Dora: My brother is starting to grow impatient. I may need to ask those two boys for help… *Looks up* Onyx, what are you doing?
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Is hanging upside down from a pipe doing crunches* Making sure I'm not out of shape when it's finally time for me to leave.
DarkFoxKit 'Hamsuke': You've been doing that since yesterday, you're making me look fat.
Dora: But you're a giant hamster, you're already-
DarkFoxKit 'Hamsuke': Don't finish that sentence.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Why don't you train with me, Hamsuke?
DarkFoxKit 'Hamsuke': I don't know if you've noticed, but my tiny hamster paws aren't meant for those types of exercises. The only thing flexible on me is my snake-like tail.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Then how about you train your tail?
DarkFoxKit 'Hamsuke': Train my tail? Why?
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Why not? Perhaps you could train it to be faster and deliver more of an impact. Who knows, perhaps if you trained it enough you'd be able to damage one of my scales.
DarkFoxKit 'Hamsuke': But I don't know the first thing about training.
Dora: Perhaps I could help you with that. You can come with me, I know the perfect training exercise for you.
DarkFoxKit 'Hamsuke': Fine, but if I regret this, I'm going to be a very angry hamster.
Dora: Of course. But after training, I'm going to need to continue looking for a replacement bride for my brother.
DarkFoxKit 'Hamsuke': Maybe with my cuteness, we could lure another bride here for Aragon easier.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': If only… also, I have to ask, how long will Fox be Hamsuke?
Dora: I'm afraid I can't answer that right now. We'll just have to see how long this lasts.
DarkFoxKit 'Hamsuke': Hey, um… could we let the readers get to the story now? *Has a lot of people petting her* It seems some of them had jumped into the AN just to pet me.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Smiles kindly* Would any of you like to take my place as Aragon's bride?~
Dora: Onyx! You can't ask people from a different world to become my brother's bride!
DarkFoxKit 'Hamsuke': And now some of them are crawling on my back. Hey! Get off me and get to the chapter! *The readers that were on Hamsuke disappeared* Oh… that worked… cool!
Chapter 59: The Holy Knight
I finally made it to the opera house. It didn't look like Skulker's been through here yet. I opened the door and headed on inside.
"Juliette? Are you still here?" I called out.
"You know you don't have to ask that every time you come inside," Juliette responded from behind the stage's curtains.
"Hey, I just want to be sure you're still here and know who's coming in," I said sheepishly. "It looks like Skulker hasn't found you yet."
"I can tell that it is you coming in," Juliette said as she walked out onto the stage. "For one, the way you walk, how your footfalls sound. The other being that I can sense your energy a little, even when you are a human. Now, would you like to introduce me to your not-so-ordinary teddy bear friend?"
Hope twitched a little.
"It's okay Hope, this is Juliette, the one I wanted to introduce you to," I said to the pink and white teddy bear in my hand.
"Ahh, Hope is a beautiful name," Juliette said as she hopped down from the stage and walked over to me. "I'm Juliette, it is very nice to meet you, Hope."
Hope looked up at Juliette before she said, "So you're the Juliette that Andy's told me about. You look… far younger than I imagined."
"How did you imagine me?" Juliette asked with a look of curiosity.
"Andy said you were 1400 years old, so I imagined you would've been an old wise looking goat or something," Hope said sheepishly.
"You are a ghost, well you were, yet you don't know how ghosts age?" Juliette asked in response, which surprised Hope.
"How did you know I was a ghost?" Hope asked.
"I can sense a tiny portion of your energy," Juliette responded. "Now, would you like me to explain how ghost aging works or is there something else that you wish to talk about?"
"Uh, well actually," I spoke up. "As you know, Hope here got into the body of a teddy bear so she could have someone love her. I was wondering if you could help with that, Juliette. I uh… might've overreacted when Jazz first gave her to me…"
"So what you're asking me is to give her the love that she wants?" Juliette asked in response. "If she doesn't mind me, I wouldn't mind having her here. But I'm not quite sure if I would be any better than you. You also have to keep in mind that if you left Hope here, she would be in danger of being captured with me if Skulker ever found us. That and your sister might wonder what happened to the teddy bear that she gave to you."
"Well… uh…" I looked at Hope before an idea came to mind. "Maybe we could-"
"How about this," Hope said, cutting me off. "How about I stay here for a couple of days and see what it's like to live with Juliette, if I like it I can stay here. If not, I'll go back with Andy."
"... I was going to say that…" I grumbled to myself.
"Of course you were," Hope said with a pat on my arm. "Now, what do you think, Juliette, does that sound like a good idea?"
"I think it's a great idea. This would allow you to see what your preference is before any decisions are made," Juliette responded. "Also, if you would ever want to or need to, you can come hang out here."
"What do you think, Andy?" Hope asked me.
I gave a small sigh before I said, "I suppose we could have a trial period. Two days seem like a reasonable length. I could tell Jazz I have Hope under my pillow or something."
"It's not wise to lie to your sister, Andy," Juliette said with a playful scold.
"She doesn't know Hope is alive," I sighed.
"Then why not tell her?" Juliette blatantly responded. "I mean it wouldn't be the craziest thing for her to believe."
"Because I don't want others to see me as a living teddy bear," Hope answered. "I thought it was bad enough when Andy saw me moving."
"Who knows, Hope, perhaps there would be something to gain from Andy's sister finding out," Juliette stated. "For all you know, it could be extremely beneficial if Jazz knew."
"I still don't know…" Hope frowned.
"Hey, let's just focus on the trial period," I suggested. "We'll worry about whether or not Hope should reveal herself to Jazz later."
"Question, Hope, do you prefer being carried or would you prefer to walk around?" Juliette asked.
"I prefer being carried," Hope said with a sigh. "It's why I wanted to act like a lifeless teddy bear, so children would pick me up and hug me and… stuff."
"Then come here," Juliette said with a kind smile as she held her arms open. "Andy, if you will."
"Oh, of course," I said with a smile as I brought Hope over to Juliette and handed Hope to the goat ghost.
Juliette wrapped her arms around Hope. "How does this feel?"
"You're softer, but Andy was warmer," Hope remarked.
"Well his warmth is due to the fact that he is still alive," Juliette chuckled. "Though if you feel cold, I could always warm you up."
"You could? How?" Hope asked.
"That's a little secret of mine~" Juliette said with a chuckle.
"Okay, I'll let you two get to know each other," I said as I began walking to the door. "I have to go get myself ready for that fitness test if I want to pass."
"Be safe, Andy, you never know what dangers could pop up at any moment," Juliette said.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," I chuckled before I left the opera house. I wonder if Juliette will make Hope happy?
I stretched myself out a bit before I began jogging. I should probably try some pull-ups too, they might have us climb a wall or something. I jogged to the park, deciding to use the jungle gym as my pull-up equipment. I really hope all this training will pay off.
I'm so sore… ugh… I hate this training… at least when I was training with my ghost powers, it didn't physically leave me exhausted, sore and feel like my lungs were on fire…… at least not when I turned back to my human form… I thought as I looked up at the sky to see the sun was already starting to get low, painting the sky a brilliant orange. How long have I been out here? I better get back home…
I stood up and groaned, the pain was making it difficult for me to walk. Nope, not walking home… I looked around before seeing the park's public bathroom. Perfect.
I stumbled into the boy's bathroom and went into one of the unlocked stalls and closed the door, locking it. I gave a small sigh before I focused on my core. The ring of light appeared on my torso before splitting horizontally, changing me into my ghost form. I felt a lot better when I was in my ghost form, no soreness or exhaustion. I looked at my gloved hand.
I wonder if ghosts are immune to that kind of pain or if our ghost and human forms are separate from each other? I thought to myself before I turned intangible and flew out of the door, before I realized something. Oh wait a minute…
I flew back into the stall, turned my hand tangible, and unlocked the door. No reason to keep this locked. I then went fully intangible again before flew out of the bathroom and into the sky. I smiled as I was flying over Amity Park.
It's really beautiful up here. I can see why Danny always likes to go on flights when he needs to clear his head. I smiled to myself.
I was getting close to the opera house, which was on my way home, when I suddenly felt that warm feeling in my chest. I frowned as I opened my mouth to let out the dark blue mist. Is that Juliette I'm sensing or…?
Suddenly something silver flew past me and I felt a slashing pain in my left arm. I hissed in pain as I grabbed my arm, noticing a very small cut.
"Halt, vile beast!" A voice yelled from behind me.
I turned to see who was yelling at me, and saw a white silver armored being floating there. It looked like a ghost knight, but this one was nothing like the Fright Knight. I couldn't see a face, the ghost's entire body was covered in the armor.
"I am a holy knight, set on defeating all the vile beasts of the land!" The white knight yelled. I couldn't tell if it was a male or female, as they were disguising their voice and the armor didn't have any telltale signs of gender specifics.
I blinked and frowned, "Well gee, where were you during the Pariah Dark incident?"
"I was fighting off that demon's skeletal beasts!" The white knight responded.
"I… wasn't expecting an actual answer there," I said sheepishly. "What do you want?"
"I desire a fight with you to the death! My personal goal is to vanquish as many beasts as I can in order to be granted access to the afterlife!" The white knight yelled in response.
"What? Okay first off, why to the death? We're ghosts! Second, what do you mean access to the afterlife? And third, I'm not a beast," I said with a frown.
"In order, beasts can still die if their core is shattered. Secondly, I wish to be granted entry into Heaven. Thirdly, all ghosts are beasts, except those who are bathed in the light of holiness as I am!" The white knight responded.
I looked at the white knight and narrowed my eyes. "Light of holiness? You're joking, right?"
"Are you challenging my claim of being a holy knight?!" The white knight yelled as they pointed their sword at me. "Be wary of your answer, beast, as it may be the last words to leave your lips."
"I've never heard of a 'holy knight', not a ghost one anyways," I answered with a frown, looking at the sword wearily. "And what's with this 'beast' comment?"
"You have never witnessed a holy knight?" The white knight asked as they lowered their stance and brought their sword up to their body. "Then let me enlighten you!"
"Whoa!" I yelped as I flew back, avoiding the swing of their sword. "H-hey! Why are you trying to kill me? I haven't done anything wrong!"
"You have insulted my honor and you are also coming to this world where you no longer belong!" The white knight yelled as they slashed their sword at me again.
I moved around trying to avoid the sword. I vaguely noticed my legs turned into a misty tail to help me maneuver quicker.
"If you stay still, I will make it quick!" The white knight yelled as they kept slashing.
"No way, I'm not going to just stay still and let you slay me with that sword!" I yelled back, before raising my hands and creating a quick ecto shield, causing the sword to bounce off it.
"Fool! Your shield won't keep you safe!" The white knight yelled as they quickly got behind me and slashed at my back. I couldn't move out of the way fast enough before I felt the sharp slice going down my back, causing me to yell in pain.
I flew away from the white knight's reach, trying not to focus on the pain in my back. I shot out my ghost rays at her, trying to keep her back while I tried to regain my focus so I could make my plasma rod.
A bright flash came from the white knight's hands before they were holding a long spear. "Keeping me at a distance will not help you!"
The white knight jabbed the spear towards me before I could form my plasma rod, I barely had enough time to dodge. I dodged thrust after thrust of the spear, noticing that we were steadily getting closer to the buildings.
I stopped before I shoved my hands on the white knight's shoulders, before I quickly built up power and let it out in the form of a powerful ghost ray to push her back into the sky. I managed to use the residual energy of that last ghost ray to form my plasma rod.
"I see you can form weapons of you own," The white knight remarked before another bright flash came from their hands. Suddenly they were holding a bow and were nocking an arrow to the bowstring. "I wonder if that stick of yours is strong enough to handle my barrage of arrows?"
So she can change her weapons at any time… this isn't good… I thought to myself as the white knight began firing several arrows at me all at once. It seemed the arrows were simply materializing in the knight's gauntlet.
I reacted quickly and used my plasma rod to deflect the incoming arrows in front of me. I managed to get a few of them, but the white knight was able to control some of their arrows, because some of them went around my plasma rod and hit me from the side. The arrows vanished as soon as they hit me, but it still left quite a sting.
One of the arrows managed to hit my hand. "Ow!"
I hissed in pain as I accidentally let go of my plasma rod.
"That pain you feel is my holy light purifying your corrupted form!" The white knight said as they began to get closer, swapping the bow out for their original sword.
I glared at the incoming white knight as I yelled, "I AM NOT CORRUPTED YOU CRAZY KNIGHT!"
"That's it, beast! Show me your true colors!" The white knight yelled back as they lunged with their sword.
I mentally grabbed onto my plasma rod as quickly as I could and launched it towards the sword, keeping it from hitting me with it. The white knight was thrown a little off balance, probably because they weren't expecting the plasma rod to suddenly hit back. I let the plasma rod float over back to me before I grabbed onto it again.
"So not only are you a tainted beast, but you are also a magic user," The white knight said as they jumped back, retaking their fighting stance. "But your magic is weak, much weaker than the mages of my day."
I frowned in confusion, "Magic? That wasn't magic, that was-"
"If it wasn't magic, then it was the powers of a demon!" The white knight yelled as they moved farther back. "And I have just the attack to deal with a demon!"
"Please stop and listen to me! I'm not-!" I tried to speak up, but the white knight cut me off.
"The words of a demon are worthless to me," The white knight stated as they held out their gauntlet. "I was trained to fight the temptations of demons and beasts."
My eyes went wide as I watched a gigantic arrow forming in the knight's outstretched gauntlet.
"Now, I shall deal with you as all holy knights have dealt with demons in the past. I shall purify you with the Arrow of Divine Light," The white knight said as they took the gigantic arrow and nocked it onto the bowstring.
I should dodge, I should go intangible, I should… I began to think before the world seemed to slow a little. Is she right about me? Are halfas nothing more than beasts and evil beings? Danny became corrupted, he became evil in that future… Vlad is no better… I frowned to myself, time seeming to speed back up, I didn't have time to think anymore as the white knight fired the arrow.
In a panic, I raised up my plasma rod to try and block it. No! It's too powerful, I should've dodged it! It was too late, the giant arrow hit my plasma rod and I was struggling just to stay afloat at this point.
I watched as the plasma rod began cracking under the force of the arrow. I was letting myself be pushed back, both in hopes that the arrow would dissipate before my plasma rod shattered, and because I knew that it would lessen the force being put on the plasma rod. Soon, though, I ran out of room to move back, and felt my back pressed up against the roof of a building.
This isn't good! I have nowhere to go, and the plasma rod is cracking more and more! I thought to myself as I watched the cracks spreading up the plasma rod like spider webs. I have to do something! ANYTHING! That's when I remembered that I could turn intangible and pass through solid matter. Will it work against the arrow? I don't have any better options, so I quickly concentrated on my intangibility.
As soon as I turned intangible, my plasma rod exploded from the force that the arrow was putting on it, sending me through the roof and into the one building I wish I hadn't entered right now.
My tangibility returned right before I hit solid ground, causing me to impact it at full force. I groaned as I opened my eyes to see I was in the opera house where I left Juliette and Hope. I have to get out, I have to lead that crazy knight somewhere else before they attack my friends.
Before I could move, however, the white knight came through the roof and landed right in front of me. I knew I had to do something and quick. I rapidly fired ghost rays out of my hands, hoping to try and get them out of the building.
The white knight moved to try and dodge my attacks, but they weren't quick enough to dodge them all. One ghost ray hit their chestplate followed quickly by another hitting the shoulder. A third and final ghost ray hit the helmet of the knight, sending the helmet flying off.
My eyes went wide and my jaw dropped as I looked at the white knight's face. The face was that of a young looking woman, her skin was a normal white color that I would see on any human, and her hair was a long scarlet color. She looked beautiful for a ghost.
"HOW DARE YOU!?" The white knight yelled as they pulled out their sword. Then, one by one, more swords started appearing in the air around her. "To remove the helmet of a knight in battle is the highest offense! I was going to make your passing relatively painless, but no longer! I shall make sure that you suffer before you finally find peace!"
I frowned, there wasn't anything I could say that would make her stop at this point. I could turn intangible and try to fly away, but she might destroy the opera house, she could destroy Juliette and Hope if I tried to run.
"Wait!"
My heart dropped as I heard Juliette's voice yelling. No Juliette! You should've remained hidden!
"Scarlet! Stop! I recognize that it is you!" Juliette yelled as she ran over and stopped between the white knight and myself.
"Juliette, what are you doing?" I hissed. She knows this crazy woman?
"How do you know my name, strange goat child?" The white knight, apparently named Scarlet, asked as she looked at Juliette.
"Because we used to know each other when alive," Juliette answered.
"I think I would remember if I knew a goat child," Scarlet stated.
"You wouldn't recognize me like this," Juliette said before her body started to glow a little before the glow got brighter. "But perhaps you would recognize me like this."
After a flash, I saw Juliette standing in front of me, appearing as her human self like she had done when I had brought Danny, Sam, and Tucker here.
"The-... there's no way," Scarlet said in shock as the swords in the air around her began disappearing. "It… can't be… can it?"
"Yes, it can be," Juliette responded as Scarlet looked on.
"No! This has to be some kind of trick!" Scarlet yelled as she glared at Juliette. "Just because you shapeshifted doesn't mean you are who you say you are!"
"This isn't a trick, Scarlet, I can prove it," Juliette said calmly as she looked at Scarlet. "How about you ask me anything that only the real Juliette would know the answer to?"
"That would be a good test…" Scarlet quietly said. "Alright, I shall test you, possible imposter."
"Ask whatever you want, anything at all," Juliette confidently said.
"If I remember my princess, there is only one thing that she would never tell anyone outside of the people she absolutely trusted," Scarlet said as she looked at Juliette.
Juliette's eyes went wide as Scarlet said this, her confident composure breaking.
I was curious now. Juliette seemed uncomfortable with what Scarlet was implying.
Scarlet then pointed at Juliette and said, "What was Juliette's greatest guilty pleasure?"
"Can I… whisper it to you… please…?" Juliette embarrassingly said, her human cheeks a bright red.
Scarlet hesitated, probably not sure if it would be wise to let a 'deciever' get too close to her.
"I will let you take a hold of my hands or bind me if it would make you feel more comfortable," Juliette said before her eyes darting over to me. "I'd rather not say such an embarrassing thing in front of others…"
"Very well," Scarlet finally relented. "Just make it quick with your answer."
Juliette nodded before she slowly walked over to Scarlet. I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't get to hear the answer, but I knew better than to pry, especially from something that's personal and embarrassing.
Juliette whispered into Scarlet's ear. Scarlet's eyes widened before she looked at Juliette, who was still blushing.
"My… Princess? It… really is you…" Scarlet said in shock, tears bursting forth from her eyes as she stood up and hugged Juliette. "But… how? I thought… I thought you had moved on… it's been 1400 years…"
Wow, I didn't think I would see the white knight cry like that. I thought to myself as I slowly stood up, looking between Juliette and Scarlet.
"I believe it had something to do with the scientist who tried to cure my illness," Juliette responded as she walked towards Scarlet. "Come on, Scarlet, raise your head and wipe your tears, you do not need to be sad."
"But my Princess… the fact that you're here…" Scarlet said, releasing Juliette from the hug. "It means you never moved on… are you… tainted?"
"You're right, I didn't move on," Juliette responded as she took a few steps back from Scarlet before she released her human form, turning back into her normal goat form. "I guess heaven won't accept abominations like me. After what that scientist did to me, I became… less than human."
"No, I've seen even animal ghosts move on," Scarlet answered before she frowned. "What have you been doing for 1400 years?"
"That's the thing, Scarlet, I'm not either human or animal. I'm both," Juliette said. "As for what I've been doing for 1400 years… I've been running for my life."
"From what?" Scarlet asked before she looked over at me and glared. "And why are you defending this demon?"
I looked down from the 'demon' comment.
"Because he saved my life and he is my friend," Juliette responded. "He is not a demon, and he is similar to me. He isn't fully human, but neither is he full ghost. I gave him a chance just like I begged my father to give you a chance to serve our kingdom."
"Yes, I remember. They didn't allow females to become knights back then," Scarlet said. "And I'm afraid I don't understand, not all human or ghost?"
"Andy, show her," Juliette said, still keeping her eyes on Scarlet. "I promise that she won't hurt you."
Nothing's really stopping her from hurting me. I thought to myself, and frowned. "I guess…"
I didn't feel very comfortable turning back to my more vulnerable human form in front of a potentially powerful enemy.
"Andy, please just trust me," Juliette said as she looked back at me.
I sighed, this was a bad idea. I reached for the warmth inside me before the regular ring of light appeared on my torso, changing me back to human.
"He's… still alive…?" Scarlet asked in surprise, standing up suddenly, which made me flinch back instinctively.
"Yes, he is still alive, and he is my friend," Juliette responded.
Scarlet was studying my every detail, which made me even more nervous.
"But how is this possible? You can't be a human and a ghost, that defies all logical reasoning," Scarlet said as she kept studying me like I was some brand new species… which I guess I technically am.
"It's just as logical as me being both human and goat," Juliette pointed out. "Please, stand down."
Scarlet sighed before she said, "I am sorry, I have broken an important rule to never attack the living. As a holy knight, I was to hunt down and have ghosts on this planet to move on to heaven or the Ghost Zone."
"You believed you were in the right, so you did not break your code," Juliette said. "You did not know of Andy's situation. Now, how about instead of talking about what happened, we can reconnect with each other."
"That would be nice, my Princess, but I still have my duties as a holy knight," Scarlet said.
"If it helps… my brother Danny and I have been trying to put ghosts back into the Ghost Zone too," I spoke up.
"That is not the same as my duties, young Andy," Scarlet responded. "My duty is to eradicate all beasts and demons entirely. Simply sending them back does not take care of the problem."
"So you've been eradicating ghosts?" Juliette asked. "Does that mean you'll eventually have to eradicate me?"
"Do you really have to eradicate every ghost you see?" I asked. "Wouldn't it make more sense to only do that to ghosts who are actually hostile? Some ghosts just want to be left alone."
"While I admit the two of you seem to be the exception," Scarlet said as she looked at me and Juliette. "All other ghosts who have been in this world have been tainted, and must be eradicated in order to move on."
"It is in my experience that not every ghost is evil, Scarlet," Juliette said. "For all you know, you have been killing ghosts that were innocent and had no evil intentions."
"Even so, they need to move on, they can't stay here forever," Scarlet said with a frown.
"Maybe the reason why they haven't moved on is because they're not ready yet," I explained, remembering Sydney Poindexter. "Some of them still have regrets or unfinished business. I'm sure that eventually they'll move on on their own, but you can't force them, or rather you shouldn't force them."
Scarlet looked at me and I looked away sheepishly.
"I… see… then I… have been failing to duties of a holy knight," Scarlet said in shame.
"No, you haven't, you've just been taking it to the extremes," Juliette said with a small smile. "You were always like that, remember when you finally became a royal knight? You chased away all my friends who dared to get within two feet from me. You just have to learn what not to do to not take it too far."
"Juliette is right," I said with a small chuckle. "I took some things too far too myself, and it ended up blowing up in my face. But when I started to learn to take it easy, things have been going a lot smoother."
"I cannot continue what I was doing… I besmirched the name of all holy knights everywhere," Scarlet said as she lowered her head. "I must find a way to make up for it…"
"What will you do now, Scarlet?" Juliette asked in concern.
"I… I don't know yet…" Scarlet answered with a frown.
I thought about what a strong ghost like Scarlet could do. She could certainly hold her own if someone were to attack her. Then I gave a smile.
"You could stay here with Juliette and protect her from other malicious ghosts," I suggested. "Juliette did say she's been on the run."
"I would like to be able to serve my princess again," Scarlet said.
"And I would be happy to have you serving me again," Juliette said with a smile. "Perhaps you could eventually help me try to find my parents or some of the other knights of staff that served our kingdom."
"It would be an honor, Princess," Scarlet said as she gave a bow to Juliette.
Then Hope came walking over and said, "So is this a new friend? Two in one day, that's a record."
Scarlet looked at Hope and held out a sword, "Careful Princess! There's another ghost here!"
"EEP!" Hope yelped, jumping into my arms without warning.
"Scarlet, look at her, firstly she's a teddy bear," Juliette said. "And secondly, she's a friend of Andy and mine."
"Yeah, she's pretty much harmless," I answered with a sheepish grin.
"What is it with these hostile welcomes?" Hope grumbled, still in my arms. "Do I look that scary?"
"No, you're not scary, you're adorable." Juliette smiled as she walked over and picked up Hope, wrapping her arms around Hope.
"I apologize," Scarlet said after she put away her sword. "I will try to discern friend from foe before I act hasty again."
"So… I was wondering…" I said nervously, causing Scarlet to look at me. "Um… how were you able to create so many weapons at once and have them float around you like that?"
"Lots of practice," Scarlet responded.
"That and she also had helped our wizard with some of his research," Juliette added. "He was trying to work on using alchemy to create weapons out of the elements present all around us."
Oh, I guess that explains why Scarlet thought I was using magic when I used telekinesis on my plasma rod… I thought to myself.
"Andy, shouldn't you be getting home?" Hope asked me. "It's already dark, and I'm sure your family's going to get worried."
"Oh, right!" I can't believe I forgot what time it was. "I should go."
"I apologize for attacking you again, Andy," Scarlet said with a bow of her head.
"It's okay," I reassured her. "It's probably a good thing you did so you can help protect Juliette. Anyways, I better get going. I may drop by again later to see how things are going."
I reached into my core to have myself transform into my ghost form before I turned intangible and flew out of the opera house. It was already dark, the sun had long since gone down. I flew quickly to my house. When I was near Fenton Works, I flew in-between the houses to keep myself hidden before I transformed back into my human self.
I sighed in relief as I walked out from between the houses, and headed up to my front door. I dug into my pocket to take out my house key to unlock the door and went inside. After I closed the door behind me, I noticed something strange. I stretched out my arms and moved my legs up and down a bit. I didn't feel as sore as when I had first turned into my ghost form at the park.
I looked down at my right hand as I flexed my fingers a bit. Huh… I wonder if being in my ghost form heals my human form faster?
I shook my head and headed upstairs. Mom and Dad weren't in the living room, so I assume they were either out hunting ghosts again, or they were in the lab. When I came upstairs, I could hear Jazz exercising in her room. At least she's not doing it in the living room or kitchen again. I walked over to my room, and saw the door was closed.
Huh… that's weird. Why is the door closed? I remember leaving it open before I left. Did Jazz close it? I opened the door and looked around. My room was empty. So empty… no Danny, no Hope… I don't like it.
Then I felt a draft, I looked over at the window to see it was open for some reason. I know I had that window closed… I looked over at my desk. It felt even more empty without Hope. Wait… didn't I leave a bag of chips on this desk? Did a ghost go through here or something?
I didn't sense any ghost nearby, so maybe whatever came through here was just a mischievous ghost and nothing more. I sighed to myself, since I was alone, perhaps I could use this time to try and create a different weapon with my ghost ray. The plasma rod can only do so much. Hope had a good point about guns, maybe I should try making one… What could I use for bullets? Hmm… smaller ecto blasts? Bullet sized, small, fast and it can pierce through a ghost's skin.
I thought back to my battle against Scarlet, she could use arrows to shoot long range. Perhaps I could use the guns in that way, shooting several fast ecto blasts at the enemy. But how should I shape the gun? Too small and it would run out of juice quickly. Too big and I wouldn't be able to hold it properly.
I remembered how Hope said there were weapon shops in the ghost zone inside bazaars that were protected from attacks. Perhaps I could go there to see some examples of already existing ghost guns. Or I could look for regular guns online and try to copy the designs.
Going into the Ghost Zone now might be too dangerous, especially without any backup. I guess the next best thing is to use the pictures on the internet… or… maybe I could use one of the guns my parents used? Guns meant for combatting ghosts… surely they must have something with a design that I can use easily.
I yelped when I heard a loud noise coming from above my room. It sounded like one of the Fenton weapons going off. I looked up at the ceiling and frowned. Did that come from the Ops Center?
Not knowing if it was my parents or someone else firing a weapon from the Ops Center, I decided to take the stairs up there. There didn't used to be stairs that lead to the Ops Center, it was just an elevator before, but Jazz and I requested Mom and Dad to build stairs for safety reasons. I'm just glad they had enough sense to actually do it instead of shrugging it off.
When I got near the top of the stairs, I heard what sounded like laughter… the voices sounded familiar. Wait, it can't be… they should be somewhere at camp right now…
I came up the stairs and reached for the door to open it before I stopped myself.
You know, I want to see what's going on first before I barge in. I thought to myself before I slowly approached the door and opened it a crack, trying to see who was inside the Ops Center. I saw Danny in his ghost form, holding the Fenton Crammer in his hands. Meanwhile Dash was sitting on the table, smiling like he just got off a thrill ride at the amusement park.
"Skulker won't be bothering us for a while," Danny said with a broad grin, patting the Fenton Crammer.
"You and I totally rocked! We make a great team, don't we?" Dash said with a big smile on his face.
Should I even ask what's going on? I frowned to myself, feeling confused as to what they were doing here, why Danny is in his ghost form holding the Fenton Crammer and why Dash is here… why are they both here? I feel like I just missed something.
"I can't believe I teamed up with Danny Phantom!" Dash excitedly said.
"Yeah, I know right?" Danny said with a small chuckle. "But with how my powers were disappearing on me back there, I couldn't have done it without you."
Danny's powers were disappearing? I frowned in confusion. But he seems fine now. And I wonder why Dash would willingly get this close to a ghost, even if he is Danny Phantom's fanboy?
"You know, you aren't as menacing as the news says you are," Dash responded. "They say that you're another one of those ghosts that are set on ruling the world, but you're not, you're the hero who stops those evil ghosts."
"Heh, well there were times that what I did made me look bad," Danny said sheepishly. "But I have no interest in ruling the world, I just don't want people getting hurt because of these ghosts."
Danny put the Fenton Crammer down on the table before he said, "Well, now that we're back to normal and Skulker's gone for a while, maybe it's time to go our separate ways now. I still have to patrol Amity Park and you… you said something about whipping a boy in shape before some kind of test?"
"Yeah, in fact… I was with him before I got shrunk… I hope he's okay…" Dash said with a frown. "Not because I care for him or anything, but because it would look bad if I lost track of the guy I was supposed to be training, that and Andy would probably kill me."
I almost laughed at that, but kept my mouth covered. I really want to know what kind of misadventures they just went through. But they apparently got shrunk? How did that happen? I looked at the Fenton Crammer Danny set on the table. Wait a minute… is that what the Fenton Crammer does? It shrinks people? That's… dangerous. Why did Dad make a ghost invention that could shrink humans too?
"It's weird though… you appeared next to me in the same spot where Danny Fenton was right before we got shrunk," Dash continued. "It's almost like you and him traded places."
Danny gave a nervous look before he said, "Uh yeah, what a weird coincidence. But I only showed up because Skulker was attacking you and Danny. He probably just ran away during the attack."
"As much as I've seen Danny run away, I wouldn't quite say he's a coward," Dash responded. "Sure he can get fearful at times, but that doesn't quite make him a coward."
"Uh really? You always seemed to think he was before, n-not that I would know," Danny quickly said, getting more nervous.
"You know something else I noticed… Danny always seems to disappear right before you show up. And wherever Danny is, there's a good chance you'll show up nearby if there's a ghost," Dash pointed out.
I frowned to myself. It looks like Dash is getting suspicious. I better break it up before he figures it out.
I opened up the door, getting Danny and Dash's attention before I walked in, "Hey, what's going on up here?" I looked between Dash and Danny like I was surprised. "Dash? What are you doing here with Danny Phantom? And where's my brother?"
"Oh, hey, Andy," Dash greeted with a sheepish smile. "I'm not entirely sure where your brother is, but Danny Phantom and I were shrunk down and got hunted by… Skulker, right?"
Danny looked at Dash before he said, "Uh, that's right. He was attacking these two innocent children, so I stepped in to stop him before we got shrunk by the Fenton Crammer."
I crossed my arms before I said, "So you got shrunk… and you've been in this house trying to get unshrunk?"
"Wait… does that mean Danny Fenton is still shrunk down?" Dash asked in shock.
"N-no!" Danny quickly said. "I-I mean I saw him run away before we got hit, so I'm sure he's fine, wherever he is!"
"What do you mean, before we got hit?" Dash questioned. "He was standing right next to me when I got shrunk down, there was no time between me shrinking and your disappearance. He isn't fast enough to run away from a shrinking beam, nobody is, and we also didn't have any heads up."
I walked over to Danny and leaned in before whispering, "Maybe you should let me do the talking, cause you're bound to make Dash more suspicious than he already is. But if I may make a suggestion, tell him you need to leave, then you come up here as Fenton and make an excuse as to where you've been."
"Andy? Since when were you cool enough with a ghost to talk to him like that?" Dash asked when he saw me leaning in on Danny.
"Danny Phantom and I helped each other out before," I said with a shrug. "I guess you can say we're pretty much friends. Anyways, he has to go now, because I heard there's another ghost attacking the park while you two were… having your misadventures."
"Aww, can I at least get a picture of you for my phone wallpaper?" Dash asked as he pulled out his phone.
"Uh-" Danny began to say before Dash took a picture with his phone.
"Awesome! I got a picture of Danny Phantom up close!" Dash said excitedly as he looked at the picture he just took.
I almost wanted to laugh, it was so weird yet amusing to see Dash fanboying over my brother like this.
"Okay, you got your picture, now Phantom should go. Besides, I think my brother will be coming back soon," I said before I looked at Danny. "Right?"
"I don't know, hopefully he will be, but I can't guarantee anything, I'll keep an eye out for him while flying around though," Danny responded before he started flying towards a window. "Well, good luck with your uh… test."
Danny quickly turned intangible and flew out of the glass window. I looked back to Dash and said, "So… mind telling me what happened?"
Jewel moonstone: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Happy almost winter.
DarkFoxKit 'Hamsuke': Is that all? *looks at the review* … Huh, yeah, guess that's all.
FireSoulKid: DarkFoxKit 'Hamsuke': We plan to go up to D-Stabilize and further, we also have something special planned for Phantom Planet. :3 Heh, I'm flattered that you really like my stories, but there are others out there that are just as good if not better, you just have to find them. As for Valerie, when we get to her finding out, we'll let the scene write itself out, hopefully it'll be as natural as possible.
Luna Lillythe: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Thank you, it was incredibly fun and enjoyable to write an original chapter for Andy. While he is Danny's brother and this is the Danny Phantom universe, we don't necessarily have to have Andy and Danny experience everything together.
DarkFoxKit 'Hamsuke': Although this story did start out with the idea of rewriting the series, at least season 1, with an OC twin brother to the main character. It became popular enough to warrant a sequel, and it gives me the courage to step away from the canon episodes more and more.
Mana: DarkFoxKit 'Hamsuke': The camp part was… *Looks at Onyx* that part was your idea, wasn't it? As for the College Years, yes, we saw that. I do like that timeskip, much better than a ten year timeskip. I like that it's more recent, I hate it when a series do a massive timeskip. I also like some of the ideas Butch had, like how Danny is constantly getting crowded by paparazzis, and hiding out in the Ghost Zone just for some peace and quiet.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Firstly, Danny lives in a relatively safe town minus all the ghosts. Secondly, I'm sure Dash has a phone in case of emergency but doesn't want Danny to bring his due to wanting to concentrate. Thirdly, it's a cartoon, you have to remember that. I wouldn't be surprised if Danny, as well as the rest of the family, had undergone training to be able to survive and defend yourself with the bare minimum. And it's not like it's an hour outside town either, it would probably be a 10 minute WALK to the nearest populated area, even less if they were running. I understand if you wouldn't do this, but Maddie isn't you and this fanfiction isn't real life and there are different things that attribute to her willingness to let him go without a phone. I'm sorry if you can't accept it, but that's all there is to it.
ebradl2: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Did you mean 'end here'? If so, it's nowhere close to being done. We've just been taking out times a bit to not overwhelm ourselves, but I promise we're still working on it.
DarkFoxKit 'Hamsuke': Don't assume that just because we haven't updated in a month or so, the story has ended or is being discontinued.