Chapter 15
"Cold Eyes"Danny felt his body give way and darkness surrounded him as he fell, fell into the deep crevices of his unconscious. Time there was irrelevant, it felt as if he was floating in a black mass. All black. No hint of light shone through to his body. His inner self's eyes remained closed. But he was conscious in his mind. All was silent, all was dark.
Then a light pierced the darkness, causing it to scatter to reveal a young boy, eyes closed, black hair; hanging over his face, floating aimlessly in the dark air around him.
The boy seemed unfazed, though his clothes were blown around him, crinkling and flapping in the unknown wind.
He didn't know who the person was who now stood in front of him. All he knew was the voice, when it started to speak.
"So, is he going to give up? Is the boy who everyone hoped to win the fight against the ghosts going to end it?" The voice asked the boy in a tone that was stern.
Silence was his answer. He began to speak again, his eyes slightly narrowed. Then,
"No." the boy whispered.
"Come again?" The man asked, frustrated with the boy's impudence.
"No. No I don't give up." The boy said again.
"Then why are you here! Why are you hiding?" the man accused.
Black hair moved slightly.
"Tell me!" the man demanded.
" I don't have enough power!" Danny yelled, his head snapping up and tears flowing from his face, his eyes still closed. "I'm scared. I don't have enough power to stop me or Plasmius."
"One you don't have to worry about. I have already dealt with Daniel Masters." The voice told him.
"Who are you?" Danny asked, fear beginning to form on his astral body.
"Who do you think I am?" The male voice asked, neutral.
" I don't know." Danny answered truthfully.
"Then maybe that is how it should remain." The voice told him. Danny heard the swish of clothing as the man started to leave.
"Wait!" Danny called.
The man stopped. "Yes?"
"How do I get back? I don't have enough power!"
"The power is inside you Danny. Always has been. But you keep holding back. You can be so much more if you just let everything go. Don't be afraid to be all you can be."
" I am not Plasmius."
"Did I ever say you were?"
"He did."
"Everyone is like everyone else in a way. His path is different than yours. You will not make the same mistakes he did. You will make your own. As for the way out of here, it's quite simple. Be whatever you fear. Its okay to have fear, but to overcome it, you need to be able to become that fear, and bring yourself back." The man stated with a sigh. "However, I fear you cannot accomplish such an endeavor."
Silence.
"Your right." Danny's head hung, defeated.
"So many lives…in both worlds, destroyed. Sam, Tucker, gone. Jazz, she lost a lot. She survives, but her soul dies." The man dictates.
Danny felt more tears fall from his face as he saw the visions the other man was seeing. His family, friends, hurt, destroyed in so many different ways. Vlad laughing. Laughing and taunting and smirking.
Fists clenched tight. Teeth gritted. The peace and sadness feeling, gone. Destroyed, like those lives he helped destroy.
"Sam…Tucker…Mom…Dad….Jazz…Valerie." The faces kept popping up. Star's face, still empty and devoid of anything, old and worn. Lancer, life also devoid from his face and eyes, working in coal minds. Anger coursed through Danny's veins, his hands gripped tighter.
"No…Vlad can't do this…he cant..DO THIS." He sparked to life. Danny's body glowed green and the regular clothes disappeared, revealing the familiar silver and black jumpsuit. His hair flared white. The anger on his face was clearly seen, but his eyes refused to open as more scenes appeared in his head.
"No…..NO………NOO!"
Dark shattered.
Eyes snapped open, green orbs flaming.
He became what he feared most.
Hate.
"Danny!" Sam screamed, as she watched the dome collapse and saw the red eyes that stared at Danny. The darkness disturbed her vision as well as the others as it grew tiny, but remained the same size for quite a while. It then turned red, not with heat, but with something else. The earth around them started to vibrate and Tucker grabbed a hold of Sam's hand.
"Sam we have to go now!" He yelled, his eyes staring into her own grief stricken amethyst eyes. "Please!"
She did nothing to stop him as he dragged her away from the dome. The loss was almost too much to bear. She had lost so much, everyone did. She thought the war would end today, and it did.
But they were not the winners.
The cave was in sight. The dark opening looked unforgiving and deadly, but they all knew it was better than staying out there. Jazz felt her heart thud in her chest hard, the pain from Danny's blast, still burned her skin and soul. He did it to save her, but what of everyone else?
As they entered the cave, Jack took a last glance back, only to see something that made his insides churn.
A bright blast of light shot to the heavens from where the dome once was, the color of it was a solid blood red color. His son was in that. His son was going through it. He had lost him again. With a dry sob, he hurled himself against the wall and grabbed at the stones with all his might, angry at Vlad, angry at himself, Angry at Daniel, and angry at every god and goddess that made this happen and did nothing to stop this anguish. He was supposed to be their salvation! Now one more world will be without their Danny. One more would succumb to the disease known as darkness, and he could do nothing.
A ghostly wail escaped her husband's mouth while he was against the stonewall and Maddie felt her own tears form. She turned to the mouth of the cave and watched transfixed as the light beam dimmed and was extinguished. In her mind she briefly wondered if Danny was truly gone, and never gave up hope, though inside her heart was aching.
The only one who didn't show emotion was Tucker. His eyes were firm and had a steel quality to them.
"He's fine." He said.
"How do you know?" Sam asked him, staring at him harshly, he met Sam's eyes with the same hardness.
"Because, he told me."
Vlad sat on his horse in shock and stared at the beam of red light, as it disintegrated.
"Well, this is a interesting turn of events." He mused. He looked to the large crater left by the beam of light and his eyebrows raised. "Very interesting indeed."
His thoughts scattered a mile a minute, then looked to his army of slaves and a smile formed. Even if the boy was still alive, he could do nothing about what he had accomplished. Ghosts and humans alike were now his slaves and would work themselves to death for him and beyond. He chuckled at this and turned to his other captive ghost, Rebecca.
"Come darling, we need to secure our future."
Rebecca nodded slowly and together they turned their horses to where the army was gathering to wait for his commands.
Now if he could only find Maddie….
The red-eyed boy snorted and looked down at his captive. He was the perfect likeness; too bad the boy was too good to really be him. Then again, the red boy thought to himself, 'Why did I save him?' He had no rational explanation. His clothes were still soaked through by the storm he was caught in, and he continued to look at the boy, whose face was contorted in pain, sadness, anger. He knew those feelings all to well.
Still the boy hung onto the side of good, and he wondered why. Maybe that was why he saved him. He clutched the dagger tighter as the boy moaned and rolled onto his side.
Even if this was him, he was still the enemy. Or was he? Had he been really wrong this entire time? Then…what he did. He grimaced and shook away those goody goody thoughts. No, he must not become weak. They deserted him, they destroyed him! He would not let their ways turn him. He felt a smile form, when he thought about toying with his other half when he awoke. He turned away and stared at the room they were in. His tower room in the castle. He casually walked to his window and stared out the triangle, rectangle shaped window, looking at the dark clouds looming over the broken city once known as Amity Park. His thoughts were lost on what he would do to the place, and when he got a hold of Sam he would break her. Break her until she wanted him. His eyes flared red and his smile was pure evil.
"Hey Daniel!" A voice yelled from behind him. At first Masters was startled, then recognized it as his own voice. He smirked, and started to turn to his good half.
"Well, did you have a nice-" He stopped dead and his eyes widened in pure shock.
For the boy that stood there, although in the same dorky clothes which were torn and caked with dirt, was not the one he faced before. Sure he still wore the jeans with stains of red and brown and the now torn shirt that was ripped on his side and halfway down his middle. But one thing, one simple thing changed his whole image. Something so terrible it nearly made Daniel Masters stutter for a whole minute. He managed to gather himself and held out his arms, red plasma forming. Danny Fenton was a threat.
For the eyes that looked back at him were neither green or blue.
They were red.