiences, all his knowledge.
He was still young deep inside, just like Danny, a kid who got shoved into the role of Hero too early, too unprepared, and got by as best he could while hiding just how scared out of his mind he was. And The Traitor was feeding on that guilt and fear of being just like Yggdrasill...
No. Wait, that was wrong. Caleb was afraid of being like Mithos when Mithos was like Yggdrasill. But Wren said that the android was more like what Mithos should have been, the way he was before he went by Yggdrasill.
Caleb turned, deaf to the cries from the rest of Team Phantom to stop, to get back, to get away or attack, anything but what he was doing right then, which was to flutter his wings and float up to the smiling blonde angel with cruel blue eyes and glowing aura of mana. Drawn helplessly towards the Trial, he closed his eyes tightly, whispering pleas of forgiveness for betraying his friends yet again.
'Lloyd said he didn't trust the world to Mithos, but to Caleb since 'Caleb' had always been there. But he wanted 'Mithos' to live in that world too. What if he didn't mean he didn't trust 'Mithos', but actually that he didn't trust 'Yggdrasill'? And 'Caleb' was there because 'Mithos' is the same as 'Caleb', not 'Yggdrasill'!'
Danny's thoughts and memories all tumbled over themselves as things finally seemed to click, to fall into place and reveal something to him. Something so big and so important and so very desperately needed to save Caleb and get him to face his Trial without falling under its spell.
'Wren said that Caleb represents what Mithos should have been, not what he was when Lloyd fought him; that's why he keeps defending Caleb when the Heroes of Union starts debating on how he's acting. That's why Lloyd forgave him; he realized it too, after his own death.'
The Symphonian Cultures textbook had passages about both Mithos and Yggdrasill, and even though they were the same person, they were talked about as if they were two different people. What if that was because they were two different people?
'Or, what was it Jazz calls it? Multiple personalities? It's not two people, it's two personalities! Caleb had it wrong; everybody had it wrong!' Danny stood up as his thoughts raced on, latching onto that epiphany like a lifeline, eyes lighting up with a surge of hope, 'Yggdrasill's the one everyone doesn't want to have back, because he's the one ticked off enough to kill the world! Mithos is the original, the hero that wanted to bring peace and save everyone! That's the one that's living on as Caleb! That's Caleb's personality, his soul!'
"Valerie! Danny! Don't just stand there watching! Fly up there and stop him!" Sam screamed out in frustration as the huntress immediately jumped on her board and shot off to grab Caleb by the arm and pull him back. The jets fired at full power, barely enough to slow down the angelic android as he drew closer to the Trial monster.
"Join with me, my missing soul, and wreak the vengeance this world deserves for taking those we loved from us." The Traitor purred, reaching out and nearly brushing the back of his hand against Caleb's cheek. The redhead flinched, a tiny whimper escaping him. Soft light suffused throughout him, radiating out and flickering apart with every near brush of The Traitor's hand. "Your mana is mine; it always has been. We are two Traitors with only one goal; destruction of the people who denied us our treasures!"
"Caleb! Get away from him!" the Wonder Chef cried out, ignoring Colette's gasp of alarm, "Please! Hear my voice! I don't care if Martel gets angry, please, please! Don't let him touch you!"
A blast of ectoplasm, green infused with white, cut through the air, skimmed over Caleb's head by a hair's breadth, and slammed into the Trial's face, knocking him back and setting long blonde hair to sizzling. Caleb flinched away, free hand lifting to shield his eyes as he blinked rapidly, the daze of being under The Traitor's spell falling away and the glow of mana dying back down, returning to him.
"Hey! You're lying! Quit twisting things around, stupid Trial!" Danny snapped, shooting into the air and placing himself square between the redhead and the smoking Trial now writhing in pain and holding his face. Sam and Tucker cheered and turned to high-five each other, Jazz and Wren heaved sighs of relief and Colette exhaled slowly, drooping in the air with a little smile on her face.
"Wh-what?" Caleb mumbled, stunned and still blinking dumbly at the halfa, Valerie clinging to his arm as though doubting he'd stay in his right mind for much longer. "I don't... I don't understand..."
Danny turned in place, grinning at the redhead before flying up to put his hands on his shoulders, the grin turning into a full blown smile. "I get it, Caleb. I finally get it, for real this time, too." he told the android, "You are Mithos; you have been all along." He shook his head at the heartbroken expression forming on Caleb's face. "No, no! Listen to me! You're Mithos, but you're not Yggdrasill." he clarified. Now Caleb looked bemused.
"There's a difference?" he asked at the same time Valerie did, the two exchanging confused glances before refocusing on Danny. The halfa nodded energetically.
"Yes! I get it! Caleb, off the top of your head, tell me who Mithos was." Danny urged and the android sighed as if this was utterly insane to do.
"He was a half-elven hero of the Kharlan War who fell to madness after the death of his sister and betrayed the Summon Spirits to split the world, create Cruxis, the Chosens and the Crystals, all to resurrect Martel. That's him in a nutshell." Caleb returned dully, "What's your point?" Danny shook his head. "Pardon?"
"You're wrong. That's not Mithos." he corrected and smiled again, "That was Yggdrasill. You're not Yggdrasill." Caleb just blinked at him and Danny laughed. "Mithos was a kid who wanted to bring peace to the world, wanted to save the people living there and do it with his friends, the people he loved. Mithos was offered the chance to live and stay in the world that Lloyd created, but Yggdrasill was the one who said he would repeat his path."
"You're talking like they're two different people." Valerie griped at him, still clutching Caleb's wrist, "The guy's name is Mithos Yggdrasill; so what if he went by his last name while he was rampaging?" Danny turned his smile on her and she reared back, finding herself a little creeped out by it.
"Because it is like they were two different people! Jazz said that sometimes a person splits off a whole new personality when something really horrible happens to them." he explained quickly, glancing back to be sure The Traitor was still out of commission, "Mithos was all in one piece until Martel got killed right in front of him; what if that was enough to make a new personality to deal with it?" He gestured towards Caleb. "And what if after Yggdrasill was killed, Mithos was the only personality left alive in his soul? That's what Martel gave you, Caleb! She gave you Mithos, not Yggdrasill!" Danny told him enthusiastically, the redhead's eyes widening as though finally understanding what he was saying, "You're Mithos, the kind and gentle Mithos! The Mithos that wanted to keep his friends safe and happy! That guy..." He pointed at The Traitor, brows furrowing down as his wide smile got toothy and dangerous, "He's not you, and you're not him. He's that last lingering bit of whatever was caging Mithos... caging you... from the people that care about you."
"Do you honestly believe him?" The Traitor sneered, pulling his hands down and glaring at the three in the air through limp blonde hair that draped over his marred face, skin scorched red and burnt, blue eyes pale and cold. "This miserable little failed attempt at a vessel for your beloved?" He stretched out a hand towards Caleb again, lips pulled back in a horrible smile. "Come to me, Mithos; it won't be so hard to betray these vermin again. Come, and bring the vessel."
The android coasted forward again, eyes fluttering half-closed as he brushed past Danny, the halfa floating back and holding out an arm to stop Valerie from trying to grab onto the redhead. She glared at him, but Danny simply shook his head, finger lifting to his lips as his eyes remained on the red-haired angel. Against her own volition Valerie followed his gaze as well, waiting with bated breath along with the others down below.
It was as though a spell of a different sort had been cast over them all. Whatever happened now, it was to be the decider. They'd given their all in convincing Caleb who he was, competing against his ingrained beliefs of who and what he was, his fears and guilt and sorrow and anger and every Trial that attempted to beat into him how much he was like the person he feared most. All that could be done now was to see if the words of five teenagers and several long-dead friends were enough to show him the truth.
"Heh heh heh... Yessss~. Accept the truth of who you are..." The Traitor purred, brushing his fingers against the redhead's cheek.
And suddenly Caleb's eyes opened fully, the green glittering bright as a smile spread over his face. "My name is Caleb. I am a living automated doll built to preserve the knowledge of the world." he remarked cheerfully, "Call me Mithos all you like. It doesn't matter anymore; I know who I am and who I'm not." He flew back, snapping his hand forward and tracing out a magic symbol before himself, grinning wider at the wild cheers from Team Phantom at his words. "And I am not Yggdrasill!" he declared with more certainty than Danny had ever heard from him. The Traitor gaped at him, blue eyes widening as his wings flapped crazily to put distance between them.
"That's it!" Danny cried out joyfully, pumping his fist into the air, "Caleb! You've got it! That's what everyone was trying to say! They just kept messing it up!" Valerie reached out and smacked at him, trying to get his attention as she shook her finger rapidly at the android. "What? What? We're winning!"
"He's casting a spell in mid-air!" the huntress screamed at him.
"Demonic swords, doom thy prey to everlasting pain!" Caleb exclaimed, circle of magic blooming beneath him as blades of black mana and blood-red coloring began materializing around The Traitor. His wings shorted, the bursts of mana flickering and vanishing, dropping the android into a free-fall towards the island. Valerie and Danny immediately dove after him, racing to catch him before the impact.
"How is this possible? My Soul Resonance should have destroyed you!" The Traitor raged, his own magic circle appearing as the sky darkened for a familiar spell.
"Oh no! He's casting Judgment!" Colette exclaimed and hurriedly began gesturing over herself, "O Holy One, thy faithful servant asketh for thy blessing. Honor us with the splendor of thy song." She lifted her hands in supplication, determined expression on her face as she watched Caleb fall towards them, the circle of black mana and glowing runes hovering around him as he continued his casting, "Holy Song!" A ring of pink-tinted light washed out over the island, and everyone it touched now had similarly colored feathers drifting around their bodies protectively.
"Oh man. If he crashes, the blast could be enough to break this island into a million little pieces!" Tucker exclaimed, tapping the screen of his PDA and watching a simulation of the impact. He held it up to Sam, Jazz and the Wonder Chef, showing them the video game-like motif of 'Game Over' flashing on the screen. "Not so good for those of us without wings or other ways of flying."
High above, Caleb slammed his hand against the symbol, completing the spell. "Bloody Lance!" The blades all struck the mutilated Trial, barely causing any damage and not even knocking him out of his own spell-casting. The android exclaimed in shock -Why didn't Dark Element affect him? The Trial was Light-based, right?- and yelped as Danny and Valerie caught up and grabbed his arms, straining to reverse his fall and support his weight. "Something's not right!" Caleb cried, staring up at the Trial chanting his own spell, "Dark mana didn't do much damage! But that's impossible! The Traitor is in angel form; angels are Light Element!"
"Judgment!" the Trial declared, throwing a hand down at the group left defenseless on the island. Danny and Caleb echoed cries of alarm, the android pulling himself free and reactivating his wings to shoot back to the rest of the team, the two ghost hunters following him quickly, racing to beat the beams of holy light raining down on them.
Danny got there first, lifting his hands as Sam grabbed Colette's hand and pulled her along, darting to get close to the halfa while the others did the same. The ecto-shield spread down from overhead, a cascade of glowing green ectoplasm that washed over them just as the first wave of the light beams hit. They splattered to nothing against the dome, Colette uttering a little 'Ooh!' of surprise at the sight.
"What about Caleb and Valerie?" Jazz demanded of her brother, the teen half-ghost panting from his impromptu race and the exertion of trying to support the heavy android.
"If they can hurry back without getting hit by the rest of the spell, I can lift the dome to let them in." he replied breathlessly, "Til then, they're on their own."
Valerie swerved and banked hard, crouched low on her board as she dodged the rain of Judgment, teeth clenched tight. The beams were coming in randomly and it was hard for her hover board to calculate and predict where the next beam would hit, light clipping the metal edges with each close call made. She could see the dome of green ghost energy below her; if she could reach it, she'd be all right.
Caleb went straight for it as well, and had a better time of evading Judgment thanks to his mana sensors. It was almost cool watching him twist one way and another, spinning and rolling out of the way. Valerie wondered just how he was controlling his dive, though. Wings like his weren't exactly shaped for sharp turns from a fall. She cried out at the sight of a beam shooting straight at him from behind.
"Look out!" the huntress yelled out in warning just as the light slammed into the android, sending him spiraling out of control, limbs and body slack as the red mana wings flickered and went out. Another beam skimmed past her head, and she flinched at the near burning sensation that ran along above her ear from where it just grazed her. Valerie refocused on making it safely back to the island; she wouldn't do anyone any good if she was hit full-on by that spell. Caleb didn't have far to fall himself, crashing onto the stone floor and cracking its surface as he lay there on his side. Was he offline? Was he just stunned? She couldn't tell.
By the time she reached his side, the dark sky had faded, Judgment had ended and the green dome of the Ghost Shield had lifted, giving the others the chance to rush forward and help her. Valerie had staggered as she stepped off her board, head still stinging and throbbing, but she made her way to Caleb and knelt by him as the android pushed himself up to all fours and shook his head slowly to clear off dust and debris.
"Are you okay?" she asked uncertainly, glancing up to see Danny Phantom already moving into place over them to keep them covered with blasts of the Ghost Ray. The Traitor flitted back and forth, almost like he was skating in the air, dodging the beams of white-green light but making no attempts to get closer to them.
"Yeah..." Caleb returned, pushing himself over to sit properly and rub at his right shoulder with a wince, "That spell hit harder than I'm used to, but I got a weird reading off of it." He looked up at his Trial with a frown. "Something's not right about The Traitor. It may be why my spell didn't affect it the way I thought it would."
He blinked in surprise when Tucker dumped his jacket and sleeves into his lap and looked up to see the concerned faces of Team Phantom. "The Traitor stripped your armor off when we tried to hold you back from him." Jazz told him and looked to Colette and the cloaked figure beside her. Wren gave the little blonde angel a silent nod and Colette slipped the Wonder Fork from his back before presenting it to the android. "What happened? With him trying to lure you to him, I mean." Caleb took it into his hand, peering up at the disguised chef warily before glancing away and up at the two airborne figures battling above them.
"He said it was called a Soul Resonance. I assume he was trying to do that to my soul, get it to disperse and render me lifeless again." he muttered and stood up, concern growing on his face, "What is he...?"
There was a flash of light, Danny cried out in pain, and the group scattered as the halfa came shooting down from above, slamming into the cracked floor of the island where Caleb had landed and gouging out the crater that Tucker had predicted. Thankfully it wasn't enough of an impact to shatter the battlefield. Within seconds, Team Phantom was rushing in to see how he was, Caleb bounding over quickly after stuffing the loose jacket and sleeves into his pack where it lay almost forgotten on the floor.
"Gah! What the heck kind of attack was that?" Danny coughed out as he sat with Sam and Tucker's help. He rubbed at his head, glaring up at the Trial Monster as it came fluttering down to meet them. Yggdrasill was gonna be a bit tougher to beat than he thought, if that weird dome of light thing was any indicator. It wasn't like Incineration, it didn't have that kind of light or burning power, but it was pretty forceful.
"You don't look too injured. That's good." Caleb sighed in relief, reaching out to place a hand on his head. Danny blinked at him, surprised, then lifted an eyebrow at the lack of armor on the android's part. The redhead looked puzzled, then caught on, frowning. "We're in a battle; I don't exactly have time to redress." he muttered and darted aside, catching The Traitor's attention as he moved.
"Decided to abandon your friends now? If you had done so earlier, I might have considered sparing your life!" the other angel snarled, shooting right at Caleb with one hand lifted for the attack that had downed Danny, "Death Eater!" Caleb simply held his arms up, gripping the Wonder Fork as a bubble of green mana bloomed around him, weakening the blow and sending the android sliding backwards on his feet.
"Now's the time to pile into him!" Wren exclaimed with a vicious smile, "Caleb's keeping the Trial's attention on himself; the rest of us can attack Yggdrasill while he's distracted!" Valerie hoisted up her rifle with a growl, aiming at the Trial now pounding its fists furiously onto the android's shrinking bubble. Colette nodded and fluttered aside, hands lifting as she started her soft prayers, holy white light shining beneath her and glowing pink feathers drifting around her.
"But I don't get it. How are we supposed to do much damage to that thing if Caleb said angels are Light Element and we're using that in our weapons?" Sam grumbled under her breath as she stood and unsheathed her knife again, "C'mon, Danny! Let's give him some cover so he can actually do something!" Tucker took up a stand beside Valerie, both of them firing as rapidly as they could at Yggdrasill to provide cover for Sam and Jazz running after the Trial.
Danny looked around quickly, trying to track where everyone was in the battle while trying to shake off the feeling that there was something seriously wrong here. Wren was standing by Colette, a circle of light at his own feet as the cloak ruffled around him. He blinked at the sight, startled. 'Didn't know that he could cast magic too. I thought he could only fight with cooking...' Danny thought and then shook his head, 'Of course. If he started to fight with food, then Caleb will recognize him. And he did say that he had magical power, right?'
Well, if he did, it was kind of weak -or maybe it was that he didn't use it as often?- because all Wren could do was cast Fireball or Photon. Colette sent out another wave of her holy magic, buffing everyone up again, and Danny gave her a grin of thanks before flying off to fire a few blasts of the Ghost Ray at the Trial.
"We've got him covered now!" Jazz declared with a laugh, pounding and punching away at Yggdrasill's unprotected back as he focused on lashing blades of light at Caleb's rapidly shrinking bubble of mana. "If we can just...!"
"Death Eater!" the Trial suddenly exclaimed, lifting both hands into the air with a glowing light radiating from them. He slammed them against the ground before Danny even had the chance to cry out a warning or put up a shield and that dome of white light ballooned outward, knocking everyone backwards and shattering what was left of Caleb's shield.
"Oh no! I'm sorry! I should have tried harder to ask for a stronger Holy Song!" Colette exclaimed, hands flying up to her cheeks.
Danny felt the world spinning around him, making him far dizzier than he liked. He could hear the groans of discomfort and pain from his friends nearby. Whatever the heck that attack was, it was the second time he'd gotten hit by it and the halfa was really hating these sudden introductions to the ground. He wondered idly if Caleb could also use it, then gasped as he remembered the android's shield had broken. Where was he now? Danny scrambled to his feet unsteadily and searched the island, head snapping back and forth as his gaze swept over the field.
There! Caleb lay partially sprawled on the ground, one hand pressed against his head as though trying to cope with a nasty headache. The Trial was advancing on him, chuckling menacingly, hands raised and revving up for another Death Eater. Danny scanned each of his friends for help, biting his lip as Colette fluttered to them one after another, pulling them up and steadying them while they stood on unsteady legs. She and Wren were the only ones who had been far enough away to avoid the hit, and he was still standing on the very edge of the battle, glaring at the Trial first, then looking towards the redhead as though he desperately wanted to throw off the cloak and run to help him.
"Did you honestly think you could defeat me? I am the leader of Cruxis, leader of the Desians, the Ancient Hero of the Kharlan War, and the source of your soul!" Yggdrasill purred darkly, moving step after step like he had all the time in the world. Caleb pushed himself up, rolled onto his back and simply shuffled backwards, a grimace on his face as he tried to put distance between the two of them. "You'd be nothing without me. What made you believe you'd redeem yourself in the eyes of the Heroes of Regeneration? After what you did to that pathetic little town?"
"Hey! I thought I told you to shut up with that!" Danny fumed, shooting in with both fists charged up for a double blast. He swept around the Trial a few times, using his speed to be little more than a black and white blur in an effort to disorient the angel and buy Caleb time to recover. Yggdrasill halted in place, hands still lifted but otherwise not moving, and the half ghost paused in the air to unleash the Ghost Ray on him.
Nothing.
The Trial turned to grin up at him through the stringy blonde fringe covering his eyes, wide grin stretching his face into a horrible mask. "Ahh, I had hoped this would happen now." Yggdrasill sneered, "How does it feel, boy, to run out of White Quartz at a most crucial moment?" Danny stared at him, then looked down at his armlets in horror. All the slots were empty; the only piece of quartz he had in place before this level separated him from the android must have broken during his one-on-one fight with the Trial in the air.
He was unprotected now.
Danny managed a hard gulp, then looked up when the Trial yelled in sudden fury. Caleb had gotten to his feet at last and lunged for the rainbow-winged angel while his back was turned. He held on tightly, one arm wrapped around the blonde's head to blind him even as Yggdrasill raged and flapped around, lifting into the air and thrashing in an effort to shake him off.
"Raven! My bag! Get another White Quartz!" the redhead yelled at him, "Put it on but don't attack!" Danny dove for the lonely satchel, then pulled up short to turn his head and stare back at him incredulously. Did he hear that right?
'Put one on but don't attack? Why?' he thought in confusion.
"Death Eater!" the Trial shrieked, diving down and pounding his fists into the floor again. The rush of magical force spread back out, throwing Caleb off his back and slamming him against one of the pillars still standing on the island. Danny reached the pack and dug through it, searching for another quartz as Sam and Valerie recovered first and went straight after Yggdrasill again, roaring in feminine fury as several more fireballs flew after them to hit the angel as well.
"Caleb! He doesn't like Light!" Colette called out, her hands cupped around her mouth, "He looks like Yggdrasill and acts like him and he's got the same spells, but he's not Light!"
The Trial suddenly vanished in a burst of light and reappeared elsewhere on the island in a second burst... right behind Colette. He lashed a hand downward, slicing down her back with a blade of light as she cried out in pain and crumpled to the floor. The Wonder Chef beside her dropped to avoid getting hit as well, and glared up at the angel that had posed as him. Yggdrasill simply sneered down at him. Skidding to a halt, Sam and Valerie both turned back to see her fall, gasping in shock.
"Oh no! Colette!" Jazz cried, staggering over in the Fenton Peeler armor to pick the girl up. The Trial teleported away again, appearing this time behind Tucker, who was on his feet and gripping the PDA in his hands, head snapping back and forth nervously.
"Wh-where'd he go?" he blurted out and grunted when he was stuck down as well, the battered angel just grinning as he floated there.
"One by one, the little vermin fall." Yggdrasill taunted, teleporting away when Danny rushed at the space where he stood, growling angrily with vivid yellow eyes. "It's to be expected, don't you think, aligning yourselves with a traitor to the world?"
"She'll be okay, she's just stunned. Same with Tucker." Wren told Jazz as they both stood, the carrot-top with her arms full of unconscious Chosen, "Take them to that pillar there." The chef pointed at one of the pillars closest to the wall with its statues, tapestries and the throne. "It's the best place I can think of that will provide cover until they wake up." Jazz looked first in that direction, then back at him, puzzled expression on her face.
"But can't you just make something that will heal them or wake them up?" she protested and he sighed harshly, jerking his head in Caleb's direction. The android had pulled himself from the broken pillar and was now stalking angrily across the island, fork in hands as he scanned the air and the battlefield for where the Trial would reappear. Jazz looked between the android and the chef's flat expression a few times before realization dawned on her. "Ohhhh~! I get it." she murmured, "You cook and your cover's blown." She said nothing else as they worked together to pull Tucker and Colette to safety, leaving Sam and Valerie to join Danny and Caleb in hunting down the Trial.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. Danny found himself alternating between fury at the angel taking out Colette and one of his best friends, and a growing panic that this was making the Soulfire run out faster. They were supposed to have had Caleb get over his guilt of being considered a traitor, beat the holy out of the unholy angel Trial and scooped up the last of the Soulfire needed to burn the Book of the Underworld. Instead, they were running down the clock trying to fight this creepy nutcase who kept spamming them with Death Eater. What the heck kind of attack was that anyway?
"Ah! Above us!" Caleb suddenly blurted out, turning in place and throwing up the Wonder Fork defensively. Danny threw his own arms out, putting up a shield over himself, Sam and Val that was only half in place when Yggdrasill teleported in and slammed his palm down in the midst of them.
"Death Eater!" he yelled, and the dome of energy raced out to hurl the four of them back and away. The teens tumbled away in pain, crying out as they hit the ground and slid along it, loose debris digging into their backs and limbs. Caleb rolled the other way, tumbling along head over heels before finally stopping himself by digging his fingertips into the floor, clawing trenches into the stone with one hand before he could slide right over the edge of the island. Despite everything he'd been through, he kept the Wonder Fork tightly gripped in his right hand, clinging to it as though it would destroy him to let go.
Growling, the android unfurled his own wings, red mana flaring out once the metal attachments slid free. Just as he was rising -and Danny managed to sit up in time to watch with a horrified expression-, Yggdrasill teleported behind the android and lashed out to grab one of the wing extensions, violently ripping it off of Caleb's body and sneering while the android cried out in pain.
By the pillar, Wren and Jazz's heads snapped up and over to see what just happened, and both their jaws dropped at the sight of the Trial floating behind the android, Caleb dropping to the floor with only one wing and the other now little more than crushed and broken metal in Yggdrasill's hand. "Oh no! His wings!" Jazz exclaimed worriedly, scrambling to her feet, "We've got to go help! If he can't get airborne, Danny's on his own in aerial combat! We gotta defeat the Trial now!"
Danny had the same idea; too dizzy to fly, he stumbled towards the two angels on the precipice of the floating battlefield, desperate to reach them and fire a Ghost Ray at the Trial to chase him off.
And in the same moments that Jazz, Wren and Danny all moved to help the redhead, Yggdrasill teleported again, this time appearing right before him. Still cringing in pain, Caleb looked up at him, expression shifting to a mix of confusion and disbelief when the Trial just smiled at him, a smug and self-satisfied little smirk.
"And this is how you end, Caleb; as a miserable dog fallen from grace." the blonde purred, reaching out and placing his open hand against the redhead's chest. Caleb's breath hitched, eyes widening... and then the Trial pushed him back, right over the edge of the island.
"Caleb!" Danny screamed out in horror, hopes plummeting like a lead weight in the ocean as he watched the android vanish over the edge, Wonder Fork and solitary wing and all, one hand reaching out as if hoping someone would grab him and pull him to safety. He slowed down, stood there in shock while Sam and Valerie sat up and looked around in a daze, and wondered what they were going to do now. 'Caleb's the only one who could defeat this guy... Without him, we're done. It's all over...' He hung his head, then lifted it to glare at the blonde Trial now floating towards him with that same smile. "Oh, what are you sneering at?" the halfa growled, "Just because we're stuck in this level doesn't mean I'm handing myself over to you and that stupid Nebilim."
"Foolish child. Now that the Fallen Angel is gone, there's no need for bargaining with you anymore..." Yggdrasill purred as he drew closer.
"No~! He can't fly with just one wing!" Jazz cried once the shock of seeing Caleb tip backwards over the edge waned enough for her to think again, "Adam, we have to do something! We have to-!" Her arm was pulled back by the chef, the blonde glaring over at the Trial now approaching her little brother.
"Caleb will be fine as long as he has the Wonder Fork in his hands." the Wonder Chef returned with a slight tremor in his voice, "And if he will just get over this stupid idea that he's 'not allowed' to use it, then he'll be able to truly protect this world I love."
"I'm not sacrificing myself for anything!" Danny raged suddenly, drawing attention back to the center of the of the island. The ghost boy was struggling in the grips of the Trial, the angel attempting to lift him off the floor. "Let go of me! Sam! Anyone! Help!" he cried, trying to jerk his wrists out of Yggdrasill's hands. The Goth and huntress scrambled to their feet in alarm as Tucker and Colette both roused themselves and looked around blearily.
"Oh... what's happening?" the Chosen groaned softly, hands reaching up to rub her head gingerly.
"Danny!" Jazz cried, lifting her arm to point the Fenton Peeler at the Trial, unsteadily aiming for Yggdrasill. She paused when the young chef beside her suddenly stepped forward and lifted one hand to face the two currently struggling with one another before them. Fingers splayed open, a familiar sigil began to trace itself before his palm, written in the air in glowing white and red. Startled, Jazz glanced downward and saw a much larger circle of light at Wren's feet, luminously bright with the same colors tracing out runes. When both were complete, he began to speak.
"Goddess of the hearth and home, I call upon thee." the Wonder Chef intoned grimly, and Jazz gave him a puzzled look. What spell started with that as its incantation? Caleb never said anything like that before... "Eternal Mother..."
"Aaaah! Hit the dirt! He's got Incineration!" Jazz screamed out and fled back to Tucker and Colette, the other blonde in the group helping the boy sit up and clear his head. The Trial whipped his head around with an expression that was half horror and half fury at this change of events.
"What? But the Wonder Chef was never able to cast that spell without the fork in his hands!" Yggdrasill protested, gripping Danny's wrists even tighter as he started backing away. The halfa laughed harshly, drawing the Trial's attention to him.
"Just goes to show ya," he returned dryly, "straight out copying what Caleb remembers doesn't cut it against the real deal."
"Unleash thy fury of fire!" Wren roared out and gestured towards the Trial with a snap of his fingers, "Incineration!"
The dome of fire and light that was beginning to be more and more familiar to Team Phantom -although always as Caleb's personal spell- blossomed outward over the field, using the Wonder Chef as its epicenter. It raged over stone and debris, cracking the floor and destroying everything that stood in its path. White-hot fire and mana burned the island, caught up the screaming Trial and blinded all in its wake.
It felt like forever for the spell to die away, and even longer for everyone's vision to return. And when sight did return to the teens, it was to see Yggdrasill had not been completely defeated. No, that was possible only by Caleb, who was probably reaching terminal velocity towards a bottomless pit now, doomed to forever fall. The Trial had been horribly damaged, though; white suit ripped and shredded, every bit of visible skin now burnt and peeling, head all but bare of a few strands of stringy washed-out blonde hair, wings in complete tatters and missing many vital feathers. Despite that, he was still alive and in a complete rage.
He was also pinning Wren to the remnants of the throne room wall by the neck, holding him over the floor as the Wonder Chef gripped his arm in an effort to keep from being strangled, legs kicking about in search of a stable foothold. Beside him was Danny, also pinned by the neck and mirroring the chef in his struggles.
"Danny! Adam!" Colette cried out in alarm as the teens got to their feet unsteadily and began seeking out their personal weapons, ready to attack and rescue their friends.
And paused when a blast of white smoke appeared in the center of the island, billowing out like the smoke had when Wren first appeared on the FireBlossom in Caleb's room. All heads, save for the three near the throne room wall, turned to stare at the cloud of white now clearing, dispersing, to reveal a figure standing there, a giant fork held in one hand and set beside them. Tucker blinked, then pulled out his PDA on a hunch, checking the screen.
"Special Arte gauge is full." he reported quietly.
The smoke faded, and Caleb glared across the field at the mutilated angel choking Danny and Wren into unconsciousness. His eyes flickered over at the taller figure, taking in the sight of a ruined cloak, short blonde hair peeking out from the hood and green clothing flashing into view during the struggling, before returning to glare harder at the back of the Trial's head.
"Excuse me, but we're not finished with each other." the android remarked coldly, "Care to give it another try, Yggdrasill? I'm much harder to kill than you ever were..."
