Jazz walked into the kitchen and stopped dead when she saw him. Danny grinned, waving at her.
Next to him, the other Danny also grinned and waved.
"Why," Jazz groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Couldn't I have gotten a normal brother?"
The other Danny gasped dramatically. "A normal brother? In this family?"
"Did you two plan this out?" She dropped her hand to narrow her eyes at them. Danny was pretty sure that she was trying to figure out which Danny was which. "Because this is bullying. I'm feeling very bullied right here."
"Take it up with Sidney, then." Danny, still grinning, took a bite of his sandwich. He should've had lunch sooner, but in his defense, he totally forgot. Until the actual Fenton kids were returning from school, that was. "He's the local expert on fixing bullies."
"This isn't bullying, anyway." His human counterpart rattled his fingers on the glass he held as he spoke. "This is just sibling fun."
Jazz huffed, chagrined. "Phantom, I'm glad you're here, but sometimes I wish you weren't."
"Amen." Other Danny raised his glass.
"Same," Danny agreed, raising his sandwich.
She narrowed her eyes even further, sparks of gold visible in the teal of her eyes.
Danny flashed his own eyes green, and Jazz relaxed a little. Ah. She really hadn't been able to tell them apart.
"So you two really didn't plan this out?" She finally entered the kitchen proper, pausing next to the table where they both were.
"Just a coincidence," Danny assured her.
Other Danny nodded, then gestured over at him. "This one forgot to eat lunch until he saw me come home."
"My day-night rhythm is in shambles." Danny shrugged, taking another bite of his food. Just because this dimension's Fentons insisted he come stay with them didn't mean it fixed everything automatically. "It already was before I came here, though."
"Yeah, you've mentioned that before." Jazz hummed, thoughtfully. "Something about being practically nocturnal."
"You wouldn't believe how many ghosts attack at night." Danny clicked his tongue, chastising. "You're gonna have your hands full when I leave."
If he ever left.
"And you will have to get used to being the little brother again," she jibed, equally willing to ignore the possibility that he might never leave. "Did you two leave me any food?"
Danny stuffed the last bite of sandwich into his mouth. Other Danny grinned and said, "Nah, unless you want the Frankenwienies."
"You two are the worst."
He opened his mouth to joke back, but felt his core stir in his chest. Far, far stronger than usual; more of a heave than a whir.
Based on Jazz' startled expression, she felt it too.
Blue vapor misted from both their mouths, and Danny quickly sorted through his memories. What could possibly…
Oh no.
He threw out his arms as he shifted into his ghost form, a green shield forming around the three of them before the light had even faded away. The other two made noises of protest, but fell silent when the first ghosts started zipping past them.
No one said anything when the few ghosts made way for a whole stream of them. Humanoid, animals, every type of ghost flew past them, including familiar faces. One or two even bashed against the shield as they flew past, but were clearly unwilling to stick around to try and get at Jazz.
Good. At least she wouldn't have to suffer through that gang-up like he had.
"What's going on?" Jazz asked. Her hands were shaking, but Danny wasn't sure if it was fear or just jitters from her core. "Why are all these ghosts here?"
"They're fleeing the Ghost Zone." He kept the shield steady, even as the flow lessened. "The Ghost King is awake."
"The what?" Other Danny was staring at him, wide-eyed. "Ghosts have a king?!"
"Sort of. He's been asleep for ages, locked in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep." Finally, the stream of ghosts seemed to stop, and Danny let down his shield. He didn't shift back. "He is… extremely powerful, and a harsh king. The other ghosts are afraid of him, so they're fleeing to the human world, where they don't have to deal with him. Or so they think."
"I really don't like the sound of that," Jazz grumbled. Her shivers had lessened already. Probably just the shock of her ghost sense, then. "Is he gonna come here?"
Danny grimaced. "Not… necessarily. He doesn't care about the human world."
"But?" Jazz prodded. "Come on, I can tell you're leaving details out."
"But," he repeated, before sighing. "He'll be after one of his relics, which increases a ghost's power. It's called the Ring of Rage."
"How did he get out, anyway?" his human counterpart asked. "If he was locked up for so long. Did someone free him?"
"Vlad, of course, who else?" Danny sighed, running a hand through his hair. He really wasn't looking forward to doing this all again. Last time it had nearly killed him. Yes, he was stronger now, he'd probably be okay, but still. "And he knows Pariah is after the Ring, so he's gonna bring it here and pass it off to some unsuspecting target, like his pet ghost hunter."
Jazz' eyes grew wide. "Valerie. She's in danger!"
"Not until Vlad leaves and gives her the ring," he dismissed. Paused. Cast out his ghost sense to try and track down Vlad's minimal presence in human form. "Uh. Is Vlad still here?"
Jazz hurried back to the doorway. "Valerie is gone too!"
"Well, crap." Oh, and he didn't know where those two had gone, either… but he did know where the first big showdown was happening. "Come on, we'd better get going. Pariah is gonna send an army of ghosts here, and I know where he's gonna open the portal."
She nodded, immediately shifting into her own ghost form. No hesitation. "Let's go."
"Stay safe," human Danny demanded. "Both of you. Stay safe, please?"
Danny nodded back. "I'll make sure of it." He stepped forward, paused. "And, um. In case Vlad is back before us… he may or may not believe we are the same person."
"Phantom," other Danny sighed, loudly, exasperatedly. "Again?"
He shrugged, putting on an innocent face. "What? It's just the logical conclusion here! Anyway we'd better get going, bye!"
Jazz followed him up. "Did you really have to do that?"
"No, but this way he'll have something besides us to worry about." He leveled out, slowing down a notch so Jazz could keep up. "We'll be fine."
He would make sure of that.
The fight was a mess, chaotic to no end. Danny lost track of Jazz quickly, darting between Pariah's skeletal minions. He would just have to trust that she could take care of herself. Vlad and Valerie also disappeared into the mass. It was just him, and the ghosts directly around him.
He caught a flash of green, his eye immediately drawn towards it. The Fright Knight, the ghost's first appearance in this world. Or, more accurately, the flash of green of his swinging sword.
"Don't get hit by it!" he yelled at Valerie, already rushing towards her.
"Thought that that was kinda obvious!" She dodged the next swing, the green metal carving a deep slice in her hoverboard. "Hey, jerk! Do you know how expensive this tech is?!"
"It is worthless in comparison to the ring," Fright Knight snarled back. He lunged towards her.
Danny grabbed the ghost by the armor, bodily dragging him away from Valerie. "That's enough outta you, pal."
"The ring?" Valerie repeated, blankly. "They want a ring?"
Fright Knight swung his sword down at Danny, and he rushed to form a shield to catch it. "Yeah, they're after Pariah's Ring of Rage."
"Oh," Valerie said. Danny heard the click of a weapon assembling. "Well, I'll take care of that, then."
"Wait, what are you—" The weapon fired, and he twisted around to look. God dammit, Valerie, launching the thing on a missile doesn't help!
The pressure against his shield disappeared, and a quick glance back confirmed that the Fright Knight had summoned his mount and was going after the missile. Danny needed to get there first, but he couldn't be seen taking it.
It had been months since he last used this power, but… He split apart, meeting the bright green eyes of his duplicate.
"You know what to do," he said to it, and it nodded back. It shimmered, disappearing from sight, but Danny could still feel it as it raced after Fright Knight. He would just have to hope that all that speed training would pay off.
"Damn, Phantom." Valerie whistled, impressed. "I didn't know you could do that."
He blasted one of the skeletons away from her, cursing the distraction of his duplicate. This was not an ideal situation for this. "I don't use them, usually. Splits my attention."
"Gotcha." She cocked her gun, turning her attention back to the fight as well. "Now what?"
"My duplicate is gonna grab the ring, make sure that Fright Knight loses track of it." An ice-ray stopped a large swatch of ghosts that were coming in their direction. "Shooting it on a missile is a short-term solution, and we do not want them to actually get their hands on the Ring."
His duplicate had caught up with the missile, snatching the Ring before Fright Knight could notice. Danny instructed it to flee, to hide the thing in a place where Fright Knight wouldn't be able to detect it.
"Wow, I heard the capitalization on that." Valerie snorted, blasted a few more skeletons apart. "Why is it so important?"
"It greatly increases the power of a ghost wearing it." He swept a disc of ectoplasm at some of the ghostly skeletons, watching the explosion scatter them. His duplicate had made it back to FentonWorks unnoticed, stuffing the Ring into a Thermos. Clever. With its job finished, it dissipated. "Pariah wants it because it'll make him the strongest ghost in the Ghost Zone."
He could see her mask crinkle as she made a face. "And how bad is that?"
"Well, I had to use a suit that increased by power hundred-fold just to match him, so…" He could see her fretting, now. "Don't worry, my duplicate snatched it and hid the Ring. They won't find it."
"Good." The ghosts around them stalled, all of a sudden, and she drew closer to him, warily. "I don't get it. Why did my weapons supplier have that thing?"
"Long story." Danny angled his head upwards, saw the Fright Knight coming down again. Had he given up the search so quickly?
"You know my weapons supplier?" Valerie asked, skeptically. She had caught sight of Fright Knight as well. "Oh, there's that guy again."
The Fright Knight dismounted, the clanking of his armored boots loud in the sudden silence. Over the still skeletons, Danny finally caught sight of Jazz and Vlad; they were on opposite ends of the field, both having apparently decided to move to the edges of the fight instead of staying in the center like him and Valerie.
"By the authority vested in me by my Lord and Liege," Fright Knight started, raising his sword. Green flames engulfed it suddenly. Danny felt his heart clench, but there was no stopping it.
"I claim this town now and forever under the weather of Lord Pariah, King of All Ghosts!" And Fright Knight drove the sword down, sinking it into the ground. A wave of ectoplasm emanated from it, a secondary beam shooting straight up.
"Stay back, and stay calm," Danny told Valerie, not taking his eyes off of Fright Knight. "He's not going to attack."
She nodded, but the tense line of her shoulders told him she wasn't happy with it.
The beam of ectoplasm spread out, forming a dome around their whole city. Jazz shot over the motionless ghosts, joining up with him and Valerie. "What's he doing?"
"Right now? Upping the amount of ectoplasm we have in our air." Danny let his eyes wander back to Vlad, but the man made no attempt to join up with them. "And he's not gonna do anything else, either, except give us his demands."
Fright Knight turned to look towards them. Danny stepped forward as well, Valerie and Jazz staying behind.
The ghost angled his head, but took the hint—Danny was the leader. "The sword has sunk, your die now cast. The sword removed shall signal fast. Make reappear," he gestured at their group, "the ring thou hast. Or your next day shall be your last."
And without another word, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"That sounded… dramatic." Valerie was clearly eyeing up the skeletons. "What about those?"
"They're not gonna do anything for now," Danny dismissed. "Pariah wants us to hand over the ring, he's not gonna attack us until his terms run out."
"Where is the Ring, anyway?" Jazz frowned at the skeletons, but turned to face him for his answer. "Why did they stop looking for it?"
"We hid it." He shot a meaningful look at the skeletons below, and Jazz nodded in understanding. "You head back home, I'll catch up with you in a minute."
She nodded again, golden eyes darting between him and Valerie. "Gotcha. I'll meet you there."
"What was that about?" Valerie asked, skeptically, as Jazz left them. "Why not just tell her?"
"I didn't want to risk the skeletons being able to listen in." He shrugged, casting out his ghost sense. Vlad had also left, at some point. "And I wanted to talk to you about your weapons supplier, Vlad."
"What about him?" Her posture was stiff, tense.
Danny rolled his eyes. "You don't think that it's weird that the Vlad Masters gave this kind of weaponry to a fourteen-year old? That he gave a powerful ghost artifact to you, knowing what—or who—was after it?"
"Ugh." She sighed, shoulders slumping down. "Yeah, I've been thinking about it for a while. You gonna tell me he's evil, now?"
"And also a half-ghost." He grinned at her incredulous look. "That vampire-looking guy that was here with us? Vlad Plasmius, half-ghost. He's been half-ghost for two decades, but he's not as powerful as me, and Jazz will outpace him as well, when her core matures."
She hummed. "And he's no good?"
"And he's no good," Danny confirmed. "Told me—and Jazz, in this universe—to our face that he wanted to kill our dad and marry our mom. Most ghosts aren't obsession-driven like people think, but Vlad? Absolutely."
"Yikes." She shook her head. "Now I'm gonna think of that every time I see my weapons. Big creep who refuses to deal with his own shit, got it. Anything else I gotta know?"
"Maybe get your gear checked out. I don't trust him as far as I can throw him." He frowned, one finger tapping on his cheek. "I know that your identity is a big deal, and I respect that, but the Fentons are probably your best bet. Well, after this."
"Thanks for the head's-up, anyway." She turned her head, presumably to look at the dome above them. "Now what?"
"I'm gonna head back towards FentonWorks. You're welcome to come along. Would probably comfort your dad, too, to know that you're in the safest place in Amity Park."
She nodded, shifting to follow him. "What kind of world do we live in where FentonWorks is the safest place in Amity?"
That startled a laugh out of him as they set off.
Danny stretched, hovering over one of the cluttered lab tables. His parents—or their counterparts from this universe—were hard at work on the Ecto-Skeleton, Vlad standing nearby. Not helping of course, God forbid. Just watching.
He was keeping an eye on Danny, but that was okay. Danny was keeping an eye on Vlad as well.
Once or twice, the man tried sneaking closer to him. Tried talking to him without anyone noticing. It hadn't been very successful, not with Jack and Maddie in the lab. And hadn't that been a surprise to Vlad? Finding Danny in his ghost form in the lab, his parents perfectly fine with that?
Jack sighed, interrupting Danny's thoughts. "Let's take a break, folks. Get some lunch."
"I think I'll keep working," Vlad said, eyes on Danny the whole time. "I'm not hungry."
Maddie threw him a skeptical look. "If you're sure, Vlad. What about you, sweetie?"
Oh, he was so glad that his parents were playing along. Not using his name meant that Vlad had no idea of their knowledge.
"I'm good, thanks." He flapped a hand. "You guys go get lunch, and Vlad and I will keep working."
She narrowed her eyes at him, but nodded. With Jack right behind her, she left the lab.
"They know, don't they?" Vlad turned back to him, meeting his eyes. "That's why they are so nice to you. They're afraid of giving away your secret to me."
Well, no point in denying. He shrugged at Vlad. "They were already nice before they figured it out."
"I find that hard to believe," Vlad sneered. "But here you are, spending ages in your ghost form. Why not shift back?"
"Why would I? It's not like my ghost form is hurting me." He drifted closer to the suit, until he was above clear space again. "Or do you dislike it, Vladdie?"
"Don't call me that," Vlad hissed back, his eyes flaring red for a brief moment. Ooh, temper, Vlad. "It doesn't matter, anyhow. The invasion will get worse when no one finds the ring they want."
Danny rolled his eyes. "Yes, because you're not at fault for any of this, are you? Come on, man."
"I don't have the ring, if that's what you are suggesting."
"Yeah, because you gave it away to the Red Huntress." He sighed, twisting until he was in a standing position, matching Vlad's eye level. "Come on, I know exactly what's going on. Just tell me why you thought it was a good idea to release a ghost of Pariah's caliber, just to snatch a powerful artifact."
Vlad flinched back, eyes narrowed. "How do you know about any of this?"
"Because people think I'm stupid when I'm not." He grinned at Vlad, cocky. "What are you gonna do about it, Vladdie? Gonna tell my secret to my parents? Or, wait, what if they know already?"
"You little—" Vlad's eyes flared red again, almost immediately followed by the dark-light rings that signaled his transformation. The other half-ghost didn't wait a moment, lunging instantly.
Danny formed a shield, pushing Vlad away from the battle suit. "What are you really trying to achieve, man? You lost the Ring, you have no chance of getting the Crown, not while Pariah has it. Now what?"
"The suit will have to do," Vlad hissed back, hands clenching. "But for now, I'm willing to settle for introducing your face to the floor."
A bolt of green ectoplasm whistled past Vlad's ear. Danny followed it back to its origin, finding the entire Fenton family at the bottom of the stairs.
"You talk too much," Maddie said, almost complaintively. The glint in her eyes was angry.
"What?" Vlad's eye clearly caught on Danny Fenton standing with his family. Vlad turned back towards him. "What's…"
"You've been outplayed, Vladdie." Danny shot an ice beam, freezing the older half-ghost to the wall. "Sorry, pal, but they heard everything."
Pink flames formed around Vlad's fists, and he started wriggling out of the ice. "No! I will not—"
"We know everything, Vlad." Jack stepped forward, a disappointed frown on his face. "We're sorry for the accident in college, for hurting you. But it's not our fault that we weren't allowed to visit you. It's not our fault that you broke contact."
"Being angry with us is one thing," Maddie chimed in. "But attacking our children over it? Wanting to kill one of us? That's too much, Vlad. You cannot honestly think that that's okay."
Vlad snarled, the ice around him cracking. "Oh, please. Like you know anything!"
"They know more than you do." Jazz quirked an unimpressed eyebrow at Vlad. "They know everything, Vlad."
"But we also believe in second chances." Jack curled an arm around Maddie, keeping his eyes on Vlad. "We need to finish the Ecto-Skeleton, and we'll need to fight that big ghost afterwards. Are you with us, or not?"
The ice cracked, Vlad almost completely free. "And what will you do if I refuse to fight with you?" he hissed, aura flaring bright. "Will you—"
The blue vortex of a Thermos interrupted him, wrapping him up entirely. Danny Fenton grinned, a close match to Danny's own cocky grin. Other Danny capped the Thermos. "Now what?"
"We'll have to discuss it later." Maddie took the Thermos, carefully placing it aside. "For now, he can wait in there." She sighed, clicked her tongue. "I can't believe that man."
"Thanks for telling us, Phantom." Jack heaved a sigh. "And for helping us catch him."
"Hopefully he'll be more receptive to a stern talking-to than mine." Danny floated closer towards them. "How's progress on the battle suit?"
Maddie sighed, taking one last glance at the Thermos before turning to the suit. "It's almost finished. If you two had any allies to gather, this might be a good moment for it."
"Gotcha." He nodded, and Jazz stepped up next to him. "Jazz, can you handle Sidney and Valerie? I'll go get the others."
"We have other allies?" she asked, one eyebrow raised skeptically. "But, sure."
Light flashed as she shifted to her ghost form, drifting up. "I'll be right back, then."
"I might be a bit longer," he admitted, both to her and to her parents. "I have some actual tracking down to do."
Jazz nodded, flying off, and Danny quickly did the same. Some of these ghosts, he could find; he knew where they had been in his own universe. But others…
Well, he'd try his best, at least.
Jazz sighed, impatiently, watching over the people gathered in the lab. Both Sidney and Valerie had been reluctant to mingle, but had eventually caved to her insistence. Now Sidney was hovering next to Danny, Sam, and Tucker, talking about… modern schooling? And bullying? Hm. Well, at least they were getting along?
Valerie, on the other hand, had cornered Jack and Maddie, and was discussing ghost weaponry and gadgets.
Finally, though, Jazz' ghost sense went off. She thought she could recognize Phantom's signature, but she wasn't sure… and it was far too strong.
But no, there he was. Phantom phased through the ceiling, followed by the allies he'd gathered. She counted… seven ghosts. Seven?! What the—
Phantom, floating above the rest of them, grinned. Threw his arms wide to gesture at the ghosts floating behind him. "Sorry it took a bit! Had to track down and convince all of these guys."
Jazz went through the crowd, mentally. On the far left was a ghost she didn't recognize; metal, humanoid, with green eyes and a matching flame mohawk. Next to him was Ember, followed by the Box Ghost, Lunch Lady, and then Desiree, and Dora on the furthest end, her amulet glowing brightly.
Another ghost she didn't recognize floated up closer to Phantom. Big and bulky, a humanoid body-shape but with a wolf-like face, paws, and even a tail. The entire ghost was covered in thick black fur, and it had some dangerous looking claws on its front paws.
"Most of these are familiar faces, but I'll introduce everyone anyway." Phantom gestured at the ghost on the far left. "This is Skulker, Ghost Zone's greatest hunter. Then there's Ember, grand musician. The Box Ghost, self-explanatory. Lunch Lady, a killer cook. Desiree, wish-granter, and finally Dora, princess of Aragon." He patted the ghost next to him on the arm. "And finally, this is Wulf! He only speaks a little English, mostly Esperanto."
"You speak Esperanto?" Tucker asked, elbowing Danny. "Since when?"
"Since I befriended Wulf and realized I had no way of communicating," Phantom retorted, rolling his eyes. "You folks wanna do an introductory round as well, or what?"
Jazz rolled her eyes, stepping forward. "I'm Specter, half-ghost. That's Sidney, full ghost," she pointed at him, and he raised a hand, clearly shy. "Next to him on the left is Danny, my brother. On Danny's left is Sam, and furthest right is Tucker. They're taking care of flight and small guns."
She gestured at Valerie, who had stepped away from the adults. "That's the Red Huntress, some of you might be familiar with her. She's one of the local ghost hunters; she'll be main fighter among the humans. Next to her are Jack and Maddie, my parents. They're also ghost hunters, and they'll be taking the big guns. Any questions?"
"Yeah, I got one." Ember's eyes narrowed, her hair flickering like a flame. "Why do the humans have specific roles when we don't?"
"Uh." Jazz made a face. "Honestly, we had no clue who Phantom was bringing. Also, you all know your skills best. The humans, we had to equip, but you guys can all work alone."
Ember hummed, apparently satisfied with that.
Skulker, meanwhile, seemed to be suspiciously looking between Phantom and Danny. When Phantom noticed, however, he grinned widely at Skulker—all teeth and no humor. That was enough to throw the ghost off, who promptly pretended he hadn't been doing that.
There was a story there, and Jazz wished that they had the time to go into it.
Something sniffed next to her, and she started. Jerked around to see Wulf next to her—and how had she missed a ghost of his size moving?
"Amika," the ghost greeted her, before continuing in Esperanto.
"He's pleased to make your acquaintance!" Tucker yelled, hurrying closer so he could help translating.
"Oh, uh." She offered her hand to him. "Nice to meet you, too. Are you…" She ran over possible situations in her head. "Are you the ghost Phantom rescued in the Ghost Zone?"
Tucker spoke, presumably translating it. Wulf nodded, immediately.
"Apparently they are close friends back home, and…" Tucker paused, quietly talking back and forth with Wulf. "I guess Phantom asked Wulf to keep an eye on you, when he goes home?"
She blinked up at the large ghost and his bright green hoodie. Wulf's tail wagged, slowly, hesitantly.
"I'm going to have to look up a course in Esperanto, then," she said, grinning slowly.
They were unfortunately forced to end the conversation there, as Phantom cleared his throat. He was now standing on top of the finished Ecto-Skeleton.
With everyone's attention drawn, Phantom spoke up. "So, everyone knows the plan?"
A general murmur of acknowledgment sounded.
"Good! Let's get ready to go, then!" He underlined the statement by uncapping a Thermos; Jazz stiffened, expecting it to be Vlad's, but no ghost came out. Instead Phantom shook out… a ring.
Or, no. The Ring, based on the gasps of all the other ghosts.
Phantom stuck it onto his finger, frowning down at it. Then, with a shrug, he phased into the Ecto-Skeleton, activating it.
"Is that safe?" Jazz asked, although she wasn't sure who she was asking. Phantom must've heard her, though, because he shrugged—and the suit shrugged along.
"Safe enough," he said dismissively. "The suit alone is too draining. It almost killed me in my own timeline, and I'm not risking that again."
Phantom's off-hand mention of his origin was… baffling. It also startled every ghost in the room except for Wulf. Well, now they were in for a quite talk, weren't they?
But Phantom must've realized, because he grinned at the slew of ghosts. "How about this, folks. We take down Pariah, and then I'll tell you guys all about it! And no one will be able to claim a role as Pariah's Bane, because I'm not a local. Yeah?"
"Dipstick, you're something else." Ember shook her head, clicked her tongue, then nodded. "What are we waiting for, folks? Let's go!"
The other ghosts cheered—or something close it, anyhow—all raising their fists. Phantom led them into the Ghost Zone, and Jazz only belatedly remembered that she was supposed to stay close to him. Quickly, she darted through the Portal as well.
Inside, the Ghost Zone was… vast. An enormous expanse of black, swirled through with green. It felt lighter than Earth. Not necessarily in a gravity way, but more… It was hard to explain.
"First time in the Zone, right?" Phantom asked, suddenly next to her. He grinned understandingly. "There's more ambient ectoplasm, so you're probably feeling that. I would offer to show you around, when this is all over, but…" He shrugged, making a face. "I'm not very good at navigating."
Oh, yeah. That was how he'd gotten into her universe in the first place, wasn't it? She'd almost forgotten. "It's fine, don't worry about it."
The Portal's surface parted, and the cylindrical shape of the Specter Speeder burst through. Danny waved at her through the glass, with Sam behind the wheel and Tucker in the co-pilot seat. Not a moment later, Valerie flew through as well, her hoverboard loud in the silence of the Ghost Zone.
"Looks like we're all here," Phantom declared, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Specter and I will go at the front. Once we're there, you guys will be in charge of clearing the way."
"We know!" Valerie yelled back. "Let's just go and get this over with!"
"I agree with the human hunter!" Plane-like wings folded open from Skulker's back. "Go, whelp, and we'll follow."
Phantom rolled his eyes but did as said, taking lead. Jazz sped after him, forced to keep more of a distance than usual thanks to the Ecto-Skeleton.
Pariah's castle is easy enough to recognize, a floating structure with the land in front of it filled with ghostly skeletons. Jazz lined up next to Phantom when he stopped, the others all coming to a halt in front of them.
"Showtime." Ember cracked her knuckles, then swung her guitar to the front. "Let's go, everybody!"
Ember's dive was followed by the Box Ghost and Lunch Lady, side-by-side. Sidney and Desiree went right after them, Desiree's hands glowing green. Valerie dove next, weaponry charging, and Skulker drew even with her, panels sliding open to reveal his own guns.
Dora shifted into a dragon, roaring, and Jazz could feel the sound reverberating in her bones. Wulf answered it with a howl, and the two plunged towards the ground as well.
Last but not least, the Specter Speeder swept forward, staying high where the ghosts went low. The doors on either side opened, Jack and Maddie leaning out, heavy weaponry in their hands. The built-in guns started charging as well—Danny's work.
She and Phantom stayed behind, watching the skeleton army get eviscerated. Before long, even the larger guards at the door were cleared out—or otherwise drawn away—and Phantom nodded at her. "Road's clear. You got the key?"
"Yep." She patted the pocket of her belt that held it. "You take care of Pariah, and I'll make sure he won't get out again."
"Good. Let's show him what we're made of." Phantom dove before she could answer, so fast that Jazz couldn't even keep up. But that was okay—he was supposed to keep Pariah's attention.
By the time she made it to Pariah's throne room, Phantom had already engaged the ghost in a fight. And, wow. For some reason she'd imagined Pariah to be, y'know, mostly human sized. Not this massive bulking ghost, with twisting horns and a crown made of literal flames. Yikes. She was kind of glad she wasn't the one fighting.
Phantom split himself, three duplicates joining him. All four versions of him shot ecto-blasts at Pariah, and the ghost was pushed back.
"You miserable pest," Pariah grumbled, shaking off the hit. "You think you can stand up to me?"
"Ha!" All of the Phantoms grinned, viciously, but only one continued speaking. "I know I can stand up to you! I am Danny Phantom, half-ghost hero from another dimension. Pariah's Bane!"
That caught the full ghost off-guard, because he blinked. The moment of surprise was enough. Two of the duplicates grabbed Pariah's arms, and the third pushed against his chest.
Pariah seemed to struggle, but the final Phantom shot an ecto-blast at his feet. Pariah stumbled, almost tripping, and the three duplicates shoved.
The fourth Phantom shot forward as well, sweeping around the Sarcophagus. After a moment of consideration, Jazz followed him.
Phantom's duplicates gave another shove, and Pariah knocked against the back of the Sarcophagus. The moment he crossed the threshold, Phantom himself pushed against the door, shutting it.
Jazz darted around him, the key already in her hand. It slid into the lock easily, and she twisted it.
It clicked shut.
The three duplicates dissipated instantly, and Phantom sunk to the ground, Ecto-Skeleton and all. It disengaged, the top clicking open, and he cheered weakly. "Whoo, we won!"
"We won!" she cheered back, flying over to him. "Are you okay?"
"I need a nap," he confessed, slumping against her. "But we won!"
A little later than usual because my Saturday got unexpectedly busy and I still had to make some tweaks to the third scene, but here we are! also plz I swear this is not a cliffhanger, the next chapter is picking up a while after this one. It was just... 5.5k long already, and I really didn't want to add the whole conversation between Phantom and all these sort-of-kinda enemies. shh. Maybe I'll write it as an additional one-shot some day, when I have more time for fic writing than a single day off from school.
Next week, the final chapter! Chapter 16: Identity Crisis