Hello and happy Friday! I've got my buffer up to whereI feel comfortable posting on Sundays again, so look for a new chapter on Sunday!

Anne Camp: No, it won't be. Poor Danny.

MrsFrizzle: Yes, I've been sitting on that development for a while. :)

Black Cat: Thank you so much! I worry about quality, but a lot of thanks goes to my beta, Kim at for keeping me from throwing myself down stupid plot holes.

Jatynzel: Glad to see you're still reading!

DemonKittyAngel: In their defence, they're all tired and hungry, and there was food right there. That's not to say that one of them won't remember it later...

PrinceBelladonna: I'm glad I caught you! I hope you continue to enjoy this story.

Thank you all for reviewing!

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Chapter 141: Princes and Kings

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Issitoq would have sneered, if he had anything approaching human facial structure. He couldn't see into the Tower, not in any way that mattered, but he could see both what was currently happening on that ship, and what would happen.

The little abominations shouldn't have sent that letter. Issitoq was now more eager than ever to destroy all three of them. Now he knew where they were. At least, he knew where they had been, and where they should be soon.

Contingencies like this were the reason he had kept a few trump cards in reserve. Although, he would have to remember to refrain from calling them such. The person he would be using this time was ludicrously sensitive.

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It was difficult to get all of the 'nobles' and 'royals' to move along. Danny was more than a little tempted to stay, himself, if only to take advantage of the food. But some of the ghosts were watching them too closely, and there were ghosts coming in through the doors. Ghosts that were probably bounty hunters or mercenaries on the outside. It was only a matter of time before one of them was able to remember what they had come in for, only a matter of time before one with a real claim to a noble title or an Obsession that would allow them to ignore the effects of the floor came in.

At least that's what Danny's paranoia and anxiety were telling him.

"Come on," said Danny, tugging on the edge of Mia's long, embroidered sleeve. "Please, we can't stay here."

Mia swept her sleeve away from him. "I don't see why we can't." Her accent had changed, as well as her clothes, and she had her glasses back. "Didn't you say before, that your friends were coming to get us?"

"Yes, but that could be a long time. Please. I got Mr Lancer to say he'll come."

Mia frowned. "How do you even know Mr Lancer?"

Danny blinked. "He's... our English teacher? At Casper High. Which you probably don't go to. How do you know Mr Lancer?"

"He's my tutor." She sighed, and put a hand to the side of her face. "It's unbelievable isn't it, how well this thing fakes memories. I can even remember summers in Lan Liore, winters in Cape Gustin..."

Danny didn't know what either of those places were, but he supposed that a universe where Mia was... Well, whatever. A princess, or a queen, or a duchess, or a countess, or something... would have to be different.

It was really weird that Mr Lancer was still a teacher in her universe, though. It made Danny wonder...

"Hey, how do you know me?"

Mia gave Danny a look. "Your parents work for the government. Your mother is the king's Ghost Affairs adviser."

"Right. Okay," said Danny. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "But we really have to go, and if you go, I think Sarah will to, and-"

"Who is Sarah?"

Danny groaned, and was about to renew his line of argument, when the opening of an outside door distracted him. He looked over his shoulder, and suppressed the urge to curse.

It was Aragon.

The Dragon Prince of Mattingly strode into the room, chin raised, black cloak and gray hair fluttering. His deep-set red eyes scanned the room, flicking from face to face. His eyes landed on Danny, and he barred his teeth in a snarl.

"PHANTOM!" he howled.

The room went silent. From all the way on the other side, Danny heard Ellie whisper, "Oh, no."

Danny was mentally echoing that sentiment, especially when his eyes found Aragon's amulet hanging around his neck. How in the world had he gotten it? Was Dora okay?

No time for those questions now.

"Run!" Danny shouted.

Aragon's body twisted and bulged. His eyes bulged yellow, and his skin became scaly. Danny, meanwhile, tried to get as far away from everyone as possible, so as to limit their exposure to Aragon's wrath. However, Ellie, Valerie, and, surprisingly, Mr Lancer were having none of that. Mr Lancer had even acquired a sword. From where, Danny had no idea. Why was it that everyone he knew was completely insane?

"Go upstairs!" he shouted at them, narrowly dodging a stream of pale, ghostly dragon-fire.

"You go upstairs," Ellie shouted back. "Hey! You! Ever hear of breath mints?" She threw a volley of icicles at Aragon. "Mine are winter fresh!"

"Pun later! Run now!"

"Do you even hear yourself?" asked Valerie, who was attempting to use the ghost powers she had exactly no control over to attack Aragon.

"The scales aren't exactly in our favor right now!" said Danny, diving behind a table. "If you haven't noticed," he gestured wildly at the dragon, "they're all over him." Danny looked up in surprise as Ellie echoed his words perfectly.

"Don't worry, cuz, I think he's just winging it!"

Danny scoffed. "We're all winging it!"

Aragon turned to snap at Valerie, who had managed to get off a shot. Danny dove at her, pushing her away. Valerie glared at him and ran back into the fight.

"Hey! No need to fang me!"

Overhead, Ellie giggled. Oh, Ancients, they were addicts.

"Much Ado About Nothing," cursed Mr Lancer, who hadn't managed to get close enough to use the sword. It was good to know he still did the title thing, even when he was king.

Cujo was off on the other side of the room, fighting animal ghosts unfamiliar to Danny. They looked about evenly matched, so Danny returned his attention to the elephant (more accurately the dragon) in the room.

Most of Danny's classmates, not to mention most of the ghosts that had been on the floor, had vanished. Valerie and Mr Lancer already knew. Did Danny dare?

He tried to trigger his transformation, and was rewarded with a wave of pain. He doubled over, and Ellie swept him out of the way of a blast.

"Thanks," gasped Danny.

"Yeah, you should probably try to get out of here yourself."

"Can't leave you," said Danny.

"Might have to." Ellie called up a shield. "Keep an eye on the others?" she suggested.

Vlad slammed into the side of Aragon's head, and the dragon roared.

"Look, I think we've got this-"

An arrow slammed into Ellie's shoulder. She spun head over heels in the air. Danny whirled to see one of the remaining nobles drawing back a bow, another arrow notched. Danny raised his hands, and pulled on his core, not enough to transform, but enough to call a ray to the tip of his finger. It drew a line of light straight to the other ghost's arrow, exploding it. He shot another one at the ghost's eye, grabbed Ellie by the ankle, and pulled her down, out of the line of fire.

She was hissing, and clutching her shoulder as it dripped with ectoplasm. "I can't move my arm," she informed Danny.

"Can you warp it out?" asked Danny, referring to their ability to manipulate their bodies, even to the point of temporarily tearing themselves in half. "Or phase it?"

Ellie shook her head. "Don't think so."

Another arrow whizzed overhead, and both Phantoms ducked. Ellie called up a shield that arched over their heads.

"Do you think it was poisoned?" fretted Danny.

"How am I supposed to know? Should I just pull-?" She grabbed the shaft of the arrow.

"No! No, no, no. Turn around," said Danny.

Ellie turned carefully. Danny grimaced as he saw the wicked, serrated barbs on the arrow and the shaft. "Okay," he said. "See if you can break off the fletching, and I'll pull it out the back."

"I don't know if I can-"

Danny darted around to the front, taking the opportunity to glance at the fight. Mr Lancer had gotten into a duel with an ax-wielding ghost- Aragon's executioner?- and Vlad was holding his own fairly well against Aragon, using the limited dimensions of the room to his advantage. It looked like Valerie had realized that she wouldn't be able to fight as she usually did, with the advantage of sheer volume of fire, and she was hiding, giving Vlad and Mr Lancer periodic support with ectoblasts.

He knelt down in front of Ellie, and started snapping off the feathers on the end. Ellie squeaked each time he jostled the shaft.

"Usually," said Ellie, "I'm much better about being hurt."

"Usually you aren't literally skewered. I think this might have gone through a joint, too." He went back around Ellie. "Ready?" he asked.

"Do it," said Ellie.

Danny wrapped his hands around the shaft, ignoring the barbs digging through his skin. With one, smooth motion, he pulled the arrow out. Ellie shrieked.

A moment passed, with Ellie's hand pressed firmly over the hole. The bleeding slowed, then stopped. She took her hand away, and rotated her shoulder.

"Okay," said Ellie. "I'm going to try and take care of the archer. You don't happen to have your thermos, do you?"

"Is that a joke?"

"Had to ask. Stay out of sight. I think they're mostly after you."

"Ellie-!"

Ellie had already flown off, towards the archer. Danny peeked hesitantly at the battle, and fired off a few more shots in support of Ellie, ignoring the pain in his chest. He could do at least as much as Valerie.

What he really wanted to do, though, was get Mr Lancer out of there. The teacher (King?) was definitely the most vulnerable out of all of them. He didn't have any powers, and, despite his surprising facility with a sword (Danny still wasn't sure where he had gotten it from), Mr Lancer's strength was clearly already waning. The executioner, being a ghost and (probably) well-rested, did not have that problem.

But getting to Mr Lancer, and getting away, would be problematic. There wasn't a lot of cover, and Danny doubted that Aragon, the archer, and the executioner were the only three combatants. Aragon could have ennobled any number of ghosts for the purpose of infiltrating this floor. True, Aragon didn't strike Danny as a mercenary type, or the type to ennoble mercenaries, he was too proud, but he was in a tight situation, and despised Danny.

Danny didn't know why they hadn't attacked right away, as soon as Danny and the others got to the floor. Maybe Aragon didn't want to wait among 'fake' nobles, and one of his cronies had to leave to fetch him.

He gritted his teeth. Any of the remaining ghosts- No, not any of them. The wisps were innocent. Any of the ghosts that Danny didn't know could be a threat, and he was scared. Scared that he would be hurt, scared that he would distract Mr Lancer, and Mr Lancer would get hurt, scared for Ellie, and Valerie, and all his classmates who had run upstairs and into the unknown, scared for Vlad, even.

His fears proved to be justified as a pair of wolf-headed ghosts fell on him from above. He felt his shoulder dislocate as they pulled up into the air, and he shrieked.

… Which had the predictable effect of distracting everyone.

Danny twisted, ignoring new, pains, and kicked one wolf (was it wearing a crown?) in the jaw. It dropped him, but its companion didn't. He called ectoenergy to the surface of his skin, frigid and burning. The ghost snarled, but didn't drop him. Then Valerie hit it in the eye with a blast, and the ghost dropped him onto a table, which snapped in two.

Plates and cutlery dug painfully into Danny's back. He rolled off, and pushed himself painfully into invisibility. He knew he was flickering, but hopefully it would confuse anyone aiming at him.

Wait. Cutlery? Danny picked up a knife as he ran by. It was better than nothing. Unless he tripped and stabbed himself with it, then it would be worse than nothing.

The wolves came for him again, and Danny stabbed the closer one in the chest. Lacking vital organs, the ghost found the wound less than debilitating. They had the advantage. He was driven to the floor.

"Wait!" bellowed Aragon, knocking Vlad to one side with a sweep of his wings. "Cease your struggle, or I will order my men to destroy him."

Ellie raised her hands in surrender at once. It took Mr Lancer and Vlad a little longer, though that probably had less to do with willingness, and more to do with getting into a position where it would be safe (relatively speaking) to stop fighting.

Aragon's long, scaly lips curled, and his body began to shrink. Once again humanoid, the deposed prince glided to where Danny was being held. He drew his sword, and pointed it at Danny.

"I challenge you, Phantom, to single combat. For the crown."