Disclaimer: I still don't own Danny Phantom. Butch Hartman does, and I somehow doubt that will be changing any time soon. Since I'm not making any money from this, there is nothing for the law-ninjas to sue out of me.
Author's Note: Whoops, sorry I didn't quiiiite make my two-week deadline on this one. Stuff kinda interfered and I kept hitting writer's block. At least I didn't overshoot the deadline by too much! I've got a couple of big announcements that are in the notes at the end of the chapter, too. Anyhow, enjoy!
Chapter Seven: Stirrings
"You can't get away with your crimes
And you never will
For you'll have to pay the price
And this time is near"
-"The Last Crusade" - Epica
"Do you believe we actually stand a chance?"
"Whether we do or not, we have little choice. Clockwork has disappeared and will not act. If we stand by and do nothing, then Maghnus will find it and finish what he started so long ago."
"If we can get to it first, we may well stand a chance." The apparent leader of the Observants stated solemnly, looking over the gathered force. "We do know where it is hidden, correct?"
Several of the one-eyed ghosts at the front glanced nervously among themselves, suddenly unable to meet their leader's eye.
"We... did." One finally spoke with uncharacteristic hesitation. "The location was lost due to Danny Phantom's unchecked rampage several years ago... and we have not yet been able to locate it again."
Under different circumstances, seeing one of the dignified and wise Observants fall flat on his face in surprise would be extremely funny. However now it was simply another indication of how ill prepared they truly were. They had a considerable personal guard of ghosts skilled at combat, however this would be the first time in a very long time they had gone to battle themselves; and the first time ever against such a terrible opponent.
"We know where he is, then?"
"That much, we do know. There was a skirmish involving Danny Phantom; he calls himself Dan Plasmius now. He was able to do considerable damage to Maghnus' army before he was destroyed by the gauntlet."
"It isn't enough. Maghnus does not need an army to spread his evil." The leader of the group mused. "But that means fewer ghosts for us to deal with as we try to take the gauntlet away."
---
Valerie blinked, not quite sure if she could trust her eyes. Surely it was some trick of the shadows, or some trick the ghost was playing. Several silent moments passed, the huntress unwilling to believe what she was seeing and not wanting to come out from under cover; the ghost below unwilling or unable to move. Valerie fished a pair of binoculars out of her pack and flicked the filter to night vision to get a better look at the ghost in the fading twilight.
Even though the image through the binoculars wasn't perfect, it was suddenly obvious that it was no trick. The ghost was flat on the ground in a position that implied he'd been dragging himself when he collapsed; his path marked by an obvious trail of green ectoplasm. The only motion was the faint flickering of what remained of his flaming mane of hair; otherwise he was completely still.
Completely vulnerable.
Valerie eased herself out from behind the debris she'd been using to hide her position, and decided it was safe enough to fire up her jet sled. If it was just a trap, she could still fly rings around the rest of the Patrol; and she could probably still give Phantom a good run if he attacked.
There was no indication below that he was even aware of the noise as Valerie carefully piloted her board down the slope to get a better look at the fallen spook. She paused midair several feet away and waited, but there was still no response. Gun in hand, she finally landed the sled and closed the remaining distance on foot; probably the closest she'd been to the ghost without him trying to kill her.
She almost didn't recognize him.
The black and white jumpsuit was a mess of rags clinging to his body, the material looking torn and scorched all at once; the ghost's jagged cape was no more than a tattered scrap near his shoulders. His wild mane of flaming white hair was reduced to a few flickering bits that left much of his scalp bald and showing several injuries. In fact, he was one giant mess of injuries; burns and gashes oozing bright green.
"What the-?" Valerie mused aloud, still stunned as her gaze was drawn toward a spread of bright red across his lower body.
She quickly looked away and felt her face burning from what that red was.
Boxers. Red boxers, with white polkadots. The ghost's underpants.
Valerie recovered her composure quickly though, and resumed surveying the damage. Up close it was clear why he hadn't responded to any of the noise. He was clearly beaten to within an inch of his life... or afterlife? From the short trail of green goo, she assumed he must have warped in nearby and then collapsed after dragging his mangled body only a handful of feet.
"What the heck happened to you, ghost?" She growled, kicking him over onto his back to get a look at the rest of his injuries.
There was no reaction to the additional abuse, and Valerie wasn't really expecting one. His front side was just as covered in injuries as his backside, green goo caking the remains of the jumpsuit. There was a particularly deep gash in the ghost's left shoulder, the wound oozing ectoplasm down an arm currently bent backward in a manner that would have made Valerie twinge in sympathy had it been anyone else.
Sympathy's too good for him. Valerie growled to herself, grip tightening on her gun. Here was the source of her hatred, the target of her revenge for the past ten years; practically gift-wrapped and dropped at her feet. One shot and it would be over. One shot, and the nightmare that had plagued her sleep for the past several weeks would be gone and guaranteed never to arise again.
"I've been waiting a long time for this." Valerie uttered into the deepening night, aiming the weapon at the ghost's head. "Good bye, and good-"
"Valerie! NO!" A familiar form came flying down and planted himself firmly between the fallen ghost and the wicked maw of Valerie's weapon. "Don't shoot!"
"Tucker?!" Valerie lowered her weapon in surprise. "Get out of the way!"
"No, I can't let you do this!" The royal geek countered, staying between the huntress and the fallen ghost.
"What are you talking about?" Valerie snarled. "Have you lost your mind?!"
"Look, I can explain! Was Dan like this when you found him?" Tucker glanced over his shoulder and cringed at the other ghost's injuries.
"Yeah, so? Now's my chance to finish things!" Valerie paused. "Wait, 'Dan?'"
"That's his name, Valerie." Tucker forced himself to meet the huntress' confused and increasingly wary glare. "Dan Plasmius."
"I don't care what he calls himself. After everything he's done, it's about time somebody puts him out of our misery!" Valerie scoffed, raising her gun again.
"Will you listen to me? I can't let you finish him off!" Tucker protested, one eye on that gun. "He knows something that we probably need to find out!"
"Hah!" Valerie's laugh was cold. "What the heck would he know that would matter? He's just a monster out to kill everybody!"
"Hello, pay attention! Has he fired a single shot at anybody since he got back from the past?" Tucker briefly considered telling the huntress he'd been meeting with Dan, and quickly thought better of it. "Aren't you at all worried about what did this to him?"
"Why should I care?" Valerie snapped petulantly. "Probably one of the other ghosts that hate his guts, too!"
Tucker rubbed the bridge of his nose and adjusted his glasses. "Be realistic for a sec. Have ANY of us been able to even scratch him, never mind this?"
"... What's that matter?" Valerie retorted after a moment. "So some ghost came along and beat the-"
"Some other ghost came along and completely overpowered the single most powerful guy in the entire Ghost Zone." Tucker cut the huntress off flatly. "Dan overpowered the ghost king with a lot of effort. Can you even imagine what it would take to do something like this to Dan? And what that could possibly mean for the Ghost Zone and the real world?"
"Any enemy of Phantom is a friend of mine." Valerie snorted.
"We don't know that!" Tucker threw his hands in the air in frustration. "Look, I live in the Ghost Zone now. I know these things; a ghost powerful enough to rip Dan to bits is probably bad news for the rest of us! Dora and I haven't found anything, so Dan's our only lead on finding out about this new ghost!"
"You want me to spare this b-" Valerie hissed, clenching her free hand into a fist as her grip tightened on the gun.
"I'm not asking you to spare him. Not entirely. Look, we just need to get him conscious enough to tell us what happened!" The royal geek interrupted again. "And shooting what's left of him in the head isn't going to help!"
"I am not playing nursemaid to this psychopath!" Valerie shrieked, thoroughly offended.
"Then don't! Look, I called Vlad on my way here. He's the most knowledgeable about ghost stuff, and he should be arriving here via the Ghost Zone pretty soon." Tucker took a few calming breaths to try and ease his tension about dealing with Valerie. "You've got those high-tech ghost restraining tanks at Patrol headquarters, right? Stick him in one of those while he's out and let the old fruit loop handle waking him up!"
"Why would Vlad want to help this freak?" Valerie finally lowered her weapon, casting a vicious glare at Tucker.
"Long story. Short version is we've been trying to keep him occupied so he doesn't decide to go back to that whole 'kill everything' deal." Tucker carefully glossed over the fact it had been his idea and that he'd been regularly meeting with the ghost. "But standing around here isn't going to do any good, so... back to base camp?"
"I don't like it." Valerie scowled at the royal geek. "I'm not going to carry him back."
Now she's just being immature. Tucker refrained from rolling his eyes at Valerie's display, silently thankful the huntress wasn't going to be completely irrational about the situation. "I can haul him back. You fly on ahead and get that restraining tank ready, kay?"
"Whatever." Valerie declared with no good grace, starting up her jet sled and shooting Tucker a thoroughly poisonous glare. "But if he causes any trouble, I'm coming after you, ghost."
Tucker repressed a shiver as the huntress took off. That could have gone better. Or a whole lot worse. So Val's threatening to have my hide and Sam probably won't be civil for months, while Danny probably feels like I stabbed him in the back... It could be worse. He got his own good look at Dan's injuries and repressed another shiver. Assuming you even make it through, you better not do something that's gonna get me in trouble. I'm already in enough on your behalf!
A quick shift to dragon form and the royal geek carefully scooped Dan's mangled form up in his claws, taking off at a slightly slower pace for Patrol HQ than Valerie had.
"Man, sometimes I wonder if things would have been better if you'd never come back at all."
---
It was a scene of pure carnage. The Observants' personal guard had gone in first to deal with the veiled ghosts that were Maghnus' followers. The giant ghost himself had yet to appear, but the one-eyed ghosts knew he wouldn't likely sit the battle out. All their records indicated that the ghost king's older brother wasn't one to merely sit on the sidelines and let the underlings do the dirty work.
Certainly not with such a terrible power at his command.
"How is the battle proceeding?" The leader of the Observants asked, looking at the fight in the distance.
"So far it seems our forces are evenly matched. If it was simply army against army, we could most likely win." One of the underlings reported.
"But Maghnus has yet to reveal himself." Spoke another. "Our only chance will be to stun him long enough to remove the gauntlet, and we can expect to take heavy casualties in the effort."
"You may expect to be felled to the man for your treasonous ways!" A huge voice boomed behind the gathered ghosts.
The Observants spun around, eyes wide as a massive sword cut a shining arc through the air and neatly bisected any of the ghosts who couldn't get out of the deadly blade's path in time.
"Quickly! As we planned!" The ringleader was one of those swift enough to evade the blow, quickly marshaling the rest to action.
"You bothersome meddlers believe that scum such as yourselves possess the strength to resist me?" Maghnus sneered, the momentum from his great sword carrying the giant ghost through a pivot on one foot, preparing the next strike with deadly ease. "It is of no great difficulty to strike you all down with blade alone!"
"Now!"
The plan had looked good back at their Observatory. Elegant in its simplicity, not requiring elaborate plans or trickery. The plan was to mob the huge ghost en masse, more targets than he could handle all at once. If they could immobilize Maghnus' arm, they could seize the source of his terrible power and gain the upper hand.
They didn't know that Dan had tried a very similar ploy to his disadvantage mere hours prior.
The smaller ghosts swarmed Maghnus, all grabbing for his left arm. Proving nimble and entirely too swift for someone his size, the giant ghost spun and dodged through the mob, lashing out with both broadsword and mace. One unfortunate Observant managed to get past the weapons only to get speared by one of the ghost's wicked horns. Another managed to get his tiny green hands on the gauntlet, a cry of triumph erupting from lips presumably hidden within the one-eyed ghost's cloak.
The cheer turned quickly into a startled cry as Maghnus simply raised his left arm and snapped it out to his side with the force of a whip crack. The unlucky Observant had his grip on the gauntlet torn loose as he tumbled through the air, shout cut off by a red beam of energy that fried the spook midair.
"If you had chosen to wisely submit to that which I have commanded, you would be assured a place of comfort in the world I shall craft with my power!" Maghnus bellowed, blasting several more Observants. "Instead you shall perish at the hands of your own folly!"
It was clear that the one-eyed ghosts were outclassed, and badly. Their massive gathering had in mere moments been cut nearly, and literally in half by the giant ghost's sword and brutal power. Maghnus had yet to even use the gauntlet he was wearing. No bolts of silver light split the battlefield, the only silver to be seen was the wide blade of his sword as it flashed through the air with ruthless efficiency.
"No..." The ringleader of the Observants gaped, eye wide with disbelief and just a hint of terror. "We can't... we have to..."
"Hah! Is this what the mighty Watchers have become in the long years of my banishment?" Maghnus sneered, skewering another opponent on his giant sword. "Complacent and soft, incapable of doing anything without the aid of that slippery time fiend?"
"Time fi- Clockwork!" The Observant leader backed away. "He has doomed us all!"
"You insignificant flies were doomed from the beginning! Now perish!" Maghnus raised his sword, red ecto-energy playing across the blade's surface.
"No-!"
It took the remaining Observants a long, painfully silent moment to realize they weren't blasted into so much ectoplasmic slag. Just as the boldest dared to peek, a voice split the silence.
"The one time all you had to do was sit back, and observe... and you decide to step in personally." There was a decided trace of annoyance in the calm voice. "I'm certain you hear as well as you see, and I recall telling you that I had already taken steps to resolve this problem."
Maghnus was still there with his sword held high, the red energy frozen in an ominous coil about the weapon. The veiled ghosts and the Observants' guard stood still, as though they were statues carved to appear as soldiers locked in battle. Even the remains of the most-recently stricken ghosts hovered midair in various stages of destruction, as if someone had taken a snapshot of the scene and frozen it forever in time-
"Clockwork!"
"Yes. It's fortunate I already knew you would go against your own creed to try and stop Maghnus." The Master of Time had his arms crossed, a displeased scowl on his presently-youthful face. "I believe you were the ones that made it so abundantly clear that there is no force on Earth or in the Ghost Zone that can compete with him."
"What are you planning, Timekeeper?" The Observant leader finally recovered enough of his wits to confront Clockwork. "We've been searching for you in need of your powers to deal with this! We would not have had to act ourselves had you been there to perform your duty!"
"Duty?" One eyebrow lifted sardonically as Clockwork's form shifted from child to old man. "That's where you've been mistaken. Our goals are often... similar... enough that going along with your orders has been in keeping with my goals. That is all."
"Then what are you planning?" The Observants demanded, the realization that the Master of Time had merely been humoring them all this time sitting poorly with them. "You claim you have plans and plans, yet there is nothing to show for it! No force in either the Ghost Zone or on Earth can stop Maghnus and his insanity!"
"Indeed, there is no force in either the Ghost Zone or the human world." Clockwork shifted again, this time to his more handsome middle-aged form and raised his staff. "However, I would suggest those of you remaining scatter and go into hiding. You've attracted Maghnus' attention, and he bears a grudge to your predecessors. As I cautioned before, sit back and observe. The future is in... good hands."
"That tells us noth-"
"TIME IN!"
With a flash, the survivors were back in the great hall of their Observatory. The vast chamber was barely a quarter of the way full, a stark visual indication of how badly they'd fared against Maghnus. With their numbers so badly reduced, there was no way they could hope to change the course of events. They had been lucky to have gotten away, and that due only to Clockwork's meddling.
"What do we do now?"
Their leader heaved a sigh. "I fear all we can do is trust Clockwork and whatever scheme he is playing at. Though I dislike admitting to it, he is right in that we should take cover if any of us are to survive this disaster. It is in our own records that the Watchers before us assisted in toppling Maghnus in the past., surely he remembers that."
The one time the Observants actually wanted to step in and do something, and there was nothing they could do.
---
The Amity Park Ghost Patrol headquarters was a scene of barely organized activity, very near to panic. First the Commander returned early from her long range patrol ordering people to ready the biggest and most sturdy of the lab's restraining tanks; and then a massive ghost dragon flies in to land outside the building bringing in the battered body of only the most feared spook in the entire world. Most people knew Tucker's normal form; however there was panic from the general public at the sight of the multi-hued dragon flying in low enough to buffet those on the ground with the wake of his passage. It was fortunate that they were focused more on the royal geek and did not notice what he was carrying.
It was with no small degree of disgust that Valerie and Paulina helped Tucker haul Dan's unconscious form to the lab and into the restraining tank. The huntress took some minor consolation from the fact she wasn't the only one winching down the restraints on Dan more than was strictly necessary; Paulina was making sure the fire-headed ghost was similarly winched down.
"Guys, he's beat to a pulp." Tucker dared to speak into the angry silence. "And in one of the most advanced ghost-containment cells in the world. Do you really need to stra-aah... Y'know, I'll just leave you ladies to it."
If looks could kill, Tucker was pretty sure he'd be dead... again. So he opted to remain outside the unit while the girls finished tying Dan down. The tank itself was an ominous looking device, most of it in the form of a rounded box built of ectoplasm-tempered glass and heavily reinforced. There was an examining table that had been brought in and bolted down; the table itself another ghost-restraining device using bonds that a ghost couldn't simply phase through. Various equipment lined the exterior of the cell, Tucker knew it was used to analyze the contents of the chamber.
Right now, on the one to ten ghost power scale, Dan was barely registering at all. A meager two-point-four, when usually he should have registered at least a solid nine and probably even higher than that. Out of all the ghosts that Tucker knew personally, the only one to rank lower than two-point-four was... Danny. Sam registered a solid five, and Tucker knew in dragon form he rated a high seven; but Danny ranked a measly one-point-five. Barely enough strength to even manifest as a ghost.
Whatever did this to Dan... Tucker mused with a frown. I'm not sure I even want to know who or what could do that.
Much as the royal geek did not want to bring Dan to the Patrol headquarters, he knew that there would have been no way he could convince Valerie to let the fire-headed ghost get away. He knew obsession; it was an intrinsic part of a ghost's being. Yet the obsession he had seen Valerie exhibit in regards to Dan...
You know, I'm glad she's not a ghost.
"There. Even if he wakes up, he's not getting away!" Valerie growled, stepping back from the restraining table to survey her handiwork.
There wasn't actually any promise that the tank could hold a ghost of Dan's strength; however in his condition it was highly unlikely he would be able to break out any time soon. No one in the Patrol or attached to the organization's lab actually knew how to fix an injured ghost, however; all they could do was wait for Vlad to get there, and Valerie hated waiting.
"Valerie, he's not even conscious." Tucker rolled his eyes at the huntress' tone. "Don't you think you're being a liiiiittle overki-"
A low groan interrupted the techno geek, bringing the entire lab slamming to a silent halt as all eyes turned to the restraining table and to face of the ghost tied down to it. Valerie's gun was out and ready even before the others registered the source of the sound; a moment later Paulina had her beam cannon trained on the spook as well.
Red eyes stared blankly at the roof of the restraining tank, their usual ghostly glow hazed over still much like a sleeper just rousing from slumber.
Dan was awake.
---
"You cannot hide from me forever, insolent slime!" Maghnus raged, furious that his victims had literally vanished in the blink of an eye. "I care not what allies you seek, what impudent fools dare align themselves with you; not even that cryptic Chronos can stand against me!"
To say the giant ghost was angry would be an understatement. He knew precisely how those egomaniacal one-eyed ghosts had escaped. That crafty clock keeper had slipped in and gotten the Observants out in the stillness between one moment and the next; the one thing Maghnus could not destroy even with his great power. Time itself remained beyond his grasp, the only edge his enemies had.
Scowling into the distance, the great ghost saw motion. A solitary ghost of a decent size, visibly blue even at a distance. A slow smile cut across Maghnus' pale mask of a face as he slung his huge sword into its scabbard across his back. That flame-headed ghost had been useless for information; Maghnus had to scoff at the thought that his younger brother Pariah had seemingly been cut down at the hands of that fellow. Much as Maghnus wanted to simply raise his left arm and strike anyone and everyone down, that was only half of his ambition.
He needed information if he was going to accomplish the other half of it. Destruction was merely the means to an end, and not the end itself. Perhaps that distant speck would be able to provide it. With a wicked grin the massive ghost took off for that possible clue.
As he drew nearer the blue speck resolved itself into a ghost of a reasonably large size. A blue dragon, clearly searching for something.
"HALT!" Maghnus bellowed as he got within striking range of the beast. "I demand you surrender to your lord and master now, lest I cut you down this moment, beast!"
Dora knew she was in trouble.
Author's Note: Maghnus is just fun to write dialogue for. And I suppose I should take cover yet again for ending this chapter on not one, but two cliffhangers. At least I don't think either one is quite as bad as those two cliffhangers of not knowing Dan's condition!
Anyway, the big announcements! First of all: My younger sister One Amahira is now engaged to her boyfriend of the past 4+ years. He conspired with the family and our friends and arranged it so that she wouldn't know it was coming or that we would all be there to witness it. We were in the upper floor of the Nine Fine Irishmen at the New York, New York in Las Vegas, while my sis and her boyfriend were underneath us. He planned to pop the question as they were leaving; with my mom being the one to lower the ring box and a rose down to him on a red ribbon. In front of everyone there, he untied the ribbon, went down on one knee, and proposed. She didn't say yes immediately- she was a bit too busy being in shock and hugging and kissing him. Then she looked up and saw all of us cheering and waving, and I swear the look on her face was absolutely priceless. As far as she had thought, all of us were at home, not in Vegas!
And the second big announcement, and the one probably more interesting to you guys: Danny Phantom Online is now open to the public! So point your browser to www. dannyphantomonline. com and check it out! We're still adding content, but we've already got some 2,000+ screencaps of superior quality, several character bios and other information, and other good stuff. Plus there's the forums, which I've been told are "the best DP fan community on the net!" (I agree wholeheartedly, but then I'm hardly an unbiased party here! )
The third announcement, and one that I hope really catches your interest: DPO is launching a fan-season project. Dubbed "Danny Phantom Season Three REMIX", or just Remix for short, this is a rather unique fanart/fanfic project. Many DPO members are rather... unhappy... with the change in the show's writing for the third season. So we're going to try and redo it ourselves! The catch? Our rewrite is going to be based entirely on character and story notes penned by former DP story writer Steve Marmel before he was removed from the show's staff. He's going to share these notes for what he was planning for season three with us, and allow DPO to use them for Remix. We've already got a lot of fanfiction authors and fanartists participating, and there's room for more! So if you're interested, register on the DPO forums and check it out!
Geez, this has got to be a personal record for long-winded author's notes from me. Anyway! As always, a very enthusiastic THANK YOU to all my awesome readers and reviewers (even the ones threatening me with violence for cliffhangers!) So virtual ice cream cones to: Angelic Kittens, nightshadow24, Fulcon, Sqweakie the Wonder Mouse, rise-with-the-fallen1, Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet, Tie-dyed Trickster, Eleirah, Akino Ame, BaronOBeefDip, Moony's Metamorphmagus, Selofain, Luiz4200, zara2148, Sukoru, and i AM the Random Idiot!