Chapter 16: part 1:
~~~SARALYN'S POV~~~
"Well, looks like the Box Ghost will be pretty busy for a while." Danny said.
"In the meantime..." Sam said.
"Hey, look!" Aaron said, pointing up.
We looked up and gasped excitedly.
"It's... it's snowing!" I said, gazing at the snowflakes that fell to the ground. We watched as the snow quickly stuck to the ground, covering the area in a soft blanket of white.
"It sure is pretty." Sam said.
"Too bad it'll soon be ruined." Tucker said.
"Huh?" Sam and I said.
"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" the boys cried.
I grabbed Sam's arm and pulled her away, just as a snowball flew past.
"Oh, IT'S ON!" Sam cried, scooping up a snowball and hurtling it towards Tucker.
The snow kept pouring, making new snow. We already had forts, throwing snowball after snowball. I grabbed a couple of snowballs and went invisible. I snuck past and to the boy's fort. Danny was making an army of snowballs behind the fort.
"BOO!" I cried.
Danny shrieked as I pelted them with snowballs. When my ammo was empty, I turned around and made a run for it. I looked back and saw Danny charging after me. He lunged towards me and I cried out when his wrapped his arms around my waist, sending us both into the snow.
"Hey, get off me!" I cried.
He got off all right... when a giant metal claw grabbed him and tossed him aside.
"Danny!" we cried.
Connected to the claw was a big metallic eagle. It let out a shriek and lunged at me. I rolled out of the way and its talons stabbed the empty snow.
"What does it want with me?!" I said.
~~~DANNY'S POV~~~
I saw Sara as she ran and tripped on the ground. The metal eagle wrapped around her and started to lifted her up.
"Let me go!" Sara shrieked, struggling out of the bird's grasp. But it was too strong.
"Saralyn!" I cried.
I changed forms and flew after her. The eagle shifted its eyes to me. Its other claw glowed green and it smacked me with it. The impact sent me flying into the side of the building.
"Danny!" Tucker and Sam cried as they ran towards me as I changed back to human.
"Danny. Danny?" a faint voice called. "Are you okay? Wake up!"
I jolted as I opened my eyes. Sam, Tucker, and Aaron were kneeling in front of me.
"Guys... what happened?" I said, looking at them. "Why are you all hanging off the earth like bats?"
"Actually, it's you." Sam said. "You crashed into the building upside down."
I grunted as I rolled over right side up. I looked around. "Where's Sara?"
"We don't know." Tucker said. "She got taken away by that giant eagle."
"Maybe it was a ghost?" Sam asked.
"A giant metal eagle ghost?" I said. I scowled. "Why do I get the feeling that Skulker somehow has something to do with this?"
"Maybe." Sam said, offering her hand.
I winced slightly as I stood up.
"Let's get back to Fenton Works." I said.
I tried to change to my ghost form, but I couldn't.
"What the? Why can't I change?" I said, trying to change again, but failed.
Aaron crossed his arms thoughtfully. "Remember when that eagle hit you with its claw? It was all glowing green. Maybe that stunned your ghost half so you can't transform for the time being."
I growled in frustration and kicked at the snow, sending a flurry of white powder into the air.
I'm tired of losing you, Saralyn. I thought. I promise this will be the last time.
I glanced at Aaron. He snapped his fingers and we disappeared.
~~~SARALYN'S POV~~~
"Awake, child." a robotic voice said.
I stirred and felt the adrenaline rush into my body when I took in my surroundings. I was lying on a bed that was harder than iron. I was behind metal bars, like I was in a prison cell. I jumped from the bed and ran over to the bars.
"Where am I?" I said, grasping the metal bars between my hands. "What's going on?!"
"Relax, child." the voice said.
"Who are you?" I said.
"My name is Metallica."
"Okay, Metallica. Show yourself."
I heard heavy footsteps approach me. Out of the shadows appeared the giant metal eagle from before. His wings nestled by his sides, covering the claws that snatched me away from my friends.
"Why did you kidnap me?" I said.
"I was sent by my master." Metallica said.
I studied him.
"I'm going to take a wild guess. Is your master Skulker?"
"Yes. How did you know?" Metallica asked, tilting his head slightly to the side.
"Lucky guess." I said, rolling my eyes.
A door swung open. The intense light from outside the room stung my corneas, but I could see a silhouette standing underneath the door frame.
"Ah, so you have completed your task." a deep voice said.
"Yes... master." Metallica said, turning around and bowing.
Skulker stepped forward and his eyes settled on me.
"It's nice to see that you have some sense of usefulness in you." Skulker said.
"Skulker, what do you want with me?" I said, gripping the bars tighter.
"Well, it's really obvious." Skulker said. "Your head on my trophy case would look rather fine."
"You'll be stopped." I said. "Right now, Danny and my friends are planning to save me!"
Skulker chuckled. "Those whelps? Please."
"They've kicked your butt before. With the gorilla and-"
"STOP CORRECTING ME!" Skulker boomed. "Ever since you came to Amity Park, it's been nothing but confusion for me. You and the ghost kid have some kind of connection to a mysterious force more powerful than a creature like Vlad Plasmius, which is why he will stop at nothing to gain such a power. It's bad enough that he-"
Skulker stopped suddenly.
"He what?" I said cautiously. "What has Vlad been up to?"
"Metallica!" Skulker said, ignoring my question.
"Yes, master?" Metallica stood at attention.
"Watch over the prisoner." Skulker stalked out of the room.
The door slammed behind Skulker. Metallica bowed his head and shifted his eyes over to me. I released my grip from the bars and stepped back.
Guys, please. Hurry...
~~~DANNY'S POV~~~
"Did you find anything?" I asked.
We were searching through the maps that my parents had collected of the Ghost Zone, trying to pinpoint some reasonable place where Sara could be.
"No." Aaron said. "Maybe we should just take a break..."
"No!" I cried. "Keep looking!"
"But Danny, there's no clue to where Sara might be." Tucker said.
"I don't care!" I said, my eyes flaring up in a ghostly green.
"Danny, calm down!" Sam said.
I swallowed the intense urge to punch a hole into the wall.
"Sorry, guys." I said. "It's just that..."
"We understand." Sam said, putting a hand on my shoulder.
Aaron skimmed through another map. He sighed in frustration and tossed the unfurled map behind him into a pile of its selfsame. "These maps are useless!"
The others thought about it.
"Actually..." I said, changing forms. "There is one map..."
"No..." Tucker said.
"You don't mean..." Sam said.
"That's right." I said.
I walked up to a machine and pushed a button. A figure of a purple map with a skull on it appeared.
"What's that?" Aaron asked.
"This is the Infi-Map." Sam said. "This map can lead you to any realm, any door, and any DIMENSION in the entire ghost zone, past, present, and future!"
"Well, where is it?"
I took out a map and pointed to an area of the map that was all snowy.
"My friend, FrostBite, is the guardian of the map." I said. "Maybe we can convince him to lend it to us."
"I don't think so..." Tucker said, shaking his head. "Remember the last time?"
"Tucker, shut up!" Sam cried, elbowing him hard in the stomach.
"So, you guys ready?" I asked.
The others nodded and piled into the Spector Speeder and we took off into the ghost zone.
~~~SARALYN'S POV~~~
I sighed as I sat on the uncomfortable cot. I patted the pillow, which felt like a giant rock stuffed into a piece of fabric. I heard the sound of heavy footsteps. I jumped up and walked over to the bars. Metallica appeared.
"Where did you go?" I asked.
"None of your business." Metallica snapped, turning his back to me.
"Sorry." I murmured.
There was a small silence.
"Why do you listen to Skulker?" I asked.
"He is my master." Metallica said.
"But he treats you like garbage! How can you put up with that?"
Metallica sighed and shook his head.
"I must," Metallica said. "or else he might disable me."
"So..." I said. "You're going to put up with that robotic nuisance just because you're afraid?"
Metallica shook his head quickly. We heard footsteps approaching the door.
"Please," he said. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. For now."
I nodded. Skulker entered with an evil smirk on his face.
"What are you so smiley about?" I scowled.
"I have just discovered the way to destroy your life. And the ghost child, Danny Phantom."
"What are you babbling on about?"
Skulker chuckled. "Observe."
He took out a remote and pressed a button, his smile widening. A figure appeared. A female, with brown hair and...
I cried out.
No... no, no, NO! I screamed in my head.
The girl... was me.
"Yes, take it all in." Skulker said. "For as you can see, I have managed to clone you. Same looks, same ghost form... however, something else..."
"What do you mean, something else?"
"Apparently, a feather DNA got mixed up in your DNA, so..."
Two feathery black wings appeared on the clone's back.
"So, you're saying, she's a ghostly angel or something?" I said. "How do you mess up something as stupid as this?"
Skulker glared at me then cleared his throat.
"Anyways," he continued. "I call it the Saralyn Clone 1, or SC1. I will use her to lure your precious little boyfriend into my hands."
"HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" I said, gripping the bars so hard my knuckles turned white.
"SILENCE!" Skulker cried again.
He turned to the SC1. "Now, go. Fulfill your mission."
The SC1's wings disappeared and she turned into her ghost half.
"Yesss... master." she said with the same evil smile as Skulker's.
My voice... she has my voice... I thought, completely stunned.
Skulker chuckled and walked away.
Danny, be careful. I thought. Please...
~~~DANNY'S POV~~~
"Where are we?" Sam asked.
Tucker looked through the map he was holding.
"We just past that old collapsed building from Rudy." he said.
Just the sound of his name made me cringe.
"How long until we get there?" I asked through the Fenton headphones.
"Not long." Tucker said. "I don't know exactly how long, but not long."
"Gee, thanks." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.
The hairs on my neck stood up. I stopped and turned around.
Is someone following us? I thought.
"Danny, come on!" Sam cried.
"Uh..." I said. "I'll catch up with you guys later. I need to check something out." I said.
"You sure you know how to get there?" Aaron asked.
"Y-yeah." I said and I turned my speaker off.
I flew slowly in the other direction.
"Hello? Is someone there?" I called.
I picked up my flying pace.
"Danny...?" a voice called.
"Huh?" I said, turning around.
Nothing.
Was that... Saralyn? I thought.
"Sara?" I called. "Sara! Where are you?!"
"Danny...?" the voice called again.
I looked and looked, but still nothing. A hand rested on my shoulder and I whirled around.
"Danny..." Saralyn said, a smile growing on her face.
"Sara!" I said, pulling her into a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay."
Sara pulled away and wiped something that looked like a black tear. Makeup, maybe?
"How did you escape?" I asked.
Saralyn slightly hesitated.
"Well," Sara drawled, "I managed to escape my small prison and show Skulker and Metallica who's boss!"
"Metallica?" I asked, "Was that the metal eagle who took you?"
Sara hesitated. "Yes."
"Well, that doesn't matter." I said, feeling like my face will explode from my smile. "You're okay, you're safe, and Skulker can't hurt you anymore."
Saralyn nodded again.
"Hey, are you okay?" I asked. "You seem kind of... stiff."
Saralyn shook her head. "Probably from that... nasty cot that they put in."
"Man, it must have been hard." I said.
As I turned around and started flying in the other direction, Saralyn cracked a sinister smile and chuckled.
"And it still is..." she hissed as she flew quickly behind.
~~~SARALYN'S POV~~~
"Metallica, please." I pleaded. "You have to get me out of here."
"I wish I could, but..." Metallica said.
"Please, Metallica," I said. "if you don't stand up to Skulker, his tyranny will only continue."
Metallica shook his head.
"You can't let fear run your life." I said. "How do you think I'm feeling? Your master just sent a clone of me to ruin my life and my best friend."
"But Skulker said..."
"He's NOT my boyfriend!" I said, gritting my teeth.
"Sorry..." Metallica said. He puffed his chest out. "but you're right. I should stand up to Skulker."
"That's the spirit."
We heard footsteps again. Metallica turned around and took a firm stance as Skulker came into the room.
"How is the prisoner?" Skulker asked Metallica.
"Who asked you?" Metallica snarled.
Skulker tensed up. "Ex-CUSE me?!"
"That's right, I said it." Metallica said.
"How DARE you speak to me like that! I am your creator-"
"No, how dare YOU speak to ME like that!" Metallica stood over Skulker. "I have had it with you!"
Skulker's eyes exposed the mixture of fear and fury radiating from his body.
"I will NOT tolerate with you anymore!" Skulker said.
Several rockets and rays popped out. Metallica raised his massive metal wings, revealing his razor-sharp talons that could probably slice through a semi truck filled with cement.
"Bring. It. On!" Metallica said.
"Metallica, no!" I cried.
"This needs to happen." Metallica said. "I've been waiting months for this."
Skulker lunged towards Metallica, but Metallica flapped his wings, sending massive gusts of winds towards Skulker. Skulker flew back into the wall. While he stood there in a daze, Metallica whipped around and used his beak to slice the lock in two. The prison door swung open.
"You have to leave. Now!" he said.
"But what about you?" I asked.
"I'll be okay." Metallica said. "I have some unfinished business with Skulker."
I nodded and ran out of the room as Skulker finished collecting himself. He scowled when he saw me sprinting down the hall.
"GUARDS!" I heard Skulker bellow. "SEIZE THE PRISONER! DO NOT LET HER ESCAPE!"