Disclaimer: I own what's mine!
You know, after briefly flipping through this fic, I've come to the realization that I never explained how Jazz and the other girls were freed from imprisonment, so for those interested in their rescue, please re-read chapter 23.
Chapter 28 To Fear No Evil (Part 4)
Beast Boy readied himself for the blow to come. The dragon landed on top of his tyrannosaurus form with such force he was nearly knocked off his feet. Immediately, razor sharp claws and massive dagger-like teeth tore deep into the tyrannosaur's thick hide. Snarling, Beast Boy snatched a dangling piece of the Guardian's tail with his massive jaws and flung it to the ground. The Guardian was quick to recover and sprang to its feet snarling, warm blood dripping from its jaws.
Beast Boy roared again and charged, but the Guardian was quick and dodged. Beast Boy instantly felt the shearing sensation of a cold knife against the warm flesh of his torso. The Guardian swung its blade tipped tail around for another quick strike, already wounded, Beast Boy dodged and the Guardian's massive tail landed in the ground near him. He's fast, Beast Boy contemplated, the massive tyrannosaur placed a titanic foot on the Guardian's tail to keep it in place-before massive jaws severed it bone and all. But I have more power, and that's an advantage.
Blood spewing from the wound, the Guardian cried out in unimaginable pain as it retracted its severed tail. Roaring the creature flapped its mighty and took off into the sky, taking the form of a Pteranodon, Beast Boy followed. Being considerably smaller than the Guardian, Beast Boy attacked the dragon's eyes and nostrils with hook-like talons. The dragon hissed in annoyance and swatted at the small pterosaur with its forelimbs, but in this form, Beast Boy was fastest.
Nearly missing a claw, Beast Boy saw an opening and swiftly descended upon the Guardian's right eye; cutting it out of the socket. Gore erupted from the ruined dragon's eye and the Guardian had had enough, inhaling the Guardian spewed fourth a never-ending river of blue fire. Beast Boy felt the burn of the dragon's fire and realized his left wing had been severely damaged. He would not be able to stay in the air for long, the forest growing ever larger below him, Beast Boy transformed into a monkey and managed to snag a hold on one of the many pine trees.
Well, that was too close for comfort.
He heard the mighty roar of the Guardian, his had snapped up just in time to glimpse the dragon swooping down, scanning the forest for signs of movement. Beast Boy remained absolutely still, his green fur blending in with the pine trees and foliage, certainly the great beast would not be able to spot him. The Guardian let out a frustrated snarl, columns of fire exploded from its jaws, engulfing the lush vegetation in an ocean of flame. The green monkey let out a startled screech and leapt from tree to tree while the dragon spewed columns of flame from behind. Forest set ablaze, smoke everywhere, Beast Boy was discovering it was becoming more and more difficult to see. Beast Boy spotted a clearing and leapt for it, his small body landed on soft ground while the Guardian circled the small mammal from above, readying itself for another attack.
All right, screw this. Beast Boy decided.
The dragon swooped down from its place in the sky, assuming the form of a mighty Triceratops; Beast Boy bowed his head, revealing three massive horns and a shield-like frill. Snorting and kicking up dirt, Beast Boy roared and charged fourth to meet his enemy head on. The two meet with unbelievable force, the reinforced bone structure of the Triceratops made it through the assault of the Guardian, but the dragon was not so fortunate, several teeth were knocked from its skull and one of the horns protruding from its head was severed. Snarling the Guardian spread its wings to go air borne.'
Quickly, Beast Boy transformed into a tyrannosaur once more and snagged hold of one of the dragon's wings before it could get into the air. The big dino held it gently for a moment, but then crunched down with bone crushing jaws and tore away. The sensitive skin that made up the Guardian's wingspan was cut, howling in pain, the Guardian fell to the ground. Blood dripping from his fangs, Beast Boy readied himself as the Guardian reared up on its hind legs and inhaled.
This is going to hurt.
The dragon fired a mountain of flames at the unafraid tyrannosaur, completely engulfing it. The mighty super predator was covered in flames, the Guardian stood still for a moment, searching for the remains of its enemy. The T-rex emerged from the smoke with minor burns and tissue scarring; it barred its teeth angrily at its dragon foe. Snarling the Guardian reared up for another blast-that's when Beast Boy struck.
Rushing his unstoppable dinosaur body forward, he caught the neck of the Guardian in his mighty jaws; the Guardian struggled to get free and clawed with its hind and forelimbs wherever it could. Then Beast Boy bit down, the last the dragon's fire escaped from its throat and fired into the sky, the dragon let out a long shriek of terror before its snake-like tongue fell out from the side of its mouth-dead. Satisfied, Beast Boy returned to his human form and instantly felt the true extent of the Guardian's damage, his teeth gnashed together in pain as he examined his ruined arm and badly slashed chest and leg, costume tore open and bleeding badly, he would certainly die if he did not reach help soon.
Come on, damn it! I've come too far to die here.
Mustering what little strength he had, Beast Boy transformed into an eagle and flew into the distance back towards the village. Back in the clearing, the Guardian lay still, body crushed, but whatever evil remained kept the fallen giant alive, a malignant eye watched the small eagle disappear in the sea of flame.
Tyranus, having lost all of the souls he had captured over the centuries, felt his body weakening, his legs buckled and he could no longer feel his arms. Vision growing blurry, the grisly damage to his torso would not heal, now that he could no longer gather the energy he needed for regeneration. Below him, he could sense his spectral forces fading one by one, then his hand that held that weapon of destruction pitched forward and fell; he was dematerializing as well-the mighty Ghost King was…dying.
Danny had levitated out of the Ghost King when he saw a familiar vehicle in the palm of the tyrant's hand: the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle with Jazz and Tucker visible through the windshield. The Ghost King's hand was dematerializing, fading to nothing, if the hand did indeed fade, the vehicle would plummet hundreds of feet to the ground. Danny felt his pulse quicken as he heard a faint hiss-the hand had fallen, and the vehicle was sent into a freefall.
"Shit!" Danny cried and flew forward at top speed.
Down below, amongst the fading army of ghost warriors, Jack and Maddie's eyes widened in horror as they witnessed the vehicles descent to the ground. Although the vehicle was falling fast, Danny was faster; he quickly grabbed hold of the front of the vehicle and with all of his strength pulled. The fall was slowed, but it wasn't stopped, Danny saw the terrified faces through the windshield, but the face which caught his attention, was the peaceful face of the unconscious beauty safely secured in the back, completely unaware of the danger the others were in. Sam, the name repeated itself in Danny's head-giving him strength. He dove underneath the vehicle, newly coursing might flowing through every fiber of his being, the vehicle slowed to a halt.
Sam!
Danny gently set the armored vehicle on the ground and phased through it to check on those within.
"Is everybody all right in here?" He inquired.
"It feels like my stomach just shook hands with my throat!" Dash muttered.
"I don't feel so good." Tucker added, making gurgling noises in the back of his throat.
"I knew you'd save us!" Paullina cried triumphantly.
Danny flew over to Jazz, she gave him a soft smile, and before he knew it she threw her arms around him in a warm embrace and buried her head in his chest. Danny blushed, realizing what she was doing, Jazz broke off from the hug, her cheeks flushing red.
"Um, sorry, I'm fine, thanks for saving us."
Danny smiled warmly; he heard a soft groan in the back of the van-he heard her name again. Silently, he levitated over to her and placed a hand on a delicate cheek. Sam, just barely coming to, looked up at the warm hovering her.
"Danny." She managed to say.
Danny felt a sudden warmth infuse him-then he heard the savage roar of the Ghost King. There was still some unfinished business to take care of.
"Excuse me," Danny said turning. "But I still have work to do!"
Phasing out of the vehicle Danny flew up into the air to confront his enemy, Tyranus, his body turning evaporating could do little but groan as Danny faced him.
"Hey!" Danny cried fourth, "Tyranus! Go to hell! And take your buddies with you!"
With that Danny inhaled, a powerful force was brewing inside of him, and Tyranus sensed it. Desperately, the Ghost King outstretched his remaining hand to crush the hybrid-too late. Danny exhaled and his Ghostly Wail power was unleashed, the blast blew Tyranus' head straight off his shoulders while it decimated what was left of his body, the tyrant screamed. Down below, whatever was left of Tyranus' forces vanished as the head of the once mighty Ghost King landed in the sea of fire that his beast had created. Danny could hear Tyranus' screams of pain as the fire engulfed him, ironic that Tyranus was to get a taste of hell before being sent there.
Danny landed on the ground next to the assault vehicle, his parents had gathered there and so had the titans. Beast Boy was spread out on the ground, Danny could see that he was seriously injured. Raven stood over him, chanting mysterious words Danny had never heard before. Amazingly, the wounds softened, closed, and soon enough weren't visible at all.
"That's a handy trick." Danny stated.
Raven grinned softly down at Beast Boy; he outstretched his green hand and began stroking her violet hair.
"Hey babe."
The two kissed passionately, while Dash climbed out from the vehicle.
"This was the craziest shit I that as EVER happened to me!" He declared.
"I've been through worse." Tucker proclaimed helping Jazz out.
Paullina was next, and then finally Sam emerged. Her movements were slow and uncertain; she still was hurting from Scourge's blow. She pitched forward to fall, but Danny caught her just in time and stood her back up.
"I thought I was never going to see you again." She whispered.
"You can't get rid of me that easy." Danny answered.
With that Sam pulled him into a loving kiss. Danny broke off for air and embraced her; there was that warmth again. But the special moment was brought to an end when he heard his mother sobbing. Danny released Sam and saw his mother on the ground weeping, Jack-trying to comfort her-held her shoulder.
"H-he didn't make it." She sobbed. "He d-didn't make it."
It was at the instant Danny knew who she was weeping for. Silently the hybrid knelt beside his mother and took her hands in his, Jack gave him a questionable stare.
"What are you doing?"
Danny's eyes were soft, "There's something I need to show the both of you."
He helped his mother to her feet; in an instant he deactivated his ghost powers. His hair darkened, his glowing green eyes reverted back to sky blue, and his costume faded revealing his street clothes. Around him all gave gasps of surprise. Danny Fenton held his mother's hands, both of his parents stood dumbfounded.
"I've been meaning to tell you," Danny started. "But I didn't know how to approach you guys-I mean, I didn't know how you would handle it."
There was silence.
Danny silently released his hands, "But now that you know what your son is." He continued sadly, "I guess you don't want me around anymore." Danny turned from her.
"No!" Maddie cried out.
She held her son in a warm embrace, "You can tell us anything, Danny. We'll love you no matter what. This doesn't change a thing!"
Jack Fenton held the both of them in his brawny arms, "Your mother's right, Danny. We're your parents and we'll always be there for you. But, I think you owe us an explanation for all of this."
The others huddled in a circle, standing perfectly still, doing nothing to intervene between the loving union between parents and child. Uncertain how to react, Dash stood in utter disbelief, his lower jaw dangling open.
"Danny Fenton was Danny Phantom the entire time!" He boomed. "Man, this explains so much."
He turned to Jazz and was startled that she didn't look all that surprised. It didn't take long for Dash to figure it out.
"You knew!" He accused.
Jazz chuckled, "Sorry Dash, but this was one secret that had to be kept."
"You could've at least given me a heads up! Do you have any idea what he did to me?"
"Do you recall what you did to him?"
"…. Right…I guess I sort of deserved it."
"Now that you've figured that out, I guess it's safe to assume you're not going bully this Fenton anymore."
Dash's expression softened, "I guess I've been sort of jerk to him ever since he arrived in school, the least I can do is apologize to him."
"There you go, Dash!" Jazz patted his shoulder. "You're not as bad as you think!"
She giggled, Dash-blushing-grinned uneasily.
No away from his parents, Danny casually approached Sam; she slid her arm under his. Both observed the exact place where Tyranus had fallen.
"It's finally over." He said.
Sam kissed him lightly, "I love you." She whispered, placing her head on his neck.
Danny returned the kiss and gently nuzzled her, watching their actions, Paullina sighed.
"Great, she has both men of my dreams."
"Relax, Paullina. There are plenty of other men out there." Tucker reassured. "You'll find someone."
"You really think so?" Paullina asked.
Turning to him Paullina noticed that Tucker was giving her a strange stare. She hissed and climbed back into the van.
"Not even your dreams!" She shouted.
Startled, Tucker stepped back, "What? What did I say?"
"Warm kisses and hugs all around." Cyborg announced, "But people, what are we going to do about there fires?"
Danny quickly realized that their job here was not yet complete, "He's right, if we don't do something fast these fires will burn everything to the ground."
Raven helped Beast Boy to his feet, the green titan took a big whiff of the air, despite the enormous amount of smoke, he smelled moisture.
"Actually, I don't think we need to anything." The first raindrop fell.
Thunder crashed, slowly but gaining speed, more and more drops of rain fell. Soon the titans found themselves in the middle of a downpour. Heavy rain quickly doused the roaring flames around them.
"Well, that was unexpected." Tucker muttered, his body drenched, "I think I speak for everyone when I say we better get out of here before we freeze to death."
Danny turned to Robin, "So, I guess I'll see you guys around."
Robin handed Danny what appeared to be a circular communicator with a "T" visible on it. Danny held the strange object in his hand, feeling its weight.
"Consider yourself an honorary Teen Titan, if you ever need us, you know how to reach us. You're welcome at the tower anytime. Thanks for all your help."
Danny nodded, before stepping inside of the assault vehicle, he took one last look at the team of heroes who had so valiantly risked their lives to save his friends and family. He felt a sense of admiration towards them, how he longed to be like them. To be a true hero and save people instead of being hunted and feared, Danny waved goodbye before the door closed. Before climbing into the driver's seat, Jack turned to Robin.
"Do you youngsters want a lift?" He asked.
There was a deep rumbling sound, the shrubs next to the titans parted revealing a sleek and somewhat futuristic vehicle.
"Thanks," Cyborg answered with a grin, "but we have our own ride."
"I see."
Crazy kids and their souped up cars.
Both parties parted in separate directions all leading to the same to place; towards the city of light with the promise of warm beds and a new tomorrow.
Deep within the tangled mass of burned trees, a monster stirred from its painful sleep. Tyranus, barely alive groaned, his body was crushed, but he sensed another in the area with him. So an unspoken command was sent from master to slave, the enormous guardian found the last of its life force being drained, being absorbed by some invisible force. Tyranus grinned as he felt strength returning. Beneath the dead redwood grisly new life was forming.
Yes, soon he would wreck the terrible vengeance he thirsted for.
Final chapters will be submitted soon.