Holy crap on a fuck stick, I got a LOT of reviews just for a 300-word prologue? People must really want this story...so who am I to deny them? *downs my coffee* Bring it on.
On a side-note, I was about a fourth of the way through this chapter when the PAGE EFFING EXPIRED! WTF! *sighs* Oh well...
CHAPTER 1 - Awakening
Danny shot up in bed out of a deep sleep, clutching his chest where his heart was beating frantically and skipping a beat or two from the shock. He stared around the room wildly for a few moments before remembering that he was safe in bed at home, and then fell back on his sweat-soaked pillow with a heavy sigh.
It had been a nightmare that had woken him; he had dreamed of sarcophagi and cracks, and oozing from those cracks was pure malice. Malice he could FEEL. Malice he swore he had experienced before.
He glanced over at the clock next to his bed. Close to four-thirty. Only three more hours until he had to get up for school. Damn it. Danny stared holes into the ceiling for what seemed like an hour before sitting up and pulling his sweaty pajama top off and tossing it into the dirty clothes bin and transforming into Phantom. He jumped out the window and took off into the crisp, cool air, sighing with relief as the cool breeze washed his senses clean of the heavy nightmare residue.
As he flew high in the air over his town, Danny's mind refused to get rid of the lingering sense of dread, as though the nightmare was leaving behind a warning for him to heed. The warning of what, he didn't know, but it was disconcerting all the same.
Watching the sun rising over the buildings of Amity Park let Danny know how late it was getting, and he turned back toward home to get ready for school. He took a shower and got dressed, then grabbed his backpack and went downstairs for breakfast, all the while consciously forgetting the warning that nightmare had left him just hours before.
"Bye, Mom! Bye Dad!"
Danny shouted his farewell to his parents as he skipped the steps of Fenton Works and headed down the sidewalk toward school. Halfway en route, he saw Sam and Tucker ahead, and held back a moment before catching up.
He recalled the time he and Sam had gotten together a little less than three years ago; it had started out sweetly enough, but a mere seven months into the relationship had reaped absolutely nothing to hold onto to make it work. So they had ended it mutually, even though Danny thought it had been more in Sam's favor than his own; the reason being that Sam already had someone to fall back on.
That someone turned out to be Tucker.
Not that Danny was really surprised; he saw the way Tucker would look at Sam. And during the last few weeks of their relationship, he could also see the way Sam looked at Tucker. But they were his best of friends, so he gave them his blessing to be together.
Quite honestly, Danny often hated his hero complex that put others' happiness before his own.
Just as Casper High came into view, Danny hurried to catch up to his friends. "Hey, guys!" he said, smiling as genuinely as he could.
"Hey Danny," Tucker replied.
"Hey…." Sam paused and took a closer look at Danny. "…Danny, have you been sleeping okay?"
Danny shifted a little sheepishly. "No," he replied truthfully. "I've…" He ran a hand through his hair. "…I've been having these weird dreams…scary dreams. Really, guys, they're creeping me he hell out."
"What are they about?" Tucker asked, concerned. Danny thought for a moment, racking his memory.
"….They don't really make sense," he said distantly. "…I see things like…cases, or a containment unit or something….and there are cracks in it. And from those cracks…" He shuddered. "Guys, what I feel from it is REAL…like the feeling you get when a ghost that really, really, REALLY hates you stares at you…y'know?"
"Yeah," Tucker said, shuddering. "I know."
Sam only looked worriedly thoughtful. "…Could it be Nocturne?" she asked.
"No, he gets energy from good dreams," Danny said. "Besides, he's on probation from the Observants anyway, and Clockwork warned him to lay off me…" He sighed. "You know, I don't know why this is bothering me so much. It's just a nightmare, right?"
"Right!" Tucker concurred helpfully. "You've just been working too hard. All you need is a good night's sleep, and you'll be back on track!"
Sam remained silent, looking down into space thoughtfully. She was a true believer in 'dreams mean something', and the bad feelings Danny had felt HAD to mean something.
"Sam?"
She raised her head and Tucker nodded his head to Danny. "It's just a dream…right?"
"Yeah…" Sam said uncertainly, though her brow still furrowed in thought. "Sure."
Clockwork surveyed Danny's reaction to the dreams the boy had had, matching it up to the process in which the prisoner of the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep was slowly awakening. Things were moving along as he had foreseen, but the thread he wanted time to follow was still yet to come true. He backtracked the thread to the events that lead to it, and focused on what was to happen next.
He only hoped it would come to pass as planned.
Back in the recesses of the Ghost Zone, the crack in the sarcophagus began to visibly lengthen bit by bit. Tiny shakes vibrated from within the sarcophagus as its prisoner began to get restless; the world of awake was JUST within his grasp. Fiery rage welled within him; he wanted out, and he wanted out NOW!
The crack snapped another inch, making its way down to the lock in the center of the sarcophagus. So close…so close, so close, so close….
…THERE.
Across the Ghost Zone, every ghost, all at once, felt a wave of dread wash over them. Even the newer, more recent ghosts knew that this was something to fear for their afterlives for. The older ghosts, those who had experienced this terror mere years ago, instinctively began to run for the proverbial hills, shouting to each other the news they already knew.
The Ghost King Pariah Dark had returned.
Back on Earth in Amity Park, Danny was in chemistry class and taking his beakers to the sink to clean out when a violent wave of the malice he had felt in his nightmares crashed into him. His body jerked to a Hell-frozen-over halt and the beakers fell out of his hands and crashed to the floor, getting glass everywhere.
"Mister Fenton!" the chemistry teacher barked, stalking over, visibly annoyed. "Be mindful of the glass, and pick your mess up right now!" The rest of the class either snickered with adolescent amusement or ignored the incident and edged around the glass to clean their own equipment and stations.
Danny didn't move, save for his hands, which were shaking violently. The teacher took notice and carefully stepped over the glass to gently shake Danny's shoulder. "Mister Fenton?"
Danny's body convulsed violently, startling his teacher, then he collapsed right on the glass, convulsing a bit more before going completely limp, his skin pale and clammy. His eyes wide open, he could see but not hear when his teacher began yelling for one of the students to call the school nurse and a paramedic, and then his vision went black.
The Fright Knight could feel his Lord and Master's call, and his deep in his black core, could not resist answering the call. Mounting his Night Mare, he rode out towards the forbidden ruins of the Ghost King's castle, carrying with him one of the two powerful artifacts His Liege would want, in return for mercy for turning on him.
….Dear sweet Spirits, he hoped Pariah Dark would show mercy.
He was jerked out of his thoughts when Night Mare stopped suddenly and nervously hoofed at the air beneath her, neighing softly in distress. Fright Knight couldn't blame her; he too could feel the ominous waves of evil pulsing through the atmosphere.
Dismounting and petting Night Mare briefly, Fright Knight set out on his own toward the castle, putting aside his own fear of destruction in favor of being granted mercy from his King. He nervously but with head held high with the rank bestowed upon him walked into the ruins of the castle, which looked much less…ruined, since he'd last been in this area.
The air pulsed dangerously, as though evil itself was breathing in a slow and steady pace, and the further into the castle Fright Knight walked, the stronger the pulses became. Finally, he made it to the closed double-doors that led to the throne room. He took a moment to compose himself before pushing the doors open and stepping inside.
He was immediately slammed into the wall hard enough for it to actually HURT, and took a moment to gather his bearings before looking up into the VERY angry face of Pariah Dark.
His mind gathered a few key details quickly:
1) His Liege had awoken; that in itself was a shock.
2) Pariah Dark was quite obviously VERY enraged at the moment.
3) There was literally a snowball's chance in Hell of him getting out of this with all of his limbs intact.
4) He was totally, as they said in this day and age, screwed.
Pariah Dark snarled down at his formal second-in-command, tightening his hand around the Fright Knight's neck. This vermin…this pissant…this lowly peon had DARED to betray him, and now had the audacity to return and soil the air with his presence! He slammed the Fright Knight into the wall again, creating an indention with the Knight's body.
"You DARE to enter my presence, Fright Knight?" he raged, his hand clenching tighter around the Fright Knight's neck. "After you betray me, and aid my anarchistic subjects in my imprisonment! How DARE you!"
"My…My Liege…!" the Fright Knight choked out, squirming slightly. "I…I wish only….to serve…!" He was cut off by a tighter squeeze around his neck.
"I do not want to hear your meaningless prattle, my former Knight!" Pariah Dark spat, throwing the Fright Knight to the floor like he was something disgusting. "From henceforth, I strip you of your title – "
"My Liege, NO PLEASE - !"
" – for treason!" With that said, he reached down and tore off the Fright's armor from the helmet down, leaving only the flame-like purple cape, which the former Knight clutched at almost desperately. After tearing the armor apart with his bare hands, Pariah Dark, glared down at his disgraced former Knight. "Be grateful I do not slay you where you lie!"
Propriety won over the agony of his rank taken from him, and Fright knelt lower until his head touched the floor. "Th…thank you, M-My Liege…y-you are most m…merciful…!" He fought the urge to expel unbecoming emotions in front of his King, and tried like mad to focus on the reason why he'd come in the first place. "…My King…if…if I may…?"
A warning growl from Pariah Dark made him flinch and fumble around the folds of his underclothes for his peace offering, holding it out with shaking hands. "…F-for you."
His face was still parallel to the floor, so he couldn't see how his King reacted to the gift. After a few moments, he felt Pariah Dark snatch the gift up, and dared to raise his head.
Pariah Dark's remaining eye glowed a much brighter green as he looked at one of his treasures – his Ring of Rage. He slipped it onto his finger and felt a pleasant content emotion from the Ring; it had found its true bearer and was happy to serve its King. Pariah Dark looked down at Fright, who quickly averted his eyes back to the floor.
"What of my Crown of Fire?" he demanded. Fright bit his lip.
"…I have yet to locate it, My Liege," he said, choosing his words carefully. "…But I HAVE been seeking it. For you." A soft growl made him flinch and go silent. He heard His Liege walk away and sit down heavily on his throne.
"I must reclaim my crown," Pariah Dark stated, mostly to himself, though his tone let Fright know that it was his duty to locate it, too, if he valued his afterlife. "As soon as I have it, I shall rebuild my kingdom and take it ALL over."
Fright stayed wisely silent, thinking quickly to himself. Perhaps he could work his way back into his King's good graces, and if he played his cards right, regain his Knighthood. He would start by finding his King's Crown of Fire.
"How long?"
Fright jumped slightly at being addressed and bowed his head again. "Three years, My Liege," he replied.
"Only three?" Pariah Dark said, mostly to himself. "…And what of the boy who sent me back into that Hell?"
"Danny Phantom?" Fright reiterated. "The boy is still alive, my King, just past his seventeenth year. He still resides in the town of Amity Park."
Pariah Dark glared into space for a moment before clenching his hands into the arms of his throne.
"Get him," he growled, shifting his gaze to Fright. "Bring him to me – alive – and I will let you work for me as a page."
Fright winced at the lowly rank he was being sent back to, but it was a start in regaining his title. He bowed once more and edged his way out of the throne room, formulating a plan as he flew out of the castle and back toward Night Mare. He had a halfa to catch.
Danny slowly came to, wincing from the bright light shining down above him. He slowly raised a hand to block it, and was graced with loud voices in his ear.
"He's waking up!"
"Thank goodness!"
"Back up, back up! Percy Jackson and the Olympians, people, give him some air!"
Danny peeked an eye open and looked around. He immediatly saw that he was in his school's nurse's office, lying down on a cot. He made a move to sit up, but was pushed back down gently by the nurse.
"Lie down, Danny," she said kindly. "Your chemistry teacher said you had a mild seizure in his class. Your parents were called, and the hospital is on its way to take you to be examined..."
"What...? No, no hospitals!" Danny said, sitting up only to be pushed down again. "I'm fine, I just...it's never happened before, and - !"
"Mister Fenton, you NEED to be examined!" Mr. Lancer cut in in his no-nonsense tone. "There could be something seriously wrong with you!"
"But - !"
"No buts, Danny," the nurse said, pulling the sheet up to his chest. "Just rest, alright? You'll be okay." She shot Lancer a warning glare that told him to leave, and put a warmed cloth on Danny's forehead. Danny sighed and resigned himself to his fate, and closed his eyes again.
The ambulance arrived just ten minutes later, and Danny was loaded onto it, feeling totally embarrassed that half the school was watching him being carted off to the hospital for having a mild seizure because he had felt -
...holy SHIT.
He shot up, only to be pushed down by the paramedic. "You have to lie down," the paramedic said sternly. Danny struggled against him.
"No, you dont understand!" Danny cried, fighting to sit up. "I HAVE to leave! I HAVE to get to - !"
He was cut off by the ambulance screeching to a jerking halt, and he heard the driver shout about a huge horse in the middle of the street before feeling his ghost sense escape his mouth. Before he could react, and ice-cold hand gripped his shoulder and pulled him right through the wall of the ambulance.
Danny yelped and made a move to transform, but a black bracelet was slapped onto his wrist that prevented it. Danny looked up to see which ghost was attacking him, but the ghost only threw him over his tall shoulder and headed back to his horse and took off into the sky, settling Danny in front of him and pinning him to the horse's neck by a hand on his back; all without a word.
It took Danny all of ten seconds to remember that this horse was Night Mare, the Fright Knight's horse. But this person looked nothing like the Fright Knight. He tried to lift himself up, but the strong hand on his back didnt give an iota. "Who are you?" Danny demanded, still struggling. "What do you want?"
"Silence, Phantom," the man said in a voice that sounded oddly familiar. The pressure on his back increased, and Danny felt nails dig into his skin. "You shall find out in due time."
Seeing how he had no way of transforming and was at the mercy of this guy, Danny resigned himself to holding onto Night Mare for extra security that he wouldnt fall off. He knew that he was going into the Ghost Zone, and his heart began beating erratically. He was nervous; scared, even. He had felt that wave of power and terror before, and he had a very good idea of where this abductor was taking him.
He was taking him to the Ghost King Pariah Dark.
The further into the Ghost Zone they went, the more nervous Danny became. With this bracelet - manticle, was more like it - around his wrist, he had no way of defending himself should Pariah Dark wish to crush him underfoot. He just hoped and prayed that the Ghost King would keep him as a prisoner and give Sam and Tucker time to come rescue him and take the damn bracelet off.
Danny was jerked out of his thoughts when Night Mare landed on the stone ground in front of the castle and the abductor jumped off of her, then grabbed Danny and pushed him forward. "Walk," he said.
"As you command," Danny muttered under his breath, obliging anyway. He fought to not let it show that his legs were shaking and walked forward, feeling his abductor follow barely a step behind him. They walked until they came to the huge double doors that Danny knew Pariah Dark was behind, and damn, was it scaring him.
His abductor put a firm hand on his shoulder to prevent him from going anywhere and opened the doors with his other, giving Danny a moment to look at him.
He was dressed in an old-fashioned black-decked tunic with silver fastenings and a purple cape, which looked a little...juvenile on the man, who stood about six-foot-seven, looked around his mid-thirties, and had a battle-hardened face. His eyes glowed pure green, and lank black hair framed his face. DEFINATELY not someone Danny would want to get into a brawl with.
He non-too-gently nudged Danny into the room, where Danny's heart plummeted upon seeing Pariah Dark seated on the King's throne, looking as malicious and evil as Danny remembered him. Danny was put to a stop and the man next to him bowed down low.
"My Liege," he said, a slight waver to his tone, "I have brought you the half-breed, Danny Phantom."
Happy yet?