- Well… it seems this is as far as we can go.
Hunter stopped the car and stared straight ahead. Tucker was concentrating on moving things on the young man's phone and the car's dashboard, but he looked to see the reason behind the words of his travel companion. The street was completely blocked, with part of a building structure blocking the main road, and remnants of utility poles and other things blocking the only alternate route.
- Crap.
Unable to do anything down the street, he focused again on what he was doing. Hunter watched him curiously as he played with his cell phone, moving some adjustments on the vehicle's touch panel at the same time.
- What are you doing?
- Isolating a radio frequency… - He answered without looking at him.
- Sounds like fun… - He whispered before turning to see him. - And my phone is for...?
- Microphone. I need to send a message.
The car was silent for a few moments, where only the tapping of the brunette's fingers on the cell phone was audible. Tucker grunted under his breath at the slowness of the cell phone and the vehicle's operating system. He was about to ask her something else when a small white sun shone in the distance, drawing both their attention thanks to its glow. Seconds later, the sphere became gigantic and everything around the was perfectly visible.
- Let's get out of here.
- Sure thing, brother.
They both got out of the vehicle as fast as they could and ran to the first door they identified. Hunter threw his full weight on the door to open it, but since it wasn't locked, he ended up yanking it off the frame. Tucker followed him in and crouched in the corner of what appeared to be an office reception area. Hunter did the same in the corner opposite the brunette and they stayed there, waiting.
The glow in the street intensified for a few seconds and then a cool breeze blew, leaving the place in darkness again. They stood still for a few seconds, waiting for something else to happen, but no noise reached their ears.
They gingerly stood up and walked toward the exit, where the vehicle's headlights were the only source of illumination. Without hesitation, Tucker got back into the car to continue what he was doing. Hunter, for his part, was just surveying his surroundings when the lights around him came on.
- Valerie, do you hear me? Valerie?
Hunter turned to see him with a raised eyebrow.
- Valerie, if you can hear me, answer. – He paused briefly. - Valerie, do you hear me?
- Tucker?
Hunter jumped when he saw the young man jump into his seat and celebrate silently, before stopping and putting a hand to his head.
- Val! I need your help!
- Not the right time, Foley.
- Quite the opposite...
- Tucker...
- Listen to me! – He yelled at her on the phone. – In my possession I have a weapon, something that can help us end Dan once and for all… but I need a ride to get to where you are.
- How did you get this weapon?
- That's a long and strange story...
- And why don't you tell Danny so he can take care of it?
- He can't. - Tucker rubbed the side of his face. - No ghost should be near this weapon or they could… die.
The radio was silent for a few seconds.
- What kind of weapon is it?
- One of a kind.
- Fine. – She said after a while. – Tell me where you are to pick you up.
- I'm in… - Tucker took the head out of the car and leaned out to locate himself.
- McAllister & Associates Law Firm, 2nd and Hamilton. - Hunter whispered.
Tucker smiled at him and held up his thumb.
- 2nd and Hamilton. I'll wait for you on the roof of the law firm.
- Who is with you? – Valerie asked when she heard the whispers.
- Just hurry up, okay?
- Sure boss. – She said ironically.
Tucker hung up and unplugged the phone from the car. He blocked it and stepped out to look at Hunter.
- Thank you very much, buddy. - He handed him the phone. – But here is where we part ways.
- Don't even mention it. – He took his phone and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. – Good luck.
Hunter gave him a weak smile and moved to the driver's door so he could leave. Tucker saw the car put into reverse gear and turn a few feet behind him, so he could go back the way they had come. He sighed and quickly went back into the offices. Thanks to the power being restored, it didn't take long for him to locate the stairs. He reached for the door that led to the roof, but when he tried to turn the knob, it didn't budge.
"Damn it." He took a few steps back and started to kick the door hard, but it still wouldn't budge. He returned downstairs and smiled when he found what he was looking for. He walked over to the reception desk and quickly began to unplug all the cables from the computer's CPU. He took it and walked up to the glass that protected the fire extinguisher and raised the CPU to the height of his head.
- Sorry. – He whispered into the device and kissed it, before throwing it against the glass.
Careful not to cut himself, he pulled out the extinguisher and ran back to the door, beating the tail of the extinguisher against the handle. 10 blows later, he managed to disassemble the entire structure and with a kick, he finally opened the door. He carefully set the fire extinguisher aside and went outside to wait for Valerie to come for him. He didn't wait long, for within two minutes he watched Valerie in her speeder slowly fly over the area.
- I hope this is not a joke. – She threatened him when she was at his same height.
Tucker rolled his eyes and reached into his pocket for the syringe. He held it up to the light so Valerie could see the red liquid inside the plastic tube. When she reached out to take it, the dark-haired man pushed the syringe away from her and put it back.
- I need you to get me as close to Dan as you can so he can administer the lethal dose.
- What? – She asked in disbelief. – That's suicide.
- Maybe... but no ghost can do it.
- Then give it to me and I'll do it.
- It would not work. – Tucker approached her to try to get on the speeder, but she stepped back and crossed her arms, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
- You think I can't do it? – She challenged him.
- I know you won't.
Tucker studied her with his eyes for a few seconds, evaluating the girl's responses. For Valerie, the boy's simple answer hurt her pride and she decided to return it.
- I am better than you at hunting ghosts and far superior to you in the physical aspect. – She reminded him. - Why couldn't I?
Tucker rolled his eyes again.
- My God… - He whispered. – This has nothing to do with your skills. – He clarified. – Dan would kill you the moment you invade his personal space because he knows what you are capable of. I, on the other hand, do not represent a significant threat in his eyes.
Valerie looked at him with a twisted face. She uncrossed her arms and placed them around her waist.
- You really are crazy.
Tucker looked down at the ground for a few seconds, then shrugged.
- I know.
- Are you really willing to take the risk with those odds?
- I wouldn't be doing more than the others. – He paused. - Now… will you let me go up or do I have to ask for another ride?
Valerie studied him with her eyes for a moment. He seemed anxious and a little nervous. His hand trembled involuntarily every 3 seconds before stopping abruptly. He was scared. But in the seconds that his hand stopped shaking, she could see determination in his eyes. She sighed and turned for the boy to get on the back of the speeder. Tucker nodded and jumped up, grabbing the girl's shoulder for stability.
- So… what is the plan? - She asked as she began to accelerate.
- We just need an opening… - He offered. - We sprint until we reach him, you circle around him while I use smoke grenades to block his field of vision and then you throw me at him. Then I just have to administer the dose and that's it.
- Sounds too easy.
- Yes, well… the problem will be getting closer.
Valerie slowed down.
- How far from the ghosts do you have to be to not affect them with it? - She asked, looking at the brunette out of the corner of her eye.
- I don't know.
- Well… Here we go. - She whispered to herself. – Danny, do you copy me? I need you to create an opening so I can get to Dan. – She waited a few seconds with no response. - Danny? Ghosts can't be near what I bring with me, I need you to confirm...
- Nothing? - Tucker asked from behind.
- No.
- Well… we will have to risk it.
Valerie just sighed and continued on her way back to the battlefield.
Jazz parked the ship not as far away as she'd been told. She technically had only gone back 2 blocks and left it hidden inside an alley. She sighed in her seat and took the thermos in her hands, opening it and taking out the Infimamap. Her knowledge of the use of the map was limited, but she knew that it was designed to take its wielder where they wanted or needed to go.
She got out of the ship and walked towards the main street, where she stopped and opened the map. She watched it closely, trying to decide what to do when the map began to glow. Her eyes widened slightly as the map began to pull on her and she went flying at top speed. She tightened her grip on the map as she began to spin in the air and head towards the place she had been taken from. She looked down and saw practically every known and unknown ghost attacking Dan all at the same time. The map pulled her down a bit and she got the anxiety again that maybe the map was leading her directly to her death, but instead she ended up going through the ghost portal that was open in the sky.
Seconds later, she was surrounded by the green and cold atmosphere of the ghost zone. The map continued to guide her for a few minutes, until she was able to see the remains of Pariah Dark's castle in front of her. The map finally let her land when they reached the throne room. She took a few seconds to take in her surroundings, then wondered: what the hell was she supposed to do there?
The walls of the room were destroyed, rubble was piled up in front of the throne, and there was a gaping hole in the ceiling. She kicked over a small rock and walked around trying to figure out what she was supposed to do. She surveyed every nook and corner of the room, and only when she reached the back, did she know what to do. Through the hole in the wall, she watched the sarcophagus of forever sleep open and lying on the ground, on top of a pile of rubble.
She walked slowly to the sarcophagus and inspected it closely: it was cold to the touch and made of pieces of wood and ghost metal. She tried to move the lid, but she was surprised to feel how heavy it was. Redoubling her effort, she squatted down and used both hands to lift the lid. She grunted at the muscle charge, but after a few seconds, she managed to lift it up and the sarcophagus closed. She carefully observed the gems that adorned the lid of the sarcophagus and she couldn't help but run her hand through them, until her fingers ended up on the bolt on the nose of the king's image.
- The key!
Dan yelled in frustration as he stood up. Things weren't supposed to happen like this, he was supposed to kill Daniel and demoralize all his allies, to easily assimilate Clockwork. But now he was in the middle of a battle with essentially every ghost and they didn't seem to want to back down. He put his musings aside as he watched the five land in front of him at a safe distance.
Clockwork was in the lead, followed by Pandora and Nocturne, with Undergrowth and Vortex at the back of the group.
- You managed to reunite the band… - He said sighing. – But you missed one.
- In your current condition, the 5 of us should be enough.
- It may be true... - Dan stood up. – But I'm not the only one whose power is reduced, am I?
Dan smiled at the seriousness of his opponents.
- This… urban jungle greatly limits your powers. Isn't that right, porcupine? You were powerful when the world was covered in green… just like you were when all living things came under your control as soon as the sun went down. - He said looking at Nocturne, before turning to see Vortex. – You used to be free to unleash your destruction…
- Do you think you can defeat us now? - Pandora said.
They study his rivals for a few seconds in silence, observing how they all fisted their hands.
- I like my odds...
All 5 ghosts fired at him at the same time, combining their attack into a single beam. Dan responded by using the ring. He was determined not to make the same mistake that Pariah Dark had made with them eons ago by not minding about the attack. The energy beams collided and engaged in a power struggle.
The numerical disadvantage was immediately present and Dan began to be pushed back by the force of their coordinate attack. But that battle was not a race, it was a marathon. And soon the group of 5 realized that. The initial intensity of the attack helped them at first to gain an advantage, but they were not able to keep the constant flow of energy like Dan, who, thanks to the ring and the crown, little by little took steps forward.
What he had told them was true: they were not as powerful as before. Added to the 3 already explained by Dan, Clockwork had lost power over Dan by existing outside of time, and Pandora had lost part of hers with the creation of her box. Pariah Dark, or Dan, had increased theirs. In this state, perhaps even with the ghost they needed they couldn't finish him off. "We are just the distraction." Clockwork reminded himself as he used more power.
Dan started to growl louder and grabbed his left wrist with his right hand, to keep it steady and start moving towards them. With each step he took, his attack gained ground on the ghosts in front of him, to the point of almost hitting them directly. "A little more…"
- Now!
The scream caused the 5 to disband, causing Dan's attack to destroy more buildings in the background. Before he could react, the few remaining sleepwalkers and ghost skeletons pounced on him. Getting rid of them wasn't a problem… the problem was what followed.
Half of his body, from the waist down, was trapped in a block of ice that rose several meters into the sky, growing thicker as the Frozen Ones, Klemper, and Danny created layer after layer of ice to restrain him. The ice stopped when it reached a certain altitude, but the human fighting forces did not allow him to focus on breaking free.
From the rooftops of their buildings, they opened fire on the figure clearly visible above the buildings. Dan reached out a hand to attack them, but was caught by hundreds of ectoplasm ropes that began to pull from him. Soon, his other hand was also captured and he started a game of tug-of-war on both sides. Dan didn't know what to do first or who to get rid of first, when finally, Sam emerged from the ground and entangled vine after vine around his neck and horn. Along with Danielle and the larger ghosts, she began to pull back. The effort to hold his ground made Dan scream, but he kept trying to break free.
The humans stopped shooting and at full speed, Vlad appeared on the battlefield and without thinking, he pressed the detonator button. However, nothing happened. Vlad stopped mid-flight and stared at the detonator in a panic, maniacally pushing the button until Dan's light laugh reached his ears. Using more force, he began to move his head forward.
- Did you think… that I didn't figure out what you were planning? – He said while trying to pull his hand. – I got rid of that beetle days ago!
Dan continued to laugh as the ghosts pulled harder at him. Vlad froze in midair, not knowing what to do. He turned to see Danny for a moment and the boy also looked at him without knowing what to do. Dan's entire body began to glow at that moment, while his ring seemed to be absorbing energy from the environment. The ice that imprisoned his body began to break and although everyone tried to restore the layers, the cracks kept appearing. Strings of ectoplasm began to burst.
Dan's body was beginning to hunch in preparation to create another bubble of energy. The Guys in White opened fire again, but with Dan's new stance, the shots served more to break Dan's restraints than do him any harm. Danny watched Vlad throw the detonator to the ground and go flying in the direction he came from. However, he did not make much progress. When he managed to get away from there, he quickly fell to the ground while moaning in pain without understanding why, since he had not been hurt in any way.
Valerie and Tucker watched what was happening from a distance. They had stopped at a considerable distance from the fight to observe what was happening, but they had no choice but to react when Dan was about to free his left arm.
- New plan: take me there. Now!
- Wait... What about ghosts can't be near...?
- We may not get another chance! They have him immobile! – He took the syringe out of his pocket and removed the needle guard with his mouth, spitting it into the air and taking it as if it were a knife.
- But…
- Don't think! Just do!
She sighed and Tucker grabbed onto one of her arms as she accelerated toward Dan in an elliptical fashion to generate enough momentum to throw Tucker right at him.
Dan managed to free his left arm and Danny panicked at the failure of his plan. At that, the Fright Knight rose above the entire crowd with his sword and attacked Dan, who caught the blade of the sword with his free hand and forcefully broke it. Immediately afterwards, he shot a powerful beam of ectoplasm through his eyes into his chest to get rid of him before the knight could take the crown from him as he had intended.
The sound of a propeller caught Dan and Danny's attention. Valerie's red suit was visible in the moonlight, but the odd thing was that she had Tucker as her co-pilot. They both noticed a strange phenomenon as they watched them approaching them in an elliptical trajectory: the ghosts fell to the ground moaning in pain when the girl flew over them.
Dan was the first to react as he began to move harder to free himself completely. Danny followed suit and began to work even harder to keep him contained within the ice.
- Everyone, fall back!
Danny didn't understand Clockwork's order or why all the ghosts were starting to move away.
- No! Stay! - He yelled desperately as he saw how the ghosts that had not yet fallen, fled voluntarily.
He wanted to stay and fight, but Clockwork himself grabbed him by the back of his suit's neck and dragged him back. From a safe distance, Danny and Clockwork watched as more ghosts dropped like flies to the ground as Valerie continued toward him.
Feeling less resistance in his arms, he easily broke the few ropes of ectoplasm that contained him and reached both hands to the vines around his neck, now only Sam was still pulling. Dan broke them and as he was about to break the ice on his legs, several detonations around him covered his field of vision with smoke.
- Now!
Dan heard her scream and all of his senses went on alert. Two missiles hit him: one on his back and another, the more powerful, hit him in the abdomen and sent him forcefully to the ground. He scrambled to his feet as he watched Valerie swooping toward him. He was about to attack her when he saw her deactivate her suit. Before the speeder disappeared, he watched her cartwheel forward to get out of the way, revealing Tucker falling behind her.
Following the mortal, she reactivated her suit and flew out of there, distracting him long enough to completely miss the young man. Dan finally turned to look at him as he landed (and bounced) on his chest and felt a slight sting. The dark-haired man fell sitting on the ground, completely paralyzed with terror at being a few centimeters from that monster.
Dan smiled when he saw the expression of fear painted on the features of the one who once was his best friend, but he diverted his gaze to the syringe that was stuck in his chest, with the plunger pressed all the way and he frowned. He made a fist with his left hand and yanked the syringe out to take a closer look at it. He looked at the brunet once more with the intention of mocking whatever he had tried to do, until he remembered what had happened to the ghosts in their proximity.
He turned his head violently to the sides and observed that the ghosts that had been moaning on the ground were already rejoining themselves, staring at him.
- What did you do?
Dan took a step towards Tucker and stopped when he saw a thin thread of red smoke coming from his chest, specifically where the syringe had been. He froze and began to shake as a burning sensation began to spread throughout his body. Within seconds, he felt as if he had been submerged in a lake of magma and fell to his knees on the ground, using what strength he had to keep from crying out in pain.
- What… did you do… to me? – He hissed violently as he looked at him with his glowing red eyes.
- It worked… - He whispered, dragging himself back with a smile. - It worked! - His happiness was cut short when he noticed the fury in Dan's eyes. - Oh shit, it worked!
Terrified, he tried to get to his feet and run to avoid the lightning coming at him. At that, plants wrapped around his waist and yanked him hard out of the way of the ectoplasm beam. The plants stopped as he collided with a hand made of vegetation that softened the blow. Slowly, he opened first one eye and then the other, to notice that he was no longer in front of Dan. When his waist was free, he stood up as best he could and surveyed his surroundings. He turned his head in all directions, but found no one, until the sound of the ground opening up made him look forward.
He let out a little cry and took a few steps back as an obviously upset female figure emerged from the ground.
- Sam? – He said scrutinizing her appearance. - Sam?!
- What the hell were you doing there?! – She said pushing him when she approached him.
- What the hell happened to you? - The brunette ignored what his friend said.
- Tucker! You could have died!
Tucker opened his mouth, but only grimaced.
- Look, I'll be honest with you: this… - He said, pointing to her outfit. - ... is very distracting.
- Focus here! – She said pointing to her eyes.
- And what difference would it make?! They are glowing green!
Sam got angrier, but decided not to dig any further.
- Fine! Just stay here and don't come back!
- Oh, don't even dream about it, sister.
Sam had already turned and started walking back to fight Dan when Tucker's voice made her turn around. She jumped when she noticed that he was already next to her.
- I'm going back and I'm going to fight. - He assured her.
Sam grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
- I really don't want to offend you, but you're only human and… is that blood on your head?
Her anger vanished when she noticed the dried blood on the back of the brunet's head and instinctively tried to turn him around to look at the wound.
- Look, just like you, Clockwork entrusted me with a task. – Tucker said letting go. – Yours gave you powers and… a new wardrobe. – He pointed at her. - Mine? A weapon I just used on him. And I'm not going to retire now that he's weak just because I can already say I did my part.
Sam sighed and looked down, understanding his friend's point. She frowned as she finally processed what Tucker had just told her.
- What kind of weapon?
Danny asked Clockwork after Tucker disappeared from the battlefield. When he saw his best friend do something so…stupid, his first instinct had been to rush to save him, but again Clockwork stopped him. He was about to protest when Clockwork started to explain Tucker's role in all of this.
- One that can change everything.
Clockwork shifted his gaze to Dan, who was kneeling on the ground as he grunted in pain with red smoke billowing from his body. He smiled for a few moments before turning serious.
- We have to be even more careful; he'll be more dangerous now that he's injured.
- How will we fight against him? – Danny said, standing next to Clockwork. – Whatever Tucker gave him affected all the ghosts around.
-True, but now the ectoranium is contained within his body. We should be fine.
- Then let's not waste any more time.
Danny turned to see Dan and went flying into him. Dan was struggling to his feet when Danny came from the side and hit him. In his current state, there was little he could do to defend himself, as he was using all the energy he had accumulated to get rid of whatever Tucker had injected into him.
- Charge! – Sidney yelled from the back.
Vlad was leaning against a wall catching his breath. He tilted his head back to look at the dark city sky and sighed. He broke away from the wall and his mind began to work to devise some way to defeat Dan. The sounds of the battle away from him made him question whether or not he should go back. He had already cooperated with the cause: he fought, he bled… What else could he do?
He slowly began to walk backwards, heading towards the city. He slowly advanced a block before stopping when he saw the Fenton ghost ship hidden in an alley. In his current condition, it would be the easiest way to escape. The problem is that it was not very discreet. Besides, what use would it be to run away?
Probably all the authorities were waiting for that crisis to end to impute all the crimes related to the "ghost of Wisconsin". Added to the accusations of electoral fraud and corruption was the fact that his identity was no longer a secret. He had a target on his back that would probably never go away. He sighed again. He would have to change his plan for the umpteenth time.
He walked into the alley and stood at the back of the ship, opening the doors. Inside were many weapons that the Guys in White had apparently decided not to use, along with some of the more ridiculous Fenton inventions. The ghost catcher, many thermoses, fishing rods and something that looked like a blowgun. He fixed his gaze on the pair of ghost gloves that he had hung on one of the ship's walls.
A loud sound to the side of him alerted him, and turning around, he saw Vortex fall hard to the ground, smoke billowing from his chest. The crack of another building falling told him that he had passed through it. He turned to see the gloves and then to Vortex.
- Hey!
Vortex straightened up on the floor and turned to face him, one hand on his abdomen.
- You want revenge?
Dan was acting erratic. Each ghost that approached him was received with a brutality that he had not shown before, without saying a word. He had thrown a lightning from the ring at Vortex's chest, grabbed Prince Aragon by his dragon tail, and used it to strike every ghost that came near him, to the point that Aragon had to remove his amulet to avoid killing Frostbite after continuously hitting him with his body.
He destroyed Dora's amulet and was on the verge of exterminating her, except for Danny's intervention to literally rip her out of his hand. The executioner ghost did not have the same luck and when trying to attack him, Dan turned his hand intangible and put it into the ghost's head. Seconds later, the executioner turned into a smear of ectoplasm on the ground.
Dani tried to attack him, but Danny yanked her leg back just in time to keep his punch from landing full on her face. He released her and managed to land two punches at Dan, but when he tried to reach out to remove the crown, Dan didn't hold back from shooting a powerful beam from his eyes. Without stopping the attack, he slowly turned his head to attack anyone who came near him. In the surrounding buildings, the Guys in White had to evacuate the buildings they were in, as Dan's lightning had compromised the physical integrity of the building.
A cool breeze began to blow across the entire battlefield, and some clouds began to cover the moonlight. Meanwhile, Skulker charged into the attack with two blades protruding from his wrist and attempted to stab him in the abdomen. Dan parried the attack with both hands, but before countering, Ember came out of the ground behind him and tried to hit the crown off Dan's head with her guitar.
He managed to duck in time and Ember ended up knocking Skulker's helmet out of his armor, which Dan took advantage of to reach out with both arms and also rip them from the mech suit to spin around and hit the singer with them. First in her face, then in her abdomen, and finally, he flipped them in the air to drive the blades into her face; however, she managed to cover herself in time with her arms.
She cried out in pain as the blades tore through her forearms, but before Dan could finish the job, Spectra pulled her out. Unable to contain the pain any longer, Dan fell to the ground and with a scream formed a sphere of energy that repelled all who rushed at him. His vision blurred and the veins in his arms, neck and face stood out more strongly. The red smoke began to come out more intensely from his body and parts of his suit began to disappear, like embers being consumed by fire.
With much effort, he raised his hand and created a portal, but before he could go through, a wall of ice blocked his path. Shouting, he expelled white fire with his raised hand. However, the flames were contained by an ice structure that followed the same direction of the attack and from the sky, a yeti fell with an ice stake the size of a person that he tried to stick into Dan. He stepped back in time to avoid being hit, but another yeti repeated the same action from behind him. Although he managed to dodge the stake, his cape had been caught.
He disposed of the Far Frozen in front of him with one punch and used the other to repel Danielle, who was left below the furry ghost. Dan tried to go intangible, but that made the pain he was feeling worse and he stopped. He fell to his knees and started to yank his cape free when Danny landed in front of him.
- Do you want the crown, child? – He said in the midst of his pain, discreetly ripping the cape to free himself.
- No. - He answered calmly. - I'm satisfied with you not having it.
Danny lunged at him and Dan spun to get out of the way and punch him. To his surprise, Danny had no problem parrying his fist and quickly struck back. With each blow, the pain in Dan increased exponentially. When he managed to shake him off, he returned in moments accompanied by more ghosts. He would get rid of them and Danny would try again, with another group of ghosts at his side.
After getting rid of it for the third time, he noticed that the portal he had created had disappeared. To his delight, he also noticed that many frightened, injured, or exhausted ghosts were returning en masse to the ghost zone through the portal Wolf had created. And he smiled when he saw his exit ticket.
Danny looked in that same direction and quickly turned his attention back to Dan.
- Do not even think about it.
Dan used the power of the ring to clear all the way between himself and the portal, and flew with his remaining forces there. Danny intercepted him on the way and was soon joined by Dani, Pandora, and Sidney. Dan hurled the mace at Danny, but he ducked and the metal object crashed off Poindexter's face, breaking his glasses and sending him to the ground in a knockout. Danny tried to come up behind him to snatch the crown, but accidentally made contact with the ring and the burst of power sent him hurtling through the sky at high speed. The loss of power made Dan go down a bit and Pandora took the opportunity to take him to the ground. With her arms she tried to keep him still while she tried to remove the crown, but Dan made it impossible for her. Dani arrived to help her just as Dan grabbed Pandora's spear and used it to knock her off of him with a punch, before slamming it into Pandora's leg.
He turned around and with great difficulty stood up, bringing both hands to his abdomen for a few seconds. Pain was evident on his features, as was exhaustion and wear and tear from whatever had been administered to him. The sound of thunder echoed throughout the city, as multiple bolts of lightning lit up the cloudy sky above them. Danielle's serious face and the way her chest rose constantly was the only thing Dan could make out in front of him. He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, a slight tremor in his jaw.
- You made a deal for my life? - Dani asked.
- Vlad did, I just listened.
- Well… - She cracked her fingers. – Only I decide about my life.
Dan smiled in his pain and lowered his head, shaking it.
- Stupid little girl.
Dani frowned and lunged at him, blocking a punch from Dan and attacking his legs. One of his knees fell to the ground and she took advantage of her new position to kick him in the jaw. She delivered another kick to his abdomen and finished with another kick to his jaw. Her body followed the movement of her leg and ended up doing a backflip, while Dan fell to the ground.
She quickly lunged for him and when her hand touched the crown, Dan's hand gripped her wrist tightly. Her surprise paralyzed her for a few seconds that he capitalized on by taking her by the neck with his other hand and turning her, inverting their positions with her now against the ground. He applied the necessary force to her wrist to force her to release the crown. He tightened his grip on her neck and looked directly into her eyes.
She was looking at him with hate brimming over, but refusing to complain about the pain. He looked at her desperately, wanting to end her as quickly as possible to get out of there. More lightning flashed across the sky and Danielle panicked from what she could make out above them. Dan noticed the small change in her facial expressions and decided to get rid of her instead. He lifted her by the neck and began to slam her into the ground continuously. With a lot of effort, he stood up and turning around, he threw her against Nocturne.
When they were both on the ground, Dan looked up and his eyes widened in terror.