Happy New Year! Sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter out but of boy, guys, we've reached our very first chapter based on one of the hour-long movies. You know it's gonna be a long one, especially since Vlad is a main player in this episode. Him plus Sasha and Danny? Get ready for that. It's gonna be interesting. Alright, I'll let you get on with the chapter. I don't own anything, Danny Phantom belongs to Nick. Enjoy!


Unleash the Dark

Sasha stood in the choir room, singing along to audition song that Xavier had picked out for her while he accompanied her on the piano. Xavier had pulled out sheet music of different Disney songs, explaining to her the mechanics of the "I Want" song and how well they worked for auditions. That mainly consisted of princess songs that Sasha tried out. She found them to be okay but with her first audition, she didn't want to do anything predictable. After singing a few Sasha was absentmindedly looking through the sheet music when she spotted one that wasn't a princess song. Xavier was going to dismiss it but Sasha told him that perhaps using that song would help her stand out more, an idea Xavier immediately liked. He grew to like the idea even more after running it with Sasha.

"Amazing! Lancer will definitely be blown away with your audition," Xavier complimented her after completing the song.

"If I can make it to the audition," Sasha commented.

"Have you not talked to your boss yet?" Xavier asked. "You have to get on that, girl. We really need your voice. Besides, it will be fun actually working in a show with you."

"I'll talk to my… boss about it on my way home," Sasha promised, gathering her things up to go.

"You better. See ya later," Xavier said, sending Sasha off as he went about cleaning up the sheet music.

Walking out of the school Sasha began to build up her courage. Even with the encouragement from her mom and Vlad and Xavier she still felt a bit nervous. Perhaps it would be easier to talk to Sam about this first. After all, she had encouraged Sasha to start singing in the first place. She was about to pull out her phone to find out where the goth girl was when she saw her running away from something.

"Sam?" Sasha questioned.

"Hide me!" Sam begged.

Thinking on her feet Sasha hurried up to Sam and with her ghost powers dashed the girl away into an alley where they hid behind a dumpster. Sam peeked out to see if they were followed as Sasha just looked at her friend confused.

"Care to tell me what's going on?" Sasha asked.

"Ssshh! She might hear you," Sam whispered in response.

Sam tensed when someone approached but relaxed a bit when it turned out to be Danny and Valerie who also appeared to be running away from something. She motioned to them to ask what they were hiding from.

"Hiding from Dash," Danny answered.

"Hiding from Nathan," Valerie answered. "You two?"

"I'm more so hiding Sam. Though I'm not sure from what," Sasha told her.

They got the answer as Sam pointed to the alley's opening as Sam's mom ran by carrying a frilly lacy pink dress. Something that no one would ever wear in a million years, let alone a goth like Sam.

"Sammy-kins! At least try it on!" Mrs. Manson called out as she continued to search for her daughter.

"That explains it," Sasha commented.

"C'mon," Danny said once the coast was clear. "We can all hide in my house."

Sasha, Danny, and Sam took the lead, having experience running thanks to the ghost hunting while Valerie fell behind them.

"Why are you helping her all of a sudden?" Sasha asked, not liking that Danny was hanging out with one of the people who wanted them destroyed.

"Ah, she hid me from Dash earlier today. I'm just returning the favor," Danny shrugged off.

"Well, be careful. The last thing you'd want to do is invite an archenemy into your house," Sam warned.

Opening up the front door to Danny's house the group of kids stopped in the doorway. Inside the Fenton's living room was Vlad with a blanket around his shoulders and a cup of tea, facing off against Jack in a game of chess. Zoe sat by Vlad's side, looking at him worried while Maddie glared, standing at Jack's side. Jazz just sat at the other end of the couch, ignoring the others by burying herself in a book. Hearing the door open the adults looked up to see who arrived.

"Ah, hello, Daniel! And, Sasha, it's wonderful to see you again," Vlad smiled at them.

"Though I wish it wasn't on these terms," Zoe sighed.

"Vlad?" Danny and Sasha echoed.

"Wait, you know him?" Danny asked Sasha, taken back.

"Yeah, he's my mom's boyfriend," Sasha answered before turning to Vlad. "What's going on? You know the Fentons?"

"Maddie, Jack, and I go way back to our college days. When you told me about your friend, Danny, on our day out I didn't imagine it to be the same Daniel that was the son to my best friends. Isn't it a small world," Vlad explained.

"You had a day out with him?" Danny questioned Sasha.

"That's a bit irrelevant at the moment. But that doesn't answer my other question. What's going on?" Sasha asked.

"Totally valid question," Maddie said, glaring at Vlad.

"Still steaming?" Vlad asked, a bit regretful.

"You have no idea," Maddie replied.

"I was working on a few of my inventions when I was tossed into the Ghost Zone and came out a bit battered on the other side. Or in this case, Maddie and Jack's portal. They've been kind enough to host me while I recover," Vlad explained.

"I'd be able to check on your injuries better if you were staying with us," Zoe sighed.

"Don't fret, my dove, you're simply a door away and I wouldn't want to intrude. I'm sure it's still a bit early for Sasha to have her mother's boyfriend to spend the night. Besides, it'll be nice to catch up with old friends. I can't wait to find out more about that marvelous battlesuit you've got, Jack," Vlad assured her.

"You got it, V-Man!" Jack cheered.

Maddie rolled her eyes and stormed out of the living room and into the kitchen. Jack, concerned about his wife left the chess match to follow after her. Seeing that Zoe wasn't going to leave Vlad's side Danny grabbed Sasha's arm and dragged her into the coat closet. Zoe, Vlad, and Valerie raised an eyebrow; Valerie confused, Zoe with a smile, and Vlad frowning in contempt. Valerie and Jazz looked over to Sam, hoping she would have an answer but she just shrugged. Inside the dark closet, Sasha summoned up a small ball of light, allowing her and Danny to see each other.

"Why did you drag me in here?" Sasha asked confused.

"Sasha, why didn't you tell me that your mom was dating Vlad?" Danny asked, ignoring her question.

"I didn't think it necessary just yet, after all, I just met the guy. If I knew that your family has a history with him then I would have told you sooner," Sasha explained. "Why does it matter?"

"He has more than just history with my family. Sasha, Vlad…" Danny tried to tell her before being interrupted by a blaring alarm.

Deciding to put off their conversation for later Sasha bolted out of the closet, followed by Danny after a moment to see what was going on. Where the Fenton's family portrait had been was instead a panel labeled "Ghost Zone Radar", something not unusual for the ghost hunters. The screen displayed several ghosts moving towards a point. Jack and Maddie looked at it in defense mode.

"Galloping goblets, it's the Ecto-Exodus Alarm!" Jack shouted.

"The Ecto-whaty-what?" Danny, Sam, and Jazz asked confused.

"The Ecto-Exodus Alarm! An alarm that only goes off when we're about to face a massive ghost invasion!" Maddie explained.

Danny and Sasha shot enough other a look before turning to Sam, asking her to stall them. Sam tripped Jack as he went running towards the portal while Zoe went to stop Maddie but was beaten to it by Jazz who dropped her book, causing Maddie to fall into the closet. With their path cleared Danny and Sasha sprinted down the stairs into the basement. Standing in front of the flashing red light of the ghost portal Danny and Sasha transformed. They braced themselves for whatever was coming.

"Okay, here we go…," Sasha warned.

The tension was broken as the Box Ghost's head poked out of the portal. "Beware!" he exclaimed, flailing his arms a bit to try and appear threatening.

"Oh man, only you?" Danny sighed in relief.

He had spoken too soon as a blue beam of ectoplasm shot out of the portal, hitting Danny square in the chest and knocking him down. Blinking him and Sasha saw that the reason behind this to be Skulker. The ghost ghost hunter didn't pay attention to them, however, instead turning back and addressing the portal.

"I told you there was a way out through here," he said, causing others to poke their heads out, all looking scared.

Getting the go ahead from Skulker hundreds of ghosts burst out of the portal and out of the Fenton's house. Danny, having enough of being stood on, grabbed hold of Skulker's leg. Sasha watched as he dragged Skulker out of the house before following after him and the other ghosts who had fled. She got there in time to see Danny go for a punch but was stopped by a ghost dragon.

"I know this might sound a little fishy, but Skulker isn't the bully here!" the ghost riding the dragon, Pointdexter, pleaded with Danny.

"Bully?" Danny questioned.

"What's going on? Who are you running from," Sasha asked the nerdy ghost, hoping to get some answers. There was an icy cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. Sasha prayed that he wouldn't speak the name her mind instantly went to.

Some of the ghosts stopped running and turned to the duo. "His name is Pariah Dark the King of All Ghosts," Ember told them.

"And why would we be in a hurry… We'll always have time for this," Skulker said, teaming up with ghosts who stayed behind.

While Danny and Sasha were a team of ghost hunters the ghosts surrounding them had more of a vendetta against Danny. Whether that was because Danny was the one who had captured and defeated them the most or if they were afraid of Sasha because of her connection to Blackheart Sasha didn't know. But the group of ghosts gained up on Danny while few of them stuck around to keep Sasha at bay.

"Leave him alone!" Sasha shouted, doing her best to push past the ghosts blocking her from the fight.

She finally found a breakthrough when Johnny 13's shadow tried to hold her back. Emitting a burst of light to dissolve him Sasha broken into the middle of the fight, protectively standing in front of Danny who leaned against her, weakened. Drawing shadows close to her, Sasha created an orb around them. It started out close but Sasha expanded it out, pushing the attacking ghosts away from them. The attacking ghosts didn't resist, some of them having fled when they first saw Sasha collecting the shadows. Sasha winced, never having controlled the amount of shadows she was now. Emerging from the logo on her chest, shadows began to creep out and started to spread across her body. Seeing this, Sasha freaked out and released her control over the shadows, causing the ones creeping across her body to rubberband back into her. The force sent Sasha, and in turn Danny, falling towards the ground. Feeling them fall Sasha pulled Danny above her, making sure that she took on the brunt of the fall seeing how injured he already was. The impact of hitting the pavement caused both Sasha and Danny to transform back to their human halves along with causing Sasha to pass out. Sam rushed outside, having heard the crash.

"You two okay?" she asked. Danny shot her a look as he got off of Sasha revealing to Sam their unconscious friend. "Sorry, standard question. What was that about?"

"I dunno. But I think Vlad Plasmius just became the least of our worries," Danny answered. "Come on, help me get Sasha inside."

Sam crouched down and threw one of Sasha's arms around her shoulders while Danny did the same with her other arm. Together they brought Sasha inside the Fenton's to her mom, Danny limping a bit of the way.

o

The next day Zoe hurried out of bed and got dressed. She had taken a sick day from the school to go over and help Maddie and Jack work on their battlesuit, sensing that something bad was coming. The swarm of ghosts coming through the previous day along with Sasha confiding that the shadows started to consume when Zoe had gone into protective mode. She needed to make sure her daughter was safe. Once she was completely dressed Zoe headed next door. There was lots of work to be done and an unknown deadline hurriedly approaching. The Fenton's door was unlocked for her, allowing Zoe to head straight towards the basement. Jack and Maddie were busily working on separate parts of the battlesuit while Vlad stood to the side and watched them. Upon seeing her Vlad offered Zoe up a warm cup of coffee which Zoe gladly paid for with a kiss.

"You're supposed to be recovering," she said.

"Don't worry, dove, I'm just handing tools to Jack when he needs them. No heavy lifting. Besides, things are far too interesting down here for me to just stay up in the guest room," Vlad assured her.

"I guess that's alright," Zoe relented before going off to help Maddie who welcomed her with a smile.

"It's good to finally work on something with you," Maddie told her.

Zoe nodded in agreement. "I just wish it was under better circumstances," Zoe said.

"And perhaps in better company," Maddie muttered under her breath, sneaking a glare at Vlad.

Zoe let out a disappointed sigh. She didn't understand why Maddie was angry with Vlad, her friend keeping her mouth shut after finding out about Zoe and Vlad's relationship. Though that didn't stop the scoffs and glares Zoe would catch her sending Vlad's way. It was something they needed to talk about but Zoe set it aside for now. There were more important things to focus on at the moment.

"Vladdy, my man! Could you hand me that watchermajigit?" Jack asked, not bothering to look away from the top part of the battlesuit that he was working on. Vlad obliged, grabbing the tool that was next to him and bringing it over to Jack.

"Here you go, old chum. Any idea when this suit might be finished?" Vlad asked.

"Quit pushing me, V-man, I'm working on it as fast as I can!" Jack replied annoyed.

A loud noise echoed through the basement, only Vlad locating the source though Maddie and Zoe looked around, tense.

"Can we… pick it up a little bit?" Vlad asked Jack.

"What was that?" Maddie questioned.

"Could be me. I made huevos rancheros for breakfast," Jack offered.

The sound echoed again but this time it was followed by the portal door bursting open, part of it flying right into Jack. From out of the portal came the Fright Knight riding on top of his horse.

"Go, and find the King's ring," the ghost commanded.

Following his commands a Skeleton army marched out, running out of the Ghost Zone and flying out of the Fenton's out to fulfill their duty.

"Jack, we have to shut the portal!" Maddie shouted to her husband.

"Yeah, I'll get right on that," Jack replied, struggling to get the broken part of the door off of him.

Maddie and Zoe ran towards the switch that would close the portal but both were grabbed by the Fright Knight, hoisting them off the ground. Both women struggled to get out of his grasp, Zoe more frantic than Maddie. Seeing his wife in danger gave Jack all the strength to toss the door off of him.

"LET GO OF THE WOMAN I LOVE!" both Jack and Vlad exclaimed.

Zoe stopped struggling for a moment, looking over at her boyfriend in shock. The l word not having come up yet in their relationship. "Vlad," she whispered. She was brought back to her situation feeling the Fright Knight's grasp on her wrist tighten, causing Zoe to let out a cry in pain. She couldn't help but be reminded of her past, a traumatic flashback sending her into a bit of a frenzy in attempts to free herself. Vlad turned to the incomplete battlesuit.

"Is any part of that suit operational?" he asked Jack.

"Well the pants part, but it's not calibrated yet. Using the suit could kill you," Jack answered.

"Well then, maybe you should try it first. It is your battlesuit!" Vlad said, manipulating Jack.

An ectobeam from the Fright Knight's sword sent Jack into action after slamming Vlad into the wall to save him, something that Vlad glared daggers at him for.

"That it is, V-man. It's time to kick a little butt. And these are just the pants to kick it in!" Jack agreed and jumped into the pants part of the battlesuit. "Neural receptors engage…"

Pressing a button the neural receptors of snakelike metal attached itself to Jack's spinal cord and arms. All hooked up Jack was able to control the pants. Jumping into action Jack ran towards the Fright Knight, dodging all the shots the ghost threw at him. He jump-kicked the Fright Knights arms repeatedly, freeing Zoe and Maddie. Maddie rolled out of the way while Vlad ran up to Zoe and hurriedly ushered her out of the way. With his wife and friend freed Jack ran at the Fright Knight head on and super kicked him and his horse out of the house.

"The kick is up - AND IT'S GONE! Ha ha! Nobody can touch me while I'm wearing the Fenton…" Jack's voice started to drag as he felt the effects of the battlesuit. "And the… ectoskeleton… weakening… me."

"Jack!" Maddie exclaimed, running up to her husband and catching him before he fell. "The suit's draining you like a battery! Vlad, help me get these pants off Jack!"

"Nope, sorry, that's all you," Vlad said, walking away with Zoe shaking in his arms.

There was only so much pretending to like Jack that Vlad could accomplish and getting Jack out of the pants crossed that line. Besides, Zoe needed some taking care of. Removing her from the situation Vlad took her upstairs to comfort his crying girlfriend and help her calm down.

o

While Sasha had gone to school she hadn't really been to many of her classes. Since she'd been knocked out and put on bed rest for the night, Danny had been dealing with all of the invading ghosts. Giving him a break, Sasha decided that she would take care of the ones who thought the school was a great place to hide out. It mainly consisted of capturing minors ghosts but there were more than enough to keep her occupied. She didn't find a moment of peace until after lunch, something her stomach was displeased about. Searching the hallways Sasha located her friends if only to give them a brief update before being dragged away by another ghost. Danny smiled upon seeing her and instantly pulled her into their conversation.

"Hey, Sasha. Please tell Tucker he's nuts," Danny asked of her.

"Why am I telling him he's nuts?" Sasha asked, totally fine to do so if he gave her a reason.

"I'm not," Tucker protested.

"And I don't think he is either. Valerie is one of your enemies, Danny. Do you think it's smart to be letting her this close?" Sam said.

"You're letting Valerie stick around?" Sasha questioned him, not liking what Sam was telling her.

"I can handle it," Danny shrugged off.

"You're not the only one she wants to destroy, Danny. Phantom and Shadow are both on her hit list," Sasha reminded him, frowning.

"She's not so bad once you get to know her," Danny said.

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself, Fenton," Valerie said, having heard the last part of their conversation. As she walked over to join the conversation Sam and Tucker turned away angry while Sasha gave her a bit of the stink eye. "What's up with them?"

"They're… really good friends, and they're just being overprotective," Danny answered.

"Of what? It's not like we have anything to hide," Valerie asked.

"You haven't exactly been great to us in the past except when you want something, so excuse us for being suspicious" Sasha pointed out.

The conversation was interrupted by Danny's and Sasha's ghost sense going off. Sasha looked down at her bracelet, the display showing that there were two ghosts somewhere in the school. She covertly signaled that to Danny who nodded in response, thinking of an excuse to leave.

"Woah! I gotta jet!" he said, running away from the group down a hallway.

"That reminds me, my mom wants me to drop by the nurse's office. See you guys later," she said to Sam and Tucker before running off in the other direction.

Valerie looked back and forth at the directions that Danny and Sasha ran off. "Where are they running to all the time? Only time I see people running off like that have a job, or are in a relationship."

"So what if they're in a relationship?" Sam bluffed, hoping that the idea of Danny and Sasha dating would drive Valerie off.

"Mmhm. Right," Valerie replied, not buying it.

"What are you talking about?" Sam questioned, not liking Valerie's tone.

"It's clear that she likes him," Valerie answered, referring to Sasha. "But they both deny it any time it's mentioned. If she likes him, I mean, like him like him, she better make a move. Because if she doesn't, somebody will."

As Sam and Tucker dealt with Valerie and Sasha dealt with the other ghost, Danny was dealing with Vlad who had made an appearance as Plasmius. He had managed to blast him out of the school building and was now facing off against him on the football field. As Danny went to attack him again Plasmius stopping him by grabbing Danny by the collar of his shirt.

"Calm, down, Daniel! I didn't come here to fight you, I have other things to worry about!" Vlad scolded him, throwing Danny down on the ground.

"Like messing with Sasha's mom? I don't know how you're trying to win my mom over with this but I won't allow you to hurt them," Danny growled.

The sound of a neighing horse stopped their arguing as the Fright Knight and the army of skeletons arrived on the field. The Fright Knight chopped off a wing on one of the posts in attempting to hit Vlad. Danny went to work fighting off some of the skeletons, taking them on two by two. Just as he was about to get sliced by one of the skeleton's swords he was saved by a blast of red ectoplasm, destroying the skeleton the sword belonged to. Danny turned to see that Vlad had saved him.

"You're helping me?" he asked confused as he continued to fight off skeletons. "Whaddya want, my mom's cell number?"

"No!" Vlad protested.

He went to say more when a bunch of skeletons snuck up on him and Danny. They were about to be overtaken when a white ectoblast sent them sprawling away. Sasha flew up to them joining the battle.

"Looks like you could use some more help. Who's your friend?" Sasha asked, looking at Vlad who stared at her in surprise. He wasn't expecting to find another half ghost and one who was friends with Danny.

"He's not a friend," Danny frowned. "He's just being uncharacteristically helpful."

"Come now…" Vlad went to say before he was grabbed by the Fright Knight.

"The king's prize. Return it!" the ghost demanded.

"I don't have it," Vlad explained. "But, if you join me, perhaps toge…"

Once again Vlad was cut off though this time it was from a blast of pink energy, sending Vlad and the Fright Knight away from each other. Looking over in the direction the blast came from they saw that Valerie was coming upon them in her ghost hunting gear, holding up a smoking cannon.

"Guess what, everybody! The best ghost hunter in Amity Park is here! And that means you're about to get your BUTTS HANDED TO YOU!" she announced.

"She really is quite good at this," Vlad commented.

"She also thinks we're the enemy," Danny pointed out.

"Good point," Vlad replied.

"And you still find it okay to hang out with her," Sasha commented to Danny.

"Not the time!" Danny argued.

Valerie displayed her disdain for ghosts as she threw two explosive balls towards the three of them. Sasha called up her shadows, protecting the three from the grenades blasts. Vlad's eyes shot to Sasha, once again surprised though this time it was over her powers.

"Impressive," Vlad complimented her.

"Thanks," Sasha grunted, keeping the shield up as the grenades exploded.

"Don't," Danny growled at Vlad, already seeing Vlad plan how he could get Sasha onto his side. Even if he didn't already realize that Sasha was the ghost who had impressed him.

Bringing down the shield of shadow Sasha flew out, dodging blasts from Valerie while sending a few blasts out herself at the skeleton army. Vlad followed after her, taking on some skeletons while going on the defensive while the Fright Knight sent blasts. Danny was also going to go on the defense when Valerie flew by and grabbed him by his collar.

"Alright, ghost, what's going on here?" he questioned.

"That," Danny answered, pointing at the Fright Knight and the army.

They looked over to see Vlad create two duplicates of himself while Sasha created one other of herself. The duplicates created a line of defense, firing off blasts at a large group of skeletons that was charging at them. Vlad flashed Sasha another impressed look as they pulled their duplicated back into themselves. Sasha didn't pause to acknowledge him, instead focusing on more of the skeleton army. Distracted Vlad ended up getting tackled by the Fright Knight.

"Uhh… thanks?" Valerie said.

"You're welcome," Danny replied, freeing himself from her grasp before continuing to talk to Valerie about the Fright Knight. "Look, I know this is going to be hard to believe but that guy is the problem right now, and I could really use your help."

"I still don't trust you, or your friends," Valerie told him.

"You don't have to trust me. Just… fight with me!" Danny asked of her, holding out his hand.

Valerie thought on it for a moment before shaking Danny's hand in truce. Danny raced off and helped Sasha get the Fright Knight away from Vlad. Valerie came up after then and punched the Fright Knight in the face, knocking him to the ground. The four of them stood in a line, ready to finally get rid of the Fright Knight. But the ghost wasn't done.

"Fool! All I wanted to do was seize the ring and return to Pariah's Keep. But now, you give me no choice," the Fright Knight threatened. Getting up he held his sword up, which had burst into flame, and plunged it into the ground. "By the authority vest in me by my Lord and Liege, I claim this town now and forever under the banner of Lord Pariah, The King of All Ghosts!"

A green wave of ectoplasm emerged from the sword and swept through the town. The skeleton army froze as the wave passed through them. The Fright Knight stepped away from his sword which sent a column of the green ectoplasm into the sky. Once the column reached a certain point it flooded into a dome that closed itself over the whole town. Danny, Sasha, Vlad, and Valerie looked at it horrified. Danny and Sasha flew up to the dome. Danny crashed into it, proving unable to pass through while Sasha placed her hands on it.

"Maybe if I…" Sasha thought to herself. Concentrating, shadow began to emerge from her fingertips, creating a circle of shadow on the dome. Keeping up the shadow Sasha tried to push her hand into the dome. Sasha groaned. She had never tried to travel through shadows before, not daring to try. But if there was ever a moment to see if it was possible, now was the time. Her hand had almost managed to go in as deep as her wrist when from the logo on her chest shadows started to spread. "No!"

Releasing her control over the shadows they rubber banded back into Sasha just like the previous night, causing her to fall towards the ground. Her hands held tight to her chest, eyes closed and watering with tears.

"Sasha!" Danny cried out. He zoomed to her, catching her before she could hit the ground. Vlad's eyes widened, taking what Danny had said along with how they interacted when Sasha first showed up and put those two things together. He tucked that information away for later.

"The shadows…?" Sasha asked, curling herself against Danny.

"They're gone," he assured her, figuring out what had set her off.

Accepting Danny's answer Sasha opened her eyes and looked down to see that what Danny said was true. She let out a shaky breath before reluctantly pulling herself out of Danny's arms. They needed to figure out what was going on and taking care of the Fright Knight seemed like the reasonable response. As the three half ghosts prepared to fight Valerie flew over to the sword and attempted to grab it, only to have the Fright Knight knocking her away. He hit her hard enough that she fainted once she hit the ground, her hunter gear retracting to reveal how banged up she was.

"Valerie!" Danny exclaimed.

"My pawn!" Vlad gasped, causing Danny and Sasha to shoot him an odd look. "I mean that poor girl."

The three crouched down next to her allowing the Fright Knight to tower in front of them to deliver his final message.

"The sword has sunk, your die now cast,
The sword removed shall signal fast.
Make reappear the ring thou hast,

Or your next day shall be your last," the Fright Knight recited before disappearing in a puff of smoke and bats, leaving the skeleton army which remained motionless.

"'The ring thou hast'?"Danny questioned. Sasha and Vlad shrugged uncertain.

"Children of Amity Park!" Maddie's voice echoed through the dome over a microphone. "Report to the sage bosom of the Fenton Family Assault Vehicle!"

"Mom!" Danny exclaimed.

"Maddie!" Vlad exclaimed.

"I can't let her see me like this!" the two of them echoed together before leaving

Sasha stared at where Vlad puffed away, confused after hearing that he knew Danny's mom. Shaking her confused thoughts away for the moment she transformed back while nobody was around still. Thinking of a quick reason for being where they were Sasha knelt down next to Valerie looking over her injuries. Taking it a step further she ripped off strips from the bottom of her shirt to use to try and patch Valerie's injuries.

"What are you doing?" Danny asked Sasha once he ran back after transforming.

"Creating an excuse," Sasha answered.

With understanding hitting him Danny went and mimicked Sasha, tearing off bits of his shirt and knelt next to Sasha, handing her the material to use. When Maddie and Mr. Gray arrived on the scene they were going to start yelling at the kids for being out during a ghost invasion but didn't when they noticed Danny and Sasha patching an injured Valerie. Instead, they just helped the three into the Fenton's RV and headed towards the safety of their house.

o

Danny and Sasha stood in the basement of the Fenton's house, watching the news as the adults worked on the battlesuit. Valerie stood with them, having gotten properly bandaged up by Zoe when they arrived back at the house. The news had been running overtime with all of the ghost activity but now it was focused on the dome encasing the city.

"I'm Tiffany Snow. We are in our fourth hour of captivity and Amity Park remains cut off from the outside world. With more on that, outside the safety of our studio is our own Lance Thunder. Lance?" the anchorwoman went over before sending it out.

The camera changed to the edge of town where the weatherman stood near a drill that was trying to break through the dome. Lance, the weatherman, didn't understand that he was on air for a bit, and just complained before realizing it.

"Why the heck do I have to do this? I'm a weatherman, for the love uh… Tiffany, despite the odd circumstances, an eerie calm has fallen over Amity Park, emergency teams still having no luck in piercing the dome. Wishing he had taken that job in Chicago, this is Lance Thunder, Action News," he reported.

The kids looked worried over from the TV to how the battlesuit was going. The only one who wasn't working on it was Jack who was still recovering from his first time using the suit. Vlad and Zoe worked in tandem, handing off tools when the other needed it.

"This suit is the only hope we have to punch through that dome," Maddie said.

"With how things are going though I don't think we'll be able to perfect the neural receptors," Zoe analyzed.

"Which is why I'll wear the suit. If anyone gonna beat that ghost back into the Ghost Zone, it's me," Jack replied, trying to stand up.

"No, Jack, look at you! You're still wiped out from the last time!" Maddie protested, running over to help her husband.

Zoe stopped her work to go get a drink, Sasha joining her to learn what happened with chose to head upstairs, needing a moment to rest away from the craziness. Danny, instead of joining his friend, walked over to Vlad.

"It kills ya, doesn't it? How much they love each other?" Danny asked him smugly.

"I have other things to worry about and so do you," Vlad glared at him.

Zoe, having given Sasha the run down and gotten water, walked over to Vlad and handed him a glass. Vlad happily took it and gave Zoe a kiss on the check in return before she went back to working on the battlesuit. Danny glared at Vlad who looked at him smugly before taking a drink. As Jack went to go get some water himself Vlad, still drinking, tripped the man which no one noticed except for Danny.

"And yet, I will always have time for that," Vlad commented before turning away from Danny.

Danny went to argue more but Sasha pulled him back by his arm. "We need to talk to the others," she told him. Danny shot another glare at Vlad before nodding in agreement. Sasha watched him walk upstairs, confused as to what Danny's problem was with Vlad, before heading upstairs herself. Once up there Valerie gave Sam and Tucker a sly smile which caused Sam to walk over angrily to Danny and Sasha and grab their arms.

"Can I talk to you two for a second?" she asked, pretending to give them a choice before dragging them into the coat closet.

On there way there Sasha grabbed hold of Tucker, dragging him in there with them. Once inside Sam slammed the door shut, sending the four of them into darkness for a moment before Sasha summoned up a small ball of light.

"Yo man, you do know the minute you turn into Danny Phantom or Sasha turns into Sasha Shadow she's gonna shoot first and ask questions never," Tucker said, trying to get through to Danny.

"He has a point," Sasha agreed

"She's not gonna find out," Danny shrugged off.

"How do you know she's not snooping right now?" Sam challenged. "What if that ring on her finger is some sort of ghost detection device?"

"Ring?" Danny and Sasha questioned, remembering the Fright Knights warning.

"What are you talking about?" Danny asked.

Danny reached for the doorknob and opened it a crack to peer out. Sasha snuffed out her light, not wanting Valerie to see it by accident. As Danny and Sasha peered out at Valerie they spotted a ring on her finger. Spotting them Valerie flirtatious waved at Danny who in turn waved back. Gritting her teeth Sasha pulled Danny back and closed the door. She reignited the light.

"That has to be the ring the Fright Knight's looking for," Sasha said, getting back to the point.

"Vlad must have given it to her," Danny figured out.

"Vlad? What does he have to do with this?" Sasha questioned.

Danny, Sam, and Tucker shot each other a look before turning back to Sasha.

"Do you really not know?" Tucker asked her.

"Obviously not," Sasha answered annoyed. Sam and Tucker turned to Danny, leaving it up him to give Sasha the answer.

"Vlad is Plasmius. He and my parents were working on a portal back in their college days and my dad accidentally blasted him… turning him into a half ghost like us. Since then he's hated my dad and has a weird obsession with my mom. He's not a friend, he's an enemy," Danny told her.

Sasha was silent and straight faced though her friends could see the tidal wave of changing emotions skirting across her eyes. Sam and Tucker shot Danny a worried look before he continued on, feeling nervous himself.

"I wanted to tell you when I first found out he was dating your mom but then all this ghost stuff happened. Look, I don't know what he's planning with your mom but you deserve to know, and I promise to do whatever I can to help stop him," he continued to explain.

She looked at the door, her eye now ablaze with fury. "I'm gonna talk to him," Sasha said, her jaw locked in a scowl. Danny, Sam, and Tucker all grabbed Sasha as she went to get up and pulled her back down.

"No!" they whisper shouted.

"You said you'd do whatever to help," Sasha glared at Danny.

"And I will but now's not a good time," Danny promised.

"Not a good time? He's deceiving my mom!" Sasha hissed.

"And if he finds out that I told you then he's gonna expose my secret to my parents and then the chaos is gonna get even worse," Danny told her. Sasha looked away from her friends, keeping her eyes on the closet door. She didn't get up to move, just sat there frustrated, conflicted over whether to protect her mother or her friend. Danny saw this and carefully put a comforting hand on her leg. "Look, I can help you 'discover' his identity later so that you can confront him. But for now, he's helping us. We have bigger things to focus on like the ring. We need to get the other ghosts to tell us. Okay?"

"Fine," Sasha growled. "Come on, let's go."

Sasha transformed and grabbed Sam before going intangible and left the house. Danny couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief before transforming himself. Grabbing Tucker the two followed after the girls in search of the other ghosts.

o

Using the ghost tracking in Sasha's bracelet Team Phantom Shadow located the closest of the nonskeletal ghosts in a hunting and sporting store. It wasn't hard to figure out that this was where Skulker decided to hunker down. Danny decided to take the immediate route upon seeing Skulker in the corner and went to suck him into the Fenton Thermos.

"I'd much rather kick your butt, but this works too!" Danny smiled.

Skulker didn't get sucked into the thermos. It turned out the ghost hunter had set up a cardboard cutout that fell to the floor. Surprised, Danny didn't even see the real Skulker come up behind him and punch Danny into some camping supplies.

"Did you actually think you could sneak up on me?" Skulker laughed.

As Skulker went to continue the fight, shadows jumped up from the floor and entrapped him. His eyes widened in fear as Sasha came into the frame followed by Sam and Tucker. "Maybe he can't but I can," she said. "We're here for information."

"Let's tell them, Skulker. Maybe they can help us," Poindexter pleaded as he came into the store riding the ghost dragon. He was joined by Technus, Ember, Walker, Klemper, and Walker's right-hand man.

"Please, tell us what's going on! Let us help you guys!" Danny asked.

Skulker was reluctant but nodded his head in agreement, ready to cooperate. Seeing this Sasha dismissed her shadows, freeing the ghost. Danny decided to take this opportunity to land a punch on the ghost.

"How is that helping?" Sam questioned.

"It's payback. It helps me on the inside," Danny responded.

His friends rolled their eyes before the team and the other ghost gathered together around a small fake fire. Everyone was quiet as Skulker began his tale.

"It was many years ago. Before you. Before me. Before most of us. His name was Pariah Dark and he ruled the Ghost Zone. He was a ghost of such power and magnitude, only he could control the entities contained within the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage. When wearing both he could do anything. Until a group of powerful ancient ghosts banded together in a last ditch effort to defeat the King by locking him with the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. Or so we thought."

"He's only been freed for a day and he's already destroyed our homes," Ember rightfully complained.

"And that's without the Ring," Sasha muttered.

"We can't let him get it! But I'm gonna need all of you to help us put the Ghost King to sleep," Danny asked of the ghosts. "I'll need you to battle against all odds, face untold danger, doom, and destruction, with no guarantee of ever coming back. WHO'S WITH ME?"

There was silence for a second before the ghosts burst out into laughter.

"Cute but no dice," Ember said after wiping away the tears of laughter.

"There's only two ghosts who have a chance of taking down Pariah Dark. Option one would be Black Heart," Walker explained. Sasha tensed. Danny, Sam, and Tucker glanced over to her worried. "No one has been able to ever defeat him, some of us have barely escaped our unfortunate encounters. He just might be ruthless enough to defeat Pariah Dark. The wild card we may need to play."

"Not a good idea. Black Heart doesn't play to any rules except for his own. If he were to defeat the Ghost King who says he wouldn't just take his place? And that's if he agrees to be on our side. There's always the possibility of him aiding Pariah Dark to gain more power. He's not just a wild card, he's a death omen," Sasha explained.

A shiver ran up Danny, Sam, and Tucker's spine. The ghosts around the fire nodded in agreement, none of them wanting to get anywhere near Black Heart.

"And the second option?" Tucker asked.

All the ghosts turned and looked at Sasha. "Black Heart's apprentice," Walker answered.

"Me?" Sasha questioned, taken aback.

"We've seen your shadows," Skulker said.

"You have Black Heart's power," Walker added.

"And a good sense of morals to go with them," Poindexter smiled.

"If she fights. Then we'll fight," Ember told the team.

"Sasha?" Danny asked, looking over to see if his friend would actually do it. Sasha didn't reply, she just stared off into the fake fire, her body ever so slightly shaking. The group of ghosts glanced at each other before heading out.

"We'll give you some time to think about it," Poindexter said.

"But I'd hurry up. We don't have much longer," Skulker added in.

o

Sasha sat on top of her roof, looking up at the green ghost dome in contemplation. She hadn't said anything to her friends since their conversation with the other ghosts. The three of them grew more worried when Sasha wouldn't even look at them, instead brushing past them towards her house once they returned to the Fenton's closet. She was sat on her roof for an hour before Danny decided to go check on her. He flew up to the Lucas' roof and landed before transforming back into his human form. Instead of approaching Sasha head on he simply walked over and sat down next to her. There was silence between them for a moment before Danny decided to speak.

"I can't imagine what's going through your head right now," he said. "You're not gonna fight, are you?"

"Black Heart and I are so similar. You've seen the shadows try and consume me twice now. If I fight… I'm afraid I won't be able to stop the shadows. And I'm afraid if that happens…," Sasha's voice trailed off, ashamed.

"You're not him, Sasha. You won't ever be like him," Danny tried to assure her.

"You don't know that," Sasha whispered looking away from him. "I'm sorry."

Danny scooted closer to Sasha and put his arm around her shoulders, bringing her into a hug. "We'll figure something out," he promised. Sasha leaned into him, thankful for the moment of comfort amidst the craziness.

The two stayed like that for a moment, needing a breather before they heard a door open. Peeking out over the side of the roof Danny and Sasha saw that Vlad had walked out of the Fenton's house and stood waiting by the Specter Speeder which was parked out on the street.

"This might be the perfect time to get Vlad to reveal himself. I need to go down and talk to him, just stay up here and watch for now," Danny told her.

Sasha didn't like that she couldn't confront Vlad herself but nodded in agreement. This way Vlad wouldn't think Danny exposed his secret when he found out that Sasha knew. Leaving the roof Danny walked down through the house and met Vlad outside. She stayed hidden on the roof and watched.

"What were you doing in there?" Vlad asked, not liking seeing Danny come out of the Lucas' house.

"Sasha's my friend, Vlad. I'm allowed to go over and talk to her," Danny replied.

"Nothing about me I hope," Vlad narrowed his eyes threatening.

"I'm very well aware of our deal," Danny scowled. It was easier to lie to Vlad without trying to actually lie. And Vlad seemed to be satisfied with the answer. "You're putting innocent people in danger. It stops. Now."

"Really? You know what I'm up to? Your tiny teen mind has pieced together my plot?" Vlad asked him smugly.

"That you stole the ring, woke the Ghost King, gave it to Valerie to hide it and now you're waiting for your chance to steal it back?" Danny raddled off. "The only thing I can't figure out is what you're up to with Ms. Lucas."

"That's pretty good. It's almost as though I barely consider you a threat. And as for my relationship with Zoe, I have you to thank for that. After all, you're the one who suggested online dating. It's just an added bonus that she's the mother of your friend. And I must say, Sasha is such an interesting girl," Vlad replied, riling Danny up. Sasha's eyes narrowed, figuring out that Vlad must have guessed out her secret when the three of them were fighting the Fright Knight and the skeleton army. Danny's eyes blinked aglow in his ghostly green. "Oh, there's that temper of yours again. What ARE you going to do? What if Valerie sees us, hm?"

Too enraged to think of the consequences Danny fired a blast at the streetlight, causing the small, ghost protected dome that Fenton's put up to go black. Danny fired another blast, this one hitting Vlad in the chest and caused him to fall out of the Fenton's ghost shield. The teen ran out after him, transforming as soon as he was out. Vlad tried to get up but couldn't move much before Danny kicked him into a billboard. Sasha took this time to run into her house so that she could leave the shield before transforming herself. This fight wasn't going to stay stationary and there was no way she wasn't going to confront Vlad now after what she saw.

"Sneak attack, very good, Daniel. You're getting more like me with every battle," Vlad said before transforming into Plasmus.

"I AM NOTHING LIKE YOU!" Danny yelled.

Outside of the ghost shield, Sasha watched as Danny rammed into Vlad, sending the both of them flying off towards the football field.

"Oh, you're not? Using your powers to get back at people you don't like? Throwing the first punch? You're more like me than you know," Vlad challenged, punching Danny across the field, close to the Soul Shredder.

"Oh, yeah? Well if that's the case, then instead of asking you to give the ring back, I'll make you!" Danny threatened.

Sasha had managed to transform and fly over to the football field just in time to see Danny grab hold of the sword.

"Daniel, NO! The sword is a signal!" Vlad warned him.

"A signal? A signal of what?" Danny asked, pulling the sword out from the ground.

"DANNY, NO!" Sasha shouted, remembering the Fright Knight's words.

"Sasha?" Danny said confused once he saw her.

"My dear, run!" Vlad pleaded, not knowing that Sasha knew who he was.

That's all they managed to get out before the ground began to shake. The dome above their heads began to crack, pieces falling to the ground. Sasha, Danny, and Vlad turned intangible to avoid being crushed and looked up to see what was going on. As the dome crumbled away it revealed that the town had been transported into the Ghost Zone. Sasha's body shook in terror as she fell to the ground on her knees. Her hands shot to her head which was aggressively shaking back and forth.

"The sword has sunk, your die now cast,
The sword removed shall signal fast.
Make reappear the ring thous hast

Or you next day shall be your last," she recited the Fright Knight's words.

From the corners of the football field, shadows began to appear and crept towards where Sasha was in the center. Danny flashed back to the fight with Freakshow, the memory causing him to drop the sword. He stopped his hands from shaking and hurriedly flew over to Sasha. Placing his hands over Sasha's hands Danny tried to get her to focus on him.

"Sasha, look at me," Danny pleaded with her, sneaking glances at the approaching shadows.

"What's happening with her?" Vlad asked, genuinely concerned.

Danny was going to tell him to buzz off when the Soul Shredder flew right past them. Looking up Danny and Vlad saw that the sword had returned to its owner. Standing alongside him was the Ghost King himself, Pariah Dark. Taking advantage of their frozen states Pariah Dark shot a red blast of ectoplasm at them. Vlad and Danny snapped out of it long enough to use their bodies to try and protect Sasha. Still, the three of them got hit, knocking them unconscious and causing them to return to their human forms. The shadows that had been creeping disappeared into the ground.

"They're ghosts and humans! Is there no end to this day's surprises?" Pariah Dark said, preparing to fire at them yet again.

"Hey, Stoneface! Surprise!" Valerie interrupted him.

She fired a pink ectoplasm blast at him, distracting the Ghost King from the three unconscious bodies below him. Pariah responded by wiping away the ectoplasm and shooting his own blast at Valerie. She dropped her gun in order to avoid the blast, still losing her balance and crashed into a pole. Sliding to the ground Valerie pulled out a missile launcher with shorted out, burning her hand. She took her glove off to check out the damage, allowing the Fright Knight to see the ring.

"The Ring! Give that to the King now!" the Fright Knight demanded.

Getting an idea Valerie took off the ring and put it on the end of a missile. "If you want it, then go get it!" she shouted.

She fired the missile somewhere far away. As the Ghost King flew after it Valerie dropped her bazooka and grabbed her hoverboard. Finding the strength she hoisted Danny, Sasha, and Vlad on it with her before flying off towards the Fenton's Ghost shield which was increasing its size. The Fright Knight followed after them, firing beam after beam, one of which managed to hit a booster from the hoverboard. Thrown off balance they went down, luckily making it within the walls of the Ghost Shield. The Fright Knight tried to follow them but crashed into it.

"This is not over!" he shouted, trying to hack at the shield with his sword.

Not wanting to stick around Valerie kicked off the broken booster and continued on to the Fenton's, not realizing the powerful tool that she had given the Ghost King.

o

Sasha let out a groan as she woke up next to Danny on his bed. Her head was swimming and her body ached. All those disappeared when she looked outside and spotted the Ghost Zone sky.

"No. No, no, no," Sasha whispered. Before her body could go into panic she spotted the transparent form of Vlad. What would have been panic turned to fury. "You."

Vlad was shocked at the speed in which Sasha flew off the bed and over to him. What shocked him more so however was her strength as she grabbed him and slammed him against Danny's wall, shocking his body back into solidity. The slam woke Danny up, causing him to sit up in alarm.

"What's going on?!" he asked.

Sam and Tucker echoed him as they ran into the room. All of them shut up however upon seeing that Sasha had Vlad pinned against the wall.

"This is your fault," Sasha growled.

"Sasha…," Vlad tried to speak.

"No! You don't get to Sasha me!" Sasha shouted, slamming Vlad into the wall once again.

Pictures that were hung up fell down. Everybody else winced, Vlad feeling the pain while the others imagined it. They could already tell that one more slam would bring cracks in the wall. They watched as in her human form Sasha levitated off the ground so that she would be taller than Vlad as she held him in place by the lapels of his suit jacket. From Vlad's perspective, he saw Sasha's eyes change from her human blues to her ghostly violet irises.

"You selfish prick. How dare you. How dare you! In a quest for power you've started a war!" she shouted.

"How did you…?" Vlad tried to ask.

"I overheard your conversation with Danny. It wasn't hard to put things together after that, especially with the additions from the Fright Knight. For someone more experienced than Danny you certainly haven't mastered secrecy. Have you, Plasmius?" she continued. Vlad couldn't help but flinch, feeling the ice as she spoke the name of his ghost alias. "Now, normally I would have given you a chance. Be it as a half ghost like us or one that we hunt down. But seeing as you're dating my mother, my mother who is a goddamn saint and doesn't deserve to be put through more horrific ghost bullshit, that's not going to be the case. You've started a war, so I'll gladly to make you a casualty."

Vlad watched horrified as Sasha's bright violet eyes started to get darker with her threat. Her friends looked terrified, seeing shadows start to emerge from her chest. Sasha didn't notice, too focused on Vlad. The shadows were reaching around to Sasha's back when her friends found their voice.

"Sasha, stop, you're going black," Sam warned.

She tensed, causing the shadows to recede though this time it didn't rubberband back into her like all the other times. Taking a moment to compose herself Sasha closed her eyes and when she reopened them they were back to her normal blue irises. Though that didn't get rid of the anger behind them.

"Fine," she whispered and tossed Vlad to side. "You're safe for now, Masters."

Vlad scrambled to his feet before going invisible and phasing out of the room. Sasha slowly floated back down, appearing fully human once her feet were placed firmly on the ground.

"Sasha, that was…" Danny tried to verbalize.

"Terrifying," Tucker finished.

"I told you. Black Heart and I are one and the same," Sasha muttered, looking away from her friends ashamed.

"No your not," Danny protested, getting up from his place on his bed and moved over to Sasha, placing his hands on her shoulders.

Sam and Tucker wanted to agree with Danny but after what they saw the words got stuck in their throats. Sasha herself looked up at Danny and gave him a small smile that didn't reach her eyes, a thank you for his attempt to make her feel better, before looking away. With Vlad out of the room, Sasha was able to notice Valerie who was passed out on the floor. She frowned, seeing fresh injuries scattered across her body.

"Looks like Valerie took the beating that was meant for us," Sasha pointed out drawing everyone's attention to the unconscious girl.

Danny looked at her dejected. "All my enemies. I thought I could handle them, but I couldn't."

"Dude, you can't blame yourself for this. It's not your fault," Tucker told him.

"Maybe not. But it is my responsibility," Danny said.

Looking over at Sasha all he had to do was nod in order for her to understand that it was time to transform. With both of them in their ghosts forms Danny grabbed Tucker and Sasha grabbed Sam. The two turned them intangible and phased through the floor into the basement. The parents, minus Mr. Gray, had gathered around the completed teen kept invisible, waiting for the right time.

"And while the ecto-skeleton can enhance your natural abilities one-hundred fold using it could be fatal," Maddie explained.

"Which is exactly why I'll be using it. Because if the suit's going to be killing anyone, it's gonna be me," Jack volunteered which Maddie immediately shut down.

"You're already weak from the first time you used the suit. I'll be going in," Maddie said.

"Forget it, Mom. Danny needs both of you. I'm doing this," Jazz stepped up.

"I'll do it!" Mr. Manson voiced.

"I'll do it!" Mrs. Manson argued.

The adults, and Jazz, argued with each other so much that they all ended up knocking each other out. Ms. Lucas was the only one left standing, having not gotten into the fight. Feeling comfortable Danny and Sasha stopped with the invisibility.

"I had a feeling you were going to show up," Zoe sighed.

"Ms. Lucas, you can't possibly agree with Danny using the suit," Sam protested.

"I'm the only one who has a chance to save our lives," Danny told his friend.

"From what you've told me, he's the only one who knows how to navigate through the Ghost Zone. And you might have a chance at controlling the power drain thanks to your ghost powers," Zoe reluctantly agreed with him.

"Shouldn't Sasha and you go with him then. To make sure nothing bad happens," Sam asked.

Sasha and Zoe shared a glance before looking back at the rest of Team Phantom Shadow.

"Unfortunately, Sasha and I have more to lose if we were to go into the Ghost Zone," Zoe told them.

Sam and Tucker registered at that moment what Ms. Lucas must have been talking about. Black Heart. They sadly nodded in understanding and turned to help Danny with the suit. That effort was paused when they noticed Valerie, in her ghost hunter gear sneaking downstairs to steal the suit for herself.

"I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to step away from the suit," Danny told her, stopping Valerie in her tracks.

"Back off, spooks. I don't know how you got inside the Fenton's Ghost Shield but this is my fight," Valerie barked.

"No, it's not. Not anymore," Danny replied.

Sam and Tucker snuck out as Mr. Gray walked into the basement carrying some tools. He let out a gasp seeing two ghosts talking to what appeared to be a ghost hunter.

"What's going on in here?" he questioned.

"You're not the boss of me!" Valerie shouted at Danny.

"Nope. But he is," Sasha said, ripping the hood of Valerie.

"Valerie?" Mr. Gray gasped.

"AAAAHH! You're dead for this, you hear me? DEAD!" Valerie shrieked.

She went to attack Sasha but Mr. Gray pulled his daughter aside to talk. Taking the opportunity Sasha and Danny grabbed the battlesuit and using their ghost powers took it up to the roof.

Up on the roof, Danny transformed back into his human form. Sasha stayed ghost as she helped Danny into the battlesuit and closed the hatch. She then joined Sam and Tucker as they watched Danny activate the suit.

"Activate neural receptors. Initiate power up sequence," he rattled off. The suit lit up, charged with power. "Yeah, there we go."

"Danny, please," Sam begged once again.

"C'mon, guys. You didn't think it was always going to be as easy as shoving the Box Ghost into the Fenton Thermos, did you? I'll be back," Danny said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Your mom used the word fatal," Tucker said.

Danny looked down at his friends. Tucker and Sam looked their eyes begging her to stop him. Sasha looked away.

"Guys, I'll be back. But… If there's anything you wanted to say to me now might be an excellent time to do it," Danny said, realizing that his friends might be right in thinking he might not make it back.

Sasha's mouth opened and closed, not knowing the right words to use. Screwing a bit of courage Sasha flew up to the battlesuit and gently kissed the lid where she could see Danny's head. Danny blushed as if she had actually kissed him.

"You're my best friend, Danny. The first person I've ever been able to connect with. I need you to come back, okay? Promise me you'll come back," she asked him. Danny gently took Sasha's hands in the battlesuit and held them close to the suit's chest.

"I promise," he assured her.

Harsh winds blew, causing the four of them to look up towards the sky. Red clouds formed together the face of Pariah Dark.

"Humans! Hear my decree!" the cloud structure cried out.

"Well, that's my cue. Tuck, I'll need you to drop the Ghost Shield on my way out, okay?" Danny asked of Tucker.

"Okay. Be careful, dude," Tucker agreed, running off to take care of the shield.

Sam followed after him but Sasha stuck around to see Danny off. Taking a deep breath Danny transformed causing the battlesuit to go through its own transformation, taking on Danny's ghostly coloring along with his emblem on the front. Sasha gave him a smile before Danny took off.

"You can do it, Phantom!" Sasha cheered out so that the crowd below could hear them.

"Phantom?" the crowd murmured.

"That's right! Phantom! Danny Phantom!" Danny announced.

Everyone cheered as they watched him fly out of the Ghost Shield that Tucker had temporarily knocked out.

The encouraging smile disappeared from Sasha's face. With worry and guilt hitting her she headed back inside the Fenton's house. She was walking down the stairs, wanting to go talk to her mother when Vlad stopped her on the stairs. Her eyes narrowed, anger returning.

"I'm surprised you decided to show your face around me so soon," she glared.

"Please, allow me to explain," Vlad asked."

"What's there to explain? You've made it pretty clear what's important to you," Sasha replied and tried to continue down the stairs.

"I promise you that's not the case," Vlad said stepping in her way.

Sasha's glare intensified. Vlad knew he was pushing it, and that if he wasn't careful Sasha would keep her promise of turning him into a casualty. But he also knew that if he was gonna continue to have a relationship with the Lucas' then he'd have to take the chance.

"You have a minute before I blast you out into the Ghost Zone," Sasha granted.

"It's true that in my quest for power in the Ghost Zone I unintentionally released the Ghost King. However, I swear on my life that I never meant to hurt you or your mother," Vlad promised.

"But everyone else is fair game," Sasha scoffed.

"Old habits die hard. Look… I have a complicated past, one which I'll tell you about in the future if you allow. After my last encounter with Daniel, I did as he suggested and took part in online dating. And while my intentions in doing so might not have been… pure, meeting your mother made me change my plans," Vlad explained. He saw Sasha soften a tiny bit at the mention of Zoe, though she still remained on the defensive. "Your mother brought me out of the darkness I secluded myself in after my accident. For the first time in years, I found myself truly connecting with someone. And when we were introduced, I found myself believing that perhaps I finally found a family that perhaps one day I could be apart of. A family of my own after decades of loneliness."

"You expect this sob story of yours to trick me into believing you?" Sasha accused. She wasn't liking the similarities that Vlad's story shared with her life and her feelings towards Danny and her friends.

"Believe me or not, my words are true. Part of the reason for me going into the Ghost King's domain was to protect you and your mother," Vlad said.

"What? How is this protecting us?" Sasha questioned.

"The ring and the crown would have given me control needed to tame the others. You told me during our excursion to the Baking Expo how the ghost attacks interrupt your life, how it would deter you from auditioning. Now I see just how much of an interruption it causes. I just wanted to give you and your mother security, and perhaps a bit more normalcy. Now, it is clear that I have failed," Vlad told her.

Sasha was quiet as her racing mind slowed. Pictures of her friends and family flashing before her. Her mother, Sam, Tucker, Danny… Danny who had gone out to fight a battle he wouldn't likely win. He was going to die because she was too scared to step foot into the problem. Sasha shook. She couldn't let that happen.

"If your words are true it appears that both of us have failed to protect the ones we care about," she said and turned to go back upstairs.

"Where are you going?" Vlad asked.

"To fix this," Sasha answered, not turning to look at him. "If you truly care about my mother than stay here and protect her at any cost. Even if it's from me."

o

Back on the roof Sasha transformed and jumped off the building, floating down to the street below where Sam and Tucker stood. They were surprised to see her in her ghost form, but what surprised them the most was what she told them.

"Get in the Specter Speeder, we need to pick up our army."

Tucker and Sam didn't ask any questions. They got into the Specter Speeder and followed Sasha as she flew towards the Ghost Shield. Tucker deactivated a small portion of the shield as they got close. Instead of flying off into the Ghost Zone Sasha hung around the edge of the town which was outside of the Ghost Shield. When it went up all the ghosts that were hiding in the town should have been pushed out but Sasha knew they wouldn't stray far into the Ghost Zone thanks to Pariah Dark. Her assumption was correct as she found all of them hidden away in a newly abandoned building, sticking together out of necessity. Skulker stood as he saw them approach, unspokenly been appointed the ghosts representative.

"I'm stepping into the ring. Phantom's at Pariah's Keep now so I need you all to arm up and get in the Specter Speeder," Sasha ordered. All the ghosts were a bit shocked with how Sasha was taking control of the situation that they didn't move. "Now!"

Snapping back into the situation all the ghosts listened to Sasha and squeezed into the storage compartment in the Specter Speeder. With their army acquired Sasha phased into the Specter Speeder and let Sam and Tucker navigate through the Ghost Zone since they had been scooping it out with Danny. Sasha sat in the vehicle nervous, hoping that Danny was okay.

o

With Sam and Tucker driving it didn't take long until they arrived at Pariah's Keep. The yard was filled with hundreds of skeleton soldiers, some of which Danny had taken out already. Sasha saw Danny take out a large pile of skeletons but in doing so weakened him. Seeing another hoard of skeletons getting ready to attack Sasha phased out of the Specter Speeder and sent an ectoblast their way, annihilating the group of skeletons. Danny turned and looked at Sasha in shook.

"Sasha?" he said surprised.

Sasha gave Danny a small nod before turning back to Sam and Tucker in Specter Speeder. "Release the others, then get out of here," she ordered.

Her friends complied, opening the hatch and releasing the ghosts. Once all the ghost were out of the hatch Sam and Tucker flew back towards Amity Park.

"How did they cram all of you into the Specter Speeder?" Danny asked.

"Hey! Ever been insider your stupid thermos? Compared to that, it was the Taj Mahal in there!" Ember informed him.

"I brought you here to fight, not snark," Sasha said, bringing everyone's attention back to the issue at hand.

Skulker was happy to obey, weapons popping up from every conceivable place on his body before heading into the fray. Klemper and the Box Ghost teamed up to take on a group while Poindexter rode the Dragon Ghost into battle. Danny and Sasha fought close together, taking out groups using the battlesuit and Sasha's shadows. Ember took out a skeletal dragon with a power chord from her guitar and Skulker came in to smash another one. They all fought together, getting closer and closer.

"You all stay out here and keep the army from getting inside while we go in to take out Pariah," Sasha gave ordered to Skulker and Ember who nodded. Sasha turned to Danny who was looking at her in awe. "You ready?"

"Yeah, let's do this," Danny said, feeling more confident with Sasha beside him.

Flying in the two heading straight into the throne room. Standing before them was Pariah Dark. Danny couldn't help but let out an angry groan, filling more of how the suit was weakened.

"A little ragged round the edges, eh, child?" the Ghost King taunted Danny.

"How about you shut up and we get to the part where we kick your ass," Sasha cut right to the point, hoping to distract Pariah Dark from Danny's current weakness.

"Very well, I accept your challenge!" Pariah Dark replied.

Pariah Dark charged at them. Danny put up a shield, stopping the Ghost King from directly hitting them. He winced, the battlesuit weakening him. Seeing this Sasha gathered up shadows and jumped out from behind the shield. She fired the shadows at the ghost, sending the king crashing back into his throne, destroying it. With the force gone, Danny dissolved the shield and fell to a knee, weakened to 40%. Sasha placed a concerned hand on the battlesuit's shoulder. Pariah got up, almost smiling at the sight of Danny.

"Having that much power, it's a burden, isn't it child?" Pariah mocked.

He threw his mace at Danny. Danny jumped away to dodge it but the mace had powers of its own and turned around, intending to hit its target. Sasha stepped in the way, making a shield out of shadows. She winced as the mace hit the shield, her stance sliding backward as the mace still tried to move forward towards Danny. Pariah Dark took this opportunity to kick Danny into a wall. Hearing how hard of an impact he had, Sasha lost focus allowing the mace to break through the wall of shadows. With its target already hit the mace turned to her, knocking Sasha back away from Danny and Pariah before returning to the hand of its master. Sasha's arms shook as she tried to pull herself up. Danny became angry as he saw a trickle of blood running down the corner of Sasha's mouth.

"The power isn't the burden. The burden is how I use it. And I've been using it poorly lately," Danny said, his eyes narrowing at Dark Pariah. Pushing his body to the limit Danny produced three duplicates of himself, each on one side of Pariah. "Now leave our town alone!"

Seeing what Danny was planning Sasha placed her hand on the ground. Shadows emitted from her palm onto the ground and traveled towards Pariah Dark. Before he could move she trapped his feet with her shadows. All four of the Danny's hit the ghost king with an ectoblast. Angered and still stuck in place Pariah Dark swung his mace, causing one of the Danny's to disappear. Having been distracted Sasha got up and used the shadows at his feet to blast upward, causing the ghost king to fall over. Down on the ground, the Danny's surrounded Pariah Dark and punched him. Pariah Dark retaliated by sending a blast at one of the Danny's making him disappear. Moving quickly Pariah Dark moved away from the two Danny's, standing in front of them and Sasha. Even with all the hits he took, the ghost king didn't have a scratch on him. Not closed in anymore Pariah got a hit on Danny's remaining duplicate, making it disappear. Danny sank to one knee again, feeling like he only had enough energy for one last push. Sasha flew in front of him protectively. She wasn't going to let Pariah get another his while Danny was down.

"Surrender! You can't possibly win!" Pariah Dark commanded.

"We don't have to win," Danny said. His hands charged up before firing a blast at the wall, revealing the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep.

"We just have to make sure you lose," Sasha finished.

As Danny went to fly over to the sarcophagus Pariah Dark intercepted him, sending a blast at him. Out of instinct, Danny put up a shield. His blast was blocked but the shield drained his energy down to 7%. Weakened Danny fell to the ground. He tried to get up but feeling so drained he couldn't. All he could do was watch in a haze as Pariah approached to finish him off.

"Danny! Leave him alone!" Sasha cried out seeing her friend in danger.

Calling upon her shadows she sent them at Pariah, wrapping them around his body to stop him from moving any further. It stopped the ghost at first but he slowly moved forward. Sasha struggled to keep her hold on the ghost king, determined not to let him anywhere near her friend. Teeth bared in a grunt and focused on the problem at hand she didn't notice as from the logo on her chest shadows began to creep. Danny's eyes focused on her, watching as the shadows consumed her, Sasha not attempting to stop them.

In a burst of energy, Pariah Dark was trapped, the shadows not allowing him to budge. Confused as to what was going on he looked back. Standing before him like a shadow herself was the shape of the ghost girl he had been fighting. The shadows had consumed her body in darkness, erasing her white clothing altogether. Her logo and eye emitted a void black as her body emitted a dark aura. The light around her was absorb, not being able to pierce through the area. Danny's already weakened, pale face turned a ghostly white. His friend was consumed and what remained was what he could only fathom as a reflection of the ghost everyone was fearful of beside the Ghost King. Black Heart.

"It's time for you to go back to sleep," Sasha growled, her voice an octave deeper and the inside of her mouth as black as her eyes.

Pariah's face morphed into one of horror as the shadows holding him slammed him into the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep, his crown falling off from the sheer force. He tried to struggle out of the shadows grip but in her new form, the shadows were stronger, unmoving. Sasha sunk into the shadows beneath her feet before appearing next to the Sarcophagus. She looked angrily at the shaking Ghost King.

"And don't worry your, highness," Sasha hissed. "This time, I'll make sure nobody disturbs you."

More shadows slammed the front shut before hungrily wrapping themselves around the entire Sarcophagus. Sasha disappeared into the ground before popping up into the throne room. Specks of lights danced around Danny's eyes as he watched the walls around the Sarcophagus collapse, leaving Pariah Dark sleeping in a coffin that was triple locked with key, shadow, and rumble. Never again would it be open. With the enemy now defeated Sasha turned around, her void eyes staring surpassing the crown and landed on Danny. She slunk over to Danny, kneeling down and gently cupping the lid of the battlesuit where his face was. Barely conscious Danny was scared what this new Sasha would do but saw her blackened eyes show that of concern.

"Danny," Sasha whispered.

Believing that his friend was still the girl he knew, in that moment of peace Danny gave in to his exhaustion and passed out. Unconscious, Danny transformed back into his human form. The glow from his transformation triggered Sasha's own, peeling back the shadows to her human self. Hit with the weight of exhaustion from the fight and new transformation, Sasha followed in Danny's steps and fainted. The two half ghosts laid next to each other in deep sleep the crown sitting on the ground in front of them, it's shine reflecting the approach of a third half.

o

When Danny and Sasha finally came to they were confused to find themselves waking up at the Fenton's house, next to each other on Danny's bed. Standing all around them was their friends and family. Valerie was there, all bandaged up with a cast on her arm, along with her dad. Vlad walked from Zoe's side to Sasha's side of the bed.

"You two gave us quite a scare there," Vlad said to them.

"Vladdie said he'd found you just outside the dump after the town flickered back to reality. He saved your lives," Jack explained. Danny and Sasha glanced at each other, knowing better than to believe what Vlad told their parents.

"Things might have been weird there for a while, but if Vlad saved your life then I say bygones," Maddie smiled. Sasha noticed her mother relax at Mrs. Fenton's words.

"And you will always be welcome in our home, V-man. You can stay in Danny's room!" Jack offered.

"Too bad you lost your ecto-suit, Jack," Vlad lied.

"That's okay, V-man. Those pants made me look fat," Jack brushed off, unbothered.

Sasha pushed herself up so that she was sitting. Danny tried to get up out of bed entirely but winced in pain. Sasha helped Danny into a sitting position like she was in. He gave her a thankful smile in return. They had both suffered from the fight with Pariah Dark but knew that time and their healing factor would heal their wounds. Sasha looked down at her hands, remembering her shadow's take over. Remembering the darkness and how it felt good to be able to slip in, how much more powerful she felt. Sensing Sasha's distress Danny grabbed her hand, causing her to look up at him.

His eyes spoke of pride and support. From their past conversations, he knew how worried she was regarding the shadows consuming her and becoming like Black Heart. And he was worried as well when he saw her dark transformation back in Pariah's Keep. But even with his vision flickering in and out he saw that even with a new scary looking layer she was still his friend. She was still the girl who fought hard to be nothing like her evil mentor. The brief moment of seeing the worry in her blackened eyes confirmed to him that she was still the same Sasha. Danny squeezed her hand, silently telling her that even if she still felt nervous about this new aspect of her that he was there. Sasha stared at him in surprise at first but that surprise morphed into a soft smile. She gently squeezed his hand back.

There was a lot to figure out still. Sasha knew she needed to figure out more about this new side of her. Both Danny and Sasha knew that more needed to be touched on about Vlad and what he was up to. Though Sasha was already thinking of a plan. And they still needed to fill Tucker and Sam in on what happened at Pariah's Keep. But for now, perhaps they could take advantage of the moment of peace and get some rest.


Check out my profile for the link to Sasha's character design or go to DeviantArt and look up "2H: Dark" by DrawMeLikeYourOC.


Thanks for reading. Be sure to leave me a review and a crazy "So Tell Me About Yourself" answer. And be sure to check out my profile for character designs and my writing schedule. Sasha's logo will be coming out on DeviantArt soon.

"So Tell Me About Yourself" is an inside joke between me and my friends which started from my one friend's hatred for the typical getting-to-know-you question "So tell me about yourself". She, being so annoyed with the phrase, gave a silly answer that she murdered people in their sleep. When she brought it back to me and my other friend we both gave a silly answer. That is where the idea for my account name came from.