Moi-Moi: Guess who's done with undergrad? THIS GIRLLLLL! My days are literally so free, I don't know what to do with myself. Oh, wait. I know. *smirks*
A bit of forewarning, I decided to add my own head canon in this chapter. It was an idea that I had ages ago and I'm really excited to bring it to life. Anyways, I hope it's not too much of a stretch for you guys to believe (especially not in this Danny Phantom universe).
Anyways, I'll stop talking now so you guys can read. Enjoy!
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How long had he slumbered this time? Glancing around the room, Pariah could spot no obvious changes to his castle. His one-eyed gaze narrowed when he spotted his loyal servant wrestling with a struggling, young woman. "Fright Knight! Why have you brought this maiden into my domain?" Pariah asked in his booming tone. Standing tall with his shoulders squared, he glared down at his subordinate. Immediately, the Fright Knight dropped to his knees. Now that was more like it. Sliding his gaze onto the girl, he waited for her to do the same.
Instead of kneeling at his feet, the young woman watched him warily. She looked to be steadying herself for a fight. Did she mean to fight him? Pariah couldn't help but let out a loud laugh. "What is your name, child?"
"Kagome Takahashi," the girl spat.
"Fright Knight?" Pariah called, subtly asking the knight to explain.
"In your absence, my liege, I remained loyal to you. I did everything in my power to awaken you at a great, personal risk. I retrieved your crown from the possession of Plasmius without his knowledge. I know that it is forbidden, but I brought this witch into your domain so that I could free you," Fright Knight explained and pulled the flaming crown from seemingly nowhere.
Kagome raised a brow. Just a minute ago, the Fright Knight spoke like a man in charge. But now, he sounded so submissive and meek. Pariah Dark must be a bigger deal than she thought. And what did he mean by "retrieving the crown from Plasmius"?
"A witch?" Pariah asked, surprise lighting up his uncovered eye. "Is it true, child? Magic flows through you? Yes... I can sense it. A negligible amount, but it is there."
Kagome raised a brow in skepticism. If only he knew how strong she really was... "You know I'm a witch and you don't seem scared," Kagome pointed out.
"I have no reason to fear you, child. Your minuscule power may frighten a lesser ghost, but not I," Pariah Dark explained. "Fright Knight, it is time to begin anew. Time to finish what I had started last time I awoke."
"Yes, my liege. We will lay siege to the human world!" Fright Knight replied in a subservient tone and flew up to place the crown on his king's head.
"We? It is my rule. You are but a tool for me to control my subjects," Pariah corrected in a dangerous tone. Once he felt the familiar surge of limitless power that went along with having his prized possessions in hand, Pariah released a loud roar.
Covering her ears, Kagome stared up at Pariah fearfully. She'd never felt ghostly energy this intense before. She could literally feel the weight of Pariah's power on her shoulders. Like a tumulus ocean, her magic began to bubble up in response- her built in defense mechanism.
"What should I do with the witch, sire?"
Oh no...
Kagome looked up at Pariah Dark silently. She stood absolutely still as he narrowed his gaze at her with a pensive look on his face. "She shall remain here as my servant," Pariah declared. Kagome's jaw dropped. "She may be weak, but I know better than to pass up a rare opportunity when it presents itself."
"My liege?" Fright Knight asked.
"Do not question me! Ready my men! It is time to take that mortal world," Pariah declared in a resolute and loud voice. Fright Knight quickly dashed from the room, the doors slamming loudly behind him. Pariah growled lowly as he stomped about his throne room.
"What do you want with me?"
Pariah raised a brow before bending down to pick up his dusty throne from where it was overturned. Glancing at the witch, he decided to humor her. "You will remain here to serve me, witch. My power is already limitless. My rule over this ghost zone is indisputable. However, I have learned from past mistakes.
"Today's ghosts are unruly and bull-headed. I plan to remind the newcomers that this is my domain. There is nowhere that they can hide that is not under my rule- not the Ghost Zone and not the mortal world. That is where you come in, witch. In exchange for allowing you to live, you will lend me your power to strike fear in the hearts of ghosts and living men alike."
Kagome stared up at Pariah with a dubious expression. "You seem to be forgetting the fact that magic is basically ghost kryptonite," Kagome pointed out smartly. She held her hands behind her back and out of view. She was doing her best to try to squeeze her hand through the shackle without making noise. It hurt like hell, but it was her only chance. Halfway there...
Pariah didn't quite understand her terminology. Kryptonite? Whatever. He had more important things to busy himself with. "You are terribly misinformed, witch. If there is any ghost that can handle a witch's magic, it is I," Pariah bragged.
It was his dirty little secret. His crown and ring were actually witch-made. Centuries ago, he'd managed to ally himself with a rogue witch. He had convinced her to craft him his ring and crown in exchange for his protection from her coven. She'd been one in a million- a witch who rejected the ideals instilled in her at birth and was willing to kill to make herself stronger. She'd been the perfect pawn. After establishing his rule, there was no ghost or witch who could challenge him. Unfortunately, he'd let the power go to his head. He had turned his back on the witch and chosen to rule alone. But hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Just as she had crafted his ring and crown, that termagant created the sarcophagus that would trap him for centuries. Glancing over at this new witch, Pariah fixed a dangerous, distrustful gaze onto her.
"Well, that's some plan you have there. You're really banking on how powerful you think you are. But I know quite a few people more powerful than you'll ever be," Kagome stalled. With a final tug, her throbbing hand was freed.
"Oh?" Pariah asked with a hearty laugh. "Surely, you don't mean the ghost child. I am not afraid of an inexperienced whelp. Even without your magic, my powers are more than enough to-"
Not wasting any more time, Kagome turned and dashed out of the room as quickly as she could. Pariah was huge. He'd be able to catch up to her easily. She needed to hide until she could make it out of here without attracting attention.
"You will pay for your insolence, witch!"
"Crap!" Kagome whispered harshly before quickly ducking into an empty room.
~:~
Danny was almost there. He could see the fleck of red in the distance that was Pariah's Keep. Was he being incredibly stupid to risk coming here alone? He'd had the Ecto-Skeleton and tons of help from the other ghosts last time. He was all alone this time. But! He was a lot stronger this time! He had more experience and control over his powers. Besides, he couldn't leave Kagome alone. He had to save her! The Fright Knight was his enemy, not hers. She was probably in this mess because of him...
When Danny had gotten about a mile out from the isolated island, he quickly came to a stop. His eyes widened as he stared down at the large, skeleton army that was gathered in front of the castle. "Woah. Deja vu," Danny muttered as he stared down at the unmoving skeletons.
"So you decided to show your face, ghost child?" the Fright Knight said as he swooped in close to Danny while on horseback.
"Fright Knight! Where's Kagome!? What did you do with her!?" Danny asked as he collected his ghostly energy in his hands.
"The witch now lives to serve the true king. Anyone who opposes his rule shall feel the sting of my blade," Fright Knight said and unsheathed his sword.
"Pariah? But he's asleep..." Danny trailed off as he glanced down warily at the castle. Suddenly, Danny jumped slightly when a large, red ray of ecto-energy blasted through the front gate of the castle just as a loud roar could be heard. Eyes widened fearfully, Danny flew towards the castle at top speed. If anything had happened to her, he'd never forgive himself! "Ka-!" Danny attempted to shout out just as he felt someone collide harshly with him. Tumbling to the ground, Danny groaned lowly. What the heck was that?
"D-Danny?"
Just like that, Danny disregarded his throbbing forehead and sat up. "Kagome! You're okay!" he shouted and crawled over to her.
"Relatively speaking. You're a ghost. Why is your head so hard?" Kagome groaned and rubbed her stomach. She hadn't expected Danny to barrel into her like that while she had been trying to escape. She was sure that she'd have a bruise on her ribs in no time at all.
"What happened to your hands?" Danny asked and reached for her hands tentatively. Her right palm was slashed open and bleeding profusely while her other hand was bruised and scraped in multiple places.
Kagome was about to answer him when she heard Pariah's heavy footsteps approach. "There's no time! We have to get out of here!" Kagome shouted and leapt to her feet. She tugged on Danny's arm insistently, only wincing slightly at the pain in her hands.
Danny slowly got to his feet just seconds before he heard Pariah's voice. A chill went down his spine. "There you are, girl! You can not escape my rule."
"Men! Fight for your king! Retrieve the witch from the ghost child!" Fright Knight shouted and pointed his Soul Shredder at Danny.
Danny stuck an arm out in front of Kagome, his eyes moving quickly between the Fright Knight, the growling skeleton army, and the glaring Pariah Dark. "I won't let them touch you. Stay behind me and cover your ears," Danny warned.
"Danny-" Kagome started but stopped when she saw him inhale deeply. Ducking down to the ground, she covered her ears tightly and squeezed her eyes shut. Even with her hands clasped over her ears, she could still hear and feel Danny's Ghostly Wail. She could feel the vibrations rocking the island and the immense ghostly energy he was releasing. For a second, it felt almost as powerful as Pariah Dark.
Pariah covered his ears as he glared down at the ghost child. He didn't have this power the last time they had fought! Perhaps the child was stronger? That didn't bode well.
As soon as his lungs ran out of air, Danny grabbed Kagome's arm and took to the skies. Thanks to his Ghostly Wail, he was definitely slower than he'd like to be. With immense focus, Danny kept his gaze trained on the direction of the Fenton Portal. "Danny! Look out!" he heard Kagome shout from his arms. He felt the harsh sting of an ecto-ray on his back seconds later and quickly lost the ability to remain airborne. He could hear and feel the wind whipping past them as they fell. Despite the paralyzing pain in his back, Danny kept a tight hold on Kagome. He had to do something quick before-
"Hanatus!" Kagome shouted and waved her hand at the ground below them. Just before they could hit the ground, the largest pile of colorful flowers that she had ever seen magically appeared out of thin air. When they landed on the pile of flowers, Kagome breathed a sigh of relief.
"Flowers?"
"It was the first spell I could think of. At least it worked," Kagome replied.
Danny sat up before looking over to see the skeleton army closing in with the Fright Knight overhead and Pariah Dark behind it. "Aw crud. This isn't going to be fun," Danny groaned.
Kagome glanced at the oncoming threat before sighing. "What do you think? I take the 500,000 on the right and you take the 500,000 on the left? We can flip a coin over who gets the Knight and the big guy," Kagome said and started to use a healing spell on her hands and ribs.
"You're joking, right? You need to get out of here. This is too dangerous for you," Danny said.
"I don't know if you realize this Danny, there's no way I can just run now. I can't fly. I will get caught. Besides, I'm not about to leave you to fight an army alone. You need my help," Kagome pointed out and started to climb down from the cushiony flower pile.
Danny reached out for her quickly in order to pull her back, but his fingers only met flowers. He followed behind her while shouting her name. When he had made it out of the pile he spotted Kagome slashing at several ghosts with a brightly colored, flower sword. Charging his hands with ecto-energy, he made quick work of the skeletons that surrounded her. Once she turned back to look at him in surprise, he frowned at her. "For the record, I still think you should get out of here!" Danny shouted. He watched her reach a glowing hand up before making a tight fist. Hearing an explosion behind him, Danny turned to see a large pile of neon green dust and bones.
"If I leave you, who's going to watch your back?" Kagome replied smartly. Eyeing the pile of flowers, Kagome got an idea. With glowing hands, she reshaped the pile of flowers into a makeshift giant. "Animez!" she shouted just as the crudely formed, flower giants gave a stir. It's bright, red eyes glanced down at Kagome in confusion. "Well don't just stand there! Get them!" Kagome ordered and pointed to the skeleton army. Just like that, the flower monster roared to life and began to wildly tear into the army.
Danny blinked owlishly at the sight before him looking back at Kagome. "Okay. You can stay. Just... leave Pariah to me," Danny said before flying off towards the ghost king without waiting for her agreement.
"Witch!"
Turning away from where Danny had flown off, Kagome came face-to-face with the Fright Knight. She watched him descend from his horse with his sword drawn. "You shall rue this day, witch," Fright Knight threatened.
"If you're still alive after this, I promise you won't forget my name again," Kagome promised. When the Fright drew his blade, she raised hers to defend. Okay. Slight miscalculation on her part. The Fright Knight was definitely stronger than she was. But there was nothing wrong with a bit of magical help... With magically enhanced strength, Kagome quickly overpowered the Knight. "What's wrong, Fright Knight? Can't beat a girl?"
"I do not need tricks to be victorious, girl. I shall defeat you with only my skills," Fright Knight said before head butting Kagome and knocking her backward.
"That's not skill! That's dirty fighting," Kagome grumbled and wiped at the gash under her eye. Stupid Fright Knight and his stupid spiky helmet... Losing her patience, Kagome raised a glowing hand.
~:~
Danny stopped in front of Pariah Dark with a fierce glare. Pariah stood tall with his mace in hand and his everlasting frown on his face. "Alright, stoneface. I guessing you remember how this song and dance goes?" Danny started.
"I must say that I am impressed, child. You've gotten stronger and allied yourself with a witch? Imitation is the greatest form of flattery," Pariah started. Danny raised a brow. What the heck did that mean? "But there can be only one king!" Pariah shouted and swung his mace.
Being much smaller than the weapon in question, Danny was able to easily dodge the swing before firing an ecto-ray at Pariah's good eye. The ghost king shouted in pain as he clutched his face and staggered backward. Danny attempted to take advantage of the distraction by freezing Pariah over. "You think this will stop me, child?" Pariah asked in a chilling voice.
"Uh...yeah. Kinda," Danny replied smartly.
With a loud shout, Pariah broke free from the ice around his legs before shooting off a red ecto-ray at where he had heard Danny's voice come from. Blast that child! He was blinded. But not useless. "Seize him!" Pariah shouted to anyone who could hear him. When he heard the ghost child's surprised exclamation, Pariah tossed his mace in that direction. The sound of the mace making contact and the boy's groan of pain was extremely satisfying. Pariah recalled his mace into his right hand with a smirk.
Danny glared up at Pariah from where he laid on the ground. He was surrounded on all sides by skeleton soldiers with their weapons pointed at him. Glaring harshly, Danny drew a neon green shield around himself. Before he could attack, he heard Kagome shout. Looking up, he spotted her riding on the shoulder of her flower giant. He could only compare her to some kind of warrior princess riding into battle. It was probably the coolest thing he had ever seen. "Al-right!" Danny cheered and sprang up from the ground. With a large grin, Danny blasted skeleton after skeleton while the flower giant went about stomping on the quickly fleeing ghosts.
Pariah growled lowly. He was finally able to blink his eye open, but his vision was blurry at best. He could see that his army was retreating! Where was the Fright Knight!? "Enough!" Pariah shouted and blasted ecto-rays wildly at the colorful, blurry mass.
Kagome gasped as she watched Pariah's blast rip holes into her flower creature before setting it aflame. She cursed softly while looking for a way down. Hearing Danny shout her name, she turned to see him flying towards her. With outstretched arms, she latched onto him and allowed him to fly her out of harm's way. "Dang it. I guess it's just you, me, and the big guy now," Kagome said.
"Any ideas?" Danny asked.
"The sarcophagus is trashed so we can't seal him away again. I don't suppose you brought a Fenton thermos big enough for him," Kagome answered as Danny set her down onto her feet.
"I don't think my parents make them in Pariah-size," Danny replied.
"It is time to put an end to our bout, child," Pariah growled. His army had fled, his first in command was nowhere to be found, and he was losing what little patience he had.
"We have to get the crown away from him. It's easier than grabbing the ring. I think I can beat him when he's weakened," Danny whispered to Kagome.
"I've got an idea. It's totally crazy and could get us both killed," Kagome said.
"That's...not comforting. But, I'm listening," Danny said.
"I need you to distract him first. Then, keep him busy and be ready for my signal," Kagome said.
"Shouldn't be too hard," Danny muttered and flew up towards Pariah's face. "Hey, is it just me or are you, like, the worst king ever? But hey, don't take my word for it. Just ask any of your subjects."
"You will all bow to me!" Pariah shouted. Danny dodged Pariah's mace as he watched Kagome run into the castle behind Pariah. What was she planning?
"No, I mean it. But don't take it too hard, dude. Some people just aren't meant to rule," Danny said as he flew evasively.
"You dare to mock me!?"
~:~
Kagome felt like her throat and chest were on fire as she ran up the billionth flight of stairs she had come across in this castle. Of course, ghosts didn't care about stairs. They all could just fly through floors and ceilings. "Finally," she breathed when she made it to the top of the castle. Dashing over to an open window, Kagome transfigured her flower sword into a gun. She'd shot an ecto-gun a couple of times. She could do this. "Yeah. I got this. No big deal," she said to herself as she pointed the makeshift gun at Pariah's crown. After saying a quick plea for this to work, Kagome shouted, "Now, Danny!" and fired a bullet of magic and flower petals at the crown.
Danny looked up quickly to see the crown get knocked off Pariah's head before sailing through the air. Faster than a jet, Danny took off after the crown. With a deep stretch of his arm, his fingers nabbed the flaming crown. "I got it!" Danny shouted just before he felt the familiar sting of Pariah's mace on his back. He let out a pained cry as the force from the mace sent him crashing roughly into the ground. He was sure that he saw neon green ectoplasm leaking from his side just before he blacked out.
"Danny!" Kagome shouted fearfully. Normally, she wasn't a reckless person. She was usually very good under stress- always logical and cool-headed. But after seeing Danny crash to the ground like that... And he wasn't getting up! With hot tears gathering at the back of her eyes, Kagome charged up her hands again before leaping wildly for Pariah. When her hands latched onto Pariah's unruly, green hair, he shouted loudly in pain. With hot tears gathering, Kagome held on tightly.
Pariah twitched and shook as he felt the witch's magic coursing through him like hot electricity that was slowly frying his every nerve. He could feel her in his hair tugging and yanking on the strands. With a low growl, he grabbed her and pulled her from his hair. "You will pay for that, girl," Pariah promised and glared down at her.
"You and what army? Without your crown and ring, you're nothing," Kagome spat angrily. She could feel said ring pressing into her skin. The metal was cold and she could feel the energy coursing through it. It was a strange feeling. It almost felt like magic. But that couldn't be right. This had to be a ghost artifact. Right? As the seconds went by, she was starting to doubt that. Kagome could feel the magical power moving through the metal from where it was pressed into her side. The magic was corrupted with ghostly energy, but it was still magic! Wriggling her hand so that she could touch the ring, Kagome started whispering a magic transfer spell. Of all the things her grandmother had taught her, this was proving to be the most beneficial.
~:~
Danny groaned as he blinked his eyes open. What happened? Where was he? He tried to push himself from the ground but he was unable to move. Straining to look behind him, Danny spotted Pariah's mace pinning him to the ground. It all came back to him in a rush. "Oh no. Kagome!" Danny shouted and struggled against the mace. He felt a sharp pain in his side before feeling a slick wetness in the area. That didn't matter now! He had to get out of here! Suddenly, it hit him. "Duh. In the Ghost Zone, humans are the ghosts," he whispered before shifting back to his human form. He slipped out from under the mace relatively easily enough, only wincing a bit at the pain in his side. Glancing down, Danny spotted the red and neon green stain on his shirt. That mace had grazed his side and left a gash in his side.
"My ring! What did you do, witch!?"
Hearing Pariah's shout, Danny quickly turned. With a gasp, Danny shifted back into his ghost form. "Kagome!" he shouted while clipping the Crown of Fire to his belt and taking off. Firing off another blast at Pariah's eye, Danny swooped in closer when Pariah suddenly dropped Kagome in order to cover his aching face.
Kagome screamed and flailed wildly as she fell just before she felt a familiar grip under her knees and behind her back. With wide eyes, she looked at Danny in surprise. "Never...do that again," Kagome warned.
Once he had her far enough away, he set her down again. "You should know me better than that. I wouldn't let you fall," Danny said with a grin.
Kagome rolled her eyes good-naturedly before snatching the crown from his belt. "I know what to do," she said before gripping the crown tightly.
Danny watched as the fire on the crown slowly diminished until it was completely put out. The crown itself began to glow slightly just before cracking down the middle and disappearing into nothing. "What'd you do?"
"They're made with magic. So, I took away his majesty's power sources. Now, he's like every other ghost," Kagome smirked. She could feel the hum of the magic in her hands elevating her powers. She'd never felt so powerful and (surprisingly) still in control.
"You think this is the end, girl? I am still all powerful! Even without my crown and ring, I am king. It is high time you learned that lesson," Pariah growled.
There was nowhere to seal him up after this. And honestly, she didn't want to seal him away. Crazed, power-hungry beings like this weren't the type to lock away. You had to get rid of them once and for all. She never thought she'd be considering using this spell, but... Sticking an arm out in front of Danny, Kagome said, "Get down and stay behind me."
"What?" Danny asked as he watched Kagome stand in front of him and use her magic to bowl Pariah over.
"Zah Pet Par Veet Eezol Ehmit Pro Kleh Et Tee."
Danny didn't need to hear Pariah's shouts of pain or see his violent writhing movements to know that the spell Kagome was using was painful. He could feel its effects just fine. It was almost as if the magic alone was overflowing and affecting him as well. With haggard movements, Danny stepped back. After a few seconds, it became too much to bear and he fell to his knees. He watched as Pariah started to actually dissolve into a puddle of ectoplasm!
"Once his physical form reverts into ectoplasm, it won't be long before his core and consciousness are gone."
"No! NOOO!" Pariah shouted just before the last of his body melted away.
Danny stared up at Kagome's slumped form in astonishment. He was about to say something to her, but the words died on his tongue when he watched her slump over and fall forward. "Kagome!" he shouted before quickly rushing over to her. Once at her side, he turned her over onto her back and placed a hand on her cheek. He patted her face a few times to rouse her. When he heard her tell tale groan, he let out a relieved breath. "Are you okay?"
Blinking her eyes open, Kagome gazed up at Danny's dirty and weary face. She smiled weakly. "Good work, partner. I think we did a pretty good job."
Danny chuckled once. "Let's go home."
~:~
Moi-Moi: Stay tuned for the final chapter! It's time to put a bow on this one and get ready for the third and final installment! I'm so excited!