Disclaimer: I still don't own Danny Phantom as it's the property of Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon and Viacom International. I am just a loyal fan and nothing more.
Unshattered Bonds
Chapter 16: Race against time
At the EFB's base camp
Ember was stunned to see this. In a nearby cave, she saw more and more people, humans and ghosts alike tinkering around with weaponry and she saw Skulker's suit being examined by some scientists as well.
"Welcome to headquarters...'Sam said as she put on a cloak at the entrance to protect them from unwanted eyes. Once done, she turned to Ember who was still surprised by her surroundings.
"Some this is where the operation is?...'Ember questioned, surprised but what she was seeing.
"You got that right...'Ember heard a familiar voice and was surprised to see Tucker there, though he looked different.
"Tucker?..."Ember said, surprised by his appearance.
For one thing, he had some five o'clock shadow and looked like he hasn't had a good night sleep in a long time, not to mention his glasses were replaced by an eyepatch. Ember would have hated to ask what happened but she could guess that involved fighting, most likely Vlad's goons.
"You know me?..."Tucker asked in surprise.
"It's a long story...'Sam said, feeling a migraine.
"How long?...'Tucker asked with a raised eyebrow.
'Can we please get a long with this? The sooner we defeat that scoundrel and fix the time stream, the sooner I can get back to my after life..." Cupid said impatiently.
Ember would have retorted but wisely kept her tongue for once. Now was not the time to let her irritation with the cherub get in the way of things.
"So this is the entire resistance?...'Ember asked.
"It has been for the last five years..."Sam said as she began her tale of the rebellion.
She explained that it was after Plasmius conquered the earth and that he and his army took control over everything. She explained that she was one of the first protestors against Plasmius but he either had them arrested or sent to reeducation camps. Sam explained that she couldn't sit back and watch her entire world be controlled by a tyrant and a traitor, so she and Tucker had recruited a small group of people who were not afraid to fight for their freedom and created the brigade. After a few years it grew, and they even made some ghostly allies such as Sydney Poindexter, Queen Dora who explained that she lost her kingdom from Plasmius and she was determined to get it back from him and surprisingly enough the Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady were amongst the ghostly rebels as well.
"Plasmius is a tyrant and I won't sit on the sidelines...'Sam said.
Ember looked at her in admiration. One thing she could give her is that Sam was a brave girl, regardless of what timeline she came from. It was one of the reasons that she respected her.
"Don't worry, once I get the time staff and free Clockwork and Aphrodite, it will be like Plasmius's reign had never happened..."Ember explained.
"I hope so...'Sam said before a look of curiosity came on her face ..." So, you mentioned about the world you come from, could you tell me what's it like again?...'She asked, an earnest expression came on her otherwise frowning face, along with another look.
A look of hope...
"Okay, here's the story...'Ember started her tale, telling the entire situation to Sam, Tucker and the Earth's Freedom Brigade.
She told them of the original timeline, that Danny was a superhero Danny Phantom who was the one who saved the earth from the Disasteroid. She told him that in her world, Vlad was exiled and stole the time staff and kidnapped Cupid's mother Aphrodite to force the world, and especially Maddie and Danny to his will. She told him that Paulina was cursed by Aphrodite and that she teamed up with Vlad to screw things over for the world and she told them that in her world, the earth and most especially Danny was free.
"So...In your world...Danny and us...We're still friends?..." Tucker said in astonishment, making Ember feel bad for him.
"Yes, he's still the same sweet, somewhat clumsy but wonderful guy that was your best friend...It was still so great that you were even going to be the best man at our wedding...'Ember said, making Tucker's eyes widen at that.
"You mean you and Danny-?...'Tucker said and Ember nodded.
"Yes but thanks to that witch, she's tricked him into thinking he loves her, when in reality she's just a controlling, selfish little-..."
"Okay we get it, that crazed mortal girl is a beast and once she and her partner are done with, I am sure my mother will do something far more severe than give her the kind of face that would make Medusa look lovely..."Cupid said with an eye roll.
"She'd better..."Ember said under her breath.
"Either way, the world you come from sounds a 100 times better than the one we got, I am willing to trust you...'Sam said.
'It is...In my world Danny and I are getting married and you guys are still best friends...and I even became pretty fond of you two..."Ember said honestly.
"So Danny...Is he...happy with you?..."Sam asked in a strange way.
Ember raised an eyebrow at that, until she recalled that at one point Sam had feelings for Danny. She didn't think much of it since in her timeline, they had broken up but we're still friends and Ember respected their friendship since she knew Danny and Sam were platonic and she knew their friendship meant so much to them. In this world, that friendship was destroyed by Paulina, before Sam had a chance with Danny, which might have left some unresolved feelings.
Complicated much?
"Yes, he is...and I was really happy too...Happier than I have ever been in my entire afterlife...You were happy too as well with a great guy too..."Ember said to the leader.
Sam blinked in surprise at that.
"Anybody I know?..."She asked out of curiosity.
"I shouldn't say but I can say that he's a great guy that loves you the way I love Danny and despite it being against gothic norm, I always saw you with a grin on your face around him...Ember said, making Sam look deep in thought.
"So, I still didn't get Danny but...I would still find someone...'Sam thought in surprise.
"And what about me?...'Tucker asked with interest.
"Let's just say she's a little out of your league but your happy too...'Ember said with a grin, thinking about Jazz.
"Heh...You're funny..." Tucker said.
"Okay, so like I said, the only way to fix things is to get the time staff back and free Clockwork and Aphrodite..."Ember said.
"I guess the first thing to do is try and locate either of them...'Sam started.
'What's frustrating is that I almost got her, but Plasmius's goons caught me and put me in that damned squad car to be destroyed..."Ember muttered.
"Careless much?..."Cupid muttered sarcastically, making Ember's temper rise.
"Look, while I do appreciate you taking that massive stick out of your butt and helped us with the Fright Knight, but if your not gonna say something helpful, keep quiet!...'Ember shouted.
"Cool out you two...Now Ember, continue...What happened?...'Sam asked seriously.
Ember tried to calm down and continued with what happened at the castle, including that brief moment with Danny before Vlad got her. Despite that moment giving her hope that the man she loved was still inside him, it still left her a tad confused about something.
"Are you serious?...'Sam asked with a surprised tone.
"Yes, when he took me into his arms...when we looked into each other's eyes...He...He had the same look in his eyes my Danny always had...He had a look he didn't even give Paulina while I was spying on them...'Ember said, recalling that one special moment.
"But how did that work anyway? I thought you said that Vlad and Paulina changed time so that you two would have never have met? How would that work?..."Tucker asked, not getting it at all.
"It's because of the bond between them?..."Cupid answered, getting attention from the others.
"Bond?...'Sam questioned.
"How much do you know about the work of the spirit of love?..."Cupid asked.
"Isn't it pretty self explanatory, the spirit of love is suppose to bring love to others?..." Ember answered for them.
"That's the gist of it, and I believe you know that the spirit of time's job is to watch over the timeline, though on occasion he must make some changes if necessary..."Cupid started.
"Okay, the duties of the spirit of love and the spirit of time are extremely important since they are meant to keep balance in both the human and ghost worlds...Let's say that the spirit of love had brought a couple together, they formed a bond, got together, got married and lived happily ever after... All is well and good...However, if the spirit of time makes a change to the time stream...No matter how big or small, there is the possibility that it will affect said couple...Perhaps the circumstances of their first meeting would have been different, maybe they wouldn't have gotten off on the right foot or the possibility that during this change, they didn't end up meeting them and fell for other people..." Cupid said.
"Does this story even have a point?..."Ember said impatiently, wanting him to get on with it.
"I am getting there!...'Cupid hissed, before calming down... "Anyway, the spirit of time can't interfere with the work of the spirit of love since it could risk causing an unbalance but changes in the timeline just can't be avoided but...if a bond is already established between the couple in the original timeline...marking them as soulmates...then somehow or in someway...they will eventually find their way back to each other, with or without the assistance of the spirit of love...'He explained.
"Really?...'Ember asked in surprise.
"Yes, really..."He said honestly... "If the bond was made...it can't be destroyed...even by the spirit of love themselves since our duty is to bring soulmates together...Once they are reunited, they will be together again in one way or another...'He explained, recalling that disastrous Valentine's day from so long ago.
Cupid still didn't understand how that bond could have been forged at all since he never intended it to. He had made Ember fall for Phantom to teach her a lesson about disrespecting love but it ended accidentally creating a bond, something he had never experienced before...He had tried to remedy it before it became unbreakable but it just didn't work out. It was still so bizarre since Ember and Danny Phantom had been enemies, they hated each other and even after the spell was lifted, they ended up forging that bond faster than most of the couples he got together on purpose.
"So...Because Danny and I have our bond...He can be freed again?...'Ember asked hopefully.
"I do believe so...Honestly girl, even the effects of the love arrows can't interfere if soulmates are bonded...Phantom's heart is still yours, the worst they can do is make him infatuated but he only actually loves the one he was bonded to in the first timeline..." He continued.
"And he still loves me...he just doesn't realize it...but I will make sure that he does...'Ember said more hopefully.
"Okay, back on topic...We have to find a way to find that time staff and the others if we want to take Plasmius down for good..."Sam ordered.
"Agreed..." They all said as they went to form a new game plan.
Elsewhere
Danny Plasmius blinked as he turned around, stunned by his surroundings. He wasn't in his room or even in the castle, he looked like he was at some beautiful cliff side that had a nice view of the sunset.
'Beautiful...'He commented as he strolled around his surroundings, this place was simply breathtaking to say the least.
"Yes, it is..."A female voice said.
He turned to see it was a girl but her she was a little ahead, admiring the sunset and he still couldn't see her face. All he could see was her hair that looked like blue fire.
"Who are you?..."Danny asked.
She turned around and Danny was surprised to see that it was the face of the girl whom he has only seen once today...The burglar that his father arrested.
What was she doing here?
"No one that special..."The girl shrugged as she continued to look at the sunset... "It certainly is a beautiful sunset, isn't it..." The girl said and Danny found himself nodding in agreement.
Danny would have questioned her, and wondered how she evaded arrest but...he felt strangely at peace around her.
"What brings you here?...'He asked.
"What brings you here?...'The girl repeated.
"I asked you first..."Danny said.
"So?...'The girl shrugged.
Danny blinked and decided to answer first, since this girl didn't seem like being serious but he didn't feel too annoyed yet.
"I...I don't know...I guess I was taking the scenic route..."He muttered.
"Maybe I was too...Or maybe I just wanted to be alone...or maybe I wanted someone to talk to...'The girl said strangely.
"That barely makes any sense...'Danny said.
'I guess it doesn't...Oh well..."The girl shrugged.
Danny unintentionally chuckled at that. This girl had quite a sense of humor, he would give her that...Though he still wanted to know who she saw, why she was here and why he kept feeling so strange around her.
He felt like he was suppose to know more about her but he didn't...
"Who...Who are you really? Why do I feel like I...know you?...'Danny asked as he got closer to her.
"I'm-
Suddenly Danny felt a pair of chains surround his wrists and ankles. One chain was red and the other was blue and they were tight!
"WHAT THE-?..."Danny shouted in confusion and anger as he tried to break them but nothing!
He yelped as the red and blue chains began to pull him away from the girl with blue fire hair, who only held her hand out for him.
"Take my hand! ."She called as she reached out for him.
Danny didn't hesitate to reach out for her, the chains pulled him farther and farther away but he kept fighting, the girl tried to reach him and he tried to reach her hand.
He was so close yet so far...
"I can't reach you!...'Danny called in misery as these chains were going to take him to wherever they intended to take him but he knew that he wouldn't like it.
"Please don't give up Danny! I won't let them take you.." The girl shouted as she tried to reach him again.
Danny blinked at that but made his resolve. He was so close yet so far...but he wouldn't give up...He went forward, trying to resist the chains that kept pulling him back, he had to get to that girl...
He didn't know what was happening or why...but all he knew was that...if he got to that girl...things would be alright...
"Closer...Closer...'Danny said as he moved his hand a few inches toward the girl who was getting hopeful.
"Take my hand...I won't let than take you..."The girl repeated as she kept her hand out for him.
He was close to taking it...he was only inches away when-
Danny bolted awake and started to shiver uncontrollably as he saw that one of his windows was open and it was very windy.
"Oh man, I forgot to close this again...'Danny sighed as he got up from bed and went to close his window.
This was such an old fashioned castle and despite having every luxury on the planet, it can still get pretty drafty. He closed the window an glanced at his clock and sighed when he saw that it was precisely 1:00 am...In exactly 9 hours he would be married to Paulina and do everything that was ever expected of him.
But was he ready for this yet?
"Father says I am...Mother agrees with him...and Paulina really wants this...I better get back to sleep...'He sighed as he went back to his bed, trying to get back to sleep since he needed as much as he could get, since his morning would be hectic since the would be preparing him for the biggest wedding of the century, which would be televised for the entire world to see!
Such a thought made his stomach flip but his thoughts soon turned to the dream he just had, which left him more confused than ever. Why was he so fixated on that girl with the blue fire hair, he had only met her today and she was trying to rob the castle, why the heck was she in his dreams and in a nice one too?!
He was confused and he was tired and he doubted his father would appreciate him being drowsy on his wedding day.
"I best get back to sleep..."Danny muttered as he unsuccessfully tried to force himself back to sleep.
Tomorrow was a big day for him and the whole world.
Back with the Brigade
Ember, Cupid, Sam and Tucker were looking overt he data they had obtained from Skulker's suit and Ember remembered that in her world, Skulker usually logs all of his "hunts" in order to "immortalize them"...Ember could still recall the day she laughed at him for having a diary and his whiny rant that it was not a diary but a "Hunter's log".
They checked over the log and were surprised to see all the data they got rom it. It seems that Skulker wasn't just a hunter but a full employee of Vlad who had access to quite a lot of weapons...and he had the locations to such on his suit.
"You got to love technology...'Tucker said as he saved a copy of the data.
"I'm getting there..."Ember said as she looked at the information that was on Skulker's data, but her eyes widen and she let out an ear piercing scream after reading something on the computer.
"NO! It can't be!..." Ember screeched.
'What's wrong?..." Sam asked in concern by her behavior.
"That witch! That snake! Evil! vile! selfish! man-stealing shrew! I ought to-...'Ember was ranting and cursing a blue streak while the others just read the piece of data that upset her so much.
Sam became pale when she saw that it was an old message from Vlad and what it read.
"Royal wedding between Prince Daniel Plasmius and Paulina Sanchez will be held tomorrow at 10:00am at the castle. Be sure to arrive to keep check on security"
"Oh my..." Cupid commented.
"Paulina moved up the wedding?!...'Sam yelled in surprise but it was nothing compared to Ember right now.
She looked ready to kill!
"No way! I am NOT letting this happen!...'Ember started marching out, her hair blazing brighter than ever and Cupid got in front of her.
"And where do you think your going?...'Cupid said wit his hands on his hips.
"Where do you think? I got to get to Danny now!...'Ember exploded.
"And with what planned? In case you forgot, Plasmius has every ghost on his payroll after you, you take one step in that castle and you are good as destroyed...'Cupid said, forcing Ember to calm down.
Ember looked angry...but her quivering lips and indicated she was feeling something else.
'Ember...'Tucker reached out for her but she swatted his hand away.
'It's not fair! I'm suppose to be the one marrying Danny but that witch ...she doesn't even love him...He's just a prize to her! If Danny marries her, he'll be a slave for the rest of his afterlife while Vlad will continue to destroy what remains of my Danny within him...'Ember said sadly.
"Don't worry, that wedding won't happen on our watch...I lost my friend once but...I'm going to get him back one way or the other...'Sam said in determination... "But we won't do that by rushing blind...We need a plan and a way to get to the human world from here..."Sam said.
"Either way, we got to get him away from Vlad and Paulina before they make him say "I do"...Don't you have a ghost portal?..."Ember asked, since that's the only way they could have gotten into the ghost portal.
"Unfortunately it won't work for a while...Since I had limited resources I could only make the portal stay open for a while so we could come here and try to take on Vlad's forces on this side...and try and find something we could use against him but it will take another 24 hours before our portal is up and running again...'Tucker explained.
"In 24 hours, we'll be too late...There has to be another way to the human world!..."Ember asked.
'The only way is through Vlad's portals but they are heavily guarded and only ghosts in his employ can go through them...You will just be attacked again..."Sam explained.
"There's got to be something!...'Ember kicked, trying to think of an alternative transportation.
"Why not use a natural portal...Even Plasmius wouldn't be able to predict when and where one of those would appear...'Cupid said.
"Yeah, but neither could we...I mean you would need-..."Ember paused as she processed what he just said... "Cupid, if you weren't such a brat, I'd hug you for giving me this idea!...'Ember said in excitement as she rushed to the computer and looked like she was searching for something on Skulker's files.
'What are you looking for?..."Sam asked in confusion.
"The only way we would be able to find out when and where a natural portal would appear is with the Infi-Map...In my time, Vlad once tried to steal if and I would bet my guitar he would try and do that here too...'Ember said as she kept typing.
She remembered Danny telling her that story in detail, about how he first met Frostbite and it ended in a huge fight with Vlad over the Infi-Map since he, for whatever delusion he was having, though the map could lead him to his "destiny".
"But what use would he have with the map?..."Cupid asked.
He knew the map was powerful to some but it mostly just transported one through time or locations and he already had the time staff at him. It would have been almost redundant in his opinion.
"A prize for his ego!...'Ember said as she kept searching... "Got it!..."It says here that the Infi-Map was delivered a few days ago to some weapons vault near Pariah's keep!...'Ember said in excitement.
"Pariah's keep is on the other end of the Ghost Zone from here. It would take hours to get there...'Christopher said as he came into the room.
'What time is it in the human world?...'Ember asked.
"It's exactly 2:00am...'He said.
"I only got eight hours to get there, steal the map, find a natural portal and get to Danny before he makes the biggest mistake of his life..."Ember said in determination.
"What to you mean "I"?...We're coming too..."Sam said as she and her bridage came to back her up.
"This is one battle we're not missing out on...'Christopher said, taking of his shades to show a pair of serious green eyes.
'Count me in! Vlad needs to be taken out, no matter what...'Valerie suddenly appeared as well.
"You got that right, I waited too long for this chance and I won't miss out...'Sam said..."I want to be there to watch Plasmius fall and the earth is liberated...and Danny...Despite everything...I still want to...go back to being friends with him and if this is the only way to do that...'She said with a forlorn look.
"Me too...I want my best friend back...'Tucker said with a similar expression.
"Can we get on with it?! We're wasting enough time as it s on chatting!...'Cupid complained but was mostly ignored.
"Even if I fly at my fastest, it will still take hours to get to Pariah's Keep from this point...'Ember muttered.
"Maybe but this might help speed things up a bit...'Christopher said as he pulled out what looked to be ATV's but there were floating.
They reminded Ember of the pair Jack and Maddie had, from an adventure Danny mentioned happened during one summer involving some creepy ring master and his parents finding out his secret before he wiped their memories of it.
"Meet the FTV's! Foley Transportation Vehicle, made by yours truly...'Tucker said a little too proudly.
Ember was mildly impressed. She was used to see Jack and Maddie come up with these kinds of things, but Tucker was well versed in tech and even graduated from MIT in her world.
"How fast can they go?...'Ember asked.
"I designed them to be able to carry up to 300 pounds each and reach a speed of 180 miles per hour, I installed a GPA with our own map of the ghost zone terrain we have covered...not to mention they got a killer sound system and rims...big spinning rims..."Tucker said with a dreamy voice over his creation.
"Tucker!..."Sam shouted.
"Yeah?..."He said in a clueless voice.
"At least one thing is the same here..." Ember almost giggled at their antics, for the first time since she got here, they almost acted like the Tucker and Sam she knew from her world.
"Let's get on with this..."Cupid said as he decided to ride with the Brigade on the vehicles...
"I couldn't agree more..." Ember said as she got her guitar.
"Alpha Team! Time to steal us a map!..."Sam said to her subordinates.
"Yes captain. .."They all said as they mounted their FTV's.
They were off to Pariah's Keep to find the Infi-Map, with one very determined ghostly diva who would stop at nothing to get to Danny in order to save him from Vlad and Paulina, as well as save the world from them as well.
"Don't worry baby, I'm coming..."Ember whispered to herself as she kept moving as fast as she could with the Brigade with her.
It was a race against time and she was going to make sure that she wins.
To be continued-
Next time on Unshattered Bonds
Danny's doubts
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewers:
Feurrige: We shall see...
Meilstoer: Looks like he's heading in that direction.
Invader Johnny: Yes, it is excellent.
wiseguy2415: Thank you...
Jasonvoorhes: Thankd.
Guest: Well said my good fellow.
:) Till next time beautiful people, remember to read and review :)