Coming at you today with a little more action! It's a bit of a shorter one this time, so an easier read. Enjoy!
Wes hit the showers after a particularly strenuous practice session, sighing as the freezing cold water cooled his skin and soothed his overworked muscles. Once he was satisfactorily clean, he shut the water off, wrapping a towel around his waist and draping another over his shoulders. Shaking the droplets out of his hair, he went to his locker for his clothes, turning the combination lock on autopilot. He was looking forward to a good night's rest.
The second the locker opened, he was forced against the wall behind him as a green slime flew out, pinning him by his wrists and throat. He struggled and kicked, but the goop held fast, quickly thickening until it was too dense to do more than wiggle in. "What the-?" he choked out.
"Excellent," a deep voice echoed throughout the empty locker room. "Everything is going exactly as I planned it."
"...You?!" Wes gasped, grimacing as Skulker came into view. The gunk over his throat was loose enough that he could still breathe, but it wasn't exactly comfortable. "What do you want? And couldn't you have waited for me to be decent before you trapped me?"
"I prefer to strike when it's least expected," Skulker replied. "If I had waited until you were properly dressed, well, that would indicate some level of preparation, now wouldn't it?" Wes glowered. "...Hm. You aren't quite as flighty as last time."
"I didn't know what I was doing last time," Wes retorted. "Now, I have no reason to be afraid of you."
"You forget that you didn't stand a chance against me before, and based on the fact you haven't escaped yet, you still don't," the hunter smirked. "If you're waiting for the other ghost child to save you, don't hold your breath. He's stuck in a trap of his own, one much sturdier than yours. He won't be getting free any time soon, so you have nobody to protect you from me, the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter!"
Wes frowned. "Didn't realize being the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter meant only attacking when someone was at their most defenseless. Where's the sport in that?"
"Quiet, whelp!" Skulker snarled, a small laser gun springing forth from his wrist. "Unless you wish to be prematurely silenced!"
Wes crossed his eyes at the gun, wary of the amount of firepower behind it. But then a shiver wracked his spine, and he grinned. Skulker blinked at the odd reaction, then released a pained grunt as he was dropkicked from the side, sending him crashing through a bench. Phantom hovered sternly, keeping himself firmly between Wes and Skulker.
"What?!" the hunter exclaimed. "How did you get loose?!"
Danny waggled a finger. "If I told you that, you might come up with something that works a little better." He tilted his head, casting Wes a worried glance. "You okay? Did he hurt you?"
Wes shook his head. "Nah, I'm pretty sure he was just trying to humiliate me." He gestured to himself as well as he was able, then fell back through the wall. He reappeared in ghost form as Skulker was getting to his feet, coming up through the floor with a swift kick that unbalanced the larger ghost enough to send him falling back into a standing row of lockers. "So he trapped me, he trapped you, who knows what other traps he has laying around. Guess it's safer to stick close to you, huh?"
Danny scowled, seeing right through the flimsy excuse. "No, safer would be to get as far away from this guy as possible and leave him to me. You aren't ready to fight Skulker."
The ghost in question growled threateningly, baring his jagged teeth as he struggled to his feet. "You'd best listen to him, whelp. I don't intend to be nearly as lenient with you as I was last time, now that I know what you are. I would advise taking whatever chance you have to escape, futile as it may be."
Wes gave him an unimpressed look. "...Hey, question for you. You're basically a ghost in a robotic suit, right?"
Skulker's brows raised, surprised at the random inquiry. "...Well, yes, I suppose you could say that."
"So that means something has to be powering it, right?"
This time Skulker hesitated in answering him. "...If you're searching for some sort of weakness, I would suggest giving up. You won't be finding one."
Wes waggled his eyebrows at Danny, his grin almost mischievous. But Danny's frown only deepened. "I know what you're thinking, and no. Absolutely not."
"Oh, come on, it'll totally work!" Wes whined. "I know I can pull it off!"
"Yeah, sure, because your plan worked so well last time you fought him."
"I know I can do it this time!" Wes argued. "Just get me close and I know I can stop him."
"Getting close is how you almost lost a foot before!" Danny spluttered.
"Are you two almost done?" Skulker deadpanned. "Because I would much rather start hunting you than listen to you bicker."
Wes ignored him, instead scowling at Danny. "Look, I can do this, okay? Just trust me on this one."
Danny pursed his lips, and then groaned. "Ugh, fine. But only because you won't run when I tell you to. And you better leave the actual fighting to me."
Wes flashed that broad grin of his, and Danny just knew he wasn't going to stay mad for long.
With that finally out of the way, Skulker braced himself, missile launchers sprouting from his shoulders and firing. Wes darted to the side, tail manifesting in the process, while Danny sliced through the barrage with a wave of ectoplasm. Another round quickly followed, with the Halfa summoning a shield to block them. Still, the force was enough to briefly push him back, and Skulker took the opportunity to focus on his weaker target.
Wes yelped in alarm as an ectobullet whizzed by, taking a fragment of his sleeve with it. He ducked behind another row of lockers, maneuvering around the stream of bullets as they pierced his cover. He popped up over the top, then cried out as he was ensnared in a glowing blue net.
"See, this is why I told you to stay out of it," Danny grouched, recovering enough to fly towards Skulker. The hunter withdrew his net cannon, summoning and aiming a large ectogun that protruded from somewhere behind his elbow. But before he could fire, Wes flashed, Skulker recoiling and firing a beam that missed Danny by several feet. The moment of distraction was enough for Danny to land a vicious sucker punch, and for Wes to find an opening in the net and wriggle free.
"Insolent brats!" Skulker roared, twin blades protruding from each wrist. He charged at Danny, swinging with one pair and then the other. Danny weaved and parried, leaving patches of frost wherever his forearms blocked the blows. Skulker drew back, raising both feet and firing a series of darts from the soles of his boots. Danny dodged these as well, his form elongating and contorting to avoid them.
And then Skulker shouted, arching backwards as Wes gripped his bicep in both hands. He lashed out, and the young Halfa withdrew, grin still plastered on his face. The afflicted arm twitched and spasmed, and Skulker held it close, watching with astonishment. "Wait a minute. That was no glitch... That was you?!"
Wes laughed, the sound a sharp, giddy bark. "What did I tell you? I knew this would work!"
"I don't know how you managed to drain my suit," Skulker growled lowly, his arm finally recovering, "but rest assured that I won't let it happen again."
"Well. You blew your best chance," Danny hummed, unsurprised and unimpressed.
However, Wes wasn't discouraged. "If you wanna stop me, first you gotta catch me!" He zipped towards Skulker, and then away when the hunter made to slash him. While his back was turned, Danny shot him from behind, his jetpack tanking the worst of the blast. Skulker whirled around, a laser at his hip whining as it warmed up, but he had to divert his attention yet again as Wes made another mad dash for him, using yet another raygun to deter him. Danny prepared another ectoblast, and Skulker narrowly dodged it, putting space between himself and his two attackers.
"I can't let the whelp keep attacking me like he has been," the hunter muttered to himself. "But I can't let the fledgling touch me, either. This is going to be more difficult than I thought... I'll have to separate them somehow if I want to capture them."
While he worked on devising his strategy, Danny and Wes talked amongst themselves. "I can't believe this is working," Danny said.
"I can," Wes replied confidently. "He can't focus on both of us at the same time. If you can keep him busy, I can definitely sap him, then you can suck him up with that thermos of yours."
"...Alright. I can do that," Danny affirmed. "You steer clear until I get his attention. Focus on dodging. And whatever you do, stay away from the walls. He wanted to keep us apart before, and he probably doesn't want us fighting together now. There's a pretty good chance he's littered the place with booby traps."
Wes nodded, lips pursed apprehensively. It was just one more thing to think about. But in a place as small and hard to maneuver in as a school locker room, he dearly hoped Danny was wrong. He didn't know what Skulker could have set up, and he wasn't eager to find out.
Not wanting to give Skulker too much time to think, Danny decided to make his move. He clenched his fists and concentrated, his form stretching sideways before fully bisecting itself. The two halves filled themselves out, and where there had been one Phantom, there was now two.
"Ha!" Wes exclaimed. "I knew you could duplicate!"
"Last thing you need to worry about right now," one Danny said, the other picking up where he left off. "I can't do this for long, so the second you see an opening, take it."
The doppelgangers took off, one immediately striking Skulker with a powerful uppercut, sending him into the air. The other took pursuit, kicking him back towards the ground. But he strayed too close to the ceiling, and the tiles opened up to reveal a panel riddled with small holes, out of which flew several darts. The clone yelled and dispersed as it was struck, but was quickly replaced with another duplicate, Danny gritting his teeth with effort.
Skulker recovered from the blows, his jetpack sputtering to life and saving him from his fall. He snarled, firing a round of rockets at the pair. One fired a volley of ectoblasts to prematurely set them off, and the other dodged the ones that made it through the barrage. But Skulker was right behind them, charging and striking one of the duplicates on the jaw, sending him reeling. The hunter took the opportunity to glance over to where Wes had last been, but he was nowhere to be seen. Skulker knew better than to suspect he'd fled. He needed to keep his guard up, even as Danny and his carbon copy demanded his attention.
The pair continued to bombard Skulker with various attacks, forcing him to focus solely on them. Despite the constant pressure, the hunter held his own, attempting to push the offense while avoiding the worst of the blows. Occasionally a doppelganger triggered a trap or two and dissolved, only for another to pop into existence in its place. But Danny could only make so many before he exhausted himself, forcing him to once again face Skulker one on one.
"You're wearing yourself thin, whelp," Skulker crooned. "You can't keep this up forever. Your plan is going to fail, and when it does, I will capture both you and your friend, and proudly put you on display!"
"As always, ew," Danny panted. Despite his weariness, he smirked. "But how do you know my plan isn't already working?"
"Huh?" Skulker hadn't realized it, but he had backed Danny towards a particularly obvious depression in the wall. The Halfa darted past Skulker, giving him a harsh shove as he went. The hunter shouted in surprise as he was forced against his own trap. Cables appeared along it, lashing out and ensnaring his ankles and wrists. He glared, struggling to pull loose from his bonds. "You putrid whelp!"
Danny flew back, putting distance between himself and his opponent. "Now, Watt!"
Wes flew down from the ceiling, eager excitement dancing in his eyes. He landed in front of Skulker, reaching out with both hands and planting his palms against the hunter's chest. He bared his teeth in a victorious grin, and without preamble, he pulled.
Skulker roared as his suit convulsed beyond his control, unable to pull away. His fingers rapidly flexed and curled, whining in protest. He attempted to summon a weapon, any weapon to get his attacker to move away, but most froze or retracted before they could fully power up. Others merely hummed and groaned, spitting sparks. Wes grit his teeth, struggling to drain the suit of every last ounce of power it held. Electricity arced along his arms and tangled in his hair, dancing and snapping but unable to escape him. His core gave a powerful shudder, begging to release the energy it was brimming with, but Wes powered through it. His skin tingled, his limbs shook with exertion, but he knew he was close, so close. He just needed to keep going a little longer...
Finally, the suit ceased its jerking, slumping as the last of its power was absorbed. Wes immediately broke contact, and Danny pulled out the thermos, Skulker shouting obscenities as he was dragged inside. "I'll have your pelt for this!" he declared, his voice dwindling to nothing as the cap settled over the beam.
Wes quivered, immediately whirling around and slamming a flat palm against the nearest locker. The entire unit flashed as the current was forced through it, individual lockers popping and groaning. One flew open, uselessly dribbling ectoplasmic slime as the trap within harmlessly deactivated. Once depleted, Wes sighed in relief, slumping against the lockers and allowing himself to change back. The entire unit was fried, lightly smoldering and reeking of ozone.
The pair simply stood there for a moment, catching their breath. It was Danny who broke the silence, hands on his knees. "...I can't believe that actually worked... Are you okay? You looked like you were gonna spill over."
Wes's knees were trembling, threatening to give out under him, but he was still smiling weakly. "...Yeah, I'm good... And look at that. Barely a scratch on us!"
Danny glanced down at himself, and realized that Wes was right. Aside from a few scuffs and a light splatter of Skulker's trap goo throughout, he was almost completely unharmed. Wes himself was in a similar state, his wrists slightly red from his initial capture but otherwise totally unblemished. They were both exhausted to their cores, but neither of them had sustained a single injury. "...Huh. I guess you're right."
Wes grinned even wider. "So I can fight ghosts with you now, right?"
Danny frowned disapprovingly, his expression promising a thorough chewing out. But he chose not to scold his friend right then, instead sighing. "...You can fight Skulker. But not by yourself. Either run, or wait for help, but don't take him on alone." Wes pumped a fist. "Now come on, help me deactivate whatever's left of these traps before some janitor or something sets them off."
Wes nodded, and after managing to salvage his clothes— it turned out going ghost and changing back did not magically make clean clothes appear on your person— the two methodically searched the demolished locker room for any remaining active traps. By the time they had finished, they were more than ready to go home. "There," said Danny. "I think we can leave the rest to a custodian."
"Agreed," Wes huffed tiredly. "I feel like I could sleep for about five years."
Danny nodded in agreement, walking out with his friend at his side. "I think we deserve it at this point."
Wes yawned. "Too bad we're still stuck with school." Danny hummed, and the two made their way towards the exit...
...only for Danny to end up upside down as his leg got caught in a snare.
Wes may be getting a little cocky now that he has some iota of offensive ability. Only time will tell if he's earned it or not.
I get the feeling the next chapter is gonna be a fun one. So I will be seeing you guys soon!
