Hey peeps! This chapter was a lot of fun to write. A familar face makes an appearance. Warm up your hissers now, you'll need them in the coming chapters.
I need reviews! They tell me whether or not I'm doing a good job. I accept all types. If you have any good suggestions, they may even get added in later chapters.
On with the show! (AND SAVE DANNY!)
Chapter Five: New Enemies, New Allies
Alex led the way out of the house, stopping only to grab her phone and keys from the small table near the front door.
When the group stepped outside, Alex turned to Tucker. "Would you, uh…would you like to ride with me? That way I won't get lost on the way to Sam's house." Alex's cheeks tinged pink.
Tucker was at a loss for words. He opened his mouth to respond but no sound came out. He shut his mouth and nodded.
Danny and Sam shared a glance and got into Danny's car. Alex led the way to her car while Tucker followed, his face unreadable.
The two drivers turned their cars around and headed out of the driveway, this time with Danny in the lead. They didn't have to stop at the gate this time but Alex put her hand out the window and waved backwards to the house.
The mini-convoy got back on the road and headed towards Sam's house. In the lead, Danny and Sam were discussing Alex and Tucker.
"He likes her. And it's so obvious, too. I mean, he didn't try to flirt with her, he ate those soy cookies, and he was actually speechless around her." Danny watched the road intensely.
Sam examined her fingernails as she replied. "And she likes him. Did you notice? She kept giving him little smiles all day and when she invited him to her car, she actually blushed."
Danny nodded, deep in thought. He was glad his friend had found someone and that she liked him in return. However, something didn't seem quite right. She seemed nice enough but something in his subconscious kept telling him to be cautious. 'Must be habit after fighting ghosts for so long.' "Sam? Do you think they'll act like us for a while?"
"What do you mean?" Sam glanced at her boyfriend quizzically.
"You know, acting clueless when the other is around. Blushing constantly. All the things that happened between you and me before we got together."
Sam laughed and nodded. "Oh yeah. I think they might, at least for awhile anyway."
In Alex's car, it was silent for the first few minutes until Tucker asked about her car. She answered his questions and asked a few of her own. Soon, they were chatting comfortably about anything and everything that came to mind.
When the two cars stopped at Sam's house, Danny and Sam stepped out of the car in time to hear Alex's car door open and laughter pour out.
"The Box Ghost? What kind of name is that?" Alex stepped out of her car, still laughing. Tucker got out of the car with a big grin on his face.
Sam, Danny, Tucker, and Alex entered the Manson Mansion. As luck would have it, Sam's parents had gone to a convention and would be gone for a whole week. Sam proceeded to give Alex a tour while Danny pulled Tucker aside.
"Why were you guys talking about the Box Ghost?" Danny whispered in his friend's ear.
"Relax, dude," Tucker whispered back. "She said she had done some research and found that Amity Park has dealt with a lot of ghosts. She was just interested if I knew anything about that. She didn't ask about Phantom and I didn't say anything." Tucker pulled his arm out of his friend's grasp and set off to find the girls.
Danny stood there for a minute. His ghost sense hadn't gone off all the while Alex was around. That didn't mean that Alex wasn't working for a ghost. He just had to be more observant.
His thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash outside. Danny raced to the window and looked out. He heard Sam and Tucker run up beside him, but he didn't turn to them. He was still transfixed by the scene outside.
A large statue seemed to have come to life and was trying to destroy the town. It wielded a large stone hammer and was swinging wildly. Suddenly, something flew from somewhere behind Sam's house to attack the creature. It was the same figure Danny had seen against the moon last night.
The ghost boy gasped and stepped back from the window. He turned to see if Alex was behind, but she was nowhere to be seen. Danny yelled his familiar battle cry, "Going Ghost!" and with the accompaniment of the familiar white ring, transformed into Danny Phantom. He phased out of Sam's house after ordering his friends to "Stay inside. I don't want to risk you getting hurt. This isn't a ghost I've ever seen."
Danny flew up to the statue and tried to get its attention. The creature just ignored him and kept swatting at what was flying around its face.
Danny debated whether or not his ecto-rays would harm this being even if it wasn't a ghost. He didn't see the hammer start to swing his way. He did, however, hear the shout of "Look out!" and, forgetting for a moment that Sam and Tucker were still back at Sam's house, reacted purely by instinct: he shut his eyes and turned intangible, waiting for the smack that would surely spell his doom.
When it didn't come, Danny opened his eyes to see that the creature had stopped swinging and was now aiming its hammer for the place where the flyer had stopped which just happened to be directly in front of his eyes. The being waited till the last possible second before flying out of the way, causing the giant statue to hit himself in the face with a resounding 'THWACK!' The thing staggered a bit before falling backwards towards the ground. Before it could hit the ground, however, the flyer pulled something from its belt and aimed it at the creature. There was a bright flash of light and the being disappeared. The flyer holstered the thing and flew towards Danny.
As it got closer, he could tell it was a girl with bright red eyes, something he always associated with evil ghosts. She flew up to him and stuck out her hand. "Thanks,. If you hadn't distracted him, I wouldn't have been able to do that."
Danny stared at the girl incredulously. He didn't know what to make of this girl. "Umm, I don't mean to be rude, but you're not a ghost, are you?" The girl laughed and shook her head. "Nope. I'm a demon, but I'm not here to cause you any trouble." She still held her hand out, but it was now beginning to waver.
Danny reached out to take her hand when he heard a voice that made his blood run cold.
"My, my. Isn't this touching? My two rivals in one convenient location."
Danny whirled around to see a green-skinned, black-haired half-ghost floating behind him, looking extremely smug.
"Plasmius," Danny hissed at the man.
"What do you want, Vlad?" Danny turned to see the girl clenching her fists at her side.
"Now, is that any way to greet a family friend, Demonica?" Vlad smiled, an eerie thing that would cause small children to run and hide.
"I don't care if you were friends with my parents in college. I'm not your friend and I'm not going to be your lackey. Now, go away before I have to hurt you…again."
"But, my dear, I'm not here for you. I'm here to see Mr. Phantom there." He pointed to Danny. The boy heard but was watching the girl flying next to him.
'What was her name? Demonica? I wonder if this is the girl Alex called her friend.' Danny had noticed the similarities between this girl and the one in Alex's sketchbook. 'Well, I think I can trust her a little bit, especially if she's against Vlad for the same reasons I am.'
Danny turned to Vlad and crossed his arms over his chest. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not going to join you and Mo-I mean Maddie Fenton isn't going to divorce her husband and run away with you. Give it up and get a cat!"
Vlad still had that creepy, smug smile on his face. "I'm not worried about that. I'll have you both, in time. For now, know this." Plasmius turned so he spoke to both Demonica and Phantom. "I know both of your secrets. If you don't join me, I'll make sure the world knows as well." With that, Vlad turned and flew away, leaving the two heroes stunned and pale.
Demonica flew to the ground and Danny followed, not knowing what to think. This girl had a secret? What was it? And how did Vlad know?
Demonica turned to the Ghost Boy. "Well, that was…unpleasant. That man infuriates me!"
Danny nodded his understanding and landed in front of the girl.
Demonica sighed. "Well, since psycho-Vlad interrupted our first meeting, I thought we could try again." She stuck her hand out again. "Hi. My name is Demonica. And you are…?"
Danny grasped her hand and shook it almost solemnly. "Danny Phantom, but the rest of the town insists on calling me," here, he let go of the girl's hand so he could make air-quotes, "Inviso-Bill."
Demonica smiled outwardly, but inside she was thinking. 'Danny? This Phantom and Sam's boyfriend share the same first name. Their last names sound kinda the same: Fenton, Phantom. Heck, they even look a little alike! I wonder…'
Danny smiled grimly. "This may sound a little strange, but I have to ask. Are you planning on terrorizing Amity Park?"
Demonica gasped and shook her head vigorously. "No! No. I'm actually here to try and live a peaceful life. I don't think that's going to happen now that Plasmius knows I'm here."
Danny smiled warmly, glad to hear some good news for a change. This time, he stuck his hand out. "How about we make a deal?"
The girl gave him a pointed look. "What kind of deal?"
"You join up with me." Danny caught the look on her face and continued quickly, "Not as hero and sidekick. I'm talking equal partners. We'll work as a team. I'll handle the ghosts, you handle the…" he pointed to her belt.
"Demons." Demonica tapped the thing she had used to capture the giant beast.
"Yeah, and we'll work together against Plasmius to keep Amity safe. How 'bout it?" Danny's hand was still in the air.
Demonica seemed to think for a moment. In fact, she was weighing the pros and cons. If she helped this Danny Phantom, she might be able to live a somewhat normal life and get Plasmius to leave her alone. If not, she would have to deal with the demons and Plasmius, something she was not looking forward to anytime soon. In the end, she decided that it would be better to join forces than stand alone.
"Deal." The girl grabbed the Ghost Boy's hand.
In a distant realm, somewhere that was not part of any separate kingdom but a combination of all, a shadow stood next to a placid bowl of water. In it was a picture of Demonica and Danny shaking hands. The figure passed a bone-white hand over the bowl and the picture disappeared. Low, echoing laughter could be heard as the figure leaned over the bowl. "The wheels have been set in motion. This should be fun to watch." The laughter grew and echoed through the darkness the shadow was immersed in. "Very fun indeed."
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