Hello, everybody! The reviews have been rather high in quantity and quality lately, so thanks to everyone who reviewed! You've done great in reviewing, so I update faster! Well, I would've gotten this up sooner, but I've been a little busy today. But it's up now!
Okay, with the thank-you's out of the way, let's get to Chapter 16!
Danny wasted no time. He immediately fired an eyebeam at Plasmius, but he quickly projected an ectoplasmic rebounder and it bounced off.
Vlad fired a red ectoplasmic blast at the young teenager, but Danny teleported across the room. Danny quickly fired his own red ectoplasmic blast at Vlad, and it hit him.
Vlad smiled, "You've greatly improved, haven't you, Daniel."
Danny responded, "I have. And I can thank Neveah for that."
Plasmius growled, "I knew it." Then he inhaled, and blew icy breath at Danny. Danny thought for a minute, and then he formed a red flame in his hand. As the icy breath approached him, Danny threw the flame right at the center of the breath. It hit, and the icy breath disappeared due to the heat of the flame.
Vlad growled, and then multiplied into four. Danny simply smiled and multiplied into four himself. Danny said, "You know, is there really any point of fighting four against four since it isn't very different than one against one?"
Plasmius thought this over, and then said, "I guess not. Let's form back into one."
Danny formed back into one, but then saw that Vlad was still four!
The four Vlads chuckled, and then all fired red flames at Danny. Danny was able to teleport out of the way just in the nick of time. He reappeared on the side of all four Vlads, and then, just as he had done in his practice duel with Neveah, hit one from the side, and knocked the others down with it.
Plasmius fell to the ground and formed back into one. He got up and saw Danny floating in the air, smiling at him.
Danny said, "Had enough, Plasmius?"
"You wish, Daniel. I'm just getting warmed up!" Then he fired a red flame at Danny. Thinking fast, Danny absorbed the flame with his hands, and then fired it back at Plasmius. Plasmius this time projected an ectoplasmic shield and it bounced off.
Still inside his shield, Vlad flew at Danny. Knowing Vlad was trying to hit him in a position where Danny couldn't hit him, Danny tried teleporting behind him. That was what Plasmius had been waiting for. Just as Danny teleported, Vlad turned around, and struck Danny with an eyebeam just as he reappeared.
Danny started to fall, but just as he did, he fired a red ectoplasmic blast which hit Vlad. He had retracted his shield, thinking Danny would fall. The blast knocked him down along with Danny.
They both quickly got up. Danny said to him, "Doesn't look like you're going to win, huh, Plasmius?"
Vlad chuckled, "But I will win if you choose not to fight, Daniel."
Danny raised an eyebrow, "Why would I choose not to fight?"
"Because I don't believe you would choose to fight your best friend." Then he whistled and Tucker flew down from the ceiling, "You called, master?"
"Attack!" Vlad shouted.
"Yes, master," said Tucker and he flew straight at Danny.
Danny gasped as he flew out of the way, "You're gonna make me fight Tucker! I can't believe it! You're a cheater! A coward!"
Vlad chuckled again, "Flattery will get you nowhere, Daniel."
Danny growled, "This is between me and you, Plasmius."
"Then I'll put this another way. If you don't fight with him, then I'll have to do away with your Gothic girlfriend."
Danny and Sam both gasped. "You wouldn't," said Danny.
"Do you want to try me?" asked Vlad.
Danny thought, Gee, I really don't want to. But I also really don't want to fight Tucker, even if he is being brainwashed. But I love Sam more than anything, so I'll have to find a way to save both of them. Maybe I can just freeze Tucker or something, finish Plasmius off, and un-brainwash Tucker.
"Let's just do this," Danny finally said after a moment.
Danny took a deep breath, and then blew icy breath at Tucker. Tucker dodged, and then suddenly fired an ectoplasmic blast (gold) at Danny. Danny quickly absorbed the blast and fired it back. The blast hit Tucker and sent him backward.
"Sorry I have to do this, man," said Danny and he flew towards Tucker and tried to kick him. But Tucker quickly got up and punched Danny full in the face. Danny started to form a red flame in his hand.
Suddenly Plasmius flew out of nowhere and grabbed Danny's arm, and then started shocking him. Danny screamed in pain as the electricity coursed through him.
When it stopped, Danny floated down to the ground, landing with a thud.
Danny shouted at Plasmius, "Hey, what's up with you? First you want to fight me one on one, then you make Tucker fight me, and then you want to jump back in?"
"It's all part of being a villain, son. You got to keep your opponents unprepared."
"Don't call me son!" shouted Danny, and he fired eyebeams at Vlad. Vlad teleported out of the way, and then fired a red flame at Danny. Danny flew upward and dodged it, and then fired his own red flame at Vlad. He was hit and blown upward. Tucker tried to fly at Danny from the side, but Danny quickly turned around and blew icy breath at him. Tucker was hit and frozen. He fell to the ground in a block of ice.
Plasmius grinned, "Well, Daniel, I'm impressed. You've defeated my assistant. Now can you defeat the boss?"
"It'll be my pleasure," said Danny, and then he formed the ectoplasmic energy blade in his hand. Vlad did the same. The two foes flew at each other, and started dueling with the blades. For a while, neither was able to get a hit in. Vlad was trying the most, since Danny knew he didn't have as much experience with the blade.
Finally, Danny dropped in mid-air. Plasmius tried to hit him, but missed. Danny fired eyebeams at Plasmius, but he held the blade up and deflected the beams toward a light hanging from the ceiling.
At that moment, Jack and Maddie burst through the door, with weapons in their hands. "Alright, ghost!" shouted Jack, "Are you ready for us?"
Just then the light that had been hit fell from the ceiling and landed right on top of them, knocking them unconscious.
"Mom! Dad!" shouted Danny.
Vlad gasped, "Oh, dear, Maddie. Don't worry, she'll be fine. But I don't care about Jack."
Furious, Danny fired an ectoplasmic blast at Vlad. Vlad absorbed the blast and fired it back. Danny teleported out of the way and started flying circles around Plasmius. Plasmius kept trying to hit Danny, but he flew too fast.
After a minute of missing, Vlad tried firing ahead of Danny. But just as he tried it, Danny stopped, and flew straight towards Vlad. He grabbed hold of his arm and started shocking him. Plasmius screamed in pain just as Danny had.
Plasmius growled and fired eyebeams at Danny. Danny flew out of the way and fired a red flame from below. Plasmius teleported out of the way, and blew icy breath at Danny. He was unfortunately hit on the leg and his leg froze in ice. Danny tried to fly up, but the icy block slowed him down.
Vlad smiled, and then tried to hit him with an eyebeam. Danny saw it coming, and then stopped trying to fly. Danny dropped like a rock and the eyebeam missed him. Danny landed on the ground, and then held his foot straight up. Danny fired a soft ectoplasmic blast at his foot, and the ice broke into pieces. Danny picked the pieces off and held them.
Vlad stared at him oddly, "What are you doing, Daniel?"
Danny smiled, "You'll see." Then he threw the pieces into the air, and blew. The icy breath that Danny blew carried the pieces of ice straight at Vlad. An ectoplasmic shield protected the icy breath, but it wasn't invulnerable to ice. He was hit, and knocked to the ground.
"So," said Danny with a smile, "Had enough yet?"
Vlad growled, "This isn't going to work, is it? Well, try this!" Then he pulled out a capsule and threw it to the ground. It exploded and thick smoke filled the room in an instant.
Danny coughed and looked around. He couldn't see anything. "Hey! Where is everybody? Plasmius! Where are you?"
When the smoke cleared, Danny looked around. The first thing he saw was that Tucker was still frozen. The second thing he saw was that the cage that Sam was in was empty. And the third and most terrible thing he saw was Vlad not far from the cage, holding Sam in a headlock with one hand, and holding a knife in another.
DUN DUN DUN! Oooh, don't you people love how evil I am? lol Anyway, Danny has his back against the wall here. Danny has done well in this battle, but now Sam is being held hostage! What will he do? What does Vlad want? Can Sam survive? Can Danny survive? Why am I asking you all these questions? Well, I'll be able to answer them for you soon. For now, you'll have to wait until Chapter 17!