Out of fear more than anything, the two men drew their weapons and fired at the teen, who just laughed as he turned intangible, the bullets sailing cleanly through him. The room echoed with the sound of bullets until Hunter's and Striker's gun clicked, signalling their empty clips. As the smoke cleared, both mens' eyes widened in shock as Danny appeared unharmed.
"I told you Hunter," Danny began, his voice taking on a ghostly echo. "You can't kill what it is already dead." Danny then proceeded to float a few feet off the ground, his eyes still blazing a radioactive green.
"What are you?" Hunter whispered, staring fearfully at the flying teen in front of him; Danny chuckled.
"Someone you really shouldn't have messed with." Danny said. Whilst Striker was paralysed with fear, his eyes wide and his body trembling, Hunter unsheathed his machete and expertly threw it at Danny's head. This time, Danny detached his head, leaving his neck as a ghostly wisp, to avoid it, laughing as he did. This time, Hunter was just as paralysed as Striker who had actually let out a whimper during that moment.
"My turn." Danny said; he put out both hands in a gun position and shot two small ecto-blasts out of his fingertips, hitting Hunter's and Striker's guns, ripping them from their hands. Taking advantage of their fear induced stupor, Danny floated down towards the two men, their eyes growing even wider than they thought humanly possible. In the most dangerous and ghostly way possible, Danny spoke.
"Boo." That did it for Hunter and Striker as they hightailed out of the room, leaving a laughing Danny in their wake.
That was seriously cliché but I really couldn't help it, Danny thought to himself, still chuckling away. Then it dawned on him that they were running away, and if they caught up with the others, there would be no mercy. Flying invisibly at top speed, Danny made his way to the main entrance, beating the other two. It wasn't long before he saw Hunter and Striker racing towards him; at the last second, Danny slammed the massive doors shut from the outside, followed by icing it entirely so that nothing short of a dozen bombs could get through it. Still invisible, Danny put his head through the door to meet the sight of two very scared and frustrated men.
"What the hell is going on?" Demanded Hunter, banging on the door with his fist, close to where Danny's head was.
"It must be the kid." Striker said, as he banged on the door as well. "He's the one doing this."
"Don't be ridiculous Striker." Hunter said, kicking the door. "That's impossible. We left him back in the remains of the generator room."
"Impossible? Are you kidding me Hunter?" Striker said incredulously. "That kid blew up a room without so much as a scratch. We then emptied our guns and not a single one hit him. He then detached his freaking head when you threw a knife at him. Not mention him flying and shooting green stuff at us."
"You know Hunter," began Danny, turning his head visible. "The man has a point. Care to venture another guess?" Their response was to shout out in alarm and run down the corridor away from the floating head.
I guess not thought Danny, shrugging his shoulders as he brought his whole body through the door. Oh well. I can still have some more fun.
Ok, thought Danny. Time to think smart. He was currently floating down one of the many corridors in the direction, he hoped, which would lead to him to where Hunter and his crew kept all the caged animals. With what Danny was planning to do, he didn't want any of the animals to be injured or killed in the process. Danny eventually found his way to the caged area where Hunter had forced him to endure the torturous challenges; he was disgusted to see Hunter hadn't had the cage cleaned out since he was last there. Dried pools of blood and burned flesh littered the arena; on closer inspection, Danny noticed that they had green flecks in them. With a sickening jolt, Danny realised that it was his blood and flesh. Looking to the other side of the cage, Danny saw the rabid elephant carcass had been left where he killed it; its severed tusk still embedded in the poor creature's head. Danny couldn't help but walk over to the animal and place a hand on its bloodied head.
"I am so sorry," Danny said, a single tear rolling down his cheek at the memory of what he had done that day. "The only solace I can take is that at least you're no longer in any pain. Which is more than I can say for Hunter when I get my hands on him." A sense of determination gripping him, Danny turned away from the dead animal and headed towards the large door which required an access code. Turning intangible, Danny walked straight through it and found himself in pitch black darkness. Igniting his hand with ecto-energy, Danny saw that he was in a natural, underground tunnel.
Must have been used as an escape route for the prisoners when this place was an actual prison, Danny thought as he delved deeper down the tunnel, eventually coming to a divide. Turning on his Sense, Danny tried to figure out which direction he should take; hearing all sorts of growls and screeches coming from the left tunnel, he judged that tunnel was the one to take. After about a hundred metres, the tunnel began a steady incline with another large, metal door blocking what Danny assumed to be the exit; reaching the door, Danny didn't need his Sense to be able to hear pain-filled screeches of the animals behind it. Turning his ecto-energy off, Danny once again turned intangible and walked straight through it and into Sam's idea of pure hell on Earth.
Danny had arrived at another outside area, similar to the one where they were allowed to eat lunch for a couple of days, but this was over twenty times the size. And instead of a lone picnic table and bench, there were cages upon cages of trapped animals, and from the looks of them, they had been tortured; some were malnourished enough that their ribs were easily visible and others had dried blood matted in their fur. Slowly making his way down the aisles of cages, Danny eventually found himself in an area which did have a picnic table and bench, in which Tracer and Raider were sat at. Sensing that someone was behind him, Danny turned invisible and floated upwards, just in time as Invader suddenly appeared behind him and ran towards where the other two were sat.
"Hey, Invader. Where's the fire?" Tracer asked jokingly, earning a chuckle from his brother.
"You do realise…there probably is a fire …going on right now in the…main complex you moron." Invader said, trying to catch his breath.
"Now what are you talking about?" Asked Raider.
"Did you honestly not hear that massive explosion earlier?" Invader asked in an annoyed tone at his colleague's stupidity.
"Course we did." Tracer said. "But Hunter said there was nothing to worry about, so we're not worried."
"And have you actually heard anything from Hunter since he told you to come down here?" Invader asked in a smug tone, which struck a chord with the brothers.
"Well, no, now that you mention it." Tracer said.
"Of course you haven't." Invader said, getting angry. "He's completely lost it. I keep hearing bits of radio transmissions about how that Danny kid has come back from the dead to punish us." This caused both brothers to laugh.
"You must be kidding. No one could come back from the dead on this island; our shield would neutralise him in a second." Raider said; this time Invader lost it.
"You blithering idiot!" He shouted. "What did you think that explosion was? The generator was what exploded. Our shield is gone." Raider got up from the table and gripped Invader's collar, bringing him in close.
"You better be joking, otherwise I'm going to feed you to one of these animals. It's been a while since any of them last ate." He said.
"Of course I'm not joking." Invader said, breaking free from Raider's grasp. "That's where I've just come from. One of the walls was completely blown out and our generator was in pieces all over the floor." This sobered up Tracer and Raider.
"And, er, Hunter reckons it was the kid who did it, even though Striker shot him?" Tracer asked, suddenly becoming nervous. Before Invader could speak, Raider stepped in.
"Don't be so thick." He said, clapping his brother on the back. "There's no way that punk kid, dead or alive, could have done this. Stop being so paranoid."
"Hey, I take offense to that." Came Danny's disembodied voice. This caused all three men to jump back in alarm, Invader actually let out a small scream which Danny couldn't help but chuckle at. "Oh man, Invader. I wish I had a camera for that."
"Who's there?!" Shouted Raider, drawing his gun and shooting half a dozen bullets into the air, nowhere near where Danny was floating.
"I'm hurt." Danny said, mocking Raider. "I thought we had something special. No one ever insulted me the way you do." This caused Raider to growl in anger and shot more bullets sporadically into the air.
"Wow, you actually nearly got me that time." Danny said, chuckling.
"Show your face you coward." Tracer demanded, getting his aggressive demeanour back.
"Just my face? Ok." Danny said, revealing only his head, floating several feet above the men. This caused all their jaws to drop as they watched Danny's head float from side to side.
"What are you?" Invader whispered, eyes still transfixed on the floating head. Danny's head did a shrugging motion.
"Dead, Ghost, Spook, Spectre, Poltergeist, Apparition, Spirit, Halfa, Whelp, Dipstick or Little Badger." Danny said, checking them off his invisible fingers as he went. "But I much prefer Phantom." With that, Danny's head disappeared and the whole area dropped drastically in temperature, leaving the three men to shiver violently.
"W…w…what d…d…do we d…d…d…do n...n…now?" Invader asked, his teeth chattering. Before either of the brothers could answer, Danny's voice echoed through the cold air.
"This is the part, where you run away."
Taking Danny's words to heart, all three men raced away to the large door leading to the underground tunnel which would take them back to the main compound. However, upon arriving at the door, they were horrified to see that Danny had beaten them to it; the entire door had been covered in ice about a foot thick.
"Well butter biscuits," came Danny's voice, feigning bother. "Looks like this way is blocked I'm afraid. You'll have to find another way to get out." This time, the three men split up and ran down different aisles of cages, desperate to get away from the seemingly malevolent teen. Now separate from each other, the men were unnerved when silence befell them. None of them was more nervous than Invader who kept looking over his shoulder, half expecting to see Danny's floating head behind him. Coming to a T-Junction at the end of aisle, Invader cautiously looked both ways before walking down the left aisle, which lead to a dead end. His heart beginning to race, Invader took a step backwards only to come into contact with something solid. Turning, Invader came face to face with a set of angry green eyes.
"Gotcha." Said Danny darkly, causing Invader to scream. Three aisles over, Raider jumped back in alarm at the scream and slammed against the nearest cage, waking up the caged cougar within.
"INVADER!" Raider shouted, trying to ignore the angry jungle cat bashing against the cage bars. "WHERE ARE YOU?!"
"I'm sorry. The person you are trying to contact is unavailable," came Danny's echoed voice once again, very near to where Raider was standing. "Please try again at a later time." This time Raider let out a small scream as he sprinted down aisle after aisle; anything to get away from the teen. Making his way to the far side of the outside area, Raider stopped to catch his breath as he leant against an empty cage. Thinking he had lost him, Raider took out his radio.
"Invader?" Raider asked in a whisper. "You there?" He was met with only static.
"Invader?" Raider repeated, getting worried. "Come in Invader. Answer me damn you."
"Don't you pay attention Raider?" Danny asked, rematerialising in front of the frightened man. "I said that Invader is unavailable for the time being. I guess I'll have to do." Before Raider had any time to react, Danny pointed his finger and shot three, small ecto-blasts at him; taking out the radio, his sheathed knife and the gun. Walking backwards, Raider's eyes were transfixed on the teen, a look of fear on his face, contrasting with the look Danny was giving him. Before too long, Raider's back hit the fence surrounding the area; turning, he grasped at the fence, looking for a way to get through. When he realised it was a lost cause, Raider slowly turned back around and expected to see Danny there, but instead there was nothing. Feeling a bit calmer, Raider turned around to see Danny on the other side of the fence, grinning at him. His fear was momentarily replaced with confusion.
"How did you get there?" He asked, causing Danny to face palm. As a response, Danny walked forwards and straight through the fence as if it wasn't there.
"You really don't get the whole ghost-dead-phantom thing, do you?" Danny asked, shaking his head. "Clearly you're not the one I should be talking to." The last thing Raider remembered was Danny's hand glowing green before everything turned black.
Tracer was slowly becoming a nervous wreck; he couldn't get Invader or his brother on the radio and he had no explanation for how Danny was doing what he was doing. Making a full circle around the area, Tracer eventually found himself back in the centre with the picnic bench and table, but to his confusion, the bench was occupied by Raider and Invader. Edging warily closer, checking everywhere for any sign of Danny, Tracer made his forwards and inspected the two men. Thrilled that they were merely unconscious, Tracer straightened up and drew his gun and aimed it down one of the aisles. The next thing he knew, he was launched into the air by an invisible force, screaming all the way, with his gun being ripped from his hand and spinning off out of sight. Then Tracer felt the sensation of falling, the ground quickly coming back to meet him. Just when he thought he was going to paint the ground red, something grabbed his ankles and abruptly stopped his fall. Danny then turned visible and hoisted Tracer up until their eyes were in line with each other's.
"Now," began Danny, who had no trouble lifting the man's weight. "I am going to ask you one simple question, and you're going to give me a simple answer. Otherwise, you'll end up worse than your brother down there. Where is the ghost being kept?" Looking down, Tracer realised he must be about fifty feet off the ground.
"How are you doing this?" Tracer whispered, his tone a combination of awe and terror. This caused Danny to sigh, subsequently letting go of his feet. Screaming as he plummeted to the ground, he felt Danny grab his ankles just as he was about to face-plant the floor. Slowly rising back up, Tracer came face to face with a very frustrated looking teen.
"I'm going to ask you more time Tracer. Where is the ghost being kept?"
"W…w…what ghost?" Whimpered Tracer, causing Danny to sigh once more.
"You and everyone else captured a ghost not too long ago and had a special cage built for it." Danny said. A look of recognition passed over Tracer's face, which Danny caught on to. "So you do know. Now, unless you want me to drop you again, you'll tell me where it's being kept." Feeling dizzy and faint, Tracer spoke up.
"Go back to the caged arena; just below the spectator's area, there's a hidden panel that leads to a staircase. Just follow them down and you'll come to it, but be warned. Brawler will be guarding it." Letting him down, Danny just smirked as he threw a punch and knocked the man out.
"Good." Danny said. "I was hoping to run into him." Just as he was about to walk away, he remembered about all the caged animals. Half an hour later, he had managed to set free all the animals by lifting up their cages and walking through the fence and releasing them one at a time. Thinking it would be quicker to fly rather than walk, he was about to leave when he saw a trolley, similar to the one Hunter gave him when he rounded up the animals for his twisted experiments.
This could work, Danny thought as he headed towards it, glancing back to the three unconscious men. This could work very well.
Now back inside the main compound, Danny had found the secret doorway inside the caged arena below the spectator's area after sticking his head through that section of the wall numerous times. Danny found himself in a dark, narrow corridor, only just about wide enough to wheel down a cage, and only had minimal emergency lighting. As this was of no bother to Danny, the teen walked quickly down it; all the while, what was bothering him was that why he still needed to rescue the ghost.
Surely Clockwork realised that once the generator was dealt with, the ghost would have no problem using their ghostly powers to escape this place, Danny thought to himself. Unless they're unable to do so. If they're… Danny cut off his morbid thoughts; he really didn't want to think about what tortures his ghostly ally had suffered at the hands of Hunter or any of his men, especially if the person doing the torturing was Brawler. If Danny was honest with himself, he had been looking forward to getting Brawler on his own the moment they first met him; ever since he first threatened Sam whilst walking to the prison almost a week ago, Danny had wanted nothing more than to hit him. Turning invisible for the last few metres, the corridor opened up to a cell very similar to the one where the group had been kept for nearly a week. The room was bare, save Brawler standing in front of a menacing looking cage; as soon as Danny entered the room, his ghost sense went off much to Danny's relief.
At least that means they're still alive-ish, Danny thought to himself as he edged further into the room. He was about to think of a way to mess with Brawler before knocking him out when the man himself reached down for his radio.
"Hey," Brawler gruffly said into it. "You best not have forgotten about me down here. It's been half an hour and I've heard nothing from any of you. What's going on?" When his only response was static, Danny let out a spine-chilling chuckle.
"Aww, is ickle Brawler getting nervous?" Danny said, still invisible, causing Brawler to jump back in surprise.
"Who the hell is that?" Brawler demanded, unsheathing his machete.
"Is that any way to speak to an ex-captive?" Danny asked mockingly, realisation appearing in Brawler's eyes.
"You're that punk teen who gave Hunter all that angst, aren't you?" He asked, smirking as he looked around the room.
"You don't seem very upset about that?" Queried Danny; he was momentarily thrown off by Brawler's attitude towards his boss that he forgot to sound threatening.
"Like I care." Scoffed Brawler, spitting to the side. "I only follow Hunter because he lets me do whatever the hell I want. I couldn't care less about his mental wellbeing; all the more fun for me when he finally cracks and takes it out on that spineless Striker."
"Wow, and I thought Hunter was bad." Danny said, sounding disgusted. "At least he has a sense of honour. He's psychopathic, that's a given. But you; you just want to hurt and make people suffer, don't you?"
"You got me there kid." Brawler said, grinning evilly. "And when I get my hands on you, I'm going to do exactly that." He stepped away from the cage slightly, still grinning, when he felt something punch him in the stomach, causing him to splutter and keel over.
"I've been wanting to do that for a while Brawler." Danny said, reappearing in front of the downed man, cracking his knuckles. "And I have to say, it was worth the wait."
"Neat trick kid." Brawler said, spitting to the side once more as he stood up. "But tricks won't save you here."
"Want to bet on that?" Danny asked, getting into a fighting stance. Brawler suddenly lurched forwards with his machete and stabbed at Danny with expert accuracy, but to his dismay, Danny just sidestepped it. Instinctively, Brawler lashed out behind him where Danny should have been, but all he sliced was air. Turning around, Brawler looked on in confusion that Danny was about five foot away from where he should have been. Taking several more quick lunges at the teen, Brawler started to become frustrated as he repeatedly missed him.
"You're fast kid, I'll give you that." Brawler said through gritted teeth, angry that the teen was already getting the better of him without really doing anything.
"You've got to be in my line of work." Danny said, as he began to circle around the room with Brawler mirroring him.
"And what line of work would that be?" Brawler asked, feinting a lunge, but Danny saw through it and didn't flinch.
"Nothing to worry your pretty little head about Brawler." Danny said sarcastically, causing Brawler to see red, who this time lunged for real at Danny. However, Danny saw it coming once again and front flipped over the man, landing gently behind him.
"Hardly seems fair Brawler," Danny started, eying the machete which Danny noticed to be significantly bigger than the others'. "You've got quite the large knife there and all I have is this." Danny reached behind him and made just a small ecto-ice knife to show Brawler, who laughed at the sight.
"Nothing more than a tooth pick." Smiled Brawler, with Danny nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, you're right." Danny said, looking down at his knife before throwing it to the side. "How about this one?" Danny once again reached behind his back and made another knife, roughly the same size as the one he had threatened Sniper with; larger, but still small compared to Brawler's. This time, Brawler began to get nervous as he hadn't actually seen the knife before. Realising he had left it too long to speak, Brawler put his bravado back on.
"Nice knife kid." He said. "But mine is still bigger. Now can we get back to me gutting you?"
"One last chance." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Once again, Danny threw his knife off to the side. This time, Danny left his hands out in front of him; Brawler watched with fascination and terror as a staff of ice began growing in Danny's hand, going up and down until it reached about six foot in length. Just when Brawler thought it was over, a blade began to form from the top of the staff, curving down towards the floor; in less than twenty seconds, Danny had created a deadly looking scythe.
"Now, if I'm not mistaken," started Danny, twirling his icy weapon around with speed so quick it blurred before Brawler's very eyes. "Mine is considerably bigger than yours now." Brawler could do nothing but watch in dread as Danny steadily walked closer and closer, still twirling the scythe; the room suddenly became very cold to Brawler as he was rooted to the spot. Danny was close that Brawler was going cross-eyed, just so he could keep the weapon in view; he tried to take a step back but couldn't. Looking down, Brawler realised why he couldn't move and why he had suddenly felt cold; his feet had been completely frozen to the floor. Looking back up, his eyes widened as the blade of Danny's scythe was millimetres away from his face.
"What are you?" Brawler whispered.
"Phantom." Danny said, his eyes glowing their ghostly green. "Danny Phantom." Then everything went black for Brawler. After absorbing all three weapons he had created, Danny pushed Brawler's unconscious form over and walked up to the cage. Putting his fingers around the edges of the door, Danny pulled and eventually the metal began to strain under his strength. Ripping it off its hinges, Danny threw it off to the side and gazed at the occupant of the cage; it was Wulf.
Wulf was in really bad shape, from what Danny could see. Even though Wulf's supernatural healing had started to kick in, as a result of Danny destroying the generator, there was still a long way to go. He could see that there were deep lacerations all over the wolf-ghost's body; several patches of fur was missing, and other patches were singed. Whether by electrocution or burning, Danny didn't know or want to know for that matter. Carefully lifting him out of the cage and onto the floor, Danny gingerly placed a hand on Wulf's cheek.
[AUTHOR'S NOTE: I do not know Esperanto, or pretend to know how to do it, so conversations between Danny and Wulf will be in italics and underlined].
"Wulf?" Danny asked. "Wulf? Can you hear me?" Slowly, Wulf opened his eyes and lifted his head; his eyes widening when they found Danny.
"My friend," Wulf began quietly. "I am glad to see you."
"Same to you Wulf." Danny said, cracking a genuine smile. "I didn't know if I would find you alive or not. Well, you know what I mean."
"It is lucky you found me. Don't know how much longer I cope with the humans." Wulf said. He attempted to sit up but it was still too painful. "Are almost as bad as Walker."
"Just rest for now Wulf." Danny said, gently pushing his friend back down. "Hunter or any of his men won't be causing you anymore trouble from now on."
"Thank you my friend."
"Wulf, do you think you could tell me how you got here?" Danny asked; Wulf took a moment to think.
"Was six moons ago I arrived here." Wulf began. "Was running from Walker in Ghost Zone. Opened up tear and ran through and arrived on island. Slept through night; just as I opened tear to leave, I found I couldn't. Became very confused and scared. On my second moon of wandering, I smelled something. Smelled you."
"You smelled me?" Danny asked, confused by what Wulf meant.
"Halfa scent is unique." Wulf explained. "Scent was still fresh from Ghost Zone, so I followed it."
"How was it still fresh?" Asked Danny, remembering that it had been a while since they last saw Wulf.
"Female Halfa helped me in Ghost Zone. Scent was similar to yours. Wulf didn't understand." Wulf said.
"You must mean Dani." Danny said excitedly, thrilled that his cousin/clone was safe. "She's my clone. It's a long story, but that explains why her scent was similar to mine." Wulf nodded thoughtfully before carrying on.
"Followed scent, found this building. Didn't like it as it reminded me of Walker's prison, but I knew you inside. Knew you could help me. Tried to enter, but powers stopped working altogether. Wulf couldn't do anything. Then got captured and…and…" Danny stopped him there; he didn't want his friend to have to relive the tortures Hunter had put him through.
"Wulf," Danny began, breaking through the ghost's thoughts. "You need to get out of here. Open a tear and leave."
"What about you?" Wulf asked, worried about the teen in front of him.
"Don't worry about me." Danny said reassuringly. "We've got people looking for us. We'll be fine. I just need you out of here before I take care of business."
"Business?" Questioned Wulf. Danny stood up and put out his hand to aid Wulf.
"I'm going to raze this place to the ground. And enjoy every second of it." Wulf's face split into a wolfish grin.
"Good." Was his only response. Walking over to Brawler's unconscious body, Danny put him in a fireman's lift; turning back to the ghost, Wulf had already opened a tear and was about to walk through it when he turned to face Danny.
"Good luck my friend." Wulf said.
"You too Wulf. You too. When I get home, I'll be sure to come look for you. And if you see Dani, tell her to come visit once in a while." Danny said. Wulf smiled at his friend before jumping through the tear; the tear closing swiftly behind him. Taking a deep breath, Danny turned intangible and flew straight up and out of the prison. Once in the air above the complex, Danny turned on his Sense to make sure no one else was in the building; he had already anticipated Hunter and Striker finding another exit and escaping. Confident the building was empty, Danny landed just outside the front, fenced area and placed Brawler on the ground. As he turned to face the prison, Danny went ghost for the first time in three weeks; standing in there in his hazmat suit, taking a deep breath, Danny Wailed.
Meanwhile, the group had just burst onto the beach after having escaped the prison. Falling to the ground to catch their breath, none of them could believe they had made it to the beach unscathed, let alone escape from Hunter's clutches. After what only seemed like a few minutes, the group was broken from their rest when they heard an all mighty ghostly moan that made them clasp their hands to their ears. The noise lasted for several minutes before it eventually died down. Most of the group looked around in bewilderment as to what that noise was. Sam and Tucker, on the other hand, had eyes only for each other, a look of knowing spread all across their faces. Valerie then caught their eyes.
"Was that, you know, Danny's Wail?" She asked them, slightly scared by what she had just heard; they nodded. "How?"
"We don't know." Sam said, gazing in the direction of the prison. "It just appeared, like his ice powers."
"He only uses it when he's in pain or angry." Tucker said, mirroring Sam's head movement. "Hopefully it's the latter." After a few minutes, Sam stood up and called over to Mr Lancer.
"Sir, we should head into the shelter." She said, glancing at the horizon. "We really don't want to be caught out in the open when the sun sets."
"You are right, Sam." Mr Lancer said in agreement, turning towards the rest of the group who were still in their stupor over Danny's Wail. "Everyone, into the shelter. Unless you want to be the main course of a roaming jungle cat, or a 'freaking dinosaur'?" This lit the fire under everyone's feet as they sprinted into their shelter, not wanting to meet anything with sharp teeth and claws. Whilst everyone had rushed into the shelter, Sam, Tucker and Valerie had remained on the beach looking back into the jungle. They remained like that until their lack of presence was realised and Star stuck her head out of the shelter and called out to them.
"You guys coming or what?" She asked; the trio gave one last look towards the trees before heading for the shelter. Upon their arrival, the trio noticed that it hadn't taken the rest of the group long to virtually fall asleep. Despite it being the early afternoon, the effects of the adrenaline were beginning to wear off; some were shaking and others appeared exhausted. Being used to adrenaline rushes whilst fighting ghosts with Danny, Sam, Tucker and Valerie didn't feel the effects as much as their bodies were already efficient in reabsorbing it. Instead, they just sat down by the entrance to wait for any sign of Danny. They were so preoccupied by their thoughts on Danny, they barely registered that the other occupants of their shelter were beginning to talk about him.
"Do you reckon he's ok?" Ellie asked, her maternal instincts starting to kick in over the teen.
"I'm sure the lad's fine." Frank said to her reassuringly. "I've yet to see something which can stop that boy. You're positive you saw him get shot Megan?" All eyes turned to the little girl, who became uncomfortable under their stares.
"I'm sure." She said. "He flinched and put his hand to his chest and everything as he went over."
"So somehow, Fenton has become bulletproof?" Dash asked sarcastically.
"Leave it out Dash." Kwan said standing up for the little girl, surprising Dash who was silenced.
"Regardless of whether he was shot or not, Danny survived falling off a waterfall." Craig said, getting the attention off of Megan. "How crazy is that?"
"The guy is a machine." Max said.
"Yeah, and maybe he was sent from the future to take out mankind." James joked, earning a glare from his mother.
"You know, Max has got a point." Piped up Mikey.
"Yeah." Supported Nathan. "How many humans do you reckon can take the kind of punishment Danny has over the past few weeks?"
"Maybe Danny Phantom gave Fenton some super ghost stuff that lets him endure lots of pain?" Eric suggested. The group was about to laugh when they faltered.
"Now there's something." Michelle said. "We know he hunts ghosts, that's a given. So maybe Eric is onto something."
"Maybe he can get me Phantom's autograph." Squealed Paulina, once again entering a dream world where only she and Phantom reside, causing everyone to sigh in annoyance.
"Why don't we just ask those three?" Suggested Alice, gesturing towards the three situated at the entrance. They were about to shout out when they realised that the trio were asleep.
"How do they do that?" Bradley asked in amazement. "They are just like Danny."
"Can fall asleep anywhere, anytime." Confirmed Star. Realising that it probably wasn't a bad idea after the morning they had just had, the group got as comfortable as possible in the cramped shelter. However, the trio wasn't really asleep; they just didn't want to be questioned more about Danny if they could help it. They were already too close for their liking and they didn't know how far Danny wanted to take it; it had been a while since they had a personal conversation with him. Though, after a while of having their eyes closed, the trio too felt the effects of fatigue overcome them as they slowly fell asleep.
It was a few hours later when the group woke up feeling refreshed. After waking up though, they didn't get up straight away; they were actually semi comfortable in their small space.
"Do you reckon we'll ever actually get a normal sleeping pattern again after this?" Bradley asked, attempting to stretch in the small space.
"I somehow doubt it Brad." Kwan said who felt his shoulder pop as he sat up.
"I reckon we'll need a whole week off of school when we get back so we can get over it." Dash said, which didn't go unheard by Mr Lancer.
"Dash Baxter." Mr Lancer started, causing the jock to recoil by hearing his full name. "We have had three weeks off from school; I hardly think missing another week is appropriate." Mumbling something about always needing an extra week off, Dash turned away from his teacher and noticed something peculiar. "Hey, is it me or is glowing in here?" Everyone was about to say Dash was going crazy, but before they could, they noticed it too. There was a red glow dancing around their shelter, almost as if there was fire. Getting to their feet as quickly as they could, some getting tangled in the process, the group rushed out of the shelter and observed with shock and awe the sight before them. In the middle of the open area, a massive fire was raging, far bigger than they usually had. What caused them to pause was the figure sat in front of the fire with their back to them; not knowing exactly who it was, no one wanted to press further in case it was Hunter or one of his men.
"Is it Hunter?" Chelsea asked, causing the mystery figure to chuckle at them.
"I take offense to that." He said, standing up. As he turned to face the group, the fire illuminated his face, revealing him to be Danny who smiled at the shocked expressions on his friends' faces. "Hey guys. Did you miss me?" No sooner had the words left his mouth when he was tackled by Sam, followed closely by Tucker, Valerie and Megan, causing all four of them to fall to the floor.
"I'll take that as a yes." Danny laughed as he hugged all his friends, whilst the rest of the group walked over to the fire. All them noticed that Danny looked full of life and energy compared to earlier in the day.
"Daniel Fenton, you are a true marvel." Mr Lancer said. "But tell me, what happened back there? What happened to Hunter's men?" Danny, who finally managed to stand up, pointed over to the treeline. Following Danny's finger, the group looked up to the trees where they saw Sniper, Raider, Tracer, Invader and Brawler bound and gagged on a large trolley.
"How in blazes did you manage that?" Frank asked dumbfounded; Danny just shrugged.
"A teen has his methods." He said, with Sam stepping forwards.
"How are you feeling Danny?" She asked, having noticed how much better Danny was looking compared to when she saw him last when he returned Megan to them; he just smiled down at her.
"Great Sam. You could say I feel complete." He said honestly. Understanding what he meant, Sam pulled him into a tight hug, relieved that Danny got his powers back. "Now, who's hungry?" On cue, everyone's stomach began to rumble.
"Dude, please tell you've got some meat?" Tucker begged, causing Danny to laugh.
"I've got some fish Tucker. That will have to do I'm afraid." Danny said, pointing to the other side of the fire.
"That'll do." Tucker said, before racing around the fire, followed very closely by several others.
"Wait, you went fishing? With what? When?" The rest asked.
"Yes I went fishing." Laughed Danny. "When I got here, you were all asleep. I thought it best to let you guys rest. Thinking you might be hungry, I went foraging for some fruit, went fishing, and then started a fire." He purposely left out the fact that he had shot the fish with small ecto-blasts; he didn't think they needed to know that particular detail.
"Once again. You are a marvel Danny." Mr Lancer repeated. He gave the teen a smile before joining his students and tucked into some freshly cooked fish. Now that the three teens had been left alone, Sam gave Danny an earnest look.
"Are you sure you're alright Danny?" She asked.
"Honestly, I feel fantastic Sam." Danny said, taking her hand in his. "Destroying that generator did wonders for me. My only concern now is that I couldn't find Hunter or Striker before destroying the compound. They're still out there somewhere."
"So you really did use your Wail?" Valerie asked; Danny nodded. "We heard and felt it back here."
"Really? Sorry about that." Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "I had a bit of a power surge once I got them back. The Wail was more powerful than I originally planned it to be. Though, watching the prison crumble was amazingly satisfying."
"I bet it was." Tucker said, re-joining them, a cooked piece of fish in his hand. "Did I hear right in that you couldn't find Hunter and Striker?"
"Yeah," Danny said dejectedly. "They'll turn up at some point. But for now, let's eat."
"Hear, hear." Cheered Tucker, once again racing back to where the food was, causing everyone to laugh as they too headed towards the fire, though at a much calmer pace.
The next morning, everyone was well rested, despite having had a late night talking and laughing together. Waking up, Sam was confused as to why Danny wasn't lying beside her; she distinctly remembered falling asleep with his arm around her. Getting up and waking up Tucker and Valerie in the process, they walked out to find Danny standing in the surf staring out to sea, a look of deep contemplation on his face; his eyes were also glowing blue, indicating that he was using his Sense.
"Dude, you alright?" Tucker asked, concerned about his friend.
"Can't you hear that?" Danny asked, his eyes never leaving the horizon.
"Hear what?" Asked Valerie, looking in the same place Danny was.
"That." Said Danny.
"And for those who don't have hypersensitive hearing?" Sam asked. Danny was silent for a few moments before answering.
"It's stopped." Danny said, his eyes turning back to their original blue colour.
"What were you doing out here anyway?" Tucker asked.
"I came out here to check on our ex-captors to make sure none had escaped. I was giving them some water and double checking their knots when I heard a strange noise coming from out at sea."
"Any sign of Hunter or Striker?" Valerie asked; Danny shook his head disappointedly.
"No Val, not yet." Danny said, who suddenly whipped his head back towards the ocean. "But I have a feeling we won't need to worry about them for much longer."
"What makes you think that?" Sam asked.
"Because that's what I have been hearing." Danny said, smiling and pointing out to sea. "Look." Following his line of sight, Danny's friends watched in amazement as a dark shape appeared over the horizon, getting steadily bigger and bigger. When the first mast began to take shape, the trio finally realised what it was; it was a ship.
"WE'RE SAVED!" Shouted Tucker, jumping around and punching the air. Tucker's shout was loud enough to wake the rest of the group, who came piling out onto the beach.
"Foley, you best have a good reason for waking us up." Dash said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Just look out there." Tucker said smugly. Looking where Tucker was gesturing, it only took the group to register what they were looking before they all started shouting and celebrating. It was then, when she looked at him, Sam realised Danny wasn't as happy as everyone else was.
"Hey, why aren't you celebrating Danny?" She asked.
"I'll celebrate when we're on that ship and sailing as far away from this place as possible." Danny said. "We don't even know if that ship is a rescue ship."
"Well, I think that might answer your question." Sam said, pointing to the ship. Danny looked at the ship and noticed that the ship stopped and dropped something into the ocean, which began to speed towards them. "Now, can you cheer up now?" Danny laughed and nodded. The group watched in eager anticipation as the small boat sped towards them. After what seemed too long, the boat arrived at the shore and the group could see six occupants. Four of them were dressed in naval military uniforms, but it was the two who were dressed as civilians that caught Danny's eyes; a young boy and an old man who appeared to be his grandfather.
"I don't believe it." Danny said, striding forwards to where the six people were standing. "Bob? Billy? Is that really you?"
"You better believe it laddie." Bob said, tipping his hat towards the teen. "Young Billy and I have been worried sick about you lot for weeks."
"But how?" Danny asked, gesturing to the Navy Officers.
"Oh, there was something I forgot to mention to you kids." Bob said. "I own Wilkinson's Cruise Lines. The very cruise line that our ship was a part of. I couldn't very well let a lifeboat full of people be lost at sea. Especially as one of those people saved my life."
"It was my first time on a big ship." Billy chimed in.
"You must be quite wealthy Mr Wilkinson." Mr Lancer said. "I do not think we could ever repay this." Bob just shook his head.
"Not necessary. Young Danny here saved my life on that ship. If it wasn't for him, I'd be in old Davy Jones' Locker right now." He said. Before anyone could question what he meant, one of the Navy Officers stepped forward.
"Young man. My I inquire as to why you have five men bound and gagged over there?" He asked. Everyone's faces gained a dark look which unnerved the six new members on the beach.
"Those men imprisoned us in their prison for a week and tortured Danny." Star spat.
"And they killed five people since we've been here." Frank said.
"Looks like they'll definitely be coming with us. They have a lot to answer for." Another Officer said, stepping forward.
"I'll get them." Danny said. "It would be my pleasure to hand them over. Sam, come and help me." Two of the Officers were about to do it when the group stood in front of them.
"Let him do it." Tucker said. "Danny has more reason than most to want to do this."
"Yeah," confirmed Alice. "After everything he's been through since we've been here, he deserves to be the one."
"What happened here?" Bob asked.
"Many horrific events Mr Wilkinson." Mr Lancer said, watching his two students walk off. "Many horrific events indeed."
Just as they arrived at the trolley where the five men were being kept, Danny's nagging feeling returned in full force, but he acted upon it too late. Out of the undergrowth jumped Hunter and Striker; Striker grabbed Sam and Hunter brought out his machete and stabbed down, piercing Danny's leg, going all the way through. Danny screamed out in pain as the rest of the beach ran towards the commotion; seeing the large knife in Danny's legs caused most to cry out and some actually turned to throw up. The Navy Officers stepped forward and drew their guns and aimed them at Hunter and Striker, the latter hiding behind Sam who had a knife at her throat.
"You will release the girl and surrender now." One of them commanded. "Otherwise we will use deadly force."
"I don't think so sailor boy." Hunter said maliciously. "You put those guns down or little Sammie here gets a new hole to breathe out of."
"Take aim." The leading Navy Officer commanded. "F-."
"STOP!" Shouted Danny, struggling to stand up with the knife still in his leg. "He's mine."
"Don't be ridiculous kid." The Officer said. "Leave it to us. Besides, you've got a knife in your leg. You're in no condition to be doing anything." Whilst the Officers, Bob and Billy agreed with him, the rest of the group all had smiles on their faces; they knew exactly what was about to happen.
"Knife?" Danny asked. "I don't see a knife in my leg." Grasping the handle, Danny yanked it out of his leg and snapped in half over his knee without flinching, shocking the new comers. What shocked them even more was the dark look on Danny's face as he stared down Hunter, who suddenly became nervous.
"You and me Hunter. One on one. No tricks, no weapons." Danny said, walking forwards. "Everyone put your guns down. Now." The Officer's couldn't help but do as the teen said; the look he was giving them was frightening.
"You're on kid." Hunter said, still grinning as he walked forwards. "I've wanted to do this for a while."
"Bring it Hunter." Danny said. This time, there was no circling. Hunter lunged forwards, aiming to take Danny out as quickly as possible, but even with Danny's injured leg, he was still able to out-manoeuvre him. With every jab, hook and lunge, Danny easily side-stepped or jumped over them.
"Come on kid." Said a frustrated Hunter. "Quit dancing around already."
"Alright, have it your way." Danny said darkly. When Hunter next lunged with his fist, Danny stood still and made no move to dodge. Just before Hunter's fist connected with Danny's face, the teen stuck out his hand and caught it, stopping it dead in its tracks. Hunter then brought around his other one, this one with a small blade in it which had been concealed up his sleeve, only for it to meet the same fate. It only took a moment for Hunter to realise that the pressure around his wrists was beginning to increase; Hunter screamed in pain as both his wrists broke under Danny's strength.
"Guess what Hunter?" Asked Danny, still gripping Hunter's wrists. "I win." With that, Danny drew back his head and head-butted Hunter, breaking his nose and knocking him out cold. Dropping him to the floor, Danny looked over to Striker who was looking on in horror at what had transpired. It only took him a second to release Sam, who instantly ran into Danny's arms, and threw down the knife to surrender. The Navy Officers rushed forwards and collected all the unconscious men, the leader pausing to look at Danny who met his eyes. The Officer, feeling uncomfortable, carried on walking to help his officers. Feeling someone take his hand, Danny looked down to see Sam holding it, his eyes growing softer at the sight.
"Let's go home." He said, turning towards the boat, the group parting for him and Sam and then following suit.
Three Days Later
"Where in blazes are you Skulker?" Vlad demanded in Plasmius form. "Why call for this infernal meeting when you don't even show up?"
"I did no such thing Plasmius." Came Skulker's voice. "It was you who called this." They were currently deep in the Ghost Zone, away from prying on eyes, on a hunk of floating rock.
"What do you mean you didn't call this meeting?" Plasmius demanded, lighting his hands with pink ecto-energy. "Of course you did. Now what do you want?"
"I think your human side is messing with your mind Plasmius." Skulker said. "I called for no such meeting."
"Then, who did?"
"Well, that would be me, actually." Danny said, in Phantom form, turning visible a few metres in front of them.
"Ah Daniel." Vlad said with a grin. "Come to declare your everlasting devotion to me and renounce your idiot of a father Little Badger?"
"Or have you come to accept your destiny as my prize and become a pelt on my wall?" Skulker said evilly, brandishing his missile launchers and taking aim and the young Halfa.
"Actually, neither." Danny said. "I know exactly what you two did. I know the whole thing of Vlad funding the cruise and then Skulker sending us to that island to deal with your ex-protégés. And I have to say, I'm quite angry at that. So call this my little slice of revenge." Taking in a deep breath, confusing the two villains in front of him, Danny let loose his Ghostly Wail on them. The sonic scream hit the villains head on and sent them careening deeper into the Ghost Zone in extreme pain. Danny stopped Wailing just in time so that he could keep his Phantom form. Flying back to his parents' portal and then through it, Danny flew back into his room where Sam, Tucker and Valerie were waiting for him.
"So, how'd it go?" Valerie asked as Danny changed back into Fenton.
"Put it this way, Skulker and Vlad are flying through the Ghost Zone, where hopefully they'll end up in Klemper's or the Box Ghost's lair." Danny said.
"That would be something I'd like to see." Tucker laughed, earning a nod from everyone else.
"By the way Danny, there was something you forgot to tell us." Sam said.
"What?" He asked, sitting down next to her on the bed.
"You never told us who the captured ghost was."
"Oh yeah." Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck. "It was Wulf."
"I suppose that makes sense." Tucker said, bringing out his Cheryl mark two.
"It does?" Valerie asked, not knowing who Wulf is.
"Wulf is a wolf-ghost who can create inter-dimensional tears in the fabric of reality between this realm and the Ghost Zone. He can pass through in any direction. But when he arrived on the island, the energy-field disrupted his powers meaning that he couldn't create another one to escape the place."
"How did you find out where he was?" Valerie asked.
"I asked Tracer really, really nicely." Danny said smiling, causing everyone to laugh.
"Hey, what do you reckon will happen to Hunter and his gang?" Tucker asked.
"Bob sent me a letter the day after we got back about how there's an argument going around as to who gets to imprison them. There are quite a few Heads of State wanting them in their prison."
"At least we know that no matter what, they'll be going away for a very long time." Sam said, snuggling up to Danny.
"Maybe we should visit them when they get nice and settled." Danny suggested jokingly.
"Yeah, right after we go back to school next week." Sam said, smiling.
"It sure was nice Mr Lancer saying that we can have a week off to recuperate after our horrendous ordeal." Tucker said.
"There was also another reason for it." Danny said.
"What do you mean?" Asked Valerie.
"He knows."
"Knows what?" Sam asked.
"He knows I'm Phantom." Danny said simply, causing Sam, Tucker and Valerie to sit bolt upright.
"You're kidding, right?" Tucker begged.
"Nope. He told me on the boat journey home. I forgot to mention it." Danny said.
"And you're ok with this?" Sam asked worriedly.
"I am." Danny said honestly. "If it had been anyone else, I would've been concerned. But our whole of adventure on that island made me see him in a new light."
"You've got a point there dude." Tucker said, agreeing with him. "Could actually make your life a little bit easier when leaving class to fight ghosts."
"It's not like it could get much more difficult." Laughed Danny. "Besides, I am really surprised that no one else guessed. I wasn't exactly hiding it very well."
"How did he even find out anyway?" Sam asked.
"He said something about having suspicions from the very beginning, but then there was something about someone saying my full name and Phantom at the same time and everything seemed to click." Before Danny could say anything more, Danny's Ghost Sense went off, causing him to sigh.
"Ghost fighting time guys." Danny said, morphing into Phantom. "Ready guys?" They all nodded in confirmation. Danny took a hold of Sam whilst Valerie, now as the Red Huntress, took a hold of Tucker and flew out of Danny's bedroom and headed towards the middle of town. Upon arrival, Danny smiled at who the ghost was; it was Walker and a few of his minions.
Walker eh, Danny thought to himself. I've been looking forward to meeting you. I've got a score to settle with you for hunting Wulf again.
"Let's do this."
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this story, especially this chapter. I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please look out for my next story which I will be posting the first chapter up in the next couple of weeks, 'A Phantom Apocalypse.' Thank you once again. Until next time.
Lord Pugsy.