Hi... yeah, I'm late... I'know. Maybe someday I'll be on time with a story.
I'm sorry! You can glare at me. Stupid life, getting in the way of my Fanfiction time!
Oh well, maybe next time it will be on time. :)
This is where things start to pick up, and we begin to see the evil doers' plans come to life. Will our boys pull through!
I guess you'll just have to read and see!
Warning: This chapter does get dark! It's the reason I've uped the rating!
See you down their!
Disclaimer of Awesomeness... not mine, see first chapter
Unite!
Chapter Two
Ecto bolts flew through the air, as the ghosts fought through the town, and Danny was starting to wear out. Skulker's swipes were getting closer and closer to their intended target that was Danny's core. He had never had something touch it and he was pretty sure he didn't want to change that now.
"Danny, flying missiles to your left!" Sam's voice rang through the Fenton Phones as she watched the battle take place from her scooter.
Danny grunted as he narrowly dodged the first two shots, but then was pounded by the third one and hit the ground with his head, splitting his lip.
Skulker floated over his prize, leering down on the dazed and injured teen. "My prey ceases to amuse me today; you usually put up more of a fight."
Danny grunted again as he pushed away the circling stars in time to see Tucker pull something out of his backpack, and glared at the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter, then smirked, "And you usually pay more attention to your surrounds."
Skulker's eyes widened as he heard the firing of a Fenton Thermos from behind him. "No!" He shouted as he was sucked into the trap. How could he lose every time?! "I will have your pelt ghost boy!"
Danny glared at the thermos with acid green eyes, "No you won't, not today."
Sighing, he wiped some ectoplasm away from his split lip, that last battle had been brutal. Skulker's upgrades were really improving and starting to be a major problem. Danny decided that it was a good thing his powers seemed to be growing. One of his parent's inventions said he was a scale five, whatever that meant, and growing.
Suddenly, he gasped as his ghost sense went off. He sighed in exhaustion, he couldn't take much more. Maybe, he began to pull out his recaller… No, he was fine on his own, he could handle it, and so he took off into the sky. Leaving the device in his place.
"Dude, wait!" Tucker called out to his friend as he watched him fly off, but the plea fell on deaf ears.
Sam couldn't handle watching Danny get hurt anymore, "That is it!" She said as she reached for Danny's abandoned recaller. Danny needed help, and it was at his fingertips. All he had to do was reach out and take it. So if he wouldn't do it, she would for him, "Jimmy, we need help."
Meanwhile:
The Fright Knight bowed at Vlad's feet, excited to start the attack, "Is everything prepared my liege?"
Vlad glanced over at the spirit of Halloween, making that deal with this ghost had been the best move Vlad had ever made. Fright Knight was loyal to the end, "Not quite, there is still one piece missing."
The Fright Knight was startled by Vlad's response, he had been careful to have everything down to fine detail, so this missing piece was not his mistake, rather something Vlad had kept from him. Fright Knight decided this was not a good sign, so he stored it away for future reference, "And what piece may that be my lord?"
That insane glint flickered into the halfa's eyes, and he smiled gleefully. This was his favorite part of the plan other than the results, "The Crown of Fire. I'm going to fuse its power to my core."
The Fright Knight's eyes widened in horror, that power was uncontrollable, and every ghost knew it, "You cannot Plasmius. The repercussions of using the crown's power are far too great, and I will not let you take that risk!"
Vlad rolled his eyes and shrugged off the warning like it was a suggestion, "Nonsense Fright," The Halloween spirit's eyes narrowed at his employer's unfazed tone. Did this halfa not realize the seriousness of what he was planning? Perhaps Clockwork was right, and Plasmius was not the one, but then who? Vlad however did not notice Fright's mind wander, "If it is done properly, its power can be attained in small amounts in."
The Fright Knight hated being wrong, so he would stick by Vlad, the halfa's confidence was dim-witted though. Fright knew the crown of fire. He had been Pariah's servant, so to not listen to this caution was downright stupid, he had used this same warning before after all, "That's what Pariah Dark said, and it drove him to insanity."
Vlad growled, how dare this ghost compare him to that monster, "Well I'm not Pariah Dark, and do not intend to fail".
At that moment, Fright Knight knew convincing Vlad would be mostly hopeless. Disaster would follow this path, but fright was in no position to change it, "Alright Plasmius, do what you desire, but let me warn you of one thing." The knight crossed to where the halfa was floating grabbing his boss's shoulders in hopes to drive the point through and be understood. "The power is too much, do not chase it. It will only destroy you in the process.
Vlad rolled his eyes, and Fright Knight's glare deepened in anger and understanding. Clockwork was right, Vlad wasn't the one, "And at the moment, the boy is more fit to take the throne than you will ever be."
The truthful jab made Vlad spun in surprised anger, only to find the Halloween spirit gone.
He scoffed, and brushed the ghost's words off. It didn't matter what the Fright Knight said, what did he know? Vlad was going to follow through with this plan to a tee and no one was going to stop him from gaining infinite power and his family.
Not Fright Knight,
Not Danny Phantom,
And most certainly not the Nicktoons.
Back in Amity Park:
Danny growled as they sucked a screaming Technus into the Fenton Thermos. The impromptu arrival of his friends had thrown him for a loop, and a little boy had gotten caught in the battle's crossfire. That was not okay in Danny's eyes, even if he did need the help.
Not even waiting for everyone to catch their breaths, he spun on his feet and faced his friends, his green eyes flashing even brighter with anger, "What the heck are you guys doing here! I did not call for help!"
Jimmy winced fully expecting this reaction, Timmy whimpered sort of expecting it, and Spongebob cowered not expecting it at all.
Jimmy cleared his throat and tried hard to remain diplomatic, but the ghost boy could be truly terrifying when he chose to be, "Now Danny…"
At that moment, Sam and Tucker caught up with the group and saw the latest victims of Danny's new found temper. Sam sighed, before getting his powers he was always so soft spoken with no traces of a temper to be found. It was why Dash had chosen him as a punching bag, Danny would just brush it off, but lately… it was as if he was changing. Seeing Jimmy fumble for words, she decided to cut him off and save him, "I called them."
Hearing his best friend, Danny turned to her. He was stunned and insulted at the Goth's blunt answer. Did she not think he could handle it? "Sam, I didn't need help."
She rolled her eyes in annoyance. This solo act was getting old. He didn't have to carry the world on his shoulders. They were there to help him but he was completely blind to the help he had. Stupid, stupid and clueless, "Yes, you did."
"I was doing just fine before…" Danny tried to defend himself, but he was not able to continue because Sam wasn't finished with her statement.
"Yes you did Danny, and don't try to say otherwise." She wrapped her arms around his waist, "You are hurt, but you're stupid stubbornness issues kept you from the help you needed." Violet met green in a mess of emotions and unspoken words that were missed in both of their minds "So I did it for you."
Danny had to look away. Why did she make him feel all tingly? Taking in a shaky breath, he pulled away, brushed past her, and made his way towards the little boy who had been caught in the fight. The wounds would be fatal if not treated soon. Guilt flashed across Danny's face. It was his fault, his responsibility. How could he have let this happen?
He held the boy close to his core and then looked at his friends with weary eyes. Sighing, he found it ironic how nice it was to have them here. He now felt safe, "Well, since you're here, I guess you could help me with some things." He smiled and stood up being extra careful so that the little boy wasn't jolted. "First off, Timmy can you have Cosmo and Wanda patch him up?"
Timmy smiled rolled his eyes at Danny's bossiness, but complied. Nodding at Wanda, he let the silence linger. Cosmo shared quick eye contact with his wife, and they raised their wands together. The child wasn't dead, so they weren't breaking Da Rulez and the boy was at full health and sent on his way. Talking about how cool Danny Phantom and his super friends were.
"I like that," Danny grinned as he watched the boy run home with relief flooding his body as the boys mom took the child into her arms and sobbed.
"Like what?" Jimmy asked, tearing his eyes from the scene, dreading where this topic was going due to the evil look on Danny's face.
The ghost boy jumped into the air and circled the group, "Danny Phantom and his Super Friends." Danny shrugged at Jimmy's glare, "It's got a ring to it."
Spongebob started to tear up, why would his best friend attempt to change the name he came up with? "I thought we were the Nicktoons?" He cried, and Jimmy's glare remained fixed on the hybrid.
"Thank you Danny." The sarcasm was caught in his voice by everyone but the sad sponge.
Danny laughed and returned to the ground, "No problem Jimbo, anytime."
Timmy snickered as he slapped the sea creatures back, he and Danny were too much alike for anyone's good, "Relax Spongebob."
"Yeah," Cosmo cut in trying to help. "If he wouldn't allow Timmy's Turner's and his Super Sidekicks, then he won't allow Danny Phantom and his Super Friends."
Timmy nodded in agreement, "Yeah!" Then he realized what was just said, "Hey!"
Jimmy, quickly gaining a headache, glanced at Danny with a pointed look, "Your fault, fix it."
Danny smiled and shrugged as he walked over and put a comforting hand on the sponges shoulder, "Don't worry Spongebob, I'm just kidding."
Spongebob blinked innocently, "Really?"
Danny's smile was laced with a devious spark, "Really."
Spongebob let out his spazzy laugh, and then wrapped his arms around the teen's neck in a tight hug, "Good one Danny!"
Danny couldn't figure out how the sponge was so quick, "Gah… yes… Spongebob… can't breathe… help."
Jimmy always enjoyed a chance to get the last laugh, "Sorry Danny." He picked up a stone, "I'm busy with my new pet rock."
Timmy rolled his eyes once again, what a bunch of idiots, but they were his idiots, so he could learn to cope.
Finally getting his airways free, Danny got one breath before his ghost sense went off.
Danny smiled at Sam and Tucker, "Go ahead and go home guys, we've got this." Then he took off into the sky with his friends following him into battle.
Tucker gave thumbs up, but Sam had a wounded stare. After they had helped him all night he was just going to toss them aside like garbage for those three boys who he had only known for two and a half months. Finally gaining her bearings, she noticed the four were gone, and only her and Tucker were left. "Did we just get blown off?"
Tucker nodded and shrugged, "Pretty massively."
Sam felt a piece of her break.
Noticing this, Tucker took action, "Hey," He put on a big cheesy grin.
Sam raised an eyebrow, "What?"
"Wanna go pig out at the Nasty Burger and put it on Danny's tab."
It took a moment for her to process what he said, and then she laugh, "Absolutly!"
Later that night after the last ghost was sealed away, everyone was ready to return to their homes, but before Jimmy could leave Danny stopped him.
Danny rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. He knew his stubborn pride was becoming a problem as of late, a trait he got courtesy of his mother, "Thanks Jim," he then fiddled with his fingers. The ground was now looking super interesting, "I guess I really did need help." He looked up and smiled quirkily, "We work well as a team."
Jimmy laughed at the thought. A team, that would take some getting used to, but it felt good, "I know." Pulling out the recaller Sam had handed to him, he waved it in Danny's face, "Think we can do it more often?"
Danny chuckled and grabbed the recaller out of the genius's hand, "Sure thing short stuff." Jimmy grumbled at the short joke as Danny laughed at his expense, "But normally my nights aren't like this." Danny shrugged, did he mention his pride? "For some reason, tonight was busier than usual."
Jimmy shot his friend a condescending look, "Really Danny?" The ghost shrugged and Jimmy rolled his eyes as he opened his portal, annoyance flooding his voice, "Well, if you need us, you know who to call."
Danny would never be one to miss out on an opportunity like that, so he didn't bother even attempting to keep it in, "Yep, Ghost Busters." He then yelped and quickly dodged the wrench Jimmy had turned around and thrown at his head. He hadn't remembered laughing that hard in a while. Glancing at his watch, he gasped, it was already five to ten, and it would take him ten minutes to get home. All he could think about on the way was the inevitable speech his mother would give him about responsibility. Not that it bothered him anymore, he had it memorized.
He rolled his eyes at the irony, and people had the nerve to say he never paid attention to detail. If only they'd had Mom 101 in those stupid upcoming CAT's, he'd pass for sure. He laughed to himself as he made it home. What would he do without his family?
That Night:
Vlad Plasmius floated outside Danny's bedroom window and watched the boy in his deep sleep, because there's nothing creepy about that. It's only stalking in a few countries. The child looked so innocent when he was in his dream world, like nothing could touch him. Vlad almost felt bad for a moment, almost. He reasoned with himself that this was for the better. After his plan was completed, and the Ghost Zone was his, Daniel would finally see where he belonged, not next to the three misfits from other planets, but at Vlad's side as a prince. In a world that would finally accept them both.
Tomorrow he would pay Calamitous a visit, and retrieve his crown.
It was almost time to put his plan into action.
Fairy world:
A cloaked figure made its way through the halls of the Sandman's mattress store. He personally didn't care for the place, too many beds for a deity who doesn't sleep, but there was a job to be done. The timeline said so.
Coming up to the main room, his blue, wrinkly hand pushed the doors open, and he floated inside.
The Sandman sat at a desk and tinkered with some of his experimental dust. He had decided long ago that Turner was a good Guiney Pig for stuff like this. Hearing the door open, he turned to see who it was and smiled, "You know Clockwork you should really knock before entering." He turned back to his work, "You never know when you might stumble upon something you don't care to see."
The Time Master ginned his trademark smile, "Don't you remember my old friend? I know everything."
Sandman rolled his eyes and chuckled as he turned back to the spirit, "What can I do for you, Clocky?"
The figure shifted into a child, "I need you to deliver a message."
Dimsdale:
Timmy Turner tossed around in his bed. He'd officially decided that the Sandman kept him from sleeping on purpose as payback for the time he wished the whole world didn't sleep. Then again, he could be a Guinea Pig for all he knew, and it wouldn't surprise him in the slightest.
Suddenly, his whole body numbed into a relaxed state, and fell into a deep sleep. The dreams however, weren't of the pleasant kind.
His was taken to a blood coated battlefield. It took a moment for him to adjust to the abrupt change in scenery. When he did, he looked around and remembered the place as Professor Calamitous' lair. The scene was familiar to his. The first time he and his friends fought together, this had been the final battle ground where they had put their families, their homes, and their lives on the line.
What he was seeing wasn't the same as he recalled it happening… they were losing this time.
Hearing a ripping sound, he looked over to the left and gasped in horror at Spongebob's body. The yellow sponges form had been ripped to shreds scattered across the floor.
Swallowing the bile in his throat, Timmy turned around to remove the sight from his mind, just in time to watch Jimmy hit the floor with a sickening crack. Then a pool of blood slowly began to form beneath his head.
That time Timmy did throw up.
When he was finally done getting sick, he tried calling for Cosmo and Wanda, but here was no response to his cries. It was like they weren't around.
While calling for his godparents, he never noticed the robot creeping up behind him until the spear was raised to strike. Timmy shrieked as the spear came down and he prepared himself for the blinding pain, but it never came.
Opening his eyes slowly, he was startled to see the neon green eyes of Danny Phantom staring back at him. The eyes were filled with pain and tears, loving tears that made Timmy's heart shatter. The metal object protruding from Danny's torso wasn't helping the younger boy to settle down either.
Danny gasped as his body gave out, and he landed on Timmy who sobbed and cradled the older boy in his arms protectively.
Weakly, Danny's eyes fluttered around aimlessly and he coughed, "Please, pull it out." He begged, and it took a moment for Timmy to comply. As he tugged it out, the buck toothed boy struggled to hold back tears at Danny's silent cry in pain. This was hell.
Danny spoke again, choking on his blood and ectoplasm that also spilled out like running water from his wound, staining Timmy's pink shirt. "It's the crown of fire…" His gloved hand reached up and cupped Timmy's face so that the boy couldn't look away from his eyes. "The crown will destroy us." With that, the older boy went limp in Timmy's arms and the light slowly drained from his eyes.
Dropping the lifeless corpse, Timmy tried to crawl back in an attempt to distance himself from his dead friend. He didn't get very far before he ran into something, or rather someone.
The ten year old swung around to see who it was and came face to face with Vlad Plasmius. The ghost wore a strange green crown on his head that flicker as if it were on fire. Stepping on Timmy's chest the man glowered down at him, "Three days Timothy, you have three days before I destroy the multiverse and take what is rightfully mine." Plasmius then stepped harder and at the sound of cracking ribs Timmy woke up screaming.
Fairy world:
Clockwork winced at the terrified scream and the Sandman turned from his dream screen with sad eyes. He never enjoyed making nightmares like that, they were too much for him to handle and could spin out of control quickly, but one did not argue with the master of time, "Is that all you needed?"
Clockwork nodded as he studied the now blank screen in front of him, "Yes, he won't ignore that dream, even if he wants to." The middle age ghost turned toward the exit, "Timothy is many things, but stupid is not one of them."
The Sandman sighed and rubbed his temples, "So you think he got the message?
Clockwork changed to an old man, turned around with a smile and nodded, "I know so."
Dimsdale:
Wanda watched her godchild sleep from inside her and her husband's fishbowl. Timmy was so antsy lately, and it was beginning to worry her. He hadn't been sleeping well for a while, so when he nodded off she felt relief. Then he was tossing and turning and screaming.
Her motherly instincts told her to wake him, and she would have, but something in the back of her mind told her to let this play out, so against her better judgment, she did.
When the bloodcurdling scream shook the room she was at his side in an instant, but instead of leaning into her comforting embrace, he had a desperate plea for a pencil and paper. There was something he needed to remember.
She poofed up the supplies as she whispered soothing words of encouragement, "Okay sweetie here you go, settle down, mommy's here." She was certain her words went unheard due to the furious scribbling the boy was doing.
As soon as the boy was done writing he reached for his recaller. Wanda winced as she continued to rub circles on Timmy's back knowing that he was calling Jimmy, and then she braced herself for the fireworks.
"Do you have any idea what time it is Turner!"
Jimmy," the boy genius on the other end was silenced by his friend's shaky voice. "We need to talk."
Soon after in Jimmy's Lab:
"And that's all I remember." Timmy mumbled as he turned his blue eyes downwards, making the bags under them more prominent.
Cosmo and Wanda floated near the ceiling, both listening to Timmy talk, and while Cosmo was concerned, Wanda knew her godson wasn't telling the entire truth.
Danny in Fenton form started to rub circles on the younger boy's back in order to try and relax him. The teen knew nightmares were never fun, he had loads of them himself, and from the sounds of it Timmy's bad dream was worse than one Danny was used to. He also was sure that Timmy was changing his story to protect his friends.
Jimmy on the other hand scoffed, not believing a word Timmy was saying. The boy wasn't always bright, but he had more sense than to cling to a dream. Didn't he?
Jimmy yawned before shooting a disbelieving look at Timmy, "You called us all together for a dream."
Timmy glared at the boy genius, he figured Neutron wouldn't believe him, "It was more than that Neutron." He pulled his knees to his chest when the visions from his dreams came to the forefront of his brain, "I could feel it in my bones. It gave us a time limit."
Spongebob didn't like seeing Timmy like this, and he figured it wouldn't hurt to check it out, "We should look into it Jimmy, Timmy might be right."
"Please Spongebob," Jimmy laughed off the seriousness in Timmy and Spongebob's voices as he hopped out of his seat and walked across the lab to his work table, "Sure it did." He picked up a vile and began to examine it, "And I bet the dream also told you what's going to cause this destruction, didn't it?"
There was a moment of silence where Danny and Spongebob shared weary looks until Timmy spoke up again, "Actually, it did."
The other three stared at the pink hat boy in anticipation. Even skeptical Jimmy wanted to know, "Well"!
Timmy looked up into his black haired friend's eyes, "Danny, what do you know about something called the crown of fire?"
Danny eyes flashed with horror as he stopped rubbing, stood up, and started to pace the floor. His face turned emotionless, but his eyes remained troubled as his mind began to race. The last he had seen of the crown was before he passed out during that battle with Pariah Dark. It was in Vlad's hands and in Timmy's dream, Vlad was the only Syndicate member who showed up, "It's obviously a message from someone or something telling us about that crown and Vlad."
Jimmy groaned at that response. He had thought that at least Danny would see that there was no reason behind what Timmy had dreamt. Why were those three so gullible, "Don't be absurd Danny, dreams don't mean anything, their just projections of a person's imagination."
Timmy gave Jimmy a kicked puppy look, "I don't know what it was Neutron, but I'm telling you right now, we should look into it."
Jimmy scoffed and rolled his eyes at the notion, "There's no point because dreams don't have meanings. It's just your overactive imagination playing with you.
Danny stopped in front of the boy genius and knelt down so they were at eye level with one another, "Please Jimmy, let's at least make sure."
Not seeing the reason behind his friend's notions, Jimmy held fast, "No"
Looking over at Timmy's face and seeing a defeated look made Danny lose what little composure he had left at this time of night… or morning, "Fine, come on Timmy, we'll look into it together, and figure out what's going on."
Upset that his friends were totally disregarding him, Jimmy jumped up after them. "Stop," he growled as Danny scooped Timmy up and started to walk towards the portal to Dimsdale followed closely by the fairies who kept glancing back and forth in worry.
He continued to walk, not bothering to turn back to give his response of, "No".
The late night was also getting to Jimmy, and this caused his temper to flare as well. He didn't even bother to think through what he said next, "I'm your leader, so you should listen to me!"
Danny's temper, if possible, skyrocketed even higher. How dare Jimmy hold something like that over them! He stopped and pounded a fist on nearby work table. This resulted in a rather loud bang that made Timmy, Jimmy, and Spongebob jump, "You can't tell us what to believe Jimmy, and we aren't even technically a group, we've hardly even been doing this for a week!"
It took Jimmy a moment to regain his courage, Danny could be downright scary when he chose to be. However, science was science, and Jimmy Neutron never backed down, "Whatever," he walked up so that he was face to face with the teen, "You're both being dumb! There is no such thing as miracles or magic or prophesying dreams!"
Spongebob was terrified by both of his friends' anger, and tried to split up the fight crying, "Stop it, just stop it!"
Danny may have been clueless, but he wasn't stupid, so even he was able to pick up the distress signals Spongebob was sending off. For the sponge's sake, he tried to calm himself down, but that did not mean that he would back down from that fight. The topic was important to Timmy, and it didn't matter if it made sense or not. If it would put the boy at rest, then Danny would figure out that dream. He decided the reasoning approach would be the best option in this situation, "Open your mind Jimmy, there is more out there that can't be explained by science."
Jimmy didn't understand how his friends could be so moved by something with no substance, so he scoffed, "Oh now you're just being absurd."
Forget the reasonable approach, "Are we really Jimmy?!" Danny said raising an eyebrow and pulling the now shivering Timmy closer, "because I'm pretty certain there are many unexplainable things in our worlds.
Jimmy let a growl slip out at his friend, "If you're going to keep spouting gibberish." He struggled for a moment to find the words, "Then maybe you should just leave!"
Danny's green flashing glare made Spongebob shy away in fright, "Fine, maybe we should."
"Fine!" Jimmy turned and stalked off to his room.
"Fine!" Danny carried Timmy and stalked off in the other direction out the portal, followed by a very worried Cosmo and Wanda.
On the way out, Timmy let out an inaudible sound that sounded similar to, "I'm sorry."
The room was suddenly hollow with silence, and Spongebob blinked in shock. What just happened?
Colorado Mansion in Danny's world:
Looking at the screen connected to one of his Plasmibots, Vlad chuckled. Already fighting amongst themselves, they certainly were children. They had much growing up to do. Although, Vlad couldn't complain, this would make the children's trust in each other thin for a time, and he would use that time to cut the thin connection once and for all. There would be no escape and his end of the bargain would be held. Now Calamitous just had to hold up his end and the multiverse would be Vlad's. The vampire ghost let out a spine chilling laugh. Everything was going according to plan.
Dimsdale:
Danny walked into the bedroom with Timmy on his hip. Placing the little boy on the bed, Danny ruffled Timmy's hair and sat down on the edge with a smile, "How you doing runt?"
Timmy looked up at the elder boy with baggy eyes that appeared very similar to Danny's exhausted ones. Timmy hadn't had this much trouble sleeping since before he had gained Cosmo and Wanda. He couldn't tell Danny that though. He had to be strong for the older boy, but what Timmy had seen had shaken him to his core and to not have Jimmy's support cut deep, like a knife wound to the heart. He let Danny pull him into a one armed hug, and he put his head on Danny's shoulder.
Rustling Timmy's hair, Danny chuckled when Timmy reached up to smack his hand, "You didn't answer my question." Sky blue met navy blue in a serious exchange, "How are you doing runt?"
Timmy sent a playful glare at the older boy to hide his true emotions, "I'd be better if you'd quit messing with my hair."
An evil spark shot across Danny's eyes, and Timmy attempted to squirm away. He didn't make it, and his hair was mercilessly mushed all over the place till it was sticking out in about ten multiple directions.
Danny grinned and sat back to admire his work, "Is that better?"
Timmy glared at the teen as he desperately tried to smooth it back out, "Jerk."
Danny just laughed, and gave Timmy another one armed hug, smiling at the younger boy.
Looking at the older boy, Timmy realized why the dream had scared him so much. It wasn't the blood, or the lifeless bodies. No, it was being left alone again. Without even realizing it his defense snapped and Timmy threw his arms around Danny's neck and was crying. "Don't leave me Danny, please, don't die, I need you and Jimmy and Spongebob. My mom and dad don't really care about me, and I can't expect Cosmo and Wanda to be here forever. You're my family, and to lose you would hurt more than a lifetime of being tortured by Vicky."
Quickly getting over his shock at the reaction, Danny pulled the little boy into a tight hug and whispered gently, "Don't worry Timmy, I'm not going anywhere." He smoothed Timmy's hair forward, "And Jimmy will come around. Just give him some time and let Spongebob work on him."
Timmy sniffled a little into Danny's shoulder, "Okay." His eye's then darted around the room, he was terrified to go back to sleep and be alone again. It may have been weak to ask, but Timmy needed the closeness, "Danny, will you stay here tonight?" He looked down in shame, "I don't really want to be alone."
Danny smiled a soothing smile that put Timmy's restless heart at ease, and snuggled down into the bed next to Timmy, "Sure bud, but only if you promise not to push me off like last time."
An abrupt laugh escaped from Timmy's mouth, and he hugged Danny tight, "Promise." Then his smile grew, "Will you sing for me?"
After a surprised look crossed his bright blue eyes, Danny complied. "Sure," he said as he patted Timmy's head, "Any requests?"
Timmy shook his head and closed his eyes, "Nope, whatever feels right."
Danny took a breath, and began to sing the lullaby his mom would always sing when he was little. The words flowed through him and out, relaxing the boy, his fairies, and himself. Before anyone had noticed, they had both fallen into a peaceful sleep, one right next to the other, and if you didn't know them, you'd have probably thought they were brothers.
Meanwhile back in Retroville:
Spongebob hated confrontation, he really did. It went against his nature. This however, was something that had to be taken care of, and Spongebob knew he had to be the one to do it.
"Jimmy?" His voice rang through the bedroom door.
Spongebob thought he heard a muffled go away through the door, but being who he was, he ignored it and went in anyway.
Jimmy looked up from his tear stained pillow, "I thought I said go away!"
The sponge decided it would be a good time to try and lighten the mood. So he put on his signature cheesy grin and pushed forward, "Oh really, I thought I heard you say to come in." Spongebob crossed over to the bed and hopped onto it, "You sound like you could use a delicious Krabby Patty."
Jimmy wiped his tear stained face and stared dumbfounded at the idea of food this time of night… or morning, "Do you know what time it is Spongebob?"
The sponge grinned having no idea where he was going with this. So he let his mouth move in hopes that something would come out right, "I sure do, Patrick does this every night, only his won't be fresh off the grill. Come on, let go make one."
Jimmy pretended to think before answering, "Mm, no thanks,"
Well, so much for reasoning, time for force.
Jimmy attempted to put his face back into the pillow, but never made it as he was grabbed by the scruff and thrown into the portal to Bikini Bottom.
The Krusty Krab:
As he nibbled on a Krabby Patty, Jimmy decided Spongebob was right and that they do taste really good at this time in the morning.
After turning off the grill and cleaning the kitchen, the sponge sat down across from Jimmy with his own food and stared into the fudgy haired boy's eyes.
It didn't take long for Jimmy to feel uncomfortable in his position and he went on the defensive, "What?"
Spongebob picked up his burger and took a bite to encourage himself to continue, "That was some disagreement, don't you think?" He said with his mouthful.
Jimmy groaned at the sponge's manners and his implications of the fight. Why couldn't the sponge ever be subtle, "Aw man, not you too Spongebob."
Setting down his burger, Spongebob sighed and got down to business, "Just hear me out Jimmy."
Jimmy couldn't take being sided against anymore, and he let his anger fly free, "Seriously Spongebob, name one thing that can't be explained by science!"
Spongebob didn't have to think because his response was spontaneous, "Danny."
Jimmy felt as if the air had been punched out of him. How could he have forgotten? His friend was here because of nothing short of a miracle and luck. Jimmy couldn't back down now however, so he forged forward with his reasoning, "What… of course we can explain him. His DNA is coated with ectoplasm and..." Jimmy fumbled out but was cut off, because at that moment Jimmy got to see a rare event.
Spongebob lost his temper and hit the table hard as he stood up, "You know as well as I do that he should be dead, and yet he's not!" The sponge then caught his own bluff, "Well not completely. He's halfway there, caught in limbo so to speak." Jimmy lowered his eyes in shame as Spongebob continued, "But what worries me Jimmy, is how long it will take for one side to dominate the other. How long will it take till he's completely ghost, or will he stay in limbo forever?" He finally caught his breath and calmed down a little, sinking back into his seat and looking at the boy genius with honest eyes, "He's clinging to miracles Jimmy. That is what is getting him by for now, besides us Sam, and Tucker he has no one." Now time for the super touchy topic, "And as for Timmy." Jimmy winced. "If you look at it, his parents don't really seem to love him, he is stuck with a reincarnation of evil every day, and his only saving grace is his computer programs and us." Spongebob was now winding down, "Look at them, and their lives, and tell me there is no magic or miracles, because when I look at them Jimmy, that is all I see."
Jimmy frowned and played with his Krabby Patty, the sponge was right.
"You want to hear my outlook on life Jimmy?"
Oh no. Groaning Jimmy put his head in his hands and deadpanned, "Not really."
He should have known by this point that Spongebob doesn't care about if others care or not and will continue whether people want him to or not.
"Well here it is!" He grabbed Jimmy's hands, "It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks of me, I'm going to live doing what makes me happy." He stood up and rounded the table to pull Jimmy into a one arm hug, "I'll have my own opinions, but let others have their say and let them believe what they desire. I can't force people to change Jimmy, but I can push them in the right direction by showing them how to love and care for others." Jimmy sighed dejectedly, but Spongebob turned and put both of his hands on the boy's shoulders so they were looking eye to eye, "That's what you will need to do Jimmy. Listen and let them choose if you wish for this team to be a success." He pulled Jimmy into a comforting hug, "For you and me, everything can be explained somehow, but for Timmy and Danny, they're hold on to magic and miracles as a lifeline because they've seen so much unexplainable stuff that if they didn't just believe, it would drive them insane."
Looking into the sponge's eyes, Jimmy felt his resolve crack. How did Spongebob do that without causing a fight? He really didn't understand why his two friends believed the way they did, but even so, he really did need to apologize to both Danny and Timmy for what he said. What could it hurt to take a look into it tomorrow?
Spongebob then suddenly stood up as if he was on a mission, "And now we must flee before Mr. Krabs comes by and spots us!"
"Wait," Jimmy was stunned by the sponge's statement. "You mean you're not allowed in here, but you work here? You have a key!"
That laugh was back, "Of course not silly, this isn't even my key, its Squiward's!" He dropped the rest of his Krabby Patty in his mouth, swallowed, did a ninja double take, and pulled Jimmy towards the door.
Jimmy smiled in appreciation at his friend. Only Spongebob had the attitude to make sour situations sweet, "Thanks Spongebob, you really know how to make people feel better."
The yellow sponge felt escalated from the compliment, but before he could reply a voice rang across the restaurant, "Spongebob, what are ye doin in me restaurant at this hour!"
It took a moment, but Spongebob finally caught on to who it was and responded properly, "Run!"
As they ran away from the Krusty Krab in a fit of laughter, Jimmy decided he would call a meeting at a later time when the sun was up, because right now, they all needed their sleep.
Calamitous lair later that day:
Vlad stepped through the interdimensional portal on a mission, "Calamitous, where are you!"
Cringing, the tiny man jumped up from where he had fallen asleep on his work papers. As he looked back down at his work he realized he hadn't even made a dent in the process of tapping the crown's power source. Everything he had tried ended in disaster.
Vlad either wasn't aware of the dangers of tapping such a powerful object, or he didn't care. If it wasn't for the fact that it was a job from Vlad, the scientist would have given up a week ago after the first explosion. He knew Vlad would expect results, and he remembered the last few souls who didn't deliver what the ghost desired
Plasmius floated across the room, "Hello Calamitous, I'm here to retrieve my crown?
The little man gulped in fear, he'd been dreading this meeting since last week, "I-I-I'm sorry, b-b-but it's not ready. The power flu-flu-fluctuations are still too high!"Calamitous cowered at the ghost in front of him.
Vlad's face stayed emotionless, "What about my core sample? Did the crown react to it?"
Calamitous' stomach went cold at Vlad's tone, how could he answer the truth to that? Gulping, he feebly responded, "I-I-I'm s-s-sorry Masters, b-b-but it r-r-rejected your c-c-core."
Vlad's face changed into a predatory snarl as he stalked forward. Why would it reject him, Him! The most powerful and worthy candidate in the entire Ghost Zone. He had been sure that he was the one who locked the door to Pariah's coffin. So why would the crown reject him? He was the one who defeated the ghost king! Its rejection couldn't have been possible, "Did it now?"
"I-I-I just need more time." Calamitous tried to reason in hopes of getting a lesser punishment.
It invoked the opposite reaction however, "Time? I gave you a time limit that was fitting, and you have not finished." Seeing that the man was shaking in terror, Vlad took a deep breath to calm down and decided it would be in his best interest to wait a little longer. Everything was ready after all, but he needed the crown for all of that work to be productive, but he knew that if anyone could crack it, Calamitous could. He would take his leave for now, "You have three days Calamitous, three days. That is all I'm giving you, and if you haven't come up with a solution by then," Vlad grabbed a miniature work bot that tried to fly by, "Well then consider this a warning." Vlad then crushed the little robot between his thumb and pointer finger for emphasis.
After Vlad walked out, Calamitous crumpled into a terrified heap on the ground. Three days wasn't enough time! There had to be another way of tapping the crown, but it seemed as if he had tried everything.
A few moments later Beautiful Gorgeous walked into the room talking on the phone with an annoying client, "The subject of the matter is pointless unless it's…" She looked up to see her father passed out, "Dad?!" Seeing her father's crumpled heap, she had dropped her phone and ran to his side. Her emotions spinning with worry, she had lost her mom, and she couldn't stand lose him to, "Daddy, daddy, wake up!" She started to check his pulse, and sighed in relief when she found it strong and steady.
Looking around, she noticed that Plasmius had been here but was gone. Oh how she loathed that man. He was a self centered, cruel creature that had terrible fashion sense.
She sighed in relief as her father came around and she helped him sit up, "You okay dad?"
Calamitous shook his head, and looked over at the glowing green object, "I just can't do it." The man sobbed, as he snapped under the stress and lack of sleep.
Beautiful looked at the crown thoughtfully. It was a beautiful object, the way it twisted and licked the air, but she knew that even though she loved jewelry this was not meant for her. It gave off another worldly aura that only an idiot would try to obtain. She had noticed her father trying to use Vlad's ectoplasm to try and activate it, and when it failed she wasn't surprised. She could sense that Vlad wasn't worthy. She was surprised that her father hadn't figured out what to do yet, it looked like she had to spell it out for him again. "You know dad since it's a ghost crown, maybe you need a different ghost core to activate it".
Calamitous stopped sobbing, and looked at his daughter with joyful eyes, "That's it! Oh my genius daughter, you've discovered the key to awakening the power of the crown of fire. Looks like you have a little of your daddy in you after all."
"Whatever," She rolled her eyes as she picked up the phone and walked out of the room. Now that her dad was okay, she had a client to take care of.
Calamitous laughed evilly from his seat, a different ghost to activate it? That could work. It was the answer to the riddle. Vlad's core wasn't accepted, so the other defeater of Pariah Dark might be. He laughed as he reached for a picture of a boy with white hair and green eyes, because you know, stalking Danny must be a fun past time.
Calamitous decided that getting the other ghost would be no problem after all.
"Robot," he said turning on his favorite mechanical fighting machine.
"Go get me Danny Phantom."
Dimsdale:
An explosion rocked the house, causing Danny to fall off the bed, and Timmy to fall right on top of Danny.
"What the heck was that?" Danny shouted as he attempted to stand, but stopped by the thrashing, blanketed covered weight on his back. "Timmy, did you push me off again?"
The brown haired boy rolled his eyes from inside his cloth prison, "No." He then continued to try and break free, "I was sleeping, but it looks like that's not the case anymore, what's going on?"
"Don't know," Danny grunted as he failed to try and get up again. "I can't move with you on my back."
Timmy chuckled as he finally broke free and rolled off Danny's back, "Oh, sorry dude."
"No problem short stuff," Danny hopped to his feet and transformed into Phantom form.
Floating a few inches off the ground, Danny looked around the room. It was all intact, that was a good sign. "Wanda!" He looked over at the pink fairy that was now out of her fish bowl due to the explosion and holding her husband's ear. "What was that?"
Before she could respond, a giant mechanical claw burst through the window and grabbed Danny yanking him out.
"Danny!" Timmy yelled as his heart constricted in worry. "Cosmo, Wanda, I wish I was in my Cleft gear, and you too were guns I can use to fight!"
With a wave of the wands, the wish was granted and Timmy was out the window after his captured friend.
Meanwhile outside, Danny wasn't making it easy for the robot in its attempt to kidnap him.
Slipping out of the claws grasp, he quickly blew it off with an ecto blast. He was then bombarded with two more as they hunted their prey. Danny dodged both, and flew at the robot and turned intangible to go inside and destroy it, only to find that he couldn't go through because the machine had a ghost shield. Whoever sent this thing knew what they were doing.
From out of nowhere, the machine pulled out a gun that shot out ecto goo, sending Danny flying back into a nearby car.
"Danny!" Timmy yelled as he landed on top of the car, "What happened?"
Danny growled in frustration as he pulled some glass out of the back of his head, "What do you think happened? I just got my butt handed to me!" He then felt around in his pockets until he found his recaller. Thankful that he had paid attention when Jimmy was explaining it, he quickly set off the emergency signal.
As soon as it was sent, the robot was on him again, this time the claw had ghost armor, but Timmy blew it off with his Cosmo gun.
Meanwhile in Retroville:
Jimmy groaned at the continuous beeping that was bombarding his ears. He hadn't remembered setting his alarm clock for today because he had been up so late last night. Then he noticed that it wasn't his alarm clock, it was his recaller's emergency signal!
Fighting his way out from his tangle of covers and falling off of the bed, he grabbed his device from the dresser. He said an unpleasant word as he looked at the screen. It was Danny, and for Danny to set off his alarm, things had to be bad.
Pressing the yellow and green buttons, he called a familiar yellow sponge. He didn't get a chance to say anything when Spongebob picked up, "I'm ready!"
Jimmy nodded, grateful for Spongebob's punctuality, "Okay, see you in Dimsdale."
Spongebob's eyes widened in confusion, "Wait, not Amity?"
Jimmy groaned and shook his head in frustration. Seriously, the recallers weren't that hard to figure out, "No, the distress is coming from Dimsdale… didn't you pay attention when I explained how to use your recaller?!
Spongebob chuckled nervously, "So… see you there?"
Jimmy sighed and rubbed his temples, "Yes, see you there."
Dimsdale:
Danny grunted at the impact of another claw, he and Timmy were doing okay at fending them off, but he and Timmy were beginning to tire while the robot seemed to get stronger. The regrowing arms didn't help either. Every time one was destroyed, it came back stronger.
For that second his mind wandered, a claw grabbed his leg and pulled him off of his feet. Holding Danny up in front of its face it spoke with a monotone sound, "Master wishes to have your attendance".
"Dude," Danny said pounding on the metal arm with his fist. "Since he sent you after me, I'm going to have to decline."
The robot held him closer, "Not an option".
Before Danny had any more time to react, the robot's claw was blown off again.
The ghost boy turned and looked at Timmy who quickly threw up his hands and shouted, "I didn't do it!"
Eyes widening, both looked over to where the shot had come from. There stood Jimmy with his tornado blaster out, and he looked ready to rip the robot into shreds, "You better believe that's an option metal butt, because now the whole team is here, and the Nicktoons are going to kick your can!"
The robot paused for a second, and Jimmy figured it was cowering, but then it spoke up again, "Name Nicktoons does not compute… What does it stand for?"
Danny and Timmy face palmed as Jimmy threw a hand over Spongebob's mouth and groaned, then sent a glare at Danny.
Danny chuckled and scratched his head sheepishly at Jimmy's look, "Okay, so maybe we should have spent more time on names. Are you going to lecture me about letting the subject go, or help me kick this things butt?
The eye contact was fierce until both of them nodded, "Nicktoons!" Jimmy shouted and he gripped his blaster. "Unite!"
Then the four were on it! Spongebob used bubbles to short circuit the machine, Timmy's Cleft suit and guns made great metal destroying weapons, along with Jimmy's tornado blaster, and Danny since he had no choice but to be on the defensive, held his shields to protect his friends.
The battle was in their favor.
It is interesting how one mistake can cost the battle.
Some of Spongebob's bubbles floated over into Danny's eyes which forced him to let down his shields to wipe them out. This left Jimmy and Timmy wide open, and the robot smashed them into parked cars. Spongebob was grabbed, his bubbles spilled, and thrown into a nearby garbage dumpster. Then the robot went after a blinded Danny.
"Shoot," Danny whispered in fear. "This thing is loaded with ghost hunting devices," He rubbed harder. "I'm practically defenseless against this thing with my sight, and now... Oh man!"
Suddenly, the robot shot out a weapon with a fork pronged end, and struck the ghost boy, electrocuting him and shorting out his powers.
Danny groaned because he knew that weapon. It was the Plasmius Maximus, but Vlad didn't build robots, so who…? His thoughts were cut off by the black fog of unconsciousness.
With that the robot grabbed the now human boy, and slithered back through the portal it had come from.
Jimmy, Timmy, and Spongebob could only watch helplessly in horror as their friend was taken away.
"Danny!"
To be continued...
Muahaha, I've always wanted to do a sort of cliffhanger! (Although this isn't really a cliffhanger, and more of a cut off.) Ah, darn critical mind, quit criticizing me!
So... what cha think. The story moves a little better in this chapter, and now we're really getting into the deep stuff.
I've always felt the crown of fire should have come back, and in a way, it was replaced by the infamap... Oh well, Se La Vi.
P.S. Stalking Danny is a fun past time! Just ask Vlad!
I hope you all enjoyed this, and remember, I do so love reviews and will answer any and all questions you have for me.
And now, it's your favorite part!
1...2...3
Joke!
Danny and Timmy walk into Jimmy's lab.
And Destroy it all!
Jimmy is not happy.
Timmy and Danny must now clean it up.
But they are attacked by a killer sponge!
And now they have help.
Actually... that was sort of randomly funny. I might do something like that again.
Now I can't say when chapter three will be up, but I'm hoping to have it done sometime in the next month. It will be posted on a Friday as that is my normal posting day.
Well, that's all I have for you my friends!
Blessings on your day! :D
GG