Due to a weird issue with my word processor, I unfortunately was not able to post this yesterday as planned. I'm not really sure what it was, but it involved resetting and reinstalling, and screaming, and lots of curse words... anyway, I'm only posting today because the new chapter is finished and I intended to post yesterday. Aren't I nice for not making ya'll wait a week because of computer problems?=^-^=
Ch. 13 - Round 2
Deep in the Ghost Zone atop an ancient pedestal sat a most curious artifact; a crown. This crown, was by no means ordinary of course as it was black as obsidian and coated in an otherworldly flame. The only soul around circled the crown with frustration marring his face. "I don't understand! It should have happened by now." One outraged ghost spat in anger. He narrowed his red eyes as he crossed his arms.
"You should not have returned here, Plasmius. It will not do any good."
The ghost turned to see an annoying blue cat he'd come to know recently. "Leave me alone, Gaia! I don't care what you think." He responded with distaste. "I know what I'm doing."
Gaia chuckled. "Do you now? Well, don't let me bother you then. I was merely checking on the progress of the connection." She looked the crown over with intrigue before dashing out of the chamber as quickly as she arrived.
Vlad looked back at the exit and then to the crown. "It couldn't be….."
Danny, while hiding in the bathroom, looked over the rash on his chest in worry. "It's getting worse…." He stated with a groan as the dark green blemish showed signs of spreading. What had started out as an itchy and slightly discolored patch of skin had now grown twice in size and much darker. He rubbed it with his hand, and winced in pain. "Much worse." He continued as he pulled his hand away.
Earlier in the day, it had gotten so bad he fell to his knees. Although he'd gotten Zak and Fisk off his back easily enough, he doubted they'd be fooled a second time like that. He then felt another sudden spike in pain as he leaned over the sink and gripped his chest. He muffled his groan as best he could so his mom wouldn't hear, but how long could he keep it a secret?
He took a deep breath as he looked back up to the mirror, but paused when he did. Now scrawled in foggy lettering was an emblem he knew well, an overlaid CW. "….Huh? Clockwork?" He looked around the room curiously as the pain of minutes ago was forgotten. When his eyes fell back on the mirror, a new message was written. "The time is fast approaching." He read aloud in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?" He looked down at his chest one more time before zipping his suit back up. "Geez, Clockwork. If you need to tell me something couldn't you be a bit less vague and mysterious." His answer was pretty fast when the word 'NO' appeared on the mirror, and Danny let out a sigh. "Of course not…." He then changed back and exited the bathroom.
"Danny?" His mother called just inside their room just down the hall.
"Oh, mom… what is it?"
"Were you talking to someone in there?" She asked in slight worry.
"Uh… no, just thinking aloud…." He responded quickly. "Sorry if I bothered you."
"Alright..." She called back with worry still evident in her tone. She could tell he was nervous about something. He sounded like he always did whenever ghosts were mentioned before she'd found out about him. This meant he was keeping something from her, but she'd leave it alone for now. She trusted he knew what he was doing, but her worry didn't go away. If anything it increased.
She'd only known his secret little more than a day, and that was all the time she needed to think of what he'd been doing. She and Jack weren't the only ones who have ever gone after Phantom. Her son had made a lot of enemies. She closed the door and leaned against the wall with a sigh. She was at war between her pride and maternal instincts. Her pride told her to trust that he, as a Fenton, could handle things. Her maternal instincts told her something was wrong. The only problem was she didn't know which one was right.
The next morning, though a little later than they expected, the airship was finally cleared to continued towards the destination Maddie had set previously. The boys were just finishing lunch when they finally got underway. "About time." Zak stated as ate his last chip. "I thought we'd never get out of here." Fisk nodded in agreement as he yawned. (It's boring.)
"Yeah, but boring is better than chased, and attacked in my book." Danny countered as he leaned on one arm. "I like to enjoy the peace and quiet while I can."
Zak gave a shrug. "Yeah, but at least when the secret scientists show up we're not bored." Fiskerton looked at him with a raised brow. (You want to get attacked?) "Of course not." The boy responded. "I just said it wasn't boring." Fisk seemed to scrutinize him for a moment before grumbling in agreement.
They were then joined by Drew who quickly made her way over to the table. "Hey, boys. Enjoy lunch?"
Zak stood up immediately. "Yeah, but when are we going to get to this island anyway?"
Drew saw this question coming. Zak had been restless since waking up this morning. "A few hours maybe. Doc is working out the exact location based on Maddie's data now."
"Was there a problem with it? Mom said she had it pinpointed already." Danny asked in confusion.
Drew nodded. "Well, she said it seemed to jump around, but it wasn't uncommon for the focus of a hot spot to move within a certain area. That's why they are generally so big." She explained as best she could. "Anyway, Danny, She asked me to come get you to help her with something." She pointed back through the door. "You'll find her in the lab."
Danny stood up. "Okay, thanks for lunch." He responded before casually strolling to the call of his mother.
Drew then looked at her own boys, but then more specifically Zak. "I'm glad you decided to give Danny another chance. Your father and I have noticed how you two seem less at odds now than back in Greenland."
Zak was surprised at the mention and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess it took me longer to realize how much we had in common." Fisk nudged him in the side with a frown. (What are you saying? It's a secret remember?) Zak nudged him back. "I didn't say anything, Fisk."
Drew looked up at the lemurian in curiosity. "Secret? What secret?"
"See what you did?" Zak snapped angrily. He then turned back to his mother with an innocent expression. "Nothing, mom, really."
Drew gave him a slightly stern look. "Zak."
He raised his hands defensively. "Really, mom, it's a guy thing. You know, a secret for just us guys. I'd be breaking the bro code if I told you."
Drew could only roll her eyes at that before turning to leave. "Alright, you keep your boy secret then."
Zak then turned to Fisk with agitation and a shake of his head. Fisk simply shrugged. (I didn't mean to.)
"Mom?" Danny called out as he entered the lab. Maddie was by the counter typing away at the computer. She finished a line before turning to her son. "You needed me for something?" She gave a nod, but paused to speak. The hesitance was obvious to Danny, but he didn't think much of it. "Mom?"
She quickly realized her hesitance. "I wanted to ask you something…. About your powers." She whispered at the end.
Danny seemed a little stiff at the mention, but that was more reflex than anything. Still though, the air in the room did get a bit awkward if for any reason then their own apprehension against accidentally hurting the others feelings. "Sure I guess…." He answered as he rubbed the back of his neck. Since she hadn't asked anything more about his powers since that day she first found out, he hadn't really thought on the idea much. His parents were ghost experts, so they were more likely to be able to tell him stuff about his powers.
"Let's go back to the room right quick then." She suggested, knowing he wouldn't want to risk any of the Saturdays finding out. He followed without a word, and within a few minutes they were back in their room.
"So what did you want to ask, mom?" Danny asked with less apprehension as he relaxed. When he didn't get an answer right away he turned to see her still standing by the door. "Mom?"
She seemed conflicted before approaching. "I know I told you that I'd trust you, and not meddle with how your powers work, Danny, but I….."
"You're worried." Danny finished for her with a sigh. It wasn't surprising, especially with how she seemed last night. "I understand, mom."
She gave him a sad peaceable expression as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Danny, and I'm only asking this because I'm worried, but-"
"Relax, mom. Just ask." Danny comforted with only minor apprehension. "Whatever it is, I'm sure I can handle it."
His mother seemed nervous but happy as she went over to her bag by the bed. "Thank you, Danny." She responded as she pulled out a new handheld device. "And I won't be hurt if you say no, so don't feel like you have to do this. I just want to understand your powers a bit more." She expressed with a smile.
Danny seemed a little nervous as he looked at the device. "Okay….. so what is it?"
"This….. well it doesn't actually have a name yet, but your father and I use it analyze a ghost's core readings. A ghost's core is the most important part of a ghost since it controls how a ghost acts, looks, and their abilities." She then seemed to laugh at her explanation. "Though I guess the name would explain that. It's the core of the ghost's being after all." She then pulled out a flat metal disk the size of a golf ball. "I want to analyze your ghost half's core. With it, I can get an idea of what's normal for you. I can then reference back to these readings if anything should happen to you." She finished with worry evident on her face.
Danny furrowed his brow at the explanation. It wasn't like she was trying to make him a lab subject or anything, but he couldn't help but be nervous about it. He then raised his hand to the back of his neck. "This isn't gonna hurt is it?" He wondered with a worried expression.
Maddie couldn't help but almost laugh at that before shaking her head. "No, it shouldn't anyway." She held out the disk. "Normally your father and I tag the ghost by embedding this into the ghost's outer layer of ectoplasm, but that's only because any ghost we've studied never stayed still. We mostly just didn't want it falling off before we could get our readings. Just change and place it as close to your core as you can."
Danny took the disk while he scrutinized it. "I guess that's alright then." He finally agreed as he activated his morph ring. He looked at the disk a moment before looking down at himself. He'd never had to think about it before, but….. where was his core? "Danny? Something wrong?" He looked back to her with a sheepish expression. "Uh…. I uh…" He then remembered Frostbite talking about his ice core a couple months ago. He'd shown him a holographic chart with his core's location being at the center of his chest. "Uh, never mind I got it." He corrected as he placed the disk right over his DP emblem. "This okay?"
Maddie looked over the small reading device a moment before responding. "Well…. I don't think it's getting a good reading, but it could be your suit." She explained as she pointed towards the disk. "Since it's an obviously denser form of ectoplasm to replicate clothing, it could be interfering with the sensor. Try putting it directly on your chest." She finished in suggestion. The halfa picked off the strange metal disk and reached up for the zipper. Just as he began to tug it down, he remembered the rash that rested square in the center of his chest. He stopped and turned away from her with a nervous air. "Danny?"
"Sorry, just give me a sec." He requested as he quickly pulled it down a bit more, placed the sensor, and then pulled it back up as he turned back to his mother. "Alright, got it."
She raised an amused brow at him. "Come on, Danny, I'm your mother. I've already seen it all." She stated rather bluntly and to the immediate embarrassment of the teen. "Anyway, let's take a look." She continued, seemly oblivious to the green tinge on her son's face. She took a few moments to look over the readings while Danny just stood in place not really knowing what he should be doing. "Here we go." Maddie finally stated happily as the readings came through like she wanted. His mother's happiness was welcome of course, but it still made him nervous.
He then reflexively reached up to the spot with the sensor when he felt it start to heat up. It was beginning to aggravate his rash which was right under it. "Uh, mom, is it supposed to get warm?"
Maddie thought about it before nodding. "I imagine it would since it's using a minor electrical current to analyze your core. You shouldn't worry though, the current is about as strong as bad static shock. Ectoplasm is naturally highly conductive, so the current doesn't need to be strong to be effective."
"Oh…" He responded while rubbing the agitated spot. "So how long will this take anyway?"
Maddie gave him a consolidating wave of her hand. "Maybe an hour or so, not too long." She then placed the device into one of her pockets. "It takes a bit of time to gather enough data for the energy fluxuations, levels, and things like that. Just relax, and don't pull it out of place." She then turned towards the door. "I'm going to go check up on the location of the hot spot again so we stay on course, and then I'll come back by the time it's done." She then paused again and smiled warmly at her son. "And thank you, Danny, for understanding. I would never want you to think I would ever experiment on you."
Danny chuckled at that as he floated up and crossed his legs. "I know, mom, and if this makes you feel better I'm more than happy to do it." He responded as he rubbed his chest where the sensor was. He watched her leave with half the worry she had when they arrived, and it was relieving. That of course, was only what he felt about his mom. Her test was still making him nervous though it was more likely the rash that was doing most of it. Would it show up strangely on her scan? He heaved out a sigh before floating on his back. "I guess worrying at this point won't help."
Once Maddie re-entered the lab she found Drew looking over her work. She seemed uneasy about something as she watched the energy fluxuate. "Drew? Is something wrong?"
She turned to the curious ghost hunter with a nod. "Doc's worried about the fog bank we're approaching. We'd need to go through it to make sure we don't miss the island, but we're not even close yet and it's already messing with some of the navigational controls."
Maddie seemed to understand. "Don't worry too much Drew, once the interference hits the level where it would cause problems, the diffusers should fix the problem. I should be able to pinpoint the location better as we get closer too." She then held her chin in though. "Though you should switch the ship to manual just in case."
Drew nodded in agreement. "Good idea. I'll go and join Doc in the cockpit. Just send the navigation data directly there."
"Not a problem Drew." The scientist assured as she began back at the keys.
The halfa waited in slight boredom as the hour passed slowly. He was hoping to check out the view from the cockpit area, but didn't want to leave in case his mom came back. He then pulled out his phone, and saw it had actually already been more than an hour. "I really hope I only have to do this once…." He groaned in annoyance before spying something odd through the small window. He flew over curiously to see.
At first he didn't spot anything. There was a large amount of clouds around them, and they were only getting thicker which made it hard to see. After a minute though, he spotted what he'd noticed. It was the unique metal shine of an aircraft. "A ship? Out here?" It was riding closer and closer to the airship which only made Danny suspicious rather than curious. "I guess they may not know we're here….." That theory went out the window when it stopped its advance a few meters off the side. It was by then, joined by several others, and they were beginning to look very familiar to the halfa. "Okay…. I'm starting to think this isn't a good sign."
He was proven right when the ship abruptly changed trajectory. Even though he was in the air, the shift was obvious enough for him to be disoriented by it. "Whoa!" He steadied himself in the air and pushed away from the wall so he wouldn't get knocked around again. "Better go check on mom." He declared before flying through the door of the room.
None of the Saturdays had words for what they saw around them. A small fleet of jets flying all around, and heavily armed. "You don't think it's Epsilon do you?" Doc queried from the navigational controls.
"So fast? It hasn't even been two days." Drew countered with annoyance.
"But who else would it be?" Both of them looked again at their situation with solemn expressions.
"Yo, family!" Doyle shouted as he entered the room. "Anyone seen Zak?"
Drew turned to him immediately. "Wasn't he with you?"
Doyle paused in confusion. "Uh… no. I haven't seen him since lunch."
"He said he was going to get you when the ships showed up….." She then turned to her husband. "You don't think he would-" She was cut off when the boy in question entered rather abruptly.
"Mom, I can't… Never mind." The young Saturday finished when he saw who he was looking for. All of them let out breaths of relief at seeing Zak and Fisk not going off to do something crazy.
"Incoming transmission?" Doc questioned in irritation as he activated the video phone above them.
Epsilon appeared on the screen with his standard neutral expression. "Hello again, Saturdays. I hope this isn't a bad time?"
"As a matter of fact.." Drew countered with a venomous gaze.
"No matter, I will only take a moment. I will again propose that you transfer young Zak into our custody. You must understand, he will be far better off once he can use his powers effectively, and we will keep him safe of course."
"And we'll once again tell you no. Zak is staying with his family. We will protect him!" Doc growled back with distaste.
Epsilon seemed exasperated, but not deterred. "I'm sorry, but if you continue to be difficult I simply have to use a little more force. You see the heavily armed airships are just waiting for my signal before blasting yours out of the sky. I would really hate to think of the repercussions that could come out of that." His tone was a smug as ever which was not helping his argument with the Saturdays at all.
"You want a dog fight, Epsilon? Bring it on!" Drew countered in anger. She then dashed for the door. "I call the Griffon!"
Doc looked a little annoyed at how quickly she called dibs, but quickly moved his concentration back to the smug agent. "I think you're underestimating our ship, Epsilon. Feel free to continue." He quipped before turning off the video feed. "You ready, Doyle?"
The young man strapped on his jet-pack with a cocky grin. "Born that way."
Zak and Fisk quickly ran up behind him. "What about us?"
"You're both staying put for now." Doc ordered. "This is an air fight, and you don't need to accidentally fall several hundred feet to the water." He informed in a serious tone.
"Doc? What's going on out there?" Maddie called from the lab through a smaller video screen to his right.
"Oh, Maddie. We're under attack. Epsilon came back with some friends. They've got the ship surrounded."
Maddie was instantly angry at the mention of the agent. Her first impression from the morning before was fresh in her mind. "Where's Drew?"
Doc looked over the cargo bay controls to release the Griffon. "She took the Griffon out to thin their forces."
"I'll go too then." She declared. "The speeder was built for more than just flying at high speed." She then turned off the video.
"So that's Drew, Doyle, Maddie, and us. Four against..."
"A lot." Zak finished for him. "But isn't that pretty standard for us?" He quipped in confidence.
Once he couldn't find his mom in the lab, and found the Speeder gone from the hanger, Danny then headed towards the flight deck to see what was going on. The already rocky movements of the ship weren't getting any better as he kept intangible as he flew. The chaos that greeted him when he arrived wasn't unexpected as he saw several different crafts flying around outside while Doc was trying to avoid the stray fire. "Looks like someone else is picking a fight now." He muttered to himself as he thought on his next move.
Zak and Fisk were watching the fight in excitement while keeping hold of the hand rail. They shouted in triumph as two of the jets were blasted down; one being by Doc. "Aww yeah!" (Take that!)
"Don't mind if we do." An annoyingly familiar voice stated as they kicked open the main door. Francis and Epsilon stood with their agents barreling through around them. Doc turned back in anger while still trying to keep the ship from getting hit.
"How'd you get in here!? The security lock-down should have gone off." Zak demanded with his claw raised.
Francis chuckled smugly. "Yes, but only if we'd broken in after it was initiated. We were aboard long before this-"
"That's enough, Francis. It's time for business." Epsilon scolded as he stepped forwards. "Now I've tried being civil, but our window of opportunity is small." He gestured forwards to his agents who charged for the boy.
Fisk jumped in front of him protectively and growled. "Zak!" Doc called as he tried to bring up any of the others on the video phone. Static was his only answer which very well meant it was being jammed. He put the ship back on a simulated course and jumped from the controls with his battle glove at the ready. While the Saturdays watched the approach of the agents they were quite confused to see them all lose their footing and slide about.
"Maybe I should put up a sign from now on." Phantom quipped as he became visible at the forefront to face Epsilon. "But that's not as fun to watch." He finished as his hands lit up in energy.
Zak jumped to his side with Fisk ready to fight. "Alright! Let's do this!"
Francis wore a smirk at the boy's confidence. "You honestly think we didn't take Phantom into account this time?" He asked as he pulled a new weapon. This was a blaster Danny was very familiar with at the hands of Amity Park's more annoying government agents. The other agents quickly pulled out their own as they recovered from their encounter with the ice.
They all fired at once, and it was all Danny could do to put up a shield in time to block. "Damn….." He cursed under his breath as his shield held under the energy. He'd been sure to put it around the others as well which only added strain because of the increased size. "So, any ideas?" He asked as he turned to the others.
Doc looked at the barrier in intrigue as he spoke. "Looks like we're backed into a corner. Not only did they bring weapons specifically to counter you getting involved, but these other ships were probably to split us up, and leave Zak less protected."
Zak wore a scowl as he looked through the translucent barrier at Frances. "I don't need protecting. I'll show that stupid Francis." He retorted before stepping forwards.
"Oh no you're not." Doc countered and was backed up by Danny placing an arm in Zak's path.
"That's exactly what they want you to do. It's not that I doubt you could beat him, but those agents aren't really going to sit back and watch you two fight."
"Exactly." Doc agreed as he watched the agents take turns straining the shield. "Epsilon doesn't fight any more fair than Argost or anyone else we go up against. He does what he has to, to complete his mission." Fiskerton then pointed at the strange object Epsilon and his men were putting together behind the others who were still firing. (What's that?)
Danny turned to see for himself just in time to see it pointed at him. The claw like device launched from the base and latched onto the ecto-shield. "Tell me that's not-!" His whole body went live with electricity as it jumped from the claw through his energy shield. His shield only barely kept from deteriorating as the halfa gritted his teeth through it. This wasn't the first time he'd been electrocuted, and this was nothing like his worst.
"Phantom!" Zak called out as he reached to help him stay on his feet after seeing him finally falter a bit.
"Don't touch me! Don't touch the shield! None of you!" He ordered back as he reinforced his stance.
"Yes, our people would be most disappointed for such a valuable asset to be wasted." Epsilon stated coolly upon his approach. "But I must say, Phantom, you're resistance is most impressive. This was designed to immobilize a ghost in less than three minutes, and you've already held out for four. I can only imagine how it feels to have thousands of volts of electricity flowing through your body."
"Does a ghost feel pain?" Francis added in with minor intrigue.
Epsilon then checked his watch in impatience after Phantom still refused to fall from the onslaught. "This is taking too long." He stated as he gestured to the others. "Set it to max, and all blasters are to fire." The order was followed swiftly, and it only took a minute or two for Phantom to finally have to take a knee. It felt like his whole body was on fire especially around his chest; no doubt the rash acting up at the worst time. As soon as the barrier showed signs of deterioration he called his men off. "Finally." He stated as Phantom got down on his hands and knees.
Fisk and Doc quickly jump forwards to cut off the approaching agents, Epsilon included. "You'll get to Zak over my dead body Epsilon!" Doc shouted as he knocked back an agent to get to their leader.
Francis' attempts at capture were thwarted by Fiskerton as the lemurian used one agent to knock back the others to bar the boy's path. Danny could barely think through the pain, but was still able to notice Zak out of the corner of his eye. The boy, strangely enough, had retreated from the fight and seemed to be looking out the windows. "You must leave. Come here to me." He heard as the blue cat appeared before the boy. Zak was confused by the words since he couldn't understand them while Gaia simply dashed over to the window. "You must come!" She then caught the halfa's eye and beckoned to him. "Help me!" She was asking for help? Why did she need his help? If she wanted to, couldn't she grab Zak?
"Who exactly are you?" The boy wondered as he watched the confusing gestures of the ghost.
"Jump!" She ordered him as she dashed through the glass, though Danny was the one who heard correctly. They were several hundred feet above the water, but that didn't really go through Danny's head at all as he forced himself intangible and through the floor.
Francis saw and quickly caught sight of Zak on the lower deck. Due to his smaller size, he dashed under the legs of the lemurian as the other agents held him off, and jumped down with them. "You're not getting away this time!"
"Sorry to disappoint!" Phantom shouted as he grabbed Zak before Francis could get close.
"Whoa!" The boy protested as they both went out into the darkening clouds outside. Danny was flying down with Zak in a failing grip as his chest flared up with pain again. The clouds grew thicker and began to thunder in an unnatural way as Danny began to lose hold of his conscious thoughts. "Danny?" Zak called in worry as he felt himself slip a bit in the halfa's arms. He turned to see Phantom completely unconscious as his arms fell and they both continued to plummet, only out of control by this point. As they began to get separated Zak tried to use his claw to pull Danny back over, but to his own frustration, it passed right through and the effort only proved to put more space between them.
"Come on, Phantom, wake up!" The shout was in vein though as Danny failed to stir, and faded from sight through the obscuring clouds. The young boy was now faced with a fear he'd never thought much into. He was free falling, and with this dense fog, none could see him to help. The sounds of the waves below grew louder on his approach, and panic began to set in. "Help!" As if to answer his cry a ball of orange light began towards him with the roar of an engine behind. It was too small to be a ship, and Zak's hope was coming back to wash over him. "Doyle!" He called out in chorus with a roll of thunder. To his own horror, the orange beacon of hope he'd called out for slowly began to move away. "No! Doyle!" He screamed before plunging beneath the waves of the open sea.
I can't decide if I'm being nice or cruel by posting such a cliff hanger, but I enjoyed in none the less. I always liked how Epsilon was like the bad guy they didn't have to fight all the time since in most cases he was an 'ally'. This of course is questionable due to all the times they've ended up fighting... regardless though, his agency is like a competent GIW from what I could gather. (Only not specialized for ghosts of course)
BTW, that moment with Danny and his mom. I'm sure I'm not the only one to experience that. That line was actually inspired by my mom, since she's said it word for word on multiple occasions. I thought it would be funny. (Hopefully you know what I mean.)
Hope ya'll liked it and will give me your comments and questions in a review! (Next chapter is full of explanations for those who have been waiting for them.)=^-^=
