Notes:
Ok, this is finally the edited version of this chapter. I hope it's better than before. Not much change in the plot but I did fix some of the writing. Oh, and the ending is a bit more vague.
Chapter 16: Night Terrors, Part 2
From what the common beholder could perceive, the Manson manor was very still on that late Friday night. But it was not the kind of nocturnal calm that every house seems to have when its residents are asleep. Even if this particular estate seemed to be empty, the atmosphere that emanated from it was rather tense. As if it were hiding someone or something in its interior. As if those who lurked within its shadows were anticipating a disturbance.
Truth be told, Pam and Jeremy Manson were out on a cruise for at least two weeks. Even Ida Manson had gone to a bowling tournament in Michigan, which impressed everyone except her own family, who were now used to the elder woman's youthful activities. That left only one member of the family remaining: the fourteen-year-old Samantha Manson, a Goth girl who preferred at all costs to be called Sam.
Her parents would never allow her to be on her own. That's why they had hired the best staff to serve and take care of their precious, though rebellious, daughter. Sam, of course, knew how to handle said staff so that she could be alone. That's why her vast and labyrinthine house became the perfect hideout for Team Phantom, especially if they used the underground home-theater as their base.
Plus, they didn't want to wake up Jack and Maddie. The plan, at least originally, was to lure the dream eater away from FentonWorks. So far it seemed to be working though not exactly the way they had hoped.
Jazz Fenton had been on the roof checking for any signs of either Phantom or Remy. She knew her brother wouldn't be happy to see her taking such a risk even if she had her Specter Deflector on, but they needed to guard each corner of the house, or at least as much as possible. That's why Danny and Tucker had to stay in the small cinema, and Sam was assigned to check the second floor; that way, she could be within reach of both the roof and her basement.
Not long after the human Danny had fallen unconscious, his sister spotted his ghost half from her lookout. As the girl had predicted, Phantom didn't seem too thrilled to see her there. "Jazz, what are you doing outside?" the white-haired boy asked with a hint of anger and concern. "Didn't you hear what I said? Remy's on the loose!"
"I was just trying to keep everyone alert in case something happened out here," she answered, grinning a bit guiltily.
Phantom sighed exasperated. "Fine. Did Tucker activate the Ghost Shield around the room?"
Jazz nodded. "We should go downstairs now that you're here. Come on," she said, grabbing the ghost boy's wrist. The redhead's belt began to glow and, in less than a second, Phantom felt an electrical shock.
"Ow!" the ghost painfully exclaimed as he pulled his hand away from Jazz. He glared at her as she gave him another sheepish grin. "Well, at least the Specter Deflector is working," he exclaimed dryly, rubbing his wrist.
Turning off the aforementioned device, the newest member of Team Phantom allowed the ghostly version of her brother to take her intangibly into the house.
As soon as they reached the underground room, Sam, who had joined her two best friends by then, deactivated the Ghost Shield to let Phantom in. As soon as they were all gathered, they turned the shield back on.
"What happened?" the ghost boy asked once he saw his unconscious counterpart.
"We were just talking and he suddenly collapsed," Tucker explained.
"Did he say anything before that?" Phantom questioned as he reached the dormant boy.
His dark-skinned friend shrugged. "Nothing relevant. He was, you know, goofing around about how weird it would be if this were also a dream. Then, he moved over there to get some popcorn and, all of the sudden, he fainted."
"There's something I don't really get," Sam chimed in. "The last time you went through the Ghost Catcher, you were acting all super while your human part was a complete goofball. But, now… I don't know. It's just… not the same," she said, not sure how to explain. "I mean… you're more like a short-tempered vigilante and the other Danny is not as cheery or fun like last time. In fact, he looked so fatigued that he just collapsed! The split must have been different. Maybe that has something to do with why he's unconscious."
The ghost boy raised an eyebrow, which Jazz took as a sign of confusion, so she decided to provide a further explanation. "My guess is that the way your personality is divided depends on how you're feeling during the split," his sibling spoke. "As a whole, you were torn between getting rid of Remy and getting a much needed rest. Maybe all the energy you had when you were complete moved to your ghost side. After all, you're the one who needs to fight the dream eater and sleeping is pointless in your case," she finished.
Tucker blinked. "Hey, that's what I said!" he exclaimed, though no one was really paying attention to him.
"So, we should simply let him sleep?" Phantom inquired, confirming that he ignored Tuck's comment.
"In theory," Jazz replied with a shrug. "I don't see a problem with it, unless Remy decides to mess with his dreams again."
"Actually, I think he might suspect what we did," the ghost kid announced. "He disappeared right after Tucker called me."
"Do you think he's on his way over here?" Sam worriedly asked.
"Well, my parents' room is secured with a Ghost Shield, and he won't be able to find Jazz or Tucker in their rooms, so that leaves your place," Phantom answered, addressing to the Goth girl. "He knows that my family and friends are my weakness, and he won't hesitate in using any of you to get to me," he finished plainly.
A brief silence reigned once again among the ones present. "So…" Tucker began, "shouldn't Remy be here already?"
As soon as he finished saying this, the lights were turned off abruptly, leaving the room with only the jade glow emanating from the ghost shield.
"You had to talk, didn't you?" Sam's voice exclaimed dryly.
Phantom's right hand then began to illuminate the room with an ectoplasmic light. "All right, stay together. If Remy manages to break into the ghost shield, I don't want to take any chances with you," he ordered the others as he moved towards the walls of the shield to check for any sign of his enemy.
As he approached the side of the room where the stairs were located, he noticed a shadow approaching. Brilliant red eyes stared smugly at the ghost boy. A cocky smile appeared on Remy's features when he saw the human version of his prey.
"Tucker, turn off the Ghost Shield," Phantom commanded through clenched teeth, never taking his gaze off his rival.
"But Danny-"
"Just open an entrance and close it as soon as I'm out!" the short-tempered specter exclaimed, interrupting his friend.
Tucker, Sam, and Jazz exchanged glances. The techno geek hesitated for a moment before pulling out his PDA. He clicked a couple of commands into his electronic device and, sure enough, part of the shield began to disappear. Phantom held two glowing fists as he advanced towards Remy.
Meanwhile, Tucker turned the whole shield back on. "Dude, be careful," the boy exclaimed as their protecting barrier was almost closed.
Danny glared fiercely at the dream eater. He knows my strategy. He won't hold back this time. I mean... both halves of me are now useless to him unless we're together, right? If he's done with his games, fine with me. Let's just cut the crap.
With his right hand already prepared to release a blast, Phantom launched quickly towards Remy, but the foe turned into smoke and used the minuscule entrance left to reappear inside the Ghost Shield, right in front of the four human teenagers.
The four conscious members of Team Phantom gasped in surprise. "No!" the ghostly version of Danny yelled, charging at the green dome protecting his friends, but to no avail.
Of course he would do something like that. I fell right into his trap! How could I be so stupid?
"Tucker! Turn off the Ghost Shield!" Phantom yelled frantically, shooting blasts at the ectoplasmic barrier.
But Tucker was as paralyzed as the others since Phantom was no longer lighting the interior of the dome. He trembled when he saw the ruby eyes of Remy as he floated closer to him. The dream eater held a hand in front of his newest target, making it glow red as he prepared his sleeping spell. However, as he advanced on the boy, he noticed that his power began to malfunction. Tucker snapped out of his shock and realized that his belt was emanating a green radiance.
"Tucker!" Phantom yelled once again, finally getting his friend's attention.
"Oh, right!" the tech replied as he began to type into his digital assistant, which luckily had its own light.
While this happened, Sam and Jazz were trying to carry the quiescent body of Danny Fenton. Remy, who was briefly stunned by his glitch, returned his attention to the quartet of teenagers in front of him and fired a red beam at Tucker's hands.
"Leave them alone!" Phantom growled as he punched with his gleaming fists against the shield.
Jazz then pulled out an ecto-gun and managed to hit the dream eater, making him fall back a couple of feet. "Dream on, Remy," the girl snapped as she took a more aggressive stance to protect her brother and Sam.
"Jazz, this is no time to improve your witty banter! Just shoot him!" Phantom yelled in exasperation.
The girl stopped herself from rolling her eyes and shoot towards the mind-twisting fiend. This time, though, Remy turned into fog once again and reappeared behind the trio.
In the meantime, Tucker used the opportunity to reach his second PDA (courtesy of his wealthy best friend, Sam). "You can never be too careful," he spoke triumphantly to himself. He clicked the necessary commands and, within seconds, the ghost shield vanished. The tech gave a thumbs-up at Phantom, even though he wasn't sure if his ghost friend could see him clearly. The spectral hero showed a sly smile before he turned invisible to surprise his enemy.
Remy was preparing a beam to attack Jazz, ignoring completely the fact that his original opponent wasn't pounding on the shield anymore. Just as he was about to strike, an unseen force grabbed him by the front of his cloak, making him float intangibly out of the house. Once the invisible attacker and the dream eater were on the street level, Remy felt himself being thrown to the ground, colliding with the asphalt as he fell.
While the shadow-like villain recovered, he noticed that Phantom had just released a blast with his two gloved hands, giving Remy no time to dodge the ball of ectoplasmic energy.
A series of rays hit the fallen enemy, one after another. Phantom's determination was even fiercer than before. "Don't you ever dare to come near my friends, my family, or me, again!" the angered teenage ghost exclaimed, accentuating each word with a blast, which kept his enemy pinned against the frontal wall of the Manson Manor.
Unfortunately for the young hero, before he could claim his victory over Remy, a green ball of goo struck him and sent him flying several feet away. Danny shook his head and tried to stand up, noticing now a huge vehicle in front of him.
Oh, crud. Not them! They probably heard the noise during the fight and noticed that Jazz and I weren't in our rooms.
I can already guess who's going to take the blame…
"Leave that house alone, Phantom!" the voice of Maddie Fenton commanded as she got out of the RV her husband was driving. She held her favorite bazooka and pointed it at the ghost boy. Jack joined her wife mere instants later.
As Danny finally stood up, he tried to find Remy with his gaze, but the dream eater was nowhere to be seen. He sighed exasperated. "You let him get away!" he exclaimed at the ghost-hunting couple.
"You're not getting out of this one!" Jack bellowed.
"Not after what you have done to our boy!" Maddie added.
The confused Phantom just arched an eyebrow. "What? What are you talking about?" he asked. He then remembered the excuse he gave the night before. "If you're talking about what happened yesterday, I saved your son's life. Didn't he tell you?"
"You know well what we meant," his mother said through gritted teeth. "You've been trying to put our son against us!"
"What?" the ghost boy exclaimed loudly.
Jack was about to say something else, perhaps an explanation, but he suddenly fell to the ground unconscious. The sound that came from his fall was loud, and Maddie turned right away to see what had happened to her beloved husband.
"Jack? Are you all right? Jack! Answer me!" the woman pleaded. When she noticed that the paunchy hunter was still breathing, she turned to glare fiercely at Phantom. "What have you done to my husband?" she demanded, pointing her weapon at the young ghost once more.
"I didn't do anything!" he defended, not moving from where he was standing. "Listen… there's another ghost, a dream eater. His name is Remy. He's the one who attacked your son last night and he's probably the one who put your husband to sleep."
"Liar!" Maddie yelled as she fired her bazooka, but Phantom flew upwards to dodge the attack.
"You have to believe me! Check your radar! Remy must've gone invisible, but I bet he's right there next to you!"
Hesitating for a moment, the huntress retrieved a ghost tracker from her utility belt and checked it. Sure enough, it had two paranormal readings: one flying several feet away from her and another one right behind her. Gasping in surprise, she turned around and fired towards the place where the ghost was detected. By doing so, Remy regained visibility and collided against the front of the Fenton RV.
Danny used the opportunity to pick his enemy up and flew him to the roof of Sam's house, leaving an enraged Maddie Fenton behind. Once they landed, Phantom punched the dream eater's shadowy face.
"What the heck did you show them?" a furious ghost boy questioned as he grabbed the fiend from the front of his cloak, shaking him with his two gloved hands.
Instead of cowering with fear like he should be, Remy showed another one of his cold and triumphant smiles. Even though it wasn't really there, Danny could practically hear his enemy's cackle.
More infuriated than before, Phantom created a beam in his left hand and released it towards Remy's torso. The dream eater remained on the floor but his smirk never faltered, which sent even more chills to the hero's spine. The ghost boy clenched his teeth, frustrated by Remy's cocky attitude.
He can't talk. How the heck am I supposed to find out what he did to my dad and what he showed to my parents in their dreams?
I shouldn't keep wasting my time with him. I should just trap him in the Fenton Thermos and get this over with…
Not taking his gaze off the smirking fiend, Phantom tried to grab the container he usually had along. Unfortunately, he realized he wasn't carrying it with him.
Crud… I left it downstairs!
During the boy's brief distraction, Remy began to charge a red ball of energy and fired it at his opponent. But, before the attack could reach Danny, someone intervened and held the fireball in his hands. It was the Guardian of Dreams, who was now floating between the two ghosts and facing Remy. The newcomer absorbed the energy of the orb through his palms, making it disappear completely.
"Didn't I tell you not to meddle in someone else's job?" Morpheus asked Phantom over his cloaked shoulder, not taking his eyes off of the now serious dream eater.
The boy stared at him in disbelief. "You're kidding me, right? He was after me! He messed with my parents' dreams and he threatened me through a friend's nightmare!" Danny exclaimed, raising his hands in exasperation.
"I said I would take care of this, didn't I? What Remy did can be reversed. The only reason why I allowed him to act was because I needed to find him first," Morpheus explained.
Danny saw the clench of Rem's fists. The now angry and frustrated foe gritted his teeth and prepared to flee the scene. An invisible force suddenly stopped him and threw him to the floor. "No, Remy," Morpheus exclaimed as he advanced towards the one he was supposed to take into custody. "You have done enough damage. It's time for you to return," the guardian simply stated as he telekinetically raised Remy from his current spot.
The dream eater silently winced in pain. He struggled to get free but failed with every attempt. His ruby eyes were closed, making it harder for Danny to see his face. Morpheus held his hands in front of Remy with his palms facing the paralyzed ghost.
"What are you doing?" Danny asked, confusion clear in his voice. However, Morpheus didn't answer.
The Guardian of Dreams remained silent for a few seconds. Instants later, the ghost boy realized what was happening: he was fading Remy from existence.
The white-haired hero knew that his enemy would be screaming in pain if he only had a voice. He imagined his desperate shrieks the same way he had imagined the sound of his vicious laughter.
The shadow-like body of the dream eater slowly began to evaporate, turning each fiber of his being into smoke. Morpheus absorbed the smog through his palms, just like he previously did with the orb of ectoplasmic energy.
Phantom stared in awe as his despised enemy slowly faded away. Soon, his face and his hands were nowhere to be seen, as if they had just vanished. Even though the rest of his body wasn't visible, the awestruck boy figured it was gone as well. The only thing that remained from his opponent was the now empty cloak. It floated a couple of feet above the ground for a few seconds just before it fell to the floor.
"What did you do to him?" Phantom asked once again, still not willing to accept as of yet that his enemy was finally gone.
Morpheus turned to face the astonished boy and gave him a reassuring smile. "I took away his power and, therefore, his essence. He was erased from existence," the guardian explained.
"He's… gone? He won't be able to return?"
The older ghost shook his head. "It's over."
Over? Seriously? But… it was just… too easy. Morpheus said that Remy was strong enough to avoid his attacks. Even if I tried to beat the crap out of him, he didn't look weaker to me. So, how was Morph able to erase him so easily? Remy's smile had faltered when he saw him. Something here isn't-
"Hold it right there!" a female voice cut Phantom from his musings. It was his mother, who had finally reached the roof. The ghost boy turned around and saw the Fenton Ghost Weasel in her hands.
Great… another wonderful invention from my parents.
"Mom… wait," a tired voice called behind her as Danny Fenton dizzily managed to walk the rest of the stairs that led to the top of the Manson manor. The black-haired teenager fell to his knees as soon as he reached his mother.
"Danny, what are you doing up here? I told you to stay with the others," Maddie lectured him, though her tone was more worried than angry. She kneeled beside her son, but didn't stop pointing her weapon at Phantom.
"Don't hurt him," the Fenton kid said weakly. "He saved us."
The huntress frowned as she turned to face the boy by her side. "No, sweetie. That's what he's trying to make you believe. He was using you to spy on us. He's been feeding you nothing but lies," the woman explained.
Phantom cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "You think I've been using him? Is that why you didn't want anyone to go to the lab?" the ghost asked, mentally kicking himself as soon as he realized that he practically admitted said accusations.
Maddie stood up and walked menacingly towards the two specters with the Ghost Weasel. "So you finally confess?" she questioned angrily.
But before she could move another inch closer to Phantom, Maddie froze where she was. A numbing feeling took over her body and she realized she was unable to move. "What are you doing to me, you filthy fiend?" she exclaimed, demanding an answer from the ghost boy.
"He's not doing anything. I am," Morpheus spoke, floating in front of Danny once again. "You should consider getting some rest, Mrs. Fenton," the soothing voice of the dream guardian suggested, somehow making her feel tired and sleepy.
Maddie yawned as she began to lose consciousness, taking one last look at Danny Phantom before she drifted into sleep.
"What did you do to her?" Fenton asked softly, struggling to focus the energy he had left to stay awake. "Where's Remy?"
Phantom moved towards his human half and helped him to his feet. "Remy's gone. For good," he replied. "Right?" he addressed the last part to Morpheus.
"And your mother will be fine," the Guardian of Dreams said shortly. Raising his darkened hands, the one who defeated Rem summoned a curtain of smoke, which engulfed the two halves of the same boy.
Both Dannys coughed as they closed their eyes, overwhelmed by Morph's most recent display of abilities. Once they felt the thick fog dissipate, they adjusted their gaze to absorb their surroundings. It was then that they realized they were in their parents' lab.
"Whoa. Why did you bring us here?" Fenton asked once he felt that the room had stopped moving.
Morpheus didn't reply. Instead, he closed his eyes as a red glow began to surround his body. The radiance was so bright that the two teens had to squint their eyes to at least see their savior's silhouette. Finally, the brilliance of the light slowly turned into a darker shade of crimson. After a few seconds, the dream guardian returned to normal. He reopened his ruby gaze and stared at the two dumbfounded boys.
"What the heck was that?" Phantom asked as he and Fenton rubbed their eyes. Once they regained focus, they noticed a serious look on the Sandman's dark face.
The older ghost remained silent, apparently not willing to cooperate. Just like he did mere instants before, he ignored the question. His attention was focused elsewhere. He turned around and it seemed as if he were looking for something, which caused the young duo to raise their eyebrows, though one of them immediately changed his expression into one of anger.
"Hey! I asked you something!" Danny's ghost half demanded, clearly irritated for being disregarded. A ball of ectoplasmic energy began to form in his right hand and he threw it at the distracted guardian.
The emerald orb advanced at great speed towards its target, but it suddenly came to a halt mere inches from Morph's back. The dismissive ghost held out his hand and, without turning around, made a gesture that slowly sent the attack back to Phantom. The green ball didn't hit the boy; instead, it carefully went through his chest and vanished. The two teenagers observed in awe.
"What did he-" Fenton began to ask softly, but was abruptly interrupted by another voice.
"Don't waste you energy, my boy. You still need to recover," the dream guardian advised to the human. "And you should really do something about that temper," he then spoke to the ghost kid as he reached what he was originally looking for: The Fenton Ghost Catcher.
The awestruck boys barely registered Morpheus comment and turned their attention to the device in his hands. "Enough games," Phantom declared. "What are you trying to do?"
"Fuse back," the Guardian simply ordered.
"What?" both teens confusedly asked in unison.
"Just do as I requested, otherwise I won't be able to fix this," the older ghost replied.
His tone lacked of malice and, so far, he seemed to be trying to help. Fenton and Phantom noticed this but they also knew something was off about… well, about everything that happened in the last few minutes: Morpheus' opportune intervention, the way Remy was so easily defeated, the bright glow that engulfed the room, and even the authoritarian attitude the Guardian of Dreams was now displaying.
As if reading each other's thoughts, the two Dannys shared a look. They hesitated for a moment but immediately realized they didn't have much choice. Morpheus was clearly more powerful than they had realized before.
The ghost boy held his human half's hand to fly together through the Ghost Catcher, using the side designed to merge. Within seconds, they became one again.
Danny, now in his human mode, fell to the ground with a loud thud. "Ow! I have to remember to put a cushion on the floor or something whenever I use this thing," he muttered to himself as he stood up, instantly turning his narrowed gaze towards Morpheus and changing into his ghostly alter ego. "All right, I know something's up. What's going on?" he questioned.
"I admit you were quite helpful in the defeating of Remy, if that's what you wanted to hear," the Guardian replied rather tiredly.
"Well, yeah. Thanks. But that's not what I asked," Danny impatiently insisted. "You left me to fight alone. Again! And then you suddenly appear and just… erased him. Not that I'm not grateful about it, but if you were able to do that since the beginning, why did I have to go through all those fights? It doesn't make any sense. You could've done that to Remy during our first battle, before all the dream madness started. You ARE the Guardian of Dreams. You're more powerful than Rem. But you still allowed all of this to happen! Why?" the boy exclaimed heatedly, not even bothering to lower his tone to avoid being heard by anyone outside of the lab.
Morpheus fixed his burgundy gaze on the young hybrid. "Totally valid questions, but the only answer I can give you and the only thing you need to know is that everything is the way it's meant to be," he cryptically answered with his calm and deep voice.
"What are you talking about?" Danny inquired, confusion clear in his tone.
The older specter gave him a sly smile. "You'll find out in due time. For now, you need to regain your energy."
Danny's eyebrows furrowed with uncertainty. "What…?" he began to ask, but was suddenly silenced by the same numbing sensation he felt when he first met Morpheus.
Unable to move or even speak, the half-ghost stared in awe as a mixture of green light and black smoke surrounded his whole being. His eyelids became heavy. The room grew darker with each passing second. The last thing that crossed his baffled mind was the inevitable idea that something wasn't right; that he had been tricked, somehow. However, his thoughts were lost in the dark abyss of his overwhelmed head as he lost consciousness.
Notes:
I didn't change this chapter plot-wise but I did edit the writing. And the ending is more ambiguous than before, right?
Special thanks to Silent Elegy and BlackShadow875 for pointing out several details that helped me improve this chapter (or at least that's what I'm hoping).
Now, to the conclusion!
Coming Next:
Chapter 17: Waking Up – in which the story ends.