DarkFoxKit: Onyx, you've been watching anime all week, can you take a break?
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': But I'm nearly at the end of this arc… I only have like… 4 more episodes…
DarkFoxKit: Come on, the readers are waiting. You can watch those after we finish up here.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Sighs* Fiiiine… *Pauses the episode*
Andy: You know, you probably could've done this sooner if you weren't so distracted with your game, Kit.
DarkFoxKit: Said the boy who was playing on his own game console all day...
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': That's actually mine. I let him borrow it while I was binging anime as I wasn't going to use it.
Andy: Thanks for that, by the way. Maybe next time I should bring Danny over so he can play too.
DarkFoxKit: You're going to bring Danny HERE? OwO
Andy: No fanfiction, Kit, I will not have my brother be corrupted or traumatized!
DarkFoxKit: Why would I do that poor, innocent, sweet Danny?~
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Because you like tormenting your characters…
DarkFoxKit: Whaaaaat? No I don't.
Andy: Exhibit A. *Points to the entire beginning of My Brother's a Ghost*
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Exhibits B-Z *Points at all the other cases of characters being tormented or corrupted or traumatized*
DarkFoxKit: *Pouts* You guys are mean.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Says the one who is planning on using brainwashing very soon in a story we're working on in the background.
Andy: What brainwashing? To who?
DarkFoxKit: Ah… you don't need to know that. Let's get the readers to the chapter now.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Smirks* Someone by the name of Echo, Andy. I'll tell you more later if you want to know and I'm not busy watching anime~
DarkFoxKit: Onyx, don't.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Turns to the camera* You all have fun with the story~
Chapter 72: A Lesson in Ancient Egypt
When the campaigning had started, things became a little more hectic. Thankfully there haven't been any ghost attacks lately, so Danny and I were able to focus on helping Tucker. Dash and Valerie were too busy with their own campaigns to notice what I was doing, at least for the moment. Sam was telling Tucker what he should say and do with each of the group of people in Casper High, it was easiest for Tucker to fit in with the geeks since he was one himself. However, to appeal the more popular kids, he would need to speak their language. Tucker would have to talk more about things like footballs, basketballs, and other sports around the jocks, while he talks about make-up, sensitive feelings, and ironically, hot boys around the girls. All in all, Tucker learned to adapt quickly.
After we got the picture of Tucker, looking like he was talking to Danny Phantom and Andy Phantom down the street near his house at night, I took it to the school newspaper and asked the one in charge if they could print this along with Tucker's plans for the school if he became Student Council President. As I thought, they were more than happy to print it out since I brought them a good picture of the ghost boy and his supposed brother.
I did make sure to let them know that the ghost boys were brothers, hoping that people would stop thinking I was just Danny's duplicate or shadow. When the journalism club asked me how I knew they were brothers, I told them that they had told Tucker that they were brothers and not a single ghost split into two, and Tucker had let me know about that. This news got the journalism club excited, they wanted to know more. But I chuckled and told them that was all I knew, they'd have to talk to Tucker for more information.
With that job done, it was only a matter of time before Tucker began catching even more attention due to him apparently knowing the town hero personally. Valerie was a bit heated when she found out about this, however, and she actually pulled me aside on the 2nd day of campaigning.
"Andy, what is the meaning of this?" Valerie demanded as she held up the newspaper, showing the picture I submitted.
"What? Oh… sorry, Val, but I already promised Tucker to help him out with his campaign," I confessed.
Valerie shook her head. "Not that, I meant why does Tucker know the Ghost Kid and his brother?"
"Didn't the paper say? Tucker once did a favor to Danny Phantom, he helped him out with some of the tougher ghosts, so…" I replied a little slowly.
"Tucker… helped Danny Phantom?" Valerie repeated questioningly. "Are you talking about the same Tucker who tried starting a computer appreciation club?"
"Yup. Where do you think Danny Phantom gets some of the gadgets he used? Like the Fenton Thermos," I pointed out.
Valerie frowned. "I figured he stole it from your family what with the name of the tools usually being 'Fenton Tool'."
"Would a ghost really be able to invade our house? We have alarms that'd go off right away," I explained.
"Either they're stealing from you, someone in your household is taking the gadgets and giving it to the ghost boys, or Tucker is stealing the gadgets and giving it to them," Valerie pointed out. "I very much doubt that your parents would willingly supply ghosts with gadgets."
"Tucker didn't steal the gadgets. Because he's our friend, Mom and Dad gave him some of the gadgets to help protect him from ghosts. But when Tucker saw Danny Phantom was fighting against other ghosts, he decided that Danny Phantom would make better use out of it," I informed before sighing. "I know you don't like Danny Phantom, or his brother, but-"
"You're right, I don't. They're ghosts, they can't be trusted," Valerie stated harshly before she hesitated a little. "But… well… maybe the Ghost Kid's brother isn't all that bad. He did help me out before when I needed it, even when he had no apparent reason to, but still… he is a ghost, and he is related to the Ghost Kid…"
"Sounds like it's complicated between you and the brother of 'the Ghost Kid'," I remarked. "You going to give him his own name or something now?"
"Well according the the article, his name was Andy," Valerie responded, pausing a bit as she looked at me. "So giving him a name of my own really wouldn't make all that much sense. Or are you talking about the nickname?"
"Well, yeah," I answered.
"To be honest, I think I should. It would be really weird to call him 'Andy', especially since your name is Andy too," Valerie pointed out.
"Heh… yeah, what are the odds of that, huh?" I chuckled nervously.
"I'll probably just call him Phantom," Valerie sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, other than being related to the Ghost Kid and being a ghost himself, I don't really have a reason to hate him."
I gave a small smile at that. "I'm glad then, I'm sure Phantom would appreciate you not trying to blast his head off whenever you see him. By the way, you don't mind that I've been helping Tucker with his campaign, do you?"
Valerie shook her head a little and gave a reassuring smile. "No, it makes sense that you would be helping someone you've been friends with for much longer. I'm sure Dash will understand too."
"Thanks. Still, I wish you and Dash luck, and may the best future student president win." I grinned.
"I don't need luck." Valerie smiled. "Though I'm sure Dash would appreciate the sentiment."
After Valerie and I went our separate ways, I decided to talk to Dash. Dash was fine with me helping Tucker, he figured I would've, but had hoped I would be able to help him. I was glad that I didn't have to worry about putting a strain on our friendship because I chose to help Tucker over Dash or Valerie.
On the 3rd day of campaigning, Tucker stood on a stand in front of his slogan, just outside of the school. The crowd gathered around as Tucker was making his speech about his plans.
"If elected, I promise to get rid of the outdated computers that this school is still using. We deserve better computers, faster and easier access to the internet, it will improve our work and assignments. I also promise to get rid of the mystery meat in the cafeteria once and for all, and bring in some real food. I will also implement safety measures from ghosts, while Danny Phantom and Andy Phantom are trying their best to keep this town protected, they can't be everywhere at once. It's important that we're able to protect ourselves as well," Tucker announced.
The crowd all gave a loud cheer at that.
It felt weird, hearing my own ghost half's name being said to the public like that. But I was glad that things were looking promising for Tucker.
"Really… now…?" Danny sighed before I felt a familiar warm sensation in my throat.
Danny and I released our ghost sense, and I gave a frown.
"In a crowd this big?" I hissed before getting an idea. "Wait… maybe we can use this to our advantage. We only showed a picture of Tucker talking to Danny and Andy Phantom, but with this, we can show he's not just all talk either."
"How so?" Danny whispered.
"Hand Tucker the Fenton Thermos, tell him to throw it to you once we get the ghost down, maybe have him say a witty banter if you want him to make it more fun I guess," I quickly explained.
"Give Tucker the Thermos as myself or Phantom?" Danny quietly asked in response.
"Discreetly give it to him right now, before the ghost attacks, that way it looks like he already had it with him," I whispered, sensing the ghost getting closer.
Tucker just finished his speech and was stepping down from the stand, smiling, unaware of the incoming ghost.
"How was that?" Tucker asked.
"That was pretty good, keep this up and you're bound to win." Sam smiled.
"Tucker, I need to talk to you," Danny spoke up, taking Tucker's arm and pulling him to the side while the crowd was busy talking among themselves. "Here, hold this."
Tucker was surprised when Danny gave him the Fenton Thermos. "Why?"
"There's a ghost coming. Andy said that this will help with your image, all you have to do is throw the Fenton Thermos to me after we knock the ghost out, and maybe say something witty too," Danny quickly informed. "Just… don't pick anything too complex or you might make a fool of yourself."
"Danny, who do you think you're talking to? I am the funny one after all." Tucker smirked.
Before Danny could reply to that, we heard people starting to run and scream. We all looked back to see a giant green lizard-like cyclops appear. The lizard ghost had one big eye with a red iris, sharp, nasty looking teeth, and only two arms and claws, the rest of its body looked like a snake's body.
"Everyone, get to safety!" I heard Valerie shouting over the screaming.
Tucker, Sam, Danny, and I all started running as well, trying to act like we were scared too. As soon as Danny got behind a tree, he transformed into his ghost form before flying towards the lizard ghost. I had to jump into a bush before turning into my ghost form, and flew out to join Danny. The lizard ghost let out a roar as it jumped at us. Both Danny and I flew in opposite directions, dodging the lizard ghost as it flew into the air. The lizard ghost turned around.
"Hey, One Eye Wonder, have you had your shots lately?" Danny called out.
I could hear the students calling out excitedly that Danny Phantom and his brother were here. They sounded excited to watch what will happen. I was a little worried that they might get too close. I wasn't sure if Valerie ever got a new suit from her supplier after the Technus incident, but it seemed she was too busy making sure the other students were safe to have the time and place to change anyways.
The lizard ghost swung its snake-like tail at both of us. Danny flew over the tail while I went intangible to dodge it. As soon as I released my intangibility, I formed my Plasma Rod and flew closer to the ghost creature. Danny fired a ghost ray at the lizard ghost's face, barely missing the eye. The lizard ghost let out a cry of pain, and swiped at Danny with its claws. However, I got in close before I slammed my Plasma Rod into its chest, causing it to fall back a few feet. I then created another Plasma Rod and used my telekinesis to make both of them float beside me.
The lizard ghost charged itself at me, but Danny flew in close and punched its back, forcing it to go down into the ground below. Thankfully the students were smart enough to run away before it smashed into the ground. The lizard ghost let out a cry of anger and flew up, intending to swipe its claws at us. I forced my two Plasma Rods to fly towards the lizard ghost's claws. As soon as the ghost creature's claws touched my Plasma Rods, it gave a roar of pain as it was being electrocuted from the plasma energy. While the creature was screaming in pain, Danny used this time to fly up to the lizard ghost's face and kicked it down in the forehead, forcing it to fall back down into the ground. The lizard ghost didn't move after that, it appeared to be knocked out.
That was surprisingly easy. Compared to the likes of Vlad, Pariah Dark, Dan, my own future self, and Aragon, this feral ghost wasn't all that tough. I also noticed that Danny and I were getting more and more in sync in battle lately.
"Yo, Danny Phantom, here!" Tucker called out. "Put that overgrown lizard in its cage!"
Danny looked down to see Tucker tossing him the Fenton Thermos, as planned. Danny caught the Fenton Thermos.
"Thanks, Tucker!" Danny spoke up, making sure everyone in the area could hear him.
I chuckled to myself in amusement when I could hear the students all talking to each other in awe before Danny removed the cap from the Fenton Thermos, letting it suck in the unconscious lizard ghost with ease.
"Time to wrap this up," I whispered to Danny.
Danny nodded to me before he spoke up again. "Thanks for the Thermos, Tucker. I was able to capture that ghost and keep it from causing too much harm thanks to your quick thinking."
"Yeah, it's good that you always come prepared," I added.
"Now my brother and I should go, you never know where another ghost might attack," Danny stated, making sure people knew I was his brother and not his clone.
Both of us began to fly up as we saw the other students coming out of hiding, and were cheering loudly. They began to chant our names.
"Danny Phantom! Andy Phantom! Danny Phantom! Andy Phantom!"
Both of us flew away, making sure we were out of sight.
"Well, now they know you exist as a separate entity, bro," Danny chuckled.
"Yeah… though I wonder how Mom and Dad will take it…" I replied with concern.
"I can't believe that there's another Ghost Kid running loose with that Phantom kid!" Mom scowled as she was looking at the school newspaper.
We were down in the lab, Dad was working on another invention while Mom was checking for any calculation errors, and she had been reading the newspaper.
"I was hoping that Danny Phantom punk was just using a duplicate to make things easier for himself, but I didn't think this was an actual separate entity. There hasn't been a record of two complex ghosts looking alike in history, outside of movies of course," Dad stated in fascination and irritation.
"What's so bad about that? They just saved the school from a giant lizard ghost," I spoke up.
"It means that if they decide to cause trouble, they can cause twice as much damage," Dad answered.
"And twice as much destruction," Mom added. "Danny Phantom was already a powerful ghost alone, having another one would just make things that much worse."
"I doubt they would want to cause destruction," Danny argued. "They both seem to genuinely want to protect the town, not destroy it."
"You can't know for sure that they don't have any ulterior motives," Dad retorted. "For all you know, they want to make the town think they're friendly and then BAM they'll turn on the town."
"Why are you so sure that's what they'll do?" I questioned.
"Because they're ghosts, Andy, it's in their nature to be evil and corrupted," Mom answered. "One of these days, I wouldn't be surprised if they decide to use the people they've gained the trust of to take over the world."
I felt my eyes going wide as a memory struck me. Corrupted Danny smirking, changing everyone, becoming half ghosts until they deteriorated into full, mindless ghosts. I was able to stop him in the end, but what would happen if both of us got corrupted? Would there be anyone who could stop us? What if I only delayed the inevitable? What if-
My train of thought stopped when I felt someone's hands on my shoulders. I blinked, turning to see Danny giving me a concerned look. I relaxed, remembering that Danny was Danny, not Corrupted Danny.
"Um… maybe we shouldn't worry about that right now," Danny spoke up. "Andy and I came down here to ask you to sign our permission slips to go to the Amity Museum tomorrow for a class field trip."
"The museum?" Dad asked as Mom stopped what she was doing and walked over.
"Yeah, Mr. Lancer will be taking us to the museum tomorrow because they just changed out their Chinese Dynasties exhibit with Ancient Egypt," I explained, glad for the subject change. "We've been studying up on Ancient Egypt in history lately, so Mr. Lancer thought it would be the perfect opportunity to visit the museum and learn more about it."
Danny and I held up our permission slips to Mom and Dad.
Mom took the permission slips and read them over before she put them on a nearby table, took out a Fenton Pen, which thankfully actually writes like an actual pen, and signed both of our permission slips. "There, make sure you two boys behave while you're there. And if there are any ancient egyptian spirits, call us immediately."
Mom handed us back the permission slips.
"Thanks, Mom." I smiled, before looking at the permission slip. Ancient Egypt, huh? It would certainly be a great place and time for ghosts to roam. Magic and monsters being part of the norm back then… I'm pretty excited to learn more about it myself.
The next day, our history class were inside Amity's Museum. The museum had just rotated to Ancient Egypt, and currently the treasures of an ancient pharaoh named 'Duul Aman' were being presented to the forefront. Dash, Kwan, Paulina, Valerie, and a few other kids I recognized were all in this class.
"We will be heading straight for the Ancient Egypt exhibit first," Mr. Lancer announced. "After we've fully explored the exhibit, you all may do as you wish until it is time to get back on the bus. Remember the rules, no touching, no going behind the red ropes, no horseplay, no…"
I allowed my mind to drown out the rest of Mr. Lancer's list as I had heard it plenty of times before.
After Mr. Lancer finished listing off the rules, he began the tour. All of us were to stay together as Mr. Lancer began to talk about the treasures we were looking at. I was looking at a statue of a sphinx in a glass case.
"The treasures of Pharaoh Duul Aman, which you see before you, dates back to 4000 years ago," Mr. Lancer stated.
"Duul Aman? As in man is this dull?" Tucker joked.
A good portion of the class laughed at Tucker's joke, while others simply groaned.
"You really want to joke about a pharaoh, whose spirit may or may not still be lingering around?" I asked when I approached Tucker.
"What? It was just begging to be used," Tucker remarked.
Dash laughed himself, before Mr. Lancer glared in annoyance. Dash gave a nervous grin. "What? I thought it was a good one."
"You shouldn't joke when it comes to anything related to Ancient Egypt," Mr. Lancer scolded. "Any of these artifacts could have a curse that, if the object or object's former owner is disrespected, could be placed on you. Have you never heard of the curses of the tombs? Of course, all those curses of the tombs were actually poor archaeologists not using proper protection when unsealing tombs. Many an archaeologist died because they were exposed to potent diseases, bacteries, viruses, and poisons that had gone dormant and was absorbed into the dust of the tomb."
"Oh, come on, Mr. Lancer. Curses aren't real, everybody knows that," A smarty pants kid spoke up.
"You mean just like how everyone thought ghosts weren't real?" Mr. Lancer countered calmly. "It's better to be safe than sorry, students, keep that in mind. After all, for this specific exhibit, there is a specific curse that was inscribed onto a slab near the pharaoh's sarcophagus."
"What's the curse?" Sam questioned with interest.
"Before we get to that, Ms. Manson, we must see who Pharaoh Duul Aman was," Mr. Lancer stated with a smile before walking ahead. "I know that it will surprise most of you."
All of us followed Mr. Lancer, until he stopped in front of a huge portrait. When I looked at the portrait, I found myself staring in shock. I was sure Danny, Sam, and especially Tucker were just as surprised and shocked as I was. The portrait showed Tucker himself, though he looked older, angrier, nastier, and he wore the royal pharaoh robes back in that era. I could see him wearing a cape, and an Egyptian headdress on his head. The way 'Tucker' was presented in the portrait had a commanding vibe to it.
"Is this… a joke?" Dash asked, bewildered. "That looks like Foley."
Mr. Lancer was grinning at our expressions before he gestured to the portrait. "Behold, this is Pharaoh Duul Aman."
"Whoa…" Danny said in awe. "Tucker… you look like a king."
"I know, right? This is really awesome!" Tucker smiled.
I didn't believe in reincarnation, but this certainly had some merits to that idea. I looked at Tucker, and at the portrait of Duul Aman. There was no denying the similarities.
"I take back what I said earlier… there is nothing dull about this man…" Tucker jested in awe.
"It's just… kind of weird though," Sam remarked. "I mean why does this pharaoh look so much like Tucker?"
"Who knows, it could just be coincidence," Mr. Lancer spoke up as he walked around us, heading for an artifact that was near the portrait. "Or it could be that Mr. Foley is the reincarnation of the Pharaoh. Speculations are welcomed."
I could hear the class whispering to each other, likely curious about Tucker's resemblance to an ancient pharaoh.
"And this…" Mr. Lancer stated, catching our attention, he gestured to a golden scepter that had a blue gem of sorts at the tip of it, held by the forks of the scepter, inside a glass case. "Is the Pharaoh's Scarab Scepter. It was said to hold dark magic back in ancient time, however, its magic has been lost over the ages."
I studied the Scarab Scepter, while it felt weak, I did sense something coming from it. I felt a little cautious, especially since the last time I saw a magical artifact, it was controlling my brother.
Mr. Lancer then brought the group over to a large stone tablet.
"Here we have the Pharaoh's Promise tablet, the one that speaks of the 'curse'," Mr. Lancer explained. "Inscribed onto the tablet are the words 'Pharaoh Duul Aman shall be reborn when a descendant presents themselves.'. Some scientists are actively working to try and track down any possible descendants of the dead Pharaoh in hopes of finding out what the promise truly entails."
After the stone tablet, Mr. Lancer moved on to a sarcophagus, there was a small mirror, made of what looked a crystal instead of glass like a regular mirror, in the center of the sarcophagus, which I found odd. I didn't think that Ancient Egyptians would have mirrors on their sarcophaguses.
"This sarcophagus holds the mummified remains of the Pharaoh's minion, Hotep Ra. According to the ancient legends, Hotep Ra will return when the king's image would reflect anew in his sacred mirror," Mr. Lancer explained.
"Hey Tucker, maybe you should look into the mirror," One of the classmates suggested with a chuckle. "After all, the mirror is the only thing in this entire exhibit that one could present themselves at."
"Besides, maybe if you're lucky, you'd get a minion," Kwan added. "Or just another pimple."
"Lay off him, man." Dash frowned at Kwan.
"Yeah, back off," Another classmate agreed, someone else from the school's football team. "Just because Tucker doesn't spend an hour in the bathroom pampering himself like a little princess doesn't mean you can pick on him."
"I mean he's a geek, I thought that's what we do," Kwan said in confusion.
"Not to our possible future Student Council President," The jock hissed. "Not to mention the fact he's on good terms with Danny Phantom and his brother Andy Phantom."
"Class, we are almost done with the tour. From here, you can go to the gift shop and wait there or in the lobby or you can explore the rest of the museum," Mr. Lancer spoke up as he walked ahead of everyone. "Be sure to pick up something that will help you learn more about our history. Remember that we will be leaving in a few hours and lunch will be at 12 at the museum's cafeteria."
"Hey, let's go check out the pirate exhibit!"
"Oh, I want to go see the moon landing exhibit again."
"I'll probably just go look at the colonial era, we've been here many times and there's really nothing new besides this exhibit… which is boring."
Everyone around us began leaving, going to other exhibits, or likely the gift shop or lobby. I noticed that Tucker was looking at the sarcophagus with interest. Danny and Sam stuck around too, likely just as curious as Tucker was.
"What do you think, Tuck?" Danny asked. "Should you try looking in the mirror to see if anything happens?"
"Isn't that dangerous?" Sam questioned. "What if the Pharaoh's Promise isn't just for show?"
"Not to mention the whole Pharaoh being reborn thing sounds pretty ominous," I added.
"Yeah…" Tucker frowned a little. "But aren't you a little curious? I know I am."
"Don't do it, Tucker," I warned. "We don't know what could happen."
"We could always go home, do some research and come back," Sam offered.
"I think that might actually be a pretty good idea. I want to look up stuff about that scepter," Danny agreed. "I got a very strange… feeling from it."
"So you felt it too," I noted.
"Alright, fine, we'll-" Tucker sighed as he subconsciously walked forward to get a better look at the sarcophagus, but realized his mistake when his face reflected on the mirror, and the sarcophagus started to glow brightly. "Uh… whoops?"
Danny sighed before I saw a ring form around his torso. "Really, Tucker…? Bro, get ready, there's no way this isn't going to end badly."
I nodded as a ring of my own burst around my torso, both of us changing into our ghost forms at roughly the same time. The sarcophagus swung open, releasing a powerful energy that threw us back a few feet.
"Is that a… mummy ghost?" I heard Tucker asked in surprise.
I managed to get my eyes open after being pushed back by that energy, and saw a tall man wrapped in gauze, wearing ancient black and red Ancient Egyptian garb. One thing of note was that he wore bracelets that had what looked like green gemstones on it, but it wasn't a natural green, more of an ecto energy green.
"I AM RISEN!" The mummy ghost declared loudly as the black… tentacles moved around behind him.
I blinked in surprise. Did he just speak in English? I would've thought he'd speak in Egyptian.
The people that were near the area all looked over at us when the mummy ghost shouted, and they all ran away in a panic.
The mummy ghost grabbed his sarcophagus with his tentacles and threw it at Danny and me. I noticed that Tucker and Sam were near us, so we couldn't let the sarcophagus hit them. In this limited space, we had to be careful of collateral damages. I formed a shield around Danny and me just before the sarcophagus slammed into the shield, breaking it apart. Half of the sarcophagus was falling towards Sam.
"Sam!" Danny shouted in worry.
Reacting quickly, I sent out my telekinesis at the half of the sarcophagus that was falling towards Sam. I managed to grab a mental hold on it, making it glow green, and stopped it in mid air.
"Move… Sam…" I said while concentrating on my hold on the half of the sarcophagus.
Sam nodded and moved out of the way quickly. "Thanks, Andy... Phantom!"
With Sam out of the way, I could finally let the half of the sarcophagus drop to the floor. I let out a sigh of relief, that thing was heavy.
"Who are you and what do you want?!" Danny demanded from the mummy.
"That is none of your concern, child!" The mummy ghost snapped before he held up his two hands and shot them out like rockets.
"Look out!" I yelped before Danny and I flew in different directions to avoid the hands.
"Of course it is," Danny replied to the mummy while he dodged the hands. "You said you are risen, but why? What caused you to rise? Was it really simply because someone who looked like your pharaoh looked at the mirror on the sarcophagus?!"
The mummy ghost glared as he brought his hands back and shot out his six black tentacles at us. Danny and I tried to dodge, but with the enclosed space, we couldn't move very much without possibly damaging something. I tried to go intangible, but the black tentacle was still able to grab me and Danny.
"Wait, Danny, I think you're onto something," I spoke up as the mummy ghost began to pull us closer to him.
"What?" Danny asked, looking at me as we struggled against the mummy's pull.
I looked back to see Tucker and Sam looking at us in concern.
"Tucker! Show yourself to the mummy!" I called out. "Hurry!"
Tucker gulped a little before he ran out into the open. "S-stop right there!"
The mummy ghost hissed. "Who dares to give Hotep Ra orders!?"
Tucker stopped in front of the mummy, standing in front of us. The mummy ghost, who called himself Hotep Ra, gasped when he saw Tucker's face. As soon as Hotep Ra gasped, he released both Danny and I.
"Could it really be you, my Pharaoh?" Hotep Ra questioned.
"I… I believe I may be a descendant of the Pharaoh Duul Aman," Tucker stated a little nervously. "He and I look incredibly similar."
"Oh… I understand now. You are Pharaoh Duul Aman reborn," Hotep Ra realized. "I am your humble servant, Hotep Ra, O Great One. I exist only to obey and serve you. Your dynasty will begin anew, my Pharaoh."
Tucker looked both shocked and amazed by this declaration. "That is so cool! Look at this, guys! I have my own minion, and I'm a pharaoh! How awesome is that?"
"I hate to break it to you, Tucker, but pharaohs kind of don't exist in this era…" Sam remarked.
"Besides, is it wise to keep this mummy around?" Danny asked as he and I landed beside Tucker. "We could try to find if his pharaoh exists in the Ghost Zone somewhere."
Hotep Ra suddenly let out a laugh at the very suggestion. "No self respecting pharaoh would exist in the Ghost Zone. Their spirits will have moved on to a plane far beyond the lowly Ghost Zone, or be consumed by Ammit, or be reborn in a new era."
"Are you sure you want to serve a teenag-" Sam started to say before she shook her head. "You know, I'm going to stop there because I just remembered that King Tutankhamun was a teen."
"It is my duty to obey and serve the whims of my Pharaoh, no matter the era or body he is in," Hotep Ra stated.
"This just got a whole lot more interesting." Tucker smiled, rubbing his hands together.
"I don't know… this just doesn't seem right," I spoke up, looking at Hotep Ra. "Even if you could take him with you, Tucker, don't you think that having an ancient ghost living in the modern time be a bit… dangerous? He might attack anything he's unfamiliar with that might look like a threat to you. Not to mention your parents may not take to a mummy ghost following you around like a dog too well."
"Ancient ghost living in modern time?" Tucker repeated. "So… what about Juliette and Scarlet?"
"They're not as ancient as Hotep Ra is," I argued.
"But maybe they can house Hotep Ra?" Sam suggested. "I mean if we're not going to toss him into the Ghost Zone, that's probably the next best thing for him."
"Yeah, even though Hotep Ra could go invisible, it'd be difficult to keep that up for a long period of time. And I'm sure your parents will notice something's up eventually," Danny pointed out.
"If I may decide what is to become of me, I would not like to end up in the Ghost Zone," Hotep Ra stated firmly.
"He doesn't seem like he's a bad guy, just… a little out of place as he was last alive thousands of years ago," Tucker defended. "I think we can go talk to Juliette and Scarlet later and see if they'd be willing to house Hotep Ra."
"Just make sure he doesn't start attacking people like he did with us," I sighed.
"I do deeply apologize. I was worried that you two were intruders to my Pharaoh's tomb," Hotep Ra explained before he looked around. "Though I now see that we are not even in my Pharaoh's tomb, but some kind of… exhibit."
"WHAT'S GOING ON IN THERE!?" We all froze when we heard Valerie's voice.
"Uh-oh, we should leave before Valerie gets here," I warned.
Danny nodded. "I'm with you on that one, bro."
I wasn't sure how Tucker managed to keep Hotep Ra hidden from his parents all day, but when we met up just outside the opera house later that night, Tucker was smiling.
"Hey, there you are," Danny said when we saw Tucker coming towards us. "Where's your new 'minion'?"
"Watch this," Tucker remarked before he clapped his hands a few times.
Suddenly the ground was shaking. All of us looked around to see mud, grass, and rocks floating in the air before gauze covered them up. In a flash of light, Hotep Ra was standing there, holding Tucker's backpack in his hand.
I blinked. "Did you just summon Hotep Ra?"
"Uh-huh, isn't that cool?" Tucker grinned. "My parents never saw him since I came home today."
"It's… definitely something," Danny replied hesitantly. "Though it probably wouldn't be smart to do that during the day."
"But it is pretty cool, I'll admit," Sam remarked with a grin.
"Oh, and watch this," Tucker spoke up before turning to Hotep Ra. "Grape me."
"Yes, my Pharaoh," Hotep Ra said before he turned his hand intangible, reached into the backpack, and took out a cluster of red grapes.
Hotep Ra held out the cluster of grapes to Tucker, and Tucker ate some of the bottom of the cluster of grapes. After he was done, Hotep Ra turned the grapes intangible before putting them back into the backpack.
"You just had a mummy feed you grapes?" I deadpanned.
It felt weird watching Tucker ordering a mummy ghost around like that, and the mummy ghost loyally doing Tucker's whim.
"Tucker… maybe you shouldn't take too much advantage of Hotep Ra," Danny suggested.
"Yeah, I mean as cool as it is to have a mummy minion, it might not be a good idea to make him do everything for you," Sam agreed.
"Come on, guys, Hotep Ra practically begged me to give him orders," Tucker stated.
"Whatever, let's just go talk to Juliette and Scarlet about this," I sighed. "They're probably upstairs in the bedroom right now."
"Then let's go on in," Sam said before she started to walk into the opera house.
We all followed Sam into the opera house. We were about to go upstairs when suddenly arrows rained down from the ceiling at Hotep Ra. Hotep Ra managed to jump back, dodging the spears.
"What the?" Tucker questioned in shock.
"Uh-oh…" I paled, recognizing those arrows.
"Come no further, foul ghoul!" Scarlet's voice ordered.
We all looked up to see the holy knight flying down from the ceiling, glaring at Hotep Ra.
"Scarlet? What are you doing?" Danny asked.
"Stopping this… evil creature from coming any closer to Princess Juliette!" Scarlet hissed through gritted teeth.
"What evil creature? You mean Hotep Ra?" Tucker frowned.
"You may not sense it, but that being possesses powerful darkness magic," Scarlet informed. "And I will not allow a dark wielder to approach my princess!"
"Darkness magic?" Sam repeated, looking at Hotep Ra. "Didn't Mr. Lancer say something about dark magic in the museum?"
"So it wasn't just ghost energy we were sensing from him…" Danny commented.
"Wait, Scarlet, I know Hotep Ra has dark magic, but that doesn't mean he's evil, does it?" I asked. "He seems to be very loyal to his Pharaoh, who is Tucker right now."
"That's right, Ra here wouldn't do anything to harm anyone," Tucker defended.
"It doesn't matter what he has told you." Scarlet scowled. "That creature won't be let any further into this building and if he even tries to approach Princess Juliette, I shall slaughter him where he floats!"
"That's going to be a problem then, since we brought him here to give him a place to stay…" Sam frowned.
"You need not worry, my Pharaoh," Hotep Ra spoke up to Tucker. "I do not require a shelter to stay in. It would be easier if I stayed near you at all times anyways."
"Are you sure?" Tucker asked.
"Of course, no human will detect me as long as you do not wish for them to, my king," Hotep Ra reassured. "But there is no reason to hide me, for you are royalty. You do not need to be ashamed of showing off your loyal minion."
Tucker smiled before he turned to us. "Well, I guess that's that then. I'll keep Hotep Ra with me, so that way you don't have to worry about his 'dark magic' corrupting Juliette."
"Are you sure you want that, Tucker?" Danny asked. "That means you won't be able to get close to Juliette as long as you have Hotep Ra with you."
"Yeah… well…" Tucker frowned at that.
"Maybe there's a way to get rid of the dark magic on Hotep Ra?" Sam offered.
"Like a way to purify him?" I questioned.
"That may not be possible, I'm afraid," Hotep Ra spoke up. "The only reason I exist as I am now is because I was blessed by my Pharaoh's dark magic before death. If the dark magic were to be wiped away, I'd be turned to dust."
Tucker looked at Scarlet. "Are you sure there's no way he can stay here? Maybe in another room or something away from Juliette?"
"There is no chance he and his dark artifact shall be allowed to stay here," Scarlet adamantly replied.
"Dark artifact? What dark artifact?" Sam demanded Hotep Ra.
"And why do you have it with you?" Danny added, looking at Hotep Ra.
"Oh, I apologize. For you see, I took the Scarab Scepter from that place you call the 'museum'," Hotep Ra answered.
"Why?" I questioned.
"Because it should not be in the possession of regular humans, especially in this era, for it is not only dangerous, but it is only meant for the Pharaoh to wield," Hotep Ra explained.
"So you stole that scepter from the museum?" Danny frowned.
"Hey, lay off, man," Tucker spoke up. "Ra meant well, he knew that the scepter would be dangerous if it was left at the museum like that. What if some lowly thief tried to steal it?"
"Tucker, I get that you want to defend Hotep Ra, but the fact of the matter is he took it without letting us know," Danny pointed out. "He shouldn't have stolen. Maybe if he told us it was important to keep it away from people instead of sneaking behind our backs, we may have been more understanding and may have even helped."
"He needs to go back to where he came from," Scarlet hissed. "He will put everyone in danger if left unchecked."
"Are you all against Hotep Ra?" Tucker frowned.
"We're not against him, we're just concerned," Sam spoke up. "What if he's trying to manipulate you or something?"
"Why would he do that?" Tucker asked, getting angry. "None of you are even trying to give him a chance."
I was looking at Hotep Ra, but I couldn't read any emotions from him. I knew if I tried to argue, Tucker would just get angrier.
"Let's all cool down before we say something we regret," I spoke up. "Tucker, how about you just keep an eye on Hotep Ra for now? Maybe let us know if he does anything you find… disagreeable. And if nothing bad happens, then maybe we can talk to Scarlet about lighting up around him."
Tucker took a deep breath and let it out. "You're right, Andy, sorry. I guess I was getting carried away with the idea of having my own minion. Do you really think it'll be okay to keep him around with me?"
"I don't, it's best you get rid of him as soon as possible," Scarlet grumbled.
"I think you should be able to handle yourself, Tucker," I answered, ignoring Scarlet's grumbling. "After all, these are the types of decisions you'll have to make for yourself when you become the Student Council President. While we can give you advice, it'll be up to you in the end to make the decisions."
Tucker gave an appreciated nod.
"If he becomes a problem, come get me immediately," Scarlet stated, narrowing her eyes at Hotep Ra.
"Be sure to let us know if there's any problem, Tucker, we'll be sure to come over right away," Danny said.
"Thanks guys, I really do appreciate it," Tucker gratefully replied. "I guess we should get back home though, it's getting late."
"Yeah, my parents will freak out if they knew I snuck out again," Sam sighed.
"Come on, Ra, let's go," Tucker said to Hotep Ra as he started to walk out of the opera house.
I blinked, and suddenly Tucker was wearing the Pharaoh's robes, a headdress on his head instead of his usual beret, and he was holding a golden scepter. But when I blinked again, Tucker was wearing his normal clothes, and there was no sign of the scepter.
What was that? I frowned to myself. Was that a vision?
Reviews
Titanic X: DarkFoxKit: Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it.
Mana: DarkFoxKit: Not really, they've already decided on Andy's ghost name, didn't you notice it? They're sticking with Andy Phantom, mostly because, as Hope said, it wouldn't work so well in the middle of battle if Andy didn't react if Danny calls out a name he's not familiar with or Danny accidentally calls him Andy. So we're not going with any other alternatives. They sounded less like names and more like titles.
Danny and Sam were supporting Tucker as well, they just weren't listening to Tucker evidently, or Tucker was being too stubborn to take their advice. Unless you mean using their ghost powers to support him, then yeah, that would make Tucker a lot more popular for the voters.
Valerie's not helping Dash become Student President, I'm not sure if you misinterpreted something or what, but Valerie's running against Dash. And our Dash isn't threatening anyone, that's only canon Dash.
Yeah, Hope and Plaything definitely will have an interesting interaction.
haloguardian452: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Having the normal paced chapters in between all the fighting makes the fighting feel fresh every time. If we had a fight in every chapter, it would most likely get boring to read and tedious to write.
DarkFoxKit: We also enjoy doing chapters where they're doing normal or mundane activities to show they are still human despite their ghost fighting careers, and it makes them feel more real.
Luna Lillyth: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Honestly, we absolutely overhauled the King Tuck episode. There are common elements that are still there, but it's more than just a one episode thing. If Nickelodeon had made what we wrote, it would most likely be an hour long special or a week long event.
DarkFoxKit: We definitely had fun with the overhaul. I'm also glad that someone appreciated Danny and Andy's talk about Andy being a halfa. I love doing those heart to heart moments between the two brothers.