A/N: Here we go!
Review Reply to Gamergirl: Seriously. And Danny's trying!
…
Chapter Ten: The Plan
Sam and Tucker piloted the Specter Speeder through the Ghost Zone, using one of the many maps they made with Danny to navigate to Clockwork's Tower. In the back, Luke and Eric discussed the Venrin.
"So, any idea as to why there was a map to this… Clockwork's Tower?" Eric asked Luke.
"Well, I don't know who Clockwork is, other then a very powerful ghost, but apparently, he attacked the Lord's stronghold and freed the Halflings. In the process, he killed the Lord's body before he could pass on his spirit, hid his body and the Human Band, and took over his stronghold," Luke explained, cupping his chin. Eric looked thoughtful.
"I assume this directly led to the downfall of the Venrin. Without their lord or slaves, their culture fell apart," Eric mused.
"Exactly."
"Luke, my boy, how do we defeat the Lord and rescue Danny?"Layton asked, looking over at the young archeologist. Everyone in the Speeder fell quiet, waiting for the answer. Luke stayed quiet for a few minutes, his eyes closed as he gathered his thoughts.
"One wall in the Burial Chamber spoke of a large artifact called 'The Halfling Stone.' I believe if we destroy it, it'll make it possible to remove the bands. After all, according to the ruins, Clockwork partially destroyed the stone in the first place to free the Halflings the first time," he finally explained.
"Then we must split into two groups. One to distract The Lord, and one to destroy the stone," the professor said.
"Well, we better pick those groups now, 'cause we're here," Sam said, slowing the Speeder to a halt.
…
Layton, Tucker, Pearl, and Flora winded up making up the group that went to destroy The Halfling Stone. They moved as quickly as they could through the labyrinth of corridors that made up the tower, searching for the stone.
"Professor? Do you think this will actually work?" Flora asked, looking over at her guardian.
"I believe it will," he said, adjusting his hat. "I trust Luke's intuition."
"Luke would have loved to hear that," Pearl said with a smile, thinking of all the times Luke had talked about the 'famous Professor Layton's intuition.' The Professor simply smiled at that.
Just them, Pearl's Magatama flashed, at the same time as Tucker's PDF beeped.
"What is that?" Flora asked, her eyes wide as she looked between the two. Tucker frowned at his PDF.
"Ghosts. Lots of them, coming straight at us," he explained. Pearl took a deep breath, focusing her Spiritual magic, while Tucker prepared an Ectogun. Flora bit her lip, not having a weapon, while the Professor looked around.
His eyes fell onto a sword hanging on the wall. Grasping it, he found it surprisingly light and balanced. A tingle ran up his arm, and at closer look, he realized the sword was glowing green, much like Pearl's Magatama.
Just then, a hoard of ghosts surged around the corner and straight towards the group.
…
Luke, Eric, Sam, and Alfendi quickly made their way through the tower to the basement, part of the distraction group. When they reached the basement, Luke threw open the door, and the group froze.
The Lord stood in the middle of the chalk circle, chanting, his voice echoing through the room. Each marking on the floor glowed with a blinding, gold light.
"Is that… what I think it is…?" Eric asked is a small voice.
"A resurrection ritual… he's trying to resurrect his followers, the other Venrin… we have to stop him!" Luke yelled. Sam ran forward, jumping over the glowing marks, and grabbing The Lord's shoulders.
"Danny, you have to snap out of it, please!" she cried, giving him a shake. The Lord barely glanced at the girl and brushed her off.
Alfendi scowled.
"Stupid girl. That's not going to work!" he snapped, darting forward and tackling the Lord. The two went sprawling, and the glowing ruins dimmed. In anger, the lord kicked Alfendi off, sending him rolling. The Lord then jumped to his feet, glaring at the group.
"You will regret this," he growled, his hands glowing a mixture of green and gold. He dove towards the group.
Sam, the only one trained with the ghost hunting technology, sighed. The thought of fighting her boyfriend did not appeal to her, but she knew she had no choice.
"I'm sorry, Danny," she breathed, pulling the quarter staff from her pocket and going toe-to-toe with the possessed halfa.
Sam!? No! I… I don't want to do this!
You are not. I am.
Stop this!
I do not take orders from you.
"What do we do?" Eric asked Luke. Luke cupped his chin, studying the circle on the ground. Alfendi shook his head at how much Luke reminded him of his father.
"You recognize these ruins, right Eric?" Luke asked.
"Yes?"
"We only need to erase one, but we need to find which one." Luke explained, his dark eyes darting between each ruin.
Alfendi and Eric studied the ruins as well, until finally, Luke's eyes lit up.
"There!" he said, rushing forward and quickly erasing one. All of the ruins blinked out.
"No!" The Lord yelled, turning to where Luke was standing up. "NO!" his yell morphed into the Ghostly Wail, aimed directly at Luke. Eric and Alfendi covered their ears in pain, while Sam's eyes widened.
"No!" she cried.
Luke covered his ears in pain, falling to his knees as the sound hit his ear drums. Just before the waves hit him physically, the Magatama around his neck flashed brightly, surrounding him in blue, spiritual magic.
The Lord, realizing the wail to be largely ineffective, poured on the power. In turn, the spiritual magic around Luke grew brighter, until suddenly, there was a blast, throwing both Luke and the Lord backwards.
H-he survived? Good! Danny fought harder against the Lord, who was stunned by both the blast and shock.
"Luke! Are you okay?" Eric called as he and Alfendi ran over to help him up.
"Ugh… yeah…" he mumbled, before feeling stone pieces dropping under his shirt. Eyes widening, he quickly reached into his collar and pulled the Magatama out.
Only a small piece of it remained on the chain. It had shattered. Right after it had saved his life.
"Thank you, Pearl," he breathed, gripping the small piece that remained.
The Lord frowned, putting a hand to his head, seeming to struggle with something. Sam noticed.
"Fight him, Danny! Just like you did Freakshow!" she called, moving closer. The Lord's eyes closed tightly for a moment, before flying open.
They were blue.
"Danny…?" Sam asked.
"I… I did it? I beat him?" he asked, seeming confused. Luke walked over to Sam and Danny, studying the halfa.
Their eyes met, and they came to the same realization at the same time.
"Run!" Danny yelled.
"It's a trap!" Luke shouted at the same time.
In the moment he was in control, Danny let down his guard. The Lord took full example of this, and took control of Danny's body once more, pushing Danny's consciousness down deep into his own subconscious, making it impossible for him to fight back anymore.
His eyes opened once more, glowing an even brighter gold then before.
…
A/N: Well, Pearl's gift saved Luke! He's going to need a new Magatama though…
Danny wont be able to fight anymore, now that he's deep within his own subconscious. Poor Danny (and Sam).
This probably could have gone at the end of the last chapter… but splitting it into two made it less intimidating. The outline section for these last two chapters (originally one) took up an entire page, so… Oh well.
Welp, I can't think of anything else to say! Two more chapters to go! I might finish tomorrow. Or Saturday. One of the two.
Either way, until next time!