Chapter VI: Clash of the Crown
A purple cloaked figure, carrying a staff with a clock, watched the stream of time. He wasn't allowed to actively interfere with time itself, but he seems to be positive about a potential outcome.
"Hm, looks like my colleagues cooperate for once..."
...
Away from the Caste, Danny turned around, just to dodge attacks of the king. After dodging a few of the raged attacks, he attacked back with his own, still using ice. The old king seemed to be surprised, seeing the teenaged boy using ice powers, as if they were rare to him.
After a while, he felt his powers getting lower, but he also noted, he could keep up to the elder ghost. Was it his added experience since their last battle? Was it the fact that Pariah hadn't the accelerated power granted by the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fury? He wasn't sure, he just knew, he was able to make some damage on the old ghost.
He saw, while dodging an attack of Pariah, none other than Dani soaring near by. Worried by his clone, he soared of, fetching her mid air, not that the zone has much of a ground, and searched for a place to hide her. He found a floating rock with a shed on it and put her there. Dani just told him, "I was send you to tell you, bring him back to the castle. Your allies brought your class to the asylum, were they are somewhat save. A few ghosts repair the sarcophagus." She also gave him a dagger, one Sam had used, the grip wrapped in a cloth. "May come in handy."
He nodded and flew back to Pariah, attacking him with an attack from behind, taking the king by surprise. Pariah, as if he can be something else, was furious by this and chased after the young ghost, raged by the halfa. By his existence, by his fighting spirit and by his claim to his throne. They soon found themselves back at the caste, his class not near.
He spotted a few ghosts working on the sarcophagus, but he started to wonder, how is he supposed to overpower him and push him back into his tomb? He has no idea, but apparently Skulker does, as the ghost signals him to come to him. He charged an ice attack and blasted it at Pariah, freezing him fix, until he can break free.
Hovering besides Skulker, he was given a box. "From the observants, said you need it earlier than they expected." said the hunter. Danny nodded and opened the box, seeing the ring and the crown that made Pariah so difficult. As prince, he wasn't supposed to get these until he is crowned king, on his eighteenth birthday. They apparently don't want to live under Pariah again.
He put the crown on his head and it flared up emerald green. The power of the crown was overwhelming, but he fought against it's power. He took deep breathes after his body was able to handle the power. He heard ice cracking and looked to Pariah, who managed to free himself from the ice.
"I have to admin, your ice is strong, but that crown and ring are mine!" yelled Pariah, attacking Danny.
Skulker got scared by the elder spirit and shot the king, before flying off, leaving Danny once again. Danny once again blasted him with ice, before putting the ring on his finger. He was again overwhelmed with the power, but felt how something changed. His white rings appeared again, but instead of changing him to his human form, they 'upgraded' his ghost form.
He still wore his normal hazmat suit, but with a few upgrades. He had armor shoulder pads, that had a black cape with white inside connected to them. He also sported metal gloves and a black leather belt. Added on were the ring and the crown. The crown itself was engulfed into an emerald flame, more bright and vibrant as it ever was on Pariah's head.
Pariah wasn't much impressed with this, in fact, he just became more infuriated by this development. Danny just grinned smugly, he had a plan to finish the old king.
...
From afar, many ghosts were watching. All were afraid of Pariah, of course, but they were curious about their prince, how he handles the old apparition that spooks once again. They, besides the royalists that got arrested by a very pissed Walker, "Why by everything in order would you want this tyrant back? Someone your age would especially not want him back! You know hi rule the best!" ranted Walker, his assistant, Bullet, agreeing. "No sane ghost wants Pariah back, no wonder you choose the Asylum, lunatics." was added by Bullet.
Many just hoped that Danny will defeat him once again.
...
Danny baited the king back to the sarcophagus, but a feeling won't stop nagging, 'As if Pariah would get so close to this thing, knowing I want to get him back in.' But he had an idea, 'Not like I often do it different.'
He blasted Pariah, getting his attention, before he blasted him with insults, and jokes, to really piss him off. The king flared up in ghostly flames, clearly enraged. "Now let's hope he is to enraged to think clearly." He continued to fire insults and jokes at the costs of the king, but stopped when he himself stood in front of the sarcophagus.
Pariah himself apparently had an idea, as he smirked and charged an attack of his own. Danny guessed that he wanted to put Danny into the sarcophagus, and Danny made himself ready to block the attack. He could dodge, but the blast would destroy the sarcophagus. If he can destroy or reflect the ball of energy... he has an idea.
The energy ball, ruby red rushed to him and he created an icy ball of his own idea. The two colors, pale blue and bloody red collided and the energy erupted. Reddish mist, leftovers of the energy were still around, Pariah couldn't see a thing. But he neither sensed, nor heard the halfa, so he guessed he won.
"Ah! I defeated this brat!" stated Pariah proudly.
"No, you didn't, old timer." replied Danny's voice, before he was stabbed with the dagger, paralyzed by pain, and hit by a ghostly wail from behind, catapulted into the the sarcophagus. Danny, who was in his human form, in which he can't be sensed by other ghosts, rushed to the sarcophagus and pushed it shit, before manifesting an ice key, to close the sarcophagus. The sarcophagus glowed green, before chains appeared, showing that the sarcophagus is shut closed. Danny stood back and sighed.
He then had an idea. He focused his energy to make the sarcophagus float and pushed it to direction south from the castle ruin. Pushing it though the zone, he soon arrived at the far frozen. He laid the sarcophagus down in an empty field of snow, before collecting his ice cores energy and blasting the sarcophagus, creating a giant glacier on top of it, so that no one could awake Pariah, nor that he could escape.
From behind, he heard cheering, turning around, he saw many ghosts coming closer and cheering, some even bowing. He changed into his ghost form, his new, royal form, crown burning bright on his head. He smiled, before he realized, "Oh, no..."
He speeded away, back to the castle, though the portal, back into the asylum's basement, where everything started. He saw his classmates, but some were crying. He soon saw why. Not only did they found other classes that died to the ghosts, but some of them were killed as well. Dead were Mr. Lancer, Hannah Abott, which hit Dan very strongly, as well as his friend Nathan Lester, but also... his father...
His mother was crying and he was kneeing besides her, hugging her and letting go of his tears as well. He was to much in shock and stress himself, himself frozen with fear, to fully realize that his father is gone. This changes so much from now. The earth suddenly started to shake, and after it ended, the dome disappeared, revealing the real looks of the asylum. it looked creepier than ever, blood everywhere.
They made their way up, and were faced with Police men and guys in white. These men took out their weapons, upon seeing Phantom, but Maddie knocking his weapon away. "Don't dare you shot him! He saved us!"
They told the police and guys in white of the corpses and the very basic of what happened. Some of the police bowed upon learning that they were face to face with the ghost prince. Walking out of the asylum, they saw many police cars, but also Star Morgan, who did her task of getting help. The blonde instantly looked for her friends, but Danny, still as Phantom, walked up to her and told her, "This asylum, many classes were baited here and trapped, killed by a cult of ghosts. Most of our class survived, though."
She just rushed to Paulina, her friend. The corpses soon were taken out and many were identified as missing classes. Phantom was questioned about what had happened, and he explained. He told them that a group of ghosts baited school classes here, to capture them and kill them, to free their king, and that he defeated said king.
...
Returning to Amity Park, the residents of the city were happy that their children returned. Most. Some still lost their siblings, their kids, their nieces and nephews. But none the less, it was celebrated that this hidden danger is over... but funerals were held as well.
But Danny wasn't finished with this.
When he thought he could leave his mother for a bit, he made his way back to the ghost zone, more specifically, to Clockwork's tower. He has questions and is pretty sure his mentor has the answers.
Arriving at the tower, Clockwork told him, "Yes, I was aware of this going on, but I wasn't allowed to help you directly, nor warn you."
"But-"
"I did help you... indirectly. Remember the extra lessons?"
"Weren't these to prepare me for my role as the prince?"
"Yes, but they were my way to help you, indirectly, with this." explained Clockwork, "I taught you about random things, like death stones, the Sarcophagus or Mortem intentionally. I can't influence the stream of time directly, but I won't let Pariah happen, so I tricked the Observants."
"I... thank you, I guess."
"I just did my duty." stated Clockwork, "So did you, young prince."
AN: There will be a bonus chapter in two days! It will show what Star did after fleeing.
~ ABSOL_uteOG