Hello All!

Chapter fifteen, the climax, the epitome, the ultimate clash against the forces of evil…and other such junk. Also, I am majorly freaked out. Did you guys know that the first good view of the Ghost Zone in 'Prisoners of Love' after Danny goes inside after that present looks creepily like a famous print that I know and love? I almost passed out when I saw that, it scared the crap out of me! It's only there for a second, but brrrrrr….

Much love to all reviewers, I'm glad you're all still pleased. Special thanks to Epona, who's review will once again go unshown. Hope you get that e-mail fixed. You always have good advice, and people deserve to benefit from it. Also thanks to Lizeth for visiting me at DeviantArt. Joy!

That said, I only ask that nobody send me a death threat after this chapter. While things might not get better, this is not the end of the story. That's next chapter. -takes cover-

Bye,

HiddenAuthor

Chapter 15 – Rages

Dan Phantom looked across the star-strewn world towards the source of the angry voice. Glaring at him from the far door was Danny. With a violent wave of the young boy's arm, fractured boulders flew together and fused into a patchwork path across the great chasm, and Danny silently strode out towards his dark foe. Dan chuckled.

"Quite a talent you have in here. They say ghostly lairs are where the unquiet dead go to meditate on their lost lives. To 'find themselves.' Well, I suppose it's worked for you." He gave a mocking half-bow. "Here I am." Danny scowled, as a red-suited huntress stepped in behind him, looking slightly disoriented. Dan quirked an eyebrow. "Val? Well isn't this a pleasant surprise. And here I thought I'd have to go look for you after I killed myself." Valerie just charged a gun, her face firm and still behind an already impassive mask. Dan smirked. "Nice suit, by the way. Is it new?" Neither spoke. "I take it from your expressions that I was expected. How?" His gaze flicked back to the cowering girls. "Ember. So you're one of the little girlfriends, then. I can't say much for your tastes. A human?" Dan chuckled at the cowering singer, and his gaze moved to Dani, who had quickly changed into her ghost form to protect her new friend. He frowned.

"And who's this? A second fan-girl?" He scowled. "I've heard of ghostly obsession, girly, but don't you think you've taken it a bit far?" Dani just glared back, trembling slightly as she fought to keep her unusually high energy from ripping her body apart. "No answer? Fine. I'll ask again after I kill your boyfriend."

Laughing coldly, the dark ghost ran forward and swung at his young counterpart. Sprinting into action, the two warriors jumped to the side as his fist collided with the stone path, destroying Danny's efforts in the blink of an eye. Flailing about in midair, Valerie quickly activated her jet board and floated up, glaring at her enemy. Danny jumped as far as he could, landing on a floating stone and bouncing back towards Dan, spinning into a side-kick. Dan snorted, grabbing him by the ankle and flipping him over his head towards the other wall at even higher speeds. Grinning, he turned to face the stunned huntress just as a white boot kicked him in the head.

"Ahh!" Dan flew towards a large floating stone and crashed into it, shattering it into hundreds of small pieces. Shaking his head, he glared at his smug enemy. "How!" Danny just grinned.

"Teleportation. Definitely a cool power."

Dan's eyes widened momentarily as Danny vanished and reappeared above his head, bringing his joined fists down in a savage blow. Dazed and flying towards yet another boulder, Dan quickly shot a wad of his ecto-goop and plastered Danny onto a wall. Eyes closed briefly in concentration; Danny winced and sagged, the substance preventing his escape even by teleportation.

Smug look back in place, Dan managed to land on his feet and launch himself towards Valerie. The huntress swerved quickly in midair, firing off a glancing blow even as Dan caught her by the arm and jerked her off her sled. With a vicious glare, he reduced the floating craft to slag, and then pulled the girl close.

"Still think I'm cute, Valerie? Wanna go out sometime?" The repulsive creature stuck out his forked tongue and wiggled it in front of the girl. Her eyes filled with horror and disgust as she kicked desperately. Danny screamed in rage in the distance, thrashing madly to get at the mad spirit. Finally gaining leverage, Val broke free and pushed off of her captor's chest, sending them in opposite directions. Quickly reaching to her side, Val threw off several spinning ecto-disks. Unable to move properly with neither flight nor ground, Dan could only take the hits, growling in pain. Chuckling, Val threw a second volley.

"I don't think I could date a wimp like you, ghost. And I definely like guys who at least try breath mints once and a while." Dan put up a shield, recoiling from the impact as the powered disks bounced off.

Glaring at the girl, Dan sucked in a deep breath and wailed. Stones all around her shattered, sending slivers of shrapnel through her skin as the shock waves blew up her weapons and shorted out her suit. Screaming in pain, Valerie was blasted into the far wall and collapsed, unconscious. A trickle of blood leaked from her slack mouth. "How's that for bad breath?"

"Valerie!" Using every ounce of strength he had, Danny strained against his prison, finally tearing it apart, the force reverberating back and causing the boulder behind him to explode. Eyes blazing, he turned towards his grinning enemy. Then, he paled, realizing he was floating in empty space with no way to create momentum. Dan turned to watch his 'free' opponent and laughed.

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Jack and Maddie looked around the basement lab frantically. Just a few short minutes ago, their son had panicked, saying that his evil future self was coming. Without even a simple explanation, he had grabbed Valerie's hand and teleported. Eyes wide, Jack and Maddie turned towards a very pale Tucker. His computer lay in front of him, forgotten.

"Valerie." He whispered. "Danny." The two parents marched over and sat down.

"Tucker. Do you have any idea where they went?" Tucker shook his head mutely.

"No, I don't. They could be anywhere in the city by now." The frightened boy looked down at the constant data stream in his computer. "None of the generators are showing signs of stress, so that doesn't help. If they're still in the city, they aren't hitting the dome. I can't find them this way." Tucker shook his head, and started calling up video. "I just hope Sam and Jazz got those volunteers in place."

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Dash Baxter stood next to the Axion generator and tugged at his Phantom t-shirt irritably. Sure, it was the cool thing to wear right now, but in this kind of sun, who wanted to have black on? Besides that creepy Goth chick anyway…

Kwan groaned with boredom and tossed his ecto-gun up into the air, catching it lightly before repeating. Dash scowled.

"Come on, dude, knock it off. The whole gun-tossing thing is seriously freaking me out." Kwan smirked.

"Relax. Manson said they don't hurt humans, remember?" He tossed it again. "Besides, there's nothing else to do." Dash sent his friend a dark glare.

"I mean it Kwan, don't make me pound you." Kwan snorted.

"Like you could. How's that nose, Dash?" Dash grimaced. He'd had to take Monday off school to have it checked again. Fenton had hit him hard enough to break it in three places, and it itched like crazy under a very stupid-looking cast. Worse, the punk hadn't been in school today because of the ghost attack. Rumors were spreading that he was chicken to fight that wimp, and it was driving him crazy. The blond jock cracked his knuckles.

"Fine. It was a cheap shot, that's it. I would have wiped the floor with him if Lancer hadn't shown up." Dash's voice was smooth and confident, and Kwan frowned for a moment. The other jock smiled then, sure Dash was right. Fenton was just a scrawny little kid; he couldn't land two hits on Dash before he got plowed through the floor.

Dash nodded at his friend's acceptance, relieved. To be honest, he wasn't sure he wanted to fight Fenton again. The quarterback had been in his share of fights, usually with members of some other team after a game. And in that whole time, on the field or off, he didn't think he'd ever been hit that hard. Tackled maybe, but that was more about weight and momentum then strength. When that Fenton kid punched him, Dash could tell he wasn't really into it, but it still broke his nose. Three times! The bully scratched his head, confused about what he should do.

He obviously couldn't do nothing. The A-list would tear him apart, and he didn't have any other friends. But if he fought Fenton and lost, it would be even worse. Not even the band geeks would be afraid of him. He could corner Fenton alone and talk about it…Dash shook his head, clearing out that crazy thought. No way would that punk kid understand. Besides, after the last year, why would he care? And Fenton didn't seem to want to be on the A-list anymore, and Dash inviting him would make him look like an idiot. Especially since he was getting invited for punching out his inviter. But Dash knew that if he fought Fenton, he'd lose. That one punch proved it. There didn't seem to be any way out.

Frowning in thought, Dash didn't even notice Kwan lightly toss his gun back into the air.

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Sam and Jazz sighed contentedly as the last few stragglers finished signing up and left. Both were of course terrified out of their wits, but a bit too proud to let the other know. Naturally they both knew anyway. Sam picked up the sheets silently and handed them over to her partner.

"Thanks Sam. Wanna talk about it?" Sam scowled over at her, crossing her arms.

"What about you, Jazz?" The older girl blustered slightly, staring at the Goth. "Don't think I can't tell. You're just as worried as I am." The older girl paused, and nodded mutely.

"Yeah." She chuckled hollowly. "I guess we're just the side-liners, huh?" Sam glared.

"What are you talking about? I've been taking martial arts classes on the side for months now, and I'm not half bad with those ghost weapons! I'm perfectly able to kick ghost butt on my own. And what about you and Spectra? You peeled her like an onion, and Danny was losing to her." Jazz nodded, smiling slightly. Suddenly, she shot the other girl a sly glance.

"Months? Danny wasn't fighting at this level a few months ago; you didn't need 'To Fu' or whatever to keep up. Why'd you start?" Sam blushed.

"Danny was crushing on Valerie. She's a ninth degree black belt. If he wants some warrior princess, I can do that. I'm almost to the black belt now. After that, you just need to practice." Jazz smiled.

"That doesn't seem like you, Sam." She teased. "Changing yourself for a boy." Sam just smiled.

"Danny's worth it." The older girl sat down next to her, draping a hand over her shoulder. "Besides, he needs people to protect him, even if he won't admit it. And warrior princess was never a huge stretch for me." Jazz nodded.

"Just remember, Sam. He chose you. He likes you for who you are, not for what you can do. But I agree, he does need you to be strong. For both your sakes." The girl pursed her lips thoughtfully. "You know, the only way you'll really keep improving is if you work with a master." Sam shuddered. "No, not Valerie. I know that would be awkward. I'll ask my mom if she'll tutor you. She even developed her own special variation on basic moves just for ghost-fighting. Not even Valerie knows those." Sam smirked, then her smile dropped.

"Can you tell Val, too?" She asked quietly. Jazz beamed, pleasantly surprised.

"You really do care about him, huh? You're even willing to give up an edge like that just to keep him that much safer." Sam nodded.

"He always tries to save everyone, no matter who they are. That's what I love about him. It's only right that I'm good to other people too." Jazz smiled and hugged her to her side.

"I think that's what he loves about you."

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Concentrating fiercely, Danny teleported over to Valerie. Not that this gave him any momentum, he was still just floating around. Dani and Ember watched from their nearby shelter, desperately trying to avoid being seen. Body tensed to defend her, the ghost boy quickly checked for a pulse. Sighing with relief when he found one, he slowly maneuvered himself away, careful not to jostle her.

A brief chuckle was all the warning he had. Acting purely on instinct, Danny threw up a shield. Not over himself, but over Valerie. A second later, he felt Dan's punch glance off the barrier. Strong hands jerked him around to face his dark opponent. Dan smirked, throwing Danny against the solid wall over and over again. Blood vessels broke in Danny's eyes until they looked almost as red as his enemy's. Timing things just right, Danny phased through as Dan lunged him backward yet again, resolidifying to headbutt Dan in the face. With a cry of pain and rage, Dan backed up, blood trickling from his nose. Casually, he wiped some away and looked down at it. Danny took a deep, gasping breath. Glaring intensely, he kicked out and launched Dan back away, cursing. Green eyes locked on red and almost as though sharing a mind, both Phantoms doubled their forms. Dan looked at his duel counterparts and snorted.

"Well someone's been practicing." Grimacing in pain and fatigue, The Danny's pushed themselves off the back wall and launched at the Dans. Grinning wickedly, the Dans turned as one and took deep breaths. Dannys' eyes widened as they saw that they were looking at Valerie. Desperate, but trapped in midair, one of them grabbed the other and hurled him through the air. Rotating, Danny threw up the strongest shield he could manage as the earth shattered around him. His double vanished into mist as his energy was poured into the shield. Finally unable to take any more, Danny fell to his knees beside the unconscious huntress and collapsed, reverting back to human form. Dan completed a similar move and landed nearby as Danny struggled to his feet, firmly between him and Valerie. Dan sneered over at his young self.

"You must really like her, huh? But what about when she finds out who you really are? That you lied to her, tricked her? Why would anyone love something like you?" Danny's eyes flared green, and he held Dan back as best he could, one arm protectively over Val's torso.

"Shut up. She's my friend. Ghost or human." Danny smiled slightly. "You've missed a lot in that thermos, old man. I'm loved all over the place." Roaring in fury, Dan launched forward and punched out at Danny, who just managed to teleport away with Val despite his human form, rebounding off a nearby boulder to attack again, panting heavily. Glaring at the boy, Dan snapped his hand back and grabbed Danny in a vicious choke-hold moments from impact, and swung him into a boulder, pinning him down with one hand while he gripped the surface with the other. Blood red eyes bored into his pale, gasping face.

"Loved? What does a ghost know of love? You and that stupid cheese head are pathetic. Both of you, looking so hard for something you don't even need, killing yourselves all over again for the sake of such a stupid, small thing. You're freaks! Ghosts that feel! What good is that?" Dan laughed loudly, eyes glowing unnaturally bright. "I'm going to kill you again now, Danny, you and your ridiculous emotions. I'm going to watch as the hope, love, and finally pain leave your eyes, and when they go dim, I'm going to tear out your human heart and laugh. Love? Let's see your pathetic mortal sentiments save you now."

A vicious punch knocked him backwards into open air and Danny fell back, gasping and unable to move. Dani looked up and glared at the evil creature. Danny wheezed, trying desperately to pull the girl back. "Dani. Don't do this." The girl shook her head, spilling two tear drops as she stood between Dan and her cousin. The only person who understood her, the only person who protected her, the only person she'd ever dared to think of as a father, even if it wasn't strictly true.

"No. I'm going to protect you now." Dani's eyes and hands glowed vivid blue, even as her boots started to lose substance and send green steam into the air. Slowly, arms and legs trembling with the effort of self-control, Danielle leaned her head back and sucked in a deep breath. Dan smirked.

"What's this, little girl? Are you going to try and mimic your hero? Are you going to try wailing at me?" He laughed. "Please, I'm the only ghost that can do that, you're nothing but a pathetic fashion clone."

Eyes narrowed, Dani thrust her head forward and screamed. But no wail came pouring out. Instead, it was a thick beam of ice, colder than the depths of starry space that Danny had admiringly strewn about his private world. A second shriek filled the chamber, one of indescribable pain, as every single molecule in Dan's body froze and blew apart.

Ember watched in horror as the girl poured everything she had, everything she was, into that ear-splitting cry. Danny just lay there; helplessly watching as the poor girl's form wavered more and more violently, as she recklessly sacrificed her stability to prolong and strengthen her attack. Despite everything, Dani did not let up until there was nothing left of the dark, evil ghost but a frozen mass of crystallized green goop. Already the glow started to fade from it as whatever dark force had maintained Dan's existence departed. Danny gasped, looking at the ruin of his foe, knowing that the evil spirit would never trouble him again. He might never understand where Danielle had found the strength, but somehow she had taken her freezing power and destroyed the most powerful evil ghost to ever exist. For him. Still trembling, Dani turned towards her cousin, her father, and her friend, and smiled.

It only took a few seconds for her body to dissolve.