Chapter 14: The Ship Rises

All those who knew Danny personally stared silently as the look on his face made it clear he did not enjoy what he did.

He just impaled a creature, one that quickly looked down at what just happened before looking back at Danny.

For Danny, the world just froze as the pair of yellow lenses looked him in the eye. There was nothing but the idea of what the face behind that metal with the plastered grin could've been doing. The arms didn't even move, neither did the legs, it was as if it froze with the rest of the world.

Wincing in displeasure, Danny blinked before loosening his fist, causing the blade of energy to disappear.

The Goblin then landed on the ground, facedown.

After making a gurgling noise, the Goblin's body inside the suit appeared to melt, a shiny yet transparent liquid leaking out as the mass inside the suit began shrinking. In seconds, the suit was empty and folded into itself. The creature inside was no more. Everyone looked troubled as Danny took a deep breath.

"Did he… just…?" Tucker asked.

"He took that thing's life…" Jack said under his breath, not sure how to feel about what his son just did.

Danny pulled his hand back, looking at it. He stared at it for seconds, thinking of what he just did.

Someone else snapped him out of it.

"What did you just do?!" Sam shouted, horrified at what he did.

Danny shuddered.

"Sam… I-"

"You didn't need to kill that thing!" She snapped, not letting him finish.

"He just saved your life, you ungrateful little brat!" Maddie shouted angrily, making Sam flinch.

Everyone else was still silent as Danny looked back at his hand.

He just took a life, and it was hitting him harder than a truck.

However, Ma-Jinoh only stared.

"You are not proud of your intent to kill? Idiocy." Ma-Jinoh said.

That got Sam's attention.

"Wait… don't you care that one of your own is a puddle now?" She asks.

"Compassion is not necessary. These clones are unstable, immature, imperfect. Once we have reunited with the fleet, we will upgrade or dispose of the less stable." Ma-Jinoh answered.

"So, you're not just evil, you're an ablest." Sam said, arms crossed.

"Those who do not succeed in even minor expectations must be ironed out. Now…" He points to Danny. "As said before, aid us one of these creatures will cease to exist."

"Aren't you the least bit afraid of what I'll do? You just saw me take one of you out!" Danny said.

"Fear is a sign of weakness. Now, tell me? Am I more afraid of you? Or are you… more afraid of losing one you have an emotional attachment towards?" Ma-Jinoh asks. As Danny steeled himself, Ma-Jinoh looked to his right. "We will start with the girl."

Danny held a hand up, blocking Ma-Jinoh's view of Sam.

"Not a chance! You saw what I did!"

"Not that one…" Ma-Jinoh warned.

Realizing who he means, Danny's eyes widened with horror as he turned his head.

''Get back!" She shouted.

Danielle tried to get up, but her leg injury made that hard to do, much less fight back. She tried morphing, but as soon as the rings reached her leg, an electrical looking discharge happened and the morph only finished after she hissed in pain.

She tried to hover up but felt woozy.

"If one slash from those things in green dust made her that bad, then more would…" Danny said under his breath before dread filled him.

Ma-Jinoh raised his arm.

"Extermin-"

"WAIT!" Danny called out, getting their attention. He stood up and shut his eyes a moment before glaring at Ma-Jinoh. "Let them live, and I'll help you get this ship out of the ground." He said.

"And why exactly should I trust you now that I know you will exterminate us if need be?" Ma-Jinoh asks.

Danny shuddered at thinking that before steeling himself.

"Because now you know I won't hold back anymore… so do you really think threatening people I care for is a good way to get me to comply?" Danny asks. Ma-Jinoh's glare intensified as Danny pointed to Sam and then Dani. "Just let us get them some bandages in the RV and I'll do it… I'll help you get your ship out." He said.

Ma-Jinoh's glare remained, but he nodded.

"Very well… my soldiers will observe your land based ship to ensure you do not attempt to escape. Attempt something… and your shield-less vehicle will be destroyed, with the rest inside.


Inside the RV

Danielle hissed as she sat on the middle seat, her mother wrapping a bandage around where cuts were.

"They aren't that deep, maybe a bit more time off this leg and you should be fine." Maddie assured.

"What about the dust? I can't morph without it hurting me." Danielle asks.

"I managed to clean most of it off, so we don't have to worry about an infection. I'd recommend not transforming for now so that your immune system will kick in and take care of what's left." Maddie said.

"Okay…" Danielle said in a defeated tone.

Meanwhile, Sam was sitting on one of the back seats leaning coming out of the sides of the RV's interior. Her knee was just finished being bandaged by Jazz.

However, her eyes and her thoughts were on her boyfriend, who was leaning on the wall of the RV, looking very disapproving.

I can't believe he did that… She thought, still upset.

I can't believe I did that… He thought, horrified.

He took a life. He was aware he had no other option but it's clear he hated it. Nobody wanted to talk about it since they knew he wasn't taking it well, so they moved onto something else.

"Are you really gonna help that thing?" Jack asks.

Danny sighed.

"I gave him my word. Plus, if I say no now, he'll probably have this thing torn apart." He reasons.

"Right… so, what do we do while you do that?" Jack asks.

"I… might have an idea or two." Danny said before motioning for his mother to join them. Once she did, he huddled with his parents. "Okay… Here's what I have in mind."

The three whispered, while the rest watched, one in particular not liking being left out.

"What are they saying?" Sam whispered.

"Something you clearly aren't a part of." Jazz said coldly.

Sam was put off by her attitude.

"Sheesh, what are you so upset with?" She asks. Jazz points to Danielle's bandaged leg and Sam drops her attitude. "Oh…"

"Right." Jazz said, still scathing.

When that was done, Sam decided not to talk to her.

She then went to her boyfriend, who is still quiet.

"Danny?" Sam got his attention. "Can we talk?"

"No…" Danny said flatly as he hurried to get out. "We're low on time."

"We're already low on time. 5 minutes can't hurt." Sam points out.

Danny sighed.

"Fine…" He looked at everyone else. "Can you guys give us space? Maybe wait outside?"

"With them?!" Tucker asks incredulously, pointing outside to the yellow eyes looking at them from all around.

Tucker was then pulled by the arm.

"Come on, Lamb Boy." Jazz said as she pulled him along.

As Maddie carried Danielle, Jack was the last to go as he sent his son a worrying look before closing the door.

Once outside, they became aware of the aliens staring at them.

"So… what's the skizzle, fizzles?" Tucker went, trying to sound friendly.

The Goblins only stared at each other in confusion over his choice of words.

"Gongrhhhk… skzlfzl?" One asks.

"Gryrungroh." One speaking to it responded.


Inside the RV

Taking a deep breath, Danny Fenton sat down in front of Sam.

"Okay… we can talk." Danny said.

"Okay… I just… wanna know… how do you feel?" She asks.

"About us or… about what happened?" Danny asks.

"Both… but I guess that last part might need some addressing…" She admits.

Danny sighed.

"Not so well… I'm… not exactly comfortable…"

"Really? You now know that taking life is wrong?" She asks.

Danny sent her an icy glare.

"Don't start with you stupid agenda…"

Sam crossed her arms.

"Excuse me? I was-"

Danny got up fast, making her pull back in shock. Taking a deep breath to calm down, Danny sat back down.

"I'm… very mad at you right now. If you just let us all talk instead of coming here to try and get the aliens to see your way or whatever, we wouldn't be here." He said calmly.

"Oh, and I can't be ma-"

"Enough!" Danny shouts, making her flinch. "I had to take a life! A creature that was cloned and probably going to end up goop anyway, but I still had to take a living creature's life! To save you! So the least you can do is say thanks and sorry for being such an ungrateful pain!" He shouts.

As Danny huffed hard, Sam gulped and, realizing how upset he was, chose not to rile him up anymore.

"I'm sorry… for giving you trouble… and this…" She said.

Danny shook his head and looked to his feet, thinking back to when it happened.

When he looked into the yellow goggle-like eyes of the creature's helmet, the brief pause as they looked at each other, the moment it looked down at Danny impaling it before looking up. It made him wince as he recalled those eyes.

"I looked it in the eye… I… I couldn't even tell what it was thinking. I couldn't even tell if that thing was shocked, terrified, angry, or even thinking it was funny that I was the one to finish it…" He said.

As he rubbed a hand down his face, Sam still kept her distance as she worries.

"Are you… okay?"

"No, no I'm not. I'm glad you're alive, but I hated it..." He said, sounding haunted.

Sam wanted to argue but stopped when she saw the look on his face. He truly sounded broken up over this.

Maybe now's not the time. Sam thought as she decided not to bring it up again.

It's obvious that he was not interested in talking about what happened. So, she changed the subject.

"So...what about after this is all done? About …us?" Sam had to ask.

Danny was silent for a moment before sighing.

"I'm not sure..." He said.

"You're not?" Sam asks, worrying.

"I'm sorry Sam but our relationship, whether as friends or a couple, was always based on trust… and right now, I clearly can't trust you..." He said

Sam felt her heart get pierced upon hearing that and felt like trying to soothe that pain.

"You don't?" She asked.

Danny sighed.

"You went behind our backs to talk to them, now I had to take a life and my little sister is in pain, not to mention they'll be more likely to go attack the town and do worse now that they know I'm more likely to finish them.." Danny said, looking sad.

"I never meant for it." Sam reasoned.

"I know… but you clearly didn't stop thinking that just once, doing your own thing was a bad idea…" Danny took a breath before looking down. "Maybe we jumped into dating too soon, being too into the idea that we didn't stop to think it would really work out..."

Sam wanted to argue but knew now was not a time to make Danny feel worse.

"We did?"

"Yeah… you're my best friend, you always will be… but after this, I'm not sure if you're girlfriend material anymore." Danny said.

Sam looked hurt.

"I see…"

"You're not happy, are you?" Danny asks.

"No… but then again… I don't think we've been as happy with it as we thought we were." Sam admits.

"Yeah. I mean, I think it's cool you like stuff like movies I don't like, music I'm not as into as I thought, making graffiti that almost got us under house arrest for months because you don't like the car dealership even though they just want to pay their bills…" Danny stopped himself.
"Okay… that last part? Not so much…"

"Got it…" Sam said, looking down. "I guess… we can talk about this later…"

"I guess…" Danny said, looking equally sad.

Without speaking any further, Sam turned her back, not wanting Danny to see her looking heartbroken.

"Go…" She said sadly.

"Sam?" He asked, reaching for her.

"You got a job to do." She said quietly, not looking at him.

Feeling how depressing the atmosphere became, Danny looked to the back and left, phasing through.

Once alone, Sam had a tear go down her eye.


Outside

As Danny stepped out, he took notice of everyone staring at him. He took a breath.

"Mom and Dad? Let's go. Everyone else… wait inside."

Everyone nodded. As the rest went back inside, Jack and Maddie approached their son before he morphed.

"Well?" Jack asks.

"I'm… not sure about how Sam and I are gonna handle this later…" Danny responds.

"Well, if you ask me, I'd say you're better off not being with her, not even as a friend after what just happened." Maddie said, crossing her arms.

"Mom…" Danny said before sighing. "I get you're mad, but don't forget that you were the ones who thought all ghosts were monsters who needed to be wasted… you didn't exactly come off as accepting."

Maddie dropped her anger, hearing that and looking guilty.

"Fair point…" She admits.

Not wanting to talk about this any further, Danny ignored the topic and pointed ahead.

"Well… let's get going…"

Danny was walking towards the space ship, his parents were right behind him.

"Are you gonna be okay with this? What if they force your hand again?" Maddie asked.

"Then I won't have a choice… " Danny said, with no emotion.

His parents were getting increasingly worried for him, as he's still not okay with what he did.

"Son, you don't have to do this. Let us take care of them." Jack said.

"I wish it were true… but you saw that I was the first person to actually put one down. And Danielle's injured so… it has to be me…" He says without looking back.

They continued walking before meeting up with the alien leader in front of their ship.

"I see that you have agreed, and brought aid, not that they would be of use..." Ma-Jinoh said.

Danny glared at him.

"They're not here for that, but don't worry, I can handle this..." Danny said as his parents stepped back.

"And how do I know that you won't leave us buried?" Ma-Jinoh asked, not trusting him.

"Because we're going to be inside your ship, giving him a reason not to betray you..." Maddie said as she and Jack pointed to the ship.

Ma-Jinoh then squinted one eye and widened the other.

"If idiotic apes wish to endanger themselves and be a liability, then it is their decision..." Ma-Jinoh said.

"They're my parents, and they're not a liability." Danny responded angrily.

"Regardless..." Ma-Jinoh turned his head to the rest of the Goblins. "Take the two larger terran lifeforms inside."

With that, the Goblins came in, some taking the two by the arms as they pulled them along.

"Alright, knock it off! We can walk ourselves!" Jack said as he and Maddie pulled their arms out.

Once inside the ship, Jack and Maddie couldn't help but be in awe of the interior of the ship.

"Oh my..." Maddie said.

"I think I'm in a dream..." Jack said, feeling giddy.

As they took in being inside the ship, they were blinded by the whiteness inside. It was so white that they didn't have any shadows around them, their footsteps barely echoed under the alien material beneath their feet. The inside of the ship was even more advanced than they could have imagined. It had half-circular objects that appear to be seats, with walls with various glowing buttons of different colors. The walls were shiny and pristine, almost seeing their reflections on the white surface, with tubes of a green fluid on the ceiling and a large dome in the middle of the ship with a glowing orb inside with what looked like electricity coming out of it. All in all, they found it beautiful.

"It's like I died and went to heaven, and I'm not even that religious..." Maddie said as she couldn't help but admire it for a moment.

"Yeah…" Jack agrees.

It went away once they recalled why they were here as one of the taller Goblins approached.

"Gungrubwah!" It went, pointing at a corner, indicating it wants them to stand there..

Knowing their plan relies on them being inside the ship, the two do as ordered.


Outside

"Now, elevate and make the rock and dirt above us intangible so that we may escape!" Ma-Jinoh ordered, sounding impatient.

Danny sent him a glare before going directly above the ship.

He said nothing as he placed his hand on the cavern ceiling.

Fingers crossed. Danny thought as he made the earth above his head intangible.

"Okay, I better make sure nothing above us…" He said as he chose to make it invisible instead. Once he made tons of dirt see-through, he confirmed it was safe and, upon closing his eyes, made the ground intangible. "It's ready!"

Ma-Jinoh's eyes squinted as he used his gravity power to hover towards the ship.

"At last, we will reunite with the fleet, and the Earth shall submit!" He entered. "Elevate the ship!"

With that, one of the Goblin pressed a button, another pulled what looked like a lever while three pressed a series of buttons. At the same time, the ship began making a humming sound as it shook for a moment. Then three that were sitting together in a circle pulled what looked like steering wheels as the ship began to power up and rise off the dirt.


New chapter, with thanks to Flower princess11 and TheWhiteTitan.

And now, Danny and Sam's relationship is in danger, with a scene based on FP11's Danny and Kara.

What's next? We shall see.

RonaldM40196867: He sure does. She sure is. Yup. True, but Danny is right she didn't give him a good reason to trust her at first. Her dislike is more about Sam than her mother. Interesting. Right. I did.

Themetavoorhes: Someone doing a good Dalek impression. That or maybe Steve Blum.

LockAndKey989: Yup!

Invader Johnny: Looks like she's learning the hard way.

SoundVenom: It's true, Maddie did do things that made Danny uncomfortable with telling her, and she's realizing that.

Luiz4200: That's right.

Isom: Refusal to compromise is a theme here. Sam's going to need to learn to get their trust back.

Kiki: Alicia seems to only care if it's a guy who keeps Maddie away from the big city. Probably both.