Wow! A lot of response for that last one as well! There were a lot of questions in there, and I'm really sorry that I'm not going to be able to answer them like I usually would. I've been really busy this past week. I hope anything really confusing will be cleared up in the chapter itself.

Happy holidays!

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Chapter 97: Green Side

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Danny woke up in pain. This was depressingly normal.

What wasn't normal was that he was waking up after Valerie shot him. Why had she shot him? What had he done? What could he have done? Sure, she did shoot at him a lot, but not when he was Fenton, not after apologizing.

Save that for later. For right now, what he should be doing was assessing the situation, figuring out what was going on. First, people were talking. He could hear Valerie, and his other classmates, and... Someone else. He couldn't place the voice right now. It, no, they, there were two of them, sounded human, but something about them put his guard up. They were familiar, in a bad way. Danny immediately blamed them for whatever was happening.

He didn't hear Jazz, Sam, Tucker, or Mr Lancer. Had they been knocked out, too? Danny would have to assume that he had no back up against... whoever had convinced Valerie to shoot him. Or Valerie, for that matter. If she could be convinced to shoot him once, she could be convinced to shoot him a second time.

So, he had a vague understanding of who was with him. Where was he? He was lying on something hard. His fingers twitched, brushing the ground beneath him. It felt like wood. It was probably wood. It was also rocking. Rocking. Like on a boat. Was he on a boat?

That was- That was bad. Being on a boat was bad. That meant that he wasn't in Elysium anymore. Depending on how long Danny had been unconscious, they could be miles and miles away from Elysium.

He didn't know how to deal with this. He really and truly didn't know how to deal with this. He had reached the end of his creative rope some time ago. He was mentally exhausted. If there had been someone to fight, that would be one thing. Even if he was injured, even if he wasn't really in fighting shape, he could fight. But, from the sounds of things, his classmates were looking for a portal. They had decided to do this. They had decided to kidnap him. If nothing else, he would have thought that it was clear that he wanted to stay in Elysium. That Elysium was safe. Safe for him. Safe for them.

He didn't know how to keep them safe, if they were going to do this.

No. No, he should stay calm. Stay calm. He could do this. Somehow.

Actually, and this was a bit of a shock to realize, but he might not have to figure this out on his own. Pandora probably already knew that they were gone, and she'd be looking for him. Not to mention Adrestia and the rest of Libra. The best solution might be to fake being asleep until allies showed up. That way he wouldn't have to have an exhausting argument with his classmates (and especially Valerie).

The only problem was that his classmates weren't the only ones on this boat (assuming that it was a boat). He liked those two extra voices less and less as time went on, and there was something in the air, something in the ambient ectoplasmic noise, that just rubbed Danny's core the wrong way.

Where were they going?

Okay, maybe he couldn't just wait. Not if Mystery Voice #1 and #2 were leading his classmates into danger. But he should still feign sleep for now, try to figure out who they were, why they had made off with his people.

Too possessive. Dial it back. Dial it back.

Just breathe. In, out, in, out. He could fake being asleep. He could put together clues. He wasn't panicking, even internally.

Yeah. That lie needed some work.

He was having some trouble with picking up information. Maybe it was the topic. Maybe it was how his head was still fuzzy from being unconscious. Maybe it was all the negative emotional energy. Negative emotional energy... Why did that...

"... Right, Bertrand?"

"Right, Penelope."

Danny jerked in shock. Oh. Oh, heck. That was... Ow. Ow. Oh, jeez. His ankle. And his shoulder. And his back. What was wrong with his back? And everything else, too. Ow. And, maybe he hadn't been faking sleep so much as he had been half asleep. Or a third asleep. Or two thirds asleep. That happened sometimes when you effectively had three brains.

Then he heard Mia shriek, and he was brought back to the problem at hand. Penelope and Bertrand. Spectra and Bertrand. With his classmates. Hurting his classmates. What had she done to Mia?

"Time to wake up, little brat," said Spectra, grabbing his face.

He forced his eyes open, and aimed a sloppy punch at Spectra's face. She just laughed, and leaned back to squeeze Danny's ankle. Danny's vision turned into TV static, but this wasn't the first time Danny had fought through pain. He kicked her, hard, with his good foot, letting his ghostly strength bleed through. That gave him time to get his sight back and to get into a more defensible position.

Then Spectra did what Spectra did, and burst into black flame. Danny barely had enough time to process that before Bertrand jumped him, turning into a saber-toothed tiger mid-leap. As he and Bertrand tumbled, Danny saw his classmates scatter, and Valerie activate her suit. Well. At least one of them was awake.

Danny reached for his core. Spectra and Bertrand wouldn't shy away from murder, not when they talked people into committing suicide on a regular basis. But when he tried to change, to go ghost, all he felt was a burst of pain.

"Poor little brat," mocked Spectra, her flames eating away at the boards and railings of the boat. "Still a little sleepy?"

Danny hissed, and instead directed his energies into a knife made of ice. Even that stung. He slashed at Bertrand, cutting deep into the green ghost's ectoplasm. He took that moment to look at his classmates.

"Look out!" he shouted. They were not in a good position, and Spectra's flames were sneaking up behind them at an alarming rate. Then Danny was on his back again, his knife knocked from his hand. Where were Sam and Tucker? Jazz? Mr Lancer? Please say that they weren't under those flames.

"Oh, what an optimistic little thing," cooed Spectra. He couldn't see her, Bertrand filled his field of vision. "You still think that they'll listen to you! They picked a complete stranger over you. Do you know what they were arguing about? Whether or not you had tricked them into bowing to Pandora when you and your little friends didn't. Isn't that just lovely?"

Danny could feel himself weakening. Spectra was doing her vampire act.

"And don't you little toys try to get away. This is your fault, you know, for believing me in the first place. I mean, really, I came in through a sky light, I told you nothing about myself, I gave you nothing, and I still had you wrapped around my finger in minutes. How much do you hate this little brat, here?"

Valerie shouted something incomprehensible, and fired her gun until it suddenly cut out. Danny tried to see what was happening, but Bertrand had him pinned.

"None of that, either," said Spectra, her voice sickeningly sweet. "Goodness, but you are incompetent. I suppose that I can't blame you too much, though. Hanging out with that... Thing... would make it hard for anyone to tell the difference between a human and a ghost, and of course he lets you overestimate your abilities by taking it easy on you." She sighed. "I was told to kill you all. But..." she trailed off, playfully. "Let's play a game, shall we? I've always liked your human game shows. Survivor, in particular."

Danny tried to push off Bertrand, letting frost flow to the surface of his skin. "Spectra, you- Ah!" he broke off as Bertrand slammed him down. Danny grit his teeth against the pain. He had to think, had to use his head. Maybe... This was still the Ghost Zone, wasn't it?

"Oh, you aren't doing so well, are you? But that's what core damage does, I'm afraid. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. Let's play a few rounds of Survivor. You get to vote on who dies first. Isn't that fun?"

"Don't do it!" shouted Danny, anger and desperation lancing through him. He had to stall long enough to formulate a plan, and this sounded like something that would cause lasting bad feelings even if Danny stopped it in time. "Don't do anything she says!" He was in the Ghost Zone, and he was liminal. Even if his powers weren't working very well currently, he could still manipulate ectoplasm by will alone. Between what was working, and that, he might have a way out of this, a way to save everyone.

"Well, you could do that. Then I'll just kill all of you. Now rules, rules... Oh, yes. You can't pick this lovely little brat." Spectra swooped into Danny's field of view and pinched his cheek. "I want to make him watch. Save him for last." Danny tried to bite her fingers, but missed. "So who's going to die first?"

There was silence. Good. Danny could focus on his thoughts. On what he was about to do. On what he could do. He had a few options, and he had to pick the best one, because he doubted that he would get a second chance on this.

Then, Spectra gasped. "I almost forgot the most important part!" she said gleefully. "Bertrand, make sure he can see this!"

Danny was dragged up by Bertrand, his head caught in a lock as the shapeshifter turned into a strongman. He could see his classmates, all of them huddled in a circle of black fire. Valerie's suit was in tatters, and she was cradling her left arm. It looked broken. His other classmates were covered in bruises, especially Dash and Kwan. Had they tried to fight? To his relief, though, he was able to spot Mr Lancer. He looked fine, if unconscious.

This was good. Danny could see what he had to do now.

"Who shall it be, who shall it be?" asked Spectra, morphing back to a young, human-looking form and prancing across the deck, flames flickering in her steps. "The annoying compulsive liar?" she asked, pointing at Elliot. "The dead weight who always has to be coddled?" she jabbed a finger at Mia. "The school bully?" she leered at Dash. "There are so many choices!"

"Don't-"

"Oh, shut up! Who will it be?"

To Danny's relief, his classmates remained silent. Telekinesis was difficult even with a clear head, as was applying his will to ectoplasm so far away.

"Do I really have to show you that I'm serious? Hm? Well. Let's start with you, Valerie, dear." She reached into the circle of fire to pull Valerie out by her broken arm. "You wouldn't survive this, anyway. Danny-boy here is the only one who likes you, isn't that right? You were thrown out of your little friend group years ago, and no one else would take you in. You were a bit of a bully, too, weren't you? Even to sweet little Danny."

Danny caught Valerie's eyes flash red, and a blaster appeared in her good hand, but then Spectra swept her hand down and-

-Danny felt his Obsession flare-

-it was like time stopped.

She would not hurt them anymore.

The tiller snapped. The boat rocked, and the sails filled, angling downward. The boat plummeted, then the directions changed, the boat snapping back and forth. Spectra and Bertrand were thrown off balance. Such was the risk of using an external point of reference for one's gravity and position. Even though Bertrand was floating, he was thrown as well, off into the void. The boat sped on, faster, faster, faster, Danny whipping it forward with spectral wind.

Danny was incandescent. He was eldritch. Ice and mist boiled off of him. Green fire snapped in the air around him, just inches from his skin. His good foot barely touched the deck, his other injured foot tucked up behind him, knee bent.

Spectra snarled, showing needle-like teeth. "Not worried about your secret anymore? Not worried about what they'll think? About how they'll fear you?"

Danny tilted his head. Valerie was alright. His classmates were alright. Mr Lancer was alright. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz weren't here. They hadn't ever been here. Danny couldn't feel them, couldn't see any bones that might be theirs. There was no sent of cooked meat mixed in with that of ectoplasm. They must be somewhere else.

He snapped his attention back to Spectra just in time to see her razor-tipped fingers approaching his face. He grinned, sharp, wicked, and unblinking as he violently tipped the boat to one side. Danny stayed still, perfectly balanced. His classmates, already on the ground, and a good deal heavier, did not move nearly as much.

"I thought you liked rocking the boat, Spectra?"

"They'll know that you're not even human. They know already, you little abomination! They'll fear you. They already do. I can taste it."

Danny didn't respond. He knew it was true, and Spectra knew that he knew. The thing was, he was far more afraid of them than they could possibly be afraid of him.

Or than he was afraid of Spectra.

"Do I get to vote? Because I vote for you," he said, keeping his voice even, pleasant, because he knew that would annoy her. It worked.

Maybe a little too well.

Danny's head swiveled towards the shrieks and protests of his classmates. The black flames that encircled them had grown higher. Bigger. Hotter. Danny tapped the cold in his chest and yanked it out, throwing it like a blanket over the fires.

He crumpled, gasping, the wind dying. The boat stopped rocking, though its momentum kept it hurtling forward. Danny could feel his skin growing warm. He had hurt himself again. Clockwork would be so disappointed. At least the fires had gone out. But-

Sharp claws seized him by his chin. "Little brat," hissed a red-eyed monster whose breath smelled like brimstone and despair. "Miscalculated, haven't you? If you left them to burn you could at least have saved yourself. I'm going make you beg for death by the time I'm though with-"

There was a crack from somewhere beyond Spectra, and she pulled away from Danny, leaving five deep, slightly burnt, but still bleeding cuts on his face. Dash, of all people, stood behind her, broken oar in his hands.

"Um," said Dash, wide-eyed. Evidently, he had thought Spectra would go down after one sharp blow to the back of the head which was... kind of dumb, actually. She was a ghost. But Danny appreciated the sentiment.

Danny lunged at the mass of flames that served as Spectra's lower half, trying to knock her over before she could try to strike at Dash. He didn't knock her over, but he did manage to make her miss.

In retaliation Spectra shot a ghost ray at the back of Danny's head.