Shadow Rose

Chapter Five

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(Danny Fenton's Narrative)

I have been asked by the others to fill in this part of the story, I only agreed because Rose is out cold; still, and it's my fault. Sam has just informed me that the second time she passed out wasn't my fault, it was probably exhaustion. I think that's the first nice thing she ever… ow, she just hit me over the head. But aside from that; we had a problem. Some sort of humanoid ghost girl was perched on the window, I'd never seen it before, Valerie and Sam had never seen it before, Tuck was a distinct liability and Rose was out cold on the floor.

The ghostly arrival had somehow escaped detection until she was right on top of us, figuratively speaking. Her eyes were glowing green in the darkness and she was looking at me, and only me. "I'm looking for Danny Phantom; I'm assuming that you are he."

"Yes," I stood, "What do you want." She stepped into the light, "Dani?" I gaped in disbelief and hugged her.

"I bring a message," she said when I had let go of her, "It's Vlad." I felt like rolling my eyes, I groaned instead.

"What does he want?"

She looked mildly surprised that I didn't know, "The usual, world domination, you as his protégé, Mom as his wife, you know, the usual."

"Where did you learn a word like protégé?" Sam asked curiously, she was strangely comfortable with Dani, although working with Rose for a month is probably stranger. Dani waved the question aside.

"This time it's big, and when I say big I mean bigger than big. His plan has something to do with the Brethren Council who imprisoned Pariah Dark."

All of us blanked, we had no idea what she was talking about. "Pariah had to get in there somehow," she pointed out, "And the council who did it were called the Brethren, there was a huge list of names but most of them died out, there is only one left, one of the only two females that were on the council."

"Discrimination," Sam muttered audibly and Danny went on.

"Her name is Verity, that's all I know."

"You're wrong," said a weak voice from the floor "Three are still alive." Tucker and I pulled Rose onto a chair.

"The one called 'Verity' was the first to die, Verity Masters, her name was."

"Hold on, Masters?" I looked over at Dani who had her mouth open "Any relation to Vlad Masters," Rose coughed and nodded.

"His grandmother, but she was long dead by the time Pariah was put away, most of them were. The three that are alive are the only ones that were ever alive; Jonathan, a dragon Hybrid and Felicia, an immortal."

"And the third?" I pressed, but Rose coughed again and did not answer. Instead she shakily made her way into the bedroom and lay down on the bed with her eyes closed; I was amazed that one small wail could cause so much damage.

"Why would he need one of these?" Valerie asked, "I mean, what would he want with an immortal for example?"

"Immortality," Dani said, gazing at the other occupants of the room for the first time "With immortality he can conquer anything. It is said that there is a woman who haunts the underworld, mourning for her lost lover who is dead, and who she cannot follow. I've met her, once, the legend is half true, she controls the underworld and wanders it but her lover is alive. I didn't know she was one of the Brethren."

"The things you discover," I grinned at her and she grinned back

"Sorry to interrupt the 'grin fest' but if what this guy wants is 'the usual', how many times has he tried before?" Sam said dryly.

--- --- ---

We headed over to my place as ourselves; Dani was invisible and kept pulling pranks on Tucker, I think her most recent one was pulling his pants down… original. Tucker gave a yelp as he fell down my front stairs backwards. He then began hitting himself on the head, Sam and Valerie gave him strange looks until I pulled Dani out. She pouted at me and slipped through the steps. We met her in the, thankfully deserted, lab.

I pulled up a file on Vlad Plasmius on an overhead and began a sort of lecture. "The Wisconsin ghost is probably the most malicious of ghosts not including the famed Pariah Dark. He has appeared over time and has done such infamous deed as… kidnapping the mayor of Amity Park? What the…"

"Danny!" Of course, mom, I quickly shut down the computer terminal and grabbed the Boo-merang.

"And that's how we find ghosts… oh hey Mom."

"Danny? I never knew you were interested in ghosts!" more than you imagine I thought dryly and quickly bounded up the stairs.

"We were just looking," I said quickly, hoping the others would follow my example, literally… they did, we left.

--- --- ---

I led the others through the Central Park as a detour, along the way we lost Dani to Klemper, she was starting to bug me anyway. We were halfway through when we were ambushed by a pink bubble; Sam started laughing until Vlad appeared. "Pink? Your ecto-power is pink?" She burst into laughter again, and she was the only one, not surprising, even Val had heard of Plasmius.

"I have a message for Daniel Phantom," Plasmius said, inspecting his fingernails and Sam sobered instantly. She also stepped protectively in front of me, odd, I suppose it's just reflex.

"what do you want," she nearly growled, she was scowling anyway.

"Daniel, I believe you've been in contact with a Rose Anderson," I looked around to make sure no one was watching and transformed, floating through a shocked Sam.

"And your point is?" Hooray for Rose's witty comments!

"Miss Anderson is a very dangerous being, not only dangerous but unstable, it would be unwise to continue an association with her."

"The only unstable one around here is you," Valerie spat, looking like she hated Plasmius more than she hated Paulina.

Plasmius began to laugh "Temper Miss Grey, we wouldn't want you to injure yourself." Valerie looked ready to kill him but a burgundy blast from a nearby tree sent him flying. The Shadow Rose dropped to the ground.

"I'm not too keen on being called unstable," she called, aiming a small hand pistol at him, but he was unnerved and pulled a small vial from under his jacket, an emotion flickered through Rose's eyes that I hadn't seen before, it was only later that I realised that it was fear. With one final laugh Plasmius vanished.

Rose pulled off her mask and rubbed her head, "Remind me never to use this thing when I have a migraine, its killer on the vibrations." She gave us a weak smile but no one said anything. "Look Val, I'm sorry I didn't tell you! I'm sorry I pretended I was something I'm not, I'm sorry I told Tucker before I told you."

"And Danny?" Val said icily, "And Sam? What about them?"

"Sam's know for over a month," Rose said wearily, "She and I have been working together. Danny's finding out was a complete accident, although I had to jog his memory to prove that it was me." Val glared at her for a moment and walked away.

Rose sighed, "It's useless saying I'm sorry isn't it?" Tucker nodded and Sam cautiously walked up to her.

"Why did that ghost say you were unstable?" Rose's mood changed from weary to wary in a moment.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Rose…"

"No Danny, not now, and most likely not ever."

Sam and I escorted Rose back to her flat where she immediately disappeared into her bedroom, we heard her lock the door but Sam soon unpicked it with a hair pin Rose had conveniently left lying around. "We're going to talk Rose, now." Rose scowled and tried to slam the door but Sam put her foot in the way.

"I don't know why I bother," she said grumpily, "Danny would just phase through the door anyway." I grinned sheepishly as she struck a match and lit the candles that were gathered at the centre of her small round table. Sam turned off the light, I turned it back on, she turned it back off and smashed the switchboard.

"Rose is extremely sensitive to light," she hissed at me.

"Artificial light," Rose corrected, hearing our hushed conversation even though it was well… hushed.

"I may as well tell you who I am, it'll take a while though," she sighed, looking more beautiful than ever. "I am an incredibly intelligent human with killer looks and superpowers." Way to be humble Rose, I thought dryly as she continued.

"I didn't want any of this to happen, I hate my life, I hate myself. I hate the fact that I am stronger than everyone else, I hate the fact that I am more powerful than everyone else. I hate the fact that when I was little more than eight years old I was turned into a monster.

"I was designed as a weapon, to be controlled, but the Masters plans caved, they enhanced my intelligence and I broke free of their hold. For the next seven years I wandered, as a child. On my fifteenth birthday the drugs entered my bloodstream and I stopped aging. I've looked this way for over two hundred years." Rose began to cry. "I have watched those I love wither away, I killed my own brother-to spare him the pain of destroying innocents and knowing that he did it against his will. I even fell in love once." Her eyes became distant and faraway.

"He loved me back, and he ignored who I was, he was willing to spend the rest of his life with me… but the Masters were vengeful and hunted me down, they murdered him right before my eyes.

"I have enhanced senses, perfect hearing, sight; I can feel every grain of wood beneath my fingertips."

"And your gift has ruined you," I said, understanding who she was for the first time. Seeing for the first time that Rose Anderson truly was delicate, however powerful the Shadow Rose was.

"They called me Rose of the Shadows," she said, wiping the back of her hand across her face, "And it is said; that the Shadow will bring the World to it's Knees."

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what does that mean i wonder? sorry for the slight delay in getting this up... i'm woprking on chapter 8 at the moment though and its veru exciting! but i won't let anything slip... it's just something... well four things... well... four things and a lizard... (you can tell I've been watching Doctor Who can't you?)