Just in case anyone asks me about it, whenever I don't refer to a ghost by their name, it's because no one else actually knows what they're called because Sam and Tucker never helped Danny fight. Mostly this is just for Cujo, and why I'm only referring to him as the ghost dog at the moment.
For Nesy Electro, I know you demanded it a while ago, but here's a double length chapter!
Potterheads2016: They are so much fun. Have fun with the end of this chapter :P (although it's not as bad)
Little Did You Know: Ooooh… yeah
Echgrl: So many cliffhangers! And I will!
Mimi1012: Because it's fun, and you'll never catch me! *climbs a tree*
Looney Aces: Yes! I'm so glad the suspense is working
Op Kazuma: SS3!
HannahDeleware123321: I hope you'll be happy to know that writing novels professionally is my intention! And I think you'll particularly enjoy the sequel
Princessbinas: Fruitloops of a feather go insane together!
Mydoginasweater: I always kinda wondered if you guys had to go back and read your reviews to make sure my reply made sense :P
Nesy: I will consider it a compliment! And yes, it's almost done, I'm so sad!
Guest: I'm so glad someone remembered those ghosts! I wasn't sure if anyone caught on about their potential importance
ShinyMudkipGal: Sorry, Hayden's dead, and he's staying dead :(
Jiapryor: I'm not even sure why, but I think that this was my favourite reaction to one of my cliffhangers
Randomphandom: The GIW are idiots, and it's so much fun writing them that way. With the other ghosts, since they don't have a lot of screen time, I try to use some of their old quotes to keep them in character
Katpet: I have put two people in denial! Yes!
Enjoy!
Danny sputtered, feeling the blood bubble through his lips, and his wide eyes remained trained on Kraeva while his hands, still holding the scythe tightly, trembled. A cruel grin spread across his opponents face and, with one hand still embedded in Danny's chest, he raised his other arm, preparing for the killing blow.
::I must say, it was fun while it lasted. But I'm afraid it ends here::
Danny's eyes, which were shaking, struggled to focus on the hand that would bring his doom. Strangely enough, his whole life did not flash before his eyes, like he had been led to believe. In fact, it wasn't even the good moments that he saw. Instead, Danny remembered situations similar to this that he had been in before. Situations where he had been about to die.
There was that car crash when he was younger, the first time he had truly wanted to save someone.
Then the Fenton Portal, how much pain he had felt, and how he wanted to stop anyone from ever having to experience that same pain.
His fight against Pariah, when he had watched digital numbers count down to the possible end of his life. How he had hoped beyond hope that, even if he died, he would still be able to seal the sarcophagus.
First gaining his ice powers and almost freezing to death. The constant worry that had followed him during that time, about how he might hurt the people are him if he didn't succeed.
His first fight with a wraith, when he had received the scar across his throat, the one that people kept staring at now that he didn't hide it, but they never questioned. The one he hadn't expected to almost kill him, and the fear that if he died, that ghost would return and hurt someone else.
In the lab of Fenton Works, as he was faced with two weapons designed to terminate ghosts. Then, his only worry was that, if he did die, they wouldn't blame themselves.
And now, staring down the hardest opponent Danny had ever faced. Lacking the suit that had given him the power to fight Pariah, or the mentors to guide him through learning his new ability and help him defeat his foes, he might truly die.
It was with that mindset, that Danny literally spat death in the face. Kraeva, surprised at the glob of blood now dripping down his cheek, didn't have time to react as Danny finished the cry he had started, and swung his arms around. The scythe hooked around Kraeva's body, ripping the hand from his chest, and Danny spun, flicking the blade up so that when he pulled away his enemy sailed through the air. Kraeva thudded heavily against the floor, hand searching for the gouge in the armor along his back.
Across the room, Danny gripped the pin that held his cloak in place, and let it slip from his shoulders. He wiped the blood from his face, or at least tried to. With an already bloody glove, the only thing he accomplished was smearing it further, although it did create a rather frightening image.
"As long as you are living, I will not die!" Danny swore, splaying his hand towards Kraeva. His eyes once again darkened to red and he returned his hand to the scythe before dashing forwards. Danny' assault was brutal. Calling upon every bit of power he could muster, the scythe's blade alternately glowed green, crackled with electricity, and shone with icy energy as he bombarded his enemy. While his hits may not have caused any serious damage, Kraeva was on the full defensive, doing everything he could to prevent the powered blade from slicing into his exposed flesh.
Just as not all of Danny's hit were successful, Kraeva did not manage to block everything.
Danny's aura had started to glow blue, just as it had when he was rampaging against Technus, and he felt power well up from inside of him. Little did he knew, the marks across his face and throat were further spreading, and would soon occupy half of his body.
::You will not win!:: Kraeva growled as he swiped at Danny with his claws, just barely catching the edge of his open wound. Danny hissed and jumped back, sparing a glance at his chest, which had recently been taking quite the beating. Kraeva's stab had been serious, but it didn't appear to have actually his anything vital, and it wasn't as deep as it looked. Although, based on the blood still leaking from the corner of his mouth, Danny was bleeding internally.
He ducked Kraeva's next attack and stuck his leg out, throwing the demon-like ghost off balance, before swinging the scythe up and catching him across the chest.
"An eye for an eye?" Danny asked in his old, jovial manner, while Kraeva's anger mounted.
::What an excellent idea:: Danny gasped and jumped into the air when Kraeva's clawed hand lashed out, almost reaching his eye before he dodged. He flew through the hall and swiped the blaster from the floor while Kraeva followed, firing off black ectoblasts. Danny pivoted mid-air, knowing that the blaster wouldn't as powerful as his own ectoplasmic abilities now that his power was returning. Instead of actually shooting with it, he chucked the weapon at his enemy and fired a white ectoblast from his palm. It collided with the gun inches from Kraeva, and they both exploded in an impressive release of ectoplasmic energy. While Kraeva was stunned, Danny launched himself forwards and swung the scythe again, raking him across his chest.
"It's my turn to have some fun," Danny grinned and spun around, bringing the heel of his foot down on Kraeva's muzzle while the ghost howled in anger.
Sam and Jazz were running as fast as they possibly could. For Sam, who had always been surprisingly athletic, this was fairly fast. Jazz, however, had always been more book oriented, and while ghost fighting had done wonders for her physical capabilities, marathon style running wasn't her forte, so she was slowly falling behind. Even after the Fenton Peeler retracted she wasn't able to keep up.
When Sam finally looked back, she saw the ghosts bearing riot shields had almost reached Jazz, and she immediately skidded to a halt and ran back towards them.
"Evading an officer of the law and resisting arrest, that's against the rules," a ghost wearing a white suit rose above the ones in riot gear and sneered down at the two girls. Sam had just about reached Jazz when the older girl trip and went sprawling across the pavement, hissing as loose rocks tore and her skin and were ground into the scrapes. Sam yelped in panic and rushed to reach Jazz, helping her up.
The police ghosts were about to descend on the two girls, batons raised high, when a large snarling figure suddenly appeared in front of them. It was a massive ghost dog, almost twice as tall as Sam, with slobber dripping down its jaws and sharp teeth grinding together as it threatened the ghosts before them.
"Pets without a leash. That's another hundred years to your sentence," the white ghost Sam now recognized from Danny's files as Walker said ominously, large book in his hand.
"You're out of your jurisdiction!" Sam countered, and she fired at the ghosts over the dog's shoulder. They scattered and attacked. The ghost dog jumped into their midst, clamping his powerful jaws around the ghosts, shaking them ragged, and then tossing them away, while Sam and Jazz fought off the others. They were doing fairly well, until Walker decided that he, too, would fight.
"It looks like we're going to have a problem," Walker's voice grew in volume and both Sam and Jazz stilled as the moonlit street was suddenly cast in shadow. They looked up to see that Walker was now thirty feet tall, challenging the buildings that lined the street around them. Beside them, the ghost dog whimpered.
"Run?" Sam asked, staring up at the foreboding ghost.
"Run," Jazz agreed and, after blasting away two more guards and grabbing their batons, they did just that.
The people that had just escaped the confines of Fenton Works fled for cover, spurred along by Jack shouting on the ghosts that had arrived after the shield dropped. After everyone recovered from the initial shock, Valerie had sucked Vortex into a Fenton Thermos, but before they could rush to the ghost portal, three more ghosts had arrived.
The first had resembled a mummy, and attacked Tucker before he could even be recognized for Hotep-Ra. Valerie had flown to Tucker's rescue, and the two of them were now locked in a losing battle with the bandage-covered ghost.
Undergrowth had quickly followed, sprouting up from the ground, screaming for revenge for his children, and the loss of his daughter. Ember had been quick to attack, her flaming ponytail lashing out and burning Undergrowth's roots.
Lastly had been a princely figure, dressed in dark clothes, with blue skin, and a thorny green crown.
"Aragorn," Dora growled at the sight of the prince. She flew over and dropped down heavily in front of him, the ground shaking beneath her large feet.
"Dear sister, I have come to take back my crown." Aragorn's amulet flashed, and a black and purple dragon stood in his face. For a moment, the two reptilian ghosts growled at each other, then Aragorn lunged, claws flashing. Dora deflected his strike and fire poured from her snout, forcing her brother to jump into the air to avoid the blast. She followed, and soon the two dragons were performing a deadly dance in the sky above Amity Park, the darkness illuminated by alternating blasts of green and blue fire.
"I am honoured at this chance for revenge, my Pharaoh," Hotep-Ra shouted as one of his bandages managed to snag Tucker's leg, pulling him to the ground.
"What are you talking about?" Tucker cried, clawing at the bandage until it came loose. He scrambling to his feet and blasted the ghost attacking him.
"This will be easy without your Phantom protector."
"I really don't know what you're talking about!"
Valerie grimaced as she flew about, avoiding Ra's attacks while sending her own. While the rest of the town remembered Tucker's brief stint as Pharaoh, the techno-geek had no recollection of the events, or the grudge that Ra held for him. She pivoted on her board, just barely dodging the hand that was stretching towards her. When she faced Ra again, Valerie trained her blaster on his chest and fired, but before the red blast could hit, Ra burst into a swarm of locusts that rushed towards his two teenage opponents. They both cried out, and started smacking and shooting the locusts, though having little effect.
Maddie, who had been assisting Ember with fighting Undergrowth, heard Valerie and Tucker's shouts, and was about to run to their aid when a large thorn came sailing through the air and embedded in the ground at her feet. Another was quick to follow, and Maddie back-flipped away to avoid being impaled, although a third thorn ended up snagging her side. It did not serious damage, but ripped through her jumpsuit and scratched her side.
"Mads!" Jack, who had just finished helping the citizens hide, saw the thorn tear and his wife's side. "Eat ghost gloves, freak!"
Jack ran forwards and landed a heavy punch on Undergrowth's body, albeit nowhere near his beak-like mouth. In terms of damage, there was none, but it acted as a great annoyance to the large ghost, and several thick vines swung out from the ground and knocked Jack back against a wall. There was a loud oomph as the breath was forced from his lungs, and a distinctive splat as several of the locusts Hotep-Ra had turned into were squished between Jack's back and the red bricks.
The remaining locusts emitted a shrill cry of pain and reformed into one being. Ra's hand was noticeably mangled. Tucker and Valerie cheered at the small victory, but their shouts died in their throats as his hand reformed. The bandages around his arm snaked down to once again encircle the reformed bone. As Ra started to attack again, Valerie paid close attention to the wrappings on his body. They were his primary weapon, and they kept his skeleton together. If they could get rid of those, it would be easy to suck him into a Fenton Thermos.
"I'll be right back, Tucker!" Valerie shouted as she flew away.
"Hurry!" Tucker cried out, ducking one of Hotep-Ra's stretching limbs. Valerie flew over to Undergrowth and, more importantly, Ember who was still in the process of burning the plant-based ghost.
"Ember! Burn Ra!" Valerie spoke hastily as she flew beside the ghost.
"What?"
"It'll only take a second, but you just need to burn Ra," Valerie continued. Ember risked looking back over her shoulder to the mummy in question, and quickly understood what Valerie was thinking.
"Fine, but you need to keep this guy occupied for me." Ember swung her guitar from over her shoulder and jumped on top of it, using it as a board as she flew away from Undergrowth. While Valeria started flying in circles around Undergrowth's head to distract him, Ember joined Tucker in fighting Hotep-Ra. Tucker shouted in surprise as Ember released a torrent of red flames from her guitar, over his head.
"Relax, kid, this ditty is dedicated to Ra over there," Ember reassured Tucker. He nodded and promptly got out of the pop-stars way while she drew Ra's attention by playing a punch chord in his direction. Ra groaned in frustration as the green fist connected with his chest, and he lashed out. This was exactly what Ember wanted. Ra's bandages wrapped tightly around her arms and leg, and she grinned
"Thanks for making this easy for me!" Ember whipped her head around, and her ponytail swung out towards Ra, the blue flames stretching towards him and wrapping tightly around his middle. Ra cried out again as his wrappings caught fire, and the ones holding Ember in place turned to ash. Tucker took the opportunity provided to him and pulled out a Fenton Thermos. Hotep-Ra was easily caught within the blue beam, and cried in outrage as he was sucked into the confines of the Thermos. Tucker gave the Thermos a quick shake for good measure, then he and Ember high-fived to their victory.
But there celebration was cut short as Valerie suddenly collided with Tucker while Undergrowth cackled.
"This is my domain!" Undergrowth roared and more vines broke through the street, climbing over buildings and around lampposts.
"How did Danny defeat him last time?" Tucker asked in desperation.
"How are we supposed to know? No one remembers what happened then," Valerie said, climbing off of Tucker and helping him up. "Just… what's bad for plants?"
"Fire," Tucker said immediately, pointing at Ember.
"Yeah, dipstick, but what else?" Ember rolled her eyes. Tucker wracked his brain, trying to remember the few conversation that had been centred around plants at Sam's urgency.
"Cold weather!" Tucker shouted when he finally remembered. "Danny has ice powers! Does anyone else?"
"The yetis, but Kraeva captured all of them." Ember sighed at the futility of all, then recalled something she didn't much like recalling. The first time she had fought Danny, he had sent her to Klemper's lair, which was a snowy wasteland. While he didn't fight much, Klemper did have the tendency to throw snowballs, so he would probably have proper Cryokinesis as well.
But how would they get him? Ember had no idea where he had hidden after she had given the order, so he could be anywhere. Unless, there was one sure fire way to get Klemper to come to them almost immediately.
"I'm really going to regret this," Ember groaned, before taking a deep breath, and shouting at the top of her lungs. "KLEMPER! I'LL BE YOUR FRIEND!"
Before the shield dropped
"South Beach Diet! Everyone calm down!" Lancer shouted over the intercom. The citizens of Amity Park that had immediately retreated back to Casper High when the ghosts reappeared quieted as the vice-principal's voice rang out throughout the halls.
"Danny Phantom has gone to fight the ghost in charge, and a squad of Ghostketeers are in the process of rescuing everyone trapped in Fenton Works. Now everybody stop their screaming, and get to a safe location at the center of the school!"
Lancer clicked off the intercom, deciding that, at the moment, who take a class full of the rowdiest, most disruptive students over a few panicking adults.
"So, uh, what are we supposed to do?" Dash asked, scratching the back of his head. Normally he would have put on an air of extreme confidence and tried to take control of the situation, but after watching Danny in charge, he understood that it wasn't a role he was truly fit for. At least not on such a large scale. The students of Casper High he could still keep under his thumb.
"I'm not sure, Mr. Baxter. I suppose we wait until Mr. and Mrs. Fenton return, as they have the best knowledge of how to handle ghosts with Danny gone."
"A perimeter needs to be set up." The present Ghostketeers looked to the GIW operative in the corner. They had completely forgotten that he was here.
"For what?" Paulina asked.
"To watch the ghosts, make sure they don't make any threatening moves or attempts to take down the shield," Operative O explained.
"Oh," Paulina nodded, not really caring at all about what he just said.
"I'll take my fellow operatives and we'll go to the south, where operatives N, K, and H are. Is anyone willing to watch the northern areas?" Operative O took the time to look at each Ghostketeer individually. Paulina scoffed at the idea of having to go back out there, and Dash didn't look to comfortable with the risk of having to face the ghosts again. But when Jason, Morgan, and Star accepted the task, he immediately jumped at the chance to prove his superiority to them.
"I suggest you find flashlights, as the sun has almost set, and head out immediately," Operative O instructed, receiving several small nods in response. They went to various classrooms, searching through teachers' desks for flashlights, and asking anyone they met with. Within a few minutes, they each had one flashlight in hand, and another for backup. Everyone met up just outside the school, then went their separate ways. The GIW heading south, and the four Ghostketeers starting to make their way north. It wasn't long after they had separated that Operative O received a transmission.
"This Operative K, requesting response from alpha operative."
"This is Alpha Operative O."
"Daniel Fenton's sister just removed our bonds, and is heading to assist the Goth girl. I'll be joining them shortly, while Operative H will be heading back to you."
"Affirmative. What about Operative N?"
"The ghost in charge took him some time ago. His current location is unknown. Should we requisition and operative distress response team?"
"Negative. At the moment, we have other worries."
"Yes sir." The transmission was quick and efficient. No unnecessary words or wasted breath.
Operative O was about halfway to the green shield when it suddenly disappeared. Not too long after, a reputable army of green ghosts with their eyes stitched shut marched towards them, strange helmets in hand.
Lancer had been walking to the auditorium when he saw him, a very familiar figure. How could he not be, after being mayor for a few years? Vlad Masters was strolling confidently down the school halls despite there being a ghost shield overhead, and Lancer suddenly noticed the modified belt around his waist. The same one that Danny and Danielle wore. This sight made the teacher realize that he had not seen the youngest Fenton for quite some time. But before he could raise any sort of alarm, Vlad's fist had shot out and promptly knocked Lancer out.
Vlad grimaced, shaking out his hand. He would have preferred not to be seen at all, but since he couldn't go invisible, incapacitating those who did see him seemed to be his only option. He checked the belt around his waist, making sure it had enough power to last the next few minutes. Assured that it did, he continued on his way. It had been so easy to take the Spector Protector from the young Danielle. Eager as that little mistake was to help, she had followed the others outside of the shield to find their hidden allies. It had taken hardly any effort at all to snatch her out of the air while Daniel's friends till hadn't known she was there.
A quick shock from the Plasmius Maximus had shorted out her powers, so she couldn't defend herself at all, and the unaltered Spector Deflector Vlad had found abandoned on the street the now circled her own waist would ensure that, once she woke up, she wouldn't cause any problems.
Vlad tried to recall where he had left the girl, but he simply hadn't cared enough to remember such a miniscule detail. But it wasn't important anyways.
It had taken Vlad a frustrating amount of time to figure out how the Spector Protector worked, and while he had been familiarizing himself with the device, he couldn't help but be impressed at its ingenious. It was specifically designed to recognize halfa DNA and adjust its power output based on the levels of ectoplasm in the blood. Once that adjustment had been made, the belt emitted energy waves very similar to that of the updated ghost shields. Its own anti-ecto energy output cancelled out the possible effects of the shield, but only up to a certain point. The more dominant the ectoplasm, the less effective the Protector would be, which is why it wouldn't work on full ghosts.
Vlad had been tempted to turn it up to maximum output so that he could stroll through the halls in his ghost form before his task was completed, but worried that it would deplete the belt's power too quickly. He entertained the idea of using his ghost powers, but that, too, would cause his levels of ectoplasm to fluctuate, and for the belt to increase its protective capacity. At the moment, it would just barely last through the next two minutes, which made what he was about to do very vital.
Outside of the auditorium doors, he paused. He would have to move quickly and save flying for the very last instant. Vlad slipped through the door and stepped inside. With the dim lighting, no one recognized him right away, and he was able to walk along the wall for several meters before someone even seemed to notice that he didn't belong there. He had about one minute left when the first person screamed.
Vlad just rolled his eyes as people started scrambling out of the way. Apparently he had overestimated their bravery, and no one dared attack the ghost that had managed to put the whole world in danger. Wanting a bit of fun, Vlad started to float for a few feet before he actually flew up to the rafters. He stood beside the ghost shield generator, staring down at the panicking citizens below him.
"This town is ours!" Vlad laughed, and ripped the cover off the generator, tossing it down below. He ignored the screams that erupted as the metal casing dropped on top of someone and instead ripped out the wires. While he didn't remove the parts necessary to cut off the flow of power that was lighting up the school, he effectively removed the ghost shield from the situation.
Mere seconds later the spores started to phase through the building, provided by a certain plant-based ghost. Vlad transformed, relishing in the citizens fear as they slowly dropped off to sleep, and flew out of the building. Already he could see Nocturne's Sleepwalker's making their way to the school, with Nocturne himself close behind them, eager to harvest energy so that he, too, could join the fight.
Vlad, however, wanted to pay a visit to a certain couple.
Present time
Jazz screamed as Walker's heavy boot dropped down beside her, inches from squishing her flat. She rolled to the side, whipping her arm up and firing at the persistent warden. The combined efforts of Sam, Jazz, and the ghost dog had led to the swift capture of Walker's guards, or at least the ones that were chasing them, and now they only had the warden himself to deal with. Which proved to be quite the challenge when he was fifty feet tall and treated each blast as a mosquito bite.
Theoretically, if Jazz could capture all of Walker within the Fenton Peeler's ray, then it should shrink him back down to his normal size. But with him being so large, it was easy. If she left Sam and the ghost dog on their own, they might not hold up long enough against Walker before she could get to a higher vantage point.
It was around the time that she was thinking this, that Operative K made his appearance. He didn't say anything to the girls, but pulled out his own blaster and started firing. It was, naturally, a blessing, but it hardly made up for what they did.
"Sam!" Jazz called to the Goth across the street.
"Yeah?" Sam rolled out of the way of a pink ectoblast and ran over to Jazz.
"I'm going to get higher up." Jazz gestured to one of the nearby buildings, then to the cannon attached to the Fenton Peeler.
"Okay. We'll hold him for now," Sam nodded towards the GIW operative and the ghost dog who Operative K had thankfully not attacked yet. Assured that they could handle themselves, Jazz dashed inside the nearest office building and started pounding up the stairs, Fenton Peeler retracting so that she could run easier. She didn't go all the way to the top of the building, but went high enough that she was looking down at Walker. Once the suit was again encasing her body, she punched a nearby window and leaned out.
"Hey!" Jazz shouted, gaining the ghosts attention. Walker looked up just as he was about to slam his foot down on the ghost dog. "That's against the rules!"
The Fenton Peeler powered up and, this time, the beam was able to spread wide enough to engulf the entirety of the white ghost.
"No!" He started to shrink, peeling away layer by layer, until he was his proper height, and Sam was able to suck him into the Fenton Thermos. Although neither girl could very well see the other from such a distance, both were grinning in each other's direction.
Then, Jazz raised her eyes and looked out over the town. Farther off in the distance she could see Fenton Works, the ice that had been holding it captive slowly melting. But that wasn't what caught her attention. Her eyes were drawn to the venerable see of neon green swarming around Casper High.
As she was watching this, something very comical was occurring on the street below without her knowledge. Sam was vigorously defending the ghost dog from Operative K, insisting that he was helping them and meant no harm. About the time that Operative K's resolve started slip, Sam started to say two words that had caused a certain halfa a lot of pain in the past.
"I wish-" Before Sam could fully form her sentence, there was a puff of green smoke and a genie suddenly appeared before her.
"A friend of the ghost boy's. I do love your wishes best. Tell me, girl, what is it that your heart desires?" Desiree asked, believing herself to be irresistible.
Sam, who was really just annoyed at the ghost's poor timing, reacted naturally when faced with such a ghost. "I wish you'd disappear inside this thermos!"
To Sam's surprise, the ghost started to wail in regret as she disappeared inside the thermos of her own volition. Both she and the operative simply stared at the Thermos, trying to decipher what had just happened.
The dragons in the sky were raging a vicious battle. Claws flashed, teeth snapped, and bursts of fire soared through the air. Throughout the battle, they had been drifting over the town, and Dora had managed to catch sight of her various allies locked in their own battles. She had last seen Amorpho, who had never been much of a fighter, challenging Bertrand. A highly confusing battle to watch, as both ghosts were apt shapeshifters. Not too long ago she had spotted the Dairy King fighting the three ghostly vultures, but now she could see them flying unhindered over the town.
She had also seen Wulf fighting Bullet, and Johnny, Kitty, and Youngblood facing off against a plethora of ghostly animals.
The most recent thing that Dora had noticed was the Sleepwalkers, but at the moment she could nothing about them. She needed to take care of her brother first.
They were both bleeding from several longs cuts, although Dora was pleased to see that she had been doing more damage. Her brother's time spent in prison had dulled his skills. If she could only get to his amulet, the fight would be over soon. But Aragorn had also learned. Anytime Dora's claws or tail came close to knocking it away, he would perform a hasty retreat, and thus far she had been unsuccessful in her attempts at victory.
She snarled as she lunged again, tail lashing out towards Aragorn's chest. She had just almost touched it when Aragorn closed his claws around Dora's tail and yanked her towards him. Caught by surprise, she wasn't to defend herself before he pulled off he own amulet, and she was forcibly reverted back to human-esque form. She dropped several metres, forgetting for a moment that she did have her wings to keep her aloft, before she caught herself.
"There, sister. I've defeated you just as you defeated me. Now give me my crown!" Aragorn growled, dropped her necklace. Dora watched it fall carefully, taking note of where it dropped, then turned a defiant gaze on her older brother.
"The crown is mine, brother, and I'm not so weak as to give up just because you have taken my amulet." Dora smiled mockingly at him, the dropped from the sky. Aragorn's roar of outrage following in her wake. Once she had descended below the buildings, Dora regain control of her descent and started flying through the streets, taking narrow turns and confusing routes that would disorient her brother as he followed her.
Aragorn hesitated above the buildings for just a moment before he did just that, which proved to be a mistake. Even if he managed to phase through the buildings he would have otherwise hit, navigating the streets while in his large dragon form proved to be a challenge. Thinking that it would somehow give him the upper hand, Aragorn reverted back to his own human form, pleased at the noticeable difference in maneuverability.
But during his transformation, he had lost sight of his sister. Aragorn's flight slowed, and he started to scan the streets he passed, searching for any sign of her. As he was peering around a corner, she attacked. Aragorn heard Dora's yell, and looked up to see her swinging down from a fire escape with a thick cable that was attached to the top of the building held firmly in her hands. He was too stunned by the brashness that he didn't have time to react before his sister had rammed into him and closed her fingers around his amulet. As he sailed back, it was ripped from his neck.
Dora, who had retrieved her own amulet during the time when Aragorn had not seen her, morphed, and closed one clawed hand around her brother. Aragorn started to struggle, shouting curses and threats, but Dora ended that with a quick puff of fire.
"Silence, brother, and accept your fate." With Aragorn held firmly in her grasp, Dora returned to Fenton Works. She arrived to the sight of a very much defeated Undergrowth, half of him covered in burns, and the other half encased in ice and snow.
"I have a friend!" Klemper cheered, throwing his arms around Ember, who was grimacing.
Valerie had noticed Dora's arrival right away, as everyone else was occupied with watching the entertaining scene before them, and opened up a Thermos. Dora dropped her protesting brother into the glowing beam and changed form.
"Are you okay?" Valerie asked, taking in Dora's injury.
"Perfectly fine, Huntress," Dora assured her. "But your citizens are not. Nocturne has set his Sleepwalkers on them."
"And that's bad, right?" Tucker asked.
"If they were to be left for days, then yes. But I feel that will not be necessary."
"So, princess, what do you think we should do?" Ember asked as she pressed a hand against Klemper's face to push him away. His reaction was a sharp giggle, still elated at the fact that Ember had agreed to be his friend.
"Sir Phantom will need our help, but the few allies we have remaining won't be enough to fight Nocturne's minions if we do not help."
"Um, few? Last I check, we still had fourteen ghosts besides you guys," Tucker gulped.
"Poindexter, the Dairy King, Lydia, and Elastica have been defeated."
"Are you sure?" Maddie asked.
"While battling my brother, I witness their own fights. Their opponents are still flying free, while I lost sight of them," Dora confirmed.
"So there's only nine more, eleven plus you two. Then there's us… how many Sleepwalkers are there?" Tucker was afraid of where this conversation was going.
"If Nocturne continues to gain power, an army."
"Oh, okay. So it's basically just like the wraiths all over again, except most or our forces are asleep!" Tucker shouted, grabbing at his beret. It was at this point that Vlad decided to make himself known, phasing through the street and arrogantly walking into the middle of the dejected group.
"Jack, Maddie. Such a displeasure it is to see you again," Vlad said confidently. He didn't even have his eyes open. All in all, it was a very stupid move on his part. The fear displayed to him while in the auditorium had done wonders for his ego and, after spending some time alone in space, he wasn't exactly in a logical state of mind. So he never expected four Fenton Thermos' to be whipped out and aimed in his direction, with the person successfully capturing him, which was ironically Jack, whooping loudly.
"That was… really easy," Ember said. Jack, who was doing a victory dance and boasting that he was the one that caught Vladdie, whooped again.
"Now we just have to stop this Nocturne, then we can help Danny-boy!" Jack grinned.
"Jack, we don't have enough people to do this as fast as you think," Maddie said, reminding everyone of the situation at hand.
"We can't just leave Danny on his own, but we can't leave everyone in Amity," Tucker summed up, staring down at the ground.
"What if I said you don't have to?"
Ember practically jumped at the familiar voice the sounded from behind her, and she spun around to find herself face to face with her possibly ex-boyfriend, who was standing in the Fenton's front door.
"And why will we not have to? You're going to capture us so Kraeva doesn't have to?" Ember dropped her hands to her hips and glared at Skulker.
"No. We're going to fight the Sleepwalkers, so you can help the ghost child." Skulker stepped to the side and revealed the crowd of ghosts behind him, filling the Fenton's living room. Mostly she could only see the distinctive Greek armour of Pandora's soldiers. Ember spotted the leader of the group in their midst, as well as Technus' trademark mullet, and the pale grey skin of the Ghost Writer. There were three other ghosts, as well, that Ember didn't recognize. A large, hulking, grey-skinned figure, one that was actually wearing a bedsheet, and another that just appeared to be a small orb of light.
Ember, ever the skeptic and not one who easily forgives, was not quite convinced. "What about your means to an end?"
"My warriors are the means, and the end is victory!" Pandora's loud voice boomed over the crowd of ghosts, and her warriors echoed the cry, while the yetis roared. They poured out of Fenton Works and took off into the sky towards Casper High. Skulker and Pandora lagged behind.
"I thought Kraeva had taken you prisoner," Dora said, gesturing to the two rulers.
"He did. But Kraeva has never had a good military mind, and didn't realize that, by breaking free of the banished lands, he weakened the barrier around them. This one was able to break it again quiet easily," Pandora motioned to Skulker. "Where is Daniel? It has been too long since I've seen my prized general."
Pandora cast her gaze around the gathered group as if expecting the halfa to appear out of thin air, which technically was a possibility.
"Fighting Kraeva in the Ghost Zone," Tucker explained. "And, general?"
"In training," Pandora winked, each of her four arms reaching for the swords at her side. "I assume you are wishing to go after Daniel?"
"Yeah. He went on his own, and he's going to need our help," Valerie answered, pulling her board up beside Tucker.
"I must ask that you do not follow." Pandora's words were met with outrage, and she raised a sword, signalling for silence. "Daniel must battle alone. If you were to join him, Kraeva may use that against him."
"So we'd just get in the way?" Jack looked as if he'd awoken to find someone eating his tray of fudge.
"I'm afraid so. Danny is strong, and you must trust him to win, just as he trusts you to succeed here." The Ghostketeers (plus Ember and Dora) shared meaningful looks and conceded. The solemn moment of silence was broken by Pandora's battle cry.
"Long live the king!" She took off, twirling the swords in her hands.
Tucker drew everyone's attention away from the receding Greek ruler with a foreboding question.
"Who's gonna tell Sam?"
For all Danny's bravado, he had yet to gain the upper hand in the fight. While acquiring the scythe had even the playing field, he and Kraeva were now locked in a stalemate. Blows were exchanged, but the damage done on each side remained equal. Danny's frustration was mounting. Defeating Pariah hadn't even taken this long, although he had had the increased power of the Ecto-Skeleton during that fight. But apparently it would not have been necessary anyways.
It had been a slow process, but throughout the fight, Danny's ectoplasmic attacks had been growing increasingly light in colour until his ectoplasm was completely white, just as it had been then. It was an amazing feeling, having control of that power again. It also gave him and idea. He jumped up and landed a powerful drop kick before skipping back across the throne room, which was practically falling apart.
A few pillars had crumbled, and the ones still intact looked like they would turn to dust with the next hit. The walls were cracked and had several large holes where either opponent had been thrown through them. The thing untouched was the throne. With his eyes set on that ornate seat, Danny made three duplicates that would finally give him the advantage he needed, although the weapon in his hands did not get replicated. During this process, Danny remained unaware of the markings, which at that point had stretched to span across the bridge of his nose, grew further and dipped below his ear on the other side of his face. The first two duplicates attacked in tandem, flying to opposite sides of the room between the pillars and walls, attacking Kraeva from both sides, while Danny and the other duplicate launched a frontal assault. It was a well-coordinated attack. Kraeva would be knocked back by one Danny, only be hit by another, and so it went.
Kraeva's hits just wouldn't land, until he leashed an attack not too different from Danny's own aural projection. A wave of ectoplasm rolled off of the powerful ghost, slicing through Danny duplicates. However, it did not affect the real Danny, and he swung his scythe down sharply to deliver a powerful blow while he assumed Kraeva would be distracted. But the blade never pierced his skin. Kraeva thrust his arm up, catching the staff on his forearm and effectively halting the swing just as the blade scratched against the armour on his back.
Danny was about to pull back when Kraeva's arm twisted and he grabbed the staff of the scythe, pulling sharply. Danny stumbled forwards and Kraeva's other hand closed around the collar of his jumpsuit. He was hoisted off his feet and unceremoniously thrown through the back wall of the room. The stones burst apart at the impact, and Danny sailed into the courtyard, bouncing against the gravel path before being abruptly and painfully halted by the trunk of the weeping willow that was growing there. He lay there a moment, slumped over one of the jutting roots, and grimaced.
He tried to push himself up, but found that his strength had suddenly left him. He was struggling to even firmly press his hand against the root on which he was sprawled when Kraeva drew open the curtain of leaves, stalking forwards with the confidence of an assured victor.
It was then that it happened. The mark, which had been slowly spreading unseen across Danny's chest, and unnoticed by either fighter across his face, had looped back around and the stray ends converged on the same black skull, hidden by his hair on the nape of his neck, that they had sprouted from.
Danny's eyes snapped open, and it was as if they had been leeched of colour. It was eerier now, when the pale red iris was barely distinguishable from the whites of his eyes. The aura around him grew, and electricity crackled along the length of his body. Just like with Technus, ice spread from his feet, creeping up the bark of the tree, and dripping down the leaves until they were surrounded by a thin, cerulean veil.
Kraeva hesitated as Danny's pale eyes fell on him. The halfa opened his mouth, and the blue mist once again poured from his jaws.
"Habeo iudicavero. Ego te condemnabo1."
So, yeah, Desiree and Vlad were defeated really quickly, but they provided a few funny moments.
1I have judged you. I condemn you.
Hope you guys enjoyed the extra long chapter!
'See' you next time!
