"Good thinking," Raschenda agreed, crossing her arms. "I say we leave this place now."
Danny, Raschenda and Vundeter ran out of the Maldum base and back towards the ship that they had flown to the base on. Danny fired up the engine and flew away from the base as fast as he could, with Raschenda following right beside him. Vundeter agreed to fly in the vehicle so he could explain to Danny everything that was going on.
"So, what exactly is a Maldum?" Danny asked as he was carefully piloting the vehicle through the depths of the Ghost Zone.
"A Maldum," Vundeter began to explain, "is just the term for our enemy in this war. The Madlums are a race of power-thirsty ghosts. Those two ghosts you just saw by the computers were the highest ranked in the Maldum military."
"Wait a minute," Danny said. "You mean all I had to do was capture those guys and then you'd leave me alone?"
"Simply capturing them won't work," Vundeter said in a low voice. "We will have to permanently remove them from existence."
"…in other words?"
"Kill them."
"I don't think so!" Danny said, gripping the steering wheel harder as he flew towards the portal out of the Ghost Zone and back to his home. "I am not the kind of person who would kill someone. Besides, it's not even possible to kill a ghost. Aren't ghosts already dead? Aren't they just a concentrated piece of ectoplasma that can physically move and attack?"
"You tell me," Vundeter said. "You're the Ghost Boy, after all."
"I'm telling you," Danny said, "my dad only came up with the equipment to capture ghosts, not kill them, if that's even possible."
"I guess we'll have to find a way then," said Vundeter with a creepy smile on his face. "There must be some secret attack or dark power that can destroy a ghost permanently."
"Can you please get back to the story?" Danny asked, becoming confused and annoyed. It was hard listening to Vundeter say how much they had to find a secret move to destroy the Maldums.
"Fine!" Vundeter said. "Anyway, the Maldums are threatening to take over the world, and the last time they did it, their plan almost succeeded. Now, years later, they're trying the same thing again, except this time there is a new weapon up for grabs."
"Don't tell me…" Danny moaned, rolling his eyes as he continued piloting the car.
"That weapon is you, Ghost Boy," Vundeter said. "Whichever side you choose is likely to be the side that will win this war."
"Can I just stay neutral?" Danny asked. "I didn't want to get involved in this whole thing. If the Maldums win this war, then too bad for you. But, I'm not getting involved, because if they win, it won't affect me at all."
"That's what you think," Vundeter said. "But if the Maldums win, then the Ghost Zone will be completely overrun by them. And if they try to go further after the Ghost Zone, they could try to take over your world."
Danny's face immediately dropped, but he didn't stop flying the car through the reaches of the Ghost Zone.
"So," Vundeter continued, "if you wish your world to remain free, then side with us. I don't think you want a world overpowered by hostile ghosts. You may be able to fight more than five ghosts at a time now, but you can't defeat an entire army by yourself."
"So…if I don't fight in this war, then the Maldums could win and…"
"That Maldums WILL win!"
"Wait, how do you know for sure theywill win?" Danny asked.
"They have the majority of your power," Vundeter said. "And with that power, they will have an edge in the war."
"I don't think so," Danny said, finally seeing the end of the Ghost Zone and the portal back to his world. "I said it before and I'll say it again: having my power is nothing more than having the strength of one more ghost. There is nothing about my ghost powers that set it apart from other ghosts."
"Well, please, help us anyway," Vundeter pleaded. "If you don't side with us, the Maldums will win and the Ghost Zone and eventually your world will be thrown into total chaos."
Danny finally reached the portal and flew the vehicle through it. There was a bright flash, and he was suddenly back in his own basement. Danny got out of the vehicle and opened the door for Vundeter to get out.
"Think about it, Ghost Child," Vundeter said in an aggressive tone, as if he was Danny's mom or dad. "The future of the Ghost Zone depends on which side you choose in this war. I know you'll make the right decision."
Saying this, Vundeter turned invisible and flew through the portal back to Raschenda, who was waiting for him at the other end of the portal leading into the Ghost Zone.
Danny stared at the portal as it closed. As soon as it was closed, he ran back upstairs and to his room. He was now confused and concerned.
"What am I going to do?" Danny said as he trotted back into his room. He opened the door and fell back flat on his bed. "Am I really going to take the risk and side with these ghosts I haven't even known for one week and help them fight in a war against other ghosts that I've barely even met at all?"
That would soon be the least of Danny's concerns, because he remembered something else.
"My ghost powers!" Danny said. Without screaming his battle cry, he tried to transform into his ghostly half. The transformation worked as it had when battling Cobaark a short while ago. "Great!" Danny yelled. He tried to go invisible and to go through the walls, and that power worked as well.
"This is more like it," Danny said. He opened a window and put his hand out in the air. He tried to fire some of his ectoplasma energy, but none would fire. Apparently, transforming and going invisible and going through solid objects was the only thing he could do. Even in his ghost form, he only had the physical strength of what he had when he wasn't ghost.
Realizing he didn't have nearly all of his powers back, Danny sat back down on his bed and started thinking to himself.
"Should I really help Raschenda and Vundeter? I don't know that I'd trust them, I really haven't known them for more than a week," he said to himself. "Maybe the Maldums are the good guys and Raschenda and Vundeter are only trying to mislead me. Maybe they're the ones who want to take over the Ghost Zone. Or could both of them be playing me?"
Danny opened his eyes and suddenly became nervous. "What if it's all part of some larger scheme? How come I've never heard of those two types of ghosts before? Maybe Raschenda and Vundeter and the Maldums are in it together to get my power so all of them can take over the Ghost Zone?"
Danny felt really stressed out now. He had no idea what he was supposed to do. He didn't want to get involved in this fight at all. And now that he had no choice but to fight in it, how would he know that the Maldums were really bad guys? Maybe they were the hostile ghosts that Vundeter told him they were, but maybe they weren't. Maybe…
Danny clasped his head in his hands and looked down on the ground. After an exasperated sigh, he said loudly, "I am so confused!"