- Samantha Mason.

She turned quickly pointing the gun towards the owner of that voice. She took her finger off the trigger and lowered the gun when she saw Clockwork lock the door behind him.

- That won't hurt me. – He said in his childish form. – But I would like to save myself the trip back to the ghost zone.

- Clockwork? We thought you...

- Now is not the time to discuss the past. Not when there are many things to do.

- Danny. – She whispered and Clockwork smiled.

- You want to help him, don't you?

- We have to help him! He is there… about to die voluntarily because someone has to do something and… - Her voice broke. – He cannot die… he must not die…

Clockwork watched her in silence for a few moments before speaking.

- You have a plan? - He asked her.

Sam tossed her hair back trying to plan something now, but Danny's current situation was clouding her judgment.

- I just know that he needs help… - She paused. – Help that I cannot give him…

- And who can?

- Why are you asking me these questions? – She said irritated. - I thought you didn't want to waste time and here we are: wasting time because you refuse to get to the damn point.

- You said you couldn't help him. Why?

- Because I'm not a gh…!

Sam bit her tongue to keep from finishing the sentence and turned to look at Clockwork with curiosity, because until that moment she understood where he was taking her with that question.

- If a ghost can help him, the weapon in your hand creates temporary portals to the ghost zone.

She shifted her gaze to the gun, then back to the ghost.

- But... what ghost could help us at this moment? – She asked cautiously.

- Do you think you could use... – He raised his hand and the Infimap appeared. - ... an address book?

Sam dropped the gun and reached over to grab the map. She didn't let the footsteps on the stairs distract her.

- Why me? – She asked cautiously.

- We all have a role to play in this fight. This is yours. Your friends outside will play another.

- I wouldn't use the plural "friends". – She complained.

- Sam? Sam? – Tucker's voice began to become audible on the other side of the door, indicating that the boy was getting closer.

- Go now. Let me deal with them. – He winked at her.

Sam put the Infimap under her arm and took the weapon back. As she put her finger on the trigger, the barrel beeped and the doorknob began to shake violently. She sighed and then fired.

- Sam!

She was distracted by the knocking on the door, courtesy of Tucker, but returned her attention to the small circular green spot on the floor. Then she saw how the portal began to expand.

- Sam!

The pounding on the door stopped and suddenly Tucker kicked his way into the room. They exchanged glances for a few seconds, until he knew her intentions.

- Don't…

- I'm sorry. – It was the only thing he could tell him.

Seeing that the portal began to shrink little by little, she jumped onto the green blur and was immediately transported to the ghost zone. The portal above her closed in seconds and she was left floating in a point unknown to her in the ghost zone. She dropped the gun and took the Infimap in her hands, opening it with some desperation. She looked at the surface, wanting to find in it the answer to the question she had asked earlier.

Remembering the question, the map closed and started pulling her at top speed in one direction. She clung on as tightly as she could to the map as she circled around some dens and floating rocks, until she stopped suddenly. Sam hugged the map and looked around. It looked the same as the rest of the Ghost Zone. At one point, someone hit her on the back.

- Hey, you shouldn't be… Oh. You are the ghost boy's girlfriend.

Sam turned to see the ghost who was speaking to her with a raised eyebrow.

- Sydney?

- What? Does Danny Phantom no longer have time to wreak havoc by himself that he now has to send others? - He said placing his hands on his waist, but what caught the girl's attention was that the ghost's face did not show anger, but another emotion that she could not identify.

- That wasn't Danny! – She yelled angrily before taking the map out of her again. - And why the hell did you bring me here?! You were supposed to take me to powerful ghosts capable of helping Danny against the king! Not with a wimp...

- Hey! - He said offended. - Wait. Where did you get the Infimap? And what do you know about Danny…?

- I have no time to waste with you! – She turned to look at the map. – And you… take me where I want to go.

The Infimap began to glow and took Sam even further into the ghost zone. Sidney just watched her leave and when he lost sight of her, he returned his attention to the ghost he was talking to before the interruption and that had become invisible upon noticing the girl.

The Fright Knight.

Sam entered a completely dark tunnel of rocks. The closer she got to the exit; the light made visible vegetation embedded in the rocks. The map left her on a wasteland of ghost vegetation, with 4 different paths around her and the rest of her field of vision was blocked by plants that towered several meters above her head. She was definitely in the right place.

- Who dares?

She squeezed the map between her hands and looked for the origin of the voice among the bushes, but she did not find the owner. Her pulse quickened and her breathing became ragged. It was like being trapped in one of the many nightmares she'd had about him since that incident, only now it was all real and she was there willingly. The movement of the plants around her made her even more nervous. She closed her eyes tightly and heard that laugh echo in her head once more, just like 7 years ago.

- My child… I see you found your way home.

Undergrowth spoke calmly and deliberately, which upset her even more. Determined, she opened her eyes and faced the red eyes that watched her at the end of one of the paths. She released the breath she was holding and went to work.

- I need you. – She said without hesitation. – Dan… Pariah Dark escaped again and I need powerful ghosts to stop him. So…

- No.

- No?

- I have no desire nor reason to contend against him again.

- Do you think he will have enough by just destroying the human world? Well, I have news for you: no! When he's done destroying my world, he'll come for yours. Then it will be your problem!

- And then I'll act. Not before.

- What about the plants? – She said trying to convince him. – If you do nothing, the world will be consumed in fire and nothing will be able to grow. And it will be too late to do anything.

- Remind me what your kind has done to my little ones.

Undergrowth's head popped out of his hiding place and he met Sam's gaze, but the girl held her gaze. Almost defeated, she had no choice but to play her last card.

- You call me daughter. So let me be that. – She took a step forward. – Give me your power as you did before and I will do it for you.

Undergrowth stepped back and analyzed the girl's proposal. Then he smiled.

- And what's in for me?

- I… will be your herald. I will serve you as long as I live.

Undergrowth's smile widened and vines quickly wrapped around her ankles. She looked down and watched as they climbed up her legs, but she didn't resist. From the ground sprouted 4 giant petals that closed and trapped her. Moments later, the petals opened to let out the new Sam. A vine removed the gun and handed it over to the ghost. He took it and after analyzing it, he aimed at the plants and fired. In short, the portal grew until it reached its maximum dimension.

- Go on… daughter.

Anger, frustration and powerlessness hit Danny hard at that moment. He had failed her. He had done all of this to protect her and now she was here on the battlefield with him, lost under the influence of Undergrowth. He rested his forehead on hers.

- Why you did it? - He whispered in pain.

- I told you… that I would continue doing things my way.

Danny looked up to meet her eyes.

- Sam? Sam, you have to get out of here. Now! – The sound of rubble made him alert. – He is coming and I cannot protect you in my condition.

- No, Danny...

- No! You don't! Take Vlad and get him out of here!

- I came to help you. - She said irritated.

- Then do what I asked you. - He said seriously. – In the building over there are the other doses, look for them and give one to him. I'll buy you some time.

Danny immediately turned his back on her and walked forward without looking at her. Sam just clenched her teeth and clenched her fist. Angry, she looked at Vlad and used her vines to wrap them up and hide underground while she found another hiding place.

A few meters later, exhaustion made him stop and he better waited for Pariah to approach him. He slowly lowered himself until he touched the ground and began to walk around Danny, but without turning to see him. Danny followed his movements with his eyes, noting that he had a smile on his face and rubbed his left wrist.

- It's been… what? A thousand years? More? I can't say…time is strange when you're locked up.

Danny said nothing, just watched as Pariah surveyed his surroundings.

- What? Did you suddenly become shy?

- I'm right here, see? - Danny replied.

The comment earned him a look of inferiority from the king.

- I'm not talking to you, boy. – He turned to see the green areas around him and smiled. - Let's see if you like this.

Danny caught the whisper and grew defensive when he saw his eyes flash. However, he did not receive any attack. Instead, Pariah was destroying every plant thing in his field of vision with fire. He quickly used his ice powers to put out the flames and prevent any further explosion, but he paid dearly for his distraction: while putting out the fire, Pariah grabbed a vehicle and threw it at him. He managed to dodge it by becoming intangible, but it blew up the car on the other side and the explosion threw him straight at him. Without giving him time, he hit him in the face with the ring and a lightning sent him crashing into a building.

He ended up near a gas outlet, and since he was electrically charged, he caused another explosion that ended up destroying the building. Amid the fire and smoke, vines wrapped Danny's body in his human form and dragged him out of the rubble where he had been trapped. Gently, they laid his body next to Vlad's as the vines returned to Sam, who watched Pariah from a safe vantage point in the distance.

The king began to get irritated and his whole body began to shine.

- Fine. If you don't plan to come out of hiding...

He folded both arms over his chest and Sam narrowed her eyes trying to figure out what he was doing. He snapped them open and wrapped herself in brush for protection as Pariah screamed and created a bubble of energy that destroyed everything in its path and slowly, it kept expanding.

Tucker fell in front of the front door into a crouch and rose to his feet. He dusted off his hands and walked to the door, which had been left half closed when Clockwork had frozen time. He walked through the corridors avoiding making contact with people or objects, but when he crossed the second access door, he sighed with discouragement.

- Great.

The hallway was full of frozen people walking in all directions and most of the hallway was blocked off. It was like his having to go through a corridor full of laser detectors. He dodged the first 3 people with relative ease; then he put his back against the wall and began to move slowly to avoid the two scientists who were in the middle of the corridor; He observed a woman on her knees in front of him and some papers scattered on the floor, so he focused on him jumping over her. When he landed, he struggled a bit to keep his balance and almost ended up landing his hand on the face of one of the men who were standing close to help her.

He scrambled to avoid the other people surrounding the woman on the ground. Having overcome those obstacles, he stood up and walked towards the door with a smile. "It wasn't that hard". He thought until he had to brake suddenly. In the middle of the door, there was a man who was half out of it: with his left hand he was pushing the door that had not been fully opened and his body obstructed most of the available space.

Tucker analyzed the situation looking for a solution. The first thing he tried was to get between the guy's legs, but since he was in the middle of taking a step, the opening between his legs wasn't wide enough for him to get through. The second thing he thought of doing was sticking his leg in and hugging the door frame in a koala position to get as far away from the man as possible, but the leg of the operative that was still inside the office prevented him from doing so.

He pulled his leg out and stood up again. From above it was impossible and he didn't have the plasticity to twist and fit through the small openings. So, he only had one option left.

- I'm sorry.

He told the man to his face before taking the door and opening it wider. The operative's body moved forward, leaving just enough room for Tucker to squeeze under his outstretched arm. He felt a little bad about how the poor man was going to have it when the time flow resumed, but there were more important things.

He hurried through the lab and walked into the office. He observed a woman with her back to him who was looking at a shelf full of vials with the red liquid. On the other walls there were cabinets and drawers, as well as another shelf, but it was full of books. Carefully, he walked over to the desk and picked up the vial that was resting on some papers. He watched it for a few seconds against the light, not knowing that he was searching with it. Looking down, he noticed some images on the papers on the desk and glanced at them. They were red flowers that looked slightly familiar to him. His stomach growled and jerked him out of his reverie, remembering that he had to hurry. With his mission accomplished, he removed the medallion of time.

Paulina covered her eyes with one hand as a sphere of light appeared in her living room. When the glow died down, she looked at Tucker, medallion in hand, a smile on his face.

- Mission accomplished. – He said showing her the vial. - Now what?

- Now comes the part you're not going to like. – She approached him.

Tucker raised his eyebrow and looked at her carefully. From her back she pulled out a syringe that startled the boy and made him scream.

- No! Why do I have to be the one to receive the injection?

- What? No, you idiot! – She scolded him. – You have to pour the liquid into the syringe.

- And then what? – He said confused.

A crash accompanied by a flash interrupted their conversation. They both looked out the window and, in the distance, they observed a sphere of energy that little by little was expanding and destroying buildings in its path.

- Go get your scooter. – The boy said.

- Hold this. – The girl replied, giving him the syringe while she ran out to look for the keys to her scooter.

After unfreezing the operative's face, Jazz panicked. He had explained in detail what it was, what it was used for and what the plan was with the GB-01 missile. She was also not helped by the fact that she couldn't stop listening to the Guys in White's transmissions. She could physically…turn off the radio, change rooms or cover her ears were options that could remove stress. But she didn't want to. The worst thing about her is that she heard her desperately trying to communicate with them, but she couldn't answer since the microphones were frozen on the waists of the operatives.

"Why did ghost ice have to be so tough?" She wondered to herself as she sat down on the couch. She was completely lost because she didn't know where she had to take the ghost ship that they were asking for so much or how to get it out of the basement, they asked for help to evacuate civilians, but she couldn't leave her house neglected that protected the last shield, and she couldn't stabilize the levels of shield energy because she didn't understand how the controls worked.

The explosions in the distance were disturbing her more and more and when she heard that a white bubble formed, she suffered an anxiety attack. All the operatives were yelling over the radio to get away, the Masters' Blasters even telling them how wide the disaster zone was and how far they were from a "safe zone". The shouts of the people who gathered in the streets near her house did nothing to calm her down.

- What do I do? – She told herself as she rubbed her temples. - What do I do?

- Why don't you use the thermos?

Jazz jumped in shock and fell backwards, tripping over the couch and falling behind it. When she composed herself, she watched Clockwork laughing behind the ice sculptures of the operatives, who tried to see who had spoken.

- Clockwork? You're alive? - She said, surrounding the chair in surprise, before looking at him furiously. – You're alive!

- That can change at any time. - He said turning into an old man.

- All of this is your fault!

Clockwork ignored her and floated to the kitchen table and returned with the thermos in hand. After a slight visual inspection, he pointed to the kitchen door and pressed the button. The beam of light hit the wall, and seconds later, Danielle was out of the thermos and slammed face-first into the wall.

- I'm sorry my…! - Dani stopped when she stood up and saw Jazz. - Where are they?!

- Danielle?

- Where are they?!

- They…

- You will join them after the explosion. – They both turned to watch Clockwork with concern. – We will all go after the explosion.

- Clockwork? Since when is he here? – Dani whispered to Jazz.

- What explosion are you talking about? – The worried redhead asked.

At that moment an explosion was heard and a great white glow illuminated the entire city. Dani wanted to get out of there to inspect, but Clockwork stopped her by the arm.

- That's not the explosion I was talking about. – Clockwork whispered.

Both girls turned to see each other. Clockwork approached the window with a serious and confused expression. That's not how missiles detonated. It was getting harder and harder for him to anticipate the things that were supposed to happen.

- How is that not the explosion? Can't you see the future? - Jazz asked.

- Not lately. – He confessed returning his attention to them. – Since Dan escaped from the thermos, I can't see the future.

- And what does that mean? – Dani asked, infected by Jazz's anxiety.

- It means… that the future is not yet decided.

- So, we're not sure if we can win?

- We have to win. – He told them seriously before looking down. - Whatever it takes.

- And does that involve the explosion you mentioned? - Dani asked cautiously.

- What can we do? - Jazz asked.

- We could start defrosting them. – He pointed to the Guys in White in the room.

Download was going as fast as he could on his way to K's last location, driving on the sidewalk to avoid the traffic jam on the streets. Thanks to the vehicle's armor, he hadn't suffered much from taking down every garbage can, pole, or sign on the road. The missile was safe in the back of the Masters' Blasters' truck while he honked wildly every time a clueless pedestrian got in his way. It didn't matter that he was the one who was wrong, technically.

When he arrived at an evacuated part of the city, he put his foot on the gas to get to his destination.

- Trash, talk to me.

- They already know you're on your way and that you're carrying the package. K and his men will be in charge of arming and detonating the missile. – He said through the communicator.

- Understood.

Other explosions echoed through that part of the city, telling him that he was close, very close to his goal. He visualized an operative waving at him and parked next to him. More operatives approached the vehicle and surrounded it until K appeared and approached the driver's window. Download hit a button to unlock and then another to lower the window.

- The missile? - K asked.

- On the back. It is already open. – He indicated with his head.

K gave directions and the operatives quickly opened the back doors and sprang into action. Movements in the rear shook the vehicle and caught the young man's attention.

- Any news on what happened at Fenton Labs? – K asked while he looked in the direction of the column of fire.

- None. Their radio is dead silent and there's no telling why.

- Damn… - He whispered.

- How will they do it? – He asked sticking his arm out the window.

- We'll program the coordinates into the missile. If we can't hit the bastard in the face, at least the blast and the rainout will finish him off.

- Good.

A closer blast put them on high alert not only because of its proximity, but because it was a slowly expanding bubble of energy. The glow from the bubble dazzled them and Vid's voice over the radio rang throughout the vehicle.

- Get out of there! Fast!

- All in and hold on! - Download shouted.

He started the truck and all the operatives got in while K just jumped on top of the vehicle and grabbed the structures to end up on the hood. Download put his foot down on the pedal and the truck began to back up at full speed as the energy bubble consumed the spot where he had parked. The operatives in the rear were struggling to keep the missile immobile and to hold on to some side so as not to be thrown out of the vehicle, since they had not had time to close the doors.

They plowed into other parked vehicles as they tried to escape the expanding bubble, losing a door and both rearview mirrors, causing it to crash into more objects as it fled.

- Do you even know how to drive?! – K yelled from above.

- I can't see!

When the bubble touched the vehicles, they had collided with, they all exploded and the glare forced them to close their eyes, and again, their collided with more things.

- Guide me! – He yelled at K.

K was with his chest on the roof and he raised himself a little to turn and look behind him. He then he returned to his original position.

- When I tell you, turn right!

Download changed his serious face to one of confusion and turned to see his hands on the wheel.

- Now!

Confused but hasty, he swung the wheel violently to the left, causing the truck to spin and end up rear-ending into a fire hydrant. Water shot out in all directions and drenched all the operatives, especially K. In front of them was the street K wanted him to take and to his left, the bubble was getting closer. He stepped on the accelerator and pulled them out, though the jolt nearly sent the missile off the vehicle.

- Right! I said right!

- I didn't know if your right or my right!

K settled in to stick his face by the window for the boy to see him.

- My right is your right, idiot!

- I thought you were face up!

He drove a little more until one of the operatives in the back hit the panel that separated the passenger area from the cargo area.

- It stopped.

Download gradually braked and turned off the vehicle. One by one, they got out of the vehicle to see the bubble stopped about 15 meters away from them. As K got down of the car, the bubble disappeared, leaving in its place a cloud of dust and dirt. Entire buildings, cars, infrastructure, cables…everything that had been left under the bubble was gone.

- Ready that missile. – K ordered. - Now!

She knew she didn't have the right to feel this way, after all, she was doing something useful, important and necessary. But with each explosion she heard in the distance, she couldn't help but feel that there was where she belonged. She shook those thoughts out of her head and helped the people who had been trapped in Axion Labs. When she saw Jack Fenton's orange jumpsuit walking towards the exit with Maddie in his arms, she panicked and ran towards him.

- It's just a sprained ankle, Jack. It's not…

- Nonsense. - He said seriously.

- Mr. Fenton, have you seen my father?

- Way back. – Jack said passing her. – He's with…

- Valerie!

Damon's scream caught the girl's attention, who turned to look behind her and saw her father along with the director of the laboratories. The man was helping Damon walk because of an apparent limp, but what concerned her was seeing that his left arm was bloody.

- What happened?! - She said running towards him and helping him walk.

- He was the one closest to the control center when the shield exploded.

- It's really nothing… - He said trying to calm her down.

- Come on! – Jack yelled at them in the distance. – Everybody, get in!

The doors of the Fenton truck opened and he climbed in Maddie. Between the two of them, they lifted Damon up so Jack could finish lifting him into the back.

- You. – He said pointing to the man. – Get on the back to help stop the bleeding.

The man nodded and jumped in.

- Take good care of him. - Val asked Maddie.

- Don't worry dear. – She responded kindly grabbing the emergency kit.

Valerie nodded and turned to see Jack.

- Help the evacuation efforts, I...

- You will too. But with your slider. - Jack interrupted her.

Valerie was silent, not knowing whether to laugh or take offense. Jack closed back rear doors and walked to the driver's seat, the girl following close behind. At that moment, another explosion was heard on the battlefield.

- With all due respect, Mr. Fenton, you can't make me…

- I sure can't. But he does. – He said getting on and pointing to her father. – And I know he will say the same.

- Did you hear that explosion? That is where I must be. Fighting against…

- Danno asked us not to interfere so that they could buy time for us. And it is exactly what we will do.

- Well, I don't want to.

- And do you think I do want to? – Jack said in a serious and gloomy tone. – Danny… my son is there with the intention of sacrificing himself so that we can live another day. Do you think I don't want to go there and help him in any way? Do you think I wouldn't rather be the one to make that sacrifice? – He paused to look her straight in the eyes. – But I recognize that, in this situation, Danny knows more than the rest of us in how to deal with that monster.

Jack started the truck and turned his gaze to the front, but before leaving he told her one last thing.

- And you should too... considering that you could never catch him.

Jack Fenton's words had affected her more than she cared to admit. Wasn't he supposed to be an idiot? But she couldn't help but reflect on his words as she watched the huge white bubble expand in the distance as she sat on her speeder. From that height, she could tell how true Danny's dad's words had been. Had she gone to fight that ghost, she would have died several minutes ago.

In a moment the bubble stopped and she stood on the speeder again.

- Status. – She asked through her communicator.

She waited a few seconds until they answered her.

- The bubble had a damage radius of 10 kilometers in all directions. – Vid commented. - How far is it from the shield?

- It's hard to say since it's not visible… - An operative commented. – But I would say that very far. Here we only observe the glow, not the bubble you mention.

- Now what? – She asked again.

- Have you evacuated the population?

Everyone on the communication line was surprised to hear K intervene.

- Umm, yes. – Vid commented. – Trash was coordinating with FEMA to open roads in the middle of nowhere to evacuate people from the city and surround…

- Do it. And double the exclusion zone.

- 20 kilometers? Don't you think it's excessive? – Vid said.

- When the missile detonates, you will wish it had been bigger.

- What? - Valerie exclaimed.

- To all personnel on this line: Take cover in a safe area outside the new exclusion zone. You have one minute and 30 seconds.

Valerie began to look in all directions trying to guess which side the missile would come from.

- As soon as the shock wave passes, everyone moves to the impact zone to confirm the kill or to force it.

Valerie was out of there so fast to the east, lowering the altitude she was flying at in case the explosion happened and the shock wave knocked her off her speeder. She didn't care where she was going, just that she had to get away from there.

Vlad woke up suddenly, amid the sound of a building falling apart. He tried to get up, but the pain in his chest and someone's hand kept him on the floor. He observed the roof of the hideout and noticed that it was a semi-destroyed house. Part of the ceiling had collapsed and the wall he was leaning against had a hole that spanned almost half the wall, all of which was visible by a white glow coming from that direction. He turned a little to look out and could only identify a kind of dome a few meters from them. He returned his gaze to the ceiling and watched out of the corner of his eye at the figure that was holding him to the ground.

She was a woman. Young. Green eyes, black clothes and covered with plants.

- Saman…

Sam quickly covered his mouth as she kept her gaze straight ahead. Vlad looked down and noticed a syringe buried in his thigh, near his knee. A vine quickly got entangled in it and pulled it out. He was surprised at how sore he must have been not to have felt the needle stick or come out of his body.

The white light ceased in a moment and Sam crouched down. She watched Vlad for a moment and handed over the last dose for Danny, along with the Infimap and the detonator.

- Get him out of here. I'm going to distract him.

Vlad looked at her with a raised eyebrow and was silent. He nodded slightly as the girl disappeared into the earth below them. He tried to turn around, but the pain in his chest kept him in the same position. He growled under his breath and reached out to grab Danny from his jacket; however, as he tried to pull him, his arm shot him with a stab of pain. "Shit". He thought as he tried to calm his breathing. He sighed in defeat and took the syringe with his right hand, while with his left he lowered the collar of Danny's shirt to expose his skin. He brought the syringe to his mouth, removed the needle cap, and spat it out.

Enduring the pain, he twisted his body around and plunged the needle into the young man's chest. He pressed the plunger and injected all the green liquid. Finishing, he returned to his original position and let out another grunt. He tossed the syringe into a corner and lay down to rest. Maybe Samantha had meant well to offer to distract Pariah Dark, but ignoring the conditions they both found themselves in hadn't been very smart. And she was about to pay the price for bad decisions.

- What a shame. – He said leaning his head against the wall.

Pariah Dark was cutting the vines that tried to trap him with his sword until he got fed up and expelled a wave of ice from his body. The sword was engulfed in flames and with a twist, it ejected them in all directions destroying all the ice. When he finished spinning, he lunged at a vine that was coming back to earth and plunged his sword into it. Burying it harder, the plant caught fire and it spread throughout the vine, tracing a direct path to Sam.

She managed to cut it off before the fire got to her, but Pariah had already figured it out. He took a deep breath and blew frozen breath at her, which she warded off by summoning more plants in front of her. The ice block was destroyed by lightning which caused ice blocks to hit her, but she was immediately captured with an ectoplasm rope.

- You are not him.

Sam frowned, and a carnivorous plant crawled out from under Pariah and devoured him. As soon as the plant's mouth closed, Sam was free and the king's fist impaled the plant, tearing it open and splitting it in half. When he poked his face out, he shot energy beams through his eyes and Sam took radical evasive actions to avoid getting hit. Yes, she had the powers of a ghost, but she was still human. Taking a hit of that magnitude would definitely finish her off. The king created duplicates of himself to attack her from all sides: Sam managed to dodge some of them and her vines destroyed others, but in the end, one of them approached her from behind her and pulled her hair. Distracted, another of them flew in front of her and punched the air out of her. Another punch came from her left and finally a kick sent her to the ground.

Pariah grabbed her hair again and lifted her head. He reached up and caught his sword, then brought it down swiftly against her neck. But before he could decapitate her, she wrapped the sword in several layers of vines that managed to stop the blade inches from her neck. Though she could barely breathe, she breathed in and out desperately clinging to her life. Pariah grimaced and crouched down to slam the girl's face into the ground, causing the vines to lose resistance and free the sword.

However, someone fired twice: the first in the king's hand and the second in the girl's torso. As a consequence, Pariah had let go of Sam's hair, and then she had gone flying backwards, away from the danger of the sword. The king rolled his eyes and looked up at the intruder. He was surprised when he realized that it was only a human.

- You? - He said contemptuously. - Are you the best that humans managed to send?

On the ground, Sam watched Pariah calmly walking over to Operative K, who was armed with a cannon and had a serious expression. She blinked rapidly to clear her vision and watched as a small column of smoke billowed into the sky behind them. She blinked a little more and realized that it was fire propelling something and leaving the column of smoke in its path. With what little consciousness she had left, she knew what it was and tried to get to her feet to help him. However, when she turned to look at K, he simply shook his head before starting to fire at Pariah. Sam dug a hole in the ground and buried herself in it, wrapped in her vines.

K kept shooting and, far from moving away from the ghost, started to walk towards it. The attitude made the ghost smile. All the shots phased Pariah harmlessly, and when he got close to him, he knocked the gun out of his hands. Undeterred he pulled a small pistol from the back of his belt and fired two shots at him, before Pariah crushed it with his fist and lifted him into the air by the neck.

- I admire your spirit. - He said proudly. - Too bad it amounted to nothing.

- You think so? – He answered him with a smile.

Pariah frowned and a powerful detonation deafened them both as they were blinded by an intense blue glow, more intense than anything so far and in a matter of seconds, they both disappeared into a cloud of dust and the shock wave.