Thanks to Coronadofwb, Alana-StarSugarCat, Snickerer, and Pterodactyl.
Chapter 7: Abduction
I don't own Danny Phantom because I'm a starving student. I don't own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory because it was written before I was born. I don't own Ghost World, for an as yet unexplained reason. I don't own any sonnets from the 1800s. I don't own the rights to FOTR or A Wrinkle in Time either, though the strange and unusual things I could do with the former would make life a lot more fun.
Early one Sunday morning, in a modest apartment in Amity Park, a middle-aged man tossed and turned in his bed. He was dreaming, again, of the green-haired man kidnapping one of the classes he taught at the high school. He had dreamt this dream almost every week for three months. It was getting worse.
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!" Lancer sat bolt upright in his bed. This time, the man, who he now knew to be the hunter ghost Skulker, had shackled him and his class together with anti-ectoplasm bonds and was leading them into a tent that held a large number of expectant ghosts. Might have been some sort of auction, Lancer wasn't sure. He lay back down and had almost gotten to sleep again when his ghost sense went off. He sighed and sat up again, giving his transformation cry.
"Ghost World!"
He was outside half a minute later.
---
The following Monday, Lancer was in his classroom, as usual, trying to get Danny's class to understand the nuances of the nineteenth century sonnet. Most of the students were staring at him with glazed expressions. Danny, as usual, was sleeping. Lancer started walking between the rows of desks as he talked. When he was beside Danny's, he kicked it.
Danny lifted his head off the desk sleepily and stared at Lancer through half-lidded eyes. "Wha?"
"I suggest you reserve your nap time for other classes, Mr. Fenton," Lancer told the boy drily, "Sonnets are difficult to understand, and I don't have to remind you that you need all the help you can get."
Lancer didn't feel quite right about being mean to Danny now that he knew the reasons behind his misbehaviour. Unfortunately, he had to keep up the appearance of discipline and animosity towards the boy, so that no one would suspect the relationship that had developed between them. The tutoring sessions and battle alliance weren't exactly public knowledge, after all. Still, Danny did need constant reminders and awakenings, and that eased Lancer's guilt a little.
Suddenly both he and Danny felt the drop in temperature that was associated with a ghost. Before either could leave the room, a glowing green net dropped through the ceiling, trapping the entire class.
"Fellowship of the Ring!" Lancer yelled in surprise as the net tangled up around everyone's shoulders. Amidst all the shrieks and struggling, he noticed that Skulker was floating above them. Glaring up at him with angry blue eyes, Lancer yelled, "What do you think you're doing?"
"What does it look like, mutt?" Skulker pressed a button on his armour that hadn't been there the last time Lancer had fought him, and the edges of the net moved towards each other until everyone was caught in a jumble of limbs. There was no way to "go ghost" there without being noticed.
Skulker grabbed the net and flew it through the wall. They swept over the town and eventually descended over FentonWorks and through the Portal. Even though Lancer had been in the Ghost Zone on many occasions, chasing a ghost or practicing portal forming power, it still amazed him how surreal and otherworldly the whole place looked, with its limited colours and unnerving floating doors. This time was no different, and Lancer shivered involuntarily before moving on to the calm planning stage of the standard kidnapping routine.
Why was Skulker doing this to the whole class? Before then, he had only kidnapped one or two people, usually him or Danny, and stuck them on his island. They had always escaped then, but it was going to be harder to get thirty people out of the Zone before Skulker noticed.
No, Lancer corrected himself. All we need is a big enough portal. He'd never made one large enough for more than one person at a time, however, so they might still be out of luck. Lancer went back to his original question: why? You couldn't defeat someone unless you knew what you were getting into, and what their motive was.
They were descending over Skulker's island now, and his class, who had been almost paralyzed with fear, started to become agitated again. Lancer spoke reassuringly from the center of the mass of students, trying to calm then down.
"Don't worry, everyone. I'm sure Danny Phantom will save us." If he manages to get away from the crowd. Or if I do.
"How will he know where we are?" With a lilt like that, it could only have been Paulina speaking.
"How does he ever know?" That sarcastic voice sounded like Sam's, but he couldn't tell where she was.
The net opened abruptly then and everyone tumbled out, with exclamations of pain, shock, and fear. Skulker quickly went round and slapped blue rings on everyone's hands and feet as they lay dazed on the ground. As soon as everyone had been shackled, ectoplasmic chains shot out and attached everyone to their neighbours. Most of the class screamed in alarm. Lancer felt his stomach drop.
This is beginning to look very familiar.
Skulker flew off without even an explanation, and left his captives to start frantically whispering. Lancer looked to see who he was next to, and trying to get his bearings.
Danny and Tucker. That's fortunate. And Danny was obviously assessing the situation. Also a good sign.
They were in a clearing in the ghostly jungle, and tied together too tightly for either halfa to get hidden enough to transform. Lancer was willing to bet that their bonds would prevent transformation anyway, and that he wouldn't be able to phase through them, since he'd tried both things many times in his recurring nightmare. Besides, testing the theory could very well cause suspicion. So the conventional routes were out. Lancer realized with dismay what the only solution was.
We're just going to have to get Skulker to take the chains off.
When Skulker returned, he finally spoke to them, sounding like he was reciting a hastily memorized script. The effect was aided by a piece of paper poking out of a robotic fist.
"I am pleased to announce that you have been chosen as the guin-, the pioneers in a human-ghost alliance. You will be paired with ghosts and will work with them in harmony. I am now going to take you to them. Follow me."
That sounds too simple to be true, and a little out of character as well, thought Lancer. I bet he's been put up to this.
"Excuse me, sir, but why are we wearing these cuffs?" asked Sam innocently. "I mean, this sounds like a peaceful alliance you're trying to get started. Don't you think you're getting off on the wrong foot by kidnapping us and tying us up?" Lancer allowed himself a small smile. She had obviously figured out what needed to happen too.
"The shackles are for your own protection," Skulker said flatly.
Yeah right, thought both Lancer and Danny. There are so many ways that's a lie. Skulker led them down a path lined with fanged flowers and into a larger clearing containing a tent.
Oh dear, Lancer thought in alarm. This is my dream. We've never escaped in my dream.
Danny, walking in front of Lancer, felt him stiffen. He looked back towards the teacher and raised his eyebrows. Well, telling Danny wouldn't hurt, and he did have a right to know. Lancer bent slightly and whispered.
"I've had nightmares about this. We didn't escape."
"We'll get out of this somehow," Danny said tensely. "Don't worry."
Lancer straightened up again and focused on the tent door to steady his nerves. Danny's right. Don't lose your head, William.
They were led into the tent where a lot of ghosts were sitting in a lot of chairs. They were all expectantly watching the stage that the captives were on. Lancer peered past the lights, trying to recognize faces.
Technus, Desiree, Klemper, Box Ghost, Ember, Spectra... Wrinkle in Time! Every humanoid ghost I've ever fought is here, except for ... yes, thought Lancer unhappily, Vlad Plasmius is here too. What are the chances he's the mastermind behind all this? We know Skulker works for him sometimes.
A ghost Lancer hadn't seen before came in from the opposite side of the tent at that moment and walked up to a podium placed at the bottom left of the stage. He had tousled black hair and wore a long coat that reminded Lancer a little of the Romantic poets. A blue-grey scarf was draped around his neck, and a pair of ovoid spectacles completed the look of an educated man. The ghost tapped the microphone and then began to speak.