Unlucky chapter time! I'm actually a little tempted to give Danny a hard time here, but what will be, will be, as long as I write it that way :P
Potterheads2016: I honestly haven't totally decided yet what his parents will think. For now, they are at least still a little stubborn.
theL3monTart: For the Fenton Forcer, the way that I think about it, when a ghost overshadows a human, their ghost core takes hold over the human heart and mind so that they can control the body. If the Fenton Forcer were used in a normal situation, it would forcefully remove the core's hold on the human, and then force it from the body. But with Danny, since he isn't overshadowed, that means that his core can't be extricated from his human components, since they are nearly one and the same. But that doesn't mean the Fenton Forcer won't try. Unlike the dream catcher, which was made to expunge any ghostly impurities (for example, the ghost cold that Maddie and Jack thought they had in that particular episode) the Forcer is focused solely on the heart of the ghost and not things like ectoplasmic residue. So, if it had struck Danny on its own without the additional blast from the BB-Blaster (that's the name of the new gun) it would have attempted to separate Danny's ghost qualities from his human qualities, and would have severely damaged both his human and ghost heart in the process. But he would technically remain 'whole' in the fact that his ghost half would not be propelled from his body.
Viridian Thorns: It feels like a long time when I compare it to the speed of some of the earlier uploads
LooneyAces: It's always great to know a cliffhanger is doing its job
ShinyMudkipGal: I always kind of pictured Sam being more chill about Danny having ghost powers, what with her Goth outlook. She's still as excited as Tucker is, just more prepared to accept it
Princessbinas: Yeah, in the show it is usually stated just that Danny has ghost powers. If you really examine the show, and the way that certain things occur, things actually can get really dark emotionally, as a lot of other fics show.
Sophia the daughter of Nyx: Thanks!
The-real-ghost-king: Thank you so much, it's great to hear that!
Guest: Yes! I cliffy!
TheBoss3254: That's no problem, I appreciate the correction! I'll have to go back and change it somehow
El0don: It's awesome to know the cliffhanger is doing its job
PhantomFanForever: Hahaha, this has to be my favourite reaction ever. Don't worry, I get what you mean
DerDrachen: I'm so glad my story was able to do that for you, and I hope that whatever day your reading this is better :)
DontBlink71167: Thanks, I hope you'll like what's coming up. Also, love the name
Shiikun: Sorry, but I just couldn't resist
Little Did You Know: It's great to hear that! And don't worry, I will
Enjoy!
Danny didn't want to open his eyes. The all-encompassing darkness was peaceful and painless. If he opened his eyes, it wouldn't be anymore. There would be pain. Lots and lots of pain. He actually found himself wondering which had heart more, dying, or the two shots he had taken to the chest. His death had been excruciating, but fairly short. This, this was agony. Waves of pain crashing down on him, his own slow heartbeat too loud in his ringing ears, every thump feeling like a punch to the chest. To his aching, bruised, and broken chest. His clothes felt heavy, his whole body felt heavy.
He could hear muffled noises, a constant shouting that grated on his brain, and he felt the desire to hit whatever was making the annoying sound. There were other sounds, crashes, loud bangs, yells. He could feel everything around him moving through the quaking of the ground. Knew every step the people around him were taking, knew exactly what had just fallen to the floor a few feet from him. How large it was, it's shape. He knew the footsteps that were always so surprisingly light despite being made in heavy boots. It was those footsteps that he was focusing on. The way they danced about, running and jumping, then standing firm, stopping right beside Danny.
He wasn't sure how he knew all this, but at the moment, he didn't exactly care. Everything hurt too much, everything was too loud. And then there was the scream. It stabbed at him, like a bullet to the brain, sharp and quick. And the moment he heard it, Danny's brilliant green eyes opened and he shot up to a sitting position, surprising Tucker, who had been dragging Danny from the fight and trying to rouse him.
That had been the annoying shouting. Tucker calling his name. Danny was still a little tempted to punch him, but there were more pressing matters.
Ignoring his body screaming in protest, pushing aside all the pain that he was feeling, Danny jumped to his feet and his eyes scoured the lab. There weren't as many skeletal ghosts as there had been when he first lost consciousness. In fact, it looked like they were retreating. Panic settled in as Danny realized something was missing from the lab. Something, someone, important.
Sam.
Without a single thought for himself, or the serious wounds that had just been inflicted upon him, Danny sprinted towards the portal as she disappeared inside it, held firmly by several bony, black hands. Tucker called after Danny, but the halfa didn't pay any attention. He could think of Sam. Sam, who he had only recently sort of confessed to. Sam, who hadn't rejected him when he showed who he really was. Sam, being taken away by those ghosts. Sam, who had seen—
Danny refused to think on it anymore, but the image that his new ghostly foe had showed him was stuck in his brain, and it drove him forwards. He dove inside the portal, one hand to his bleeding chest, and shot off like an arrow as soon as he was through. He didn't know how, but Danny was sure that he only minutes behind the skeletons. He could catch them. He had to catch them.
If he didn't, then… then…
"No!" Danny shouted as the black spots once again began to fill his vision. He forced them away and continued to fly as fast as he could, but he was slowing down, no matter how much speed he poured on, he didn't have enough energy for it. Danny pulled his hand away from his chest to see it covered in ectoplasm and blood.
When had he changed? He hadn't even remembered doing that. Had his parents seen it?
Danny's whole body shuddered, and with a bright flash of light he was no longer Phantom, but Fenton, and he was falling, leaving a trail of red in his wake. A trail that had started the moment he entered the Ghost Zone, a trail that the frantic Ghostketeers were following.
A trail that lead a pretty young ghost with light hair, green skin, and blue dress, to the falling halfa, just in time to catch him on her now scaly back before he hit the ground.
"Let me go," Sam shouted the one thing that she could think of as her captors dragged her away. It was also what she laughed at damsels in distress for saying when they were put in a very similar situation to hers. After all, someone kidnapping you isn't going to let you go because you asked. Even nicely.
She struggled against the strong grip of the skeletons, twisting and pulling. Her arms were occupied, but she threw as many kicks as she could, grinning proudly when a few skeletons were scattered to pieces by the sudden force. Her grin was wiped from her face as the bones reformed and they held her legs as well. Sam growled and resumed her struggle, but it was to no avail, and she found her attempts at freedom waning. It would be better to save her strength.
The skeletons started to slow down, descending to a large floating island on which a grand, black gothic castle sat. They entered the large, silver doors, and she was thrown unceremoniously onto the black and white tiles. Sam spat a few choice words in the skeletons' direction, before facing forward. At the top of a short set of stairs was an ornate silver stone, and a dark figure was standing behind it.
Samantha Manson.
The voice reverberated through her head, causing Sam to wince, but the pain present during Danny's conversation with this particular spook was absent.
"It's just Sam," the Goth said, crossing her arms over her chest. She may not be in an enjoyable situation, but there was no way Sam was going to cower like the obedient little captive she was expected to be.
Sam, then.
The figure disappeared, then suddenly Sam felt a hand around her throat as it reappeared in front of her and raised her off the ground.
You will tell me all there is to know about Danny Phantom.
"Too bad, I'm pretty sure you know more than I do," Sam wheezed, clawing at the large hand around her throat. The ghost huffed, and threw her down to the ground again, this time more roughly. Her head bounced painfully against the tiles and she let out a quick cry, bringing a hand to her head.
Then it won't be necessary to keep you alive.
Danny once again found himself reluctant to open his eyes. But this darkness wasn't as nice as the last. He could feel the pain, despite being far from waking. It drowned out anything that he might have heard. He wondered, in fact, if it were possible for him to have felt worse than last time. And now, there was no scream to force him awake. But the memory of the scream was enough, and the events that had soon followed, was enough. Danny slowly opened his eyes, blinking as they adjusted to the flickering light of the torches. He moved to sit up, but found that he was in too much pain to do so. Even blinking hurt. But nowhere hurt more than deep inside his chest.
Just as before, every heartbeat brought on a fresh beat of pain. He groaned, and focused his ice powers on his chest. Numb the area, numb the pain.
"Sir Phantom!"
Danny strained to turn his head, and finally noticed the room that he was in. Stone walls, colourful wall hangings depicting dragons, and torches along the walls. Beside his bed was Princess Dorathea, hands clasped in worry.
"You have gas lamps," Danny croaked, his eyes flicking to a spot above the heavy wooden door.
"Yes, Sir Phantom. Those books you gave us were most helpful. We have advanced much since the time of Aragon's rule. But I'm afraid we are not advanced enough for your treatment," Dora said as she floated to the other side of the bed.
"Treatment?" Danny muttered. With his advanced healing, he shouldn't need any sort of treatment. Just a good night's sleep.
"I found you last night. You have been asleep for many hours." Dora raised a mirror up above Danny so that he could look at himself.
And he looked like hell.
Danny was pale, really pale. Sweat dotted his forehead, and his eyes were their bright green. He raised a hand in front of his face, checking for the telltale glow of his ghost eyes, but it was absent. So the green eyes was only because of his reflection. Slowly, almost painfully, he dragged his eyes away from his face to focus on his exposed chest. A thick layer of bandages was wrapped around his chest, but along the edges he could see dark purple bruising, and the bandage was spotted with flecks of red and green, some of it fresh, and some of it already dried. Danny phased a hand through his chest and gently felt around his ribs. If he understood Dora correctly, he had been asleep for at least eight hours, so whatever ribs had been broken or fractured were now healed. That was good, at least.
"I need Frostbite, don't I?" Danny said, once again taking in his complexion.
"I sent one of my servants out to him when you arrived. They should be returning within the hour. Do you wish for your servants to go with you?" Dora asked, pulling the mirror away.
"My servants? I don't have any servants."
"A small group of people that followed you here into the Ghost Zone? They arrived some hours after I brought you here, and have been causing quite the stir, if I may say. Are they not your servants?"
Hours? Danny thought. I had only been flying for minutes before I passed out, and in the Speeder they would have caught up quickly. How fast was I going?
"… No, they're not my servants. It depends on who's there, but I'm guessing my parents, my sister, and my best friend. Their might be others, but they're not really important," Danny shrugged.
"Oh, so the others are your subjects then?"
Danny shrugged again. Close enough.
"They have been asking about you, but I thought it best if they didn't see you until you woke up. Would you like for them to come in?" Dora asked.
"I'll go to them," Danny said. He sat up, groaning profusely and clutching his chest as he did.
"That may not be the best of ideas, Sir Phantom. You have received grievous injuries," Dora protested, gently pressing her hands to Danny's chest in the hopes of forcing him back down.
"I'll be fine. They'll just make a big deal of it if they see me lying down like that." Danny waved Dora's hands off and stood shakily. The world spun as he rose to his feet, and he quickly slammed a hand down on the bed to steady himself. Dora reached out again, but another beat her too it. Danny felt warm hands on his shoulder and was roughly pulled to lean against someone just a little shorter than him.
"Hey, Dipstick! If you die, who the hell am I supposed to show my new songs to?" Ember Mclain asked with a scowl.
"Hi, Ember. And you always have Skulker," Danny mumbled.
"Yeah, whatever. He's been acting weird. And speaking of weird, what's with that bruise?"
Danny didn't need to look to know she was referring to the one that her boyfriend had given him.
"A present from the Ghost Zone's worst hunter," Danny explained, and Ember laugh sharply.
"No way, Baby Pop. I know he hasn't attacked you in a week, at least, there's no way you'd still have a bruise."
Danny paused, and realized that Ember was right, then mentally smacked himself for not thinking about it before. He'd have to ask Frostbite why it hadn't healed yet.
"Why are you helping me?" Danny asked suddenly, as Ember let him lean heavily on her shoulder so he could remain standing.
"Can't I just help out a good friend?" Ember asked innocently, nudging Danny forwards. He stumbled a little, but caught himself, and they made their way out into the hall.
"Because you don't just help out," Danny said. "Friend or not."
"I guess you caught me. Since I'm helping you, now you owe me a favour," Ember grinned. "And it's always good to have a man of power in your debt."
"I don't have power yet," Danny muttered, but didn't deny that he would grant Ember a favour he did. This made the former rock star grin, and she almost patiently helped Danny hobble down the halls. They exchanged friendly batter, laced with insults and teasing, until they could here shouting.
Danny instantly recognized the deep, and perpetually booming voice.
"I'm not going to trust a bunch of ghosts to take care of my son! If you don't take me to where he is, I'll start shooting!"
"You yell them, Jack! But honey, it might be better if I do the shooting.
"Pride and Prejudice people… and ghosts, everyone just needs to calm down."
"Mrs. Fenton, don't attack them! We won't get to see Danny if you do that. They could throw you in jail!"
"That's actually Walker's job," Danny said. He was leaning against the open door frame and watching the spectacle before him with a raised eyebrows. A few of Dora's subjects were huddled around the door, trying to block the Ghostketeers from leaving. Maddie and Jack were reaching for the button on their jumpsuits that would deploy their hidden weapons, while Tucker stood in front of everyone, arms out in an attempt to hold them back.
"Danny!" Tucker shouted. He ran around the ghosts, and stopped just shy of hugging Danny. They were guys, after all. Hugging in front of the girls wouldn't be cool. He instead opted to gibe Danny a pat on the shoulder, and the moment his hand made contact, the halfa's eyes widened and he gasped in pain. Tucker jumped back quickly, clutching his hand.
"Danny, sweetie, are you alright?" Maddie asked, briskly stepping forwards. Danny glared over his mother's shoulder at Jack and Dash.
"Not exactly," he growled.
"Okay! Looks like I'm done here, I guess I'll just go home to my estranged boyfriend's island," Ember said as she moved back. Danny's arm shot out, and he quickly grabbed the strapped of Ember's guitar, wincing as he did so.
Oh, that hurt so much… Danny groaned.
"You aren't going anywhere, McLame, not if you want that favour. A stroll through the halls will barely warrant you a new guitar pick," Danny tilted his head back and glanced at Ember from the corner of his eye.
"Dipstick," Ember spat, but with a hint of good nature.
"Narcissist," Danny retorted in a similar tone.
"Hero-complex."
"Celebrity-complex."
"Sparky."
"Oh! Now that's just mean," Danny gasped in feigned hurt, pressing a hand to his chest, which resulted in his gasp turning to a groan.
"You're a ghost?" Ember and Danny both whipped their heads around, eyes settling on Dash. For a moment, Danny thought that the jock was referring to him.
"'Course I am. How else could I accomplish my mindless teenage rebellion?" Ember grinned innocently, although she cast a quick glare at the adults.
"Danny, honey, what did you mean by not exactly?" Maddie asked, bringing everyone's attention back to the halfa's wounds. Danny touched his chest again, this time more gently, and grimaced.
"I… uh… sort of need to get to Frostbite," Danny let his arm drop and leaned even more heavily against the door. It was only now that everyone seemed to notice the blood dotting the bandages on his chest, and how heavily he was panting. In fact, it seemed to be getting slowly harder for him to breath. He pressed a hand to his head and slid down, but quickly caught himself before he dropped to the floor.
"You okay, Dipstick?" Ember asked.
"I think Dora was right," Danny rasped, slipping down a little lower. "I shouldn't have gotten up."
As Danny dropped, Tucker quickly lunged forwards and caught him. His parents and Lancer rushed forwards.
"Hey Dora, get in here!" Ember shouted down the hall.
Dora came floating into the room, and glared at Ember. "I will have you know, Ms. McLain, that the only person I allow to call me Dora is Sir Ph-" Dora looked quickly at the humans in the room, then back to Ember. "-enton. All others must call me Princess Dorathea."
"Yeah, whatever, but Dipstick's in serious pain," Ember said, pointing to the panting halfa. He was leaning heavily against Tucker, his head sagging down against his slightly shorter friend's shoulder.
"Sir Fenton! I warned you not to move about," Dora scolded, reaching out to him.
"Sorry, Dora. You know I've got a thing for rules," Danny grinned weakly.
"What are you doing, ghost? Get away from my son, don't touch him!" Maddie shouted as Dora laid a hand on Danny's forehead. With an impressive amount of patience, Dora waited a moment before pulling her hand back, and turning to face the angry mother.
"You will not speak to me, a princess, in that manner. And I will touch my brother whenever I please," Dora said, deathly calm. Maddie's eyes widened and Dora's choice of words, and Danny broke the electrified silence.
"That… sounds kind of gross, you know that, Dora?"
Tucker quickly slapped a hand to his mouth to try and withhold the snort of laughter that followed Danny's comment.
"It was simply a proclamation of sisterly love," Dora sniffed, but the corners of her mouth curled up in a smile. "Ember, if you would be so kind as to assist Danny's friend in supporting him, my servants have returned from the Far Frozen with one of Frostbite's delegates, and it is of utmost importance that Sir Fenton brought to their care as soon as possible."
Ember grumbled, but listed to Dora as she ducked under Danny's other arm. She and Tucker started to follow Dora through the halls, while the others stood stunned as they left. The whole exchange had been… strange. A ghost had called Danny his sister, and it sounded like she obviously respected him. Not to mention, he knew Ember McLain? She was friends with Danny Fenton of all people? And Danny's injuries! They had looked so severe, but until the end of the conversation, he had seemed relatively fine.
The A-listers, who had never felt guilty before in their lives (minus maybe Kwan, but he pretended he didn't) wondered if the wounds had been their fault.
Mr. Lancer couldn't believe that his worst student got along so well with ghosts, and when factoring in the young boy's scars and the glowing green eyes he swore that he saw, Danny Fenton had just become a mystery to him.
Jack, who believed that Danny's wounds had been inflicted by the skeleton ghosts, and not his own shooting, was proud of Danny for having snuck inside the ghosts ranks. It would be so much easier to eliminate them that way.
And Maddie? She was furious and worried. Worried for her son's well-being, she understood what had caused his injuries, but didn't understand how. The serum should have been attacking the ectoplasm in his blood, making him feel better, not worse. She was furious at how casually he interacted with ghosts. For years the Fenton's had been drilling it into their children's brains that ghosts were evil abominations that could never be trusted. They were blobs of malevolent, ectoplasmic residue, bearing just enough of an imprint of their human selves to maintain a shape similar to what they had been. Nothing else. Certainly not something you would call a sister.
With nothing else to do, they followed.
And it's done! I don't exactly like this chapter, I had a hard time with Ember, because she's kinda good now, not fighting Danny, so how would she act differently? Plus it's not like we see her all the time in the show, so I don't have her personality down pat. I hope I did okay at least!
'See' you next time!
