Phantom: Hey everyone. So if you recall, I left you all at a crucial part in the story.
Trainer: Yeah, Vlad was being electrocuted! Who did it? Well, let us tell you.
Both: One. Two. THREE!
*both get blasted to the other side of the room by a green ecto-blast*
Phantom: *Poking head out of the rubble* WHO DID THAT?!
Trainer: *Pops up too* WHEN I FIND OUT WHO IT WAS, I'M GONNA –
Dan: You're gonna what?
Both: *gulp* uh, hey Dan. What are you doing here?
Dan: I wanted to say what was happening and since I'm not really in this story right now, I thought I could have some fun here.
Phantom: Yeah! Dan fun today… wait, we're not going to kill anyone… right?
Dan: Unfortunately, no. We aren't. But that doesn't mean we can't mess with people.
Trainer: *smiles* This pleases me.
Dan: As the girls were saying, the one who shocked the fruitloop was himself. What a fruitloop… am I really half him?
Phantom: I really don't see any fruitloop in you. Or cheesehead for that matter.
Trainer: Can we get on with it? I'm literally hopping from foot to foot here.
Phantom: That's because your shoes are on fire…
Trainer: GAHHH! DAN!
Dan: Hey, I said I was going to mess with people.
Both: BUT NOT US!
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom and some ideas are owned by Pearl84 and Truephan, but the plot is mine!
Chapter 17: Shadow of a Doubt
Phantom: A quick recap as to what's happened so far for those of you having trouble following my thoughts. =^w^=
Alright everyone; here's the shortened version! Skulker was sent on a mission by some Ghost Zone residents to find these missing books. Vlad finds out and decides that he's going to 'help' as long as he gets something in return – preferably one of the books.
Meanwhile, Danny and his friends keep getting into trouble, this time with a new ghost by the name of Koŝmaro Magiisto. The arrival of the new ghost brings new problems, new powers and more mysteries.
Danny gets capture by the Losers in White – oh, I mean Guys in White – after making a truce with Skulker and gets tortured. Vlad gets wind of this and saves the boy as well as retrieves the books – both of which are found in the facility. Vlad takes it upon himself to help his rival with his new powers and bring him back to full health before returning to Amity Park.
Over a short period of mere days, Vlad and Danny learn more about the books and the secrets related to them, but they are still lost on many things involved with them.
When Danny recaps what happened to him in the GiW facility, Vlad decides that he's going to repeat the process that gave Danny his new powers, despite the warnings that Skulker, Ember, Danny and Frostigi make.
All of which leads to now, where Vlad is yelling in pain – because screaming isn't manly apparently – and Danny tries to reach the man before this can all turn horribly wrong. As if it hasn't done that already.
Trainer: And that's where we are now. So let's read and find out!
It burned. It burned worse than being on fire after having lemon juice dumped into an open wound. The surprising thing was that it didn't burn in the same way as fire did. It wasn't warm because of his core – being a fire core after all. The most he felt nowadays was slight warmth in his human form – even during a heat wave – and almost nothing when in ghost form.
No, this burning sensation was cold; ice cold. ARCTIC COLD! Like when you get frostbite! And he couldn't stop it. Why, oh, why did he even do this to himself?
"VLAD!" The older hybrid opened his eyes slightly to see a small blurry figure making its way over to him. Oh, that's right. He didn't want Daniel having the upper hand again by having a new power over him. And now it looked like Daniel would be the one to aid him.
Vlad closed his eyes again as a fresh wave of cold, burning pain shot through his body. He tried to contain the scream, but it got out anyways. Danny ran as fast as he could and just hoped that he could do something to help.
When the younger hybrid had bolted, Frostigi and even Skulker had tried to stop him so that they could do something instead, but neither was quick enough to nab him. Frostigi muttered something under his breath about locking both hybrids in a thermos later and allowed his hands to glow green. He didn't move anywhere and just watched what Danny would do. He would step in if he had to, but for now, he would just watch and wait.
Skulker moved in front of his girlfriend while Ember made herself as small as possible so that her boyfriend's armour protected her. No one knew what was going to happen, but one thing was for sure; someone was going to get hurt, and it might be someone other than the hybrids.
Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. It was like no matter how fast Danny tried to run or how fast the electricity in Vlad's body moved, everything felt like an eternity of pain and suspense. "Come on… come on. I've got to reach Vlad. Please, please whatever god there is out there; let me reach Vlad in time!" Danny chanted in his mind.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" A fresh wave of pain shot through Vlad. Danny gritted his teeth and decided to make a last minute ditch. Just like at the reunion when Vlad and he first met, Danny transformed into his ghost form and flew at the older hybrid. However, instead of flying through someone to get to Vlad, Danny rammed into the older man and hugged him around the waist; refusing to let him go.
Now, if they weren't in this sort of situation, this scene may look very sweet. Some may have even taken pictures for blackmail, but not now. Danny grunted as the electricity passed through his body and started to dissipate around the two.
"Just a… little… longer. Arg! STUPID… FRUITLOOP!" Danny thought. He was right; the electricity was almost gone, but that didn't mean that they were in the clear.
Frostigi was on a similar thought track as Danny sine he said, "Wow. I think Danny can handle this. Vlad hasn't even shown signs of losing control of any powers yet." Of course, Skulker and Ember didn't know that Frostigi knew what had happened in the Guys in White facility. He was just a book then!
Of course, the Familiar jinxed their chances of getting out of this predicament without any damages. Just after Frostigi said this, Vlad and Danny screamed as a dark, black energy began to build between the two. The electricity was gone now, but the other energy was about ten times worse. Danny tried to keep his grip on the older hybrid but was steadily losing his hold.
"No, no, NO, NO, NO!" Danny yelled as he was then repelled by the energy. There was a bright flash of light and then it disappeared, Danny was up against Frostigi while Frostigi, himself, was squished between the wall and Danny. He had tried to throw up a shield before the younger hybrid could reach him, but he wasn't fast enough.
"Clockwork! That hurt!" Frostigi complained as the energy he had built up vanished from his hands. Danny and his Familiar stood up and dusted themselves off. Ember poked her head out from behind her boyfriend and Skulker tried to dust himself off as well.
Surprisingly, nothing in the lab was damaged – not even the space where the hybrids had been standing or the wall that the boys crashed into. Ember stood to her full height and looked around finally noticing something was off; someone was missing. "Hey!" the rocker ghost said, effectively getting the other three's attention. "Where's Big Daddy?"
Frostigi and Danny scratched their heads with opposite hands before saying, "Who's 'Big Daddy', Ember?"
Skulker and Ember ignored the two while looking around the room. When they didn't see anything, they started floating around the lab trying to find the missing being. Danny and Frostigi watched as the two continued to search for... whoever it was that they were looking for. "Hey, Dipstick!" Ember called, but then she thought about the other kid with the ghost boy. "How about you and that other kid help us out with finding Big Daddy?"
Danny frowned but Frostigi scowled. The Familiar growled – yes, growled – out, "What? Don't I get a nickname?"
Ember practically ignored him but muttered, "Ya don't get a nickname from me until I get to know ya. Up close and personal in battle."
Frostigi huffed in annoyance. Danny decided to play peacekeeper and asked, "Whose Big Daddy?"
Ember froze in her search and nearly broke down laughing, but Skulker stepped in before a battle could start. If he knew one thing about his employer, it was that he hated to have battles in his own home where either his Packers memorabilia or his lab could be damaged. If it was anyone else's home, well then he didn't really care.
"Enough! We don't have time for this. Plasmius is missing and we need to find him before something terrible happens," the hunter ghost said and then he and his girlfriend continued to search for the missing half ghost billionaire. At the mention of said missing man, Danny and Frostigi's green eyes grew wide before they too helped in the search.
"Vlad?! Vlad?! Where are you?" Frostigi yelled. His only response was the echo of his voice along with Skulker and Ember's. All three were searching the lab and areas around the lab like the billionaire's private study. Danny, however, was frozen to his spot. Vlad was missing? What… where could he have gone?
When no one was looking, Danny flew out of the lab and began searching the whole castle. Vlad had to be somewhere, right? It was a big home and everyone else was most likely asleep seeing as how late it was. "Come on, Fruitloop. Where are you hiding?" Danny asked to the open hallways as he continued his search.
Right before the energy exploded…
Vlad clenched his teeth as the pain escalated from bearable to excruciating. He let out a pained scream the same moment that the younger hybrid did. The electricity was now gone, but the new dark, black energy remained and pulsed. It took Vlad a moment to realise that it was pulsing in time with his heart/core – slightly slower than a normal heartbeat but speeding up due to the strain on his body.
Finally, the energy had nowhere to go and finally exploded. The older hybrid vaguely heard Danny say, "No, no, NO, NO, NO!" as the energy repelled him and was forced to let go of Plasmius. There was a bright flash of light and then it – as well as the billionaire – disappeared.
Vlad collapsed onto his knees and began to swallow lungsful of air. When his world stopped spinning, he looked up at the others in the room. Danny and Frostigi were in a pile against the far wall while Ember took refuge behind Skulker who had his arms shielding his face. Everyone looked unharmed and there didn't appear to be any damage to his lab. "Good," he thought.
Ember stood to her full height and looked around as if looking for something. "Hey, where's Big Daddy?" she asked still looking around the lab.
Vlad raised an eyebrow and said in his 'are-you-stupid?' voice, "Are you blind? I'm right where I was several minutes ago. Skulker, I believe something is wrong with your –" Vlad paused seeing his right-hand man – ghost – aiding in the search. "Please tell me this is some cruel joke to teach me some sort of lesson," the hybrid asked.
Frostigi and Danny scratched their heads with opposite hands before saying, "Who's 'Big Daddy', Ember?"
Vlad let out a sigh. Well, at least those two he could understand. They could probably ignore anyone in the room and not even notice if someone left or not. Then again, even this was too far for them.
"Daniel, could you please tell Skulker and Ember to knock this off. I'm not amused in the slightest and-" Vlad gasped as Ember floated through him to search another section of the room. Vlad turned to the rocker ghost and stammered, "h-how did you do that? Neither one of us was intangible."
He expected a response or a few gasps from the other beings in the room, but everyone went on as if he wasn't even there.
"Hey, Dipstick!" Ember called, focusing all attention on her. "How about you and that other kid help us out with finding Big Daddy?"
Vlad growled, "I'm right here you insufferable siren! Now you better tell me what's going on and how you pulled that stunt earlier or so help me!"
Daniel looked frustrated but Frostigi looked down right ferocious. Soon, the Familiar and rocker ghost got into a verbal fight. Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "They better not destroy anything or they'll be in such a world of pain, death will have looked like a cakewalk in comparison," Vlad grumbled.
Thankfully, Skulker stepped in to stop them from going into a physical battle. "Enough! We don't have time for this. Plasmius is missing and we need to find him before something terrible happens," the hunter ghost said and then he and his girlfriend continued to search for the missing half ghost billionaire.
Plasmius face-palmed and dragged his gloved hand down the length of his face. Taking a deep breath, Vlad tried to calm himself down and think about the situation rationally while three of the four other occupants continued their search for him.
First of all, after injecting himself with the liquid, he purposefully electrocuted himself so that he may gain a new ability like Daniel had.
Secondly, after said electrocution, Daniel tried to aid him so that he wouldn't die. Vlad paused in his musings and smiled as he thought, "Good Boy."
Thirdly, once the electricity was nearly gone, a new energy – one that was black, similar to his own transformation rings – formed between them. Said energy then blasted Daniel away while he, himself, dropped to his knees.
Forth of all, now no one could see or hear him; and judging from the fact that Ember passed through him when neither were intangible, it was safe to assume that no one could touch him either. Whatever that energy was, Vlad now knew that it had something to do with his current state.
Vlad became worried. "What if I've actually fully died? Perhaps I've been killed even further than an after-life." Vlad scratched his beard. Well, there was only one way to find out. Vlad transformed back into Masters. He smiled and morphed back. Well, he certainly wasn't dead or he wouldn't be able to do that still.
"Vlad?! Vlad?! Where are you?" Frostigi yelled. His only response was the echo of his voice along with Skulker and Ember's. All three were searching the lab and areas around the lab like the billionaire's private study. To say Vlad was annoyed was an understatement. He wanted everyone to stop searching for him, but how could he when no one could hear, see or feel him? Even the boy's natural ghost sense wasn't picking him up!
Vlad rubbed his forehead and wondered how much longer this nonsense would go on for. He saw Skulker, Ember and Frostigi frantically searching for him… wait, that wasn't right. Daniel was still in the room, wasn't he? Vlad turned back to where he last saw the boy only to find that the child looked like a statue. His eyes were wide and almost panicky as he stared off into space; lost in his own thoughts.
Vlad watched as Danny flew out of the lab and began searching the whole castle. Vlad looked back at the other three debating whether or not to follow the boy or continue with his efforts to try and get one of the other ghosts' attentions. He decided to follow the boy.
As he caught up, he heard Danny ask the open hallways, "Come on, Fruitloop. Where are you hiding?" Plasmius followed Danny through several rooms including the living room, guest bedrooms, ballroom, and many hallways. Finally, Danny returned to the lab and asked, "Any sign of him?"
Frostigi looked up and shook his head. He then floated up to Danny and said, "Skulker went to check the outside grounds and Ember went into the Ghost Zone. If Skulker doesn't find anything, he's going to try the Ghost Zone as well."
Danny nodded absentmindedly before he turned to head back out of the room. Frostigi stopped him and asked, "Where are you going?"
Danny looked at his Familiar and stated, "I've search more or less the rest of the castle. I didn't find him, but I kept feeling his presence. It's weird; like he was both there and yet not there. I'm going to my room. Tell me if you find anything, ok?"
Frostigi nodded and continued his inspection of the lab. Danny floated out of the lab and through walls and ceilings until he came to his room. Vlad followed him the whole way trying to devise a way to communicate with the younger hybrid.
Danny walked over to the bathroom and looked in the mirror; he looked like a wreck, but what else could he look like when he was disturbed from his sleep just to end up trying to find the one who woke him?
Danny turned on the tap and waited for the water to chill. Vlad watched his young rival, but quickly grew bored. There had to be some way of getting the boy's attention, but how? Vlad started to pace around the room, unaware of the pair of eyes watching him… sort of.
Danny was about to splash his face when he saw something in the mirror; a dark shadow on the floor was moving back and forth, but there was nothing over it. It was like those creatures that the magician ghost owned that could turn into shadows and move about in that form. Only thing was, this was too big to be one of them.
"Maybe it's one that you've never seen before," a voice spoke inside Danny's mind. The young hybrid gulped at that. That could be the case; it was very possible that he hadn't seen all of the magician's 'pets'. Danny glared and formed a small ecto-blast in his finger and pointed it like a gun at the shadow. "Show yourself, whoever you are," Danny exclaimed.
Vlad jolted out of his musings at the sound of Daniel's voice. "Was he talking to me?" Vlad wondered and turned to see that Daniel was pointing his ecto-ray at the billionaire's shadow. What Vlad didn't know, was that when he jolted, so did the shadow that Danny was seeing.
"Yeah, I see you there! Now show yourself! I know that you guys can become shadows anytime you want and the same applies to when you want to be in a solid form," Danny stated in a 'matter-of-factly' tone.
Vlad glared and said, "I don't know what you're going on about, boy, but I don't see what you're getting at." Of course, Danny couldn't hear him, so this just made the younger hybrid even more ticked off.
"Fine, have it your way. But know this, I'm not in the best of moods right now, so if you don't show yourself, I'll make you," he said and started firing at the shadow.
Surprisingly, nothing happened to Vlad as Danny continued to fire at him. In fact, Plasmius was just getting more and more annoyed as time went on. Vlad felt that he had had enough of this and made his way out of the room. Danny followed, still trying to harm the shadow as it moved. When Vlad and Danny had moved into the hallway, Vlad was seething. Not only was the boy not making any sense, but he was also scorching his home. If any of those blasts hit any of his Packers stuff, he was going to –
*bam*
"Oops. Aw man, Vlad is so going to kill me for that," he heard Danny say. Vlad froze and slowly turned to see what had made the boy say that. On the ground was one of the few pieces of artwork that he actually prized; a painting of the original Packers mascot. Yes, it was just a painting that he had commissioned of the actual badger that the Packers mascot was based on, but it held some sentimental value to the billionaire. Danny quickly put it out, but the corner of the piece that had been hit was now ruined.
Vlad's eyes blazed as he saw this and went to grab the younger hybrid to teach him a lesson. Forget the fact that he was still injured, Vlad was going to make him pay for that.
Danny squeaked in surprise as the shadow before him melted and moulded into Vlad Plasmius; who looked like he was about to kill someone. "Um, uh, h-h-hi V-V-Vlad. W-w-where have you b-b-been?" Danny asked meekly.
Vlad glared and responded, "I never left. In fact, I've been here the entire time. You and the others couldn't seem to hear, see, touch or sense me though. So, Little Badger," Vlad growled, "care to explain WHAT IN THE NAME OF GHOSTS WERE YOU DOING?"
Danny gulped again and said very fast, "wellyouwentmissingandwewereallworriedthatsomethin greallybadhappenedand –"
"DANIEL!" Vlad yelled causing the child to stop. "Try again, but slower," he said while he crossed his arms as if scolding his child – which in a sense, he sort of was.
Danny took a deep breath and then tried again. "After that black energy exploded, you went missing so we all started looking for you, but we couldn't find you. So I was going to head to bed seeing as I couldn't track you down. However, when I got into the bathroom, I saw this shadow on the floor moving around without something above it so I thought that it was one of Koŝmaro's creatures since some of them had this ability to turn into shadows. Now that I think about it though, even when I tried to shoot them while they were shadows I couldn't hurt them. So, thinking that the shadow was one of them, I tried to scare it off, but one of my shots was off and hit that painting and now I'm explaining this all to you. But you just said that you were here the whole time so you already knew that and… I'm in big trouble aren't I?" Danny looked up only to be met with a frown and a pair of glowing red eyes.
Vlad looked the younger hybrid over and said in a monotone, "Yes, yes you are seeing how you managed to destroy one of my more favoured pieces." Danny looked at the painting to see that it was a badger surrounded by a bunch of Packers stuff. Danny looked away from the painting embarrassed by the way he acted. He could have said an apology or something along the lines of 'it's just a painting', but thought it better to stay quiet.
Vlad sighed and transformed back into Masters. Danny took that his signal and morphed back into Fenton. The raven-haired child didn't know what the billionaire was planning considering the fact that not only had Danny been shooting at him, but also burnt the corner of the painting that Vlad seemed to be fond of.
Vlad placed a firm hand on the boy's shoulder and led him down the halls back to Danny's room. Danny didn't try to resist knowing that that would just get him into even more trouble and possibly earn him a shock or something. As they entered, Vlad pushed Danny onto the bed and calmly sat on the edge next to him. Danny refused to look at the man and was hoping that the older hybrid would just leave and let him go to sleep. "Darn it! Where's Desiree when you need her?" Danny thought as the silence stretched on and made the whole moment awkward.
"Seeing as how you had a valid reason for shooting, I won't hold this entirely against you… this time," Vlad said, startling the boy out of his thoughts.
Danny took a chance and looked up at the man; his eyes where slowly returning to their normal blue, but he still wore a frown and looked somewhat confused. Danny rubbed his arm and finally said, "Um, ok, who are you and what have you done to the real Vlad?"
His response was a smack upside the head. "OW! What was that for you fruitloop?" he demanded as he rubbed his sore head.
"That was for getting cocky, plus, I said I wouldn't hold this entirely against you. That doesn't mean that you are off the hook just yet Little Badger," Vlad stated with a smile that was more like a smirk to Danny.
"Yeah, whatever. Can you leave now? I want to go to sleep considering that it's now past midnight," Danny stated and tried to pull the covers over his head hoping that Vlad would get the idea.
Vlad frowned and looked at the digital clock on the nightstand; it read 1:57 a.m. Vlad sighed and rubbed his tired eyes, finally realising how exhausted he felt from the day's events. He need some sleep as well, but he needed to know one thing first.
Vlad ripped the covers off the teen and ignored the annoyed 'hey' that followed. Before the teen could speak, Vlad asked, "Daniel, you said that you've seen this power before. Where have you seen it and by whom? This is most likely the power I've received from my attempt with that liquid so now I need to know as much as possible about it."
Danny gave a blank stare before it turned into a scowl. Danny grabbed the covers and threw them over his head again and said, "kahn ee tak ahbout hiss ater? Ike in ha morn-ng?"
Vlad raise an eyebrow and said, "Pardon me?"
Danny removed his head from the covers and said hotly, "I said, can we talk about this later? Like in the morning?" When Vlad just stared at him, he sighed annoyed and added, "I'll tell you about it in the morning. Chances are that you already know something about it but don't remember. Heh, maybe you're finally going senile in your old age."
Vlad glared and said, "Fine, we'll discuss this in the morning. And I'll remind you of this now; I'm only in my forties like your parents."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Danny said, not sounding all that apologetic. "You could have fooled me with the colour of your hair."
Vlad scowled before he smirked at his next thought. "Well I guess you do understand since you style the same colour half the time."
Danny quickly shot a glare at the billionaire before turning away to try and sleep… again. Frostigi came up seconds later and plopped onto the bed turning into a badger before falling asleep too. He didn't even realise that he walked right past Vlad to even get to the bed.
Vlad shook his head as he chuckled about the occurrence. Tomorrow Daniel would tell him about this new power. As Vlad walked down the halls back to his personal lab, the younger hybrid's words rang in his ears. "I'll tell you about it in the morning. Chances are that you already know something about it but don't remember…" Vlad shook his head. What could Daniel know? He was only fifteen. Barely out of school and didn't know how to drive – at least not well. "I'll just have to think it over later. Perhaps I am overlooking something," Vlad mumbled seeing how this thought wouldn't leave him alone until he found some way to resolve it.
With that done, Vlad continued to his lab in hopes of finding Skulker and a few answers before he retired for the night.
Skulker wasn't happy, but then again… who wouldn't be at such an ungodly hour. He had every right to be unhappy; mad even. All he was going to do was check in with his employer and see if everything turned out ok for the whelp. Then he was just going to return home. Needless to say, he was not in the mood for anything, much less looking for the older hybrid.
Then there was the matter of his girlfriend. She had seen him flying off to Plasmius' portal and pretty much tagged along despite the hunter ghost's pleads for her to just go home or wait for him on his island. No, she never did anything she didn't want to do and that included missing an opportunity to bug "Big Daddy" and the whelp. "What was it she called him again… oh, that's right; Dipstick," Skulker thought as he passed by another courtyard tree. He recalled what happened before he even arrived at the castle and how Ember finally won him over in allowing her to tag along.
"Hey, Skulker!" a voice called out from across the Ghost Zone to the metallic hunter. Skulker turned around to see Ember McClain – his girlfriend – sitting on a floating rock nearby. She was wearing her classic look; black top and pants along with one black glove. She wore her studded belt, several earrings and her gothic-styled rocker boots. Her flaming hair was down, but she was tying it back up with her hair-tie. Her green eyes looked the hunter ghost over and said, "What happened to you? You look like something that Bertrand dragged in." Obviously, she had seen the shape shifter recently and he was in his jaguar form.
It was true though; Skulker looked like a wreck. Skulker ran a hand through his own flaming hair and said, "I've had a rough couple of days since I'm dealing with an assignment as well as the chaos at Plasmius' place."
Ember tilted her head and smirked. "Well, if you're headed to his place now, why don't I join you?" Skulker's face was priceless and Ember couldn't help but laugh at that.
Instantly, Skulker frowned and replied, "No. I'm going on personal business and I can't have you getting caught up in the middle of it. Especially since the whelp might not take too kindly to my arrival, let alone yours." Skulker was about to fly off when Ember floated over with a confused look on her face.
"Since when do you call Plasmius a whelp? Unless, you were talking about Dipstick! Wait, why is he over at Big Daddy's? Ha, I doubt it's willingly, or maybe he isn't even there and it's just another hologram," Ember stated and was laughing by the end of it.
Skulker's frown deepened. "No, it is the real whelp and he is at Plasmius' castle. He and I recently made a temporary truce so that I could finish my assignment faster, but those Hunters in White had caught him soon after. After that, Plasmius has been taking care of him."
"I'll believe it when I see it," she retorted. Skulker missed her smirk as she had crossed her arms waiting for a response.
Skulker growled, "Fine! I'm going to bring you with me just so you can see for yourself and eat those words."
Ember full on smiled and started to float to the Wisconsin portal. "Alright, if I must," she said, but couldn't stop the laughter the erupted from her seconds later. Skulker scratched his head until he realised that his girlfriend just played him like a violin and got him to let her tag along.
"I need a raise," Skulker grumbled as he followed after the rocker ghost.
And now, here he was looking for his employer after he disappeared. It had been about an hour since he had left to check the outside grounds for Plasmius and still he found nothing! Maybe he was losing his touch. Skulker shook his head at the thought. No, he was the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter; he could track anything! "Anything but the whelp when those creatures dragged him into the shadows," a voice in the hunter's head said.
Skulker frowned again and said, "I definitely need a raise." Skulker did one more sweep of the courtyard and decided to head back to the Ghost Zone. Hopefully, Plasmius would turn up and he could find Ember and escort her home.
Just as Skulker phased through the wall to the main lobby, his tracker went off. Startled, Skulker yelped before pulling up the scanner on his arm. It said that Plasmius was in the lab where he had last been seen. Smiling, the hunter ghost flew back to the lab. Just as he was about to land in the lab, the signal died. Skulker scowled and started hitting his arm to hopefully get the device to work again. It didn't.
Skulker walked in and saw that the lab was empty. "Plasmius?" he called. No answer. He continued forward into the lab; his metallic armour echoing throughout the room. "Plasmius, are you here?" he called once again.
Skulker shifted his eyes back and forth. For some reason, he felt like he was being watched. Skulker was next to the portal now and made it look like he was going to step through it, but instead he turned around swiftly and aimed a gun at the floor. Why, you might ask? Well, that's because there was a shadow without a form above it right behind the hunter.
Skulker heard a faint chuckling before the shadow began to rise and form into a new shape. The being then said, "Hmm, perhaps you are getting better at sensing shadow abilities." The form turned into Vlad Masters and he was smirking.
Skulker watched in a mixture of awe and astonishment. With an uneasy smirk he said, "So it would appear. I'm guessing that you did get a new ability after all, Plasmius."
Vlad chuckled again. "Yes, though I don't know that much about it other than that it allows me to move about as a shadow. The only downside so far is that no one can see, touch or hear me while I'm in that state. Daniel seems to know something about it and was going to tell me tomorrow. However, I was wondering if you knew anything useful about this ability."
Skulker gave him a 'really?' look and said, "Plasmius, you've seen this ability before. Those small mouse-like creatures the book thief had could do it. That's how they kidnapped the whelp earlier, remember?"
Vlad nearly face-palmed, but managed to stop himself. That's what Daniel had meant earlier. He had forgotten all about that with everything else that was going on. Vlad nodded and was going to tell his employee that he could leave when said employee spoke first.
"You know, I think I may know someone in the Ghost Zone who may know something about controlling that ability of yours," he said hoping to spark an interest.
"Oh? And who is it?" Vlad asked. If someone knew something, then he wanted to know too.
Skulker smirked. "I'll bring them here in a few days. I have to track them down first. However, I want payment for my services."
Vlad scowled and stated, "I don't believe you need another one so soon. Those new wings I gave you should have been enough payment for the time being."
Skulker was still smirking and replied, "Well, I still have my assignment of finding those books to do. I still need to return them and I have a feeling that you have them in your possession currently." Vlad tried to look as if nothing was wrong as the hunter continued. "However, we agreed that if you did find them in the human world that I would let you keep one. I don't need the others right away, but I expect them in return for my services from all of this. And perhaps a new gun…"
Vlad rolled his eyes. "Alright, I will give you the books in due time, but Skulker, don't push your luck. Like I said, the wings should be enough payment for now." With that, the billionaire made his way out of the lab and Skulker returned to the Ghost Zone to find Ember.
Vlad smirked and watched as he turned his hand into a shadow and back into a solid form. He chuckled, "oh, this is definitely a power that I'm going to enjoy." He then continued to walk down the halls to his room.
Ember was travelling to the areas around Plasmius' Wisconsin portal. If he wasn't in the human world, then he was in the Ghost Zone. However, if he was in neither realm, well then her boyfriend would need to find a new boss. Maybe he could find a way to work for Walker part time. Then they could both get away with whatever they wanted. The rocker ghost shook her head. No, her boy-toy would never go for that. He could never force himself to do something that low and dishonourable. Plus, he had been locked up in that stupid jail with a lot of the other ghosts. He wasn't about to lose his cred here; that's why he wore his suit for ghosts sake!
After searching the area, Ember found no trace of the older hybrid. Not even a flash of white cloth, but then again, that could also be Walker and no one wants to be found by him. Ember shivered at the thought. The ghost warden had once asked her out before Skulker appeared out of nowhere and told him to stay away from her. At first she thought that it was just his way of protecting a fellow inmate from the nut-job, but later found out that the hunter ghost had a soft spot for her.
She found that they had a lot in common and decided to give it a try. She found that she liked the hunter too and they just stayed together. But man was it awkward when she saw his real form for the first time. They couldn't speak to each other for a week before she told him that she didn't care what his real form was as long as it wasn't anything like Bertrand's; the dude looks like a booger with arms and a face. Ember laughed; that's what she and the ghost boy called him. It just fit too well!
Back to the matter at hand, Ember hadn't found Big Daddy! So that either meant that he was in the human realm or was completely destroyed. Ember really hoped that it was the former of the two; she had just found the perfect nickname for the man that not only annoyed him, but felt right for her to say. She had tried calling him 'fruitloop' like Dipstick, but it didn't feel right.
Giving an exhausted sigh, the rocker ghost went to a nearby rock to wait and see if Skulker would show up soon. She started to strum her guitar when she got bored and the tune was that of the song "Freak the Freak Out". It may surprise some other residents to the Ghost Zone and more than likely those in the human world, but Ember McClain does in fact more than just her song "Remember".
After a few open bars of strumming, she started to sing and as she sang her rocker instincts came to the surface. She went all out. "Are you listening? Hear me talk, hear me sing. Open up the door, is it less, is it more?"
She continued to sing when she saw the Box Ghost appear. Hopefully he would stick around. "When you tell me to-"
Box Ghost then jumped in – not noticing that she was singing – and yelled, "BEWARE!" before Ember took her guitar and hit him like a homerun. Surprisingly, that was the next lyric, so Ember just continued where she left off, "Are you here? Are you there? Is it something I should know? Easy come, easy go."
By now, Ember was really into the music and was dancing around with her guitar as she continued to sing, "Nodding your head, don't hear a word I said. I can't communicate, when you wait, don't relate. I try to talk to you, but you never even knew, so what's it gonna be? Tell me can you hear me?"
Ember smiled as the chorus came up. She didn't even notice the three beings riding up to her on the path next to her little floating "stage".
"I'm so sick of it, your attention deficit. Never listen, never listen. I'm so sick of it, so I'll throw another fit. Never listen, never listen. I scream your name, it always stays the same. I scream and shout, so what I'm gonna do now is freak the freak out, HEY! Whoa oh oh, whoa oh oh, whoa oh oh, whoa oh oh oh," she sang.
Ember took a breath to sing the next section but was surprised when another female voice spoke up instead. Ember was so startled that she nearly stopped playing; nearly. She had been so caught up in the song that she didn't even hear the motorcycle that had rolled up a few yards away from her. Johnny 13 and his bad luck shadow were leaning on the bike watching while Kitty had started the next line in the song.
"Patience running thin, running thin; come again. Tell me what I get; Opposite, opposite. Show me what is real - If it breaks does it heal? Open up your ear. Why you think that I'm here? Keep me in the dark; are you even thinking of me?" Kitty sang with a surprisingly impressive voice.
Ember watched as the newcomer continued like she was singing her soul out. "Is someone else above me; gotta know, gotta know. What am I gonna do? 'Cause I can't get through to you. So what's it gonna be? Tell me can you hear me?" the biker-girl ghost sang as she performed a small twirl.
Ember laughed at the turn of events and whispered, "Can you hear me?"
Kitty smiled and continued like the whole thing had been planned. "I'm so sick of it, your attention deficit. Never listen, never listen. I'm so sick of it, so I'll throw another fit. Never listen, never listen. I scream your name, it always stays the same. I scream and shout, so what I'm gonna do now is freak the freak out, HEY! Whoa oh oh, whoa oh oh, whoa oh oh, whoa oh oh oh."
Then Ember joined back in and they both started to sing together. This was a new experience for both of them since 1. Ember usually sang alone – she was never good with sharing the spotlight – and 2. Kitty didn't usually sing. Sure, she did once in a while, but everyone knew her as the biker-girl!
Johnny watched along with Shadow and was actually amazed at what his girlfriend could do. He had heard her sing, but only when she thought no one was listening. The biker turned to his Shadow and whispered, "They're really good, right?" Shadow nodded in agreement.
"Whoa oh oh, whoa oh oh, whoa oh oh, whoa oh oh oh," the two sang.
Ember played an interlude waiting for her cue. Then they branched off where Kitty sang, "Easy come, easy go. Easy come, easy go."
A little more music later and Ember whispered, "Can you hear me?" Then they joined together again.
"I scream your name, it always stays the same. I scream and shout, so what I'm gonna do now is freak the freak out, hey! Whoa oh oh, whoa oh oh, whoa oh oh, whoa oh oh oh. Whoa oh oh, whoa oh oh, whoa oh oh, whoa oh oh oh."
Kitty went off and continued to almost chant, "Freak the freak out! Freak the freak out! Freak the freak out! Freak the freak out!" and said it after each new line as Ember sang the rest.
"I scream your name (Freak the freak out!). But you never listen (Freak the freak out!). No you never listen (Freak the freak out!)" Finally they came to the last few chords and sang softly, "But you never listen." As the last chord rang through the air, the two stared before Kitty blushed whiter in embarrassment and Ember smiled like a kid in a candy store.
"Dude! That was amazing! I didn't know you could sing. Why didn't you tell me before?" Ember exploded in all her excitement at finding someone who could truly appreciate music like she did.
Kitty turned even whiter from embarrassment and stuttered, "No, I-I-I'm not that good."
Johnny walked over while clapping and said, "don't sell yourself short, Kitten. You have an amazing voice. Shadow agrees." Just to prove his point, Shadow nodded and gave a big, sharp, toothy grin.
Kitty couldn't contain her emotions and immediately hugged her boyfriend. Johnny was stunned but then smiled and said to himself, "I should say that to her the next time we end up in a fight!"
Ember shook her head and chuckled before asking, "So, what brings you two to this area? I doubt it's just to see little old me."
The biker couple nodded. "We were going over to this race track that we heard about to see if Johnny could wipe the floor with this guy calling himself "the fastest thing in the Ghost Zone"," Kitty said as they moved over to the bike.
"What are you doing here, rocker babe?" Johnny asked to which Kitty hit him. She was obviously the jealous type. "Ow! Kitten, you know that you're the only girl for me."
Kitty kept a glare on him since he was known to look at other girls and Ember was definitely in his age range. Ember laughed and then explained, "Don't be so rough on him, Kitty. I happen to have a boyfriend that I'm quite happy with."
Kitty relaxed a little, but kept giving warning glances to the two ghosts. "Well, to answer your question: I was over at Plasmius' with Skulker and I learned something quite interesting. But before I could spread it around, the old coot disappeared and we split up to try and find him. I came to look around here, but didn't find him and decided to wait for Skulker to return," the rocker ghost explained.
Johnny was thinking about what Ember had just told him, but thinking about the older hybrid made him think about the younger one; Danny Phantom/Fenton. They weren't exactly on bad terms, but neither were they on good terms either. Maybe he, Kitty and Shadow should pay him a visit to straighten things out and get on his good side. It would be kind of nice to be able to use the portable portal again and just show up to say hi instead of being blasted.
Little did Johnny know, but his two other companions were thinking the same thing. However, Kitty picked up on something else the rocker ghost had said. "Wait, what was so interesting? I could use a little gossip," Kitty said as her red eyes glowed in anticipation.
Ember smiled and asked, "You remember Dipstick, right?" When no one responded and all she got was blank looks she face-palmed and corrected herself, "I mean Phantom."
"Oh, yeah we know him. He stopped me from trading his sister with Kitty the first time we met, but he saved her right after that so that she didn't disappear. Then again when Kitty overshadowed a girl he liked and the two started dating to get on my nerves. He got me and Kitten back together but destroyed the portable portal I stole from his parents' lab," Johnny stated like it was yesterday.
Ember nodded and said, "Well, you see… wait, hold up. You dated Phantom's sister?" she asked pointing at the blond biker and then to his girlfriend, "and you dated the Dipstick?" when they both confirmed her statements, she broke into a laugh.
Johnny and Kitty frowned and grumbled, "Hey, Jazz/Danny was actually nice to date." Neither one heard the other though because of the rocker ghost's laughter prevented them from hearing it.
Ember finally calmed down and said, "Sorry, but that was too good. Anyways, turns out that the Dipstick got himself caught by the Guys in White." Johnny, Kitty and Shadow all cringed at the statement. "Yeah, I know, right? So, turns out that Skulker was there and ran to Plasmius to tell him about it. The dude got so mad and just left. Next thing I know, Skulker's telling me that Phantom is staying at the old man's place until he heals completely."
"How did Danny look? Did you see him at all? Is he even really there?" Kitty started firing questions.
Ember blinked before she said, "In order: the kid looks pretty ok if you ask me; yeah, I saw him and he just looked pissed as usual when he sees Plasmius; and I think my last two statements shows that he's really there."
Kitty sighed in relief before asking with a smirk on her face, "You're going to spread this around, aren't you?"
Ember returned the smile and replied, "Yep. Only thing is, Big Daddy put a catch on allowing me to do so. I have to tell anyone I tell that Amity is being taken as part of Plasmius' territory until Dipstick returns to his post. That and if anyone decides to attack the town, the have to deal with him personally."
Johnny got on his bike while Shadow reconnected with the biker. He revved the engines and waited for Kitty to hop on. Kitty put up one finger to show that she just needed a minute. Johnny nodded and lounged on the seat of the bike.
Kitty turned back to the rocker ghost and asked, "Do you want some help in spreading this around? I know several ghosts that may want to know about Danny's current condition."
Ember looked the biker-girl over trying to decide if it was a good idea or not. From the sound of it, Kitty and Johnny didn't have that bad a relationship with Phantom so saying yes could mean that either they would tell the kid's allies only or just anyone they came across. Ember shrugged to herself and thought, "why not? If one of his enemies shows up, he can handle it. Either that or Big Daddy will."
Ember smiled and replied, "Sure, go ahead; makes it easier on me." With that, the trio of ghost bikers raced away to the supposed race track leaving Ember alone again. She was about to head home herself and forget about waiting for Skulker when he flew through the portal and floated by her side.
"Sorry it took so long. Turns out that Plasmius did get a new power and had been in the castle the whole time. Anything happen while I was gone?" Skulker asked hoping above all hope that his girlfriend wasn't too pissed with him.
Ember shook her head and said, "nah. I just made friends with Johnny 13 and Kitty – mostly Kitty. I'm tired. Mind if I crash at your place tonight? Mine is just too far away."
Skulker sighed in relief and nodded his head. Ember wrapped an arm around his mechanical one and the two started to float back to the hunter's island. "So, ya gonna tell me about that new power Big Daddy has?"
Skulker chuckled and told her about his employer's new power, that he had to find someone who may know something about controlling it, and how the whelp had a power he didn't quite know about. One thing was for sure; he wanted to see it for himself.
As her boyfriend talked, Ember had one thing run through her mind; Danny and Vlad were about to get a bunch of unwanted visitors, and she had a front row seat!
Second disclaimer: the song "Freak the Freak Out!" is sung by Victoria Justice.
Phantom: Hey guys. So, very interesting powers. When I thought about the power that Vlad was going to get, I literally read through more than ten Fanfics that Trainer and I had read in the past looking for inspiration. This shadow power though was one I thought of when reading back on some of my more recent chapters. It sort of stuck with me and I think it fits him perfectly.
Trainer: Yeah, we thought of things like perfecting his portal ability, shape shifting, mind reading; but none of them felt right.
Phantom: Um, Trainer? Is that a magic 8 ball?
Trainer: *smiles innocently* yes, it is. Do you want to give it a try?
Phantom: sure, why not? Will I get an awesome review from someone who hasn't given me one yet?
*Trainer shakes the 8 ball*
8 Ball: No.
Phantom: What?! Oh, who cares? These things are stupid anyways. Stupid.
*Shake*
8 Ball: I know you are but what am I?
Phantom: You are! You're just an 8 ball!
*Shake*
8 Ball: So what?
Phantom: *grabs the 8 ball and throws it to the other side of the room* Grr… that was the Sarcastic 8 Ball wasn't it?
Trainer: Yep! Dave n' Busters had it, remember?
Phantom: Yeah, and it answered everything I said just like it did a few seconds ago. I both love it and hate it.
Trainer: Yeah, Dan gave it to me.
Phantom: DAAAAAAAAAN!
Dan: Don't worry, I'll torture Trainer later. Until next time. Please review and tell these girls what you think about another chapter without yours truly in it.