Both of them were flying at top speed through the ghost zone, desperation was visible on their faces.

- Are you sure of this? - Danny asked. – Because otherwise we'll be going straight to him.

He looked at him hard. Vlad, for his part, was silent for a few seconds before answering.

- I made a deal with the Fright Knight. We knew it was a bad idea to keep the crown and the key so close to each other and to the sarcophagus. That's why, after you defeated Pariah, we agreed that I would keep the key and he'll protect the crown.

- How convenient. – Danny said.

- Oh, please Daniel. I'm not that stupid to make the same mistake twice.

- But how did he know you had the key? I didn't know that.

- If what you told me about him is true, it means he not only has your memories… he also has mine.

A silence enveloped them for a few seconds as they kept flying, getting closer and closer to the castle.

- What can we expect? - Danny asked.

- We have to assume that he already has the crown and plans to free Pariah Dark to get the ring. So…

- Nothing good. – He concluded.

- Danny. Danny! Damn it, answer!

Sam was still yelling through the comlink on the ship, but getting no response. Frustrated, she hit the dashboard of the vehicle and rubbed her face with both hands. She got out of the vehicle and slammed the door behind her.

- Nothing? – Jazz asked her in concern.

- Nothing. – She replied looking straight ahead.

- Hey. – Tucker called them. – Don't you think we should close the portal?

- No! – They both yelled at him.

- Fine! Chill. – He raised his hand in the air.

- Never tell a woman to chill when she's clearly not chill! – Jazz yelled again.

- Let alone two! – Sam shouted.

- God! - Tucker shrugged in place. - That's why I'm single. – He whispered.

The man lowered his gaze to the ground and observed the unconscious ghost.

- What about him?

Sam and Jazz looked at the ghost. For a second, they had forgotten that he was there.

- Just put him in the thermos. – Sam said pointing to the container on the table.

- No. - Jazz interrupted. – Return him to the ghost zone. We don't need another ghost on our plane to cause us trouble.

- "Put him." "Return him." Won't you help me?

- No! – They yelled at him.

Tucker grunted and reluctantly walked over to the table where all the wrapped thermoses were. He struggled a bit to free one from the tether and when he did, he aimed at the ghost and then sucked him into the device. He walked over to the portal's control panel and inserted the cylinder into the hole designated for that function. He turned it to the right, locking it, and the thermos emptied its contents back into the ghost zone.

When he turned around, he looked at the worried faces of his friends. He held the thermos in both hands and walked over to them.

- He'll be fine. He always is. – He tried to cheer them up.

They both looked into his eyes and Sam couldn't help but smile weakly at his friend.

- Thanks, Tuck. – She sighed. - It is just that…

- I can't help it. – Jazz said looking at the floor. – Just thinking that he went directly to that monster makes me remember the way I found him yesterday and… - She couldn't finish speaking because a lump began to form in her throat.

- At least this time he wasn't alone. – The boy commented. – And although Vlad is not the best company someone can have… he is the best qualified of all to help him now.

- I just hope he doesn't try to betray Danny. – Sam commented seriously.

- And what were they talking about before leaving? – Jazz asked.

- "I had the key." – Sam recalled. – What key were they talking about?

- I don't know. – Tucker shrugged. – What I do know is that Danny asked us to close the portal.

Jazz rolled her eyes and stood up. She walked over to the portal's biometric panel, placed her thumb on the scanner, and the portal began to close.

- Happy? – She ironized.

- Very. - Tucker replied.

He delivered a well-aimed punch straight to the jaw of the ghost king, who returned the gesture with a blow to the chest with his mace. Dan went flying into a pillar while Pariah rubbed his jaw with his right hand.

He flew towards the ghost on the ground and lifted his mace into the air to hit it directly; however, Dan quickly spun with a long piece of debris that he ended up destroying by slamming it into Pariah's side. Seizing the momentary advantage, he rose to his feet and lashed out with his fists at the king. Pariah was able to dodge a few attacks, but Dan managed to connect most of them until a kick to the abdomen forced him to bend over and, with a swing of his mace, removed the crown from Dan's head. They both watched the artifact roll out of the room where they were fighting and rushed in its direction to capture it.

Pariah grabbed Dan by his cape and yanked him hard until he was behind him; however, Dan froze his footing to the ground, immobilizing him for a moment. Dan flew to retrieve the crown, but was again intercepted, this time by an energy beam to his chest. However, he managed to make a duplicate. Seeing this, Pariah threw his mace at him, striking him in the back just before he could retake the crown.

With a swift movement, he destroyed the thick layer of ice immobilizing his leg. He flew up to face the crown and took it with his right hand. The smile that had just drawn on his lips was erased with a powerful blow to his face with his own mace. The crown fell to the ground again and Pariah reached a hand to the area where he had taken the blow. His fury increased as he noticed traces of green ectoplasm coming out of his nose.

Calmly, Dan picked up the crown and placed it back on his head, then glanced at Pariah, who was getting up.

- You're stronger than I remember. – He cleaned his nose.

- I'm not the boy who defeated you years ago. – Dan said serious. – I'm much, much worse…

Pariah Dark drew the sword he carried at his waist and Dan tightened his grip on the mace.

- Good. – He smiled. – That means this will be entertaining.

They both flew towards each other, striking their weapons with such force that it caused the structure of the castle to vibrate. Right at that moment, Vlad and Danny landed on the outskirts of the castle, feeling it shake.

"That's not good." Danny thought as he entered the castle, followed by Vlad. They were floating slowly through the corridors with the intention of going unnoticed and being able to gather some intelligence before acting.

- What exactly our plan here? – Vlad asked as he leaned through an open door to see inside.

- Well…

A door a few meters ahead of them exploded into pieces when the green mace went through it, seconds later, returning to that room.

- I guess we found them. – Danny whispered.

They both became invisible and peered through the gap in the door. Danny swallowed hard as he watched his 2 worst nightmares in front of him, fighting. Vlad's features hardened as he realized that the ghost that had attacked him was fighting Pariah Dark hand to hand, almost at the same level of power. Something neither he nor Daniel had been able to do. Not without Jack's exo-skeleton.

In the room, Pariah Dark balled both his fists together and fired a powerful beam that Dan managed to dodge, but ended up destroying the wall behind him.

- Ok, we have to… - Danny started.

- Let them fight. – Vlad said turning around.

- What? – Danny said shocked.

- You saw what I saw, didn't you? It's a carnage there. – Vlad walked to the entrance, but Danny grabbed him by the arm.

- Are you nuts?! – Danny hissed. – We can't leave them!

- I don't have a death wish Daniel. - He said freeing himself from the hold. – Besides, what do you intend to do? Get between those two?

- No, but…

- Then let them tear each other apart! – He hissed. – Then we take on the weakened winner and done.

- Weakened winner? – Danny said incredulously. - Whoever wins between those two is going to have the ring and the crown! How weak do you think someone with unlimited power will be?!

- Fine! – He replied with the same intensity. – What do you suggest we do?

Danny was silent for a moment and turned away. Invisible and intangible, he stuck his head through the wall to watch the confrontation between the two ghosts. Pariah fired a beam from his one eye, which Dan was able to repel with an energy shield, before using his ghostly wail against the ghost king. He didn't know which scenario caused him more anxiety: the thought of an all-powerful Pariah Dark on the loose or an all-powerful Dan Phantom on the loose. It was there that he came up with an idea.

- I got it! – He said returning to Vlad. - We don't have to face them. We simply have to steal the crown.

- Steal the crown and let them fight? – Vlad rubbed his chin. – That way, the winner…

- Would be weak enough to be captured in the thermos…

- Or the sarcophagus of forever sleep. – Vlad concluded. – We need the key.

- And we don't even have to fight them, just pay attention to the moment when the crown…

Vlad managed to react in time and stepped back a few meters just as Dan broke through and destroyed the wall that separated them from the battlefield between himself and Pariah. Both Danny and Vlad froze for a few seconds, long enough for both Dan and Pariah to see them.

- You two?! – Pariah shouted at the sight of them.

Danny returned his gaze to Vlad, who just gave him a nervous smile.

- You get the crown. I get the key.

After this, Vlad disappeared. Danny gasped in astonishment and then turned to the side, where Dan was smiling at him.

- Well thought Daniel.

Danny looked away from him in time to parry a punch from Pariah Dark square in the face, a distraction Dan took advantage of to punch Pariah and immobilize the king's left hand. Sensing what he was trying to do, Danny yanked on Dan's cape to prevent him from removing the ring from his finger and Pariah kicked him in the abdomen, sending him flying away. Immediately, he grabbed Danny's neck with one hand.

- You locked me! - He brought his face closer until he was inches from Danny's. – Now… I will return the favor.

With his free hand, he sent Danny flying into the room where he had previously been fighting Dan. Danny landed on a pile of rubble. He lifted his head to look at his assailant and saw Dan slam Pariah into a wall, momentarily knocking him away. A noise to his left caught his attention and he watched Vlad searching through the rubble for something. The mayor smiled nervously at him.

- I… - He scratched his nape. - It wasn't personal?

Vlad shrugged and smiled again, but Danny just frowned.

Dan had Pariah against the wall, using 2 clones to immobilize his head and his right hand, while he tried to remove the ring from his left hand. The king struggled with all his might and got rid of the clones. With his free hand, he cupped Dan's head and held it in front of him. Before he could hit him, Dan fanned the flames in his hair, breaking free of his hold and put distance between them. At that moment, Vlad went through the wall and landed between them.

- I told you it wasn't personal! - He yelled rubbing his left cheek.

Feeling observed, Vlad looked to his left and saw the king.

- Die!

Pariah brought both his fists together and shot an energy beam. Vlad took refuge behind an energy wall of his own creation and, though he had been helpful at first, he couldn't withstand the power of the attack and was destroyed. The residual force of the impact sent Vlad backwards, where Dan grabbed his leg and hurled him at the king. With a swipe, Pariah sent Vlad back into the room he'd come out of and threw himself at Dan.

Vlad sat on the ground and brushed off his arms.

- Get up. We have problems. – Danny said looking ahead.

- You think? – Vlad mocked him while standing up.

- I couldn't find the key.

- Good. New plan. – Vlad said. – Steal the crown and get the hell out.

- And how do you plan…?

Pariah Dark landed face down on the floor in the same room as them. He lifted his face and watched them. However, before he could get to his feet, Dan landed with both feet on top of his head, burying him a few inches into the ground. Quickly, he moved a foot onto the king's left arm and reached out to take the ring.

- No!

Danny reacted and lunged at Dan, but Dan grabbed his arm mid-flight and spinning, tossed him to the side. Taking advantage of the distraction, Vlad flew after Dan and pinned his arms in the air with a grapple.

- Daniel! Hurry up!

Dan was struggling with Vlad when Danny looked up, and what he saw terrified him.

- I will take that.

Pariah Dark disappeared into the ground and reappeared behind them both, taking the crown from Dan's head as Vlad had him pinned down. Seeing this, Vlad got distracted and Dan lowered his arms forcefully, freeing himself from the hold and with an elbow to the cheekbone, he got rid of Vlad. Before Pariah could put the crown on, Danny flew up to him, grabbed his wrist, and with all his strength, yanked it down so he couldn't put it on. Pariah swung at him with all his strength and Danny just closed his eyes, ready to take the blow without letting go.

A growl next to him made him open his eyes, and he saw that Dan had parried the blow and was struggling with Pariah, trying to pry his hand free. The king's only eye began to glow, but Vlad approached from behind and, taking him by the horn, pulled his head back causing the beam to hit the ceiling.

The strength of the 3 of them was more than enough to make the king fall. Still clinging to his wrist, Danny began to kick Pariah's cheek, who relaxed his limbs. Dan managed to open his fist and just as he was about to remove the ring, the sound of the crown falling to the ground made him stop. The four looked at the place where the crown rested: next to Danny.

- Run Daniel!

Hearing Vlad's scream, Danny released Pariah and took the crown. As he could, he scrambled to his feet and flew off. Unfortunately for him, Dan imitated him and followed him. With his free arms, the king grabbed Vlad by the neck of his suit and spun him around until he crashed to the ground. He stood up and kicked Vlad into a wall, before joining the chase for Danny.

Danny was about to leave the castle when a giant version of Pariah appeared at the exit, holding an energy sphere in each of his hands.

- Thief!

He launched the attack at him and Danny created a duplicate that grabbed his ankles and hurled him backward, away from the subsequent explosion. Unfortunately for him, Dan was there waiting for him.

- I think that's mine. – He said, shooting a bolt at his chest.

Danny crossed his arms to protect the crown and receive the attack, which ended up sending him inside the cloud of smoke that the ghost king's last attack had created. When his body hit the ground, he noticed a strange sensation in his arms. It wasn't pain, it was...

"Cold?" He looked down and noticed that both arms were captured in a block of ice, which stuck to his chest. His eyes widened in surprise and just as he was thinking of running away, a boot pressed against his leg, keeping him firmly on the ground.

- Don't you hate when someone less talented than you steal your powers? - He said approaching Danny's face.

- How? – The boy whispered.

Dan just smiled at him and snatched the crown from his hands. With his free hand, he grabbed Danny from his chest and flung him back, where Pariah was coming. He fell to the ground at his feet, but before he could use his ghostly wail as defense, the king clamped his hand over his mouth and clenched his jaw.

- I will destroy you. – He lifted him in the air. – You and your clone.

He started to press harder, but from above came Vlad, who hit his arm with the mace. At the blow, Pariah released Danny and Vlad fired a powerful beam into his chest at point-blank range, knocking the ghost back.

- Where is the crown? – Vlad asked breathing heavily.

- Dan has it. – He replied rubbing his jaw.

- And where is he?

Danny looked at Vlad and then around, but there was no sign of his future self. Before he could speak, a growl from Pariah caught their attention, and they alarmed as the ghost king was now alone with them.

- Damn it… - Vlad whispered before dodging a beam directed at him.

In another room, away from the other 3, Dan was resting for a bit as he pondered his next move. Even with the immense power he had, Pariah was getting tired and taking a lot of damage. It was only a matter of time before he could take the ring from him. The problem now lay in the presence of those two and their stupid plan. Like Pariah, he was weak and tired. Facing those two might not turn out in his favor. In an ideal world, Pariah would team up with him to defeat them and then destroy each other. But right now, he couldn't count on him.

He sighed in resignation knowing that he only had one option left. He didn't like the idea of spending eternity chained to him. But it was a price he was willing to accept. "He´ll have to join me, whether he likes it or not."

Meanwhile, Danny and Vlad kept Pariah busy by beating him up. The ghost king was showing clear signs of exhaustion. The fight against that other ghost was taking its toll on him and he had to get rid of those two invaders before trying to recover the crown. He dodged a mace strike straight to his chest from Vlad, and blocked a sword strike from Danny with his fist. The attacks continued and as he could, he tried to counterattack using energy beams.

At one point, both Vlad and Danny launched coordinated blows with their weapons at him, but his superior physical strength was enough to stop the blows before they connected with him. However, that created an opening in his defense that an invisible force took advantage of to connect 4 consecutive blows to his face. The last blow managed to send him to the ground, but when he inspected the area, he found no trace of that ghost.

The halfas also surveyed their surroundings, expecting to be the recipients of Dan's new attack, an attack that never came. Determined, Danny dropped the sword and flew at Pariah to punch him in the face. The attack managed to destabilize him, but he responded with a punch to the boy's face that sent him against the wall. Vlad followed Danny's example and hit Pariah's jaw with the mace and turning around, hit him again, but this time in the abdomen. He hurled the mace at a Pariah on the ground, but the Pariah managed to deflect the attack with his hand.

Before he could get to his feet, a pair of white beams struck him in the chest, pinning him to the ground. He grunted in pain from the attack, and on the roof, Dan materialized. Vlad observed the rays that were coming out of his eyes, their appearance calling his attention, because more than ectoplasm, it looked like fire. He recognized that attack as the one Dan had used it against him when he attacked him in the lab. Seconds later, Dan disappeared again.

Pariah knelt down, trying to catch his breath. Vlad made direct eye contact with him, until he watched Danny come up from the ground and stand behind Pariah. Danny waved at him and he just nodded. Vlad flew at the king, but before reaching him, he spawned a duplicate. They crossed paths and seized Pariah's opposite arms, spinning him around, and they disappeared into the walls. Danny got as close as he could and used the ghostly wail on him.

Pariah crashed to the ground, tired, as his body was engulfed in a sheet of ice, minus his left hand. Danny and Vlad flew up to him, where the elder held the king's pinky and middle fingers to prevent him from making a fist as Danny removed the ring. Refusing to be defeated, he used his remaining strength to create an explosion around his body, releasing energy and destroying the ice cap that held him prisoner.

As he could, he got back to his feet and watched the two attackers on the ground, sitting up and watching him carefully. When he managed to get fully upright, Dan reappeared and tackled him, dragging him into a recast room within the castle to the stunned gaze of the halfas.

- Let's go. – Danny stood up. – We have to help him.

- We had the ring… - Vlad whispered as he imitated him.

Dan tossed him to the floor as they reentered the throne room. Pariah fell face down and Dan crushed his boot on the king's left wrist who, in turn, clenched his fist to prevent him from removing the ring.

- We can do this gently… - He said trying to open his fist, without luck. – Or by force.

He released his hand and kicked the king's face. When he hit the ground again, Dan tried again to take the ring; however, Pariah spun around quickly, shooting a beam from his single eye. Dan split his body from the waist up in two, letting the attack pass through his body without taking any damage.

- Fine. – He said merging both parts. – By force will be.

When Danny and Vlad entered the throne room, they observed an erratic Pariah Dark: he was screaming, with both hands on his head, and making violent movements that sometimes ended with him hitting the walls.

- What…? – Danny muttered.

- No idea. – Vlad replied.

- Bastard! – Pariah Dark yelled. – Get out of me!

- "Get out of me"? – Danny repeated. – Is he…?

- It's impossible. – Vlad interrupted him. – A ghost can't overshadow another ghost.

- Anyways, we have to help him.

- How? – Vlad asked annoyed. – We don't know what's going on.

When they heard a grunt, they both watched as Pariah turned his hands intangible and plunged them into his chest. The growl turned into a scream as he exerted more strength and began to pull his hands out of his body. Along with them, something began to come out of the king's chest. At first, they could only see something white come out; but seconds later, a head with fire like hair reared up and screamed as he struggled to stay inside.

- You were saying? – Danny said ironically.

- But it's impossible! - Vlad exclaimed surprised. - That shouldn't...

- Shut up and help me! - Danny yelled at him as he went against Dan.

Pariah kept on trying to get Dan out of his body while Dan tried to re-enter him. Danny grabbed his neck and began to pull back to help Pariah, causing the future version of him to snarl at him from overexerting himself on both fronts. He again fanned the flames in his hair, causing Danny to let go. Immediately, he turned his head 180° and shot white beams of fire at his chest.

Pariah released Dan to put one of his hands on his neck and push instead of pull. That got Dan's attention, who snapped his head back to normal and was met with punches. When Pariah filled his fist with energy, Dan threw his body back and the beam ended up hitting Vlad, who went to try remove the ghost. Seeing the opening, Dan filled his hands with energy and, making them intangible, he reached into the king's head and released the energy there.

The scream drew the attention of the halfas, who watched as Pariah Dark froze and fell to his knees. Dan just smiled and flew back inside the now unconscious ghost king.

Immediately the body began to glow red and the single eye suddenly opened. Screams filled the throne room as Pariah Dark's body began to contort, fire began to erupt from various parts of his body, as changes began to occur in the ghost's physical appearance.

At the stunned gaze of both, the body in front of them began to laugh sadistically. That's when they both understood what was happening.

- He's not overshadowing him… - Vlad said terrified.

- He's assimilating him. – Danny added. – Just like he did in the past.

Pariah's long green hair turned into fire and on his chest, the symbol "DP" began to materialize.

- We weakened it for him. – Danny said in a trance. – Unconscious, Pariah Dark would not resist him…

His hearing was fading to the point where he was only able to hear a beep. His hands began to shake and he couldn't take away his eyes from that figure that kept writhing on his feet. Then, the worst happened: the crown of fire materialized on the head of that monster, emitting a glow simultaneously with the one emitted by the ring of fury.

He wanted to move. He had to move. But his body did not respond.

- …el… - Little by little his hearing was coming back to him.

- … of it… - He blinked trying to decipher the source of that noise.

- … Daniel… - He thought he heard his name.

- Snap out of it Daniel! - Vlad brought him back to reality with a slap. - We have to go!

- Wait… We have to…

Danny shifted his gaze to Pariah Dark, who was engulfed in brilliant white flames. The glow around his body grew until only three things were visible on that ghost: the ring of power, the crown of fire, and a pair of red eyes. The white glow grew larger and larger, until it began to blind Danny.

- Let's go! – Vlad took his arm and flew towards the exit of the castle.

Out of the corner of his eye, Danny looked at that monster and noticed that he was watching him too. Dan's macabre laugh began to resound throughout the compound, but before they managed to leave the castle, something in his voice changed. It grew deeper, deeper, and more terrifying. He shook his head and returned his gaze to the front, flying away from that place with the same urgency that Vlad fled with. They had already lost sight of the castle when a powerful explosion behind them lit up the ghost zone.

- This is bad, very bad... - Danny turned around and kept flying. – We should've stayed, we should…

- Why?! So he could kill us faster? No, thanks!

- We had to stop him!

- You can turn around if you want, but don't expect me to join you!

- We have to warn...

Danny was interrupted when a ball of white fire almost hit him on the head. Vlad moved to the side to avoid another fireball, which ended up impacting a door that was floating in front of them, destroying it on contact.

- This is bad. – The mayor said.

- That's worse. – Danny said looking back.

Vlad imitated him and they watched as a rain of fire headed towards them. Fireballs, lightning bolts, ectoplasm beams, expansive waves of fire... all from the same origin and with the same destination: them. They both crouched to avoid a shock wave and then flew at full speed to escape the attacks.

They ducked behind any object in their path to take cover from attacks, did unnecessary twists and turns to avoid being hit; however, at one point, an ectoplasm beam destroyed a small islet of stones in front of them. The structure's explosion changed their trajectory and stalled them long enough for Vlad's cape to be struck by a lightning bolt, leaving a hole in it.

- Let's go! – Danny yelled flying away, with Vlad in his tail.

The attacks intensified, increasing the despair of both.

- Do you still have the earpiece? – He asked Danny while he dodged a lightning bolt that was going to his chest.

Danny touched his ear and when he noticed the small device still in place, he nodded.

- I'll ask them to open the… - An explosion behind them destabilized them. - …portal.

- Watch out! – Vlad yelled as another attack was directed at both of them.

Tucker took his eyes off the game on his cell phone and looked at Sam, who was once again pacing around the lab. He then looked at Jazz, who was just sitting on a chair, staring at the floor and nervously playing with her fingers. He sighed and returned his attention to his game.

Sam couldn't shake the feeling of fear out of her system. She started biting his right thumbnail as she kept walking in circles. Her mind was inevitably running through possible scenarios of what could have happened to Danny, until a sound caught her attention. He turned to face Tucker, who was sitting with his whole body leaning on a table, while he played with his cell phone.

- Yes! – She heard him mutter to himself.

- How can you play videogames in a moment like this? – She berated him.

Tucker just straightened up and paused his game.

- Just because I'm not a nervous wreck like you doesn't mean I'm not worried about Danny. – He defended himself.

- Well, you sho…. - Sam began.

- Guys. – Jazz interrupted them. – There are many ways to deal with stress and anxiety and they vary depending on the person.

The black-haired couple looked at her with raised eyebrows.

- Great. – Sam muttered.

- She's already psychoanalyzing us. – Tucker said.

- I defend you and this is how you repay me? – She berated Tucker with arms crossed.

Tucker sighed and blocked his phone, setting it down on the table and straightening up. He was about to answer when a static-like sound reached his ears.

- Did you hear that? - He said looking around, wanting to identify the source of the sound.

Sam raised an eyebrow and Jazz rolled her eyes.

- Ha ha. Very funny. – The redhead said.

- I'm serious. – Tucker stood up, sharpening his ear. - There. – He said when he heard the sound again.

Sam followed suit and concentrated. Seconds later, they heard the noise again.

- It sounds like a radio… - Sam whispered. – Radio!

Sam bolted to the ship, with the other two behind her. She entered the vehicle and took the communicator in her hands.

- Danny! Danny? – She spoke through the microphone. - Can you hear me?

They spent a few seconds in silence until they picked up a signal again.

- …p…tal…

- Danny, we can´t hear you clearly.

- …en…the…al…

- Danny! We can't…

- Let me. – Tucker said jumping into the ship.

- Just wait a bit. – Sam said to Danny.

Tucker walked over to the dashboard and began to modulate the frequency.

- If the problem persists, it's because his transmitter received some kind of damage. – Tucker commented as he kept moving things. - Ready! Try now.

- Danny, can you hear me? – Sam called him.

- …rtal! Open… tal!

- Open… Open the portal? – Jazz whispered before opening her eyes. – Open the portal!

The redhead's scream caught the attention of both of them, who watched as she ran until she reached the control panel. She pressed her thumb against the fingerprint reader and little by little, the portal began to open. Tucker and Sam got out of the vehicle and faced the portal, now fully open. Jazz, still at the fingerprint reader, waited for her brother to walk through the portal.

"Come on Danny." She thought.

Within seconds, Danny and Vlad were speeding through the portal. The first ended up falling face down near the entrance to the portal, to turn around and sit in front of the large green screen; Vlad fell onto his back and landed a few feet from the stairs that led to the basement exit.

As the three friends were about to move to help Danny, the room erupted with screams.

- Close that portal!

- Jazz, close the portal!

- Turn it off!

- Jazz! The portal!

- Shut it down!

After a brief moment of shock, Jazz returned to the panel and closed the portal again. Tucker and Sam were frozen in their places trying to figure out what Danny's reaction was about. The newcomers stood up and returned to their human form.

- Danny… - Jazz called him in a low voice. - What...?

- That won't be enough Daniel. – Vlad said stroking his left shoulder. - Turn it off!

Saying nothing, Danny ran over to Jazz. She only stepped aside when she saw the face of her brother, who opened the control panel of the portal and, after a sigh, pressed the off button. The blue-eyed man turned to see the spotlight resting on the portal, and relaxed a bit when he saw it go off. Only a little.

- Danny? – Sam called him, scared.

- Guys… - He said. – We have…

He interrupted his narration when he saw Vlad turn and start walking up the steps.

- Hey! – He chased after him. - Where do you think you're going?! We have…

- There's no "we", Daniel! – He yelled at the middle of the stairs. – I'm out.

- You can't leave! – He grabbed him by the arm.

Vlad quickly released his grip and turned to face him.

- Watch me.

Vlad opened the laboratory door and stepped out into the Fenton family room. Danny was behind him.

- Wait, wait… wait! – He said alarmed when Vlad reached the door of the house and left.

- What?

- You saw what happened there. – He stood in front of him. – We have to do something. We need a new plan…

- You want a plan? Here's your plan. – He said annoyed. – Keep that damn portal off and pray that thing can't find a way out.

- Vlad. – Danny tried to keep calm. – As much as I hate to say this, I need your help to fix this.

- Fix? – He smiled. – It's over Daniel. No more plans, no more options… there's nothing left to do. - He said with all the seriousness in the world. - Now if you'll excuse me… I have other things to do.

Vlad ignored Danny and the boy looked at the mayor's back in disbelief, feeling the anger welling up in him again.

- Coward!

Danny's scream made him stop walking for a few seconds. Vlad's features hardened, but he did not turn to see him. After adjusting his suit, he continued his walk away from the Fenton residence. Danny began to breathe deeply to calm his nerves and when he turned around, he watched his sister, his girlfriend and his best friend look at him with concern.

- Danny. – Sam called him.

The aforementioned lowered his gaze to the ground and rubbed his face with both hands, before starting to walk towards them.

- What happened there? - Tucker asked.

The blue-eyed boy looked into their eyes quickly before sighing.

- We lost.