Night Wind
By: Wilona Riva
Disclaimer: Butch Hartman does; I don't.
Author's Note: Pariah Dark ruled the Void kingdom of ghosts. To the Night Wind, he is known as the lesser ghost king and the ghosts who lived under his kingdom are known as the Ryu. It's a Japanese name which means "void" or "dragon". There is perpetual animosity between the Ryu and the Night Wind.
The Jewel Looked Shadowed
"Danny, where are you? It's time to wake up," Maddie said, knocking on the door, peeping inside. It had been one month since the accident and Danny's strange peculiarities were getting on her nerves.
"Can you shut the drapes?" Danny sleepily called from under the bed.
"What are you doing under the bed?" she asked, complying. Her son had been avoiding sunlight since his accident. Not to mention she almost had to hogtie him to a chair to get his hair cut yesterday.
"Must have fallen through the mattress again," he said, coming out from under the bed covered with dust bunnies. "I think I absorbed some ectoplasm from the portal and it gave me ghost powers."
"Nonsense, sweetie, humans can't have ghost powers," Maddie laughed at the absurdity of her son's statement. She ruffled his hair, now a short spiky mess.
Danny groaned, allowing her to touch his hair. That was another thing about his wonky memories. He remembered another doing the same to him, and how much he'd hated it, but he'd known not to argue with her about it. He glanced at his new haircut. It felt so weird to have short hair, but at least Mom had left his bangs long. "Mom, please! I'd like to get dress, if you don't mind."
Maddie smiled. "Okay, sweetie, breakfast'll be ready in a few minutes."
Danny grumbled in response. He closed and locked the door. Humans were a pain in the neck sometimes. His blue eyes widened. Where had that thought come from?
His eyes darted to the window and he shuddered at walking in the sunlight. Turning his attention back to the task at hand, he opened the closet door and decided what he was to wear for school.
"Dusk, you can't go above," Twilight tried reasoning with the girl. "Phantom can survive by taking human form; none of us have that protection from the sunlight."
"I can keep to the shadows," she replied. "The ghosts of the lesser ghost kingdom are murmuring about the world beyond."
"Dusk," Moon said, entering the room, "do you remember the story we read last night of the mermaid who pined for the land people and saved the prince from drowning in the sea?"
"Yeah."
"Do you remember what fate awaited the poor mer-girl when the prince married someone else?"
"I won't die," Dusk told her. "Why do you insist on treating me like a kid all the time?"
"Because you always act like one," Twilight replied. "Fine, I'll go with you. And we'll both face the Queen's wrath, if she finds out."
"Thank you, Twilight!" she exclaimed, hugging him.
"Get off!"
Come lunch time, Danny had managed to escape the locker Dash had thrown him in and was sitting with Sam and Tucker in the lunchroom. The school board had thrown up their hands in defeat after Sam kept badgering them with requests to make the menu more vegetarian friendly. Hence, why there were turfwiches for lunch.
"This is gross," Tucker complained.
"It's delicious," Sam replied. "Here, Danny, try a bite."
He mechanically complied, his thoughts were far away. His brain sent him a signal. He grabbed a napkin and spat it out. "Gross, Sam! This is like eating mud. I'd rather eat Lethe pears."
Something hit him in the back of the head. He turned to face the angry human male. This is not the one I am seeking. Suddenly, his blue eyes widened. Two more of his kin were in the city. He sent out the call instantly.
"Danny, duck!"
Twilight and Dusk cautiously approached the portal. One of the ghosts of the lesser ghost kingdom was also there, with a puzzled expression on her face. She was murmuring something about someone changing the menu. They watched as she drifted into the portal's swirling vortex.
"I guess that's all we have to do," Dusk said.
"I still have reservations against this," Twilight grumbled. "Well, let's get this over with."
Both of the Night Wind phantoms plunged into the portal and into the human lair beyond. Dusk wanted to stay and see what was going on, but Twilight dragged/phased her through the ceiling before the human male noticed them.
"We almost got caught," he told her. "That was one of the hunters of our kind."
"Oh," Dusk paled. "What if they got Phantom?"
"They didn't," Twilight said, as Phantom's call hit them. "Finally!"
Dusk's eyes lit up. "We're coming, Night Lord. Hold on."
"You hear something?" Jack asked Maddie.
"No," she replied.
It was thankfully overcast that day in Amity Park, so the two phantoms were able to shadow hop following the Night Lord's call. They heard screams coming from a building with a strange stars-and-striped flag blowing in the slight breeze. A scream followed a very loud crash, which to their acute hearing, came from the west side where all the odd smells were coming from. A couple of students streamed from the building, shouting 'ghosts!' at the top of their lungs.
"Sounds like that ryu from earlier," Dusk said.
"Let us give the Night Lord aid," Twilight added, cracking his knuckles. "I've been itching for a good fight."
"CLOCKWORK, YOU, IDIOT!"