Bonjour mes chers! I'm so sorry for the long pause between updates. I've had these chapters written but I haven't had time to really proof them where things have been so hectic recently. Hopefully they're worth the wait!

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Warnings for: Mentions of past murder, blood, and descriptions of broken bones in the next two chapters.

Chapter Twenty Seven

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"Well, well, if the little punk isn't awake at last." It wasn't the words that had Danny snapping fully awake, but the ethereal, echoic tone that signaled the fact it was a ghost speaking to him. Heart speeding and racing - heart, not core - Danny forced himself to keep utterly still as he cracked an eye open, trying to appear as unconcerned by what was happening as possible. A quick mental check of his body showed that yes, he was very much hurting in some places, and yes, he was actually chained to where his body was hanging off the ground. The tips of his toes brushed just enough to give him a bit of room to work with, but not enough to alleviate the burning pain tearing through his shoulders.

"Walker." Of course it was Walker. It was always fucking Walker that attacked him when he was least expecting it and when things were just starting to go well and when everything felt as if he had a chance to be normal- "Stealing people in the dead of night again? I thought you would have learned your lesson from last time. Then again, I suppose all of those prison outbreaks prove you don't learn much, huh?" Fuck. How had Walker managed- He was hardly ever alone or at Fenton Works these days, choosing to instead spend all of his time at Vidya or Liz.

"Come on now, kid. It's not really considered stealin' when I'm just reclaimin' some lost property of mine." Walker's thick southern drawl crashed into him and near drowned him, Danny fighting to choke back a sensation that felt as if he was swallowing tar. If Spectra was poisonous then Walker was toxic. It wasn't just how he was obsessed with capturing ghosts and locking them up - a more intense form of Skulker's own obsession - but he was one of the few ghosts that had crossed the line into threatening and hurting humans. Danny never would forget the time that Sam had near been hurt by Walker's plans. "It took quite a bit of trouble to catch you, boy."

"I happen to be pretty well known for being troublesome, so I guess I can't fault you too much." Smirking, Danny tried to look around and expand his senses as much as he could. The way their words echoed made it seem as if they were in a large cavern, the sound of dripping water only attesting to such a feeling. There were two faint glows that he could see, one coming from Walker's aura and another coming from the chains that Danny was wrapped up in - meant to keep his ghost side sealed away, he was willing to bet. What he really wanted to know was just where Walker had gotten them. "Come on, Walker, we both know how this ends. I get free, you get your butt kicked, and I go home happy and healthy."

Danny smirked, looking as cocky and self-assured as he could as his thoughts raced and tumbled through his head. He didn't remember being captured- He didn't remember- Okay, stay calm, Fenton. Stay calm and backtrack. Last thing he had been doing… School holidays had started and it was two days before Christmas. He had been shopping in the human world with Randy, the two trying to find good Christmas presents for Andrew. Danny had sensed a ghost, or… Or maybe it was Randy who had sensed a ghost? Someone had left- Himself?

"Brag all you want, ghost boy, but I have a feelin' that things are goin' to be a little different this time around. Call it assurance." Staring up at Walker for a moment, Danny was hit by the overwhelming realization that he had forgotten. It… It was hardly his fault. Things had been going so well lately and he hadn't seen Spectra in weeks. Andrew and Randy had both been spoiling him with attention and love and he was finally looking forward to a Christmas which was just around the corner. Everything had been wonderful, lately.

He had forgotten, though, how quickly things went wrong in his life. He had forgotten how quickly terror and fear seeped into his bones and stole his breath away. Trepidation halted his movements and paranoia dogged his footsteps and made him jump at how there was nothing there. He had forgotten how dangerous his life was. He had forgotten how he was so much more than just another teenager.

"That little mutt that follows you two is mighty protective, I'll say that much." The calm drawl had Danny snapping his attention back to the conversation, eyes slightly widening as he saw Walker was pacing outside of Danny's cage. "Course, it was pretty easy to grab you when we had the benefit of some new toys."

Some of the darkness lifted and a clear memory flashed through Danny's head of Walker and a dozen guards all wearing belts around their waists. The technology had looked similar to something Vlad had been designing that was meant to hide the signatures of ghosts- Stolen. Vlad's lab and Axion Labs had both been broken into a few days ago. He remembered his mother and Vlad complaining on the phone about it.

"Oh, so that's how it is, huh?" Danny laughed, jostling some of his wounds and making him hide a flinch. More banged up than he first thought, then. "You couldn't capture me yourself so you stole from someone who's actually a threat to me." And oh, that was so not going to be good for Walker. If It was one thing Vlad hated more than losing, then it was being stolen from. Well, that and Danny being hurt. After the truce the two had made, Danny had found that Vlad was very protective over him.

"What that rat will never find out won't hurt none." It was a sad fact that Danny's thoughts were more on how horrified Andrew would be over Walker's grammar rather than how he could escape. Shaking his head a bit, Danny focused back in on Walker, the ghost pacing outside his cage a few more times before sickly green eyes focused on him. The color was nothing like Andrew's - or even Danny's - but instead were a sickly green that reminded him of bubbling, toxic sludge found in his parent's lab. "You know, boy, you have a high price on your head. No doubt those hunters would be mighty pleased to have a gift like you dropped off on them."

Hunters? Did he mean ghost hunters? The only ones even near Amity Park anymore was his family and they all knew about him. Surely that was common knowledge that even Walker had to know at this point. Walker only continued with his threats, a thoughtful look on his face, "Now, what were those there fellas called… Ah, the Guys-in-White."

At that, Danny felt his reaction slip by before he could stop it, laughter falling out of him in surprise, "Seriously? Those idiots?" There was still that lingering sense of unease about them from his last run-in with the group, but they were still the Guys-in-White. Even the name was ridiculous. "Come on, Walker, I thought you were better than that!" Sure there was a sudden lump in his throat and a feeling of lead coating his insides but… It was just the GiW. They were useless. They- They could never be a real threat to him. "At least make it an actual threat."

"Oh, they used to be," Walker chuckled, sitting himself down on a rock outcropping a few feet away. "They have gone downhill since my day, though, haven't they?" Wha- What? Since… Since his day? "Course, back then, we were known by the name of Section 13." Walker's smile cut through the darkness around him, a terrifying image full of sweet charm that hid sharp thorns and wicked hate. "Why do you think I'm so good at catchin' ghosts, boy?"

"Yeah, catching them and then letting them get away." Calm. Calm, calm, calm, calm. Stay calm, Danny, don't let it get to you. Just stay calm. Taking a breath, Danny tried to keep still and stay as calm as he could- Tried to channel as much of Randy and Andrew as he could… As much of White Fang and the Priest. "Do you really think you can keep me trapped here, Walker? You think that you'll be the one able to keep them from finding me?"

And that was right, wasn't it? Walker hadn't just pissed off two or three humans, this time. He had managed to piss off his entire family, another half-ghost, and two master assassins that would do anything to keep him safe. Laughing, Danny shook his head again, "You think you win? That you'll ever win? You can never win with them already out there looking for me."

"We'll just have to see about that, ghost boy, now won't we?" Watching as Walker stood, Danny made a rather immature expression at his back. "You haven't noticed your new jail cell yet, have you? Made it special just for you." Laughing again, Walker glanced back. "Damn shame, isn't it? How not many know just how many holes this world has." Those sickly green eyes swirled with pleasure and hatred, the sight making Danny click his mouth shut as words died in his throat. "Where you are now? Let's just say this is one hole that was tossed out."

"They're going to find me." Danny straightened himself out, pain flashing through his body that he pushed away and ignored. He would not lose. Not to this thing. "What happens when a mate gets taken, Walker."

"Somethin' really interestin', ghost boy." Chuckling, Walker calmly walked away, footsteps echoing across the rock chamber and sounding like the march of an executioner- Of course. That was his favorite part, wasn't it? "Rumors spread fast about that mutt and writer of yours. Now, what were those names… White Fang and the Priest, wasn't it?"

Walker was gone in a flash, Danny staring at the spot where he had been standing as the world around him plunged back into near complete darkness. Gritting his teeth, Danny forcibly took a calming breath and looked around his environment more, slowly and carefully taking stock of his injuries. Judging by how he was breathing alright he didn't have any broken ribs - maybe a few sprains and bruises but he didn't think anything was cracked. Spine was a bit worse for wear but he could move and feel his legs. A sharp pain from his ankle… Sprained, maybe. Broken? He'd have to be careful of it for a while.

Tensing up different parts of his body to test for anything else, he winced sharply as he got to his wrist. It was definitely snapped. Wouldn't be much use in a fight, but he could probably figure out something if he needed to. Neck felt a little sore, but he could attribute that to whiplash and being tossed around. His clothes were a little worse for wear, but he had his shoes still on - as well as scruffed up pants and a torn jacket, but it was something.

Taking a few more moments to adjust, Danny shook his head with a rough sigh. God, even his ghost senses had been taken away from him. The only thing that was keeping him from panicking and having an attack was the fact he could still feel that familiar spark of cold - distant and faded as it was. Looking back to the ecto-restraints he had around his wrists and ankles, Danny bit the inside of his cheek. Section 13… Walker had just become much more dangerous.

"What happens when a mate is taken…" Groaning, Danny shook his head. With how Andrew and Randy were… "Please don't do anything stupid."

::

"It wouldn't take much to kill them all." Andrew had a wicked sharp knife in hand, fingers tapping against the sharpened edge and drawing a few droplets of blood (ectoplasm) every so often. He paid no heed to the sensation, far too used to such a thing. "There's only ninety-seven of them. We've killed more in less time before, grand frère."

"Steady, Andy." Steady. Easy. Focus. Calm- How could he be calm when his mate was missing and- He knew. He knew who he was right now. He wasn't Andrew Riter. He wasn't the Ghostwriter. "You know the laws of killing another ghost."

"They deserve it," Andrew (he was the Priest now, though, wasn't he?) hissed, clutching his knife and calming at the shooting pains that came with the sharpened edges slicing against his skin. "Grand frère, I want to kill."

"I know, mon petit, I know." At the touch to the back of his hand, Andrew easily held his palm out for Randy to inspect, gaze remaining trained on the lair that floated a few hundred feet in front of them. The ghost that had been used as bait to draw Randy away from Danny had been easily captured, and the information had been happily given. Walker… Of course it would be Walker to steal his precious mate.

It would be so easy to steal him back… The Priest and White Fang had taken care of greater threats in their day. This was just another black spot on their records. "Ssh, it's okay, mon petit, it's alright. Focus for me, okay?"

"Oui, grand frère." Focus. Andrew Riter. He was Andrew Riter, but… His mate was missing- Taken. He couldn't be Andrew Riter right now. "Grand frère, you'll let me kill, won't you? Let me kill them."

Randy only kissed his temple after letting his hand go, fingers tapping a nervous rhythm against his guns (claws they were claws black claws that dripped with blood). "We need to find Danny, mon petit. Danny comes first." Oh, he was trying to hard to hold back but Andrew could see so clearly through his dear Randy (his precious White Fang who guarded him always). He wanted to draw blood just as much as he did.

"Their guard is lax, no one is prepared. There's a five minute lag between each pass of the guards." As Andrew rattled off everything he had observed, he saw more and more of his sweet White Fang slipping through. "Most of them are outside and any who are inside are spread out and far apart. Their screams wouldn't summon any help."

"Really, now…" There. (There.) That quiet purr threaded through his words, that spark of bloodlust playing in his eyes and making them near glow. "It's like they're asking for a break in." They were slipping so quickly and was this really all it took? Years of trying to suppress who they were and all it took was their precious little mate to get taken and… It didn't need much more than that, did it? Danny was theirs and he was taken. They needed to get him back (he wouldn't mind too much blood he knew what they were). "Five minute window. Fourteen guards on the outside wall, two in the hallway, limited use of powers."

"He'll be kept towards the center." He shouldn't like this as much as he did. The fact that Randy's guns were loaded with bullets laced with blood blossoms, or the fact that Andrew had his pouch of old knives that were made for killing and causing pain. "Grand frère, if we see Walker, I want to kill him."

A moment passed before there was a hand threaded through his hair, Randy staring into his eyes before he sighed (Randy, White Fang, Randy, White Fang, he couldn't tell) and he was giving a weak smile. "Let's play a new game, mon petit." Oh? "First one to get to Danny without killing wins."

Without killing… Danny. Focus on Danny. He wasn't- No. He was Andrew Claude Riter, current school teacher, very good writer, and Danny's mate. He was not the Priest of Death. He wanted to be so badly just this one last time but- He knew. He knew one last time would never be enough. Not if he fell. "Merci beaucoup, grand frère." A game. One last game. The one with the lowest number wins, this time.

"Let's go find our wayward little Phantom now, oui?" A flash and the two were darting forwards, Andrew in the lead and Randy a step behind just like always. The two reached the outer walls of the prison before they were climbing through in a flash, powers suppressed and not used once.

"If we're seen then an alarm will be thrown up for everyone." Breaking in was the easy part, but finding Danny and getting out without killing (he so wanted to kill just that one last time) was going to be difficult.

"Then don't let yourself be seen," Randy laughed, the sound feral as he loaded his guns, white energy swirling around them. "Guard up, mon petit. Some of us aren't in shape anymore, after all."

"Randy," Andrew frowned, letting a knife slip into his palm. "Don't be so hard on yourself." At the pouting, dramatic look, Andrew finally allowed himself a small smile, thoughts settling for a short time. "I need him back, Randy." Danny kept his grounded. Sane. He needed Danny just as much as the other claimed to need him.

"Then let's go get him," Randy's words were a promise. They would get him back no matter what it took, and Randy had never broken a promise to him. "Focus, Andy."

"I'll try." An entire childhood couldn't be erased and forgotten no matter how long they tried. It had been twenty years for his mind, but only a few for his body. It was far too easy to slip back into his training and to listen and breath and feel for each target he had been assigned- No. Not assigned. He wasn't the Priest of Death any longer but oh.

He would gladly become the Priest of Death once more if it meant keeping his mate safe.

::

"Alright, Fenton, nice and easy." He had found that the cuffs were nailed to the wall and made to where his shoulders were pulled up and behind his head in as awkward a way as they could be. Walker, being the ultimate douche he was, had made sure Danny suffered as much as possible. God, at least he wasn't nailed to the floor. That was always a pain. "Just edge up…"

Since he couldn't phase out of the cuffs and his ghost powers were locked away, he had to rely on his human strength and whatever ghost strength naturally seeped through. If he could get the angle right, he might be able to put enough force into his pulling to at least break the hook keeping him pinned to the wall. He would still be in cuffs, but at least he would have more movement.

"Clockwork, I'm officially blaming you for all my suffering right now." It was a damn shame that Clockwork's powers weren't 'all knowing' like so many people believed. Sure, he could see the intricate details of major events, like Dan, and Pariah, and things of that nature. He mostly just saw glimpses of the millions of things that could or could not come true, though. Being a timekeeper had to suck.

"Right, okay, focus. Sprained maybe broken ankle, definitely broken wrist, hurt spine and neck, and fuzzy vision." That could just be from where his glasses were gone, of course. Hopefully his splitting headache was just from the darkness and poor eyesight and not from a concussion - knowing his luck, though, he wasn't hoping too hard. The small memories he kept getting back weren't helping much, either.

He had remembered it was a day or two before Christmas and Randy and him had gone shopping, but then they had felt a ghost signature that they didn't know. Randy had told him to keep searching the bookshelves and that he'd be back, ruffling his hair and smiling and saying that he deserved a break from ghost fighting for a change- God, some break.

"Focus, Fenton." For a second, he could pretend it was Randy or Andrew talking to him. Sighing, and shifting on the ground again, Danny tried to keep the mental picture of his chains in his head. He was chained to where he was hanging an inch or so off the ground and had to stretch to touch anything, shoulders taking all of his weight. Walker really was such a dick.

If he could just jerk forward fast enough- No, that would strain his shoulders even more and maybe dislocate one of them. The last thing he needed right now was even more pain- Although, maybe… Maybe, maybe, maybe… Recalling the stretches Randy had taught Danny - and various ways to get out of handcuffs - Danny twisted and shifted until his chest was facing the wall of the cage, one hand each gripping a portion of the chain and feet braced against the bars. Staring down at his crossed arms, Danny gave a hesitant tug before nodding.

Jerking back suddenly, he put all his weight into both pulling on the chains and pushing away from the bars. It was ten seconds of this before the harsh sound of breaking metal filled the air, Danny falling to the ground and scrambling to land in a way that wouldn't hurt too badly. Of course, with his luck, he instead landed in just the right way to make everything hurt. His wrist and ankle weren't exactly pleased with his stunt either, he found.

The only thing that kept him from screaming in pain was the thought of how badly Andrew and Randy were going to tear Walker to shreds. Pushing himself up to at least sit, Danny let slip a groan as he curled in on himself, "Come on guys, where are you…"

::

"Leave it to you to lead us to where everyone is having lunch," Andrew hissed, back pressed against the wall as he strained his hearing.

"Complain, complain," Randy muttered back, finger nervously pressing against the trigger of his gun before backing off and pressing against the safeguard, eyes swirling between blue and white. Andrew had no doubt his own were doing the same between green and purple - he wouldn't be surprised if red seeped in, either, the way things were going. "Any preference?"

"I want him to suffer." Walker had dared to take his mate and hurt him and for that Andrew wanted that monster to suffer. There would be no kindness of death for him, of that Andrew would make certain. "I need to find Danny first, Randy. I need him." Danny was the only thing that ever seemed to keep him sane these days and managed to keep him from becoming the Priest all over again.

"Ssh, relax, precious little brother," Randy crooned, eyes completely white and hand cupping his chin. The voice and expression was pure White Fang and Andrew couldn't have felt safer in the moment. White Fang protected him, and he had no doubt he would do the same for Danny. "I'll take care of everything."

A flash of white and Randy was gone around the corner, Andrew hearing yelling and firing guns before he was darting off into his own direction. White Fang would be able to keep everyone distracted for a good half hour before he started getting tired and a full hour before he would be low on energy. That would give Andrew plenty of time to try and track down Danny - or Walker. Finding either one would lead to the other. He just had to stay focused for a while longer. He couldn't afford to lose himself to the Priest when Danny needed him.

"And here I was just thinkin' about how I never got any company. Ghostwriter, isn't it? Or should I be goin' by the Priest of Death?"

The laugh bubbled out of him before he could stop it and he could feel it (never could hide his nature for long). The knife in his hand was sharp and deadly, and the smile growing on his face near covered the quiet noise in his throat that built itself up into a hum (hm, hm, hm, so many sinners to kill). "Oh, Walker… What a mistake you just made."

Cold steel in his palm, complete darkness in his eyes, and a smile that was so wide and happy and so right (home, home, home at last), "The bell chimes one, the battle's begun…"