Me: Hi everyone. Sorry for taking so long, with father's day and summer classes it's been a busy schedule for me.
Muscleman: You know who else has a busy schedule?
Mordecai: Don't say it!
Muscleman: Mmmm….
Rigby: Seriously dude, don't do it!
Muscleman: mmmmyyyy…..
Me: You really don't want to finish that.
Muscleman: My Mo…
*Grimlock's head bursts through the ceiling and swallows Muscleman whole*
Me: We did try to warn him.
Grimlock: Me Grimlock HATE "my mom" jokes!
Ch. 16 The Ghost and the Princess
Alaska
The night sky was clear over the frozen waters surrounding Alaska. The sky lit with the stars, as well as the Northern Lights; the many colors danced the sky. It was beautiful. But this peaceful sky had two beings flying through it straight towards the small beam of white light shooting out into the sky.
On the right side was Amity Park's protector and hero, Danny Phantom. Flying to his left was his new ally, Princess Illana of Galaluna, in her golden Corus armor.
"I know that there's an armada of Mutradi ships just above that sky, threating to kill every human on this planet, but you have to admit, the sky is beautiful tonight." Illana spoke through her armor, marveling at the Northern lights above her.
"Yeah I know it's very nice. But we have a job to do." Danny told her "We need to commander that portal generator so we can take the fight to the Mutradi's home turf."
Illana sighed "Yeah I know." She was not one enjoy battle or conflict. But when the situation calls for it, she'll be ready to fight, and this world needs her to be ready.
As they continued to fly through the sky, closer to they're destination, Illana had to ask a certain question that's been on her mind for some time now. She wanted to ask it the moment she and Danny took off from the G3 base.
"You're name's Danny Phantom?" She asked
"Well, that's my hero name that I use." Danny answered.
"Does that mean you're a ghost?" Illana asked
"Half-ghost. It's a long story. And we do kinda have a job to do." Danny remined.
"Of course, your right." Illana responded, knowing there is a time and a place for small talk, and this was not the time.
They had arrived. Danny and Illana, still in her Corus armor, snuck across the snow-mounds of an icy hill and hid behind a frozen wall. Both peered from behind the wall and saw they're target. The massive black tower, with an almost equally massive white beam shooting out of it, into space, keeping the massive rift gate in orbit open.
They both looked down the hill at the base of the tower, they saw the Mutradi grunts guarding the tower.
"Okay, I can see five up front; can your armor detect anything from behind?" Danny whispered
lllana looked at her armor scans inside before answering. "Yeah, scans are picking up six more Mutradi life-signals behind the tower."
"Alright then. I'll take the six behind, you take the five in front." Danny instructed.
"Are you sure you can handle it?" the princess asked with concern.
"If I can help take down a small army of those things, plus a Mega-beast, I'm pretty sure I can handle just six of them." The ghost-boy responded.
"Alright, just be careful." She told him.
"I always am." He reassured before going intangible and phasing into the ground.
The six Mutradi guards stood behind the tower, each with a gun in their possession. They stood ever watching, they're focus solely on the frozen landscape in front of them, ready to eliminate anything that could be conceived as a sentient being. The back-most Mutradi kept it's eyes focused on the landscape, but it's focus was broken when it felt a gloved-hand poking it's right shoulder.
"Hey. Whatchya lookin at?" a male human voice casually asked
The surprised Mutradi turned to the floating, whit-haired, green-eyed boy in a black and white suit; casually waving. "Hi." Danny greeted, before delivering an ecto-charged fist to its face.
*Wham!*
The other five Mutradi we're surprised to see they're fellow guard fly right past them and into a large ice mound. They immediately turned around to see Danny Phantom hovering off the ground pulling his fist, from the previous punch, back.
They immediately opened fire with they're large guns at the teen-hero. Danny merely crossed his arms and turned intangible, allowing the energy bolts from the Mutradi guns to pass through harmlessly. The Mutradi guards we're shocked beyond belief, so shocked they stopped firing. Danny turned tangible before charging his hands with glowing green energy.
"My turn."
Danny threw both his hands out, blasting a large beam of Ecto-energy that blew away one of the Mutradi soldiers. Danny then flew straight towards another and delivered a punch to another's face so strong, it turned the creature's head 180 degrees, before falling dead.
Another Mutradi came from behind Danny hopping to smash him; only for Danny to turn around and blast cyan-colored ecto-beams from his eyes to the monster. The creature froze in it's tracks, Danny then delivered a punch to the frozen alien, shattering it.
Yet another charged at Danny head-on, but the ghost-boy merely grabbed the creature by it's left arm. Danny twirled the creature around, lifting it off it's feet, and with his super strength, tossed the Mutradi into the first one, who was just barley recovering, only to see it's brother fly and smash into him. Danny then sent a cyan-blue energy beam, freezing both of them.
The last one took Danny off-guard as he tackled him to the icy-ground. The Mutradi snarled at Danny's face, some spit landing on him.
"Ever heard of toothpaste?" the unphased Danny Phantom taunted before turning intangible, slipping from it's grip and flying through it's body. The Mutradi didn't have time to be surprised as an ecto-energy beam blasted through its chest in the back, leaving a large hole. The last of the six fell dead as Danny dusted off his hands.
The five Mutradi guards up front heard some commotion coming from the other side of the tower. They would have gone to investigate if something hadn't just interrupted them. That 'something' came in the form of a certain princess in her armor flying at high-speeds and landing unmercifully onto the front-most Mutradi guard; crushing it on impact.
Illana turned to the remaining four as they snarled at her and blasted they're weapons at her. Illana reacted quick enough to activate her armor's electro-static force field, blocking the attack.
The princess then fired a blue energy beam from her armor's forehead, slicing through Mutradi guns, causing them to explode, sending the Mutradi flying back a small distance.
Illana quickly took the offensive as she deactivated her shield and charged at the enemy. She landed her armor fist into the face of the left-most Mutradi, who was still on the ground. The impact from the armor crushed the monster's skull.
One Mutradi leapt at Illana, only for her to blast a large blue beam from her heart-shaped chest piece, blasting it's head off. Illana winced at the gruesome sight, but snapped back to reality at the sounds of the remaining two Mutradi snarling.
One of them charged for her, only for Illana to fly and grab the beast. She then flew straight up to the sky, once she reached over 300 feet she threw the Mutradi straight down at the remaining one below. The Mutradi crashed into it's brother and left a crater in the frozen ground, but Illana wasn't finished, she activated here electro-static field again and flew down at high speeds to the last two and crushed them under the force of her energy field.
The armored Illana stepped out of the crater and looked at her work, if one could see her face inside the armor, it would be one of small grief. Danny then flew from the other side and came up to her.
"I see you got things done here." Danny noted as he observed her work. "My side's all clear." Danny pointed with his thumb behind the tower, but he noticed how Illana didn't respond. "Hey, you okay?"
Illana snapped out of it "Hmmm? Oh yeah, I'm fine. It's just…."
"You don't like killing, or just fighting in general." Danny guessed
"Yeah." Illana responded simply. "I know that sometimes fighting is necessary, especially when your trying to protect the people you care about, but…."
"It just never seems to end, does it?" Danny answered for her. "Look, I don't like killing either, but I have to keep fighting, I know it seems like it'll gone on forever, but we need to keep going. Its never-ending battle, but we can't quit. We got too many people counting on us."
Illana smiled a bit behind her armor and looked to Danny. She felt some relief after getting that off her chest. "Your right, we have a job to do."
"You bet we do." Danny responded with a confident grin. They both turned to the tower "What are the odds that place is crawling with Mutradi?"
Illana's Corus armor scanned the tower for Mutradi life-signals. "Pretty high apparently." She answered. "My scans are picking up thirty, maybe even forty Mutradi in there."
Danny sighed "Somehow I knew it wasn't gonna be easy."
"So what now?" Illana asked
"Solomon needs us to secure the tower for his forces; we have to clear it out."
"Understood."
They both walked to the massive door to the even larger tower. Danny phased his left hand inside the door; his left arm then began to glow with cyan energy. Five seconds later, the entire metal door completely froze over. Danny pulled out his left hand and pulled back his right. He punched the door and it completely shattered.
The two heroes we're greeted by seven armed Mutradi guards who snarled and roared at the inturders.
"Ready?" Danny asked, hands glowing green.
"Ready." Illana responded, her armor headpiece and chest-piece glowing.
"Let's do this!" Danny exclaimed as they both flew straight into the Mutradi; armor and fists blazing.
Within the security room of the tower was a dark figure. The figure saw through the many screens, the security footage of what was going on in the tower. It saw a white-haired boy punch, blast, kick, and freeze his way through the many Mutradi guards that came his way. The figure also took note of his companion, once it saw the Corus armor, it narrowed its eyes at it, it knew this was princess Illana. The figure then made to leave the room and wait for its enemies to arrive, it was only a matter of time until they did. This figure will have its revenge.
Danny and Illana continued to fight they're way through the enemy tower. Making quick work of all the Mutradi forces. With they're combined efforts, nothing seems to stop these two. If one could see outside the tower, they would see green and blue energy beams blasting out of the walls and hear many cries and roars.
They had made it to the top floor and Danny Phantom had dropped the last of the Mutradi guards. "Alright, is that the last of em?" Danny asked
Illana, still in her Corus armor, checked the scans. "It looks like it." She answered "I'm not picking up anymore… wait, hold on a second."
"What is it?" Danny questioned
"There's one left." Illana responded "Above us on the roof. Scans are saying something's different with this one."
"Yeah, I can feel something too." Danny said as a small chill went down his spine "Something… ghostly"
Danny phased through the ceiling onto the roof, carrying the armor Illana with him. They both landed on the ground and looked around, but all they saw was the massive white energy beam shooting into the sky.
"I'm certain my scans picked up something." Illana said
"No, something is here, I can feel it." Danny told her, the feeling still present and growing stronger.
They both suddenly felt the urge to turn around and look behind them. When they did, they we're both surprised at what they saw, especially Illana. She was so surprised her armor deactivated and her horror-plagued face could clearly be seen.
"No." She uttered lightly as she slowly stepped back. "It can't be… not you."
But it was. It was the one Mutradi who ever struck the most fear in her, the one she had prayed she'd never see again. It was the black-cloaked Mutradi Shaman of Fear.
"Hello, princess." He greeted in a low and dark voice that would send a chill down anyone's spine.
"Illana, who is this guy?" Danny asked
Illana was too shaken to give an answer "You can't be… it's not possible… you… you died. I saw you die!" she weakly pointed her figure to the Shaman.
"Not completely dead." It answered "I won't bore you with details; but when the scouts from Mutrad arrived to prepare for the invasion, I was found, and I was healed, and now, it would seem fortune has smiled upon me, for now, I can have my revenge." It smiled
"Sorry, 'tall, dark, and ugly', but that ain't gonna happen." Danny stated as he stepped in front of the still-terrified Illana ready to fight.
The shaman raised his staff and blasted two bolts of blue electricity has his eyes began to blow bright blue. Danny prepared to turn him and Illana intangible, but it didn't do much good as the bolts hit them both and they grumbled in pain as they both fell to the floor.
Danny was shaking as white rings formed around his mid-section and he transformed into Danny Fenton. The shaman curiously raised an eyebrow at the boy's sudden change in appearance. It turned back to Illana as she fell to the ground, shaking uncontrollably. The shaman couldn't help but smile.
"And now, you two shall both drown in your worst fears." The shaman taunted as he kept his assault going on they're psyches.
Illana slowly opened her eyes and rose from the ground of where she was standing. She looked around in surprise, for she was no longer at the Mutradi generator tower in Alaska, but a barren wasteland, one that felt all-too familiar.
"Where am I?" She wondered out loud "Danny?" She called out. Illana looked down at herself and was surprised to see herself in a white dress, the same kind she had the last time she faced the Fear Shaman in her mind.
Illana's mind snapped. She knew where she was, this was the fantasy of her home world, Galaluna; destroyed. "No." She resisted as she shut her eyes and she grabbed her head attempting to fight this "No, you can't trick me like this again. We saved our home. This is just a vision." She told herself.
Something though was very different from this one than the last one. She heard a strange sound coming from beneath her feet. She looked down and became shocked as a large, grey hand explodes from the ground.
Illana stumbled back and looked around to see more hands emerge from the ground all around her. She looked on in horror as the figures began to rise in the form of skeletons. The skeletons however, all bore clothes as those of Galaunian civilians. The skeletons slowly began to walk towards her.
"No… no this isn't real." She tried "This isn't real!"
But the skeletons we're still there and becoming closer. Acting out of fear, she then began to run as far away from them as she could. She tried to run, but the landscape just seemed to spread on even further. She looked back to see the skeletons increase in number as more rose from the ground.
"No! Wake up Illana! This is just what he wants! You beat him before, so WAKE UP!"
She then felt something grab her ankle and she tripped. She looked down to see a half-risen Skeleton grabbing onto her left leg. She tried to kick the skull of it, but it wouldn't budge. More skeletal arms arose from the ground and grabbed her arms, waist. She looked up to see the skeletons coming toward her and reaching out to her.
"No. Lance! Help me! LAN…" She couldn't finish as a skeletal arm came from the ground and cover her mouth. She could only look in fear and terror as the skeletons reached out toward her. The only thing else that was heard was her muffled scream.
Danny slowly opened his eyes to find himself in a dark room. He slowly got up on his feet and rubbed his face. "What the hell? Where am I?" He looked at himself, only to find he was in his human form. Danny wasted no time transforming back into his ghost form. He lit his hand with green-ecto energy to light the room he was in, and he was completely surprised.
He was in his parent's ghost lab, but not the way he knows it. The lab was in complete ruins. Broken glass and metal, and papers, we're scattered all over the floor, and the portal was split in half.
"The lab? Wasn't I just in Alaska?" Danny wondered "Illana?" He looked around to find he was the only one in the lab. How did he get here, to his Earth. Did that Mutradi guy send him here? No time to wonder, he had to find a way back. Maybe Clockwork could help, but the portal's trashed. Looks like he was gonna have to go for Vlad's abounded lab in his abandoned mayoral mansion.
Danny phased up through the ceiling and through the Fenton-Works building outside. However, once he got outside, nothing could prepare him for what he saw. Amity Park, his home city, was all-but destroyed. Buildings toppled over, the streets we're riddled with craters and skeletons.
"What the…?" The shocked Danny questioned, "How long was I gone?" He gasped "Sam!"
Danny flew through the destroyed city looking for any signs of life calling out to people "Sam! Danielle! Tucker! Jazz! Mom! Dad! ANYONE!" He would call out the names of his friends and loved ones, but he would get no response from the bleak darkened, destroyed city around him.
He continue to fly over the city and over the park, he looked down and saw something that caught his attention. He flew down in front of an object and was horrified at what he saw, a gravestone. The stone read 'Here lies Jack Fenton, beloved husband and father'.
"Dad?" Danny questioned he looked around and saw more grave-stones one read 'Here lies Madison Fenton, beloved wife and mother'; the next one read 'Jazz and Danielle Fenton, beloved sisters'; the one after read 'Tucker Foley, a friend till the end'; but it was the one after that, that made his strength fall as he read it. 'Here lies Samantha Manson, gone but not forgotten.'
Danny fell to his knees. "Sam? No. This… this can't…" He couldn't finish as he put his hand to his face, the one he loved gone? No. This can't be happening?
"Funny how things like this happen hm?" a voice spoke out. Danny eye's became wide with horror as he instantly recognized the voice, the one he never thought he would ever hear again. He shook as he slowly turned around to confirm his fear, his heart skipped a beat when he set his eyes upon the source of the voice; his evil future self; Dark Phantom. (or Dan Phantom)
Dark Phantom smiled evilly "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"You." Danny spoke
"Yes me." Dark Phantom said as he blasted Danny with an ecto-beam that sent him flying into a dead tree. "Me, me, me, me." He tainted as he approached Danny.
Danny then suddenly saw his white rings as he transformed back into Danny Fenton. Dark Phantom then grabbed Danny be the shirt and pulled him up to eye-level. "Me too." Dark Phantom taunted as he smiled and pulled back a fist and gunned it straight for Danny's face.
Back in the real world, the Shaman of Fear could only marvel in satisfaction at his work being done. He continued to cast blue energy beams from his staff at Danny and Illana. He watched them squirm and shake, both trapped in they're minds experiencing they're worst fears.
"Yes." He said "Let your fears take you, as they consume you, as they slowly take you… to your deaths."
Danny and Illana both doubled over as they're heart rates continue to pulse, at this rate, it would only be a matter of time till they would both suffer from heart-attacks.
Illana struggled with all her might but it was useless. The skeletons' grips we're too strong. She felt rope being tied around her wrists behind her back. More rope tied around her upper body, binding her arms to her body. More was tied around her ankles and above her knees.
"No! Let me go!" She cried out as they continue to bind her. "Somebody! Help! Lance! HElmmmmpphh!" She muffled as a cloth was tied tightly around her mouth, preventing her from speaking. She was completely helpless.
The Skeletons then raised her above themselves and began to carry her off. She continued to struggle and moan through her gag, but she couldn't break free. She tried to free herself from this; deep down she knew this was all an illusion created by the Shaman, it wasn't real; but why was she still so frightened?
She looked on ahead to where the Skeletons we're carrying her. She was now more terrified than ever. It was a large wooden platform; cast to the side of it where the broken parts of her dear friend Octus. However, what terrified her the most we're the bodies of her father, the king; and Lance; all with ropes around they're necks, they had been hanged. This was the gallows.
She looked to the left of the bodies of her father and beloved and saw an empty rope loop, it was obvious whom it was meant for.
Danny was tossed down the ruined street. He clutched his aching side, looking up to see Dark Phantom slowly approach him. Danny tried to transform, but found himself unable to.
"What the Hell is happening?" Danny asked himself.
"Isn't it obvious?" Dark Phantom responded as he stood before his counterpart "I'm taking over." Dark Phantom then kicked Danny across the face, sending him tumbling further down the streets.
"But you shouldn't be here." Danny stated "You're not here! You're not real!" Danny exclaimed as he tried to punch his dark future self, only for his fist to be caught.
"Oh I'm plenty real, more real than you anyway." Dark Phantom increased the strength in his grip, causing Danny to groan in pain and fall to his knees "Oh, by the way? What makes you think you're weak human side can hurt me?" Danny was punched in the gut and knocked even further down.
Danny coughed up some blood as he looked at his future self coming ever closer, cracking his knuckles. Danny's mind was racing, but he knew something was off, he had to focus.
"Come on Danny focus." He whispered to himself. His mind began to calm a bit. He could now think a little more clearly. Was he zapped to an alternate earth? No, few beings in the universe can do that. But it wasn't his universe he was previously at. It was a Mutradi that zapped him, how could he have ended up here from that? Then it hit him.
Dark Phantom charged ecto-energy in his fist and gave a large evil grin, ready to finish this. "It's over Danny; you couldn't protect your friends; you couldn't protect your family; you couldn't even protect them the one you loved. You're pathetic, and your time is over; it's now my time." He taunted as he pulled back his fist, but was caught off guard at the sound of Danny laughing.
Danny rose to his knees as he kept laughing lightly. "What's so damn funny? Even you wouldn't laugh at your own funeral." Dark Phantom asked
"What funeral? There's no funeral because you're not here, this isn't real." Danny smiled
"Is this real enough for you!?" Dark Phantom yelled as he lauched his fist, only for it to be caught by Danny Fenton. Dark Phantom's eyes went wide.
The Shaman of Fear was surprised to see Danny stop struggling and slowly rise up.
"You're not real." Danny taunted as he pulled back his fist and slammed it into his evil self's face, sending him flying into a destroyed car. Dark Phantom could only look in surprise at Danny's new strength and even more surprised when he saw Danny change back into Danny Phantom.
"This is just my nightmare. Just a dream." Danny stated. Dark Phantom angrily flew towards Danny, but Danny just slapped him away with little effort.
Danny then reached into his pocket and pulled out a Fenton Thermos. He activated it and sucked Dark Phantom inside.
"This is just a nightmare, nothing more." Danny stated as his whole body began to glow with ecto-energy. He slowly rose up into the air and curled up like an infant in a womb as the ecto-energy inside continued to grow. "People need me right now, so… Let… ME…GOOOO!"
Danny's body exploded in a large blast of green ecto-energy
The Shaman was comptley surprised to see Danny blast all the energy away and force the Shaman back away twenty feet. He looked in surprise to see a not-too-happy Danny Phantom glowing and ready to dish out some payback.
The bound and gagged Illana felt the rope tighten across her neck as the skeletons prepared for her hanging. She looked to her loved ones' hanging bodies and could only close her eyes as a skeleton reached for the lever that would end her life.
But something snapped her out of it. Illana just felt herself awaken as the nightmare shatter around her. She gasped when she woke up, she looked to find she was no longer tied up. Illana looked around and saw she was right where she was moments ago, the roof of the Mutradi portal generator tower.
She heard a yell and turned to see Danny flying towards the Shaman. The Shaman casted another bolt from his staff to Danny only for Danny to slap the bolt away and fly face-to-face with the Shaman.
"This is impossible. No! You are human! How can you resist me!?" The Shaman furiously asked as Danny took away the staff and snapped it in two.
"Because this is now your worst nightmare." Danny declared as he pulled back a much eager fist and slammed it into the Shaman's face, sending him flying.
The Shaman quickly recovered "There is more than one way to end a life!" He declared as his hands began to glow with blue energy, but before he could do anything he was blasted away by a large blast of blue energy.
Danny turned around to see Illana in her Corus armor ready for some payback. She and Danny walked up to the terrified Shaman.
"You want this?" Danny asked Illana
"We both earned it." She responded as they each pulled back they're fists.
*Wham!*
The Shaman was sent flying straight into the white energy beam shooting out into space. He screamed in complete pain and agony as his whole body completely disintegrated in the energy.
Illana deactivated her armor and Danny sighed in relief. "Good riddance." The next thing that he knew, Illana leapt at him and gave him a hug.
Danny was surprised to say the least. "Um… Illana? I kinda have a girlfriend… very serious relationship"
Illana smiled and pulled away from the hug. "I'm sorry. Just the worst nightmare ever."
"Heh, tell me about it." Danny responded
"So what was yours about?" She asked curiously
"Trust me, you don't wanna know."
"Oh." Illana responded. She then reached into her comn through her golden armor-watch "Solomon, it's Illana; Danny and I just secured the generator in Alaska."
"Roger that." Solomon responded back through the comn "I am sending forces to keep the location secure. All the other teams just checked back in, all the generators are secure."
"So is Lance okay?" She asked
"Yes, he and Octus are both fine, as the rest of the kids."
"Oh right, them to." She quickly responded, laughing nervously, then signing off.
"So you and Lance huh?" Danny asked with a smug grin.
Illana looked away so Danny wouldn't see her blush. Danny's smirk remained but he quickly got to the matters at hand "So all the generators are secure?"
Illana quickly regained her composure before responding "Yep, all five are secure."
"Good, up next is the hard part." Danny said as he and Illana looked up into the sky "Storming the lion's den."
"Mutrad." Illana stated "The Mutradi home world. Is wrong that I'm a little nervous."
"No, not at all." Danny said simply "Fear is natural. Going into battle despite the fear, is what makes someone a hero. A hero must always believe that he or she will win."
"You really think I'm a hero?" She asked
"Takes one to know one." Danny said "You're risking your life to save a planet that's not even yours, and you will keep going until you know it'll be safe. So yes, you are a hero."
Illana smiled "You're quite the hero yourself Danny Phantom."
They both sat down at the edge of the roof. "It could be a while before G3 shows up." Illana began "So…"
Danny smiled "Okay, where to begin?"
Me: Done!
Mordecai: Generators are down!
Rigby: Time for the Avengers to Assemble, and beat the crap out of the bad guy!
Mordecai/Rigby: OOOOHHHHHH!
Grimlock: Something wrong with me tummy.
Me: Guys, what did Muscleman have for lunch?
Rigby: A chili-dog with chipotle sauce and a chocolate sunde with barbeque sauce.
Me/Mordecai: O_O
Mordecai: Uh oh!
Grimlock: Me Grimock need BATHROOM!