The two of them slowly turned around, and Danny's worst fears came true. The laugh was coming from precisely who he thought it was.
"Well done, Ghost Child," said the laughing figure behind them. It was Skyler, and he looked even more wicked and demonic than ever. "Surely you know what things you truly just killed?"
"Please don't tell me that those things were actual people," Danny moaned, putting a sad and nervous expression on his face.
Skyler began laughing. Danny guessed he knew what that meant. "Of course those were real people. Beings like that simply don't pop out of the sky and attack. Certainly you knew that?"
"You know, the more evil you become, the more snobby and obnoxious you get!" Danny spat.
Skyler only just laughed at that comment. "Well, you two have provided me much amusement over the past few hours. But, now, I think you've gotten in my hair one time too many. It's time for both of you to become that which you have fought and destroyed!"
Skyler held out both of his hands and started charging up an attack in each of them. He aimed both of his hands at Danny and the masked man. Danny clearly had terror in his eyes, but the masked figure's expression was harder to read. However, by his mouth shape, it was easy to see that he, too, was terrified of what Skyler was about to do.
Skyler finally fired the ray and hit both Danny and the masked person in the chest. They both got sent flying backwards, but the ray didn't hurt so much. Danny and the masked man looked at each, confused.
Skyler also seemed to look fairly confused about what was happening. "Why have you two not turned into Bhyspawn! How come you aren't one of those monsters ready to rip someone's head off!"
"Good question," Danny said. But a second after saying that, a few thoughts started running through Danny's head. That IS a good question. Why didn't that guy or I turn into a Bhyspawn? I thought it was because I was a ghost, but that can't be right. If that were right, then the masked dude would turn into a Bhyspawn. He's not a ghost…
"Why didn't you get hurt or turn into a Bhyspawn from that blast?" Danny said as he turned over to the masked figure.
"I…don't know," the masked person said.
"Enough talk!" Skyler yelled. "Now that I know both of you are my true enemies after that failed attempt to turn you into Bhyspawn, I will finish you right here and now!"
Danny gasped as Skyler began charging at him. Danny went intangible just in time, and just as Skyler realized what happened, he turned around. He saw the masked figure had pulled out his sword and was now ready to impale him with it.
In a split second, Skyler sprouted his sharp wings and flew out of the way just in time. The masked man gasped when he realized Skyler could fly. As the figure grunted, he looked over and yelled, "Danny, up into the air!"
The two of them started soaring in the air and were now eye level with Skyler, but they were nervous about confronting him like this. He seemed to be getting more and more powerful every time he had to fight him.
After a while, Skyler finally had enough of it. He shot himself very high into the air in the blink of an eye, and started using both of his hands to charge up an attack that Danny could tell was going to be devastating.
"Oh man, this is gonna hurt!" Danny whined when he saw Skyler as he was ready to release the giant amount of energy.
"Retreat!" ordered the masked man.
Danny looked at the masked man with a nervous face, but then nodded his head quickly. Less than a moment later, both Danny and the masked man made a quick jump to the side and just barely missed the destructive blast that Skyler had just launched from his hands.
Danny and the masked man both landed on the ground after making the huge jump, but they couldn't waste any time trying to get up. They started running down the ravished, empty streets as fast they could, but Skyler was in close pursuit.
The two continued to run as Skyler tried firing a few blasts of energy down at them, but after seeing how Danny and the masked stranger continued to dodge all the rays of energy he was firing at them, he saw that it was futile and instead tried using the things around him to attack.
Skyler was blasting road signs, billboards, traffic lights, just about anything that was elevated that could possibly fall and crush Danny and the masked man. After a while, Skyler finally got the edge and blasted at a huge branch on a tree around the road. The branch snapped from the tree and started tumbling towards Danny and the masked man.
Danny gasped, then quickly grabbed the masked man's arm. He made them both go intangible, and after the tree branch passed right through them and was now at their feet, Danny made both of them tangible again and continued running, with Skyler still in hot pursuit.
"You really are an annoying pair!" Skyler hissed as he continued flying through the air, chasing the fourteen-year old ghost boy and the mysterious person with a mask. "But I will end your annoying existences here and now!"
"You know, I don't think I've ever heard you say something original," Danny said, looking back at Skyler but still running. "If you're going to be a pain in the neck, can you at least be creative?"
Skyler responded to this by sending a blast of red and black energy at Danny's head, just barely missing him. Danny stopped taunting Skyler and instead turned his head forward and continued running.
The chase wore on for what seemed like forever. After running for a long time and having to dodge several traps on the road, Danny was running out breath and energy.
"Can't…go…on," Danny wheezed after Skyler continued chasing him faster than most Olympic Runners could move.
It looked like it was over for Danny until he heard someone yell, "Danny!"
Danny turned his head and saw Sam and Tucker hiding in an alleyway between two buildings behind a trash dumpster. Danny opened his mouth and gave them a you-shouldn't-be-here look.
Danny finally made up his mind. He stopped in mid run and grabbed the masked man's arm. He made them both go intangible and passed through the broken up, cracked pavement beneath them. He floated through the dried tar and cement as he floated back up through the surface and standing right next to Sam and Tucker with the mysterious stranger, as well as doing a good job throwing Skyler off the trail.
"What are you guys doing here!" was the first thing Danny said when he was sure Skyler was out of earshot. "You have any idea how dangerous it is standing out here with a maniac like Skyler on the loose?"
"Well, sorry for trying to help you find a place to hide just in case you ever needed it!" Sam said, annoyed.
"Uh, who's the trick-or-treater?" Tucker asked in a rude way, pointing to the masked man.
"That's…uh,…you see, he…he's saved me a few times today," Danny said, trying to squeak out whatever the most appropriate term for what the masked man did.
"He saved you?" Tucker asked.
"Yeah. Skyler was about ready to have my head, but this guy just popped out of nowhere and helped me fight him off. Since then, Skyler has just shown up over and over and over again."
"I can't believe that guy," Sam sighed, looking down at the ground. "How can he still be trying to fight? Exactly how many times does he plan on popping out of nowhere before one of you dies?"
"I think until one of us dies," Danny mumbled lowly.
"Just what exactly happened over the past few ours?" she continued asking.
Danny took a deep breath in and prepared to explain everything. "A little while ago, as I was saying, Skyler and I were in the middle of a fight. Skyler got the upper hand and he was ready to blow me to Kingdom Come. Just as I was about to get killed, this masked guy came out of nowhere and stopped Skyler at the last possible second."
"Who are you, anyway?" Tucker asked, looking at the masked person.
"Let Danny tell the story," the masked person insisted, completely ignoring Tucker's question.
"Anyway, ever since then we've done nothing except fight Skyler and try to figure out how to stop that Bhyrun guy. So far, we really don't have much of anything. Skyler tried firing the same ray to turn people into Bhyspawn at me and this guy, but neither of us turned into one."
"Neither of you turned into Bhyspawn?" Sam asked. "Even though you were hit by the same ray that turns everyone else into one? How does that make sense?"
"It doesn't," Danny replied.
"Maybe the guy in the mask is a ghost," Tucker suggested.
"You know, I actually thought of that," Danny confessed, slowly turning his attention towards the masked figure. "You're not a ghost, are you? Because if you are, I want you to tell me!"
The man behind the mask looked a little concerned (at least his mouth seemed to express worry and fear), but he said a short while later, "No, I'm not."
The four of them were quiet for a while. Nobody knew what to say or what to do. All four of them had their own separate thoughts about what was going on and what they needed to do to stop it.
"All right," Danny said. "How about I try recapping everything I need to do right now? Maybe that will help me think straight."
None of the other three seemed to have an objection.
"Okay," Danny started, "First of all, Skyler looks like he's a huge problem right now. After injecting himself with stuff from that dark cloud, he's become super powerful and is now the biggest obstacle in the way of destroying Bhyrun and the cloud. Once Skyler is out of the way, everything will be easier."
"Why's that?" Tucker asked.
"Skyler is now where most of the dark cloud's power is," Danny said. "If Skyler loses his power, then that will mean most of the cloud's power is gone."
"But how does that tie into making Bhyrun weaker?" Tucker once again asked.
"The cloud is Bhyrun," the masked man coolly replied. "Destroying Skyler will get rid of most of Bhyrun's power, making him easy to finish and to get everything back to normal."
"I told you, I'm not killing him!" Danny yelled. "As nutty as he may be, he's still a living person, and I don't want to kill any more people than I already have."
"Don't go making it harder than it already is for yourself, Danny," Sam sympathetically said. "You know what you have to do. If you have to kill Skyler, do it. Besides, if he's out of the way, you'll be able to attack Bhyrun himself and put this entire thing behind you. You've got enough problems as it is."
"Yeah, but Bhyrun shouldn't be a huge problem," Tucker said. "You know, since that ghost ray thing that turns people into those weird Bhyspawn things doesn't work."
"What would make you think it didn't work?" Danny asked, crossing his arms.
"Come on, how can it work if it didn't turn you or this weird guy into Bhyspawn?"
"I've been wondering that myself," said a cold voice from behind. The four turned around and saw a figure with dark red mist coming out from behind him. He looked like a mix between a person and a dark red (with black spots) dinosaur, and he had sharp wings that were keeping him levitated in the air.
"Skyler!" Danny hissed with fury.
"I've been wondering why my ray hasn't worked as well," Skyler said with an evil smile on his face.
"Yeah dude, I think you need to get it repaired or something," Tucker remarked. "I think it's broken or something."
"Well, there's only one way to find out," Skyler said. Faster than anyone could react, Skyler fired the dark ray at Sam and Tucker.
Both of them started screaming, and they fell on the ground with their hands supporting them. After just a few seconds of screaming, their screams turned more into roars, and their skin turned dark red. They grew to about six feet in a few seconds, and claws appeared on the hands and feet. Sharp fangs replaced their regular teeth, and their eyes turned threatening green.
"They're…Bhyspawn," Danny whimpered, looking at the monsters that were his friends only seconds ago.
Skyler started laughing. "Yes! Now I know why the ray didn't work on you two! Bhyrun will make sure you two are the first to die when his reign begins!"
Danny didn't say anything. He continued looking at the two Bhyspawn in front of him. He knew there was no getting through to them, no matter how hard he tried to convince them to not rip him apart.
"You're not letting your friendship get in the way of your safety, are you, Ghost Child?" Skyler sneered. "Well, I'm out of here to report everything to Bhyrun. You can fight these Bhyspawn if you want, or if you don't want to get devoured by them."
Skyler shot away and was soon out of sight. Danny still didn't look at him; he continued to keep his eyes on the Bhyspawn in front of him that were Sam and Tucker. Now, Danny had a mission to cause Skyler to lose all of his power and to finish Bhyrun, but now he might have to kill Sam and Tucker (as Bhyspawn) to do it.
The two Bhyspawn stared at Danny, wanting nothing more than to make a jigsaw puzzle out of him.