"Alright, Danielle. We're going to be heading to a couple of temples now. Do you remember the rules for when visiting temples and churches?"
"Don't touch anything and don't run around?"
"Atta girl," replied Danny, ruffling the ghostling's hair and earning a beaming smile from the praise.
Ember couldn't help but giggle at the scene before she stepped up and wrapped her arms around one of Danny's.
"So which of the temples are we going to first, Baby-Pop?" she asked as they started walking.
"I figured we'd start with Wat Arun over there," replied Danny, pointing towards the building in the distance.
The rock diva turned to where Baby-Pop was pointing to see a building that was similar in shape to the Eiffel Tower with four smaller spires surrounding it. As they got closer, Ember let out a low whistle.
"I'm so glad that I'm not closed minded like how my folks were. I can actually appreciate other religions and their architecture," stated the fiery girl as she took in the temple's design.
"Wat Arun, also known as the Temple of Dawn. It's named after the Hindu god Aruna, who is personified as the reddish glow of the rising sun," explained Danny.
"Is he one of those guys, Danny?" asked Danielle, pointing at the two large statues standing next to the gate.
"Those would be Thotsakan and Sahatsadecha," said the older Halfa. "They're demons that guard the temple."
Ember raised an eyebrow as she looked at the demon statues. "So they're good demons? Didn't think such a thing existed."
"It depends on the story, I guess. Thotsakan sometimes also goes by the name Ravana, who is most of the time portrayed as a villain, like in the legend Ramayana."
A frown appeared on Ember's face as she continued to stare at the statue. 'I'm so glad that it's just a legend…at least, I hope it is. I don't know what I'd do if Baby-Pop had to fight this guy.'
"If he's a bad guy, I bet you could beat him, Danny!" exclaimed the little one, causing Ember to shudder.
Having caught her shuddering, Danny had to put Ember's mind at ease. "Sorry, Danielle, but Ravana is just a legend, so the chances of meeting him are next to nothing."
This only made the little one pout while Ember let out a sigh of relief.
After seeing the rest of Wat Arun, the three then walked the eight minutes it took to get to the nearby Wat Pho. When they arrived and entered, they were greeted by what the temple was best known for.
"Whoa," said both Ember and Danielle as they stared at the large one hundred fifty foot statue in awe.
"This is the Reclining Buddha," started Danny. "This particular one represents entry of Buddha into Nirvana and the end of all reincarnation."
"Why is he so big?" asked Danielle.
"If you think this is big, you should see some of the others. This one is the largest one in Thailand, but there are others around the world that are much bigger," explained Danny, grinning as his little clone's eyes widened even further.
"What's with the bowls, though?" asked Ember, pointing at the multiple bronze bowls lined up down the corridor. "And why so many?"
"There are exactly one hundred eight bowls, each one representing the one hundred eight auspicious characters of Buddha. People can also drop coins in them as donations so the monks can use the money to help maintain the temple."
The rock diva looked back towards the giant Buddha statue. "Makes sense. It probably would take a lot to keep the big guy here in good condition, but something tells me it would take more than just what people donate."
Danny let out a chuckle. "You'd be right on that, which is why this temple doubles as a university."
"…Wait, what?"
"Oh yeah. Wat Pho is the first public university of the country and there're quite a few things people can come here to learn about. They even have a medical school here with four courses to choose from; pharmacy, medical practice, midwifery, and massage."
Ember raised an eyebrow at that last one. "…Massage?"
The smirk Danny had on his face caused her to tense up and it didn't help when he leaned in so only she could hear him.
"Yes, massage, and if you want I can give you one later tonight to help you relax once Dani is asleep," said Danny in a low, husky tone.
A shiver ran through Ember's body as her core started to pulse at a rapid pace. The thought of Baby-Pop's rough, strong hands rubbing all over her body…why wasn't it nighttime already?!
"Mini-Pop! We're leaving!" called out a blushing Ember, her voice an octave higher than usual.
"Huh? How come?" questioned the confused child.
"We still have plenty of places to go to before we head back to the hotel for the night," replied the older girl as she started herding the little one out of the temple.
"…Is everything okay, Ember?" asked the child, now worried.
"Everything is fine," said Ember, looking back over her shoulder at the smirking Danny with a look of want. "Everything is just fine."
Danny could only laugh as he followed the girls out of the temple.
-:-
Just north of Wat Pho was the next stop on the ghostly trio's tour of Bangkok. The Grand Palace, home to the King of Thailand as well as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It is considered one of Bangkok's most popular tourist attractions.
Too bad for Danny and the girls they won't be able to enjoy the sights.
"Why can't there ever be a day without a ghost fight," stated Danny as the telltale blue wisp came out of his mouth.
Ember was just as unhappy. "If this dipstick even thinks about getting in our way I'm not holding back."
"I hate to say this Ember, but I'm going to need you to protect Danielle if there's a fight," replied the Halfa Hero. "I'm getting similar vibes from whoever this is like we got back in Tokyo, which would explain why there is no one else here."
This caused Ember to bristle and immediately brought Mini-Pop over to her, putting the child between her and her guitar. In the meantime, Danny transformed and got on guard, keeping an eye open for whoever was watching them.
"Well, well. Isn't this interesting. I was told you had otherworldly powers, but finding that you are ghost was unexpected," said a soft voice.
The three turned to find a woman with long black hair tied in a high ponytail and dress in a typical Thai dress. While this would have looked normal to anyone else, the unnerving smile they had was anything but.
Danny narrowed his eyes and got ready for a fight. "Who are you and what do you mean you were told of my powers?"
A laugh escaped the newcomer. "My name is Nakkha and I was summoned to kill you, boy. It seems that you made a few enemies earlier today when you saw through that man's scam."
"…You've got to be kidding me," replied Danny with a groan as he remembered the tuk-tuk driver.
"Oh yes. That man's partner was quite upset that you didn't fall for their scam, so now you must pay the price."
"Considering how stupid this is, it sounds like you could just ignore those dipsticks' request," said Ember, although she had a feeling it won't be that easy.
Another laugh came from Nakkha. "I could, but I must admit that I quite enjoy my line of work."
Danny got in front of Ember and Danielle when he saw the bloodlust in Nakkha's eyes. He was not going to let this ghost hurt them, no matter what!
"Come on, Danny! I know you can beat this guy!" squeaked out Danielle. She then looked confused. "By the way, why is he wearing girl clothes?"
The teens and even Nakkha turned their attention to the child in a mixture of confusion and surprise.
"Mini-Pop, what are you talking about?"
"That's clearly a boy, but he's wearing girl clothes! Why?"
Nakkha was actually amused by this. "Hmhmhmhmhm. My, my, I never would have guessed a child of all people would be able to see right through me."
'…Well we are in Bangkok, so this shouldn't be a surprise,' thought Danny, taking in Nakkha's appearance.
"In life my appearance made it much easier for me to get closer to a target, so I must congratulate you, little one, for being able to see what no one else could," finished the ghostly assassin, licking his lips.
Suddenly, Danny had to put up a ghost shield to deflect the oncoming knives that appeared out of nowhere.
'He's fast. I didn't even see him throw the knives,' thought Danny, looking at Nakkha. Without taking his eyes off of his opponent, Danny spoke to Ember. "Ember, keep Danielle with you at all times while I deal with this guy."
"You don't need to tell me twice," replied the rock diva, not letting go of the Mini-Pop as she moved out of the way.
"Hmhmhm, do you really think you'd be able to keep me away from my targets, boy?" questioned the amused Nakkha. "Once I'm done with you, they're next."
But Danny only smirked, which caused Nakkha to furrow his brow. "Then I guess I'll have to make it harder for you."
The next thing Nakkha knew, his target started to multiply, much to his surprise. Looking around, the ghostly cross-dresser was surrounded by many doppelgangers, all ready to fight.
"As lovely as this is, boy," started Nakkha, licking his lips. "I still plan on killing you."
"Only if you can find the real me!" called out all of the Phantoms.
The doppelgangers started to fly around, becoming moving targets, much to Nakkha's annoyance.
"So this is your little game. You can't hide forever!" exclaimed the assassin.
He started to throw ecto knives at the doppelgangers, all while dodging ecto blasts. But this is what Danny wanted. While some of the doppelgangers were hit by the knives and disappeared, another would manage to get a hit in on Nakkha before the assassin would turn to end the doppelganger. This went on for quite awhile, angering Nakkha greatly.
"What's the matter, Nakkha? You look like you're starting to slow down," stated the Phantoms, taunting smirks on their faces.
"Show yourself, boy! Stop being a coward and face me!" yelled out Nakkha, having enough of this game.
The doppelgangers actually gave it some thought before shaking their heads. "Nah."
Instead, much to Nakkha's horror, the Phantoms swarmed upon their opponent and started to throw as many punches and kicks as they could. Being an assassin, even a ghostly one, Nakkha was NOT used to dealing with this many targets, realizing too late that this boy had been toying with him since the beginning.
All in all, Nakkha regretted taking on this job.
When the assault ended, the real Danny stepped forward with Thermos in hand and immediately sucked up the semi-conscious assassin, ending the attempt on his half-life.
As the doppelgangers disappeared, the girls made their way over to Danny.
"I knew you could beat him, Danny!" chirped the ghostling, glomping her favorite person in the world.
Danny let out a laugh as he patted her on the head. He then felt another pair of arms wrap around him and the warm body of his girlfriend pressed against him.
"I'm glad you're okay, Baby-Pop."
He placed a kiss on her temple. "It was going to take a lot more than what Nakkha had to take me down, especially since he was clearly not a very good assassin if he would just reveal himself like that."
With Nakkha captured the familiar portal opened and out walked Walker, ready to meet his new prisoner.
"What do you have for me this time, punk?" demanded the warden.
Danny just rolled his eyes before pointing the Thermos at the portal and releasing Nakkha into a waiting cell.
"Don't let his appearance fool you, Nakkha here is apparently an assassin," stated the Halfa as Walker's gazed narrowed on the prisoner. "He was also apparently summoned by two humans to find and kill me."
Walker scowled at this information. If there was one thing he hated, outside of rule breakers, it was humans who would use ghosts as tools. Unfortunately, they were humans, meaning they didn't fall under his jurisdiction.
"…Keep up the good work, punk," stated the warden as he entered the portal to "greet" his new prisoner.
Once the portal closed, Ember turned to Danny.
"So what now, Baby-Pop? Those dipsticks are still out there. What if they summoned some other ghost to finish the job?" she questioned, her worry for him evident.
"You and Danielle head back to the hotel for now. I'm going to pay our "friends" a little visit."
"…Do you even know where they are?"
"With my doppelgangers, it'll be easy to find them. And trust me; I will find them."
Ember ALMOST felt sorry for those dipsticks.
"What I still don't get is why that Nakkha guy was dressed like a girl," said Danielle, still on that.
The teens glanced at each other with grimaces, really not wanting to deal with this. Luckily, Danny had an idea to nip this in the bud.
"Let me put it this way, Danielle. You know how you don't like to wear skirts and dresses?" questioned the older Halfa, earning a pouty scowl from the child. "Well, just like how some girls can be tomboys, there are some guys out there that like to wear dresses."
"…That actually makes a lot of sense."
Danny and Ember let out sighs of relief, now that they won't have to go into actual detail on this subject.
They would let someone else, preferably Jazz, explain to the little one should it ever come up again.
-:-
The next night was the night of Ember's concert at the Royal Paragon Hall and the Thai people cheered as she closed out the show.
"That was awesome, Ember!" exclaimed Danielle, hugging her newest plushy, an Indian elephant wearing a Thai dress, that she got earlier at the Siam Paragon.
"Would it be anything else, Mini-Pop?" replied the fiery girl with a giggle. She then felt arms wrap around her waist.
"I can think of a few ways to describe you," said Danny, holding her close. "Amazing, beautiful, passionate."
A grin appeared on Ember's face as she turned in his grasp so she could kiss him. "Flatterer, but we were talking about the concert."
"There was a concert? I couldn't tell since all of my focus was on the foxy lady under the spotlight," replied the boy with a smirk.
"A Hendrix reference. Not bad, Baby-Pop," said Ember, her core pulsing at a rapid pace at the love she saw in his eyes.
With Danielle, she just rolled her eyes as she watched her current guardians flirt with each other. When she felt that they had enough time to be all mushy, she got their attention with a question.
"Hey, Danny? Did you ever find those guys who summoned Nakkha?"
"Yeah, whatever happened with those dipsticks?" asked Ember, also curious.
The girls weren't sure if they wanted to know if the grin on Danny's face was any indication.
-:-
Meanwhile, back at the temple where Nakkha was summoned, the two men were still inside, having been there all day and possibly all night as well.
The tuk-tuk driver peered through the door, gulping when he saw dozens and dozens of familiar glowing green eyes within the foliage of the nearby jungle. He nervously picked up a nearby rock and tossed it outside, only to jump back in fright when the rock was destroyed with an ecto blast. He turned to his friend, who was looking just as pale and afraid as he was.
"M-Maybe we should find a new line of work."
BANGKOK END
-:-
Lesson of the day; live an honest life and you won't have to face karma.
Fun Fact: Bangkok is the most visited tourist destination, more so than even London.
Anyway, Bangkok's done, Danny and Ember avoided having to give Danielle "the talk", and our hero put the fear into the hearts of a couple of conmen. All is well.