So! Thesis Statement Chapter 8! You're lovin' it, amirite? XD Ok, shoot me now so I don't make anymore Interweb/McDonalds jokes. Or don't. XD If you do, TS ends. If you don't, you have to suffer through these lame-o (Yeah, lame-o.) Disclaimer/Greeting/AN's. XD Your choice. *Cough* Anyways...XD I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! It's gonna be AWESOME!
Legal Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, blah blah blah. You get the drill.
Phantom redirected his gaze to the window Danny was looking out.
"Oh...shit."
"Huh? What's wrong?" Danny shifted his gaze over to where a wide-eyed Phantom was, "What happened?"
"It's Skulker..."
"Huh? You know him?"
"Yeah...he's my ex."
~~~
"Your WHAT?!" Danny burst out, almost unbelieving of the words, "What do you mean 'Ex'?"
"Well, you know..." Phantom beat around the topic, unusual for him.
"Ex...boyfriend?" Danny completed the sentence for him.
"Well, technically...but that was before I knew about how much of an asshole all the other ghosts were!"
"How old were you when you were together!?"
"Wow, that's sick."
"Oh, come on! I had nobody else, okay?!"
"But FIVE?!"
"I wasn't FIVE."
"Fine, how old were you?" Danny tapped his foot, getting angry for no specific reason.
"It was after I would've been 11 or so."
Danny sighed, "Why, though? I mean, couldn't you tell everyone else was going to be like that?"
"No, when I was 'younger' there used to be this group of other young ghosts."
"And then when you got older, you got exposed to the adults and the likes?" Danny asked, calming down.
"Yeah..."
He sighed, noticing the dot had stopped coming towards the window and had disappeared.
"What happened to---"
As if on cue, Skulker appeared in the doorway.
"How nice to see you again, Phantom."
"Skulker," Phantom spat out, pure hatred audible.
"Now, now, is that the way to talk to me, who you loved?"
"I did not love you! I was scared and alone and confused!"
"Is that why you kept leaving and searching for the family you always wanted? Hmmm?"
"Yeah, actually, it is! And I found them, too!" He put his arm around his brother's shoulder.
Danny blushed and sank a little, not wanting the ghost-man to say anything about him.
"Why, how touching. And I hate to break up your little 'family' reunion, but Walker wants you back. Now."
"Pff, so you sold me out to him?"
"If it's getting me something, what do I care what happens to you?"
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
Phantom held up a finger, raising confusion in Skulker. He proceeded to slip on the suit and smirk before he lowered his finger.
"Okay."
He held out his arms and focused energy into them, the suit glowing around where the energy stored. He released it all, a massive green-glowing blast flying at Skulker and hitting him and causing the Hunter to go flying through the wall.
"Huh," Phantom said, looking at the arms and legs of the suit, "Not bad."
"I told you. They're pretty...adamant about having things work the right way. Well, mom at least, dad usually ju---"
"Danny, you do realize Walker's going to be sending his guards here soon, and that we really don't have time to be talking, right?"
"Oh. Right."
"Okay. Now let me go take care of Skulker."
Phantom flew off the ground, vanishing through the wall that Skulker went flying through. He searched around the room (presumably Jazz's, from the books and stuffed animals around), before locating Skulker.
"Ugh...of all the ghosts he could send...You."
Skulker smiled at him, "It's nice to see you too, sweetie."
The Hunter fired an expanding net at Phantom, wrapping the ashen-haired ghost and electrocuting him.
"Ughh..." Phantom groaned, breaking free, "I always hated that..."
"Then maybe you'll like some of the newer weapons Walker gave me a little more than that," he gave a sadistic smile.
"How about no?" Phantom tackled him, placing his hands directly on the man's chest and firing a supercharged ectoplasmic blast into him.
"Augh!!" he groaned, barely having time to go intangible and phase through the floor, as to prevent further harm to himself.
Phantom flew after the man , hovering above his feet with arms crossed.
"Now, what were you saying about new weapons, 'sweetie'?"
"If you're that eager," he smiled sadistically once more, getting up, "then I'll show you."
The hunter proceeded to pull out a small device that had a red laser shooting out of it. He passed it along his body, from head to toe, and then held it out.
"I may not be one of the few ghosts who can use their energy to multiply themselves..." he began, forms beginning to phase in around the ghost-boy, "But I find technology always does a better job anyways."
With that, three identical copies of Skulker came into existence, a sadistic expression plastering their faces as they glared at Phantom.
"How nice," Phantom replied emotionlessly sarcastic.
"You don't like it?" the four identical figures said in unison as they focused their missiles on Phantom.
"In no way shape or form," he managed to respond before the missiles launched themselves and headed down the short path towards him.
He braced himself for their impact, unable to phase himself out before they arrived. The missiles connected, a huge explosive shock-wave emanating from the center point of Phantom. He groaned as the missiles tore up his body, holes forming around various parts of the suit. The shock-wave pushed him backwards into a wall, nearly knocking him unconscious.
"Ungh...." he groaned at the pain, "so much for that plan..."
"Aww, what's the matter, Phantom," the multiple Skulkers taunted him, "tired already?"
"No," Phantom grunted, lifting himself up on one knee and then back up to standing, "let's play some more."
"Tcch," the Skulkers mocked him.
He stood warbling back and forth, the Skulkers watching every aspect of his movements.
'I've gotta do something...one is bad enough, let alone four...' he thought to himself, looking for something he could do.
After a minute of searching, he noticed a little red flashing light on three of the Skulkers, and a solid red light on one of them.
'So...the solid light must be him...and the lights must be the device's sign of working...'
"Hmm, making a plan, Phantom?" Skulker teased him, suddenly appearing behind the boy.
He raised his hand and smashed it into Phantom as he brought it down, causing the ghost-child to go sliding across the floor and blood to be
smeared across the tiling.
"Ugh..."
"Now, you're coming with me, Phantom," the main Skulker stepped forward, producing a small orb in his hand.
Just as he was about to toss it towards the boy, Danny suddenly appeared.
"Stay...away..from..my..brother!!" he rushed towards the older ghost-man, smashing a chair into him, causing a sudden influx of confusion within
the man.
"You little runt," Skulker narrowly glared at the boy, "you will never tell the Ghost Zone's number one hunter to do, understand?"
Walker dashed at the boy, pulling back his hand and smashing it into him. Unused to and unfit for physical violence, Danny went spiraling into a nearby wall, blood stains soon appearing on his face and around the location.
Phantom, nearly unconscious at this point, watched in horror as his brother went spiraling into the wall with much more force than he could clearly handle. Skulker turned around, the distraction now tamed, prepared to capture the ghost-boy once more.
"Don't you dare ever touch...my....Little...BROTHER!!!" Phantom suddenly regained his strength, all of his energy now being compacted into his single fist.
He dashed towards Skulker as he finished the statement, an unexpected move that left the ghost unprepared for such a devastating attack. As if time was in slowed animation, his fist went crashing into the solid red light of the device causing the three clones that were now dashing towards him to dissipate. The punch continued right through the small metallic pieces left over and embedded itself within the man's chest leaving a clear imprint. Skulker's eyes went blank, his body seeming to float to the ground in the suspended time they had all been experiencing. As his head hit the floor, time once again began its normal flow, blood gushing out of the man's mouth and wound.
"Danny!" Phantom cried out, rushing over towards his brother, "Danny, are you okay?"
There was no response.
"Please...Danny..." Phantom hugged his younger brother, "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting towards you...I couldn't stand to see you get hurt like this, but it happened anyways...and it's all my fault..."
There was still no response.
"Danny...please...you have to stay with me, I need your help to get used to everything again...who else is going to take me out for ice cream and
stuff like that...you're all I have..."
A slight movement in his arms caused the thin river of tears streaming down Phantom's face to dry up almost instantly.
"Danny?"
"Agh..." he moaned at the pain, feebly coughing and wiping off blood from his face, "I didn't know..." he coughed again, "you were such a premadonna..."
Phantom laughed quietly, "Are you okay...?"
"Oof..." Danny groaned as he pushed himself up to prop against the wall, "I'll live..."
The two looked at one another and laughed at the semi-ironic statement.
"Ouch, ouch..."
"You sure, Danny?" Phantom stared at the boy, not wanting him to overdo it.
"Yeah..."
"Okay..."
The two sat together for a while.
"I don't know what to do about Walker...he's going to be coming here soon.."
"Check....Skulker..." Danny weakly pointed towards the man.
"Why?"
"He might...have somethin---!" he winced at a sharp pain that shot through him, "--g on him..."
Phantom looked over his brother one more time and then trotted over to the Hunter's body.
"Unconscious or dead, I don't care..." Phantom muttered.
He sorted through the various gadgets the man had, eventually coming to a sphere that looked remarkably similar to what he was trying to capture Phantom in.
"This might work..." he whispered to himself.
"What is it?" Danny questioned tilting his head, obviously having heard the statement and attempting to adjust his view.
"I think it's some kind of a prison-esque device. Skulker was trying to capture me in a smaller version of it before you came in..."
"You think it'll capture Walker and his guards?" Danny questioned, propping himself up a bit more, his strength slowly returning.
"Maybe...I hate to admit it, but his gadgets do work well.."
"I hope it does...I don't wanna lose you, Phantom..."
"I hope it does too, Danny...otherwise it won't be just me you'll lose."
"What do you mean?" Danny's face turned dark and pained, worry hidden within its creases.
"He'll take you and Jazz and mom and dad as having all helped me...and make you pay."
The two exchanged glances, a mixture of fear, worry, and hope being behind them. They looked out towards the horizon where the sun was setting, knowing full-well if their plan didn't work the consequences would be deadly.
AN: Sorry I'm a loser and haven't updated since last Tuesday. D: But, I mean, if you saw my social calendar you'd know why! I had like...6 after-school things in the past week, I went over my friend's house another day, I had a baby-shower-esque thing on Sunday...My life gets so busy sometimes! Not to mention I've been battling this writer's depression thing. Because..well, let me explain it to you.
Basically...you saw how this chapter ended, right? And this is Chapter 8. Well...the way I'm planning it, there can't be any more than 3 chapters after this one. So, we'll basically have, at max, a Chapter 11. But...I think it's leaning more towards two or one...so..yeah. I've just kinda been like D: Nooo I don't want to end it yet! But, I mean, 10 chapters is pretty impressive for me, considering usually I do One-Shots/Drabbles/Two-Shots (I actually don't think that's a term, but whatever. XD) But yeah. Maybe this will get sequel? (I smell seeeequueeeeell~ XD Not really. Not yet at least.) But I wanna work on SHYWI, SSIB and some Drabbles and stuff. So...yeah. I'm not really 'depressed' persay, but I am saddened that the story is coming to its finale. Maybe you guys will like SHYWI, SSIB when I get that up-and-running once more. The primary reviews were good! 3 So yeah.
Anyhow, in Summer I'ma do a lot more writing so...just keep that in mind. If you can bare with me for...about four more months, I promise I'll make it up to you!
Also, quick shout-out to spiritmind675 and Jessica01! You guys are awesome :D I really appreciate all the reviewing from you guys, but I also want to thank everyone for their reviews. So thank you! You guys are all great. ^^ :D I hope you stay with the story until the final words are written! ^^ Thank you so much, everyone. Until next chapter, ~Shin-Shui~