Summary: AU. Caught in the middle of Vladimir Master's evil plot to take over the Kingdom of Amity, Prince Daniel is turned into a half-ghost. Now he must flee for his life, hide in the company of two new allies, and fight his way back to the throne. DxS

Disclaimer: Butch and Nick own Danny and Co.

On a quick side note, I had to bump the rating up a notch because of a slightly graphic scene in this chapter. Perhaps it isn't that big a deal at all, but better safe than sorry. Just so you know!

Chapter 5: Dragon

The sun intensely bore down on their backs as they walked through a field of grass. Not a cloud could be seen in the sky and the nearest trees which could provide any shade at all were finally coming into view.

Samantha and Tucker were barely walking behind Daniel, who kept a fast pace and had now removed his dark cloak, rolled up his silk black sleeves and green velvet trousers for hopes of appearing somewhat more of a commoner.

Finally, Tucker could no longer take the heat, wobbled, and fell flat on his stomach. Samantha stopped walking and looked at her friend pityingly, giving him a helping hand up.

He looked at her desperately, wiping his brow. "Couldn't you talk to him?" he said, exhausted. They had been walking for hours on end and Daniel, who was a ghost, did not seem to tire the least bit.

Samantha nodded and let his friend sit in the grass as she caught up with the ghost who hadn't even paused to wait for them.

"You seem to do a lot of walking for a ghost," she said cleverly, slightly running at his side and embracing the refreshing cool air he gave off. "Couldn't you fly us there?"

"I wish I could but seeing as I have just died it appears that my apparitional abilities are limited. Besides, my fight with the huntress took a lot of energy out of me and I must save myself for the perils ahead."

He did not stop nor look at her, simply continued walking straight ahead without hesitation.

"What perils?" she asked, once more catching up with him.

"Do you always ask such stupid questions?" he said nastily.

"It depends, are you always this rude?"

"I am not rude, I am honest," he replied.

"It is not simply your honestly that is lacking, then! Do you not realize that we have been walking for hours and are weary where as you, who are a ghost, wear not?"

"Your point?" he said as he kept going.

She stopped following him and called, "That we make camp!" resting her hands on her hips in frustration.

He finally stopped and wheeled one leg around to face them with a discontented expression on his face. Meanwhile, Tucker had finally caught up.

"Fine. When we reach those trees over there, you two rest while I go into the village and get supplies," he said simply and then continued walking.

"You can't go into town!" Samantha objected, chasing him once more. "You're a ghost, they'll sense you!"

"Pardon, but do you follow with another proposition?"

"I'll go," breathed Tucker, resting his hands on his knees.

Daniel emitted a short laugh. "You're too weak, don't bother. I'll be there and back in no time."

"You shouldn't!" said Samantha. "They're looking for you, don't you understand? We won't be able to get away this time."

Daniel considered this, still walking, and then said to them, "All right. Tucker may go. It seems I died with a pocket full. He may have some of my gold."

"Really?" said Tucker, excited. He hadn't actually had his hands on any gold pieces for a while.

Daniel sneered as they finally approached the trees. "Really," he said.

Tucker took the money earnestly, shoving the coins in his practically empty purse and taking his hat off to vent out some of the sweat.

"Samantha, make sure he doesn't venture into town," said Tucker sternly to his friend before departing.

She smiled at him and nodded. Daniel's eye twitched. "What are you, my nanny?" he claimed in protest. "If I so wish to venture in to town, then I will!"

"Not on my watch," Samantha mumbled as she leaned against a tree. Daniel turned from her and observed their surroundings as the boy run off toward the village.

"We'll see about that," Daniel said to himself, disgusted at the thought that, even for a mild second, she thought herself better than him.

A poster resided on one of the trees and, dropping his cloak down next to it, Daniel ripped the parchment off. Honestly, what a horrible picture of him. He sat down on the grass and leaned against the tree. Only ten thousand gold pieces? What was he, heir to the cook? Green energy from his hands spread easily through the paper and burned to a crisp, the ashes falling around him.

Samantha walked over to where he was sitting and looked down at what he'd done in peculiarity.

"You hold a grudge against the prince?" she questioned, her tone slightly pleased.

He didn't look up at her, but rested his arms on his knees.

"Don't make simpleton assumptions. I have no such reason."

She scowled and sat down next to him, though making sure to leave as much space as possible between them due to his chilling aura. He felt her glare on him so he sighed and knew he had to explain.

"The fewer people are looking for the prince, the greater a chance he has of not being found, and you finding your reward at the end of the deal," he said, pulling out his sword so that he could begin to sharpen it.

"Of course," said Samantha, though disturbed by his smarminess.

The hour had begun to grow late and Tucker still had not returned. Daniel had finally put away his now sharpened sword and leaned back against the tree, folding his arms behind his head. Samantha had switched from pacing around the location in order to keep herself warm and sitting at the bottom of the hill cuddled against her knees, but he hadn't exchanged a single word with the girl and was rather amazed at her record. Finally shutting his eyes, however, she suddenly spoke up and he silently cursed.

"Are you always this quiet?" she asked, turning her head to him from where she was positioned some way off. She had folded her skirt under her now that even the grass had begun to turn cool.

"Only with peasants," he said, turning his head away from her. "Don't you have anything better to do, Sam?"

She stood up in anger and approached him. "It's Samantha to you, Sir Daniel. You know, you may have been a knight, but you are certainly not at all kind and courteous. And are greatly lax at a sense of propriety, if I might add!"

Daniel ignored her and stood up himself, gathering his cloak and draping it around himself once more. She watched him in amusement, wondering what he was doing. Only when he began to descend down the hill in the direction of the village did she protest.

"Where do you think you're going?" she said sternly, walking quickly behind him.

"I believe I lack a sense of propriety and am therefore wondering into the village without your consent."

"You will not -- "

She grabbed his arm to stop him from going any further but immediately released him as he turned to her, offering a deadly glare. She somewhat gasped as he stood his full height and looked her in the eyes.

"I think it is I here that make the decisions seeing that you are the peasant woman and I am the dominant man. Also, a knight. Therefore, I would appreciate it if you did not interfere with my plans."

Samantha's jaw dropped in disbelief of such scorn and was at first unable to reply to his remark. Furiously stomping at the side of his path as he returned to his pace, she finally gathered her words. "Woman? Knight? Now I know you're indeed shallow! I cannot even believe I stood up for you! You, of all, have the least sense!"

"I seem to have more sense than you when you called me your fiancé."

"You have a better suggestion?"

"Sure. Next time, be more realistic. Honestly -- " He stopped briefly and mockingly looked her up and down " -- as if that could ever happen."

He then kept walking, leaving her standing there, flustered.

Once again, however, she had run up to him. It was as if there was nothing he could say would make her give up and leave him alone. He groaned.

"You know what your problem is?" she said maddingly.

"Enlighten me," he responded, attempting to pick up his pace. Maybe he should just turn invisible right now so that she'd stop bothering him. He could almost imagine the dumbfounded look on her face. Unfortunately, he knew he had to save as much spectral energy as possible; knowing the Reader's fortune, he couldn't risk it.

"You just don't trust anybody! You know, I doubt you trust even yourself. That's why you behave so proud and arrogant and...and...crude!"

Grinding his teeth in exasperation and squinting his eyes, he stopped once more and looked her straight in the face.

"One, they all mean the same thing, darling, and two, I highly doubt -- "

A sudden sensation came over him and he witnessed a blue vapor escape his mouth.

"What is -- mmff!"

He had come up behind her and held her hand over her mouth.

"Hush."

Turning the both of them intangible, they phased through the ground and appeared solid once more behind a tree.

Daniel could feel them: four sources of ghostly energy. Their auras. It was more like sensing a presence in the room, only you wouldn't know it was there unless you felt for it.

Meanwhile, Samantha was still muffled by his dead hand over her mouth, and the frustration of not knowing what was going on just made it worse. However, she lost all track of thought as the drop in temperature made her shake and notice her body turning stiff. If he did not let go of her immediately, she would freeze to death. She therefore did the only thing she could think to do and bore her teeth into his lifeless flesh.

"You bit me!" he said in astonishment as he brought his hand away from her mouth and released her from his grasp.

Still shaking fiercely but able to feel her fingers once more, she did not let the discomfort take away from the opportunity to fire away at her curiosity. "W-What's going on? W-Why was your mouth b-blue? Y-You could have k-killed me! Why are you -- ?"

"Don't you ever shut up?"

"N-No!"

"Well please do, you're giving me a headache."

"You're a g-ghost!"

"Nevertheless, shut up."

As she died down, he felt more intently for the specters. They were coming nearer, which meant that he had to get out, or at least have the better advantage. Either they were the four ghosts that Desiree had warned him of or they most certainly did not wonder around without the royal guard in their wake. He considered floating above the scene to figure out what was happening.

"I can't be here," he told Samantha, who still appeared frozen, "I must leave. I'll be back."

Her eyes bulged at his proclamation. "What? No! You can't just leave me here -- ?"

"I can and I will," said Daniel. "Now do me a favor, remain here and don't do anything I wouldn't tell you to do."

She looked in the direction of where they had come from to see what had startled him. "But, Daniel, what are you -- ?" She turned around to see him gone. "Daniel? Urgh, doesn't he ever listen?"

---------------------------

Skulker, Emberlie, Technus and Dorothy materialized in the field.

"He's near," said Skulker, looking around the field. "He was just here a minute ago."

"Then what are we waiting for?" said Emberlie stubbornly.

"Patience is a virtue," said Technus.

"Shut up, old man," she snapped.

"We cannot attack him all at once," said Dorothy.

"The hell we can't? Why not?" said Emberlie.

"Together -- " Dorathy clasped her hands " -- he will simply escape from our grasp as he did from the huntress, but if we each challenge him to a duel -- " she separated her hands " -- we each have to opportunity to fight him and defeat him in honor so that he may return with us."

"But, Dorothy, what if -- ?"

"I shall go alone. And if you were not cowards, you would follow my suit and do as I say unless you want to spend an eternity in the Ghost Abode."

"You're certain this is the only way?"

"Positive. Attacking him all at once will not allow us to use our strengths to make him surrender. He would only fight to his death or vanish from sight."

Skulker first looked at her uncertaintly but then said, "Agreed."

"Be well, then, sweet Dorothy."

"And return with the prince when you succeed."

---------------------------

Daniel enjoyed the peaceful night air as he skimmed the village from far off. He doubted he'd be able to get some quiet again anytime soon. At least not with that girl constantly running her mouth. He had to admit she had a lot of nerve for a mere peasant to speak with him such a way. Reminding himself that he would put her in her right place the next time they met, he suddenly heard a scream. More like a hundred screams that followed. He glanced down and, at first sight, barely believed his eyes.

An enormous azure dragon had descended upon a part of the village and was setting the houses ablaze, wreaking havoc.

"What the -- ?" He squinted so to make sure he wasn't imagining it. Of course, his first test. "A ghost dragon. Ridiculous."

He immediately pulled out his sword and flew at top speed towards the beast. As he grew nearer, however, he realized that he had acted in vain; the dragon was far larger than he had imagined.

"Whoa!" He dodged a blue flame that had suddenly been fired at him. Once he steadied himself he could have sworn he heard the beast speak to him.

"Come with me, Prince Daniel...If you cannot defeat me, you must come with me!"

He winced as he stood before the leviathan. "Right," he said. "Well, this won't be pretty."

He took flight once more, but, almost immediately, the dragon's tail had whipped around and smashed him into the ground.

He picked himself up and slowly opened his eyes to see the dragon's claw descending upon what looked like a man with a very bright red hat.

"Tucker!" He swiped up the dumbfounded boy just as the dragon's foot descended upon the spot where it would have instantly crushed him.

"Thanks, Daniel!" said Tucker, coming to his senses and grinning at the startled ghost.

"Don't move! Stay here!" Daniel ordered as he turned once more to face the creature.

"Okay!" Tucker yelled once Daniel sped to attack. "I'll just stand watch then! Look out of the -- ooh!"

The dragon had now ensnared the prince under its talons and spoke once more as he struggled under its weight. "Now come with me, Prince Daniel. You have lost!"

"Think again!" said Daniel and, phasing through the claw, took the sword and ran it through the beast's leg.

It screamed in agony as the blade swiped it off entirely and a surge of green plasma poured out from all sides of the abstracted claw.

Daniel watched the beast screech in shock. He lifted the stained blade up to his face. How did it do that? He simply meant to give it a cut to annoy it, not cut off the whole thing! Ah well. Just go with it.

As the creature released fire from it's mouth in both agony and defense, Daniel took charge once more and attempted to stab it in the chest, but was sent flying backwards as he made contact with his other claw.

"Well this is getting rather old," he said, propping himself up onto his elbows as the beast's foot descended on him.

Samantha had been running through the village in search of either Daniel or Tucker and, when she saw people running frantically from a certain direction, she knew exactly where to find them.

Arriving at the horrid scene, she witnessed a ghostly dragon stand forty feet high above Daniel, who had fallen onto the ground and upon whom the beast's giant claw was descending.

"Daniel, move!" she yelled and, without thinking, ran to help him up.

He groaned as he saw her run toward him. "Oh great, not you again."

She tugged at his arm and they both became intangible just as the foot descended upon the two.

Daniel picked her up and put her in a similar place as he did Tucker.

"Stay!" he ordered, for that was all he had time for.

Clutching his sword, he sprang up to fly again, but noticed that he had grown weaker. "Dammit!"

The beast roared and unfolded its gigantic wings, taking advantage of his weakness. Daniel clenched his sword tighter and slashed at the monster as it swooped down on him. He did not do much other than scar it's face, however, and watched in horror as the beast now held something in its remaining claw.

He did not need this. He really did not need this.

Samantha was in the monster's tight grip and frozen in fear. Tucker yelled out for her, looking up at the monster as Daniel buried his face in his hand in frustration.

"Why do I get the feeling this only happens in myths?"

"What are you waiting for? Go get her!" yelled Tucker, frantically waving his arms before him.

"Gee, I wonder if I should," Daniel replied sarcastically. He had one shot at this. If he failed, he would lose to the beast.

"What do you mean 'if you should'!" Tucker screamed even louder.

"Quiet!" said Daniel and focused his energy so that he sprang up in the direction of the beast, sword before him in his right hand. He phased through the claw and inferno that tried to block him, lost his intangibility just as he neared the monster's chest, left the sword struck through the dragon's heart, and phased out through the other side.

The beast began to fall and roared for the last time, so fiercely that the ground shook below them.

Daniel fell as well, no longer able to keep himself up, but aimed himself for the dragon and landed on top of it's belly as it rapidly descended to the ground.

He blasted it's left claw with spectral energy from his hand and grabbed the stunned peasant girl from it's clutches. Placing an arm around her shoulders, the two turned intangible once more as the beast crashed into the ground with a numbing thud and groaned.

Samantha and Daniel walked out of the beast and materialized, she shaking and he falling to the ground on all fours and clutching at his side.

"Look!" said an astonished Tucker, who pointed at the dragon and both Samantha and Daniel turned their heads to witness the lizard undergo a metamorphosis. It shrank until it came into the form of a young maiden who had green blood running down her face, a missing arm through which even more blood spat, and finally Daniel's sword, which was pierced through her chest.

Daniel roughly lifted himself and walked up to her slowly.

"Away!" he told Samantha and Tucker, who took several steps toward her as well.

The woman looked at him through her fading dead eyes. She coughed out plasma and then looked up at him.

"At least I k-know I died serving my k-king. F-Forgive me your m...your majesty," she whispered using up the last bit of her remaining strength. "Take courage and r-remove the sword."

He did not understand why, but although Daniel knew that his ghostly state repressed human emotions, he could not help but feel remorse for this woman. He could only hope that she would embrace a better world.

Samantha gasped as Daniel grasped the sword struck through the woman's chest and pulled it out. Immediately, the woman began to fade with evanescence and was gone in seconds together with her chilling aura.

Daniel returned the sword covered in the woman's blood to his side, deciding he would clean it later, and clutched his side once more. It was not that he felt pain, he no longer did so as a ghost, but it was more of as if he had a gaping wound at his side that he needed to cover up for fear of his essence flooding out of him, or an infection flooding in.

"That -- That was no monster. That was a ghost. A woman," said Samantha in a trembling tone. He did not look at her.

"You killed her!"

He couldn't believe she was accusing him of murder when her stupidity beat all odds.

"Why did you disobey me?" he hissed.
"Excuse me? "

"It isn't that hard to understand!" he screamed as he turned to face her with a loathing look on his face. She looked taken aback. "I ask you again, why did you disobey me!"

She said nothing.

He lifted a finger at her in warning. "Don't ever disobey me again!"

She looked at him maddingly and shook saying, "You have no right to speak with me in such a manner."

He turned sharply and yelled, "What is wrong with you? You're a peasant! I am a knight, you must obey my bidding and not retort! How pathetically were you raised?"

She did not stutter, but boldly replied, "I must ask the same question of you, Sir Knight. Were you born in a far off kingdom of hell or do you not realize that a knight is the one to do the bidding?"

"To the king!" Daniel spat viciously. Her gut was a nuisance to him, but his tone did not demean her.

She shook her head in pity at him.

"How I wish I could make you take back your words, Daniel," she replied in sincere disappointment.

He scoffed and whispered, "Pathetic wretch" to himself and turned away from her as he clutched his side once more.

"We must leave the village before the others find what happened -- " Daniel began.

"Others?" said Tucker.

"We leave now!" Daniel roared and began to limp with the clutch at his side. He couldn't understand why he felt damaged. And if this had been his test of courage, it sure as hell didn't seem to prove much; he felt pathetic struggling with the discomfort.

"Hey, are you okay, Daniel?" said Tucker, coming up to him cautiously.

"Fine," Daniel snarled and continued walking with the two in his wake.

"You saved my life, you know. Our lives," said Tucker. "We're deeply grateful."

"She sure doesn't show it," said Daniel. He felt distraught and annoyed by her incompliance. Another side of him recalled, however, the danger he had gotten in them into; if they only knew, they would understand that he was bargaining with their lives from the very beginning. Considering their foolishness, he thought, however, perhaps they deserved to be taught a lesson.

Once they had walked as far as possible from the village, Daniel finally having stopped sensing the auras of the three other ghosts, they unloaded the supplies that Tucker had purchased and set up a fireplace with three tents.

Daniel had sat on a log, still clutching the dull annoyance he had at his side while Tucker cooked food for Samantha and himself.

"You sure you're not hungry?" he offered Daniel.

Daniel scoffed. "Never been more certain."

Tucker nodded and got up. "Well, thanks again. For saving us, I mean. I guess it's kinda neat having a knight around."

Daniel gave him a slight smile.

"Goodnight, Sir Daniel," Tucker told him, giving him a slight bow.

"Goodnight," Daniel replied and watched the boy scramble into his tent.

"I have been thinking," a female voice came from behind him. "And I have decided that you were right; I should not have disobeyed you. And I'm sorry. I'm also sorry for how I reacted."

Samantha walked around and sat next to him on the log.

He grasped his side still more uncomfortably and looked away from her.

"But I also think," she continued, "that you scorned me in your grief when you should have obeyed me as well."

Daniel snapped his head around to face her so fast that he could have sworn he heard something snap. How dare that wretched little --

Before he opened his mouth to spurn her, however, she said, "If you hadn't wondered off into the field toward the village, perhaps that dragon ghost would not have showed up."

He shut his mouth.

"I know it has something to do with you," she said, trying to catch his gaze. "It didn't just show up there for no reason, did it? It was after you. That's why you were so frantic before. You sensed it. But it's not over. Because if it were, you would have made peace and moved on. It's not just the dragon. Maybe it is that you still need to see your sister, but that's not all, is it?"

He sat in silence, knowing he would rather face the beast once more than admit to her that she was mildly correct.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said monotonously. "Of all things, I was not expecting a monster to meet us at that village."

Samantha watched him cautiously. "Maybe not. But you did expect something. You had even spoken of saving your strength for 'perils,' earlier."

At least she wasn't completely dimwitted.

"Once more I must ask you for you point, Samantha," said Daniel cooly and stared into the flames of the fire, the dreary feeling at his side only slightly fading.

"Point being, Danny, that you could always tell me," she said, smiling and tentatively placing her hand on his own and curling her fingers around it.

He didn't remove it immediately but rather watched in amazement as something began to happen to his hand as it did before; it began to change. Change back. To normal.

She must have realized this too as she looked at it strangely and he immediately jerked it from under her own, hiding it under his cloak.

She gave him a questioning and confused look, but he only scowled at her.

"'Danny'? What kind of afoolish diminutive name is that?" he said harshly as she got up.

She paused for a moment, clearly deep in thought at the prospect of what she had just witnessed. Daniel silently cursed himself for not pulling away sooner, but his curiosity had somehow demanded he witness if the gesture would activate his transformation once more.

"A name you give an ally, Sir Daniel. A person you trust," she said as she walked to her tent. The last thing he heard before she was obscured by it were her parting words.

"If you wish, you may call me 'Sam.'"

Well, this time I've got nothing to say other than that my muse has had her first shortcoming, so some encouragement might help. Not that I don't know where I'm going with this story (Do I? - checks notes - Er...heh. Course I do!), but any words of wisdom or a simple review would be made of awesome for me. Thanks!