Okay, second to last chapter. This one is pretty long to make up for the next one which is only about 500 words if even. I'll be putting the second one up tomorrow because I have to start on the Halloween special.
"Okay, everyone clear on the plan?" Danny asked the group as they neared the heavily guarded castle.
"You mean go in there and fight as hard as we can?" Sam questioned with a slight hint of humor in her tone.
"Basically." Danny responded, shrugging his shoulders while still keeping a tight hold on his parents.
The group lightly touched down on the ground, barely hidden from the skeleton army. All of the carriers released their passengers.
"We'll hold them off." Jazz stated. "You four are the ones with the ghost powers, so you'll do more good than we will."
Danny nodded before blasting his way through the assembly of boney ghosts. With all four of them blasting, they made it to the spooky castle in no time. The quartet rushed into the building, leaving the battle scene outside.
"Well…if it isn't the Ghost Child. Although, it looks like you're not really a child anymore." A deep voice purred.
The warriors spun on heel to face the gigantic, armored form of Pariah Dark; king of all ghosts.
"No, not at all. Too bad for you." Danny snapped toward the large ghost.
Pariah rose from his throne, his massive body towering over the four.
"And it looks like you've brought friends." The Ghost King added, noticing the three other members of the group.
"You bet!" Dani shouted, a smirk on her face.
"Yeah! No way you'll beat all of us." Abby put in overconfidently.
"Ah, you two share a certain resemblance to Danny Phantom, although, the fourth looks unfamiliar." The scarred (not scared; scarred, as in the gash across that dude's eye) king noted.
Everyone picked up that the Ghost King was referring to Shadow. They instinctively cast him a glance, only to see the ghostly teen's expression darken and his eyes blare into a blazing red. The boy's hands clenched into tight fists and he shifted into his fighting stance.
The other half-ghosts followed his example, but only Danny was able to seem as ferocious as Shadow. Admittedly, the kid could pull off some pretty scary looks without having much to back them up.
"Bring it on." The oldest half-ghost challenged.
The larger ghost smirked. "As you wish."
Pariah fired a large ball of red energy. The ecto-blast hurdled toward the four heroes, but they quickly leaped out of the way, causing the ball to incinerate the spot they were just standing in.
"Wow, looks like being in that coffin for the last twenty-five years has left your aim a little off." Danny taunted.
Pariah seemed to take little notice of Danny's comment and simply fired another blast. Danny swiftly avoided it and went to charge up a huge blast of his own. It quickly grew to about the size of a beach ball before Danny released it and it hit the larger ghost. Pariah stumbled back a few feet, but showed no signs of serious injury.
"Aim for the crown and the ring!" Danny commanded.
No more words were spoken from the original Phantom because the Ghost King took that opportunity to smack Danny away like a fly. The black and white clad specter was pummeled into the ground. Hard.
"Danny/Dad!" Dani and Abby screamed upon seeing their loved one thrusted into the ground.
Danny unsteadily got up. "Don't worry about me! Get Pariah!"
The two reluctantly obeyed. They flung themselves toward the Ghost King. Dani and Abby charged up the strongest blasts they had and Shadow followed the example.
"You'll pay for that!" Abby shrieked.
All three fired at once. The blasts made contact and thrusted the ghost backward. Pariah Dark was slammed into a wall and rubble fell upon impact. Dust and dirt filled the air in a thick haze. Once it cleared, the massive ghost was standing back up again.
"Pathetic!" He roared. "I expected more from relatives of Danny Phantom."
The full-ghost slapped Abby and Dani away and they collided with the cold, stone wall before sliding to the ground.
"You know what's really pathetic?" A young male voice asked. "How you didn't see this coming!"
Shadow suddenly sprang from behind Pariah and grabbed the crown from his head before the Ghost King had a chance to react.
"No!" Pariah Dark screamed, grabbing at the place on his head where the Crown of Fire had recently vacated.
"Or this!" Danny added, making a swipe for the ring.
The massive ghost growled. "Even without the ring and crown I am still more powerful than you." He claimed. As if to prove it, he took a fast whack at Shadow, causing the boy to be thrown back, the crown dropping to the area where his aunt and sister were. The ghost boy's cape was caught on one of the black metal structures on the wall, causing it to rip off when he fell to the ground.
Shadow shot back, only to be flung away once more. This time though, his loosened bandanas came undone and drifted lightly to the ground, leaving Shadow uncovered. His black hair flamed to life without the restraint of his red bandana and his whole face was visible. The boy looked exactly the way he had when he first stumbled out of the Fenton Portal.
Not skipping a beat, Shadow leaped back up. His injuries burned, but he ignored them. He needed to pay attention to the big picture. Focusing all of his energy, Shadow let out the most powerful ghost zapper he had ever created. The huge lightning-like "X" form of energy attached itself to Pariah Dark, sending a wave of electricity through the ghost's massive body. Danny joined by releasing a powerful Ghostly Wail.
"Quick! We…have to…get him…in the sarcophagus!" Shadow panted, most of his energy wasted.
Abby and Dani leaped up, even though they were battered harshly, and joined in the effort. Soon, all four half ghosts were shoving the weakened Ghost King into his sarcophagus.
"No! NO!" Pariah screamed, fighting against the force.
The Ghost King was shoved into the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep and Danny closed the door. Danny, Dani, Abby, and Shadow used all of their remaining strength to keep it shut. Rings and spirals of light circled around the stone coffin.
"Where's…the key?!" Danny demanded, his breath coming out in gasps.
Shadow opened on red eye and searched quickly. On a table in the corner across from them rested a glowing green key with a skull on it. That had to be it!
"I…think I…see it!" the boy shouted.
"Then…go get it!" Abby demanded.
"We can…hold this shut! Just be fast!" Dani added, her strength leaving her.
Taking a deep breath, Shadow thrusted himself from the sarcophagus and shot toward the key. His heart beat wildly in his chest. His energy was draining from him and time was running out! The boy snatched the key and flew as fast as he could toward the stone coffin. The others didn't look like they would hold up for much longer. Shadow jammed the key into the hole with the last of his remaining strength and turned it, sealing the Ghost King once more.
A loud scream erupted from the Sarcophagus of Forever sleep; Pariah Dark's last scream for, hopefully, forever. The three Phantoms slid onto the ground, exasperation overwhelming them. Shadow felt the same dizzy and tired sensation creep over him. His legs gave out and he sunk to the floor onto his hands and knees. He couldn't pass out. Not here; not in front of his family!
The world seemed to fade away as unconsciousness grew nearer. He thought he heard a distant cry of "There they are," but it sounded far off. Air flowed past him as feet trampled around his nearly unconscious body. The ghost boy's eyes opened half-way for a moment, just long enough for him to catch a glimpse of his friends and family surrounding the three Phantoms.
Then, quiet footsteps approached him. He breathed hard and clamped his eyes shut. The fact that he no longer had his bandanas on and they could clearly see his face was settling into his brain. There was no way he'd be able to keep it a secret. They were his family, they'd recognize him. He held back a gasp as a strong hand rested on his shoulder. Anxiously, he looked up even though he already knew who it was.
His Dad was smiling at him. "So, this is the real face of Shadow, huh?" His Dad commented with humor in his tone.
Shadow sighed, mostly out of relief. It didn't seem like his Dad saw the resemblance.
"Need a hand?" Dani asked his, holding a black gloved hand in front of him.
He exhaustedly grabbed it and his aunt helped pulled him up, taking a few seconds to regain some balance. He glanced around. His grandparents and Aunt Jazz were huddled around an unconscious (and human) Abby, but were still staring at him. Everyone was staring at him.
"Looking for these?" Danny smirked knowingly, holding out the two bandanas and cape.
Shadow gave a shy smile and graciously took them. "Thanks. I guess the damage is already done though." He muttered.
"What 'damage?'" His father questioned. "I can't even see why you'd wear those in the first place. Seriously, I was at least expecting fangs."
The ghost boy rolled his eyes, but he couldn't hide his small smile. No one seemed to notice that he looked like Jake Fenton. Yes! He was in the clear.
"Can we go home now?" Tucker asked. "Which reminds me, why didn't we just take the Specter Speeder?"
"Because it still isn't fixed from the last time we totaled it." Sam responded snappily.
"The real problem is that Abby can't carry anyone and she needs to be carried too." Danny put in.
"Well, I can carry two people." Dani volunteered. "And Shadow could carry someone if he's up for it."
They looked at the ghost teen and he nodded. "You'd better take Abby, though. If she wakes up in mid-flight, chances are I'm going to end up with a few more bruises."
A few of the group members started giggling, mostly Danny, Dani, and Sam. Then, the oldest half-ghost of the group walked up to Shadow.
"You know, when we get back, I could always just tell everyone that you're on our side." Danny offered. "The reporters always want an interview after these things happen, so it won't be too hard."
Shadow thought for a minute. "Thanks, but no thanks. I want to earn everyone's trust. It's never as great or as strong when you have someone else do it for you. This way, they'll trust me because they're ready and figured out that I'm good on their own, not just because someone else told them."
Danny grinned. "You know, it took me almost a year to get that wise and start saying things like that. And you've learned it already."
"Yeah, well, I guess I'm just weird that way." Shadow joked.
Danny let out a small chuckle. Shadow was definitely an ally.
Just one more. Then, I can start putting up the Halloween one.