Valerie stared at the creature in disbelief. Had she heard right? Did this ghost just tell her it was here to serve her? She didn't buy it for a minute. This had to be a trick.
Snatching the ectogun from off the floor she charged it and aimed it straight at the floating creatures head. "You have one minute to explain who you are and what you want ghost. If I don't like what I hear I'm going to blast you to smithereens," she threatened tightening her grip on the gun.
The creature held up its arms defensively and backed up. "Please don't shoot me. I mean you no harm. In fact I'm your best friend in the fight against ghost,"
"Yeah right. Why would a ghost care what happened to its fellow kind?"
"Because as I said before child I am not a ghost. I am an entity named Chaos. A powerful sorceress created me 1500 years ago in an attempt to put an end to ghosts everywhere. If you will allow me to I shall show you that I mean you no harm to you and that I'm here to merely serve you," Chaos rasped.
Valerie lowered her gun by a fraction of an inch. She didn't know why, but something was compelling her to listen to Chaos story. "All right I'll listen to your tale. But no funny business or your eating ecto energy understand?" she asked. Chaos nodded his head.
Spinning around he allowed black clouds to drift from his body and fill the air. Valerie coughed and gagged in the smoky room. Soon the clouds came together and formed a picture in the air. It showed what looked like the countryside of Asian town with animated figures. He cleared his throat and began his tale.
"Fifteen hundred years ago the earth was being invaded by ghost and other magical pests. Unruly spirits and beast of awesome power terrorized the humans all-day and night. An evil master chi wizard, Sahdi Niloaix, led them. Everywhere he went he reaped havoc and sorrow.
"Only one person had the courage to stand up against him. The greatest of the ancient Chi Sorceress and my creator, Wayu Nilyeh, the Old World's greatest heroine. Using her magic and her heart shape opal ring she kept the evil forces from over running Asia and conquering the rest of the world."
"Sahdi and Wayu battled again and again each determined to win the endless conflict. But Sahdi never fought alone. He always had his horde of ghostly minions who obeyed his every whim. So Wayu created me, a creature that feeds on ghost life force to stop him."
"To get rid of me Sahdi created an enchanted puzzle box and used his evil powers to entrap me along with my mistress's ring. Without the ring to guide me or enhance her powers Wayu had no choice, but to take her life and Sahdi's with her to end the conflict. I've been imprisoned ever since waiting for someone to free me so that I can complete my mistress's mission."
"You now wear the ring and thus I must obey your commands. I swear to follow you everywhere and serve you loyally until the end of time. I can see that much has changed since the time of my imprisonment, but there are still those who fight to keep humans safe. Give me a chance to continue my noble work." Chaos said waving his hands and making the picture disappear from the air. He hovered in front of Valerie waiting for her reply.
She was having a hard time processing all that she had just seen and heard. Chi wizards, battles for earth, magic rings it was all a bit much for her to handle at once. Still if he was telling the truth he would be a perfect ally in her hunt for revenge. "Chaos was it? You say that this ring contains magic powers correct?"
"Wondrous powers indeed. Powers beyond anything you have ever imagined. With it you would be unstoppable. No one alive or dead would dare challenge you."
"Sounds fantastic. It would make ghost hunting a lot easier if what you say is true. Hmm lets have a little demonstration shall we?" she said closing her eyes and concentrating hard.
The ring began to glow black and soon everything in her room was levitating around her supported only by a black aura. Valerie smiled happily and wondered what else she could do. She used the ring to transform into her ghost hunters outfit and flew around the room. "I'm enjoying this. You also say you have to obey my commands because of this? Doesn't that bother you?"
"Why should it? As long as I'm doing good I will be content. Besides don't consider me your servant. Instead think of me as your best friend in the entire world."
"And best friends help eliminate others ghost problems. Starting with the greatest ghost threat ever. Danny Phantom! He ruined my life and now with your help I'm going to take his afterlife!" Valerie cackled evilly.
"Excellent mistress, excellent indeed," Chaos whispered under its breath.
Across town in the antique shop Dai was berating himself as he searched the shelves for magical items that could help him correct his horrible mistake. "How could I've been so stupid? I shouldn't have sold the box unless I saw whom the box was intended for! Now because of my stupidity I have no way of tracking down the guy I sold the box to and the world is doomed!" He was so angry he shoved several priceless and irreplaceable items on the floor. They shattered all over the floor leaving a mess.
Sighing Dai got a broom and dustpan and started cleaning up. He was still made with himself for messing up such a simple assignment. As a Guardian in Training he should have done better job in keeping a hold of the Chaos Box. "I really hope that no one back home figures out I messed up. Especially not Master Fug or I'm going to be doing double chores for weeks."
The phone chose that moment to ring. Dai stood up straight and dropped the broom. He looked at the phone as if it was possessed. He knew that who was calling and why. Taking a deep breath he steeled himself and picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Hello Dai I hope that your not being working overtime to earn some extra cash while you are on your mission," a voice of an older man, Master Fug, said calmly.
"Oh no I was just doing some cleaning and stocking the shelves. You shouldn't worry I've got the whole mission thing under complete control."
"Oh if you have everything under control then why is Doj's skin turning blue and I felt a shift in the balance of power between good and evil a few hours ago?" Master Fug asked his young pupil. Even though he was thousands of miles away he could still feel his student cringe.
"Well because.. Because… because I screwed up big time Master Fug. I had just managed to obtain the Chaos Puzzle Box when a man came in looking for a special item for his daughter. I sensed something strange about his chi so I assumed that he was suppose to receive the box. I was wrong. I should have been more careful," Dai admitted shamefully.
"This is indeed very troubling. I suspect that the recipient of the box may have unknowingly unleashed Chaos from his prison. I must stay here and do research on Chaos and his history. In the meantime I will send the other Guardians in training to help you locate the missing box. Be very careful and under no circumstances are you to engage him by yourself. Do I make myself clear?" Master Fug demanded.
"Yeah I understand Master Fug. But between you and me if Chaos has been released in this particular town, chances are we're not the only ones who are going to be interested in locating the puzzle box," Dai said hanging up the phone. With a slight gesture of his hand a small breeze restocked the shelves as he made his way to the backroom to prepare to meet with his friends.
The sun had risen barely an hour ago and Danny was just starting to get ready for school when Sam and Tucker barged into his room followed by Jazz. "Hey guys. What are you doing here so early anyways?"
"Hello Danny didn't you notice that freak storm last night? It came out of nowhere and according to my PDA there was no scientific way for it to happen," Tucker told his friend.
"Something's up can't you feel it? I mean I'm usually the one for doom and gloom, but my Goth senses say that something isn't right. I mean take a look outside. Its bright and sunny yet there's a big chill in the air," Sam pointed out.
"You guys are being paranoid. Not everything single thing that occurs in this town is related to ghosts. So what if the weather is a little freaky? It doesn't bother me," Danny replied.
"Danny, think about this. Ghost activity in Amity Park has been pretty low these past four months. Statistically speaking things should go from low to all time high right about now," Jazz tried to tell Danny but he wouldn't listen.
"Yeah right. You and your statistic are the biggest joke Jazz. Like a ghost will appear in this room right now reeking havoc," he said laughing.
Just then the temperature dropped several degrees and room turned blue. A hum could be heard getting louder and louder. Danny let out a gasp as his ghost sense went off. "Great I just jinx myself," he muttered.
A swirling green vortex appeared on the ceiling casting its unearthly glow across the room. The group watched in horrid fascination as a beam of brilliant blue deposited two figures in the middle of the room. That done it all vanished and they could make out the form of a zombie ghost and a purple-cloaked figure. It was Nadera and Skull!
She pulled off her hood and started to greet Danny when the rest of Team Phantom jumped into action. Tucker pulled out the ecto laser lipstick and fired causing the two of them to jump out of the way. "Wait please stop!"
"Can it ghost! You and your companion are getting a ticket back to the Ghost Zone!" Sam said launching the Jack O Nine tails. Skull threw a flaming skull disarming her.
"Guys stop this please!" Danny shouted trying to stop the fighting, but he couldn't.
"I'm here to talk not to fight! Really please!" Nadera said trying to avoid the Fenton Peeler that Jazz was currently wearing. Nadera threw a low level lighting blast at her sending her crashing into the bed.
"Enough of this. I came to talk and you will listen. I think we all need a little time out," she said reaching into her cloak and removing a blue vial. Pouring the contents into her hand she began to chant, Chronos Tempos Father, and all Gods of Time! Chronoton Suspension Freeze!" Instantly time all over the planet stopped and everyone that wasn't in the room froze.
Team Phantom stopped fighting and watched Nadera in awe as she came to rest beside Danny. Skull picked himself off the floor and stood next to her. "What you think Clockwork is the only one that can stop time? With a little magic and the right spell ingredients anyone can stop time for a while. Now maybe we can talk."
"Why should we listen to you or your bodyguard at all?" Sam asked.
"Yeah last time you were here you attacked us in the school and… and… and I can't remember what else," Tucker said confused.
"You guys too? I also have some memory gaps that began about the same time that skull face showed up," Jazz admitted.
"That would be my fault. I erased your memories and tried to replace them with ones more suiting. You must be very resistant to magic to fight off its effects. Still I'm surprised Danny didn't tell you what happened between Plasmius and us four months ago. I was under the impression he would," Nadera said glaring at him.
"Heh I never actually had a good time to tell them, but I guess now is a good time. Guys this is Nadera Apparition. She's the former princess and now High Priestess of the Ghost Zone. To make an extremely complicated and long story short I discovered that my ghost half is actually her twin brother and that Plasmius is our father and Nadera was going to kill us, but she changed her mind and now she's living out the terms of her probation. Simple really."
The others just stared at him in disbelief. There were a zillion questions they wanted to ask, but now wasn't the time literally. "Will talk more about this later right?" Sam said threateningly.
"Yes we will I promise," Danny assured her before turning to face Skull and Nadera. "So what are you doing here in the real world? I thought you couldn't leave the Ghost Zone for a whole year unless there was a major emergency crisis going on."
"I'm afraid one has arisen Danny. One that effects not only the survival of ghosts everywhere, but of the human race as well The Chaos Puzzle Box has been opened and Chaos is now free," Nadera told him ominously.
"The what box has been opened and who is free?" Danny asked.
"You know what she's talking about?" Tucker asked Sam and Jazz. Both girls shook their heads clueless about what was going on.
"You have never heard the legend of Chaos the Entity of Destruction? I thought you were suppose to be a team of ghost experts. Have you never researched the history of ghost and human interaction?" Nadera asked in surprise.
"With all do respect Nadera, we spend our free time fighting ghost not studying them. We get enough of that at school." Tucker said.
"Does this Chaos creature have anything to do with the freaky storm last night?" Jazz asked suddenly.
"Yes he does and you can expect more terrifying things in the future if we don't put an end to Chaos," She said.
"Perhaps Mistress you should tell them the legend of Chaos, going all the way back to the beginning. It will be the only way to prepare them for the dangers that are ahead," Skull suggested.
"Very well I shall tell them the tale, the true tale of what happen for we all knows Chaos would lie. Make yourselves comfortable for this tale is very long and I don't want any interruptions. Let me get us in the right mood here," she said flicking her fingers and causing something like a flashback to appear around them. Everyone was mesmerized they barely heard her speak the next words, "This is a tale of long ago about a great evil and the battle for survival of the three races of Earth."
The teenagers watched in fascination as the figures around them began to speak and go about their everyday lives like they weren't there. With a snap of Nadera's fingers the language changed to English and she began her tale.
"As you can see, things weren't always the way they are now. Fifteen hundred years ago in the lands of Asia humans, ghosts, and mythical beast lived and worked together in a peaceful harmony," she said as a ghost riding a unicorn along with a human walked through her. "They needed each other to survive. The humans needed the wisdom of their ghostly ancestors to help guide them and the mythical beast to protect them from evil and magical threats with their own powers. In return the ghosts were honored above all else and the mythical beasts had companionship throughout their life time."
"Sweet deal if you ask me," Tucker said. Sam elbowed him hard to make him be quite. She wanted to hear the rest of the story.
"The people of the East hoped to spread their teachings through out the world. They wanted the mythical beasts to live in our world forever and keep the spiritual world or the Ghost Zone happy for all time. However this was not to be. For you see there is always someone who wants power and has the desire to rule over all," Nadera intoned her eyes flashing.
The scenery around them began to change rapidly. Storm clouds filled the air and cold winds filled the room. Horrific noises dominated the shadows frightening even Jazz to the core.
Out of the shadow stepped a young woman who was ablaze with magical energy. She was barefoot and wore a purple kimono style dress with black trim. Her skin was slightly gold, her ears pointed, eyes green with flecks of gold, and a mouth of sharp teeth. Her long purple hair contained streaks of red and her hands and face had huge black swirls on it. Whoever this woman was she was dangerous.
"The woman you see presented before you is Wayu Nilyeh, an evil Chi Sorceress. She abused the power of her magic to reek misery and grief wherever she went. Her greatest desire was to rule over all the three races from her mountain top palace. But her magic alone wasn't strong enough," Nadera calmly explained as the rest watched in horror as the Chi Sorceress hurt people.
"One day when she was expanding her palace she came across an unusual rock. It looked like silver, but was as light as a feather. Embedded in the rock were five jewels or stones. Wayu sensed not only their mystical properties, but their ghostly ones as well. For she had uncovered the five Royal Stones."
"Five? But I thought there was only four? What gives?" Danny asked.
"If you remain silent Nadera will explain. Children," Skull muttered.
"The five stones include a ruby, sapphire, amethysts, emerald, and lastly an opal. The opal was by far the most powerful of the five stones. After locking away the other four in a safe Wayu used her magic to construct a heart shape ring for the opal. With the ring amplifying her powers by two folds she could now steal powers away from other magical users making herself the most powerful."
"This is all highly fascinating, but what does it have to do with this creature your worried about?" Sam asked.
The scene changed again to show Wayu over a pot concocting some sort of potion. "Soon my little pet will rise and the power of the ancients will be mine! And as soon as I have obtained enough power from are dearly departed friends I can take over the world," Wayu said letting out the most horrible evil laughs ever.
"Man that's worse then my ghostly wail!" Danny complained.
"Or Tucker's singing, which I didn't think was possible!" Sam added.
"Hey, I resent that!" Tucker snapped.
"Guys enough look! Wayu is using her ring to bring her potion baked monster to life!" Jazz exclaimed. It was true because from out of the boiling potion rose Chaos.
"That little thing is going to destroy all of us? You got to be kidding me!" Danny stated laughing. Nadera glared at him and lit a fire under him causing him to screech. "Looks can be deceiving. Wayu used her ring to create Chaos, so there for he had to obey the wearer of the ring. But what drove him was his desire at first was life force of a ghost."
All around them they watched the little black blob fly through the air its mouth open wide. Once he attached himself to a ghost he didn't let up until the ghost was dry of life force. He would then transmit the powers of that ghost to the ring via Wayu. She laughed in sickened pleasure.
But then things began to change around them. It seemed the more life force Chaos drained the more intelligent and powerful he became. He also seemed to double in size. Wayu tried to control him with her ring, but it didn't work. Soon Chaos took over Wayu's body as his own. With her magical abilities combined with the power of the ring and his own a new reign of terror arose. For now instead of feeding on ghost's life force, Chaos fed on humans!
"This is terrible. Look at these people. Because of Chaos the balance is gone and no one is safe!" Jazz said tearily.
"From the looks of things I don't think anyone can stop him. He seems to powerful," Danny said.
"You are forgetting something Danny. What you are witnessing is the past and someone had to stop him for others to hear the tale. For you see while Chaos was immensely powerful he still wasn't all powerful. In order for that he would need his own body, but someone was going to make sure that never happened. Enter the hero of the story please."
In a dramatic spotlight appeared a young Chinese man. He was fairly tall and thin. He wore black pants, shoes, and white shirt. His eyes were an intense brown and he had a single black ponytail on his otherwise bald head. "This man is the greatest Grandmaster Chi Wizard to have ever lived. His name is Sahdi Niloaix and he was the first Guardian ever," Nadera said with pride.
"What's a Guardian?" Danny asked but Nadera gesture that she answer latter. Instead he turned and watched Sahdi as he talked with a huge dragon and a fat old ghost.
"Sahdi and the elders of the other two races came up with a plan to defeat Chaos once and for all. They would create an eternal prison from which Chaos couldn't use any of his powers to escape. Sahdi gathered wood from a sacred cherry blossom grove, while Pachi, the ghost, stole the remaining four stones and a piece of the Ghost Zone, Komjo, the dragon, gathered the bones of his ancestors and the three of them worked hard to constructed what would be an enchanted puzzle box."
"The box is done! The three races have each put something into it therefore Chaos will not be able to escape," Pachi said pleased.
"Yes, but we are still missing one thing to make it work to its fullest effect. In order to drain Chaos of his power so he can be sealed away we need the ring. The other stones won't work without it," Komjo hissed.
"Leave it up to me old friends. I will trick the ugly creature into giving us the ring. Once I have it I will seal the box and make sure that no one ever tries to free him. You two return to your people now. In case I fail you need to prepare them for the worst," Sahdi said. The other two nodded and left.
"This is the part were the story gets fuzzy because the writings of the next events have faded from their pages with the passage of time. What I do know for certain is that somehow Sahdi tricked Chaos out of the ring. Then using its power along with the other Royal Stones trapped Chaos inside the puzzle box along with the ring."
"After the battle Sahdi placed the stones into the Ghost Zone hoping that their awesome power would be used wisely. The Puzzle Box, which was suppose to remain unsolvable, was placed in a sacred cave where it was suppose to remain guarded at all times by the order Sahdi created, the Guardians. I don't know much about them, just that it's their duty to guard people and items with magic by using their chi magic and one of twelve elements."
"The reason I became interested in the Puzzle Box now was because of the appearance of so many magical items in such a short amount of time. When I sensed the box was no longer in the protection of the Guardians I sent Skull to fetch it from an antique store here. But he was too late it had already been sold. Now someone has accidentally released Chaos upon the unsuspecting world. If we don't put Chaos back in the box soon the Earth will be plunged into 10,000 years of darkness," Nadera said ending the movie and her tale. "So are there any questions?"
Tucker exploded at her. "Are there any questions? Are you joking! Your telling us that an ancient evil creature that feeds on the life force of both the living and the dead is loose and if we don't stop him the world is going to be plunged into ten thousand years of darkness! Did I miss anything?"
"Calm down Tucker before you blow up. I know this kind of a stupid question, but if the puzzle box was never meant to be open why didn't this Sahdi guy put a warning label on it?" Sam asked
"He did. He wrote on the bottom of the box in big bold letters that the puzzle box contained a great evil and under no circumstances should be opened. Unfortunately he wrote them in Mandarin the most common Chinese dialect. I doubt anyone in Amity Park can read it," Nadera explained.
"I assume since you tracked the Chaos Puzzle Box here you can find hit or C again," Danny said.
Nadera shook her head no. "I can't track down the box, at least not now. You see all the magical protection and guards that went into protecting the box from ever being open only work if the puzzle box is closed. Now that it's open I can't find it anymore."
"So were screwed. There's no way that Chaos would allow the box to remain whole. He destroy it in a heartbeat right?" Danny said.
"Wrong brother. As I mentioned before Chaos wants his own body so he can rule forever or at least ten thousand years. In order to do that he needs the Puzzle Box and the five Royal Stones. With their combined power he can destroy the person he's possessing and live on his own," Nadera said.
"But if we got are hands on the box and all the Royal Stones we could use their power to lock him up again right?" Jazz said.
"For the most part. Remember how in the story Sahdi used a spell to bind him into the box while using the stones power to drain him of his power? I don't have it. Only the Guardians do and I have no idea where to find them or if they even still exist. That was one of the reasons I wanted to bring the Chaos Puzzle Box to Spirtuala. I need help to find the Guardians as well stop Chaos. Please help me," Nadera pleaded.
"We be on honored to help, but where are we going to find these Royal Stones?" Sam asked.
"Not to mention find Chaos and the opal ring," Tucker added.
"And lets not forget the Guardians. We need to learn more about them so we can find them," Jazz chimed.
"My Mistress has everything covered if you will allow her to finish speaking. Princess?" Skull said.
Nadera opened her hands revealing the ruby clip and sapphire chocker. Gliding over to Sam and Tucker she secured the items on them. "I already had my mothers chocker and Dad was kind enough to lend me the clip for the time. You two are the temporary caretakers of the items. Take good care of them and try to not use their power to much," she instructed them kindly. She turned to face Danny, "Where is your emerald medallion? I thought you be wearing it."
"Nadera you have to understand something. I haven't been able to regain my prince form. The emerald medallion is stuck inside my ghost DNA. Sorry," he admitted sheepishly.
"Don't worry Danny I'm sure that it will appear when it's needed. As for looking up info on these Guardians you guys can join me in the public library. Research is my middle name," Jazz said proudly.
"Excellent suggestion Jazz. Now as for your earlier question about how we are going to find Chaos it's quite simple really. We're going to use the Royal Stones to track down the owner of the opal ring. Find the ring, we find the box," Nadera explained.
"How are you going to be able to help us out exactly? Once time resumes you and Skull will set off all the traps in this place," Danny pointed.
"I will be returning to the Ghost Zone to warn other ghosts and prepare for the coming of Chaos. My Mistress has perfected a spell that will make her appear human. She will pretend to be yours and Jazz's cousin from your dad's side of the family. With a sprinkle of some fairy dust they will believe the story for the time being. I must go now. Be careful Mistress. Chaos is very dangerous and I hate to lose you," Skull said opening a portal back.
"I'll be fine Skull don't worry. Just make sure everyone is okay in the Zone. I'll make sure that Chaos is taken care of. Now go!" With a gust of wind he was gone.
Turning to face the group Nadera indicated they should stand back. First she spread the fairy dust around the room so it would take effect the second time started again. With a sweeping gesture she called out her battle cry and let two rings of neon green energy transform her from ghostly priestess to human teen.
The minute the transformation was done time started again and the group stared at the girl standing before them. She was wearing ankle high black boots, black leather jeans with rhinestones, a long sleeved V-neck purple shirt with rhinestones forming a flower on it. Her skin was ivory; she had perfect teeth and pale pink lips with dull green eyes. Her hair was still black but now straight with a purple jeweled headband. Her look was complete with purple teardrop earrings and her pendent. "Call me Nadera Fenton. Shall we go to school now?"