Skulker: Now write.
SS: How can I if you have me tied up.
Skulker: Find a way.
SS: Why are YOU bugging me anyway?
Skulker: Clockwork told me that you were looking for a new muse and you needed a good motivator. Well here I am! Turns to readers Oh and I'm charging 25 cents per mauling, so come and get it.
SS: What!
Skulker: Well you haven't updated this one in forever, and you left it on such a bad cliff hanger, I'm sure lots of people will pay. I'll be rich!
SS: Clockwork!
---
It echoed throughout the halls, filling the very air. It was a sound like nothing she had ever heard before, causing the earth to shudder. There was no time for fear, she raced to the source.
Even after it had faded, the halls vibrated with after shock.
She almost raced into a room of death, but the energy in the air stopped her. The area was filled with a dark presents that seemed to draw her in. A slab of stone stood center piece in the room, with her friend on it, panting. A man dressed in black robes had a knife ready to strike.
"No!" that mini gun whipped out of her belt and she fired away. She hit the wall.
'Maters wasn't kidding.' she could see her target smoldering against the wall which was now slightly concaved.
"Valerie!" Danny was struggling to get up, but heavy chains held him down.
She rushed over to him, "Are you alright?" She looked down and tried to pull them off.
"I'm fine, can you blast it off?" Danny looked over at the smoldering ash.
"I can try, but I don't want to hurt you." She frowned, pulling out another gun.
"As long as it's not like the other one, I think I'll survive." He grinned.
'How can he be so calm? It's like this has happened far too many times to count, and now he's so used to it, it's like it's not even happening. Maybe he thinks this is a dream.' She found a gun that was hopeful the right power and aimed carefully. "You sure there is not a key?"
"No time. Fire!"
She closed her eyes and the chain hit the ground with a heavy clunk and she felt relief flood her system. Then a sudden jerk pulled the gun from her hand and three more clunks followed suit.
"What was that for! You could have hurt yourself." She raged at him. He could have blasted of a limb, and goodness knows that would make things hard.
"No time, we have to…"
A grating crack interrupted them. Valerie turned, "Oh my god, that thing is still alive!"
Valerie froze, unable to move as the thing fell from the wall and stood slowly. Pushing back its hood she saw its half blackened face, or rather Danny's face. A high pitched scream priced the air.
It wasn't until Danny forcefully dragged her out the door that she realized that it was her screaming.
There was not any talk as they ran, all the oxygen was now being used to pump their legs out of there. 'Was that some kind of demon?' She wasn't sure she wanted to find out. 'Why did it have Danny's face? Oh God, am I going to live though this.'
A crash from behind them made them both go a little faster. Another turn and suddenly Danny was no longer with her. Skidding to a stop she rounded the corner again. Her friend was lifted in the air by his neck by that thing. His legs were kicking at the charred body, and she could she bone from where his foot scraped off.
"You can't kill me; I was never alive to begin with. You're the reason I'm in this husk of a body, and now you're going to give back what you took from me."
Danny was in the way of her blasting range, so she could only wait for an opening that never came. Instead her friend did something unexpected, he screamed.
Now if she were under the same circumstances, she would have screamed too, but this was like the one from earlier. It sent the two apart, the demon crashing into the wall, and Danny, into her.
"Thanks for catching me."
"What was that?"
"Nothing. Heh, do you know the way out of here?" Danny pulled her to her feet, and rubbed the back of is head, blushing.
'He's distracting me. Trying to hide something form me. Maybe it has something to do with his, powers? Is he some kind of shaman, siren thing? Ah heck, why not, Amity Parks full of ghosts, we are fighting some kind of demons just to get out of here, and Masters has some kind of mind powers. He does come from a family of ghost hunters, why no give them hidden powers too?'
"Well?"
"Yeah, this way. You don't think he'll get back up, do you?"
"Actually I'm pretty sure he will." Danny dropped his head and lowered his voice. "He's like the others, impossibly strong and hard to kill. I think that this is one I'm just going to leave to Cheese head, he seems to know what's going on."
"You fought them before?" Valerie was no longer surprised, it made sense, yet that only added a hundred questions.
"How bout we just get out of here?"
---
Vlad was waiting at the front gate. Danny glared at him. He would have forced Vlad to give him a few answers right then and there, if Valerie hadn't let out a startled gasp behind him.
"Mr. Masters, what are you doing here?" Valerie stepped forward, and Danny wanted to pull her back, away from the fruit loop.
"As soon as there was and opening, I came down to pick you up. I tried to get in, but it seems that there was some kind of barrier. They must have detected you."
'A likely story.' thought Danny. 'He just let Valerie do all the dirty work for him. I ought to strangle him for putting someone else in danger, not to mention dangerously close to my secret.'
"I was detected, he nearly killed Danny. And…" Tears stated brimming at her eyes. A silent exchange passed between Danny and Vlad. The older was the first to react.
"Now Valerie, why don't we put some distance between us and that horrible dungeon, you can tell us in the car."
---
The clock stuck three, and Maddie Fenton had once again taken up to pacing. She had previously attempted to bake cookies, tinker with weapons, and read, but nothing could keep her worried mind occupied. Vlad was supposed to be back with Danny hours ago. She burned the cookies, but Jack was now happily munching on them, he didn't mind cleaning up a little.
The last call had been somewhere around eleven, over eleven hours ago. There was no way Danny had been asleep that long, and if he was, surly Vlad would have woken him. After four, she had been attempting to get a hold of them on the hour. The phone was never picked up. She took out the phone to try again.
"Maddie," Jack had been watching this charade for the better half of the day. He hated seeing his wife so upset. It was he who redirected Jazz out of the house to prevent a psychoanalysis. Maybe using the Fenton Ghost Ecto Extractor as a guise wasn't the best of ideas, but it worked.
"Don't worry so much, V-man always keeps his word. He'll bring in Danny safe and sound, as promised." He grinned to himself. Vlad had been his best buddy forever, and never once had he let him down. Jack knew he could count on Vlad with his very soul and darkest secrets if need be. They knew each their like the back of their own hands, and nothing could break a bond like that. Not even a certain car crash in collage.
Maddie on the other hand didn't seem to fell that way, "He's lying to us Jack! I can feel it in my bones. Danny's in trouble, trouble far bigger than he can handle."
"He's not lying, just not telling the full truth. It's the way he is, and let's leave it at that. Your smart Maddie, you can figure out what he's saying, and he knows that. That why he does it." Jack couldn't help but hum to himself. He loved them both dearly, but really, one of these days…
"What is it then?" Maddie slumped looking defeated.
"How should I know, you're the one who's good at riddles, beside you hold more of the pieces. Tell me when you figure it out." they all may have know each other life themselves, but didn't mean that Jack knew everything. But he liked to keep things simple; fight when needed, eat, sleep, spend time with family and friends, hunt ghosts. No dancing around the subject, no secrets, no magic mumbo jumbo. It was everyone else who like to make things complicated. That was fine by him, they'd tell him when the time was right, till then he'd keep hacking his own path.
"Jack…"
A knock came at the door. Maddie raced to it, hurriedly opening it, and Jack smiled. 'Yep, and V-man come though again.' Maddie hugged her son who said something along the lines of, "not now mom, your embarrassing me."
'I'll tease her about it later.' "V-man, come on in! We have cookies, they are a little burn, but don't mind that. I'll make some tea and hot coco!"
"I apologize for the lateness, I got a little caught up in an emergency, and we were later than expected. I was on my way down when I got the page, left my cell at where I'm staying."
"No worries. Come in and rest up a bit, the guest room is open to ya." Jack threw an arm around his friend, perhaps too hard.
"Thank you Jack, if I could take young Daniel to bed, it would be greatly appreciated." Vlad slipped under the larger man and guided the sleepy boy upstairs.
Maddie looked over at Jack, "See what I mean?"
Jack just grinned.
---
"Now are you going to explain yourself?"
"All in good time Daniel. What is important is that nobody finds out about our little adventure humm. Valerie will not say a word; she believes that they wanted you for you powers, which is true." Vlad fiddled with a lap top, pulling up reports.
"Who was that guy? Are they coming back?"
"The one that looked like you? Never seen him. Their leader keeps a low profile, would probably go after you and Valerie both if he could recover just because you have seen his face. I have several teams out over the area; after we left I had the whole site bombed." Some soft typing brought up a picture of what looked like a death zone.
"That thing took two of my strongest attacks, and whatever you gave Valerie and it didn't die. Why did you send her in? Are you stupid?"
"Only a human could get through the barrier, and human with no powers."
"Arg you arrogant prick! Don't smirk at me like that! She could have been hurt! Or worst dead! I ought to…"
"Not so loud, we do not want to have to explain ourselves. Not even your friends are aloud to know of this. Understand?"
"What!" Danny was on the death throws now, broken arm or not, he was going to tear the cheese head apart so many ways…
"We don't want any chance that this may slip. None. We are keeping this to as few people as humanly possible. Not only would your mother be furious, if this ever got out to the press, it would cause world wide panic, and experiments, lots of painful experiments."
"Fine, I won't tell anyone anything." Danny crossed his arms glaring.
"Good. Well then, you are safe and sound, which means I can leave. Goodbye Daniel."
---
And so the next day at school, Danny could be seen with his best friends at either side.
Sam leaned over, a piece of salad on her fork. "So, how did you break your arm?"
"Ahh, A fight. Everything's taken care of."
"Everything?" Sam stared at him for a long moment.
"Yep. Don't worry, it's already mostly healed. In a week or so, I'll be able to fight with that arm again."
"Alright! Who's up for nasty Burgers after school?" Tucker jumped up.
Sam sighed. She knew there was more than that going on, but the truth was if Danny said it was taken care of, it probably was. "Fine but no meat."
"But that's the best part!"
"Danny, tell him that meat is just grows."
"I'm staying out of this one."