For the next few days, Danny overlooked most of the final training stage of his crew. They studied and battled virtually from ten in the morning to nearly six in the evening. One by one, every person on the team was growing familiar with the virtual training levels.
Within a day, everyone had been able to pass level one, including Nicholas. Once he had, he returned to studying his manual. The ghosts in the next levels came in this order: Box Ghost, Skulker, Thechnus, Ember, Spectra, Vortex, Undergroth, Nocturn, Vlad Plasmius and finally, Dan Phantom. Each Ghost augmented in difficulty and cleverness, and each ghost had their own powers and weakness. For a moment or two, Nicholas felt fortunate enough to have listened to the specials on television as a child when Danny Phantom fought different ghosts.
But this Dan Phantom was completely new to him. It was the only villain that no one seemed to recognize. Nicholas wondered secretly if he had been a villain only Danny knew, and if that was the reason for him being the final level.
It did not quite matter in the beginning; no one was able to pass Technus by Wednesday.
Danny watched Jeffery fail another attempt at fighting the third ghost and sighed tiredly. "Okay, okay, time out," he said as Jeffery removed the VRC. The black-haired man grabbed the helmet and watched as the exhausted trainee went to stand aside. "When I said think like a ghost, something obviously went through one ear and out the other," Danny continued while frowning softly. "You guys beat Box Ghost within a day, so why are we at the end of Wednesday and only half of you have beaten Skulker? And why hasn't anyone passed Technus? These are the easiest spirits to beat, guys! Are you even reading the manual I gave you?"
"This is the craziest training I've ever been through!" Lancer exclaimed in exhaustion, catching Danny's attention. "We're astronauts, not ghost busters! Why do we have to train for this if half of us won't be leaving the shuttle?"
"Ghosts don't stay outside, Lancer," Danny said sternly. "They can phase through anything, unless it's anti-ghost."
"If our shuttle is equipped for this type of mission, wouldn't it be anti-ghost?"
"Not our shuttle. The other ones may be, but not this one."
Lancer stared at him in disbelief. "Why the heck isn't your shuttle ghost proof?"
"BECAUSE I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO FLY IT IF IT WAS, THAT'S WHY!" Danny exclaimed loudly.
Everyone fell incredibly silent. Lancer raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Nicholas remained immobile, stunned that his captain suddenly let something slip.
Danny realized what he had said as well. He opened his eyes wide in shock and then nervously looked down at the helmet in his hands as he blushed. "Uh, I mean, turning our type of shuttle anti-ghost would make it incredibly difficult to manoeuvre," he said much calmer. "It tends to make the shuttle lopsided."
Lancer blinked a few times before nervously rubbing his neck. "Forgive me, Sir," he said. "I shouldn't have shouted at you like that."
Danny took a deep breath and raised his head. He looked at Lancer and then at the rest of his crew. "I know this training doesn't make any sense to you right now," he spoke gently, "But once we're on our way to where we need to get to, you'll be thankful you've been through this."
He took a step forward and held up the VRC. "Considering the difficulty of these levels, I'll give you guys another clue," he began. "Skulker is an ecto-skeleton. He may seem to stand at nearly nine feet in height, but he's actually no taller than your hand. He's a robotics ghost; specializes in mechanics. You need to use that to your advantage."
He looked at the other half of his crew. "Technus is an upgrader and technology ghost. He can manipulate any hardware in sight, and sometimes tends to blurt out his plans by accident." Danny placed a hand on his hip. "Will that help you?" he asked.
No one dared to speak until Martha cleared her throat. "Uh, question, Sir," she said.
"Go on."
"I hope you don't take this personally or anything, but… How is it that you know so much about Danny Phantom and his enemies? You know even more about them than any of the news anchors do."
At these words, Danny finally cracked a grin and laughed very softly. He shook his head and stared at the floor. "Some things are better left alone, Dr. Stewart," he said very quietly. He raised his head and looked up at Nicholas.
Nicholas recoiled in surprise at this, before nervously looking away.
"Better left alone… until the right time," Danny finished. After the room was silent for another second or two, he sighed loudly and patted the VRC. "So!" he said, looking at everyone; "Who's gonna go next?"
All the astronauts present looked about nervously while mumbling and smiled wryly in reply. Danny raised an eyebrow and grinned slyly. "Don't tell me you're chicken," he said sarcastically. "You guys are supposed to be the bravest and the smartest of NASA's new recruits. That's why you were chosen for this job."
Lancer looked at everyone before pointing at Danny. "If you're so confident that we can pass this training, why not do it yourself?" he asked.
"Lancer!" Nicholas whispered harshly, reaching over and punching his teammate in the shoulder.
Danny waited until Lancer had finished rubbing his arm before speaking. He smiled cleverly. "Are you challenging me?" he asked.
Lancer looked at Nicholas before staring at his captain. "Um, maybe," he said.
Danny chuckled softly and held up the helmet. "Either you are or you aren't, Lancer," he said. "You think I should see exactly how difficult this training is?"
Lancer shrugged. "Um, sure, yeah," he said, grinning. "Let's see what you've got."
When Nicholas looked at Danny, he noticed the man's eyes flash green for a split second before turning blue again. Danny placed the helmet over his head and walked over to where the different weapons were. "To demonstrate that I won't cheat, I'll have the game play on the screen back there so you guys can watch," he announced. "And to show you I'm no coward, I'll choose the Fenton Thermos," he added, picking up a metal cylinder that was supposed to represent the thermos in the game.
"That's not a weapon of defence," Arthur pointed out. "That's just something to trap the ghost."
"You plan on fighting it one on one or something?" Lisa asked as she sat down and smiled amusingly.
"Maybe he'll bop it in the head," another trainee muttered, making the others giggle.
Danny laughed softly as he walked to the circle at the center of the room. "If you guys think I'll have a heart attack, you can stop me whenever you want," he said, getting into ready stance. "This is how you fight like a ghost."
And the training began. The Box Ghost appeared on the screen at the back of a warehouse and began throwing boxes and containers of all types in the direction of the camera. Behind him, in a small chest, was the sample the player had to retrieve.
Danny immediately dodged the first box by leaning to one side. He ducked, dodged, leaned and jumped in place. He even managed to flip once or twice, to everyone's astonishment.
"Whoa, did you see that?" a man gasped.
Lancer passed a hand through his hair. "Did he just… flip?" he said, looking at Nicholas.
Nicholas stared back until he decided to watch the screen.
The Box Ghost waved its arms around in the air. "BEWARE!" he shouted.
"Not this time, Box Boy," Danny replied with a grin. He stood up straight and pointed the silver cylinder at the screen.
On the screen itself appeared the end of the Fenton Thermos. Out of it exploded a bright blue light. The light sucked the Box Ghost straight into the container, shouting in fright at the same time.
Danny quickly put the lid back over it and tossed it up. "Level one, completed," he announced aloud, much to the bewilderment of everyone there. "And that was all done in less than two minutes." He cracked his knuckles. "Gimme your best shot, Skulker!"
And he continued on with the next levels, one by one, using nothing but wit and gymnastics to virtually dodge every attack that was sent his way. His crew watched in astonishment, completely blown away with how little difficulty their captain was able to pass every test, and without losing a single life at that.
Nicholas was awed. Never had he seen someone fight so gracefully with a foe that only existed in his mind. It took him by storm at how simple this training seemed to Danny, despite the fact that the man had already fought these ghosts several times before.
"I'm not believing this!" Arthur exclaimed with a laugh. "It's only been twenty-five minutes, and he's already beaten nine ghosts!"
"And with only a Fenton Thermos!" Jacob added in awe.
"He's got this ghost fighting thing down pat, eh, Nick?" Lancer said with a grin.
Nicholas hushed him. "He's about to beat the last one," he whispered.
The room fell incredibly silent as the screen went black. When it faded into view again, they saw nothing but the ruins of a futuristic city, flattened completely to the ground.
Danny bared his teeth a little and crouched low at the sound of footsteps.
"Hey, Kid," the ghost said with a deep voice. When it stepped into view, a few women gasped. The spirit was as tall as a man, yet had pale green skin, flame-like white hair, muscular body and glowing red eyes. He was dressed in a suit that resembled Danny Phantom's.
"He looks like an evil version of Danny Phantom!" Lancer whispered in shock.
Dan Phantom smiled deviously at his opponent. "Long time no see," he announced.
Danny growled softly. "Better that way, if you ask me," he said dryly.
Nicholas, as well as a few other astronauts, were startled; the ghosts had never spoken to them directly when they trained, and yet, here was the final ghost, speaking to Danny as though he knew him.
"You should have known you couldn't escape your future," the ghost continued.
"I never escaped it," Danny replied. "I only changed it."
"How clever."
Lancer leaned towards Nicholas. "What the heck's goin' on here?" he asked worriedly.
Nicholas shook his head. "I have no idea," he replied.
Dan Phantom held up a hand and it began to glow red. "I see you're unarmed," he said. "If I had even a drop of humanity left, I would probably give you a chance, but considering I don't, better luck next time."
Danny crouched even lower to the ground. "Give it your best shot, Pal!" he shouted.
The ghost on the screen immediately began firing powerful ghost rays at the player. Danny dodged and ducked, leaped and jumped. He flipped once, landed on his feet and flipped again.
"I see you've been practicing, Twinkle Toes," Dan teased. "Let's see how well you can dance at this speed!"
His speed in attacks immediately began to double, and even triple. The astronauts present began chattering excitedly as they watched their captain move even faster at dodging. Danny panted loudly.
"It's as if this game's got a memory or something," David announced. "A memory of each player that's used it." He looked at his teammates. "This mustn't be the first time Dr. Fenton's played."
Lancer looked at him. "If he's this good, do you think he's—!"
A loud groan from Danny caught everyone's attention. Danny slid backwards on his feet a few inches and grasped his stomach as though he had just received a painful blow in the gut.
Lisa gasped. "Guys, I think he's hurt!" she said.
"How the heck did he get hurt physically if it's only a video game?" Lancer exclaimed.
Dan laughed menacingly on the screen. "Get back up on your feet, Hero!" he taunted as Danny slowly began to straighten out. "Amity Park won't stand on its own, you know; it needs you to hold it up!"
Danny's legs seemed to shake, but he stood firmly anyhow. "I'm not finished yet," he said through pants.
Dan smiled. "Good," he said. "Then let me finish you off!"
The ghost took a deep breath and then let it all out in a ghostly wail. Everyone present cried in surprise and covered their ears.
"What attack is that?" Jeffery cried out.
Nicholas looked at the screen. "It's the Ghostly Wail!" he shouted. "It's one of Danny Phantom's most powerful attacks! It can damage or permanently destroy ghost matter!"
"It sure is loud!" Lancer shouted. "Thank goodness we're just humans!"
To everyone's complete surprise, Danny placed his hands over his ears and screamed in pain. He threw his head back and fell to his knees.
"Captain!" Melissa gasped. She looked at Nicholas. "Nicholas, we need to do something!"
"Why's it hurting him?" Jacob wondered.
Nicholas did not explain this time. He unblocked his ears and rushed down the steps that led to where his captain was. He knew why it was harming him; Danny was part ghost.
Nicholas rushed up to Danny and began placing his hands around Danny's arms in order to help him to his feet; but to his complete surprise, Danny threw an arm out and pushed him back subconsciously. Nicholas stumbled backwards in surprise before attempting to raise the man up again, but once more, Danny pushed him back. When Nicholas tried it a third time, Danny swung a leg around and tripped the astronaut.
Nicholas groaned as he hit the floor and then looked up at his captain.
Danny slowly began to rise to his feet. He squeezed his fists and clenched his teeth. "You won't… beat me… THIS TIME!" he yelled incredibly loudly.
On the screen, Dan Phantom stared at the player in horror, just as the helmet Danny was wearing began to glow. Danny shouted angrily and threw a fist out through the air. In the training game, it hit the ghost in the face and tossed him backwards to the ground.
Danny immediately pulled out the silver cylinder and pulled the cap off. He held it up, pointed in Dan's direction, and activated it. A bright light burst out and enveloped the ghost, sucking it into the thermos while shouting in dismay.
As soon as the cap was over the item, everything fell silent. The helmet stopped glowing, to everyone's bewilderment, and the words You win appeared in capital letters over the screen.
Danny sighed in exhaustion and dropped the silver thermos to the floor. It fell with a clang!
"Oh, my gosh," Lisa said in awe. "He just beat the entire game in half an hour!"
"That's incredible!" Arthur added.
Danny slowly pulled the helmet off of his head. His arms and legs were shaking in weakness. He wiped his forehead while panting. "That's how you… fight like a ghost," he panted.
Lancer pointed at him. "You're the guy!" he exclaimed. "You're the guy Lieutenant Jones said had beaten the game! You're the only one who's ever beaten it!"
"That was amazing, Captain!" Martha said excitedly. "You beat that ghost like it was nothing!"
At these words, to everyone's surprise, Danny laughed sarcastically and dropped the helmet to the ground. "Out of all the ghosts in the world, he's definitely not nothing, Martha," he said sternly, frowning tiredly at her. "Dan Phantom's the worst of the worst, trust me. If there's any ghost you should be frightened of, it's him." He looked at the team. "I hope you all watched carefully, here, because this is the last time you'll see me do this. Perseverance is key to winning this game, people; perseverance and endurance. I beat all ten of them without a single weapon except for a soup can. Can you do that?"
"Why did that ghost talk to you?" Judy asked softly, catching his attention. "It's almost as if he knew who you were."
At these words, Danny's eyes darkened and he looked away. "Like I said earlier," he replied. "Some things are better left alone, Judy."
He finally turned his eyes upon Nicholas. Nicholas stared back at him in silence from the floor and fearfully wondered what he would say.
Danny frowned gravely at him. "The worst thing someone could do is try to interfere while someone else is virtually training," he said coolly. "Do you have any idea what could have happened if you had done more than what you tried to do?"
"I-I was only trying to help you," Nicholas replied nervously. "You looked like you were in pain—!"
"That doesn't matter," Danny replied sharply. "There's nothing anyone can do if someone's been harmed virtually. That's why it's not a game for the weak of heart. That's why you each had to pass a special health exam before taking this training." Danny's frown grew as he pointed at Nicholas. "You, out of everyone here, should already know not to do something that stupid around me."
"I'm sorry, Sir—!"
"—Either you could have killed me, or I could have killed you," Danny interrupted in a hiss. He leaned towards Nicholas and narrowed his eyes. They immediately glowed bright green.
Nicholas gasped softly.
Danny glared at him. "Do that again, to anyone who's training virtually, without first contacting the Emergency crew who is experienced with this type of injury, and you can remove yourself from the team," he whispered. "Do I make myself clear?"
Nicholas did not hesitate. He immediately nodded his head quickly.
Danny pulled himself away from him and walked off. His legs nearly gave in a few times as he made his way up the steps. "Training will commence tomorrow at nine instead of ten," he announced. "I want to make sure all of you make it to level five before we leave for Florida."
Lisa attempted to help him make his way to the door, but Danny only dismissed her with a wave of his arm and continued on his way until he had exited the room.
Everyone watched him do so before looking at Nicholas. The man slowly rose to his feet while dusting himself off.
"I'm sorry, Nicholas," Melissa apologized. "I didn't think helping him could get you in trouble."
Nicholas looked at her before staring at the VRC on the floor. "Don't worry about it, Mel," he replied quietly. "I'll… get used to it."