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: Oh man guys, I am SO sorry for taking so long to get this chapter done! These past few weeks have been pretty crazy and murder to my free time. I had no fewer than 4 final projects due in my classes, and all of the very time-consuming variety. Then there was the holiday poster that ate up gobs of time since it had to be put together, taken to the printer, picked up from the printer, framed, etc etc etc. So yeah, I'm sorry it took so long, please put the chainsaws down! Likewise, that's why I didn't get around to writing review replies to everybody this time. :( But still, new chapter on Christmas Eve!
Chapter 12: Looking for Answers
"It's in your eyes, what's on your mind.
I fear your smile and the promise inside.
It's in your eyes, what's on your mind.
I fear your presence, I'm frozen inside."
-"A Dangerous Mind" - Within Temptation
"What do you mean he's gone?!" Valerie shrieked into her wristband loud enough that the tiny image of Paulina on the screen visibly flinched. "He was tied down and trapped and still all weak and stuff!"
"And we didn't do anything!" The Latina protested just as hotly, her voice sounding tinny over the wristband speaker. "One minute he's tied down, the next he broke the machine!"
"Is everyone alright?" Valerie mentally kicked herself; the casualties ought to have been her first thought. "How bad's the damage?"
"That's the weird part." Paulina frowned. "Oh, I thought we were all gonna die, but..."
"But?"
"He didn't hurt anybody." The Latina sounded like she didn't believe it herself. "The only damage was the restraining table..."
"And?" Valerie prompted again.
"... And that's it."
Valerie glanced off to the side and spat a curse low enough for the communicator not to pick up the sound before she turned her attention back to the device. That can't be right, this is Phantom we're talking about!
"Paulina, seriously. What happened?"
"I am serious!" Traces of indignation crept into the ex-cheerleader's voice. "He broke loose after Sam called saying she and Danny were in trouble-"
"Whoa, whoa, back up!" Valerie seized on the new information. "They're in trouble?! Why didn't you tell me?!"
Paulina heaved an exasperated sigh. "Okay, look. This is what happened. Sam called Tucker in a panic. Something about an army chasing them, then the call was cut off. We were trying to figure out how to get help to them when... Dan just broke out and took off. Tucker thinks he went into the Ghost Zone after Danny and Sam!"
"He what?!" Valerie yelled. "I'm coming back to headquarters now. Scramble anybody who isn't flying patrol right now! We're going after them!"
She cut the call off before Paulina's protest could get through, turning the nose of her jet sled sharply back toward the New City in the distance. Why am I so annoyed that he didn't go and try to blow headquarters up? It's stupid, it's a good thing he didn't!
Valerie was annoyed. That she knew she was annoyed only annoyed her further. There was another emotion underneath it that she couldn't quite pin down; and that only added more to the heap of annoyance. For some reason it seemed almost like an insult that Phantom hadn't bothered to blast headquarters after he got loose.
No, that's not it. She growled to herself, the wind howling in her ears from the speed of her flight. It's like... something I've felt before.
A random memory floated to the surface. High school, freshman year. Eating a sack lunch all by herself and trying to ignore the hurtful whispering and conspicuous glances in her direction from the popular table. The sense of hurt and loss following almost immediately on the heels of her father being fired. The sudden scorn of her friends all because she wasn't rich anymore. The...
Betrayal.
That was it, for some inexplicable reason she was feeling betrayed by Phantom. The thought deepened her already impressive scowl. Sure, he betrayed her before. Ten years ago, in front of Fentonworks. That sense of betrayal was an old acquaintance, a feeling she'd grown used to and eventually dismissed. This was different, a fresh sense of the irritating emotion.
And it was completely stupid. Why should the ghost's actions leave her feeling as if he'd gone and betrayed her again? Nothing he could do would ever top the utter betrayal of their friendship and her trust ten years ago when he first tried to kill her, and nearly succeeded.
He was supposed to go berserk again! She fumed. That's who he is and what he does!
Maybe that was it. In a warped sort of way, she trusted him. She trusted he would act a certain way, and the fact he wasn't was a violation of that. So far, the ghost's behavior since his return was utterly at odds with what he should have been doing. He should have attacked when Paulina found him at the old cemetery. He should have tried to wipe them all off the face of the Earth! Yet despite what he should have done, that wasn't what he did. He ran away. He retreated. He didn't attack. He was making... if not friends, then at least sympathizers. This was not the way things should be; the two of them were mortal enemies! They were each seeking the utter annihilation of the other; that was how things should be!
Wasn't it?
---
For perhaps the only time ever, not only was Dan rendered utterly speechless, but so was Sam; not even Danny had a suitable snip of witty banter to throw at the ghost that floated belligerently in front of the trio.
He was tall, though still just a hair shorter than Dan's imposing height; with a pasty blue-green complexion and a neatly kept beard and full head of dark hair that did nothing to smooth the hard angles of his face. One hand was planted firmly on the ghost's hip, while the other maintained a careful grip on a large book; a button-down work shirt and pants completed his appearance and did nothing to flatter his slightly overweight build.
"You!" The ghost's expression darkened as he realized who had barged into his lair.
Dan cringed, expecting to get another barrage of panic from yet another person realizing that the scourge of the Ghost Zone was floating not ten feet away. Great, and these two are still paranoid-
"Mister Fenton, you have an awful lot of nerve showing yourself, young man!"
Then Dan realized that the ghost hadn't so much as glanced at him; the narrow-eyed glare was locked firmly onto...
...Danny?
Sam was the first to shake off surprise and give voice to the startled exclamation that spoke for all three of them.
"Lancer?!"
"And Miss Manson, too." The dead teacher's gaze swept from a withering glare aimed at Danny to a merely stern expression as he studied the goth. "And..."
He finally looked at Dan, one eyebrow arching upward.
"... Who are you?"
Dan gaped outright at Lancer, while Danny fell over in surprise at the apparent confusion of their shared high school nemesis. Sam merely slapped her forehead in disbelief. How could Lancer not know who the fire-headed spook was? Dan was only the single most powerful and feared... well, second most powerful and feared since Maghnus came along... but regardless, he was infamous!
"What do you mean 'Who are you?', you-" Dan finally spluttered angrily.
"Regardless, you should be ashamed of yourself!" Lancer turned to glower at Danny again. "After what your actions are responsible for!"
The shorter ghost visibly flinched at the unexpected barrage. Sure, he knew exactly what his actions were responsible for; perhaps better than Lancer did. After all, what his actions were responsible for was standing a few feet away, staring at the teacher with something between rage and shock on an otherwise terrifying face.
"Do you realize the enormity of what you've done, all for what? Test answers?" Lancer scolded mercilessly. Clearly the teacher had been saving up the rant, probably for at least ten years. "Because of that-"
"Everyone died, I know!"
All eyes turned to the unexpected source of the outburst. Dan stood, almost visibly quaking with some unreadable emotion, his red eyes alight and his hands clenched into tight fists surrounded by the barest glimmer of a green glow.
Sam and Lancer both backed away from the ghost, surprised by the outburst and the implied threat of imminent violence. Danny remained where he stood, eyeing his arguably worse half speculatively. This was not something expected of an allegedly cold-blooded psychopath; the guilt written all over the ghost's face was plain as day to Danny. Then again, it was a guilt that he himself knew entirely too well having had it as a constant companion all those years spent alone in the Wisconsin wilderness.
Maybe Tucker is onto something. He mused, the recent fight still entirely too clear in his memory. He and Sam would have been toast if not for Dan's timely explosive entrance.
The awkward silence stretched unbroken for a few moments; even Lancer seemed to have caught a clue that Dan wasn't someone to take lightly. That the now-ghostly teacher seemed completely out of touch with events and didn't know what Dan was responsible for... seemed to be in keeping with his habits when he was alive. Lancer never seemed particularly on top of current events and trends; though that he was about a decade behind on Ghost Zone news was still astonishing.
"Anyway..." Danny broke the silence, directing attention away from the still-shaken Dan. "We were just-"
His face lit up at a sudden flash of an idea. "Mr. Lancer, we're trying to... research... an ancient ghost named Maghnus, and something called the Watchers. You wouldn't know of anywhere we could look it up, would you?"
Danny put on his best innocent face, the expression usually reserved for when he was fibbing to his parents years ago. Who better to seek advice from about finding old knowledge than a teacher?
Sam caught on quickly. "Yeah, we really need to find out what we can!"
Lancer's stern gaze shifted from Dan to the two former students. "And just why do you want to do research so badly? It's not like your grades or your future depend on it."
Danny cringed under the pointed glance.
Sam considered their options. There was no reason to hide the truth from Lancer, though it seemed that old habits die hard given she and Danny both had been somewhat evasive in trying to get the teacher's help. If Lancer wasn't aware of the danger they had just barely escaped from, it would just be flat-out cold not to clue him in.
"Actually, it does, Lancer. The future, that is." Dan loomed behind the two shorter ghosts, apparently having recovered his composure enough to glare and snarl at the teacher. "Because this Maghnus guy is back and if we don't figure out how to stop him, he'll destroy everything and everyone, and make cheating on a stupid test trivial in comparison."
The teacher did something few had the courage to do, and looked Dan square in the eyes as he considered the fire-headed ghost's words. A moment later he digested the information, eyes going wide as he spit out an invective only he could produce.
"The Penultimate Truth!" Lancer gasped. "How?"
"Thaaaat's... what we need to find out." Danny shrugged.
"Besides what I already know about that gauntlet." Dan hissed.
Lancer paced in thought for a moment before a flash of an idea jolted him to a stop. "Ghostwriter's library!"
"Who?" Danny and Sam exchanged looks.
"A fellow literary aficionado . He has an excellent collection of books." Lancer's smile indicated clearly that he adored the literary treasure trove of this alleged library. "If it's in the history of the Ghost Zone, he probably has it."
"So stop grinning like a moron and tell us where to find him." Dan snapped. "Since these idiots neglected to mention it, we're a little pressed for time. His armies are already on the loose and I was busy getting these two out of the way."
"Hey, you were running, too!" Sam hissed. "And I don't see you in any big hurry to go rushing back out there to-"
"To what?" Dan raised one eyebrow.
"To..." Sam was at a loss for words for just a moment. "I don't know! To do that 'destroy everything' gimmick of yours or something!"
"Yes, because we all know how well that worked the first time I tried that." The fire-headed ghost retorted dryly. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't even be around to be an ingrate about it."
The blunt statement stopped the goth ghost in her tracks, speechless. How was someone supposed to respond to that? Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Dan's statement while blunt was nothing short of the truth. If he hadn't shown up and singlehandedly turned the fight around, she and Danny would have been outmatched. Captives at the least, obliterated at the worst.
"The Shape of Things to Come, people!" Lancer's annoyed interjection cut off further sniping between the two. "Honestly, bickering like a group of children!"
"She started it!"
"He started it!"
"Guys, can we just get going?" Danny resisted the urge to facepalm. "And save the arguing for after we know what we're all up against?"
Dan crossed his arms and offered no further comment, while Sam just pointedly looked away from the tall ghost. Danny sighed silently. Something had definitely changed in Dan's demeanor from what it had been years ago. For one thing, the ghost was rational, if easily annoyed and still clearly inclined to enjoying violence. From his limited knowledge, one couldn't get within a mile of the fire-headed ghost without risking life and limb. Now that no longer seemed to apply.
Lancer cracked open the door to his lair and peered out. After a moment the teacher threw the door open; the route was clear. "This way."
The other three filed out after their former instructor, only now realizing that the door to his lair resembled any one of the monotonous doorways from Casper High. The army they'd fled from was gone, probably having stormed right past in the rush to try and catch them earlier. Lancer glanced around briefly and motioned for the rest to follow as he started off in a direction that was seemingly random but thankfully not where they'd come from or where that army presumably had gone.
Dan fell to the rear of the group, surveying their surroundings. He had no illusions of having any useful aid from any of the others if another fight broke out. Let Sam and his allegedly better half handle the information-gathering; he would stick to his strengths. Let the weaker ghosts do the bookwork; he'd gladly handle the kicking ghost butt that was going to be necessary.
Needless to say, he was the first to spot the telltale banners of the army bearing down on them.
"Of course it wouldn't be that simple." Dan growled, catching the attention of the others.
"Oh great." Danny groaned. "More goons? Can't he come up with something more original than that?"
"Heroes and Villains! That's what you were escaping from?!" Lancer yelped, glancing back at the mass of ghosts.
Dan sized up the approaching force, almost licking his lips with anticipation. "Lancer. How far is it to this Ghostwriter guy's place?"
"Not too far." The teacher stammered out, unsettled by the combined threat of the closing army and Dan's intensity. "Same way we've been going, watch for the white statues."
"What are you planning?" Sam demanded, her thorn whip already conjured and ready for another fight.
"Oh put that stupid thing away." Dan scoffed. "You idiots go ahead with Lancer."
"What?" Danny raised one eyebrow, not sure he was hearing the taller ghost correctly.
"You heard me. You have fun looking through those smelly old books." He grinned, fangs showing pure malevolent delight. "While I have my fun here."
"You're going to take them all on by yourself?!" Lancer gaped, incredulous. "Are you insane?!"
"According to most people..." There it was, that sadistic purr that was almost synonymous with Dan at his most deranged. "... yes."
The teacher glanced between Dan and Sam, then toward the approaching enemy force. "Well?"
"C'mon Sam." Danny tugged his friend's wrist slightly. "If he wants to rough the bad guys up while we get away, let's go! We couldn't find Clockwork, this library may be our only chance to find out about what we're all up against!"
"But he's-" Sam started to protest.
"Sam, don't you think I know that already?" Danny interrupted. "But right now, he's probably our only chance at pulling this off."
"Will you just get moving already?" Dan complained, his attention firmly on the approaching force. "I want you out of my way so nothing interferes with my finishing what I started with Maghnus and his goons."
The other three ghosts exchanged confused looks before they turned and flew away as fast as they could, leaving Dan the only thing between them and the closing army. The fire-headed ghost smirked wickedly, and abruptly there were four of him.
"I'm going to enjoy this."
---
"Valerie, listen to yourself! Get a grip!" Paulina stood between the huntress and the ghost portal.
"Paulina, we've got to help Danny and Sam!" Valerie countered. "So get out of the way!"
"I would have to agree with Miss Sanchez on this, Valerie." Vlad interjected.
"Stay outta this, Masters!" She hissed in response.
"Um, Valerie..." Tucker spoke up.
"What?!"
Tucker cringed at the shriek. Valerie was like a caged animal, pacing the lab floor angrily and bristling with weapons. Thankfully most of the Patrol managed to make itself scarce after word got around that the Commander wanted to launch an ill-planned sortie into the Ghost Zone itself.
"Okay, one; we don't know where Danny and Sam are."
"They told you where they were on the phone!"
"Yes, they did." Tucker resisted the urge to massage his temples. "That was over an hour ago, and the call got cut off."
"Well it'd still be a good place to start looking!" The huntress argued.
"About that... Valerie, I don't suppose you happen to know how far Walker's prison is from your portal?" Vlad inquired. "Or rather, the ruins since the prison was destroyed years ago?"
"Well, I-"
"It would take at least another hour to get there." Tucker picked up the debate. "Two, we don't even know if they're still alright, or if they got away. And three, we don't know what's waiting in there. If it's that Maghnus dude's army, do you really think your Patrol is equipped to tackle that?"
"We've been fighting him for so long, so-"
"Dan is just one ghost!" Tucker shouted in exasperation. "Sure, he's powerful, but he's still just one guy. All your patrol tactics and training have been to deal with one guy! One ghost!"
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"What he means, Valerie, is that you and your patrol have no experience whatsoever in real military tactics and combat strategy." Vlad helpfully clarified. "You are all well trained in dealing with single opponents... how would you plan to deal with a force of ghosts working as a unit that has your force outnumbered several dozen to one?"
"We'd-"
"Go in, all guns blazing?" The billionaire interrupted. "Rather a spectacular waste of effort and certain to fail. You have no idea what the terrain is, or what you might be facing. You would be running into a fight completely and totally blind."
"Well what about him? He took off after them, right?" Valerie changed the subject, unable to argue the point.
"Will you quit assuming he's going to do something bad, Valerie?" Tucker facepalmed. "Just this one time?"
"How can you expect me to trust that ghost?! He's a monster, or have you forgotten about all the people he's killed?!" Valerie snarled.
"Regardless of that, we're no better equipped to find Dan in the Ghost Zone as we are to locate the others." Vlad thankfully interrupted again, before the angry huntress could launch into another diatribe. "It would be wiser to wait here for some signal from them."
"You want me to just wait while who-knows-what is after-" Valerie shouted indignantly.
"Danny and Sam were trying to find information so we'll know what we're all up against!" Tucker reminded the huntress. "And if Dan went after them..."
"He didn't break out until after he heard they were in trouble." Paulina noted with a frown. "I hate to agree with them, Valerie, but I think our only choice is to hope he's going to do something to help."
"You think I'm honestly going to settle for that?" The huntress bristled.
"No, Valerie." Vlad remarked tiredly. "I think that you are going to have to settle for that."
Valerie snarled a litany of invective at everyone and stormed from the room.
---
As they sped away, gigantic explosions started to tear through the approaching ghosts; brilliant green fireballs comparable to small nuclear blasts, their loud sonic reports stringing together into an incessant roar. Dan had been holding back in that first fight when he rescued Danny and Sam; he certainly didn't seem to be holding back now!
"The Fifth Horseman!" Lancer shouted over the increasingly distant explosions, eyes wide as he glanced back at the sight.
At their currently increasing distance, Dan was no longer visible; just the blasts of green energy disrupting a tide of red and green ghosts. It was clear Dan wasn't just fighting with brute force; the blasts were all targeting the front line of the mass, throwing their advance into chaos.
He's buying as much time as possible. Danny narrowed his eyes in thought as the trio continued toward the library. Instead of just charging into the middle of them and going berserk. He's keeping them busy, and keeping himself in between them and us. But why is he helping us?
The noise gradually faded with distance, becoming a low rumble; the explosions a flickering green star miles away. Lancer changed direction, pointing down. "There it is!"
The building below looked like a bizarre combination of a bookshelf and an old mansion. The facade seemed to be white stone of some sort, perhaps limestone or marble, the entrance watched by a pair of lion statues.
"I'm surprised this place is still intact after all of his rampaging." Sam snorted as she landed.
"Sam, give it a rest, please?" Danny sighed as he touched down.
Lancer seemed perfectly at ease, the teacher floated up the steps and knocked on the door. A moment later the door opened, the occupant peering outside. As far as ghosts went, he was one of the more 'normal' looking ones; ashen complexion, slightly unkempt hair and goatee, plain grey attire under a long purple coat.
He had 'eccentric writer' practically written all over him.
"Sorry to drop by unannounced, Ghostwriter." Lancer greeted the spook. "It's a bit of an emergency involving some of my... former students."
"Ah, William!" The ghost's face lit up in a grin, showing pointed teeth. "Come in, it's been too long anyway! I have a new manuscript completed that I'd like your opinion on!"
Danny and Sam exchanged baffled looks behind the teacher. Who knew that the man had an actual first name?
The trio followed the Ghostwriter inside, the building's interior consisting almost entirely of a towering round room filled with books. Wings of the building to the left and right were darkened, but it was a likely guess that they too were filled to the brim with books as well. A large keyboard assembly dominated the center of the room, a neat stack of papers sitting to one side loosely bound.
"I'd love to, but right now my students and I need to do some research." Lancer turned the manuscript down. "Apparently it's urgent."
"You know my library is always open to a friend." The ghost nodded. "So what are you looking for?"
"Actually..." Sam took the story from there. "We need to find out anything we can about a ghost named Maghnus. He's supposed to be older than the Ghost King, and armed with some weird magic gauntlet."
"And he's currently running loose in the Ghost Zone and we think he's planning to destroy the entire world." Danny added lamely.
Ghostwriter's eyebrows shot up well above the rims of his glasses. "Really now?"
Lancer nodded. "In fact, we just barely got away from this Maghnus' army on the way here."
"Ancient Ghost Zone history..." Ghostwriter tugged on his jagged goatee as he mulled it over. "I might have something... unfortunately I fear most of my collection only goes back to Pariah Dark's first reign."
"It's worth a shot." Sam sighed. "We couldn't find Clockwork to ask him!"
"Yeah." Danny agreed. "His tower is empty, I think something bad happened to him."
"Well, this way then." Ghostwriter gestured to one of the wings. "The more pairs of hands looking through the stacks, the better!"
The slender ghost wasn't kidding. Row upon row of books stretched from floor to ceiling, a veritable maze filled with tomes of every shape and size. Trying to find one specific piece of information seemed likely to take hours, even days!
"Oh man..." Danny's jaw just about hit the floor. "Where do we even start looking in this mess?"
"Mess?" Ghostwriter glowered down at Danny, indignant. "This is the greatest collection of written works in the entire Ghost Zone!"
"It's a mess." Sam stated flatly.
"Perhaps a little respect, Miss Manson?" Lancer remarked dryly. "We'll need to split up."
The younger ghosts grumbled as the group divided up among the stacks to start scanning the titles. The high shelves stifled conversation, each member of the group too intent on trying to read sometimes illegible titles to make idle chat anyway.
"History of Ghost Zone Artifacts..." Sam mumbled, reading the book spines as she scanned the nearest shelf. "Escape from Walker's Jail... hey, I wonder if that's about that one time Danny was arrested?"
"What is this doing here?!" The Ghostwriter's annoyed shout cut across the shelves, drawing curious glances from the ends of aisles.
"What is what doing where?" Danny asked.
"This book!" The ghostly author held up a thick, time-worn tome. "It should be under 'W', not in the middle of the 'A's!"
"How'd it get there?" Lancer raised an eyebrow, apparently more familiar with his friend's habits.
"I don't know... Come to think of it, I don't recognize this one at all." Ghostwriter frowned, studying the worn leather-bound volume in his hands. "The War of the Ascendancy... it sounds like it should in the fiction wing, not the history-"
"Whoa, wait, did you say 'ascendancy'?" Sam interrupted.
"That's what those ghosts were babbling about before!" Danny yelped. "They wanted to know where the other half of it was... whatever that even is!"
Ghostwriter obliged the pair and set the dusty book down on the nearest table, carefully flipping the tome open with a creaking of old bindings. The rest crowded behind him to read it over his shoulder.
"The War of the Ascendancy: The History of the War and the Sealed King..." The ghostly author read aloud. "This account of the ancient war has been penned by the last of the Watchers to witness it, so that the knowledge of the past will be available to the future."
They all exchanged surprised looks.
"I think we found what we're looking for."
Author's Note: Man, this chapter took FOREVER to write! Lancer is a tough character to write... mostly because of his book title expletives! You notice how the book titles he shouts tend to somehow fit the situation? All of the titles he uses in this chapter ARE the titles of real books; primarily stories about or set in apocalyptic scenarios. :) The next chapter is going to sorta be a story-in-a-story, as the group takes a trip through the history book. Lots of information about our bad guy next chapter!
Anyway, as always many, many thanks to my readers. You guys realize some of you have been following the Jeremiad/Anathema/Benediction/Indemnification storyline for closing in on two years now? Scary thought, huh? But I digress: candy canes, tasty pies, and other holiday sugary confections to my super cool (and patient!) readers: Angelic Kittens, Eleirah, Tie-dyed Trickster, Esme Kali Phantom, zara2148, Selofain, Fulcon, Skandragon Blackheart, Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet, i AM the Random Idiot, Moony's Metamorphmagus, Luiz4200, SkeiththeTerrorofDeath, and Sukoru!