CHAPTER 40: ICONOCLASM, PART 3
Just as any story has a beginning, there is also an end.
To tell a tale in one short timeframe, to have a definite start and finish, is the only way in which a parable can have a lasting effect on the collective conscious. To do otherwise is simply to create an idea that can be taken for granted; lasting continuously and losing all its value in being everlasting, unable to expire or carry the need to be passed on and shared to survive.
This is the paradox of eternity; that which is finite is infinite in its influence, and that which is infinite is finite in its influence.
Religion, like any other form of a story, is not without this need for an ending to its tales. Their endings tell tales, heralded as prophesies of events yet to come, of the end of the world itself, claiming that the human race and all life on Earth will come to an end, and sometimes even the main characters of the gods themselves.
The Norse called this day Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods.
Now, the gods of all religions, both extant and extinct alike, are destroying the Earth and all its peoples in no specific manner, no preordained prophesy or ritual that will bring the end of the world. They are doing so at the behest of a ghost called Demon Phantom, who is destroying all life on Earth for reasons known only to him.
There was only one obstacle that stood in the way of his plans; a factor that he once thought removed from the equation by his own efforts. Once stripped of his powers and left for dead, without even a family to support him, the threat has resurged once again, reuniting with his family to launch a counterattack on the gods and save the Earth from certain destruction.
This savior is the man that Demon Phantom used to be: Danny Fenton, known better to the world as the half-dead hero named Danny Phantom.
His family was slain by his once-future counterpart, but, because of his desire to see them return, they have returned the to Earth as ghosts. They exist now as an extension of the memories and will of Danny Phantom, conjured for the specific purpose of seeing Demon Phantom destroyed at last.
To accomplish this, they must first stop the gods he has unleashed on the world. The war they now take to reclaim their thrones is comparable to a holy war, a jihad, to take their place as the most powerful beings on this planet once again. They have reigned supreme as the sole influence on the human race, and done so benevolently, if misguided and at first failing to succeed, in trying to lead the world to betterment.
Now is the time for them to earn their place as leaders of the world.
The Middle East is where the first fight begins, coming in contact with one of the first otherworldly beings that was created before the return of Demon Phantom. The first of the ghosts the Fentons will battle against is one taking the form of Azrael, the Islamic angel of death.
They have witnessed its creation in the secret laboratory of the Saudi Arabian government, born out of the death of a scientist assigned to the project, who leapt into a Ghost Portal in order to save himself from the Fentons. In turn, he had only provided them with the means of letting him capture him, assigning him to the inside of a Fenton Thermos.
Once again will these two parties meet, this time over the flaming desert that was once a city. The ghost of Azrael, of which the original was conceived as an angel which separated souls from their bodies, had done just that over its population, laying waste to it by the blade of its sword.
The ghost spared only a small moment of time to look on the death and damage it had done, acknowledging it only to ensure its work here was done so it may move on to its next city of lives to take. Reprogrammed and repurposed for the needs of Demon Phantom, it has no true will of its own or care for what it does; in death and beyond has the project succeeded in its goal.
But while looking upon its handiwork, the ghost heard the sound of a whistle catch its attention, drawing its look from the ground towards the sky. Above its head did it find Danny Phantom and the Fentons, alongside the newly-reformed Vlad Plasmius and former president Tucker Foley, looking on the ghost with cocky smiles.
"Hey. Haven't we done this dance before?" Danny asked.
The ghost responded to Danny with only a roar, holding its sword up towards him in a threatening manner.
"So it's a rematch you want? Alright. You got it." Danny said.
[Soundtrack Cue: KMFDM - Trust (Never Mix)]
The ghost of Azrael then shot up to the sky, flying towards the Fentons to attack. Its initial strike was made with a slash of its sword, coupled with an ectoplasmic blast projected from its hand. Splitting off into separate targets, the team made themselves into individual fighters against the target, each taking their focus on the ghost, while simultaneously giving it no single target to focus on.
For every enemy ghost that Azrael fired at, that ghost would simply fly away, and another would strike at it in the back. Blasts of artificial hellfire and blows from ethereal fists were met at the Islamic ghost's back for every blast and sword strike of its own it shot out, leaving it at the mercy of the team of Fenton ghosts.
Suffering many attacks from the team over the short yet intense battle, the ghost of Azrael began firing off in every which direction, indiscriminately and uncaringly firing at whatever it could manage to hit. Its attack patterns were no longer like those of a coordinated machine, but instead a wild beast lashing out, as if it began to forget its programmed purpose in the heat of the battle.
With the prey weakened, confused, and vulnerable, the hunters now have their target ripe for its trap: The Fenton Thermos. In the early days of Danny Phantom and his ventures of hunting ghosts, he duties of carrying the Fenton Thermos laid on either Tucker or Sam for the duties...
...but, here, it is shared among the entire group as a whole; each having a stake in the game. In between each attack from the team, the Fenton Thermos was tossed between its members, each waiting for the moment in which the target was weak enough to be captured effectively.
Now, that time has come, and it comes now into the hands of Danny Phantom.
Opening the cap to the Fenton Thermos, the tractor beam of the Thermos hit the ghost of Azrael, latching itself onto the spectral entity and drawing it into the device. Just as it was once before where the ghost had suffered this fate at the hands of the infidel Danny Phantom, once again does it become trapped in the handheld pocket dimension, unable to continue its conquest.
With the lid sealed back on the Thermos, it is defeated once again, and it is but one of many to go.
"One down, about 6,000 to go." Danny said.
Many destinations follow the defeated god, but the next one of interest is the United Kingdom, with the next main god to be taken down being the Yahweh of the Crusades. This interpretation of the Christian god was dressed in a knight's armor and chainmail like the Crusaders themselves, distinguishing it from its American cousins.
On its sword are the blood and organs of many Englanders, guilty only of the crime of abandoning a god that led them to regress as a society. The god has been as merciless and as cruel as the Crusades of centuries past has been, showing once again how they have been nothing but exemplary in following their faith.
As they had spread their religion and power by way of force, this iteration of Yahweh did the same, laying waste to the land once called Albion with fire and brimstone.
But just as this god has been defeated in the many places it has spread, the place where it facilitated the majority of its influence shall be its grave. Coming to the defense of the late empire are the heroes of the colonies; the Americans coming to the defense of the British against a foreign threat once again.
"You know, I swear we caught this one at least 4 times already." Jack said.
"Those were different interpretations of the Christian god, Jack. This one's the old-timey, bloodthirsty one." Maddie said.
Materializing a ball of fire in its hand, the ghost of Yahweh cast the projectile towards the Fentons, causing them to splt up once again. Still carrying in his astral body many questions, formulated from the muddled mind of an old, sundowning man, Jack stayed with Maddie, still asking more questions regarding their target.
"So how is it that all of these people can look at the same book and all come up with completely different versions of their god? Seems pretty silly to me." Jack said.
"That's the fundamental reality of any book, Jack. You can interpret anything in the English language in all kinds of ways, especially in instances of religious or artistic merit." Maddie said.
Seeing an ectoplasmic blast from the ghost, the two split up to dodge the shot, joining back together once the threat had passed.
"But that doesn't make much sense. I look at 1 + 1, I get 2. I look at E = MC squared, I get energy. I look at the schematics for a Ghost Portal, I see a gateway into another dimension of the universe." Jack said.
"Science and maths are absolute, Jack. Language is the most fallible method of communicating ideas, how can you be a scientist and not understand this?" Maddie asked.
Another blast came towards them again, prompting them to dodge to avoid it, then subsequently move back.
"I don't know. Guess the only real understandings I have are two things: Hunting ghosts..." Jack began to say.
The Fenton Thermos then landed in the hands of the ghost of Jack Fenton, who then turned it on the ghost of Yahweh. Just like the many other gods that have been subjected to the capture by the ghost-hunting device, it, too, was trapped among with many others; fantastical phantasmagorias defeated by science.
With his work on this god done, Jack finished his sentence by materializing more of his beloved fudge pancakes, projecting them as an extension of himself.
"...and fudge, just like my delicious fudge pancakes!" Jack concluded.
Taking the ethereal pancakes out from the air, Jack shoved the stack in his mouth, messily and noisily eating the ectoplasmic sugary treats with delight. The sight of her husband indulging in unhealthy foods is one that makes Maddie Fenton shake her head with disapproval, though a slight twinge of relief is in her, knowing that he no longer can suffer any negative health consequences.
"If you weren't already dead, I'd be making you eat a salad right now." Maddie said.
"I know, honey, and I love you for it." Maddie said.
"Oh, I love you, too, Jack."
Central America is where they move next after capturing many different ghosts, where the next of many ideologies they attack next is the gods belonging to the Incan pantheon. Their gods are called Apu, literally translated to say 'Great Lord', usually residing over mountains and receiving sacrifices in their names.
The next god out of many to fall is the ghost of Supay, the Incan god of death and ruler of Ukhu Pacha, the Incan land of the dead. His appearance was something like that of a Christian image of a devil, but embroidered in gold, much like the rulers of the Incan empire of its time.
Along with the Aztec and Mayan deities that were unleashed on the region, many innocent people were put to death, none successfully sent to these imaginary realms, but merely either returning to the collective consciousness or coming back as ghosts; all slaughtered at the hands of these mad ghosts/gods nonetheless.
Two of these three revived empires have already been defeated by Danny Phantom and the Fentons, and now lies what was once the most powerful and influential throughout the region and even modern history. Supay, among the dead bodies of its victims, took notice of the incoming Fentons, and took its leave to attack.
The two Fentons who take the lead to attack are Danny and Sam, deciding to take on the enemy as a couple.
"You know, Danny, I wonder why we didn't come down here for our honeymoon. The view's absolutely beautiful here." Sam said.
"Well, I remember suggesting the Carribean, but you were insistent on Florence." Danny said.
"I can't help it. Those little boats were adorable. I had to ride in one."
The ghost of Supay reached out a hand and fired an ectoplasmic bolt towards the two, prompting them to separate in their attack. Making use of her new abilities as a ghost, Sam returned fire with her own ectoplasm firing from her hands. Forced to avoid the esoteric projectile for most of her ghost-hunting career, she has now the ability to use it herself... and she finds it unquestionably fun.
"All this time you had all this fun, and I had to stay in the rear with the gear. About time I got to try this for once." Sam said.
"Took me losing you for you to have your fun. Not exactly something I can be proud of." Danny said.
Once again did the ghost of Supay fire at Sam, this time leading her to rejoin with Danny Phantom. Put together again as a duo, the lovers, refocused on their target, both raised their hands to the ghost of mass destruction, each charging up their own shots of ectoplasm to fire on it.
"I lost my body, yeah, but the most important part of me's still here." Sam said.
Danny had no witty comeback to give to his wife, instead did he respond only with a confident smile, knowing that their marriage has not been broken, not even by death.
Firing their blasts of hellfire on the ghost, the being known as Supay lost its place in the sky and fell towards the ground; defeated at the hands of the young Fenton lovers. With their target down and vulnerable, Sam took out the Fenton Thermos to capture it, which Danny assisted by holding the device with her.
Both holding onto the handheld pocket dimension, they opened its cap, releasing the tractor beam out from the containment unit and pulling in the Incan ghost/god inside to join the other defeated beings. Capturing the ghost inside the Thermos, they placed the cap back on, holding one another's hands as they did so.
They have had many moments like this that solidified their love, but this is the first which they both share it as ghosts; an event that is a blessing to Danny, but made at a heavy price, leading him to lower his face in sadness. Nonetheless, Sam, for all the times in which she has hunted ghosts, it is a one-of-a-kind opportunity.
So, refusing to let her husband grieve her, she held his chin up, reminding him to keep moving on.
"Hey. Don't worry about what I lost. Just focus on what we have now. We've got a job to do. Let's make the best of it." Sam said.
Her final words on the matter seemed to give Danny reprieve from his thoughts, allowing him to smile once again in the face of the tragedy of his wife. He knows that there is indeed a world depending on them, and the benefits they have now as ghosts the best and only chance against it, and he knows there is no room for mourning or grieving.
Again by an important member of his family, he has been given the strength to continue on.
"You're right. No time for being sad now. There's still more gods to bag." Danny said.
Indeed are there many more to go, and the Scandanavian countries are where the Fentons move next. Here is where the ghost of Thor has made his debut upon the land in which its origin had been forged by men, long before the days of logic and science and reason to bring true enlightenment upon the world.
Like many heroes within the mythologies of religions past, Thor was once portrayed as a noble man, protecting all forms of life and standing for justice...
...but this Thor was one far too close to home in terms of a true portrayal. Having crudely laid waste to the entirety of the Scandanavian nations, reducing the peninsulas to earthquake-shattered wastelands, there is nothing left of the social democracies that once stood as the world's most freest and prosperous countries.
Its only population now includes a single ghost based on an obsolete character from an obsolete story, aimlessly wandering drunk off whatever cheap alcohol it could find and mindlessly swinging its hammer at whatever vision it believed had spoke ill of it and the adventures it believed to have taken.
It only goes to show that there are no true heroes; always is the truth overstated, always is the bad overlooked far too much.
But now is the time for heroes truer to the definition and in practice to come and save the land from its destroyer, coming to put the mythology to rest once and for all. In the sky the Fentons come, bearing the means of capturing the mad god and ensuring it will never harm the world again.
The ghost of Thor acknowledged the Fentons and the threat they served in a drunken stupor, carrying just enough consciousness to come to its wits and prepare for battle. Raising its hammer named Mjlornir in the air, the ghost of Thor cast itself towards the Fentons to make its first attack.
And it is made with a lightning strike cast down on the group, separating the team from one another so they may be taken on one by one; a battle that even the lowliest and least experienced of warriors might effectively stand a chance against a large number of enemies.
But Thor has never been considered a lowly or inexperienced warrior by any stretch of the imagination, and his displayed prowess in this battle is no exception. His hammer swings towards the Fentons with but near-misses nearly taking them out from the sky in a single hit, and some successful hits doing just that to an unlucky few. Mighty and immortal as its myths portray it as, the ghost of Thor is no easy opponent to stop...
...but it is not any of the strongest candidates of the Fentons that stop it. Instead, it is the former president Tucker Foley, who brings his own expertise to the table.
"Hey, goldielocks! That big, strong hammer compensating for something?" Tucker called.
Hearing the taunt of the dead president, the ghost of Thor, like all insecure males, took great offense to the remark, turning all of its attention and anger towards him. Swinging its hammer of Mjlornir, it propelled itself towards Tucker Foley, attacking him directly and head-on in ignorance of the other Fentons.
Though acquriing the powers that a ghost has only hours ago, Tucker took well to the power of flight, avoiding the swings of the ghost's hammer with ease. Keeping himself as the sole center of attention to the ghost of Thor, Tucker continued to lead it throughout the destroyed city, allowing it to let out its rage.
"Hey, Princess Diana, we're both sovereigns here. Let's not spark any international tensions over our own personal ones. I'll take you to dinner and we'll talk it over there, okay?" Tucker taunted.
"Tucker! What are you doing?!" Danny called.
"Relax, Danny. I've read every comic book ever made. I know all of this guy's powers and abilities."
"Tucker, it's not the comic book Thor, it's the Norse Thor! Not the same thing!"
"Don't be so sure, Danny. Those comics had way more of the original mythology than you think, and it shaped a lot of public perception of the original, too. I'm willing to guess that some of it made it in there. One of which is..."
Allowing his point to be illustrated rather than spell it out himself, Tucker flew back from the ghost of Thor, presenting himself as a target to be attacked. Accepting the offer made to him, Thor threw its hammer towards Tucker, sending its weapon like a projectile against him.
Dodging away from the incoming Mjlornir, Tucker allowed it to hit the ground behind him, facing down Thor with a confident smile in response. Enraged further by his taunting look, Thor reached out its hand to call the hammer to return to its place in the ghost's hand...
...but, after reaching out and mentally calling for Mjlornir to return, it did not heed its master's call, leaving the ghost of Thor defenseless.
"...his hammer Mjlornir only has the power to return to him because of Odin letting it. Since Demon Phantom didn't bother making an Odin, there's no Odin to let the hammer return to him, and, without it, he can't use any of his powers." Tucker said.
Disarming and defanging the ghost of Thor, Tucker then took out the Fenton Thermos and opened it, directing towards the Norse deity to capture it among the many others they stopped before. The impressive gamble had made the Fentons congregate back to Tucker in amazement, all wanting to know the secret behind his victory.
"Tucker, how the hell did you know that would work?" Danny asked.
"Learned that fact during a talk with Obama about a year ago. Turns out I'm the second biggest comic book nerd to ever enter the White House." Tucker said.
The next god for them to defeat was found in the rural areas of Russia, feeding off the remains of what was once the population of one of its many towns. This god was the being known as the Baba Yaga, a mythological figure in Slavic folklore invented to keep naughty children obedient to their parents.
The legend was told to be of a old, skinny witch living in the woods in a house standing on chicken legs, interacting with children it encountered in two ways:
If you are a good child, the Baba Yaga will help you, like a sweet old grandmother.
If you are a bad child, the Baba Yaga will eat your heart and grind your bones to dust to snort.
Manipulated in the hands of Demon Phantom, this ghost of Baba Yaga has been inclined to see all human beings as 'bad', and it has laid waste to everyone in its sight, driving a significant decline in the population of Russia. Their bodies are not wasted in the departure of their lives, however, for they are still put to use as food for the Baba Yaga and their organs are kept for future spells and incantations.
The Fentons arrive once again to handle the living fairy tale, and they take great disgust to the many cruel and unusual deaths dealt by the hands of the ghost of the Baba Yaga, but none are more so appalled than Danielle Phantom, who looked on the death and destruction with her face displaying the utmost disgust.
Living on the streets alone as a youth, she is sympathetic to children and their struggles the most, and takes the greatest issue with this particular being.
"You guys stay back. I want this one for myself." Danielle said.
Spotting another target to attack, the ghost of Baba Yaga jumped up and began flying towards Danielle, ready to feast on another victim. Likewise, Danielle also prepared herself for a fight with the ghost, and preparing herself to make her first strike against it, charging up her fist with ectoplasmic energy.
As the ghost of Baba Yaga neared Danielle, she responded to the ghost by punching the Slavic specter in the face, blasting out a controlled burst of ectoplasm as she delivered the attack. The energy included with her attack sent the Baba Yaga crashing into the ground below, leaving a crater where it once stood.
Slowly descending to the ground, Danielle prepared her hands once again with charges of ectoplasm, preparing for the enemy to crawl out from its hole and attack once again. Her expectation is met with the Baba Yaga jumping out from its hole and running towards her like a beast, soon jumping up and curling itself into a ball, flying towards her like a cannonball.
In response, Danielle jumped and kicked the incoming Baba Yaga into a nearby destroyed house, causing the building to collapse in on the ghost and partially subdue it. Not yet satisfied with the punishment it endured, Danielle released her charged ectoplasm onto the demolished house, sending it into a large explosion with the ghost inside enduring the blast.
The explosion is more than enough to kill any living being within, and perhaps even send most unliving beings within to oblivion, but it is still not enough to put an end to this god. Crawling out from the flames and rubble, the ghost of Baba Yaga rose once again, letting out an angry screech towards Danielle.
Just as her enemy would not give up, neither would Danielle allow herself to do so, either. Taking out the Fenton Thermos, she did not immediately open the device and capture the ghost, but instead welcomed its approach and challenged it to do so with a look of unshaken bravado.
As the ghost of the Baba Yaga ran towards her again, it drew out claws from its fingers, preparing to make a slash into her face. Dodging away from the incoming nails with little effort, Danielle allowed the ghost to expend its energy trying to fight her, following up with an eventual bash over its head with the Fenton Thermos.
Sent falling to the ground after suffering a bash on its head, the ghost of the Baba Yaga received yet another bash from Danielle, followed by another, and many more hits out from the vengeful use of her Fenton Thermos. Each blow landed drew globs of ectoplasm from its form, not unlike how a human might give blood from such attacks, and caused much of it to splatter on Danielle's face.
Eventually, her beating came to an end, and the Baba Yaga no longer moving at all. Seemingly satisfied with the beatdown of the ghost, Danielle removed the cap from the Fenton Thermos, aiming it at the barely-conscious form of consciousness and sucked it inside, defeating the foe at last.
Her unusually violent outburst towards the ghost brought some degree of concern from the other Fentons, who all looked to her with uncertain faces.
"You feel better now?" Danny joked.
"Yeah. I hate people who hurt children." Danielle said.
The next destination of the Fentons is Egypt, where they come to battle a figure from Egyptian mythology which lays waste to the land that conceived it. This being is a snake-god called Apep, representing all of chaos and evil. Believed to be the umbilical cord for Ra, the sun god, it became the enemy of the light-bringer and promised nothing but darkness and evil for all his servants.
Now, the ghost of Apep has done as it promised, but ultimately fulfilling a promise to no one but itself; that very promise an idea implanted in its head by Demon Phantom prior to its death as a man. The vast majority of Egypt has been decimated by the snake-god; its many peoples and cities destroyed by the spectral serpent.
Once again do the Fentons arrive to handle the threat, but it is none of the Fentons by blood or marriage that come forth to take care of the snake-god. Instead, it is Vlad, the man who stole Jack's fathership of Danny and created the boy who became Danny Phantom, who steps forward to battle.
On a never-ending quest to redeem himself of all the wrongdoings he had committed in his days of life and death alike, he flies forward to the ghost of Apep with no fear or hesitation, carrying the Fenton Thermos along with him. He is determined to put a stop to this ghost by himself, and will allow none others to assist him.
Preparing for the coming of Vlad, the ghost of Apep began to slither around the pyramids of Giza, wrapping itself around the artificial sand mountains to make its attack on the incoming enemy. Constricting around the pyramids and crushing them back to bricks, the snake-god then began spinning in a circle, hurling each of the broken bricks towards the incoming Vlad in a cluster-bomb of falling bricks.
Keeping his concentration solely fixed on the task of defeating the ghost, Vlad swerved and maneuvered through the incoming bricks, phasing through the few he could not effectively move past. Unimpeded by the obstacles put in his path, Vlad continued to fly towards Apep, preparing the Fenton Thermos in his hand.
Likewise, the ghost of Apep prepared for the arrival of Vlad, planning on disposing of him in a definite and final matter to ensure its victory. Contently coiling itself down, it charged all of its energy to make a jump towards its would-be attacker, licking its lips with the intent of devouring Vlad.
Vlad is well aware of this plan the snake-god plots... and he keeps flying in, anticipating it in full.
Leaping up to the incoming Vlad Plasmius, Apep opened its jaws to the incoming ghost, causing him to fly straight inside his mouth. Closing its mouth, the snake-god then swallowed Vlad, allowing his ghost to slide down his ethereal organs and be dissolved and digested as part of his own form.
But what happens is nothing of the sort. Instead, the ghost of Apep began to feel its stomach collapse on itself, as if a black hole had opened inside itself. Much of its memetic buildup began to follow as well, becoming engulfed in and falling into itself, crunching its body down on itself.
Eventually, the body had collapsed on itself completely, revealing the singularity that caused it to dispensary. The cause of its demise showed itself to be Vlad Plasmius holding the Fenton Thermos in his hand, sucking the ghost of Apep in the device from the inside out.
His stunt proved itself not only successful, but also impressive to the other Fentons, admiring his bravery and courage.
"Not bad, Vlad. You just might make a good ghost hunter yet." Danny said.
To hear the approval come from his own illegitimate son, Vlad permitted himself a smile, taking the compliment as praise coming from a true son of his.
"Good. I certainly hope so." Vlad said.
The last battle came on a place that acted as a battleground for one of the worst holy wars the planet had ever seen, and cost countless lives and divided many factions of the world over the victor. This final battleground was the border of Israel and Palestine, where two separate ghosts of the Abrahamic god are present.
On the Israeli side of the border is Shaddai, the Jewish concept of god.
On the Palestinian is Allah, the Islamic concept of god.
Despite the bad blood that both sides of the conflict shared, both armies were ultimately destroyed by their own gods, killed without mercy or favoritism. Devotion was paid to both with the hopes and promises of rewards rendered unto them for their services, to eliminate the other side and consummate the land for themselves as a holy nation for their own god...
...but it all came for naught when it was clear that the gods were not interested in deeds or land, just blood.
The two gods have laid waste to their own followers, making the nations that worshiped them desolate wastelands with no hope for survival, and no survivors to propagate a new people. Like many gods who have already destroyed their assigned lands, these two gods began to move on to their next destination to destroy together, attacking the next region as a team.
But another team had stepped in to defeat the gods and prevent any more bloodshed at their hands, led by their golden child and family jewel: Danny Phantom.
"Hey, you guys. I'm glad you finally learned to get along, but bonding over murder's never a healthy experience. Just look at Bonnie and Clyde. It's time you two paid for all the blood you spilled." Danny said.
The two god/ghosts looked to Danny Phantom with the intent to attack, but the expression was soon changed to that of a silent thought and mutual agreement between the two, who looked to one another as the idea had sparked in their heads. Expecting the ghosts to attack rather than make any plots towards him, Danny watched in curiosity as the two made their next action, unsure of what they would do next.
What the two ghost/gods decided to do is not attack him alone, but combine themselves, preparing to take him on as one.
The two gods joined hands, their hands melding into one another like a successful mixture of oil and water, unnatural and inconceivable. Next followed the rest of their spectral bodies, merging themselves into a full, singular being that carried all the powers of one another in a single host.
The end result is a mishmash of the two gods' appearances, gods of Judaism and Islam combined to show both influences of their respective cultures into one. Due to their similar ancestries, the combination is not too far removed from one another, but it is still noticeably a merging of two different cultures rather than all from one.
Nonetheless, the result is all enough to make Danny grow surprised from the event, and unsure what to make of the new creature.
"Oh. Well, that's different." Danny said.
The combined ghost/god then fired an ectoplasmic blast towards Danny, coming towards him with more tenacity and power than any of the other ghosts they had fought so far. It was now made abundantly clear that their combined ethereal forms also came with the doubling of their power, increasing their capacity for destruction greatly.
Again, the action brought great surprise to Danny, who narrowly dodged the shot with a growing sense of fear.
"That's really different." Danny said.
Flying towards the combined god/ghost, Danny began throwing punches and kicks towards it, making all of his attacks with speeds that the naked human eye could barely comprehend or register. To his surprise, the combined god effortlessly dodged away from each of the strikes, leaving Danny failing to make a single impact.
The repeated failures came on and on, with Danny growing more fearful and shocked by the second at the power of the new ghost, but was not willing to give up. Instead, his efforts began to increase as his negative emotions did, channeling and feeding those feelings into his assault.
The resulting hits that managed to strike the combined god showed success from his efforts, but proved to not be enough to defeat the enemy. Still standing tall and undefeated from the hits, the fusion of Shaddai and Allah stood up with no signs of pain or damage, still fully able to fight.
"Damn. How am I supposed to beat this guy?" Danny thought aloud.
The answer came to him twofold: One from an ectoplasmic blast fired at its head, the other from the mouth of his sister Jazz, who said:
"The same way he's beating you now. Strength in numbers." Jazz said.
The rest of the Fentons followed the lead of the young Fenton clone, flying in to attack the combined ghosts of Shaddai and Allah together. To have two minds, two consciousness as part of its spectral being, the ghost was more than able to keep up with the efforts of one opponent, but to keep up with eight was one far too much for any one ghost to feasibly do, let alone two.
The many punches, kicks, and ectoplasmic blasts all sent towards it are more than enough to overwhelm it with damage and injuries to wear it down, leaving the ghost to slowly succumb to its attacks. Fighting back with whatever it could, throwing attacks of its own back ranging from melee to ectoplasmic bolts, none were enough to save itself from the Fentons, spelling its imminent defeat.
[Soundtrack Cue End]
Soon, the combined ghosts of Shaddai and Allah separated once again as they fell to the ground, neither able to get back up again. Having defeated both ghosts, Danny took out the Fenton Thermos once again, opening the cap and aiming it at the two downed enemies.
And they are sent up inside the handheld pocket dimension, the Fentons once again capturing the many mad gods sent forth on the planet to destroy it. With the last two captured in the Thermos, Danny placed the cap back on, sealing away the last of the gods in a successful run of their mission to save the Earth from them.
Now, comes the one who unleashed the beings on the Earth.
"That's all of them. Just one more ghost left to bag." Danny said.
"You sure you're up to this one, Danny? We've got a bigger fight than last time to finish." Jazz said.
"I'm good for it. Besides, even if I wasn't, I'd have to try anyway. There's no way I can let him get away. I have to stop him. Whatever he's calling himself, Demon Phantom, Dark Danny... He's gotta die."
Far away from the physical plane which the battles prior have taken place, and outside of the concept of time which plays them out, the ghost named Clockwork stays observant of the events, turning the wheel of time and steering events along as the Fentons go to ensure his victory. He knows that he has already won, and his victory exists in the future, but it is his efforts in this moment which must ensure them.
He sits contently at a chessboard, with the pieces on its resembling those of the Fentons, including Danny Phantom himself at the front. On the other side are Demon Phantom and his confederate ghosts, all representing the opposition. Off the board are the gods that have been defeated, taken out of the game and out of mind.
Taking control of the Danny Phantom piece, Clockwork moved it forward, advancing his plot.
"That's all of them. Just one more ghost left to bag." Clockwork said.
Next taking control of the Jazz Fenton piece, he moved it forward, again advancing his plot.
"You sure you're up to this one, Danny? We've got a bigger fight than last time to finish." Clockwork said.
Returning to the Danny Phantom piece, he moved it forward again, making the final moves to continue his plot.
"I'm good for it. Besides, even if I wasn't, I'd have to try anyway. There's no way I can let him get away. I have to stop him. Whatever he's calling himself, Demon Phantom, Dark Danny.." Clockwork began to say.
His hand then moved to the piece of Demon Phantom, moving it towards Danny Phantom and the rest of the Fentons.
"...He's gotta die." Clockwork finished.
