A/N: man December was a mess. I had a few long work weeks, four Christmasses to deal with, my birthday then my anniversary and new years all packed into the last week of the month. The whole thing is just UGH! So yea Anyway here's a chapter.
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Rara Animis 9
B-grade Bullies
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"Lady Pandora! I'm sorry to be contacting you so late, but it seems that Danny has yet to appear in our realm. Has he been pushed off course? Has he perchance returned to you? Has he contacted you in any way?"
Pandora glared into the halo screen to the Far Frozen leader. "He has not. What do you suggest?"
"I am unable to breach contact through normal means and I am hesitant to use our artifact to locate him as it can be unpredictable, even for one such as I who can assert control over it, but it is a contingency," Frostbite responded earnestly.
The ancient woman huffed. "I will send scouts, as should you. Scan the area of travel and The Octant on either end of his path, and have your best trackers see if they can pick up a scent. I'll do the same and send out my hound handlers, and we shall meet in the middle," Pandora ordered, fire flaring around her.
Frostbite bit back a smirk seeing her ferocity. While neither party had said it outright, they both knew the most likely thing to examine was the prospect that someone had taken him. Danny was never one to make them worry in this way… "Should we notify the council? This could be the sign we were advised about."
"Yes… I will advise the high council myself of the matter. You and yours are better trackers then me and mine," she sighs out deeply, both to reign in her emotions and at the admittance of superiority.
With practiced ease only a millennium of being a leader can provide, the yeti only gave a solemn nod, his face stony yet fierce, as he stilled the rumbling growl building in his throat. "We will find him, M'lady."
"I know. It is simply a matter of who shall be on the receiving end of my spear once we do," she growled fiercely.
"Indeed."
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Danny stared blankly ahead, waiting for Tucker to change. Being new meant he didn't have the training uniform the other teens did, and there were no spares just lying about according to the gruff teacher he'd met beforehand.
"You sure you want to take that heavy thing out there?" Tucker asked, referring to Danny's cloak, as he pulled his gym shirt over his head.
"Yes. I do not see a point in removing it." Danny shrugged. "It is something I always wear, so would it not make sense to train with it?"
"Um, no? Unless you think you're ever going to need to play an emergency soccer game," Tucker scoffed shoving his normal clothes into his gym locker.
"No, but running is a possibility, do you not think?"
"Nah, man. I try to avoid that whole 'moving' thing as much as I can."
"That seems impractical…"
"I'm a gamer, I make the Digi sprites do the moving for me," Tucker said with a flippant wave as they exited the change rooms and headed towards the grassy field.
"Is soccer not a game?"
"Not the kind I like, bud. You ever played Doomed?" Danny shook his head in the negative and Tucker looked personally offended. "Dude, no! That's like, a grievous crime! We have to fix this! After school you, me, my place. I'll introduce you."
That didn't sound good. "I will do my best to make up for that shortcoming… I had not realized it was such a serious issue."
"Don't worry, we'll fix it."
"Fix what?" Sam asked as she jogged over from the women's change room.
"Dude's never played doomed!"
Sam snorted at the response. "Figures. Only you could get that worked up over a video game."
Video game? Danny had played games through the holographic video screens at the Far Frozen, granted they were mostly tactical and puzzle type games, but they still counted, or at least, he thought they did. Frostbite was always so pleased when he was able to figure his way out of a problem. That thought made him smile.
His chest ached as thought about how difficult it will be for him to return, and how worried they must be for him… had he disappointed them? Would they come to help him? They still cared deeply about him even when he screwed something up, but how would they be able to come here?
Portals were finicky things after all… How long would it take for one to open up to allow him a way home? Could he or his caregivers find the one he'd come through? Would he be stuck here?
He shook his head free of that route of thinking. It would do him no good to continue along with it only to end up feeling sorry for himself. He focused instead, on the humans he was with. Danny was about to ask what exactly they meant with ' Doomed video game,' not fully understanding what that might be, when the teacher snapped them to attention, with a call of "line up maggots!"
Danny looked between everyone in the class and followed suit in the rather shameful spline line they had designed with their bodies. The teacher didn't seem to care about that as Danny had thought she would and instead started instructing on stretches she wanted them to do. The half-human complied easily enough, familiar with this sort of thing.
The teacher went around correcting some of the kids' forms before commanding they line up at the edge of the track that ran the circumference of the field.
"Right, one lap around before we divide you idiots into teams. Greenhorn!" She snapped suddenly as Danny took his place at the starting line, eyes meeting hers when she called. "Lose the coat! 'Less ya think overheating and passing out will get you out of your daily exercise!"
"I assure you I am alright with the added layer," Danny responded as smoothly as he could earning a snort from the woman.
"You know Frostina, wearing a cape don't mean your gonna move like a superhero," Dash chided from a few people over. A few of his buddies snickered alongside him.
"It is just Frost. Or Danny," came the snide reply. "Unless you feel your head is far too swollen to absorb any new information, I recommend you use my name properly." It was a bigger insult than the jock probably realized it was. To twist a ghost's chosen name knowingly was usually a call to arms.
"That a threat?" the blonde growled out. Tucker watched on with worry from behind Danny.
"It is if you wish it to be," Danny sneered back.
"Why you-!"
"Get going, you lazy lumps!" The teacher called over whatever Dash was going to say, causing the heard of teens to take off.
Danny was enjoying the jog near the front of the pack, but not pressing hard to overtake anyone. It was a warm-up, not a race, right? Well, some clearly didn't get that memo as they rushed ahead, full tilt.
Dash growled and pulled ahead of the group intent on tripping up the loser who had the audacity to talk to him like that, however, Danny simply moved around the jock in a nimble spin on the balls of his feet, before continuing on, not even slowing his jog.
The jocks snickered again, this time at Dash's expense. "Losing your touch," one sing-songed as he jogged past the bewildered blonde.
Dash couldn't take that laying down! He bolted after the new kid, who had now overtaken him and was seeming to keep an easy pace with Kwan. Dash furrowed his brow and made a grab for the trailing bits of the kid's cloak hoping to clothes-line the loser.
Danny smirked and poured on a bit of extra speed before dodging to the left letting Dash overcompensate and smack headfirst into Kwan's back. They shared a bewildered look before Dash growled and poured on his speed to straight-up tackle the nerd. Sam glared at Dash as he blew passed her, giving a seething glare which the blonde promptly ignored.
Danny looked over his shoulder giving a smirk to the jock, who was quickly closing the space between them. Danny's sly smile only seemed to add gas to the fire. He could see Dash's reddened face, whether from exertion, or from anger, or both, Danny couldn't be sure. With a slight lean forward Danny poured on his speed for the final hundred metres blowing past a lanky redheaded kid ahead of him with ease.
"Want to race, do you?" Danny chided the blonde with a smirk.
Danny skirted passed the finish line somewhere between fourth and eighth with the pack of kids, and came to a halt, just as Dash barreled through. He didn't have time to revel in his victory however as he realized just a second before it happened, that he'd misread the situation.
The startled athletic kids squawked and scattered as Dash slammed forward into Danny knocking the smaller teen over from the force. Danny grunted as he hit the tarmac, the other teen on top of him in a tangle of limbs.
Instinct kicked in before Danny fully registered what had happened. With a buck of his hips to the ground, he was able to coil around the larger teen detangling his legs and shoulder from his grip using the momentum from Dash's weight to push forward. Danny landed on top pressing his knee into the blond's gut and pinning him.
Dash could hardly move, as the smaller teen had found the pressure points to keep him pinned. He simply stared up into the other's face, and the spark that seemed to be behind his eyes gave Dash chills.
Danny blinked in confusion down at the other teen. "Sorry!" he managed before jumping back off Dash. And just like that the scrawny nerd was back, replacing the warrior from a moment prior.
The jock jumped to his feet, somewhat dazed, and definitely angry. He reeled back his fist. "Why you little-" he started only to stutter to a halt. He blinked once, twice, before his fist fell to his side. "Don't do that again freak." He grumbled before walking away rather dejected.
Danny tilted his head in confusion before adjusting his cloak and turning around to look for Tucker, only to almost smack right into the teacher. No wonder Dash took off so quick… "Frost! Good moves! You going to join the wrestling team?" she inferred rather than asked.
"Er, I was not planning on it, no…"
"Bah! Waste of talent, then!" The teacher grumbled before turning back to the track to berate the stragglers for being so slow. Danny frowned as he took a place next to Sam and the pair watched Tucker struggle the last leg of the track, along with half a dozen other equally out of shape teens.
"So," Said Sam, pulling the halfa's attention away from the struggling Tucker, and to her eyes, shining with amusement. "You're athletic, a theatre nerd, and can handle your own in a fight clearly... What other non-conforming surprises you got?"
Danny chuckled. Was he really that much of an outlier? "You will have to be patient and see I suppose."
Sam smirked at that, seemingly have accepted his cryptic non-answer. "Fine, but if you turn out to be secretly goth, we will have words."
"Oh, and why is that?" Danny replied as something caught his attention from behind. The jocks again. Why are they such nuisances? He sent an exasperated look to the ringleader, Dash, locking eyes with him for only a split second before the blonde broke it first.
"Just ignore those idiots." Sam's voice was sharp as a knife. "The only way they can get people to pay attention to them is by literally forcing them to," Sam said before sneering back at the jocks herself, just as Tucker collapsed to the ground at their feet.
"H-How can you two… Just run like that!" he panted out from his prone position.
"I think the better question is why can't you? Personally, I blame all the animal death weighing you down but-"
"No! Not fair! Can't talk… Lungs on fire!"
Before the pair's usual argument could start anew, the teacher blew her whistle, causing Danny to wince from the shrill sound. "Right! Now that you are warmed up, I'll divide you into two teams for soccer!"
The majority of the class groaned.
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The council of ancients had just about finished clearing out from the meeting Pandora had called. She warned of dark times ahead, and the possibility that the thousand-year prophecy may be coming to a head. Of course, this came across as a most troubling thing, with all members wishing to make preparations for times ahead. And yet, two members of the council hung back.
"The news Pandora brought us is most… interesting don't you agree?"
"Quite, though if I may ask, do you know if it was the other creature's doing? Platinum or whatever that foul being calls itself?"
"Yes, I'm sure it was. My scouts-men reported seeing the metal hunting ghost he employs taking off with Pandora's pet."
"Good, good. Things are well underway. We must act quickly, there is much to be done if we wish to steer this in our favour."
"Is your sight truly blocked, Regent?"
"Do not think so low of me," the Regent hissed in warning "…Though it is not clear, I merely feign total ignorance to buy us time. It is these foul demi-spirits! There are too many things, too many deviations to allow a clear path to form before me!" A deep breath and a sigh then, "Alas, I do know the Phantom is in the human realm, grown feeble from the other's doing."
"He is without clout, and with wavering will? Good. That foul creature has no place at the high table! And soon the true ruler will reign. I will not bend a knee to one who has no royal lineage!"
"Indeed, he is not of royal blood or standing."
"Thrust forward to the chagrin of the realms! It's not cyclic!"
"Which is why we need to make our play now, rather than wait and watch idly by while this prediction of Clockwork's comes to pass. Go now. Rally our kinsmen."
"By your leave then, Regent."
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Danny followed Tucker (and the rest of the male teens by default) back to the locker room. Even though he had nothing to change, he thought it best to wait for Tucker. He picked up his notebook where he'd left it on the bench and took a seat while Tucker went through his after gym routine. The process was mostly drowning himself in too much body spray, making Danny sneeze.
The soccer game went smooth. Too smooth, and the halfa wasn't the only one to notice. Dash had practically avoided Danny all together on the field not once trying to trip him or even so much as send him a dirty look.
Sam seemed to be convinced that because Danny showed he may have some actual fighting skills to Dash's otherwise haphazard brawling, the jock had elected to leave the not so easy target alone. Tucker, on the other hand, was more worried, saying that Dash had to be planning some big messy prank to get back at Danny for making him look like a fool.
Danny, however, couldn't figure it out and wasn't confident in either theory. He went from constant pestering to barely being able to keep eye contact. Dash didn't seem scared within those few moments of eye contact they had managed, nor did he seem resentful. Perhaps a little angry but the half-ghost couldn't help but feel he wasn't the target of the other's ire.
It was an odd position to be in for sure.
When the locker room had cleared out, save the stragglers and themselves, Danny stole another glance to the jocks all huddling off to the side. When they noticed him looking they seemed to stare back as if daring him to say or try something, the halfa mimicked the expression back to the jocks locking eyes with all of them, but no one did what Dash was doing. Said blond huffed and cocked his head before stepping free of the pack, and waving the remaining teens out of the room.
Tucker, with half his shirt on and only one shoe, yelped loudly when the blonde forced his way in between the two smaller teens and stared down his nose at Danny.
"You and me are gunna have a chat Frost," Dash sneered, but Danny could tell it was more for the show of those watching than an actual threat. Odd…. "Right now. 'Round back," he said forcefully as he could.
Danny tilted his head as he looked up to the jock. "Dude no!" Tucker called from the other side scrambling to make himself known behind Dash's bulk.
"Can it Foley! You stay outta this or you'll be turned into the school flag again."
"It will be alright, my friend," Danny soothed offering a smile, before pointing his head and nodding to the doors leading to the field. "Go on then."
Dash huffed and marched away only checking over his shoulder once to make sure the dark-haired teen was following. Danny raised a brow as Dash looked back but remained silent as they exited the change room and rounded the school to stand by the bleachers, near the back of the field where they had just had their soccer game.
When Dash stopped and still stayed silent for longer than Danny felt comfortable with, he asked simply, "well?"
"Heard ya were a foster, got pulled from your hosts, or whatever to come here."
"Your point being?" Danny replied flatly.
"You get moved 'cuz a those marks on your neck? Or get 'em here?" Dash asked seriously.
Danny winced remembering the still tender spots where the older halfa crushed his windpipe. He rubs it idly and his eyes drop to the ground a moment before drifting to the trees at the side of the field. "That seems hardly any of your concern," Danny said quietly still not wanting to return his gaze to the blonde. "But, if you feel you must know, it is part of why I ended up here." He exhaled before snapping his gaze harshly back to Dash.
Dash's lip curled up as he saw the fierce challenging look, but his eyes seemed to flash in understanding. "Look, ya seem decent, and ya got some moves, so I'll tell the others to lay off."
"Is that what you dragged me out here for? To inquire about how that deranged Masters strangled me?" Dash winced at the 'master' comment instantly misinterpreting as something darker, and his face shifted to match his mood. "As I am sure you realize I am more than capable of looking after myself, but I would appreciate if you leave Tucker alone, as well as any of the others you seem keen to frequently attack for no reason."
"Yeah right, I gotta get those geeks and freaks to respect me, and it's the fastest way to make sure they know their place."
Danny shook his head pulling back his cloak putting his bruises on full display. "Do you think I respect the one who did this?" The jock's eyes instantly fall to the ground his brow furrowing in sympathy. "Fear is not respect. If those who follow you are willing to abandon you and not stay by your side, then it is not respect. Tell me, if you were to disappear, or get attacked, who would stand to help fight with you? Who would be looking for you? If odds are stacked against you, will you have someone battle ready? How many would easily join a coup to strip you of your power and titles?"
"You making fun -a me? I will still punch your face in if ya are. Can't believe I felt sorry for a loser like you," Dash growled lowly, but his eyes held no malice. At least some of Danny's words were ringing in his brain, it seemed.
Danny simply raised a brow before shaking his head. "If that is what you think of sound advice then we are done." Danny turned to leave, readjusting his cloak as he spins with a dramatic flair.
Dash growled and stomped forward reeling his arm to throw a punch. Danny gives him a side-eye and dodged fluidly before catching the arm and using the taller jock's own momentum, flipping him onto his back. The halfa sent a cocky two-fingered salute before continuing on his way.
The jock blinked up blankly for a moment in bewilderment. The slamming of the door caused him to sit up and stare at the portal to the changing rooms. That kid really did have some moves… and that means whatever guy left those marks on him, wasn't someone Dash ever hoped to meet. With a frown, he hurried himself up and away from the field.
Dash knew he'd have to watch himself around that Danny kid; if he can take him down, a guy almost twice his size with such ease by barely doing anything, what could he do if they really angered him?
They just needed to make sure to watch out for him… easy enough right?
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A/N: As always thanks to my Beta FiveRivers! Please R&R I always love to hear what you think!