Responsibility
Though no one outside the castle could ever tell, things inside the Dark Castle had grown uneasy since Pariah Dark discovered his Crown of Fire was in the filthy hands of Vlad Plasmius. Outside of those who were in the room at the time, no one knew precisely why Pariah Dark had a cloud of darkness hanging over his head all of a sudden; he told no one, and instructed anyone in the know to never speak of it.
Danny had almost been afraid to bring it up, but when he had decided to, and began with the ever-so-clever, "Is anything the matter?", he was actually surprised when Pariah Dark looked up from the dinner they were eating together, gave Danny a tight, brave smile, and replied,
"Nothing at all."
Danny really didnt know what to say; Pariah Dark, whose Crown was being held in merciless hostage, being BRAVE for Danny, not wanting to worry him? It was inconceivable, infuriating...
...And absolutely heartwrenching.
Pariah Dark didnt want Danny to know, mostly because Danny knew that if he thought he DID know (and he did), then he would be worried, distrustful of Pariah Dark keeping the Second Term, probably do something stupid, or all three. But right now, two out of three were plaguing Danny's mind day in and day out, and he really couldnt take it. One of Pariah Dark's priceless treasures, his symbol of power, was being kept away from him, and Danny knew that it had to physically and psychologically hurt the Ghost King. He couldnt just NOT do anything about it! He just couldnt!
The tension so palpable you could cut it with a knife continued for a month...a long, tense month of silent suffering...
And one day...Danny just couldnt take it anymore. It had been eating at him day after day, seeing his fiance in so much obvious pain, and feeling the pulse of sorrow from the Ring of Rage on his own hand, and he was tired of sitting by and doing nothing.
Danny knew Pariah Dark though he would do something stupid if he knew...and Pariah Dark was not going to be wrong. Danny knew he was being foolish, going after the Crown of Fire with no backup, without Pariah Dark's say-so or knowledge of the rescue attempt, or even a plan past 'go in, grab Crown, get outta town'. But he didnt care.
Pariah Dark had done so much for Danny so far, and wouldnt have willingly given up his Ring of Rage as the engagement ring if he didnt feel Danny deserved it...and damn it, Danny was going to do right by his fiance and get that damned Crown back!
He got his chance the very next day after he officially decided to rescue the Crown; Pariah Dark told Fright to tell Danny that he was going out for an errand, and would be back that evening. Danny waited until the Ghost King left, then pretended to be ill so Fright would have to train on his own. Then he had to wait for Dora to leave him to sleep, and then he was off.
The hard part was getting past the villa; there were guards posted all around, but Danny managed to weasel his way past them, and then he was out in open Ghost Zone territory.
He was, admittedly, lost for about an hour, wandering around, until he found the familiar landmark of the Ghost Zone Prison in the distance, and then realized where he was, and began flying toward Vlad's portal, hoping and praying that it was still up and functional, and silently cheering when he saw that it was, and unguarded, even. Pariah Dark had explained that with the Mark of Exile on Plasmius, the elder halfa would find it damn near impossible to reenter the ghost world, even with an instant portal; and if Plasmius DID happen to enter the ghost world, his powers would be rendered useless and he would be in a great deal of pain until he was expelled back into the human world.
So all Danny had to do was make sure Vlad didnt catch him in the human world, because his ghost core still hadnt replenished completely since they'd last fought.
He came to a stop in front of the portal, and clenched his hands tightly into fists; the Ring on his left hand seemed to pull slightly like a magnet, and Danny knew that the Crown was close; probably in Vlad's lab. He took a deep breath and let it out before stepping through the portal.
The first thing he did was blink a few times to 'click' on his night vision; the lab was unusually pitch black. When the night vision kicked in, Danny was shocked to see the state of disarray it was in. It looked completely demolished, no doubt from the bitch fit Vlad threw once he was well enough to move again. Not a thing was left unbroken or dented or harmed in some way or the other, and Danny prayed that the Crown was left intact...
Speaking of which, the Ring was gently 'pulling' him toward the back of the lab, where Danny knew Vlad kept research and valuables. Which kind of made sense, considering the Crown of Fire was the symbol of ghost monarchy, but anyway. He stepped lightly over the carelessly-thrown items, making sure he didnt step on any glass or something that would alert Vlad to what he was doing, until he came to the door of the back room. Proverbially crossing his fingers, Danny reached over and tried the door.
It actually swung open, like Vlad hadnt shut it all the way when he last used the room, and Danny stepped inside. The Ring gave an almost violent, insistant pull, and Danny followed it into the room, coming to a stop in front of a shelf, where a box was practically throbbing with power, now that the Ring was in its vicinity. Danny hesitantly reached out and touched the box, feeling a fluttering sensation from both the Ring and no doubt the Crown inside, and picked it up, holding it for a moment before opening the box.
It was...it WAS the Crown of Fire!
This was the first time he'd gotten a good look at it; the Crown itself looked to be extremely old-fashioned and made from wrought iron in a crude but functional form. Small wisps of delicate fire swirled around it; much weaker than what Danny remembered. But he could still feel the power it emitted. It was...intoxicating, thinking of the power the Ring and the Crown had together. His Ring hand slowly inched toward the Crown, almost against it's will...
No.
Danny firmly shut the box and kept his hand over the lid. No. This was Pariah Dark's Crown, not his. It was not meant for him.
He sighed and held the box in his hands for a moment before turning to leave.
"Going somewhere, Daniel?"
Danny's blood and ectoplasm froze in his veins, and he whipped around to see Vlad step out from behind the door, closing it as he glared at Danny with blazing blood red eyes. Accompanying the eyes was a livid glowing X embedded into his forehead for all the world to see. Danny didnt need his night vision to really see that Vlad had definitely seen better days. The multi-billionaire didnt look any better than his demolished lab; his white hair was unkempt and all over the place, he looked like he hadnt changed out of his clothes in a month, and he looked quite a bit thinner. Gone was the handsome face and in its place was a haggard face that looked years above Vlad's actual age.
Danny swallowed hard, but refused to show weakness in front of this sorry excuse of a man. In fact, instead of fear he normally would have shown...he felt anger. Justifiable anger. Vlad deserved what he got, but instead of taking it like a man and accepting his punishment, he had dared to use Pariah Dark's vows against him hold the Crown of Fire hostage! It was unacceptable.
"Yes," he replied, straightening his spine and lifting his chin. "I'm going back home. And I'm taking my fiance's Crown with me."
Vlad's eyes widened fractionally, then narrowed dangerously. "I think not, Daniel," he hissed, transforming into Plasmius; the ghost form didnt look any better than the human form. In fact, Plasmius looked...deader, if it was at all possible. "That Crown belongs to ME now, and I - "
"THE CROWN OF FIRE BELONGS TO PARIAH DARK, KING OF THE GHOST WORLD!" Danny interrupted, his own aura flaring ice blue with rage; his eyes flashed blue and his hair began to flicker as his temper began to rise dangerously. "How DARE you even TOUCH it! How DARE you keep it from your King?" Danny quickly dodged a sharp blast of ecto-energy from Vlad.
"HE IS NOT MY KING!" the elder halfa screamed with rage, powering up another blast in his hand and pointing sharply at his forehead with his other. "DO YOU SEE WHAT HE HAS DONE TO ME, YOU LITTLE BASTARD? He's BRANDED me! I cant even face my HUMAN associates, because it WONT GO AWAY! That FOOL has RUINED ME!"
"DONT CALL PARIAH A FOOL!" Danny kept the box securely tucked in his arms as he concentrated ecto-energy out of his eyes at Vlad, and dodging the blast the older halfa hurled at him. "Dont you FUCKING dare!"
"Such language Daniel," Vlad taunted, snarling at the younger halfa. "Do you kiss Pariah with that mouth?" He raised a shield when Danny lobbed a short icicle spear at him, making the ice shatter.
"Fuck you, Vlad!" Danny shot back, fighting to stay in focus of the fight. Vlad retaliated with a dark pink ecto-energy whip, cracking it at the younger halfa.
"Oh, I dont think it's ME you've been 'fucking', Daniel!" Vlad retorted, his face contorting into a sick, insane grin. "Tell me, is one of the reasons why the Ghost King didnt accept ME as a consort be because he prefers young boys?"
"SHUT UP!" Danny screamed, blocking the whip with a shield of his own. His whole body was shaking from both rage and panic; Vlad had done this before. The older halfa had found out about Danny's near-phobia of physical contact (which included any form of sexual contact) about a year ago, and usually won the fights by picking fun at Danny with it. But NOW he was cutting Danny right down to the core, and KNEW it. "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP! HE'S NOT LIKE THAT!"
"Oh, come now, Daniel!" Vlad laughed, cracking the whip again and this time catching Danny in the shoulder with it. Danny yelped in pain, but refused to drop the precious Crown in the box. "Dont be so modest! After all, no MARRIAGE is valid without consummation!"
"SHUT UP!" Danny screamed again, his ice armor starting to spread up his arms, his hair in a full firey frenzy. His panic was starting to produce tears now that froze halfway down his face. "PARIAH ISNT LIKE THAT!" He fought to keep from hyperventilating. "...He's not like that..."
Vlad growled and dissipated the whip, vying instead to punch the younger halfa in the face. "You're pathetic, Daniel," he hissed, jerking the box out of Danny's shaking hands, standing pitilessly over the panicking boy. "What good is a consort that cant even give a King pleasure? NOTHING!" To add injury to insult, he kicked the younger halfa in the stomach and turned away with the Crown. "Now, what to do with you?" he pondered to himself, pacing around the room and shooting Danny with ecto-shots every time the younger halfa tried to get up. "I definitely have places to keep you..." He grinned evilly. "I have both Pariah Dark's Crown AND consort...this is just too sweet..."
As Vlad debated with himself, Danny remained on the floor, fighting like mad to keep from outright crying. Vlad was right...he had the Crown and Danny in his disgusting clutches, and he was too damned WEAK to even overcome Vlad's cheap shots at his fears.
He was jerked out of his thoughts when Vlad grabbed his left wrist and jerked him right off of the floor, glaring at him. "Did you HEAR me, Daniel?" he snapped, jostling Danny's arm roughly. "I had ASKED you what you planned to do now." Danny only kept his head lowered, not wanting to give Vlad the satisfaction of seeing him in so much pain. Vlad growled and shook him hard again. "ANSWER M - !"
Vlad cut off when something on Danny's left ring finger caught his eye. He took a closer look at it and nearly dropped the box containing the Crown when he saw the Ring of Rage on Danny's finger. "...The Ring of Rage..." he stated, his voice not even above a whisper. Danny froze; shit, shit, shit, how could he have forgotten...! If Vlad managed to get the Ring, then all Hell would break loose!
"PARIAH DARK GAVE YOU THE RING OF RAGE?" Vlad shouted, tossing Danny against the wall. "YOU, Daniel?" Danny kept himself upright, his defiance coming back full bloom.
"Yes, ME, Vlad," he snarled, clenching his left fist tightly. "Pariah gave me this Ring when he proposed to me in front of everyone on Christmas Day. It's a symbol of how much he cares for me." He paused when Vlad let out a bark of laughter.
"CARES for you, Daniel?" Vlad quipped, shaking his head. "That's quite a good one, boy, pull the other o - " He was cut off when Danny lurched forward and punched him in the face and pinned him up against the wall.
"He CARES about me!" Danny shouted to get his point across, mainly to himself. "He's TOLD me he cares about me! He's SHOWN that he cares about me!" He jerked Vlad forward and slammed him back into the wall again. "And I care about HIM! And I wont let you hurt him anymore by leaving HIS Crown in your filthy hands!"
That said, he threw Vlad into an opposite wall, grabbed the box, and darted for the portal; if he could JUST get to the other side...!
A blast from Vlad beat him to the portal, and the whole thing blew up. Danny barely had time to raise a shield to keep from being pierced with flying debris, and swore in a language he'd heard Pariah Dark use. How the HELL was he supposed to get back to the Ghost Zone n...DUH, Phantom! HE COULD CREATE PORTALS!
Danny flew into the crater where the portal used to be, and focused what remained of his ghostly core before shooting his hand out, the accumulated energy swirling around his arm before forming the portal. Exhausted and feeling the pressure in his core ready to break and turn him back to human form, Danny jumped in the portal, and shrieked when he felt Vlad tackled right into him before it closed.
Danny was back in the Ghost Zone, but now Vlad was in there too. The older halfa cried out in pain as a ripping agony tore through his head from the Mark of Exile, but he fought through the pain and focused instead on his rage; more specifically, the rage toward that little bastard who had BOTH of the Ghost King's artifacts!
Vlad snarled and dove at Danny again, wrapping both hands around the younger halfa's neck. "...You...little...King's...whore...!" he managed to grit out between his teeth, his thoughts dulled by the pain and fury he felt. "...You think...you can just...take those from me...think...again...!"
Danny gasped for breath, scratching at Vlad's arms, his ghost core too exhausted to fight back more, and then it failed, and his transformation rings sprung forth, turning him human again. The pain Vlad was inflicting on him intensified three-fold, and he began wasting precious breath on cries of pain. He was close to passing out when Vlad was suddenly jerked off of him and tossed away.
He sat up, coughing and gasping for breath, and looked up to see Skulker hovering midair between Danny and Vlad. Quickly remembering the Crown which had fallen out of the box during the struggle, Danny quickly snatched it up and held it against his chest.
Vlad, dizzy and nauseous from pain, glared at Skulker, growling. "What do you think you're DOING, Skulker?" he demanded. "Get out of my way!"
"No!" Skulker shot back, glaring right back. "I WONT stand by and let you ruin the best thing that could happen to our world because you're STUPID and JEALOUS! NOT happening, Plasmius!" He glanced behind him. "Can you transform, kid?"
Danny swallowed hard and tried, but only managed to make a flicker of transformation ring. "...No," he replied, reaching up to massage his bruised throat. Skulker nodded and turned back to Vlad.
"I'll take you home after I get rid of him," he replied. "...Where'd the portal go?"
Dannys snorted. "The fruitloop destroyed it," he replied.
"YOU LITTLE BRAT HOW DARE - !" Vlad's angry retort was cut off when Skulker shot him with a binding ectoplasmic net that shocked him and made him turn human again. Skulker glared at the older halfa before turning to Danny.
"That'll hold him until those guards get back," he said, holding his hand out to Danny. "C'mon, I'll take you home."
Danny glanced at Skulker's hand for a moment before lifting his eyes to the mech's face. "...Why are you helping me?" he couldnt help but ask. "...I mean...I thought..."
"Who do you think told the Ghost King who had his Crown?" Skulker replied, helping Danny stay up. "Not gonna lie, kid...Plasmius used to be my friend...but if he's going to ruin this world's chance at peace now that Pariah Dark is free...I cut all ties with him, and turn my allegiance to you."
Danny blinked, shocked, really, before giving his one-time enemy a smile. "...Thanks, Skulker," he said, letting the mech help him toward the Dark Realm. "...And I meant it when I told Pariah you'd be great on the Royal Guard..."
Skulker snorted, but didnt deign to answer as he took Danny as far as the villa, and glanced down at the stats unit on his arm. "If you're okay to make it the rest of the way, I need to go get that net back," he said. "The guards've taken care of Plasmius."
"I am," Danny replied, nodding to Skulker. "...Thanks. I mean it...thanks." With that, he turned and began running through the villa and up to the courtyard, the Crown of Fire's wispy flames growing stronger and stronger the closer he got to the Dark Castle.
*whew* Sorry for the delay, but I hope this makes it worth it!