Chapter 15: The Plan
The ship was slowly tilting upward, aiming for the opening Danny made.
As far as the Goblins were concerned, they've won. Danny, however, had other plans.
Just try me. He thought in anger as he watched the ship rise.
He had heard the part of having "the Earth submit" and it confirmed they had every intention of taking their anger out on Earth.
"They just need to get out before I can make my move…" He said, shaking as started to feel worn out now. "Too much dirt at once… I can't hold it forever…" He groaned under his breath.
The ship facing the opening he made as it began flying towards freedom.
Inside the ship, Maddie held onto Jack as it began moving almost smoothly.
"Hang on, Sweetcakes…" Jack said to her.
"At last… we shall finally leave this prison. Once we return, the Earth and its people shall submit for the annoyance we've suffered here." Ma Jinoh said, trying to sound eager despite his lack of emotions in his voice.
His minions were all making noises of apparent joy as they got closer and closer.
Once they were finally out, the Goblins made more noises.
"Brakabraka!" One went.
"Grabahgrabah!" Another said.
"Victorious actions will cease!" Ma Jinoh shouted as they quieted down.
"Brpreekee…" One responded.
As this went on, Maddie took a look at the orb that hovered in the glass dome, putting her hood on as she adjusted her goggles to scan it, gasping at the results.
"Jack… that orb…" She whispered.
"That lightning ball thing?" Jack asks.
"The energy it's emitting… it's about 10 terawatts worth of energy… that's more than enough to power our tech and Amity Park forever…" She said.
"Wow… just imagine all the microwave burritos I could heat up with that…" Jack said, earning a baffled look from his wife. "I have my own interests in that much power." He defends.
His wife rolled her eyes before focusing on the matter at hand.
"Anyway…" She looked around to make sure they were far enough to not be heard. "Remember Danny's plan?" She whispered.
"Of course." Jack whispered back.
"I have an idea…" She quickly whispered to him her plan while the Goblins were too busy cheering to notice.
Ma-Jinoh walked towards the three Goblins sitting together, who are in fact the pilots.
"Progress?" He questioned.
"Regurrjhk keekoo gunga." One of them said.
"Excellent…" He turned his head towards one of the Goblins at a series of buttons. "Begin sending the signal!"
"I wouldn't bet on it!" Jack called out, getting his attention.
Jack and Maddie both hopped away from the corner, landing near the center of the ship as they activated buttons on their suits. Those buttons activated the special blasters and rays that were attached to their suits, allowing the two to fire from all angles as they struck poses and twirled in place.
The blasts did little harm to the exterior, but the Goblins themselves were pushed around by the sudden hits by lasers.
Ma-Jinoh, annoyed, used his power to levitate a Goblin and use it as a shield to block the attack before discarding it with a wave of his arm.
"You have chosen to be destroyed!" Ma-Jinoh shouted.
"On the contrary… Jack?!" Maddie asks.
"On it!" Jack pulled out the Fenton Peeler. "Glad I grabbed this in time!"
He formed the armor and turned his head towards the glass container with the apparent core of the ship.
"Go, Jack!"
"On it, Baby!" Jack ran towards the glass dome and threw his punch, only for nothing to happen. "Wait…" He went, sounding surprised.
He attempted to break it with another punch, but nothing. He tried another, still nothing. He began punching the same spot repeatedly, but nothing.
With that, the Goblins stood up and made high-pitched hisses, "laughing" at Jack as he turned the armor off.
Ma-Jinoh, watching this, make a strange gurgling sound, it almost sounded like laughter. The sound made Jack and Maddie rather uncomfortable, especially coming from him.
"What's it doing?" Jack asks.
"I think it's laughing at us…" Maddie answered.
Ma-Jinoh stopped.
"I am aware that sound is made to indicate mockery, therefore I wished to make it clear I am mocking you. I did say the concept is foreign to me, though I believe the indication I lack respect for you is clear. That is not glass, but a material not unlike plastic, but far more durable, as our cores require protection." He explained.
"Cores?" Maddie asks.
"Did you think a ship like this only needs one? We have two! The other is underneath the front, not that you would have a chance!" Ma-Jinoh said.
"What exactly are those things?" Jack asks, pointing at the core in the dome.
"Made from worlds that defy your rudimentary understanding of physics, these cores we were able to create can power our technology. The fleet we shall bring will be powered by said cores." Ma-Jinoh explained.
"You seriously want to invade our planet instead of just leaving it be?" Maddie asks.
"I may lack many emotions, but resentment is not something I am above." Ma-Jinoh stated. He then pointed to the two. "Destroy them!"
Before the Goblins can do as ordered, a certain someone flew in and, with a swing of his leg, kicked them away.
"Back off!" Danny shouted.
"Good timing, son! So glad we never tore Danny Phantom apart molecule by molecule" Jack said proudly.
"Don't remind me…" Maddie muttered.
Three Goblins leapt at Danny and his parents, only for him to form a dome that shielded them as the three slid down.
"Don't worry, I've forgiven you both. So, ideas?" Danny asks.
"We were trying to break one of the ship's cores out, but that material is harder to break than we thought." Maddie said.
"A core?" Danny asks as Jack pointed to it.
"Just imagine how many burritos we can heat up with that!" Jack said.
As Maddie shook her head dismissively, Danny laughed.
"See, this is why I'm plenty relieved to have you two know it's me." Danny said.
"Aww… thanks, Son." Maddie said, sounding happy.
"Social interaction shall cease!" Ma-Jinoh shouted, getting their attention. "You will not stop us! The signal will be sent within mere moments!"
"That's what you think." Danny said as he got an idea.
It's risky but it was the best he had at the moment.
"Mom? Dad? When I give the signal, try to run the end of the ship." He said.
"Huh?" Jack asks but was too late as Danny flew towards the core.
"I hope I'm right!" He said as he quickly flew to the core that was visible.
Ma-Jinoh saw this and actually looked terrified.
"What? No! Stop him!" He shouted.
Two Goblins got in the path, protecting the dome with claws covered with ectoranium, but Danny was too quick.
With a split second reaction, he bobbed slightly to the right to avoid one Goblin, then to the left to avoid the other before entering the dome with intangibility.
Danny removed the core, taking it with him through the dome and quickly twirled in with a finger like a basketball.
"Neato." He said with a mocking smile.
"No!" Ma-Jinoh shouted, pointing at Danny. "Extermin-".He was cut off as the ship began shaking.
Immediately, the ship began to lose power as lights began to flicker and the ship started shaking.
Both the Fentons and the Goblins did their best to maintain balance as two such aliens fell over..
"Whoa! Turbulence." Jack said.
"That's not turbulence Jack. I think when Danny pulled the core out of its place, the ship started to suffer for it." Maddie answered.
"So this thing's on half power?" Jack asks as he momentarily loses his footing.
Ma-Jinoh used his gravity power to levitate as he saw Danny rejoin his parents.
Feeling a growing hate for Danny, Ma-Jinoh then used his power to levitate two Goblins, each one at his left and right.
"Exterminate the one called Danny Phantom! Danny Phantom must be destroyed!" He shouted before launching those two at Danny.
Seeing them coming at him with claws bared, Danny fired both of them out of the air and held the core up.
"Once false move and I'll break this thing! This'll limit your chances to get back home!" Danny warned.
To his surprise, they didn't back down. Instead, the Goblins did their high-pitched hiss and Ma-Jinoh once again did the gurgling sound to imitate laughter.
Danny made a face at that before his mother clued him in.
"It's his attempt at laughing at you just to mock you." She explained.
"It is?" Danny asks.
"That core's exterior is made of a similar material to the dome." Ma-Jin began to explain once his imitation of laughter stopped. "It would take the force of a sun to destroy it. And it would be a poor decision even if you could do so… for the energy released would destroy everything within a 200 mile radius."
"That's bad, right?" Danny asks his mother while keeping his eyes on Ma-Jinoh.
"One, yes because we're too close to town and your uncle's. Two, pay attention to class more often." She answered.
"Okay…" He said before directing his attention to Ma-Jinoh. "Even so… I'm not returning this to you. So… final warning, because I don't want to have a repeat of what happened back in the cave! Stop the signal and don't come back! Only then will I let you get off this planet!" Danny warned.
"You! Are! Not! My! Commander!" Ma-Jinoh shouted angrily.
The alien made his refusal clear as Danny looked to his parents.
"I gave them a chance, right?" Danny asks.
"You did." Jack said.
"Yes, Son." Maddie said.
"Then… let's make sure they don't leave. Think we can do it?" He asks.
"Uh… probably?" Jack responds, unsure.
"Possibly?" Maddie responds with equal thoughts of uncertainty.
Danny rolled his eyes.
"Well… worth a try." He muttered.
"Retrieve the core, so that the signal will be sent!" Ma-Jinoh ordered.
Once the Goblins started to rush the three, Danny thought fast and looked around.
"Follow me!" Danny said as he flew past the aliens, which followed him. He then looked to his father. "Dad! Think fast!"
He threw the core over the heads of the Goblins, who were too busy running on all fours after him to notice in time or reach up.
Jack caught it, only for him to feel a scolding heat in his hands.
"AAAUUUUGGGHHH!" Jack went, dropping the core and waving his hands to cool them off. "Oooffff! Ow ow ow!" He went, blowing on his hands as the heat was still there.
"Jack?!" Maddie asks as she goes to aid him.
One Goblin saw the core and made a grab for it. However, a white boot connected with the face, kicking it and making it let go as a side effect of the boot hitting the face.
Danny grabbed the core and held it in his hand as he saw his father still waving his hands to soothe them and cool down.
"Dad? Why'd you let go?" Danny asks.
"That thing is hot, Danny! Very hot! Forget microwaves, I can just put the burrito on it and it'll defrost instantly!" Jack said while still nursing his hands.
"Strange… why aren't you affected by the core?" Maddie questions.
Upon seeing the Goblins making a U-turn and coming at them, Danny began firing from his free hand.
"Maybe it's my ghost powers? In any case, I guess I'm holding this for now." He reasoned.
"Not for long!" Ma-Jinoh said as he used his gravity powers to pull the core out of Danny's hand, reaching him. "Now you will suffer!"
Once Ma-Jinoh grabbed the core, his eyes glowed. Soon, he hovered off the floor and raised his free hand, creating some kind of orb of magenta energy over his hand.
"Uh… what?" Danny asks.
"I told you, the cores power our technology, and this protective suit is part of our technology! Now… with it in my grasp, I can use this warsuit's full power, such as this!"
Ma-Jinoh then waved his arm in a downward arc towards Danny, launching the energy ball at him.
Bracing himself, Danny reached out and grabbed the roughly 4 foot ball of energy, doing his best to hold it back.
"Not a chance, space creep!" Danny said before pushing it upward and it exploded on impact, pushing him and his parents back and sliding on the floor.
Seeing the wall coming in, Danny grabbed his parents and phased all three of them through the wall.
Seeing them now hovering in the skies while held onto by their son, Maddie gasped.
"Amazing, if we could figure out how to harness your powers, then we might be able to get a Nobel prize by giving flight to people who can't walk." Maddie said.
"Do a lecture paper later, Mom. We gotta get those cores!" Danny said.
Inside the ship
Ma-Jinoh hovered to the dome, stopping as it was sealed.
"Open." He ordered.
"Brrnggeekee." One Goblin said upon pushing a button.
The dome then slid towards the right, giving Ma-Jinoh freedom to return the core to its place. Once he placed it on the pedestal, he hovered away and allowed the dome to re-seal. The ship's lights brightened as power was restored.
"Finally. Status report!"
"Gun rehhkuu ki-" Suddenly there was another bit of turbulence as the lights flickered again, that same Goblin hanging onto the wall. "Gunkeekee! Bhrrr raka-rak!"
"What?! How is that possible?!" Ma-Jinoh shouted.
As if to answer him, Danny Phantom phased out of the floor, his parents holding onto him as he held a core in his hand.
"Lose something?" Danny asks with a cheeky smile.
Ma-Jinoh, eyes widening, saw the core he returned still in its place before realizing it was the second core.
"How?!" He questioned.
"Tip about being on Earth, anything the bad guy says can be used against him. Shouldn't have shared any info with my parents."
"Return that to where you stole it before suffering extermination!" Ma-Jinoh demanded as his Goblins were ready to attack.
"Shoulda said please…" Danny said before speaking to his mother over his shoulder. "Mom, quick question: would a fall from this height be the equivalent of the heat of the sun?"
"No, also, like I said, pay attention in school." She said.
"Gotcha…" He said before kneeling down and phasing through the floor.
"NO!" Ma-Jinoh shouted.
He was too late, Danny let go as soon as he saw they were still above the forests. The core fell hundreds of stories, heading into the trees.
Danny phased back up, fists at his hips and smiling.
"You were saying?" He asks.
Shaking his fist in rage, Ma-Jinoh's eyes squinted.
"The signal will still be sent in moments, it will just be slower. In the meantime… EXTERMINATE THEM!" He ordered.
"Stay behind m-" Danny said as stood protectively in front of his parents, only for his dad to release a roar and jump towards the rushing aliens.
He performed a body slam that sent some of the aliens flying and crushing the unfortunate ones that he landed on.
"You think you can exterminate me?" Jack exclaimed as he grabbed two Goblins and started spinning like a hurricane, slamming the Goblins nearby before throwing the two Goblins away. "I am the ten time rodeo champion of the ham fanatic's festival!"
He then jumped towards another group of Goblins and did an elbow drop, crushing the poor creatures.
Some Goblins tried to jump on him while he was still on the ground, but a glowing bo staff stopped them. The staff spun through the air before it returned to Maddie's waiting hand. She twirled the bo staff around her before she gestured at the Goblins to come at her.
They screeched at her before rushing towards her. She easily beat them down with her staff. She whacked the first two before she slammed the third one on the ground, using it to vault over, kicking a Goblin in the air before slamming the bo staff so hard that it sent the Goblins nearby flying.
When she stood up, two Goblins grabbed her from behind, restraining her. Two other Goblins then rushed towards her. She quickly pushed herself back, slamming the two Goblins holding her to the ground before she kicked the two Goblins that jumped towards her before jumping back to her feet.
"I don't know how it is in your world, but it's rude to grab a lady from behind on this one!" She said as she dusted her shoulder.
"Woah..." Danny commented as he saw his parents easily handle the Goblins. He sometimes forgot that they were professional Ghost Hunters. He quickly snapped out of it when a Goblin tackled him, grabbing him by the face. "Agh! Get off me!"
He grabbed the Goblin and tried to pry it off his face. His back hit the wall, giving him some leverage before he managed to get the Goblin off his face. It snarled and swiped at him, but he kept it at arm's length.
"Krah-hrah-ko!" It went, trying to swipe at him.
As he grappled with the Goblin, he noticed the transparent pipes on the walls and the green liquid inside them.
"What is that? Their version of gas?" He asks before an idea sprung. "Maybe…"
He pushed the Goblin up, using the claw to pierce the pipe.
"Braka?!" It questioned.
The fluids stained the floor as Ma-Jinoh became aware and panicked.
"No! Stop! Desist!" He ordered.
The ship's ascension began to slow even more, shaking at the same time.
"Huh… I guess that's definitely their fuel. In that case… Mom! Dad! Spill that stuff!" Danny called out.
"On it!" The two went
Jack grabbed one of the Goblins by the wrist and threw it up.
"Let's see how this ship flies without that stuff!" He said as the creature's claw pierced the pipe and the liquid came pouring down.
Maddie used her staff to parry a creature's swipes before swinging her weapon upward and making it hit the ceiling, the "ear" piercing the pipe.
"Get behind me!" Danny shouted, once they did, he readied a finger for firing. "I hope I'm right!"
He fired a small blast before quickly using his hand and creating a large ice dome around them.
Once the blast hit, a small explosion occurred, pushing aliens back as Danny kept making the ice dome. They became aware of a green smoke as Danny resumed making the dome.
"What are you doing?" Jack asks.
"Keeping us from breathing that stuff in." Danny explained.
"Good call, Danny. We have no idea what's in that stuff." Maddie said.
"Emergency atmospheric restoration! Ma-Jinoh ordered.
A sort of air conditioning occurred, sucking the gasses as the room cleared up. The aliens once again were seen, though it was noticed their eye shields were fogged up with green.
Because of this, the Goblins took their helmets off. The smaller ones have their more oval heads, the four taller ones that were manning the ship's communications had their snarling teeth, while Ma-Jinoh's face opened up, revealing another Grey-alien face underneath.
"What's with the mass unmasking?" Danny asks.
"The gas impaired visuals, though it is only temporary." Ma-Jinoh said, his mouth not moving much though noises came from his throat.
It was then Danny realized the voice he'd heard was from the three features on his head. This does indeed prove Ma-Jinoh isn't speaking in a normal manner.
"I'm guessing that's the fuel for your ship?" Danny asks.
"Indeed… and it is clearly flammable. Now… retrieve the core you stole!" Ma-Jinoh ordered.
"As if, I wouldn't know where it is now and why should I?" Danny asks.
"Indeed. Considering you're planning an invasion, why should we? You could have agreed to no invading or hurting people and we'd have helped you. Then you could've settled down with a nice lady alien…" Maddie suggested.
The Grey aliens did their high-pitched hiss, showing they don't even make smiles when they do that, while Ma-Jinoh only glared.
Danny shook his head as his mother looked clueless.
"Mom?"
"Yes?" She asked, wondering what was wrong.
"Lady Grey aliens? That's not a thing…" He answered.
"It's not?" She asks.
"It is not. We are genderless… we only appear male." Ma-Jinoh stated.
"Oh…" Maddie said.
As that happened, Danny realized they were all no longer wearing their helmets and an idea sprung.
"And with that…" He got in front of his mother. "Shield your eyes, both of you!"
Once the two did that, Danny raised both hands and created a powerful ball of energy that brightened up the ship far more than their artificial lighting did.
Unlike the lighting of their own ship, which was designed to not harm them, this light was doing just that, and made the entire ship screech in pain as they covered.
"Restore visual protection!" Ma-Jinoh said as his suit's mask closed.
The Goblins did as ordered and put their helmets back on.
Once they did, their vision was still impaired but not as much as they tried to approach the bright glow.
Danny stopped a moment before creating another bright light as the four taller Goblins then approached and began slashing at the ice to break free. Once they did, the four of them grabbed Danny by the arms, their ectoranium covered claws making him unable to break free.
"Get your hands off my son!" Jack shouted as he and Maddie tried to intervene, only for more Goblins to get in their path.
Ma-Jinoh hovered towards Danny as he tried to break free.
"Try as you might, you cannot win. The signal will be sent in mere seconds, you will have to destroy us like you did the one in the cavern to stop us!"
That's when Danny smirked before gesturing to the core. Ma-Jinoh turned his head and, to his shock, saw another Danny. It was the real one, reaching in with intangibility and grabbing the core.
"I don't have to…" The copy says before disappearing.
"What?!" Ma-Jinoh shouted before Danny pulled the core out, tossing it over his shoulder. "NO!"
With that, the lights went out and the ship lost all power.
"Ha! Looks like that signal was never sent!" Danny said before the ship shook and everyone began to hover off the floor. "Uh oh…" He said, realizing he forgot something.
"Why are we suddenly flying?!" Jack asks.
"We're not! We're falling! The ship has no power!" Maddie shouted.
"And that's my cue!" Danny said as he used a hand to lighten the ship, seeing his parents. Upon grabbing a hold of Jack, who grabbed hold of Maddie, Danny decided one last thing. "See if you can find the core with a lot of smoke!"
He fired that glow from his hand, aiming at the chemical fluid that was still pouring from the ceiling before the power went out. Once he fired, he phased himself and his parents out.
Another explosion, an even bigger one at that, occurred. This one reached the pipes and began starting a fire.
"LOCATE THE CORE! LOCATE THE CORE!" Ma-Jinoh ordered.
Outside
Once he got them clear out of the ship, Danny held onto his parents as they watched the alien craft fall.
"It's too bad… such a work of art…" Jack said in a sad smile.
"I know…" Maddie adds with an equally saddened look on her face.
The ship crashed into the ground, landing in some trees before it exploded. The blast and chemicals together not only blew the ship open, but a fire soon emerged.
"Uh oh…" Danny said.
"Oh, right… we forgot to take care of abandoning the forest because of Sam…" Maddie said.
"Okay… we gotta do something…" Jack said. "Danny, take me back to the farmhouse so I can get help. Then take Maddie to the cave and save everyone. Then come and help once you can!" Jack said.
Nodding, Danny did as ordered.
"Okay… here we go!" He said as he flew towards the farmhouse.
New chapter with thanks to both Flower princess11 and TheWhiteTitan.
So, have Ma-Jinoh and his crew met their end? Wait and see.
LockAndKey989: Me too.
Kiki: Unlikely.
RonaldM40196867: Indeed. They do. Well... we're not done yet with that idea in this story. Either Rex Salazar or Fury from Ghostforce. Yes, and I need to finish that this year. I do have plans for her in a future story.
Invader Johnny: It will be a long time before she can fully earn their trust again.
SoundVenom: We'll see how it goes for them.
