Disclaimer: I own nothing from Danny Phantom
Chapter 8: Promise
Danielle's POV
I was so distracted by what happened in the Banshee's lair with Prince Dorian and the voices that I accidentally went back the way I came. It wasn't until I heard the muffled sound of angry horses that I realized I had screwed up and whirled around to see one of the Kelpie's had spotted me. Instinct took over after that and I swam as fast as I could back towards the surface, swimming right past the cavern where the other two were still hanging around with their new Kelpie foal or colt who joined the others in chasing me.
Startled, I cried out when I felt something cold and slimy wrapped around my ankle, yanked me back, and then slammed me against the bottom of the lake bed as one of the Kelpie's planted their hooves on either side of me as more of their seaweed like mane reached down to ensnare me. And when I glanced up at my attacker I saw their jaw open up wide again to reveal two rows of needle sharp bone-white fangs.
I wasn't sure how to get out of their grasp until I remembered what the stolen voices had told me and took a risk. Even though I was still underwater I figured if I was fast enough then I could at least get out of their reach before I needed to either change back to my ghost form or dive towards to surface again to catch my breath. Letting my transformation rings appear again, I phased into the ground, which unfurled the strands of seaweed wrapped around me and the Kelpie reared its head back while pawing at the ground angrily with their hooves. After I changed back, I straightened myself out and launched myself at it to punch the Kelpie in the jaw. And when I did I heard a sickening crack as I dislocated its lower jaw which left the Kelpie thrashing its head around while shrieking in pain.
When I glanced over my shoulder during my escape, I was surprised that the remaining two Keplies didn't come after me but instead stopped to swim in circles around their injured companion. At first I thought it was kind of sweet of them to care for their friend that much until I noticed what they were actually doing which was lending them some their power to heal from its injury. As soon as that happened I swam even faster to get away from them now that all of them were hot on my heels this time.
Thankfully it was too late for them to catch up with me and I broke through the surface of the water a few seconds later, relieved to be out in the open air again. They didn't follow me out of the water thankfully but they were making a huge racket with all those big splashes and honestly the way they kept climbing over each other wildly like that it reminded me of those nature documentaries when you see a pack of piranha viciously tearing into a piece of meat. Too bad for them I was no longer on the dinner menu and now it was time for me to face the music...
In other words, it was time to take on the Banshee herself.
I wasn't sure what I would find when I returned to the willow tree, but I was surprised when I heard her hurling vicious insults at Vlad using my voice who looked bored at best at her futile attempts to break through his shield with her energy attacks. But it wasn't until I came within earshot that I heard her yell venomously. "Liar! Deceiver! How DARE you trick me?! I curse your name forever and you shall suffer for your treachery! The cry of the Banshee will drive you into madness which is no less than you deserve!"
"Oh really? Now I'M the trickster? As I recall you're the one who assumed I was another hapless victim who would do anything to please you while hanging onto your every word like some drooling idiot. It never even crossed your mind that maybe I was immune to your spell and the only idiot here is you." Vlad sneered, his ghost shield still holding strong against the onslaught of attacks she sent his way.
After that, the Banshee shrieked and her features began to twist and change. Her once delicate fingers elongated into razor-sharp claws while body became sunken, almost skeletal like someone who had died half-starved, her dress became torn and nearly threadbare, and her face became horribly contorted. She suddenly became a lot faster too and slashed at his barrier repeatedly like a woman possessed and that's when I finally got my head back in the game and charged an attack of my own, eager to help Vlad teach her a lesson she'd never forget...
I was almost done charging my attack when I felt a familiar cold sensation in my throat again and remembered how the voices warned me that I would have to use my hidden power to drown out the Banshee's voice because normal attacks would only get me so far this time. Good thing I remembered that too because a moment later, the Banshee reeled back, her face twisted in rage as she inhaled a deep breath and then unleashed a devastating shock wave as she sang loudly with only her vocals that even made Vlad stagger back and cover his ears, his shield cracking like a glass would like that joke with opera singers.
I was worried that maybe the Banshee's voice would be too strong for Vlad after a direct hit like that or worse, it might short out the Fenton Phones which meant that Vlad would lose the protection I gave him. And since I didn't exactly have mine anymore either I needed to act fast. Shooting towards Vlad to get between him and the Banshee, I raised my own shield and thankfully the shock of seeing me was enough to make her stop to stare at me with astonishment.
"You?! How did you find me? Is...is that bastard with you!?" She snarled.
"You bet he is!" I smirked, relishing the look of absolute fear and disbelief on her face. "And he's here to help me take back what's mine!"
"That voice..." She gasped, recognizing it immediately. "That's one of MY voices! This can't be! No! NO! NOOOOO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"
"I set them free that's what. I also set Prince Dorian free so don't even THINK about summoning him to help you. You've lost." I laughed, buying time for Vlad to recover from the unexpectedly powerful attack that not even the Fenton Phones could withstand which sadly meant that they had shorted out and were now pretty much useless.
Unfortunately I didn't know that at the time so I floated closer to the Banshee and scoffed. "If you surrender now and give me back my voice without throwing another hissy fit, I MIGHT just reconsider the possibility of not kicking your sorry ass. So, what will it be?"
Glaring at me with such hatred that I could almost feel it make the air heavier, the Banshee screamed. "Never! This voice is MINE now and I'll never give it back! I REFUSE to be defeated by some worthless half-breed bitch!"
Inhaling again, the Banshee unleashed another sound wave attack at us, but this time I did the same thing and a similar sound wave emitted from my mouth and met hers as we sang our ghostly duet. Her voice came out in white ripple-like waves while mine came out green so it was easy to tell whose was whose even though she was still using MY voice against me. I've never felt such power before and I'm not gonna lie it made me feel incredible...
That is until I saw Vlad behind me howling in pain as his ears started to bleed despite his desperate attempts to block out the intense noise by covering them with both hands. It was then that I realized Vlad had no way to block out the Banshee's cry anymore so I needed to end this fight quickly before it caused any permanent damage. My strength had begun fading fast too and I felt myself being pushed back onto the ground in front of the willow by the force of her attack, my boots digging into the muddy grass. So, mustering the remaining strength I had left, I poured every ounce of it into protecting Vlad and as a result my shock waves grew impossibly large before with a resounding boom, it blasted across the water when I hit a really high note which sent the Banshee flying and she crashed into the water with a huge splash.
I kept going until I was absolutely sure she was down before finally closing my mouth and when I did, everything went deathly quiet on me. I swayed then fell to my knees, barely clinging to consciousness as my lips unconsciously parted and the Seed of Remembrance that I borrowed floated out of my mouth just as another light shot through the air like a bullet. Then, my whole body began shaking from the shock of my voice returning to me at the exact same time. I dimly felt Vlad's arms reach out to steady me as he knelt beside me, but my gaze was fixating on the Banshee who was being pulled onto the opposite shore of the lake by her three fully grown Kelpie's who dropped her off there and nudged her with their snouts as she lifted herself onto her hands and knees.
She was gasping and clutching her throat just like I had when she first took my voice but luckily I already freed the others so I smiled in satisfaction knowing the Banshee couldn't switch out to another one to keep fighting us meaning we had accomplished our mission perfectly. I felt even better when she let the Kelpie's help her to her feet and she turned to us, her eyes wide and unreadable as she spoke to us in her real voice which was just as demonic as I imagined.
"No, no, no. You cannot do this to me!" She sobbed in a strange warped voice that sounded both like a whisper and a rasp at the same time. "I cannot stand another day alone without someone there to tell me my voice is beautiful. Give it back! GIVE IT BAAAACK!"
Her voice cracked, but it was clear the Banshee wanted to keep fighting, which was pointless since she could barely stand and had to lean on her Kelpie's for support. And the last thing I remember hearing was Vlad telling her. "You're pathetic. If you were really so desperate for affection might I suggest dating rather than brainwashing your potential partners? Surely there's a ghost out there who will be able to look past such a disgusting personality with or without your voice. After all, you are a lovely woman, but as they say, silence is golden which you might want to consider as well if the very idea of them all being scared off by your voice disturbs you so. In fact...why don't I make sure you never have to fear them hearing your shallow words ever again?"
I tried to stop Vlad from going after her when he paused to kiss my forehead before gently laying me down on the grass and reached out to him, but it was no use. That new vocal power of mine had basically drained the rest of my energy and I just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer so everything around me began to slowly drift away. The lake, the willow, the sound of Vlad's cape swishing in the wind, the Banshee's screams for mercy, everything faded to black as the sudden wave exhaustion set in.
I could only hope that Vlad wasn't going to do what I think he was doing. Then again, if that's what it would take to stop her from stealing more voices after this...maybe letting Vlad terrify her like this was for the best since I'll admit that sometimes I am a bit too nice for my own good. Of course, I still don't agree with Vlad's methods but as long as something like this never happens again that's enough for me.
Vlad's POV
Jason was understandably concerned when he saw me carrying his unconscious sister back to her room in her human and noticed the dried blood under my ears. But I assured him that we were both perfectly alright or at least we would be after some well-deserved rest. Truth be told, I may have grossly underestimated the Banshee's power which she had stolen from Danielle and the damage it could do to me. So I had to hand it to Danielle, those Fenton Phones actually did prove useful in the end and offered me at least some protection just like she hoped they would. Otherwise, I may very well have gone deaf after our encounter with that wretched woman.
A shame Danielle lost the ones I reverse-engineered for her after likely giving them to her friend Prince Dorian to protect him from the Banshee's spell, which was also smart since it removed the Banshee's trump card from the battlefield. I was impressed by the way Danielle brilliantly leveled the playing field since I've never actually seen her in combat up until now and this new power of hers is more devastating than I could have ever imagined. Danielle's potential seems nearly boundless and every day I'm learning more and more about the great things she's capable of. Her reflexes are much faster now too and she has all the grace and agility of a jungle cat which is truly a sight to behold.
It almost made me reconsider going through with my plans moving forward because she has already become so powerful in such a short amount of time. But then I had to remind myself that there's always going to be another stronger enemy out there for her to face and if today proved anything to me, its that I'm getting too soft. For Danielle's sake, I need to remain the ruthless one to spare her from being forced to make the difficult choice between which of her enemies need to meet a permanent end and which ones need to be made an example of as a warning to others. The Banshee is one such example and I internally smirked at the memory of her downfall...
After Danielle fell unconscious I wasted no time teleporting to the Banshee and making short work of her pets. She was too weak to fight back so I phased my hand into her chest as if to tear out her core and sent a painful shock of ecto-energy through her body that made her veins glow with the electric pink color of my energy as she screamed and thrashed. The Banshee was too exhausted to launch any counterattacks against me to defend herself, but the high pitched sound she made was like nails on a chalkboard which did make me wince a little since my ears were still ringing from her last attack.
My goal there was to severely damage her core to the point where it would forever cripple this ghost so I lashed out with my power and struck in strategic places so that even with her regenerative abilities her ghost core would never fully mend. To take it one step further I used my knowledge of biology to also 'surgically' remove her vocal cords altogether with my ghost powers. Even if this wound did mend, there was nothing left to replace her vocal cords with and so this left the Banshee eternally mute which meant that even stealing more voices would do her any good.
The look of absolute disbelief and horror on her face was priceless. And her devastation was painfully obvious as the Banshee sobbed and rocked herself after weakly crawling over to her unconscious pets, curling up against the side of one. I could have been crueler and destroyed each and every one of them but since Kelpies are still considered rare creatures in the Ghost Zone I decided to leave them be. Besides, this should be more than enough to serve a warning to others in the future that I, Vlad Plasmius, will annihilate and mutilate ANYONE who dares to cause my little badger any serious harm.
Speaking of which, I grew a little concerned when I noticed that Danielle looked a bit too pale for my liking as I laid her down on the bed to examine her. She was shivering since her hair and skin was still damp so I phased it off of her then placed a blanket over her. Once a bit of color returned to her cheeks I stepped outside of the room to address Jason who had been pacing up and down the hallway ever since our return.
"How is she? What happened? And are you ok?" Jason asked rapidly, the worry on his face plain as day.
Smiling at him fondly I answered. "She's going to be just fine after a bit of rest. We successfully retrieved her stolen voice from the Banshee thanks to her quick thinking. You should be proud."
Raising an eyebrow, Jason sighed, looking half-relieved and half-exasperated as he put his hands on his hips and pointed out skeptically. "You didn't answer my last question, are YOU alright?"
"Don't worry about me. This is nothing for you to be concerned about." I replied, turning my head slightly to clean off some of the blood with the spare handkerchief I pulled out of my suit pocket.
Shaking his head, Jason continued earnestly. "That's where you're wrong. This IS something for me to worry about. I've been doing a lot of thinking since you two left and while I still love our parents I really think you might be the only person I know who can ACTUALLY keep my sister safe. Especially given how long you've been keeping it a secret from everyone that you're half-ghost too. If anything ever happened to you I don't know if I could protect her half as good as you can. And if these things are going keep happening to her even after I leave for college, I'm not gonna lie, the thought seriously scares the shit out of me."
Jason's voice cracked a little when he put his hand on my shoulder and asked me sincerely. "So please don't you dare go dying on us, ok? Promise me you'll take better care of yourself too since we both need you here. That's all I ask. Besides, Dani would never forgive herself forever if anything bad happened to you on her account. That's why you'd better try harder not to do anything to make her sad. I mean it."
"Thank you, Jason, I will keep that in mind. Rest assured though that I'll be fine and so will Danielle since we heal much faster than normal humans thanks to our ghost powers. Trust me, you have nothing to worry about." I assured him before moving onto my last task before calling it a night which was to contact Jack and Maddie to let them know the matter with Danielle's lost voice had been resolved.
Together we wove them a convincing story while also informing them that Danielle still needed a lot of bed rest to recover from the ordeal so it would be best if she stayed with me for the rest of the week. Perhaps even the rest of the month if need be. And that was partially true since I wasn't sure when she would wake up and I needed a valid reason to keep her here if it took her longer than a few hours or a day at most to fully recover.
As for Jason, I told him that he was more than welcome to stay of course but he made it clear that he would much rather be home studying. Still, to entice Jason to visit again soon I gave him full access to my personal library. And after everything was settled on that end, I returned to Danielle's side and began giving her a brief examination just in case there were any wounds I might have missed in my haste to return home. That's how I found the red marks on Danielle's leg that looked like something had wrapped around it very tightly which I could only assume were the Kelpie's doing.
I brushed my fingers across the injury very gently to see if Danielle would react but she didn't which was a relief. I didn't find any other injuries on her so I replaced the blanket before settling down in the chair next to the bed, deep in thought about where to go from here. As I mentioned before Danielle has indeed grown much stronger since Freakshow's demise but deep down I knew she would never be safe so long as ghosts continue seeing her as an easy target. The best way to stop these attacks once and for all is to strike fear into their hearts the likes of which they haven't seen in centuries. A fear so great and terrible that no one will dare lift their hand against her again.
