Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. Butch Hartman does. I would never dream of making money off his work, this is but one fanatic's homage. So please don't sic the rabid lawyer hordes upon me, there's not much for them to sue out of me.

Author's Note: Well, the moment I suspect you've been waiting for! Anathema finally crosses into TUE! I wasn't sure I would actually get this chapter done this weekend, between a friend's engine blowing out on him in the middle of nowhere on Friday night, a party all day (and most of the night) on Saturday, and then mostly recovering (and playing Battle Network 6!) most of today. Anyhow, I'll shut up and let you people get to the story now. Reviews are greatly appreciated!

Chapter 10 – Hate

No sooner was I through the portal and into the Ghost Zone than I heard a squeaky sound near my feet. My foot had collided with what appeared to be a garishly colored bear-shaped squeaky toy. I grabbed it, raising an eyebrow. What was something like that doing in the Ghost Zone?

"Arf!"

I slapped my forehead in exasperation. I'd entered the Ghost Zone at Cujo's lair? A quick survey of my surroundings proved it without a doubt: giant doggy treats floated in the background, the area littered with toys and other such canine accessories. "Of all the places I could have entered..." I grumbled to no one.

"Arf! Arf!"

I glared down at my feet, where Cujo sat reared up on his hind legs, tongue lolling out, begging for his stupid squeaky. My glare had little effect on the annoying beast, he merely barked and started running in circles at my feet, yapping merrily.

"What do you want, you stupid mutt?" I growled.

"Arf!"

I followed the little monster's stare. It was firmly fixed on the squeaky toy I held in one hand. I moved the stupid thing back and forth across the dog's field of vision, his beady little eyes followed it like one of those weird cartoon cat wall clocks with the eyes.

"You want your squeaky?"

"Arf!"

I held the toy out of reach as Cujo jumped up to try and snatch it back, a slow smile coming to my face. I hauled back and threw the squeaky toy with considerable force, and immediately Cujo took off running after it, yapping with glee. I smirked, pointing one finger and firing a thin beam over the dog's head. I admit I am quite proud of my aim. Cujo grabbed the toy out of the air just as the beam hit it, vaporizing the plastic bear. I had to laugh outright as the little dog skidded to a halt, beady eyes wide and jaw hanging slightly open in shock. The little green beast had an absolutely hangdog look on his face, and yes, I know that's a terrible pun.

"If you hadn't caused so much trouble-" I growled at the dog. "-none of this would have happened."

Cujo's jaw clicked shut, and in an instant where the little pudgy mutt had been there was now a much larger, much fiercer green mutt growling angrily at me. It would seem that I'd really struck a nerve by fragging that stupid toy. With a monstrous bellow, the dog lunged at me, and I took up a stance ready to finish the job.

Well, I would have, except a large furry black mass plowed into me and sent us both tumbling out of the path of Cujo's lunge. "Vi estas vundi?"

It took me a long moment to compute what had just happened. Another ghost had knocked me out of the way before I could simply vaporize the stupid dog. My "rescuer" quickly got up, allowing me to also regain my footing and get a look at him. He was huge, standing taller than I did even with his back hunched over. After a moment, I recognized the ghost as he sniffed at me and broke into a wide, toothy grin. "Friend!"

"Wulf?" I raised an eyebrow. He had helped me? Hadn't the giant canine heard about my exploits in the Ghost Zone? Or was he as stupid as Cujo had been and thought I was still the same sentimental idiot I had been when we first met? Honestly, while the big ghost had saved my tail when Walker took over City Hall years ago, I would never have even been in such a bad spot were it not for that blathering hairball.

"Kial estas li freneza?" Wulf asked of me, glancing at the still-angry Cujo.

"Woof!" Cujo charged at me again, but Wulf intercepted, swatting the giant dog across the face with his green claws. Immediately the beast slunk back with a hurt whimper, still growling at me.

I stood there watching the dogfight for a moment, taking stock of the situation. Wulf's attention was focused now entirely on Cujo, the giant ghost's back to me. The two canines tangled a few feet away, teeth and claws gnashing. I suppose I really did tick Cujo off by destroying his most beloved squeaky toy. Seriously, what kind of ghost can't pass on over a stupid toy?

"Mi poto ne lasi vi vundi mia amiko!" Wulf bellowed, tackling Cujo and sending the both of them sprawling.

"This is all terribly amusing." I declared, catching Wulf through the back and chest with a pinpoint ecto-blast from behind. "But really, I never was your friend, Wulf."

"Kio fari vi signifi-?" Wulf gaped, falling to the ground with a loud thud, clutching at his chest where I had spiked him. "Vi estas...mia amiko... kial? Kial, friend?"

"I hate you all." I hissed, preparing a blast to take both canines out in one blow.

Cujo whimpered, and Wulf stared at me with wide, hurting green eyes as they stared their oblivion in the face. A blue energy beam came sailing out of nowhere, knocking me aside but otherwise doing no damage. I recognized the type of blast, that had to be from Skulker's weapons. As I got up, several small canisters clattered to the floor, spewing thick black smoke that quickly blanketed the area to the point I couldn't see my own hand in front of my face. Well, I could make out the green glow from the blast I was readying to take out whoever else thought to join the fight, but my point stands.

"He's distracted!" I heard Skulker's voice, followed by a volley of missiles that slammed into the spherical shield I'd raised while I tried to fan away the murk. "Hurry and take them to safety!"

"We're moving!" ... Them again?

Apparently Skulker had allied himself not only with Technus, but with those pale mockeries of Sam and Tucker as well. I growled as the big ghost continued his barrage, doing no damage but effectively keeping me blind within my shield.

"You poor thing!" I heard Sam's voice in the haze, though I couldn't say which of the canines she was addressing.

"C'mon, let's go big guy!"

"Mia amiko... perfidi mi..." I heard Wulf gasp out, clearly in pain.

"That's not him, Wulf." This time it was Tucker's voice. "It hasn't been him for a long time now."

I heard the sound of a vehicle revving up and peeling out, shortly followed by the cessation of the barrage and then the roar of Skulker's jetpack activating. No sooner was the barrage finished than I dropped my shield and launched a huge blast in all directions, hoping to catch the retreating ghosts though I couldn't see their exact location. I can only assume that they got away, for I saw nothing when the smoke cleared to indicate that I had hit anything. Wonderful, twenty-four years old and my aim is already resembling my dad's.

I briefly shook my head as I left the remains of Cujo's lair, dispelling that thought and contemplating that hideously powerful wailing attack I had seen. How had that clone girl performed such a technique? How had she acquired it in the first place, given that it was what did her in when I fought her? I tried to analyze what I saw. Clearly it was a sonic attack first and foremost, and an ectoplasmic energy blast second. Was it some sort of orally-launched blast? That could make sense, given ectoplasmic blasts can be fired from virtually any part of the body; fingertips, palms, fists, eyes, rear ends...

I spied some sort of animal ghost floating by not far from where I was and tried shouting at it, trying to create that blast effect. I succeeded in scaring the stupid thing away, but no blast effect. I snarled a curse at the first failure of many as I continued trying to recreate that skill. Were I still a weak human, I'm certain I would have shouted myself hoarse.

Several weeks later and still I had failed to figure out that wail. I floated through the Ghost Zone, brooding on my dilemma. I had succeeded in actually spitting a normal ecto blast and nearly scorched my throat in the process, but that wouldn't help me through that stupid shield dome. Not to mention it gave the phrase 'tastes like burning' an entirely new meaning.

"Daddy, who's that guy?" I heard a small girl asking someone else not far behind me. I heard a male voice gasp as I spun around to face my next practice dummies.

"BEWARE! IF YOU GET HIS ATTENTION HE WILL-"

I didn't let the Box Ghost finish, launching a tiny blast that smacked him square in the face and knocked him over, sending the little ghost in his arms flying with a loud cry. A second blast sheered one of the stocky ghost's hands clean off, and I loomed over the two ghosts, ready to try that shouting thing again. Inhale, deep breath, mouth open, insert chicken-

Wait, chicken?

A giant drumstick came flying from beyond my field of vision, catching me full in the face with a greasy splatter. I reeled, the hot grease having caught me full in the face, stinging my eyes. First they attack my face, now they smack me with food items... in the face? Annoyed, I finally wiped the goop off on my cape and glowered at the ghost that had the gall to attack me in such a fowl manner.

"Are you alright, deary?" The Lunch Lady was floating next to the dazed Box Ghost and the little girl. There was something decidedly weird going on, but I wasn't certain what it was.

"I AM THE BOX GHOST!" The Box Ghost recovered from my earlier attack. "AND WITH THE HELP OF MY WIFE YOU WILL FACE-"

"Whoa, wait." I interrupted the ghost. "Your wife?"

"Yes, deary." The Lunch Lady responded, giving the Box Ghost a quick kiss on the cheek and then patting the little girl on the head. "And this is Box Lunch, our daughter!"

There was only one way to respond to such a hideous concept, such a disgusting scene. I cringed with a thoroughly grossed-out expression on my face. "EW!"

"AND NOW YOU WILL BE-"

"Sweetie, what did we agree to?" Lunch Lady suddenly had one of her bipolar mood swings. "YOU will take Box Lunch and HIDE, while I serve him his DOOM!"

"OH, RIGHT." Box Ghost scooped a stunned Box Lunch (ew!) into his arms and ran. "BEWARE!"

I raised one eyebrow at the undead cafeteria server. "You think that you can actually hurt me?"

"Why yes, dearie. Maybe you'd like some pudding to go with that?" She smiled sweetly, holding out a plate with what appeared to be chocolate sludge.

"How about a change of pace and you get served some doom?" I blasted the plate out of her hands.

"YOU aren't allowed to give out DOOM!" Lunch Lady shrieked, suddenly brandishing what appeared to be a bunch of sausage links.

"Whatever." I turned to leave, lobbing a large blast over my shoulder at the crazy old lady. I heard her shriek in surprise and probably pain. I had better things to do with my time, namely try and obtain that wailing power. And honestly, the Lunch Lady was so far down on the ectoplasmic power scale as to hardly register.

Several more months passed in failure. Amusingly enough, it was ten years to the day after my creation that it finally came to me. Apparently word had spread of my apparent vulnerability to sonics, because Skulker and Technus had teamed up with Ember in some sort of desperation ploy to take me down.

"How 'bout I rock your world, dipstick?" Ember sneered, strumming her guitar and sending a wide sonic blast careening toward me.

I darted around the attack, returning fire. "Still remixing the same old tunes, Ember?" I chuckled at my bad joke. To my annoyance, Skulker and Technus intercepted my blast, deflecting it off a shield generated by their power armor.

"Remix this, ghost-child!" Skulker opened fire, but I merely smacked the missiles away.

Ember fumbled with her guitar, apparently changing her tune since her previous attacks hadn't succeeded. I took the opportunity to launch several blasts of my own, but again they were intercepted by the black power armor. What an aggravating contraption, weak enough to be no real threat to me, but strong enough to keep me from striking my target. That shield was particularly sturdy, no less. I had been steadily increasing the strength of my blasts, but they had clearly anticipated my strength and prepared to defend against it.

I took a deep breath, ready to shout some suitably frustrated curse or threat when it simply clicked. I can't describe how it came to me, it merely did. It was like the time I first fired an ecto-blast all those years ago against Desiree. I didn't know what happened, it simply happened. One minute I'm screaming curses at the three ghosts, the next minute I see that green shockwave slam into the ghosts and hurl them in all directions. I floated there for a long moment, shaking my head briefly to fend off a brief spate of dizziness, hardly daring to believe it.

I was too dazed to pursue my previous threats and actually finish the three ghosts off, but they were drifting into the distance, apparently unconscious and in very poor condition. Such power! I would be able to shatter that ghost shield like a pane of glass with it! It was a terrible drain to my power though, I would have to be judicious in how I used it. A simple enough matter, I decided as I contemplated the now-imminent destruction of that city from memory. I only needed to use it once, perhaps twice to shatter the barrier, and perhaps start the buildings toppling. Yes, she would finally be no more than another piece of unpleasant memory, ash on the wind.

I snorted some red mist from my nose, and spun around to confront my latest victim. Imagine my surprise to find the Fright Knight standing there, the dark knight dropping hurriedly to one knee before me. Bemused, I held my fire for the time being. "What do you want?"

"Well, you did dethrone Lord Pariah-" He began, holding his sword out to me.

"So you want to serve me?" I interrupted, recalling events in the past. The Halloween spirit's loyalty was certainly not the stuff of legends, given he ditched the ghost king in favor of the cheesehead when it became clear that Pariah could be sealed back up. Since I was now the most powerful, he wanted to save his own hide by staying on the winning team. I snatched the offered sword, vaporizing it in a blast of green power. "Do what you want. I have a city to destroy."

I left the Fright Knight sputtering in confusion, ripping a hole back to the human world. My strength had already recovered from that first wail. Ten years was more than enough time spent waiting, it was long past time for that tired blotch of history to burn. I darted through my portal, surveying the scene in the distance from atop a crushed skyscraper. The dome was still there, but clearly no one had yet become confident enough to rebuild anything beyond it. I noted with some amusement that there was still life in the wasteland, I watched a roach scrabble over the debris as I contemplated the city in the distance. From where I stood, it was nearly serene despite the clouds overhead suggesting a coming storm.

How appropriate. I mused while I retrieved that old battered communicator I had taken from the hunters four years ago. I floated down into the shadows beneath a shattered building, surveying the unnatural cave. It was slightly conical, the open end facing the barrier. It would serve well as a giant amplifier. I wanted to take out as many of those stupid shield towers as possible, as fast as possible. At last, I can end this. No more failure, no more weakness.

I pushed a few buttons on the little device, finally getting it tuned to where I needed it. I must have interrupted a previous conversation, I heard Valerie demanding for her father in a worried tone.

"Hello Valerie." I interrupted her, tone level. She had no idea what was about to happen. The shadows hid my face, I'm certain all that she could make out on her wristband were my glowing eyes, the rest of my expression effectively hidden. Perfect.

"You again? I don't care how powerful you are, ghost!" She snapped, her expression angry on the tiny communicator's screen. She had to be livid, after all, we hadn't seen each other for several years now, and I was so rude, not bothering to call or write a letter. "You can't break through the shield!"

I resisted the urge to laugh outright at her bravado. She had so much faith in that shield, of course a mere ghost would never be able to breech it. Hah! She didn't see my grin, but I'm certain she could hear it in my tone. "Until today."

She started to bite out a response, but I took a deep breath and bellowed, the shockwave blasting out of that cavern. The effect was tremendous, the wailing attack's power magnified by the walls of the cave, the sound nigh earth-shattering. I couldn't hear Valerie's reaction over the racket, but I could see the results in the distance and feel the ground trembling beneath my feet. It only took a matter of seconds, and I had to stop before I felt dizzy again. Ah, but what a sight! From my vantage I could hear the distant sounds of chaos, and saw the first explosions as the shield towers crumpled from the sonic onslaught. My grin widening at each explosion, I was positively beaming when I saw the shield recede and disappear completely.

"Like the new power?" I inquired into the communicator, my tone conversational. "I call it my 'Ghostly Wail'."

She glared at me through the screen, but was cut off from a retort by a blast of purple. I glared, realizing that my 'servant' was attacking her. How dare he! Valerie would die by my hands and my hands alone. The Fright Knight would suffer for this. Besides, I much prefer doing my own dirty work rather than delegate it to a minion. I took off from the now-collapsed remains of the cavern, making all speed for the city. As I closed the distance, I saw the unmistakable glint of a jet sled, flying at all speed for FentonWorks.

I shot past the Fright Knight, dodging bullets from the hunters who had already mobilized. The black knight caught a lot of shots intended for me, and while I flew, I spun and blasted the ghost myself. Not expecting the massive energy beam from his so-called 'master', the Fright Knight yelped and was thrown backward, crashing into the side of a building. I launched several more blasts, both to ensure that the ghost was destroyed and to level the building.

I largely ignored the rest of the hunters, heading for FentonWorks. The rest could wait, I wanted to be certain Valerie was done for. I passed intangible into the ground, positioning myself near where I knew the basement was. I could vaguely hear Valerie and her dad through the ground. Excellent, I could take care of them both in one fell swoop.

I didn't spare much power for a second wail, it was certainly nothing compared to the massive sonic attack that I had felled the shield with, but it was sufficient for my needs. The ground heaved and cracked, giant fissures pulling open and permitting me to turn tangible again, springing upward. The lab was clearly plunged into darkness, only a few emergency lights running as I landed on the broken floor, listening to ceiling panels crash down around me.

Just like that day ten years ago, when she blasted me through the portal. Valerie had a stunned, horrified expression on her face, staring at me. Her father looked similarly terrified, which suited me fine. I glowered at her, hating her for all the trouble she'd caused me in the past ten years.

"Hello Valerie." I repeated my earlier greeting now that we were finally face to face. She stood rooted to the ground in shock as I raised my hand, ready to finish what she had started all those years ago. "And goodbye."

I was mildly annoyed when the smoke cleared to find that the building was still standing. Clearly my parents had reinforced it considerably, since I no longer cared about the place and had no reason to leave it standing. Several tons of rubble had fallen from the explosion however, and I was pleased to see a considerable amount of blood oozing from under the debris. Finally! I had done it, I had taken my revenge on that stupid ghost hunter!

With their leader gone, it was almost pathetic how easily I took out the rest of the hunters. I flew around the city blasting cars, blasting buildings, firing at the hunters and civilians. Green flames consumed buildings and the people still in them, the panic was absolutely delightful! The hunters tried to surround me, clearly intending to use every last bit of their fighting strength to pound me, their only apparent tactic.

I grinned, inhaling and letting loose another wail. Windshields shattered, smaller police cars tumbled about, crashing into the tanks and copters. The copters had about as much luck holding their ground against my wail as I'd had against the clone girl's much weaker one. If she wasn't dead, I might have actually thanked her for showing me the very thing I had been seeking.

The wail left the hunter force absolutely decimated, and I continued to work my way through the city. What few tanks remained I was able to easily blow up, and more than a few were simply picked up and thrown forcibly into the sides of buildings or into crowds of people, crushing them beneath the armored hulks. Within days, the city I remembered from my weakness was gone, reduced to little more than grey rubble, twisted mockeries of civilization.

Unfortunately I was not so lucky as to have actually killed Valerie. To this day I don't know how she survived being blasted at point-blank range, but somehow she did, and for months pursued me like vengeful ghost. She wasn't the only one, but she was certainly the most persistent. I tried repeatedly to chase her down and finish the job, but she somehow learned to virtually melt into the shadows, hiding in places I would not have thought a ghost could hide in, much less a flesh-and-blood woman. It was infuriating, really. She was supposed to be dead, yet she still defied me, still haunted me and tried whatever she could. I don't know how many times she managed to shoot me in the face or in the back of the head, the shots absolutely useless, but providing regular infuriating proof that she still drew breath.

I was searching for her through the ruins the day it happened. My ghost sense went off, that simple fact strange in of itself. There was no portal, how could there be another ghost in the city? The red mist was almost immediately followed by gunfire and sounds of a fight several blocks away, and by now I knew it was Valerie's cannon just from the sound alone. If she wasn't shooting at me, then just what was she shooting at? What was going on? I followed the commotion to the remains of FentonWorks and touched down on a ruined skyscraper with a good view of the street below.

"You can't fool me this time, Phantom!" Valerie hissed.

The sight stopped me dead in my tracks. I knew that figure, that scrawny little weak form, the black jumpsuit and careless mop of white hair. I knew it, and the sight immediately dredged up memories I did not enjoy. My weakness, my uselessness ten years ago, somehow revived to taunt me. I bristled, considering what to do. Clearly that non-ghost I had encountered at the grave in Wisconsin must have finally manifested. That had to be it.

"Valerie! No!"

"Don't shoot!"

... But that didn't explain how they were there and quite clearly alive.

Closing Note: I've come to realize something. Dan is every bit as terrible about bad puns as Danny is... the only difference is Dan doesn't say most of them, he only thinks them. Seriously, this chapter is full of puns in the narration, a few of which even made me cringe. There is just no axecuse what-so-ever for some of the puns, I mean it! Anyhow folks, only four more chapters to go!

And something I haven't done in awhile: Firefury's story recommendations! If you like well-thought out and highly original DP stories, I highly recommend you check out Bluemoonalto's work. She's fairly new to the DP fandom, but the stories she's done so far (A Thermos for Valerie and Side Two, Merge) are extremely creative and very well written. So check her out while you wait for the next chapter of Anathema and/or Benediction!