I honestly cant believe the reviews, guys! Well, I am to please, so here's Chapter 2, dedicated to my buddy The 13th Unlucky Jinx, who needs to get her ass ridden for writing for her story The Seven Stages of a Relationship. Good read, so give it a go, if you dont mind the crack pairing of Technus/Ghost Writer.
CHAPTER 2 - Demonstration
Danny really couldnt help but stare at Pariah Dark; he'd almost forgotten how much power this being radiated...and from the stories he'd heard, Pariah Dark was worse than his own future self; it had taken his future self years to overrun the Ghost Zone. Pariah Dark did it in hours last time, and he was about to do it again.
...And it suddenly hit him that he was FUCKED.
An awkward silence resonated through the throne room for the longest time before Pariah Dark pointed to Danny. "Remove the manticle, my page." The man next to Danny looked up, surprised.
"M...My Liege...?" he quiried. Pariah Dark glared at him, and he flinched, reaching over to unlock the manticle.
"I wish to speak to the boy's ghost form, not his inferior human form," Pariah Dark said. He turned his glare to Danny. "You will not attempt to flee or attack, or I will strike you down before you make the first move. Am I clear?"
Thinking more or less along the same general line, Danny nodded, then transformed.
Over the past three years, Danny - mostly from secondhand observation from his friends - had noticed that his ghost form changed as he grew older. Not only did he gain more muscle from ghost fighting and personal training, but he had also changed his suit. He abandoned the HAZMAT style, and opted for something he and his friends had created that not only repelled minor ectoplasmic blasts, but allowed for more flexibility for Danny. He had retained the base black color, but this time made it pure black, with no white collar, boots, or gloves. The only color was the trademark white DP in the center of his chest.
As for his own looks, he had been growing his hair out, and it now brushed his shoulders. When he transformed, an invisible wind seemed to brush it gently, creating a wispy flame-like effect. His eyes kept the same radioactive green irises, but now the whites of his eyes glowed a softer, lighter shade of green as well. It was so unlike his evil alternate future self's look; opposite really. Instead of looking overtly masculine, his overall appearance appeared almost effeminate, "Like a Moon Elf from Midevel Magecraft', Tucker had said once. Danny had grudgingly accepted that fact as truth.
After transforming, he dared to look up at Pariah Dark and was surprised to see a contemplative expression on the Ghost King's face. Pariah Dark raised a hand and curled a finger in summon. "Step forward," he commanded. Danny swallowed hard and took a tentative but striding step forward. He felt the intense one-eyed gaze of the Ghost King over his form for a couple of moments before Pariah Dark stood up. "Follow me."
Becoming more and more confused by the moment, Danny obliged, sensing the King's page flanking him as a precaution. They took the back door out of the throne room and kept walking until they came to an enormous room that Danny figured was once a grand ball room, or perhaps a mead hall like he had read about in history class. Pariah Dark came to a stop in the middle of the room and turned to face Danny.
"How powerful are you, boy?" he asked. Danny blinked and looked at the Ghost King in confusion.
"I...I have no idea," he answered truthfully. He knew that he was powerful, and that he was discovering new powers all the time, but he hadnt really taken the time to test out the full extent of his powers. This answer didnt please Pariah Dark.
"What is your element?" he demanded. Danny was feeling a sense of foreboding.
"...Ice," he replied, holding up his hand and creating a large ice crystal, one that would never melt as though it were a jewel instead of unmeltable ice. Pariah Dark now looked intrigued.
"It is rare for a ghost - or a half-breed - outside of the Far Frozen to have the power of ice," he commented. "What can you do with it?"
Wondering where Pariah Dark was going with this, Danny fought down his nervousness to answer. "Ecto-ice blasts...I can create weapons of ice...create small flurries in enclosed spaces like buildings..." He swallowed hard again when Pariah Dark narrowed his eyes. "...And when combined with my Ghostly Wail..."
"Your what?" Danny cringed at the interruption.
"Ghostly Wail," he repeated. "It's...my strongest attack...my vocal cords amplify ecto-energy in the form of a supersonic scream that can level almost anything..." He paused, waiting for feedback. He got none. "...An...anyway...if I combine my ice powers with my Ghostly Wail...I can create a blizzard that can cause a deadly freezing effect, even on ghosts..."
Pariah Dark nodded curtly, looking quite interested. "So you've become more powerful since we've last met," he said. It wasnt a question. Danny nodded. "Attack me."
Danny started. "I'm sorry, what?" he asked, startled. Pariah Dark growled, emitting the same malicious aura Danny had felt from his nightmares.
"Did I stutter, boy?" Pariah Dark snapped, making Danny flinch slightly. "Attack me! Use all your power! Any less, and I will know!"
Danny just stared at the Ghost King for a moment; just attack him? He wasnt used to initiating attacks, and he had no idea of what exactly to do. And furthermore, just what the hell was going on, exactly?
He was jerked out of his thoughts when Pariah Dark fired a searing, white-hot ball of dark red ectoplasm at him, making him reflexively jump out of the way and go on the offensive.
As filmed by Tucker for research purposes, when Danny was in 'battle mode', everyone knew it. His hair would glow softly and become slightly more flame-like, his eyeteeth seemed to sharpen, and his eyes changed to an irindescent ice blue, making him almost unrecognizable, if not for the suit.
Danny fired up a ball of ice-laiden ecto-energy and tossed it at Pariah Dark, who knocked it away as if it were an annoying fly, and retaliated by creating another fire-ball in his hand and slashing his arm in an arc, the energy turning into a fire whip that slashed at Danny.
Summoning up a shield on pure reflex, Danny blocked the whip from hitting him, and clenched his hand loosely, creating an ice spear that glowed blue with ecto-energy, and lobbed it at the Ghost King. Pariah Dark summoned a shield of his own, a flaming, dark red circle reminescent of battle shields that melted the spear just inches from its surface. Without a moment's hesitation, Pariah Dark cracked the fire whip again, aiming to break down Danny's shield.
Seeing that the Ghost King's own ecto-energy attacks easily outclassed his own, Danny nevertheless held his shield as long as he absolutely could and held his ground as he inhaled deeply, then disappated his shield as Pariah Dark drew the whip back for another crack, and let his Ghostly Wail loose.
Pariah Dark actually disappated his ecto-weapons to cover his ears, but managed to stay upright on the floor; the boy was right, he thought. An attack of THAT magnitude COULD level an army, and then some. Not to mention, combined with that rare ice power, a magnified blizzard could permanantly freeze most anything.
He became aware that his castle was shaking from the force of the Wail, and decided to cut the boy off before the castle came crashing down around thier ears. Grounding himself, he trained his own voice for a power of his own voice, a power he had coined long ago as 'The King's Command'.
"ENOUGH!"
The Ghostly Wail was cut short as though someone had instantly turned off the flow of power. Danny's vocal cords shut right off against his will, and Danny clutched his throat in pain. Pariah Dark took that moment to compose himself, absently looking over to see his former Knight crashed out on the floor, reeling from the shock of the attack, even though he wasnt in the direct path of it. Fascinating.
Danny coughed a few times to loosen his throat and looked up at Pariah Dark. "What - *cough* - was THAT?" he asked, his voice a little raspy. Pariah Dark chose to ignore the boy's impertenance for now.
"'The King's Command'," he replied. "Should the need arise, whoever I use that power on has little to no choice to obey. Only the strongest of will can overcome it." He stepped forward. "You ARE more powerful than I had expected...and that power...'Ghostly Wail', you called it?...it has the power to level armies and bring the lesser-powerful to their knees."
Danny didnt know if a 'thanks' was appropriate, so he just nodded.
"Your other powers, though poorly-trained, are also impressive," Pariah Dark continued, ignoring the insulted look Danny gave him. "With proper training, they could be monumental."
"...I get by," Danny replied, coughing a few times more. He yelped with shock when Pariah Dark was in front of him and holding him about five feet off the ground by the front of his suit (which, in retrospect, wasnt that hard to do, considering Pariah Dark fell just shy of twelve feet tall to begin with).
"'Getting by' is for weaklings and low-lifes," Pariah Dark growled, making Danny regret even saying anything. "And though I had my doubts before, I am now convinced that you are no weakling, and certainly not a low-life. Despite being only a half-breed, you have potential that I would be a fool to let slip through my grasp."
Danny gaped at the Ghost King, not really getting where Pariah Dark was getting at. "What?" was the overall sum-up his brain could process at the moment.
"I'm SAYING, boy, that you have potential, and I am not letting power like that go to waste in the human world." He let go of Danny, who barely managed to keep his footing and not fall on his ass like an idiot. "With proper training, you will make a fine consort to me."
Danny froze solid, trying to process what Pariah Dark had just said. "...you...you're what now...?" he stammered out, praying to whatever god looked over this world he had heard wrong.
"My consort, boy!" Pariah Dark growled. "My partner in the Ghost Kingdom! My bride! How many ways must I say it until you understand?"
Danny felt an odd twitch appear over his right eye. "...Your...bride...?" he asked, feeling the onset of a panic attack rise in his gut. "But...but I'm a BOY!"
"Do not insult my intelligence by stating the obvious!" Pariah Dark barked back. "I can plainly see that you are a male."
"B-but...!" Danny stuttered, the twitch increasing triplefold. "...I...you...YOU'RE a male!" Pariah Dark's growl made him reiterate. "...I cant be your...your BRIDE if I'M a guy and YOU'RE a guy - !"
"Says who?" Pariah Dark demanded. "Back in my day - both living and afterlife - male consorts were common among kings. Female consorts were primarily for peace treaties, kingdom expansion, and heirs. What in the name of Tartarus are they TEACHING children in today's time?"
"But...but...!" Danny was grasping at straws by this point, not even believing what he was hearing. "...You want to keep me here as your WHORE?"
In a split second, Danny found himself slammed into the wall and pinned there, being glared at.
"FOOL BOY!" Pariah Dark shouted. "A consort is NO such thing! I am not looking for a whore, idot child! A male consort is the equivilant of a PRINCE! I give you an honor, and you throw it back into my face? Such INSOLENCE will NOT be tolerated!" He tossed Danny away from him and near the now-revived page. "Put the manticle back on him, then throw him into the dungeon."
"Yes, My Liege," Fright said right away, slapping the manticle back onto Danny's wrist, forcing Danny back into human form. "Let's go, boy." He pulled Danny roughly by the arm out of the hall and down into the depths of the castle, stopping at the first cell and pushing Danny in. "Foolish boy," he muttered, locking the cell and turning to vacate the dungeon, leaving Danny to stand dumbfounded in the cell, wondering what the hell just happened.
Le gasp! Whatever will become of Danny now?