The Ring of Rage

Lying on his bed that night, Dan pulled out his phone again, dialing Skulker. He hadn't talked to him in a while, but he needed a distraction. Any distraction.

"Got cravings again?" Skulker asked on the other end of the line.

Dan chuckled lightly. "I always have cravings, Skulker, but that's not why I called."

"Really?" Skulker's voice was strangely high with confusion. "Why did you call?"

"I need a distraction."

"Want to go hunting?"

Dan shook his head. "Can't. My portal to the Ghost Zone was locked."

"Well, there was this one thing I was always curious about if you want to hear about it," Skulker offered.

"Sure," Dan shrugged,

"It's a ghostly artifact-a pair of them, actually," he explained. "Years ago before most ghosts that are around these days even existed, there was this king. His name was Pariah Dark. He gained power quite rapidly and declared himself king, devastating the Ghost Zone in the process. He gained power because he had this pair of ghostly artifacts. I don't know where he got them, but one doesn't work without the other."

"What were they?" Dan wondered.

"They were called the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire," Skulker answered. "When he wore them, he could do anything. But he caused so much destruction that a group of powerful, ancient ghosts banded together to put a stop to him. They took the Ring from him and hid it away. They locked Pariah Dark in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep with the Crown. I know where the Crown is, and I'm pretty sure that the Ring is in the same place, but there could be traps everywhere. Not to mention that I can't get the Crown without opening the Sarcophagus and waking Dark. Even on his own, Dark was powerful. I wouldn't be able to beat him in a fight."

"Why do you want these things?" Dan asked. "The power?"

"Not really. I'm happy with my position as the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter. I'm just curious," Skulker admitted.

"And now you've got me curious."

"Well, maybe we can look for the Ring and take on Dark together when you can come back to the Zone," Skulker offered.

"Treasure hunting? That'll definitely cure my boredom," Dan laughed. "We'll be a pair of Indiana Joneses."

"Who's Indiana Jones?"

Dan froze at that. "You seriously don't know who Indiana Jones is?"

Several months passed of the same thing: ghost hunting and lying around. Being legally dead meant that Dan couldn't go anywhere. He couldn't go to the movies or the arcade or the park. Anywhere at all. The fact that he even had a phone was risky enough. If his parents finances were even slightly suspicious, he could get caught. He had read every book in the house and watched every rerun there was, but he was still bored and lonely. Sam and Tucker were stuck at college and couldn't visit because of how busy they were with classes and jobs-though only Tucker was working. They called and texted as much as they could, but it wasn't enough to negate the loneliness Dan felt.

He actually missed the people he met at Jerry and Marie's galas. They were somewhat stuck-up due to growing up so rich, but they were friendly. He missed Jerry and Marie. Their money was nice, but that's not what he missed. They had their work, yes, but unlike Jack, they didn't shove him aside to indulge it. It was usually the opposite. The busier they were, the more time they took to check up on him.

Even now as he, Vlad, and his parents were driving to Jazz's college to watch her walk at graduation, he was bored. His chest was hollow and empty to the point where he could feel his heartbeat reverberating around his entire body. During the ceremony, Dan couldn't be seen. He had to remain invisible through the entire thing. His parents didn't even reserve a seat for him. They all asked him if he was alright during the drive, but he just said he was fine, slipped his headphones in and slid down in his seat.

The ceremony itself was just like his high school graduation but a lot bigger. He couldn't go to that back then because of how sick he was at the time, but he saw the video the school posted on their website. Dan floated above his parents and Vlad as they watched in their seats, phones and video cameras in hand. Dan was proud of his sister for doing what he couldn't. He had planned to major in astronomy. His freshman classes were all set, and he was excited about it. If it wasn't for those Guys in White, he would have been able to complete the program. Maybe even ended up working at NASA later in life. Who knows?

When it was Jazz's turn to be called, Dan decided to drag himself out of his depressive cycle of thinking and invisibly drifted down towards the stage. He floated alongside his sister as she crossed the stage. As she reached up to take her diploma from the announcer, Dan hit the back of her hand, making her slap the diploma out of the announcer's grip. Jazz, the announcer, and several people from the crowd laughed awkwardly as she bent down to pick the diploma up from the floor.

Dan followed his sister down the stairs. She kept her head up and forward, a smile on her face. "What was that for, Dan?" she whispered, her voice taut with the effort of hiding her displeasure.

Dan laughed quietly. "Got bored."

The next few days were also boring to Dan, even though they were different. They went out to a semi-expensive restaurant after the graduation, and they took it to go so that Dan wouldn't have to hang around invisibly with nothing to eat. They helped Jazz finish packing up her dorm, loaded everything into the back of the RV, and then they went back to their hotel. Dan's sleep was as restless as always with various terrible visions visiting him in his nightmares.

The next morning, Jazz asked him if he was okay, and he dismissed her worries as he usually does, saying that he was fine. After a breakfast that Dan hardly touched, they piled back into the RV and started the several-hours drive back to Amity and Fenton Works. Jazz was planning on staying with them while she looked for an apartment and new job in a neighborhood nearby. Dan was privately surprised that she chose to stay close. When they were younger, she couldn't wait to leave home and go far away.

Sam and Tucker were free from there college obligations for a while, and Tucker quit his job for the summer and moved back home. They were able to hang out more as a result. Dan's mood improved with that, and he even grew curious when his parents and Vlad called him, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz into the living room, a week after Jazz's graduation.

The three older adults sat the young adults down in the living room, and naturally, most of them were concerned, flashbacks of when they were younger and their parents said, "We need to talk." Dan, on the other hand, didn't feel much of anything. The only thing that sparked inside was that there was something slightly different happening than yesterday.

"We have some exciting news," Vlad began,

"Maddie, Vlad, and I have been talking," Jack continued, "and we made the decision that we should all go into the Ghost Zone together."

Dan's head perked up.

"Really?" Sam and Tucker exclaimed.

"But isn't that dangerous?" Jazz reminded.

"It is, but as long as we go together, our firepower and abilities makes the danger we'll be in negligible," Maddie said.

"But not zero," Jazz pointed out.

"Who cares?" Tucker spoke up, his voice unwillingly loud with his excitement. "I've always wanted to see what went on in the Ghost Zone. Dan never really talked about it."

"I hate to admit it, but I'm curious, too," Sam added. "But how are we going to even travel in the Ghost Zone? Five out of the seven of us can't fly."

Jack's eyes lit up. "I'm glad you asked!" He raced towards the door of the lab. "Follow me! I'll show you my latest invention."

Vlad rolled his eyes, though a small smile played on his lips. "He's been practically jumping down our throats demanding that we show this to you guys."

Dan's sister and two friends laughed awkwardly as they got up from the couch. Dan followed them, but lagged behind. He didn't talk about the Ghost Zone with Tucker when he asked because it made him remember all of the ghosts that lived there. Ghosts that were just waiting to be drained. He agreed with his family that he had gotten out of hand-though it took him a while to realize it. He didn't want his...addiction to control him, so he avoided it, hardly even glancing at the door to the lab.

When the group made it to the bottom of the stairs, Jack flicked a lightswitch, activating a spotlight that shined on him and whatever it was that he was standing next to. It was larger than the Family RV and covered with a brown tarp. Dan sighed at his father's ridiculousness and leaned against the wall at the bottom of the staircase as the others stood around Jack.

Jack cleared his throat and announced in a proud voice, "Behold! A vehicle a few months in the making!" He grasped the edge of the tarp and pulled it down, revealing what was underneath it. "The Specter Speeder!"

"Wow," Jazz breathed.

The silver and green vehicle reminded Dan of a sci-fi spaceship with its jutting, round engines and large, clear viewport.

Jack tapped one of the engines. "This baby practically runs on solar power," he explained. "It absorbs ambient ghost energy from the Ghost Zone to power the engine."

Dan had to force himself to remain still at the explanation. The mention of ghost energy and the Zone reignited his desire for it.

"We'll use this to explore the Ghost Zone," Maddie added as she approached the large vehicle. "It has sensors, sampling graspers...The whole nine yards. It's a scientist's dream."

Dan winced as Jazz, Sam, and Tucker walked up to the Specter Speeder, inspecting it. He put a hand to his chest, massaging his sternum, right above his core. He wasn't sure if the pain was real or a phantom pain-pun not intended.

"You okay?" Vlad wondered, taking a few steps closer to Dan.

Dan nodded and lowered his hand.

"Are you sure you can handle going back into the Ghost Zone?" Vlad asked, keeping his voice low. "It's okay if-"
"I'm fine," Dan interrupted, looking pointedly at Vlad. "I'm sure it's just in my head. I'll be fine."

"Ready, everyone?" Maddie asked, glancing behind her to all the people strapped to their seats in the back.

Everyone except for Dan voiced the affirmative, various, yeses and yeps coming from the group.

"Alright, then!" Maddie said, her voice a bit too loud with her excitement. She turned back around and faced forward. "Let's go, Jack."

Jack pressed a button near him, making the entire Speeder vibrate and hum as it started up. He reached up and flicked a switch above him, opening the black and yellow-striped doors to the Ghost Zone.

Vlad watched Dan as the doors opened and some of the ambient ghost energy that floated around in the Zone drifted into the room. He was tense, his head was lowered, and his eyebrows were drawn together in concentration. The two of them naturally morphed as Jack drew them forward into the Zone. Dan tensed even further, leaning his head back onto the wall.

It was probably good that Vlad and the others were with Dan right now. His natural sensing of the energy around them was likely reawakening his cravings for it. Vlad could barely be around him when they started to detox him. Dan had agreed to the process, but after a week, Dan's cravings made him so sensitive to any form of ghost energy that he would attack Vlad. Maddie was the only one who could calm him down, though she couldn't go in wearing her jumpsuit because Dan could sense the ghost energy residue that clung to the material. He wouldn't attack her, but he would curl in on himself and not say a word. Looking at Dan now, reminded Vlad of that time.

Dan wasn't sure if it was in his head or not, but his core was writhing inside of him like it was when he and Vlad were held captive by the Guys in White. It took all he had not to whimper with the pain of it. He bit the inside of his lip to distract himself. Jazz, of course, taught him various breathing exercises to calm him down towards the end of his detoxing, but he was too scared to take a deep breath. When Vlad would try and visit him in the depths of his detox, Dan could smell the ectoplasm mixed in with this blood. Dan attacked him. Repeatedly. He didn't want to breathe too deeply here. This would take more mental strength than he thought.

At the end of the initial scouting mission, they returned to Fenton Works and closed the portal behind them. Jack shut down the Specter Speeder, and he and Maddie turned around in their seats. "What did you guys think?" Jack wondered.

"That was amazing," Tucker answered as he unbuckled himself.

"We didn't get to see much, so I really want to go back in," Sam agreed. "It's like a whole society in there!"

"It was interesting," Jazz half-heartedly added, watching her brother out of the corner of her eye.

As the side door of the Speeder hissed open, Dan instantly unbuckled himself, got up and walked out without a word. After an awkwardly quiet moment of watching after him, Maddie wondered, "I'm guessing he struggled?"

Vlad nodded. "I watched him the whole time. He looked like he was in pain."

"We'll his body shouldn't be craving it anymore," Jazz explained as she, too, unbuckled her seatbelts. "It must be psychological. Either he's resisting the psychological craving or he's afraid of what the environment will do to him." She got to her feet. "I'll go talk to him."

Jack, Vlad, and Maddie all shared a worried look as Jazz raced out of the Speeder and up the stairs. She found Dan rather easily. He was standing in plain sight beyond the open lab door, his forehead pressed into the wall. With his back to her, Jazz couldn't see his expression, but destress was practically radiating off of him.

Jazz took a few steps towards him, carefully placing her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, brother," she said, her voice soft. "Are you okay?"

Dan didn't answer. His mouth was pressed into a hard line, his eyebrows were crinkled together, and his eyes were squeezed shut.

"I know it might be hard going back in there the first few times," Jazz continued, "but it will get easier. It's your first time being exposed to so much ghost energy at once after the detox, so of course it's hard. But give it time."

Dan's mouth loosened, and his eyes slowly opened, glancing at her.

Jazz was right. It did get easier. It was gradual, but the more trips the group took into the Ghost Zone together, the less pressure there was inside of him. Dan still was unsure if the cravings when he entered the Zone were psychological or not, but they were fading nonetheless. A few weeks and a few trips later, he decided to take Skulker up on his offer to look for the Ring of Rage. It would be an excellent distraction from the monotony of his current routine. He brought it up to Jazz and his parents at dinner. He didn't mention his intention to go on an investigation, but he offered to continue Vlad's map of the Zone. Of course, they initially rejected the idea.

"Will you be okay on your own?" Jazz asked. It was difficult to miss the warning undertone in her voice.

Dan nodded. "Last time we went in there, I didn't feel a thing," he assured. It wasn't entirely true, though. He did still feel the usual craving for the energy, but it was so light that it was ignorable.

It took a little more persuasion, but eventually, they agreed. At the end of the night, when Dan was alone in his room, he pulled out his phone and called up Skulker. "Hey, Skulker," he greeted.

"What is it?"

"Want to go look for that Ring?"

Early the next morning, Jazz, Vlad, Maddie, Jack, and Dan all gathered in the lab the next morning. Vlad held out his hand-drawn map. "We have a more detailed digital copy. We add to this every time we do mapping and transfer it over to the digital copy later," he explained as Dan took the map.

Maddie held out a backpack. "I've packed this with snacks," she said. Dan grabbed the bag and slipped his arms through the straps. "Just remember to be back before dinner."

"If you're not, we'll load up in the Specter Speeder and come get you ourselves," Jack said enthusiastically.

"You just want to drive the Speeder again," Jazz laughed, getting Maddie to stifle a laugh herself.

After her laughter had died down, she approached Dan as Jack opened the doors to the Ghost Zone. "Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked, her voice low and her eyebrows drawn together in worry.

Dan nodded. "I promise that I can do this," he insisted. "I will be alright."

Jaz reluctantly backed away, allowing him to fully see the portal. Dan wouldn't lie to himself and say that he wasn't nervous. He would be in the Ghost Zone alone for the first time in a while. He didn't want to lose control and be nothing more than a slave to his basest instincts again. But with this investigation to distract him, it shouldn't be a problem.

With a preparatory breath, he morphed into his ghost form and took off into the Zone. On his way to Skulker's Island, he took a look at the map Vlad and his parents had put together. Dan had been in the Zone a lot, but he never really paid much attention to where he was going at the time. He usually had Skulker with him, and they were normally hunting together. The map was a lot more detailed than he thought it would be. The map appeared to be more like a book. It was a large paper folded in an accordion style to show the ups and downs of the Zone. It had various plots of land with strange names that probably only Vlad and his parents understood. It had Skulker's Island under the label of "LP 36B".

As the island of his desire approached in the distance, Dan took the map and phased it through the layers of his backpack, depositing it inside. When he reached the island, he dropped down onto the land close to the large skull that was Skulker's house. He walked up the hill and knocked on the white door. His knock was quickly answered by Skulker. "So where should we start?" Dan wondered.

Skulker smiled, and Dan couldn't really tell if it was a smirk or not. Skulker opened the door wider and stood to the side. "I've already got all of my research out."

Dan walked through the door, and Skulker shut it behind him. On the table in the front room was the table that the two had developed several projects so many months ago. It sat in front of a lit fireplace that was the only source of light in the dark room. On the table rested several books and papers. Some were maps, and some were filled with words. Dan couldn't make out what they said from this distance, but he did catch the word "castle" written on several of the papers before Skulker started speaking.

"About a year ago, I found this." He reached into his utility belt and produced a key. It was a bright, ghostly green with a skull adorning the top. "There was a large, six-armed monster guarding the thing, so it obviously goes to something important. I did a lot of research, and I'm pretty sure that it unlocks what contains the Ring of Rage."

"What makes you so sure?" Dan wondered.

"There's a lot of imagery of skulls in the stories of Pariah Dark," Skulker explained, approaching the table. He opened up several books to different illustrations of skeletons and skulls. One of them contained a strange knight dressed in purple armor surrounded by violet flames.

"Who's he?" Dan asked.

"That's the Fright Knight. He's the Spirit of Halloween as well as Pariah Dark's servant." Skulker pointed out several of the green and ghostly skeletons on the images. "These are Dark's foot soldiers. The head on this key-" Skulker put the key down onto the page right next to the skeleton. "-is shaped exactly the same as their heads."

"And they're all the same color, too," Dan pointed out. "You have any idea where Pariah Dark got locked up?"

Skulker nodded his head. "I do. When those Ancients locked him in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep, they blasted his land into pieces, but the main keep is still intact. Based on this info, he should be inside."

"How sure are you?"

Skulker picked his hand up with his palm facing downwards and rocked it from side to side in the air with an unsure grimace on his face. "Not very, but even if the Ring or Crown or even Pariah himself aren't there, there's bound to be clues that lead to them."

Dan nodded. "Small chance of success, but it's better than lazing around my house doing nothing."

Skulker smiled slightly at that.

The pair packed all of their maps and clues into Dan's backpack, and Skulker secured the Skeleton Key back into the compartment on his belt. Once they were prepared, they stepped out the door. Skulker activated all of his defenses to secure his home, and they took off into the green atmosphere of the Ghost Zone.

Skulker and Dan flew uncomfortably close to each other as they both attempted to read the map in Skulker's metal hands. "We're here," Skulker later announced, folding up the map and phasing it into Dan's backpack.

Dan looked up and found that they were approaching a large red castle on a single floating plot of land. The two slowed their speed as they got closer. They landed gently on the ground, and Dan's guard instantly went up.

"How powerful did you say this guy was again?" Dan wondered, staring up towards where the presence he sensed was coming from.

"Very," Skulker answered, his voice low. "Many ghosts were destroyed when he first rose to power. Do you sense him?"

Dan suddenly shivered as his internal ghost sense continued to pour more cold into his body. "I think so."

Skulker nodded in understanding. "Remember to be careful. There could be many kinds of traps set to defend the Sarcophagus."

Dan looked at Skulker and nodded in acknowledgement. The two took cautious steps towards the entrance of the castle with Dan in front and Skulker behind with an ecto gun out and ready.

The foyer of the castle wasn't grand. It was smaller than the one at Jerry and Marie's castle. It was an empty round room with torches lining the walls that glowed with green fire. Dan and Skulker looked cautiously up the long, thin, winding staircase. There weren't any obvious traps, but that didn't mean anything.

Dan and Skulker floated above the staircase as they went along it. About halfway up, the faintest of clicks sounded, catching Dan's attention. He held out his hand and stopped dead in his tracks. "Wait," he ordered.

A second later a pair of axes swung down from the ceiling, and another set came from the other side. They crossed each other, and their momentum was so powerful that they got stuck in the walls they swung towards.

Out of an abundance of caution, Dan and Skulker floated in place, waiting for any other traps to spring. After that moment, they continued forward. They floated by another story when Skulker shouted, "Look out!"

Dan looked up and instantly saw the three axes headed towards him. He ducked the front half of his body forward, putting his hands on the stair ahead of him. He held himself vertically upwards, feeling the air ruffle behind him as the axe whipped by. As the axe in front of him passed by, he bent his legs over his head, doing a series of front flips until he passed the three axes and made it to the landing. He turned around to check on Skulker. "Duck," the ghost ordered.

Dan did so, and Skulker charged up his ecto-gun. He aimed up towards Dan and timed his shots. He fired three precise blasts, each one connecting with the pole that held an axe in place, severing them all. The axes fell hard. One bounced off of the stone stairs and fell down with another to the foyer. The third axe cut deep into the steps and stayed there. Skulker glided around the axe and up towards Dan.

Dan got to his feet and faced the closed door, putting his hand on the doorknob. "Ready?"

"Yes," Skulker said with a nod.

Dan turned the doorknob and pulled the door open. He and Skulker glided through the doorway and left the door open behind them. The hall beyond the door was wide and littered with green, glowing skeletons. Dan didn't know if those skeletons were there for the purpose of intimidation or were part of Pariah Dark's army, but either way, it would be best not to disturb them.

As they glided through the long hall, a noise sounded that was almost like a heavy sword being drawn from its scabbard. Expecting more axes, Dan and Skulker both froze in place and watched the ceiling, but the sound didn't come from there.

The walls on either side of the hall moved towards them, large, sharp spikes jutting out of them. Skulker and Dan didn't hesitate and took off forward as fast as they could go, but the hall was too long and the walls were too fast. They both had to turn and fly on their sides to fit between the walls as they came closer.

Dan's thoughts raced to try and figure a way out of this. It's not like either of them could phase through the walls due to the laws of the Ghost Zone. But Dan could in human form.

"Hold on!" Dan shouted as he morphed into his human form.

His ability to fly instantly left him. As he fell, he latched onto Skulker. The two crashed to the ground and slid the next few feet. Dan shoved Skulker forward as the spiked walls finally closed.

Now that Dan was human, the walls and the spikes phased through him. It was interesting to see the mechanics of the inside of the walls, but Dan didn't stop to look at them. He got to his feet and continued forward again, emerging from the sealed walls to find Skulker still lying on the ground. One of his suit's legs got trapped in the wall and crushed.

"Sorry about your leg," Dan muttered.

Skulker shrugged and pulled out his glowing, green blade. "It's fine," he dismissed, cutting off his leg. "I have a spare leg back at my house, and it was my idea to come here in the first place."

Skulker retracted his sword and floated to his feet as Dan morphed back into his ghost form. The two of them scanned the room. The walls were still bare except for the many wall torches and a few glass-less windows. The ground was littered with those same glowing, green skeletons. A purple pumpkin rested on the ground with a long, green sword that was glowing even more brightly than the skeletons. Against the wall by a set of stairs was a statue of a vaguely human form. Perhaps it was another skeleton? It had its hands out holding aloft a clear ball that had the green Ring of Rage floating in its center.

"There it is!" Skulker exclaimed, pointing towards it.

"Uh-huh," Dan nodded. "We should be careful, though." He pointed up the staircase by the statue.

Skulker followed his gaze and found the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep standing at the top under a green spotlight.

"Will he come out without provocation?" Dan asked.

Skulker shook his head. "I don't think so. As long as we don't wake Fright Knight. He'd be the one to wake him."

"Okay," Dan muttered, beginning to float a few centimeters off of the ground.

Skulker followed suit as they made their way forward. When they reached the statue, Skulker took out the Skeleton Key, and stuck it in the nose of the skull-shaped head and turned it. The clear bubble that held the Ring melted and fell to the floor in a disgusting puddle, some of it splashing onto Dan's white shoes. The Ring dropped, slipping through the thin fingers of the statue. Dan caught it, and his ghostly core instantly swelled with the power contained within it. He gasped at the sudden sensation and put a hand to his chest.

"Are you alright?" Skulker wondered, his metal eyebrows drawing together in the most concerned expression that Dan had ever seen from him.

Dan wanted to dismiss the throbbing in his core by remembering how terrible the detox was, but his core was pounding faster and faster, and the euphoria was returning. He couldn't help it.

Dan laughed a little, unconsciously slipping the Ring onto his finger. "I'm fine," he sighed, his core finally settling as it absorbed the power coming from the Ring.

Skulker gave him a sceptical look. "How much power is coming from that Ring?"

Dan laughed a little more. "A lot."

He picked his head up, his eyes locking onto the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. With his core becoming more powerful by the second, he could sense the two other power sources coming from the ghostly prison. "Let's get that Crown," he said, automatically gliding towards the staircase.

"What?" Skulker exclaimed, rushing towards Dan. "The only way to do that is to open the Sarcophagus." He floated in front of Dan in an attempt to slow his advancement towards the prison, but it was of no consequence. Dan's path never slowed as he went around him.

"If you open that, you'll release Pariah!" Skulker insisted, grabbing Dan by the arms. Dan finally stopped and looked at Skulker, but his gaze was so distant that Dan might as well have been looking through him.

Skulker's eyes suddenly widened, and he released Dan. Dan looked at him with confusion, but he held out his hand anyway. "The Key?" he requested.

After a moment's hesitation, Skulker sighed. "I don't want to be a part of this." He placed the thick Key into Dan's waiting palm. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Then Skulker took off. Dan watched him, as the metallic ghost flew through one of the windows and into the green atmosphere of the Ghost Zone.

There was some small, distant voice in Dan's head, telling him to snap out of it. It kept saying that there was something wrong and that he needed to wake up, but Dan was too wired. The ghost energy coursing through him surged and circulated faster and faster, electrifying every single nerve ending better than any ghost he had ever drained. It was all but sexually arousing.

And he would stop at nothing to get more of it.