A/N: Hi everyone. I am sure you are all so surprised that I am posting another chapter. I am a bit myself, but I have been in a writing mood so that helps. Fight scenes are so difficult when the sides are so uneven, but I did the best I could. I don't really love the way this ended.
-Thalen de Valor- I am glad that I was close to what you wanted in the previous chapter. I am grateful that you have been a loyal reviewer.
Sylvia wasn't sure what to expect. She hadn't face down the ghost before, but it was painfully obvious when Dan came in the area. The seven halfa's ghost sense all went off filling the air with wisps of blue and one red. The power that came off the other ghost chilled the artist to the bone.
The seven were in a circle looking as far as they could for any sign of the ghost. The energy buzzed around them making it impossible to determine where exactly where Dan was coming from. It was making Sylvia sick to her stomach, but she didn't panic. She couldn't when she had everyone behind her.
The group looked around before a sound of an ecto-blast hitting a shield sounded. Sylvia turned around to see a green wall of energy formed from Alex's and Thalen's hands. In fact, all of the halfas gathered on that side. Side by side they were an intimidating force. Sylvia looked at the direction from where the attack came from. A large white shape was zooming toward them. The white shape had a white billowing behind him.
Abigail shot a couple of energy blasts at the approaching shape. Dan zig-zagged as more attacked flew by him. A couple of green knives flew in between a couple of blasts. The being separated into two dodging the blasts and the ecto-knives. Two sets of blasts shot one Dan out of the sky. "That's what I am talking about," Gwen's voice cheered.
The tall ghost's duplicates split again. Robin, Leon, and Gwen dove down to the two Dans on the ground. Sylvia put up a shield as an icy blue attack almost collided with Thalen's back. "I have to admit. You all have been a thorn in my side," Dan spoke his voice echoing from both duplicates that stood in front of the quad.
"Aww, that's too bad because we're not going away any time soon," Thalen said with a smirk. Dan didn't look amused and retaliated with green energy disk which drove the four to separate.
Sylvia gasped as Dan appeared in front of her. A pink energy shield knocked back the ghost. The artist took a deep breath throwing blasts at the off balanced Dan. He turned intangible letting the attacks go through him. Abigail stood beside Sylvia. "We need to herd him over there," the ghost girl said nudging the artist to the west.
Sylvia nodded knowing that the other girl had hid her family's heirloom in the branches of a tree in that direction. Abigail zipped to Dan's right shooting a pink blast causing him to fly back. Dan retaliated with a blast of his own. Sylvia casts a teal shield in front of the other girl blocking the attack effectively.
The ghost's red eyes narrowed at Sylvia and the girl darted to the west drawing the ghost's attention. Dan took a deep breath before letting out a loud wail which tossed the artists into the treeline. Sylvia curled up as the branches hit her and she reposition herself to land on one of the lower branches. She watched as Dan turned to Abigail expectantly almost laughing at what he saw. Abigail looked shocked as the ghost just smirked turning to where Sylvia was in the tree.
The ghost spun turning into a swirl of green energy before appearing in the top branches of the tree. Sylvia 'painted' the area around her disappearing from Dan's sight. The artist spared a glance to Abigail's position as the other girl sneaked into the trees as well. Sylvia knew what she had to do; it was dangerous and slightly insane, but she knew that it would give Abigail the opening she needed.
Sylvia dropped her camouflage and immediately shot Dan in the shoulder. The ghost snarled in pain before sending shards of ice energy down at the trees. Sylvia turned intangible. One of the shards brushed her arm chilling the ectoplasm in the limb. The girl became tangible and held onto the arm as the nerves froze. Sylvia couldn't move it. Dan's amused chuckle came from above her and Sylvia jumped to another branch as a volley of ice shards slammed into where she just was.
Dan's amused smile turned to a face of annoyance. He braced himself before wailing. The icy blue ripples flew into the trees. Sylvia dropped to the ground as she watched the top of the branches turned to pure ice. A girl's shout of surprise drew Sylvia's attention. Abigail fell to the ground her hands clenched around the hilt of a sword. Sylvia flew toward the other girl putting up a shield as Dan slammed his glowing fists into the shield. The teal energy looked cracked and Sylvia was sure she wouldn't be able to hold it. A swirl of pink energy spun through the cracks knitting the shield together.
Sylvia looked to her left where Abigail had one hand on the shield. The other looked frozen with the sword in its grasp. She only had to look at the other's eyes before knew what they had to do. Sylvia dropped the shield both girls ducking under Dan as he flew over. The artist grabbed the sword's hilt over the princess's hands and the two swung the weapon at Dan's unprotected back. The blade glowed a pink and teal color as it tore through the ghost as if it was nothing. Dan's form dissipated in swirls of green energy. "What does that mean?" Sylvia asked.
Abigail sighed, "It means that it was a duplicate. The real Dan is still in the fight."
DP~DP~DP~DP
Robin knew they had a fight ahead of them. He looked at the pair of Dans in front of them. The three halfas floated as the tension built. Robin knew the ghost was sizing up his chances and the odds. He barely had time to react when a volley of blue. The three halfas put up a shield together; the colors of their energy blended together. The blasts smashed into the shield harmlessly. Gwen smirked cockily before all three were slammed in the back by a wave of a ghostly wail. The three were knocked forward off of their feet. Leon recovered first shooting his own icy blasts at the duplicate who shot at them.
Gwen sunk into the ground doubtfully grabbing the Plasmius Maximus. Robin flew to the other Dan tackling to the ground with a fist full of energy. Before the ghost hit the ground, he became intangible. Robin set his feet downward to bounce off the ground as he looked for the missing ghost duplicate. He felt his body shiver as Dan reappeared and grabbed him by his front. Robin hung there as electric shocks traveled down his body almost forcing it to turn back to human. Robin held onto his ghost form grasping at the cold iciness of his core.
"Hey take your hands off of him," Gwen's gruff voice growled. Dan released a groggy and barely standing Robin. The halfa dropped like a puppet without strings. The oldest halfa just looked up to see Gwen standing in front of a rapidly approaching Dan. She dodged the blasts coming her way with the grace of a dancer. Robin wanted to get up to help the teen girl but his legs wouldn't listen.
Gwen shouted in surprise as when a blast struck her. The girl's form dissipated in wisps of ectoplasm. Robin had to chuckle at the furious look on Dan's face that only turned to absolute rage when Gwen dropped into the visible spectrum clamping the belt-like device around his waist. The ghost howled in pain before elbowing Gwen away.
The girl tumbled across the ground skidding to a stop. Gwen didn't have time to get to her feet before Dan sent large bolts of pink energy at the girl. She writhe in pain her screams deafening. Robin shot like a blast shooting spearlike slivers of ice energy pinning the ghost to the ground. Dan looked shocked at his body turned to ice.
Robin looked quickly at Gwen who sat up looking worse for wear. The oldest halfa remembered that Leon was still battling his own duplicate. The standoffish halfa was keeping Dan in close quarters which seemed to keep Dan from attacking him with ecto-blasts.
Robin could tell that the other halfa had managed several hits considering that the ghost appeared slower. He debated whether to send a blast to back up the other halfa but decided to hold off. Each of the punches Leon threw drove him so close to Dan making it impossible for Robin to get a clear shot. Getting an idea, Robin froze the ground behind Dan. "Leon," he called making an obvious glance toward the patch of ice. Leon didn't say anything, but the confident smile told Robin that he understood.
Robin turned back to Gwen and her duplicate who was slowly disappearing into a green mist. She stumbled slightly as the energy expense finally caught up to her. The girl fell to her knees and Robin ran to her as she shifted to her human form. She looked up tiredly, but held up a thumbs up. Robin felt so relieved that she was okay.
DP~DP~DP
Leon had Dan on the ropes. He had knew as soon as they split the duplicates that the ghost's forte was mid-range fighting. The teen knew what to do. He speed rushed him getting too close for the ghost to form effective ecto-blasts. He swung his left fist as Dan shifted just to the right. The punches came a lot faster. The ghost did a good job of dodging most of them. Leon, however, felt his fists collide with the bulk of Dan on more than one occasion.
The ghost tried to electrocute him, but Leon turned intangible quickly. He became solid as soon as the attacking appendage wasn't near him. Dan's furious face was amusing and Leon was glad he was the one to put it there. Dan struck out with an icy fist that froze the air close to Leon's face, but the halfa didn't mind.
The ghost's attacks were getting sloppy and slow. Leon knew it had to be from his own attacks. "Leon," Robin's voice called and Leon barely spared him a glance. He noticed where the other halfa was looking at and saw the patch of ice. The slight distraction cost him a blow to the face, but Robin regain his focus. He put both hands together sending a giant ray of green energy at Dan point blank. The ghost skidded to the ice where he struggled to gain his balance on the ice. Dan snarled flying into the air as Leon took a swing at him. The halfa passed harmless under avoiding the ice.
Leon gasped as the air was knocked out of his lungs as a ghostly wail sent him crashing to the ground. He pushed himself to his hands and knees before another blast knocked him back to the ground. He turned intangible sinking into the ground away from Dan's punishing attacks.
He returned to the surface several feet away from Dan. Gwen and Robin were both kneeling on the ground. Gwen was obviously done, but Robin gave him a supportive nod. Leon charged Dan swinging his fist; the ghost dodged only to be pinned by a single ecto-spear from Robin. Leon smirked as he slammed his other fist into the ghost's jaw hearing it crack from the blow. Dan's red eyes widened as his body collapsed into nothing but ectoplasm. "Another duplicate," Leon huffed.
"That means..." Robin trailed off looking for the other halfas. Leon joined the search quickly spotting Abigail and Sylvia stumbling out of the woods one arm hanging limply. "Where's Thalen and Alex?" he asked softly.
A loud wail sounded causing all of the halfas to hone in on the battle.
DP~DP~DP
Alex knew something was up with this duplicate. Not only was it really fast, but every blow was crushing. The battle started easily enough; Alex drew Dan's attention while Thalen zip in and out of range attacking all the while. Alex noticed that the attacks didn't seem to slow the ghost.
It only took a moment for the pair to get on the defensive. Dan started by drawing the two halfas together. Dan wailed sending the two halfas into the ground. Thalen got to his feet first holding out the Ghost Gauntlets in his hands. The long claws sprouted from each finger as Thalen sped toward the ghost. Alex created a wall of ice behind the ghost. Dan bumped into it.
Alex grinned to himself preparing the Fenton Thermos to capture at least one half of the ghost. The sound of shattering ice shocked both halfas. Alex hissed in pain as his body light up in pain; electricity seemed to fry everything in his body. Bright white rings formed around his waist as he turned human. The teen was lifted by the front of his shirt so he was looking into Dan's red eyes.
He was wondering if this was the last thing Catalina saw as he realized he really didn't have anyway to release Dan's grasp. Alex watched as the sky seemed to get darker. He looked over Dan's shoulder to see green ecto-swords floating in the air forming a cylinder around them. He barely took notice of this before Thalen zipped between Dan and himself green sword in one hand. The collision knocked Alex from Dan's grasp and into Thalen as he carried him away.
The former thief dropped off Alex before pivoting and attack Dan with a new sword he plucked from the cylinder. Alex knew that Thalen could only keep up so much so he did what he could. He held up his hands thinking about warming his normally icy attacks. The battle field fogged up giving Thalen cover as he zipped from one end of the cylinder to the other grabbing blades slicing at Dan while the ghost tried to dodge. Alex couldn't see very much but as the fog cleared he caught sight of Thalen who was only feet in front of him.
The other teen was leaning forward breathing heavily. Alex reached out to him pushing the former thief behind him. He could feel Thalen change back into his human form. Alex could hear Dan's chuckles as he realized that the two halfas were at their limit.
The large ghost stepped out of the billowing fog his fangs in a smile. Alex could feel that Thalen couldn't do much more. He narrowed his eyes forming an ice wall in front of Dan who blasted it away not losing pace.
A strong gust nearly knocked him over. "Hey over here," a girl's voice called. Alex turned to see Gwen standing with Robin and Leon behind her. The three looked worn, but they stood tall.
"I got you," Sylvia's voice whispered at his side as she appeared into the visible spectrum. Alex could feel her energy in the air and guessed that she was keeping Dan from detecting them.
"It seems like he is the real one," Abigail's voice said from his other side in her hands another thermos. Thalen chuckled behind him as he too got to his feet.
"Here, you're the fastest, Alex," Thalen stated handing over the Ghost Gauntlets. The four nodded separating slightly. Alex could feel Sylvia casting her camouflage in a circle around Dan hiding all the halfas from Dan.
The ghost spun around clearly searching for his enemies. Gwen's wind blew furiously masking the sounds of the halfas rearranging themselves. Leon struck first pushing Dan backwards toward Alex. Any counter the ghost tried was blocked by either ecto-shields of varying colors. An ice spear impaled the ghost's cape as two ecto-knives found their way to his feet. Fully trapped, Dan snarled at the invisible halfas. Alex leaped forward out of Sylvia's camouflage sinking the Ghost Gauntlet's claws into Dan's chest. He pulled whatever his hands caught on. He strained against the pull until his arms just flung out.
Floating in front of him was a very worn Danny Phantom and Plasmius. The two partial ghosts looked unsure at their hands before reaching out to the other. Alex could feel his breath catch in his throat; they couldn't go through this again. All seven of them were exhausted; they wouldn't be able to split the two again.
DP~DP~DP
Vlad tried not to think about how far off the ground they were or how fast Catalina zipped through the air. He trusted her or at least he trusted the halfa he knew. Even without his ghost abilities he could tell they were getting close to the halfas. The air buzzed with energy.
He could hear a strangled noise from Catalina as she increased her speed to almost recklessness. Vlad held onto the hands holding onto him tightly. His eyes caught the seven halfas standing in a circle around two floating forms. He couldn't believe what he was seeing; they did it. Those crazy teens did it.
Catalina gripped tightly onto him before she teleported. Vlad could feel his stomach flip as he reappeared in the circle of halfas. His feet landed on the ground with a thud, but Catalina was nowhere.
"Vlad?" his halfas gasps as he appeared in front of their eyes. The billionaire looked up to his floating ghost half. Plasmius's red eyes focused on him. The partial ghost looked conflicted.
Vlad jumped in surprise as Thalen stepped to his side banishing a Thermos in his hand flipping it on in Danny's direction. The partial ghost shrieked as it was sucked into the thermos. Plasmius looked shocked but Vlad pulled his ghost to himself. The ghost turned intangible before flying into the millionaire's chest. He could feel his core settle in its rightful spot. He gasps as it was as painful as having it ripped from him. Vlad put his hand on his chest feeling the familiar buzz of energy.
He turned to the seven halfas at a lost for words. "Thank you, all of you," Vlad stated the words honest as he looked at the accomplished faces.
"How did you get here?" Thalen asked breaking the calm silence. Vlad looked behind the group debating whether to mention the invisible ghost who stayed far from the group.
"I have my allies," Vlad answered not wanting to drag the woman into it when she clearly wanted to remain hidden. The halfas didn't look satisfied with the answer, but Vlad wouldn't expand on it. He looked at the tired expressions on those around him and felt only affection for each and everyone. "Let's rest and then we can move forward," he stated calmly.
A/N: There will be an epilogue so if you wish for a specific ending for your character please message me.