A/N: Wow, this took so much longer than expected. So. . . sorry about that. Hopefully this being the longest chapter I've written ever makes up for that lol.
I'm gonna start making tri-weekly updates (is that a word?) instead of bi-weekly updates because I can be a bit of a perfectionist sometimes and that makes writing take freaking eons. Plus this week decided to get randomly busy out of nowhere. But enough of that. Enjoy!
Chapter 17: Midnight Meet-Up: Part 1
Danny didn't dream often. OK, that was a lie.
But he knew damn well that he didn't dream about weird creatures lurking in the dark. Well, not anymore at least. Not since he was, like, five or something.
Yet there was the creature shrouded in darkness.
He was only able to see its eyes in the inky blackness. Their green eyes danced with dark mischief. The creature seemed to have eight beady eyes in total, each of them trained on his person. It almost made him shudder to think he was looking at a warped version of himself.
"It's about time we've met, Danny. I was getting lonely down here."
Danny chose this time to look up. Indeed, they seemed to be in a hole of sorts. He could barely make out a single blip of light, signifying the opening. He could feel his stomach churning as he came to the realization. "You're the thing that's been in the pit. You're the reason for this link stuff, right?"
Danny was met with silence.
"Are you some type of hollow parasite or something? C'mon, say something!"
"So pushy," drawled the figure. "Is that anyway to talk to an old friend?"
Alright, time for a new angle. "Who are you?"
"I'm you."
Danny took a deep breath to stop himself from slapping the absolute shit out this guy. "That's not possible. Kari said you haven't been here until recently."
"Oh, is that right?" the figure asked condescendingly. The thing's eyes seemed to tilt, probably along with his head, as Danny could almost sense the creature's head cocked in mock-curiosity.
"Look, I'm not exactly in the best mood for this. Why the hell am I here?"
"To be truthful, I couldn't tell ya. I'm just as surprised as you are. Even if we have entirely different feelings on these current circumstances."
Danny glared. "Why do I find that hard to believe?"
"Hey, believe what ya want. That kind of defiance is probably gonna come in handy soon."
Danny's brows furrowed. "What the heck are you talking about?"
"You'll find out. Soon, probably."
Danny wanted to kick himself. Can't see anything? You've got ghost-energy powered flashlights for hands! Duh.
The hybrid lit his hands with ghostly energy, piercing the darkness with it's light. He just barely caught the glimpse of a smirk on a masked humanoid face. A face remarkably similar to his.
Aside from the eight glowing eyes, of course.
"Well, it's been fun, Danny. Come visit soon."
With that Danny woke up.
It was still dark when woke up. He almost thought he was still in the pit, until he saw the moonlight streaming into his bedroom through his bleary eyes.
And the Quincy blocking his line of sight.
"Danny, are you up?" asked Uryu.
"I am now," he grumbled into his pillow. "Why do you insist on waking me up in the middle of the night?"
"This is the guy who defeated Kenpachi? Seriously?"
Danny blinked at the new voice, noting Uryu wasn't the only intruder. Ichigo, Chad, and Renji were there as well.
The halfa inwardly groaned, knowing he wasn't getting anymore sleep that night. "So, what's up?"
"Orihime's been kidnapped."
Danny sobered up, immediately. "Why do they always take people?"
"C'mon, we don't have time to lose!" insisted Ichigo, leaping out the window. The rest of them followed soon after. Danny sighed, foregoing leaving a note, and flew after the group.
"We've been searching all night, and we can't find her anywhere!" screamed Ichigo. He looked half ready to punch a wall, and Danny couldn't blame him. They were all starting to get more than a little agitated at the lack of progress.
The group, later joined by Dani, were currently sitting out in the school commons area, mulling over possible solutions.
Danny shook his head. "We haven't tried the Ghost Zone."
Ichigo spun so fast he could've given himself whiplash. "You think you know who took her?"
"No, but it's a possibility we still haven't checked."
"Alright, but did any of you recognize those gates?" asked Uryu. "I haven't seen anything like them before."
Danny's brows scrunched in confusion. "Gates?"
Being the helpful group they were, they promptly ignored him. "I've seen them before back when Rukia and I were getting rid of this serial killer hollow," said Ichigo, his tone grim. "They're the Gates of Hell."
Danny's brows shot up. "So somebody sent Orihime to Hell?"
Renji shook his head. "I don't think that's where they sent her. Hell wouldn't take a living being no matter what. You'd have to force your way in and even that might not work."
"I hope you're right," mused Ichigo. "Say, why have you been here at our school anyways?"
"What do you think?" grunted Renji. "They sent me here to protect you guys, so you all don't get into any trouble."
"Regardless of the reason he's here, we probably should be focused on Orihime right now," interrupted Danny. "Y'know our friend who just got kidnapped."
"Danny's right," reasoned Uryu. "Anyone have any ideas?"
"Wait a second!" exclaimed Ichigo. "Remember what happened when we asked Tatsuki and the others about Orihime?"
(Flashback)
"Oi, Tatsuki!" greeted Ichigo. "Have you seen Orihime?"
"Orihime?" asked Tatsuki. "Are they a new student?"
"Haha, very funny Tatsuki. You know Orihime. She's like your best friend."
This time even the students nearby Tatsuki were confused alongside her. "What? I've never met someone named Orihime. You sure you're feeling OK, Ichigo?"
"If they went through the trouble of mind wiping a bunch students of their memory of Orihime, then this definitely confirms it wasn't an accident."
"And since they left us alone, they probably want us to look for her," finished Danny.
"Alright, so we'll check her house again just to make sure we didn't miss anything," said Uryu.
The group nodded as they walked off towards the house.
"Hey, aren't you guys supposed to be in class right now?" asked Renji. "You seemed to make such a big deal about it earlier!"
"Some things are more important than class," retorted Ichigo.
"Damn!" cursed Ichigo, fruitlessly tugging at the knob. "It's locked!"
"I could kick the door in if you need me to," offered Chad.
"Uh, no dude," deadpanned Danny. "Part ghost, remember? Everyone grab somebody."
Once they were all connected, Danny activated his intangibility and phased them through the wall.
It was empty and lifeless, not exactly what Danny had been expecting from Orihime. They made their way through the house and into the kitchen.
"This place is completely empty," muttered Ichigo.
'No shit!' laughed Dan.
Danny's brow twitched. This link was starting to get annoying. From the look on Dani's face, she felt the same way.
'Where the heck are you, Dan?'
'Daniel, when will you learn. I'm not going to tell you where I am. It would ruin the fun.'
'Oh yeah? Is being Aizen's lapdog just part of the fun? What happened to your lone wolf world-razing thing?'
Dan just laughed at my provocation attempt. 'We'll meet again soon, Danny.'
Dan seemed to have a better grasp on the link than either he or Dani. He was able to shut them out almost completely, making it a chore to get the slightest read on his mind. It was definitely more than a bit concerning that he could be listening in on him and Dani without them ever knowing.
"Hey guys!" called Uryu, snapping Danny back to reality. "There's something in here!"
The gang rushed into the living room. Uryu and Chad were inspecting a table with two chairs with a mug of tea in front of each.
"Whoever took Orihime might've been invited in by the looks of it," muttered Uryu.
"By someone she knows?" asked Dani, her gaze focused on the table.
"Maybe-"
Renji's phone suddenly began to ring. The shinigami slipped the phone out of his pocket, eyes squinted at the ID. "Huh, that's weird."
"Is it a hollow attack?" asked Ichigo.
"No, it's a call from somebody. Hello, Renji speaking."
"Hi~! I've heard you guys are missing a little friend?"
Everyone crowded around the phone and Renji. "Hey! Give me some space, dammit!"
"Gimme that!" growled Ichigo, snatching the phone. "Who are you?! Where's Orihime?!"
"That's not nice of you! It's especially not nice breaking into someone's home! Should I call the police?"
"She's watching us!" shouted Dani as she glanced around the room. "Danny, do you sense anything?"
"Nope, not a single ghost," muttered Danny. "Maybe there's a camera?"
"I can't find anyone!" announced Uryu from a window.
"Cut the crap! Where's Orihime?!"
"Ichigo calm down!" hissed Uryu. "You can't afford to get provoked right now."
Ichigo nodded, begrudingly. "Where's Orihime?"
"Well, how about this: come to the park down the street in three minutes. If you don't make it, something terrible might just happen to your friend! Maybe you'll find her there! Buh-Bye~!"
The line went dead.
"C'mon, guys!" shouted Ichigo, leading the charge towards the park.
Danny and the rest followed after him. He grit his teeth in sheer annoyance and a bit of fear. Why'd there always have to be some sicko who wanted to have fun at his expense? Could this have anything to do with Jin Kariya?
"Do you have any idea who's behind this?"
Danny glanced down in slight surprise to see Dani jogging alongside him. "I mean, maybe. I'm still not entirely sure, though. You got anything?"
Dani shook her head. "I've got nothing either."
Danny sighed as he glared ahead. "Let's just hope we can find Orihime in time."
"There's nothing here!"
The park was completely empty, which Danny found more than a little strange. He'd flown over this park numerous times, and there was always somebody there. It only increased the terrible feeling in his gut.
Suddenly, a payphone began to ring. Ichigo bolted over to it, hurriedly yanking it to his ear. "Hello?"
"That's great! You made it! Now, I want you to head to the supermarket by the huge shopping mall!"
"But that's miles away!" protested Ichigo. "We'll never make it!"
"You've got three minutes! Time's ticking boys~!"
"Grr, c'mon guys! We gotta get to the supermarket in 3 minutes!"
"Hold on!" said Danny. "We can fly you there."
Danny and Dani faded into invisibility as they each scooped up two of their friends, taking off towards the park at breakneck speed.
"Geez, don't you think you're going a bit fast?!" asked Renji, flailing a bit.
Danny rolled his eyes. "Dude, calm down unless you want me to drop you out of the sky!"
Once the shop was in view, Danny and Dani swooped down in front of the store, just as his ghostly hearing picked up the phone ringing.
And some store worker was about to answer the phone.
'Can't have that' thought Danny.
Still invisible, Danny's eyes flared and blasted the ground just in front of the worker's feet.
The man yelped before running back inside the store. Danny landed and looked about him before dropping his invisibility. Being the closest of the group, Danny snatched the phone. "Hello?"
"Oh, wow, you guys almost didn't make it in time. That would've been really bad."
"Where's Orihime?"
"Hmm. . . I think I'll tell you after you head to your third location!"
"Is she even there with you?" asked Danny. "Let us hear her voice!"
"I'll let you talk to her when you get to third location! You need to go to Urahara's shop and answer the phone there. You've got three minutes~!"
"I can't believe we have to keep making food for the moocher," groaned Jinta. "He can't even help cook himself!"
"Don't blame him too harshly. The moocher can't help it."
"Yeah, whatever. Wait. . . what's that noise?"
Sure enough, the pounding of feet along the pavement and smoke rising it the air was soon explained. Danny and the gang bounded around the corner, showing no signs of stopping.
"Geez, what the heck is wrong with you people?!" shouted Jinta as the group crowded around the two.
"We need to use your phone!" demanded Ichigo.
"Yeah, it's an emergency!" added Danny.
"Life or death!" interjected Dani.
"Hey, what brings you all here, Ichigo?" drawled Urahara, strolling out of his shop. "By the way, the phone's in there if you need to use it."
Danny's brows narrowed in confusion. "Why-?"
Ring! Ring!
Danny's head snapped towards the sound as the rest of the gang headed into the storehouse. Danny spared one last look at Urahara before walking in.
"-did you get this number?! And where are you calling from anyway?!"
"Doesn't that phone tell you who's calling?" grunted Renji.
"Aw, that's not how the game works," pouted the girl. "You're supposed to find me!"
"Is there anyway to trace the call?" whispered Uryu.
"I don't think so," Chad replied back.
"I can record the call if you think it might help."
Danny turned to see Urahara walking over to a file drawer. The halfa watched him carefully, noting the shopkeeper's perfect poker face. There was something fishy about all of this. Urahara seemed to be scheming something. Heck, it wouldn't be the first time the exiled Captain had done so.
"I'll tell you what! Try going to your friend's apartment at eight tonight!"
"What do you mean 8 o'clock?! Why can't you just let us see her now?!"
Danny's eyes narrowed. This girl had been playing games with them all day. There wasn't much they could do to help it, though. He found himself desperately wishing that Jazz had been here. She was so much better at deductions and getting into the thought processes of others.
The girl giggled. "Tonight! You'll see her then, bye~!"
"Wait, no! Don't hang up!"
The group sat in silence. Things were beginning to look hopeless, if the faces of his friends were any indication.
None were more striking than Ichigo's face. He seemed entirely stricken by his inability to do anything. His face was completely devoid of that resolute fire that Danny had come to reluctantly respect. Danny found himself in the need to cheer him up, even if it winded up being a fruitless venture.
"I can look through the Zone and see if anything happened," offered Danny. "There might be something there."
Ichigo seemed to gain some light in his eyes at that. "Yeah, yeah. That'd be good. Thanks, Danny."
"No problem," replied Danny as he made his way out of the room. "I'll let you guys know if I find anything."
"I'll come with," said Dani as she hopped up from her chair and walked over to him.
The halfa shifted into his shinigami uniform as two black energy rings traversed his body. "Alright Ghost Zone, here we come."
The Ghost Zone was always an interesting place to fly through. It wasn't space, but it definitely had its charm. Still, it was annoying to deal with most of the ghosts there.
Danny flew door to door, interrogating each ghost he came across. He hadn't been happy about the idea, but it was the best he could come up with. It still didn't mean he had to be happy when he got attacked for the fifth time when a ghost didn't want to talk.
Skulker was his first suspect, but it wouldn't make much sense. He wasn't one for secrecy; he wanted his prey to know exactly who was hunting them. His next guess would've been Vlad, considering his tactics.
However, he didn't think it was him. Call it a gut feeling, but he didn't think the elder halfa was behind this.
That left just about every other enemy he'd made over his years of ghostbusting. Wonderful.
"Danny, this is going to take forever," groaned Dani. "There's gotta be a faster way, right?"
"I dunno, maybe," muttered Danny, running a hand through his hair. "Wait! We can try and see if Frostbite's found anything! He's pretty wise and knowledgeable."
Dani shrugged. "It's better than nothing. Let's check it out."
Danny and Dani stood on the outskirts of the frozen village. The frigid wind whipping at their skin left them both grateful for their ice cores. It didn't take long for the duo to happen upon the soldiers of Far Frozen. The large yeti-like warriors towered above the two halfas with their intimidating bulk.
"Ah, Great One!" greeted one of the warriors with a bow. "You have returned! What brings you here?"
"Hey, I'm here to talk to Frostbite. Is he around here?"
"Right this way, Great One!"
The two followed after the two warriors, trudging through the ankle-deep snow. The civilization's icy structures gleamed brilliantly in the glow of the Ghost Zone. The buildings were a magnificent assortment of icicles, metal, and other ghostly properties he couldn't quite name. He didn't really get much time to notice the genius of Frostbite's people the first two times he'd been there.
"So," whispered Dani, grabbing the boy's attention. "Why are they calling you the Great One?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah. The whole defeating Pariah Dark thing. You know how it is."
Dani just gave a rather long eye-roll as they stopped in front of the throne room.
"Great One!" boomed Frostbite. "What a wonderful surprise!"
Danny gave an awkward wave as Dani openly gaped at the giant. "Hey Frostbite, I kinda have a question to ask you."
"Ask away, Great One."
"Have you heard of any ghosts kidnapping somebody recently? Like a human girl?"
Frostbite stroked his chin with his makeshift ice hand. "I can't say I have. However, there have been some stirrings in the Ghost Zone."
"Stirrings? Like what?" blurted Dani.
Frostbite blinked and frowned as if noticing Dani for the first time.
Danny sighed but obliged. "Frostbite, Dani. Dani, Frostbite."
"Ah, well Dani, there have been rumblings of a potential attempt to resurrect Pariah Dark."
Danny's eyes widened. Of all the things he'd been expecting that sure as hell wasn't one of them. It had taken everything he'd had and then some to put him away. He wouldn't be looking forward to a rematch anytime soon. "Are you sure?"
Frostbite's gaze softened as he placed a comforting hand on the teen's shoulder. "Do not trouble yourself too much with this knowledge, Great One. After all, they are only rumours."
Danny gave a weak smile and nodded his gratitude. "Right, thanks. We're gonna head back home. It was nice talking to you again."
"Ah, the pleasure is all mine! Feel free to come by again anytime you like!"
The two ghosts waved their final goodbyes, before stepping into the portal home.
Danny braced himself at the door to his apartment. He'd skipped school and everything without a hint of a notice. He was probably going to get his head chewed off.
"Relax, Danny," soothed Dani. "It's not going to be that bad."
"Yeah, says you," retorted Danny as he reluctantly opened the door.
"There you two are!" cried Jazz. "Where have you been?! You both skipped school?"
Ah, shoot. Saw this one coming. He didn't want to know how his parents were gonna react. "One of our friends went missing."
Jazz's gaze softened immediately. "Oh no. Which one was it?"
Danny dropped into a chair as he rested his head in his hands. "Orihime. They took her last night. We were being lead on a goose chase this entire day by some girl! We still haven't gotten any closer to finding out who's behind this or where Orihime is. Pariah might be rising again! I don't know what to-"
"Danny, Danny," said Jazz placatingly. "Breathe. You can't help Orihime unless you focus."
Danny took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair. "Alright, I'm good."
Jazz smiled. "Good. So, what do you know?"
"They knew we were there every time. Maybe they had some cameras or something. It couldn't have been a ghost watching us otherwise Dani and I would've sensed them."
Jazz nodded patiently. "OK, what else?"
Danny paused for a moment. "Whoever they are wants to see us tonight at 8 o'clock. It's probably a trap, but it could be genuine."
Jazz pursed her lips. "You said there was a girl, right? What do you know about her?"
"Uh, not much. She's got a sick sense of humor."
Dani gasped. "Wait! We found out someone had tea with Orihime, so it's maybe someone she knows?"
"Or someone she thinks she knows," mused Jazz.
"Like a shapeshifter?" asked Dani.
Jazz shrugged. "It could be a number of things: a hypnotist, a relative or friend, a ghost overshadowing someone. We need more information."
"So, we're still back to square one," grumbled Danny.
"Not necessarily," Jazz replied. "We can still plan for what we know."
"What do you have in mind?"
"Like you said, it's probably a trap. We can use that to our advantage. Since this girl seems to be treating this like a game, there's a possibility someone could get taken again tonight."
"And that person would probably wind up where Orihime is!"
"Exactly."
"I can make clones of myself and give them to the guys. We can stay in touch without the psycho even knowing! You're a genius, Jazz!"
Jazz waved it away. "Don't thank me. All I did was steer you in the right direction. We still need to fine tune some things, though."
Danny nodded with a smile. Things were finally starting to look up.
"Danny, I don't think you need to go so fast!" said Jazz. "We can still make it in time without going fifty million miles an hour!"
Danny glanced down at her, slowing a considerable amount. "Sorry, I got carried away."
"We're almost there, right?" asked Dani.
"Yeah, just two more blocks," replied Danny. "Alright. . . right there!"
Danny and Dani swooped down next to Renji and Ichigo. "Hey guys, where are Chad and Uryu?"
"Look behind you," said Ichigo.
Sure enough, Chad and Uryu were just turning the corner.
"So, who's this?" asked Renji, jerking a thumb towards Jazz.
"Hi, I'm Jasmine Fenton," Jazz said, politely. "Danny's older sister."
"Hey, I'm Ichigo, and this idiot is Renji," said Ichigo pointing to Renji.
"Huh, I woulda thought she was your sister with her hair, but she doesn't seem half as annoying," shot Renji.
"Whatever. Hold on, what happened to your Quincy getup?" asked Ichigo addressing the newly-arrived Quincy.
"Uh, I had to take it to the cleaners," mumbled Uryu. Everyone just looked at him incredulously.
"Your cape is dry clean only?" asked Chad.
"Yeah, so? What's wrong with looking good?!"
Suddenly, light flared from the top window of the apartment. "That's Orihime's room! Danny, do your thing!"
Danny nodded as everyone linked arms. Right when he was about to turn intangible, the door opened to reveal Orihime.
Danny's eyes narrowed. There was no way in Hell that was her. Nothing ever came that easy.
"Hi guys? Was there some sort of meet up planned?" asked Orihime curiously.
"Orihime, they brought you back?" asked Ichigo. "They didn't harm you did they?"
Orihime's face tilted sideways. "Huh? Harmed by who?"
"You don't remember?" pressed Uryu. "You were kidnapped, Orihime."
"What? Haha, no way!"
"What was the last thing that happened to you last night?" asked Ichigo.
"Well, I have to think about that! I went to bed early last night to get ready for the first day of school. Then, I went to school and saw all my friends. Then, Tatsuki and I ate ice cream and got brain freezes from eating too fast. Then, I went home, had dinner, and went to bed."
"The first day of school was yesterday, Orihime," said Dani, softly.
"What?!"
"They must have wiped her memory, too," Renji muttered. "She lost a day."
Ichigo smiled. "Hey, but she's here and OK. That's all that matters."
Danny truly wished he could share the teen's optimism. "We should go in. Whoever took her might still be around somewhere."
The gang sat in the living room watching time tick by. It was 20 minutes past eight, and there was still no sign of any kidnapping children. He'd already enacted his and Jazz's plan; his duplicate clones were idly residing inside of each person. He didn't tell them that he'd done it though. He wanted to be as careful as possible considering the circumstances.
His gaze shifted to Orihime, sitting happily in her chair. She hadn't exactly done anything yet that would condone suspicion, but there was something fishy about it all.
"You're thinking of something," observed Ichigo. "What is it?"
"I think Urahara might have something to do with all of this."
Every single person stopped what they were doing. "What? There's no-"
"Look, he knew we needed that phone call before we even said anything. We could've been there for anything else, but he knew. And he had a tape recorder ready out of nowhere! Almost like it was planned."
"Danny, you're being paranoid," soothed Uryu.
Danny groaned in frustration. "Why can't you guys see that this is fish-?!"
The group was thrown to the ground as the room began to shake. At once, everyone began to spring to action.
"What the heck is that?!" shouted Ichigo.
"The door won't open!" grunted Renji as he tugged at the handle.
"Get away from the windows!" shouted Uryu.
"Everybody hang on to something!" instructed Danny as he switched into his ghost form.
"Ack!"
Danny turned to see Chad held in a choke-hold by Orihime. He almost had to double-take at that.
"Orihime! What are you doing?!" asked Uryu.
The malevolent grin that wormed its way onto Orihime's face chilled Danny. It looked so wrong on Orihime's normally cheerful face. "What do you think?" she snapped. "I'm killing him!"
"Chad, can't you throw her arms off?" asked Ichigo.
Chad didn't respond as he clutched vainly at Orihime's arms. Suddenly, "Orihime" let go of Chad with an expression of sheer terror.
Danny couldn't help his smirk. Overshadowing them really did come in handy. "Hey guys, whoever that is, it isn't Orihime!"
"We know! She's possessed!"
"No, she isn't possessed! Whoever that is just shapeshifted into her!"
With a grunt, "Orihime" forced the ghostly clone out of their body. She then began to chuckle as her form morphed into a tall man with a thin mustache and a top hat. "As smart as ever, Danny. My name's Kurōdo."
"You're the bastard behind all of this!" accused Ichigo. "Where's Orihime?!"
"Ah, it wasn't exactly a one man job. I had some help."
The air next to Kurōdo shimmered before solidifying into a masked man. He was adorned in a coat with only his cold green eyes and red hair being visible. "Hello."
"This is Noba!" announced Kurōdo. "A helpful assist-!"
"As nice as all of these introductions are, I can assure you that we don't give a flying fuck who you are. Are you guys working for Jin Kariya?"
Kurōdo laughed at the question as if it was preposterous. "Like I would tell you! Now, we'll be taking your friend."
Chad began to hover, rising towards the gates, just before he stopped in mid-air. Kurōdo blinked in surprise.
Danny couldn't help the smirk tugging at his lips. "Yeah, telekinesis. It's a pretty handy trick."
That was when the masked man apparated in front of Danny. The halfa stumbled back in shock, losing his concentration and releasing his hold on Chad.
Everything seemed to escalate from there. His friend's body lifted off into the air, towards the gate, despite his new efforts to keep it grounded. Meanwhile, a bunch of skeletal warriors rose up from the ground.
Noba grabbed Danny, and they were gone in a flash. The last thing he saw before disappearing was a giggling girl hovering in front of the Gates of Hell.
A/N: As always feel free to review! Whether it be ways to improve, flames, greetings, or anything else at all! Thank you for reading. Have a lovely day, night, or afternoon!
