Call of the Phantom: Part 8
"This is definitely gonna hurt!" Danny yelled as he crashed landed on the stage of the Stadium. The impact instantly knocked the wind out of him as he skid across the platform, crashing into a group of mic stands. The equipment seemed to keep crashing on top of him as he pushed it all off and groaned. "Damn it, that was so not cool."
The monster that had sent him flying laughed, its voice deep and boisterous as it crash landed in the aisle before him. "Foolish little creature. Have you recently departed to the realm of the dead? You must have if you know nothing of I, Baron, the Beetle boxer. With my mighty four arms, I am- "
"Boring me more than my history classes," Danny quipped back as he finally got back to his feet and stared at the ghost, who was overly muscular. His bare chest stuck out, while his arms, legs, back and head were covered in Beetle like armor. "Also, if you're a boxer, then why are you using bladed weapons?"
Baron smiled, twirling a sword in each hand before pointing them at Danny. "What can I say? I like to cheat. Now, I hope you're ready because this will be your end. Prepare for Oblivion!" With a powerful jump, the bug-man leapt towards the stage, aiming straight for him.
Danny jumped to the side, rolling out of the way, and barely avoiding getting skewered. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to play fair just this once, huh?"
"Not likely, no," he replied, taking another swing at the white-haired boy. Attempting to cover his head and block the attack, Danny squinted as he waited for the pain to come from the hit, but, instead, felt a familiar tingling in his hands as they started to glow. Just as the blade was about to make contact, the energy in Danny's hands expanded, creating a shield that deflected the blades.
"Whoa!" Danny cried out as Baron stumbled back, the recoil from the attack throwing him off his balance. The shield, its purpose fulfilled, vanished, allowing Danny to bring his hands down and look at them. He could remember this feeling, this instinct. He had done the same thing last night, while fighting the ghosts in his basement, and though he knew he wasn't the one in control then, he could feel it, almost like muscle memory.
However, now was not the time to dwell on that.
Diving forward, Danny was hoping to plow into him and get one of the weapons out of his hands, but Baron anticipated this, and kicked Danny way, sending him flying. Danny bounced off the ground once but was able to stop himself before he fell off the stage.
"Ah ha! You are quite tricky, little creature. I respect that. But" Baron paused, gripping his swords tighter. "You will need more then tricks if you intended to defeat me."
Maybe getting the solo one wasn't the best idea. He thought to himself as he remembered how this all had started.
Following the map Tucker had given him had led Danny right to the middle of the Amity Park farmland where most of the town's produce and livestock were held. Landing on a barn, it didn't take Danny very long to find the ghost he had been looking for as the creature was nearly 7 feet tall and had seemed to be screaming out into the open.
Wondering what he was yelling about, Danny listened closely, but nearly feel off the roof with disbelief and laughter as Baron seemed to be challenging a chicken to a death match for "the fate of this place."
Unfortunately for Danny, his cover had been blown the second he started laughing, prompting the start of their battle. As things seemed to be getting more and more chaotic, Danny made the decision that he needed to get him away from the town's food supply before there was no food left.
And so, the chase began. Picking up a few rocks, Danny began to chuck them at Baron, which only seemed to annoy the bug looking ghost. However, after hitting him square between the eyes (the luckiest shot Danny has probably ever made in his life), the teenager began to taunt him, hoping to keep his attention, before taking off and heading straight for the Stadium.
His plan had been going perfectly, up until Baron had gotten tired of playing "follow the leader" and decided soccer was more enjoyable, leading to the very painful introduction to the ground he had just gotten back up from.
Danny gritted his teeth as he thought about how pointless this was all gonna be if he couldn't find some way to gain the upper hand. But how was he supposed to do that? Tucker had mentioned earlier that they had to follow their instincts, but he had no idea what that meant.
"Danny!" a familiar voice called out. The white-haired teen looked up at the call of his name and was relieved to see Sam and Tucker as they descended to the ground. Sam stumbled a bit as she landed next to him but stood up right quickly as she found her balance while Tucker stopped with ease. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Though I'm not gonna lie, I was having a real tough time with this guy before you showed up to even the odds a bit," Danny admitted, relieved to see them. "Are you guys ok? Were you able to find any ghosts?"
"Hell's yeah we did. We bagged this old hag of a witch ghost, easy as pie," Tucker gloated as he held up his thermos. "You should have seen us out there. Though, if I'm being honest, Sam's rope work could use some serious practice, and-"
"Oh, excuse me Mr. Perfect Know-it-all for not immediately being some kind of lasso swing wonder woman, Tucker," Sam said back at him in annoyance, and as Danny prepared to chastise them both, they were interrupted by Baron as he let out a booming laugh.
"Haha, I see that more of you tiny creatures have come to fight. Splendid! You greatly amuse me," Baron said, running his blades across each other. "I hope you're prepared because I will not hold back."
"Focus up guys," Danny instructed as he turned to face Baron down while clenching his fist. Tucker quickly put his thermos away as he and Sam also got into battle positions and summoned up their weapons in quick flashes of light. As the three stared him down, they we surprised as two streaks, one white and the other green, shot paste them, moving across the stage in the blink of an eye and crashing into the spot where Baron had been before being sent flying into the opposite wall.
The three teens blinked, turning back to see Danielle and Jake, both looking worse for wear as their costumes looking battle worn and dirty.
"We're…here…" Danielle said between breathes. He hair was messier then usual and she covered from head to toe in dirt and bruises.
"Yeah, we can see that," Sam said, recovering from her shock and giving the two a once over. "What the hell happened to you two?"
"Matador Moron over here kept trying to ride and hog tie the stupid bull ghost that showed up at the mall," she said, turning to give her friend a glare.
"That reminds me," Jake said, finally finishing catching his own breath before standing up straight, showing up the many more bruises he had obtained. "I'm pretty sure in that last round, we crashed through the computer store, and it did not look pretty."
"What!?" Tucker cried out in disbelief. "You guys destroyed PC World!? That's like the only good place to buy anything even remoting related to computer parts! I had a platinum membership there!"
"Look, dude, it was either that or-"
"Guys, SERIOUSLY; this is not the time for that!" Danny shouted as Baron roared and broke his way out of the wall. Turning back to his team, Danny said, "We need to figure out a way to weaken this guy and stuff him into a thermos."
"We need to create an opening and hit him in his weak spot," Tucker said as his visor scanned the ghost in question as he dug around for his weapons. The visor beeped as it finished scanning him, displaying the information to Tucker. "And it looks like his chest is that spot. Alright everyone, show me your weapons."
Everyone did as instructed, with Danielle and Jake summoning up their weapons, and held them out before them. One by one, Tucker scanned over them, absorbing the information about them, and stopped at Danny's turn.
"Alright dude, show me your weapon."
"Sorry, can't. I've got nothing," Danny said reluctantly with a shake of his head. "When I found this guy on the farmlands, we got into it before I could find anything. You think you can still come up with a plan without it?"
"You bet I can," his friend reassured confidently as he began running numbers and scenario options. "We're gonna need to attack and keep his arms moving. Once we pin him down, it'll leave him open for- "
"Enough!" The ghostly brawler declared as he picked up last sword and pointed it at them. "I am no longer amused. You little creatures have wasted more than enough of my time, and while it was fun before, I have reached my limit. Prepare yourselves to oblivion, courtesy of Baron, the Beetle Boxer."
That threat did not sit well with Danielle, who instantly bared her fangs and gave a low growl. Her reflexes kicked in before anyone could stop her, no one even noticing the ring on her gauntlets spinning to a stop.
"Spirit of the Snake!" Danielle shouted before making a powerful lunge forward, dashing past everyone in an instant.
Danny barely had time to react, but still attempted to reach to her, panic lacing his veins. The world seemed to move in slow motion as a sudden assaulted him, obscuring everything as the stadium stage around him changed. The ground below his swayed to the sides as the stage changed color from the black stage floor to a charred landscape. The grass beneath him was burned away, though some small patches of green were spread across and around him.
As Danny's vision steadied, he felt a sharp pain strike in his skull, forcing him to drop to his knees and cry out in pain.
"Danny!" Sam cried out in concern. Her weapon vanished as she dropped down to one knee next to him, trying to see what was wrong. "What's happening?"
"I…don't know…" Danny ground out, as he slowly tried to open his eyes. The world continued to fade in and out as he tried to raise his head. One moment, he was seeing the stage, watching as his sister was blocked and swung at with sharp blades, and in the next-
"Fauna?" Danny asked, noticing that his voice wasn't just his own. The very distinct and still fresh sound of Reaper's voice has escaped his lips. It wasn't a question, as Danny knew with out a doubt that he had heard it.
The world around him grew clearer as the form of his sister had been replaced by the form of her spirit, Fauna. The white-haired young spirit roared in anger as she bared dodged another attack, blood running down the side of he head, however, it did not seem to be slowing her down, nor was the green mounds of fire around her target.
Danny looked down and could see the remains of her cloak, shredded and burning away into ash. Danny watched as the remains floated up, brushing past the shadowy figure that Fauna was currently trying to fight. His eyes widened in horror as the figure grinned maliciously, his sinister intentions on full display as he looked down upon Fauna with his gleaming red eye. A large hand swung out, finally connecting with her and sending her flying back as she bounced and skidded across the ground.
"NO!" Danny and Reaper shouted in unison; the earlier pain forgotten as his vision changed back to the stage where Danielle now lay in place of Fauna.
"Ellie!" the other called out as Danny got his bearings and got to his feet. Sam stood with him, hovering nearby incase he collapsed again, but also kept her attention on Danielle. Thankfully, the young girl sat up, but winced in pain as she held her right arm, not even noticing her Beast Bracelets has dematerialized. Green blood was coming from her right bicep, causing her to grab it and try to hamper the pain as she looked toward Baron who had a wicked smile on his face.
"Well, always nice to have a volunteer," Baron said as he pointed a blade directly toward her. Danielle grit her teeth in an attempt to still bare her teeth, a basic animal trait, but the look was meaningless to the bugman as he crotched in preparation to strike. "Off to Oblivion with you, girl."
The lunge he took shook the ground beneath them, his blades drown back, prepared to strike upon her.
"Ellie!" Danny and Reaper cried out as his body seemed to be on autopilot, dashing forward. Danny's body grew darker in an instant, his form changing and beginning to sperate into a cloud like mist. "Death's Shadow!" the mist thickened, changing into a cloud of smoke that instantly dissipated.
The others stared on ins shock, watching as the smoke cloud started to reform, this time in front of Danielle. As the smoke finished coming together, it solidified, turning back into Danny in a battle-ready pose.
"Stay away from her!" the two voices echoed as Danny, on instinct, brought his hands up in a gripping motion. A light began to form before exploding into an object that Danny immediately clutched in his grasp. Swinging upward, Danny gave it a twirl before grasping it in both hands again.
The staff seemed to give off a powerful glow, almost giving off the impression that it wasn't real, while the blade was ivory white, almost like bone, with the light shining off the sharpened edge.
As Baron reached Danny, his arms drew down upon him, the sharp blades arcing through the sky. Danny moved swiftly, bringing his weapon up and blocking all four blades simultaneously with an amount of ease no one thought possible. The insect fighter was stunned as he grunted, trying to push them down upon him, but much to his shock, Danny wasn't even budging.
"Impossible…how can such a small ghost be this powerful?" Baron questioned. "Who are you!?"
Danny said nothing, looking up to stare Baron in the eyes, while the others were watching on in awe.
"Holy crap!" Tucker cheered as his visor went crazy with the scans it performed on Danny's weapon. "I can't believe that Danny just created his own weapon! He made the Reaper's Scythe!"
"That this is so cool!" Jake exclaimed in excitement.
"Guys! Less fangirling, more ghost fight!" Sam declared in an attempt to snap them all back into action. "We have no idea how long Danny can hold this guy off, so let's get it together."
"Right, sorry. Let's get to work," Tucker said, going into planning mode. His visor lit up for a moment before his Phantom Phones summoned up on his ears. The others all felt a small tingle as their Phantom Phones materialized on their ears as well, and Tucker quickly turned his attention to the still downed girl. "Ellie, are you still good to fight?"
"Yeah, I think I so," she said, getting to her feet. She took a glance at her injured arm, stating, "it looks like the cut's not too deep."
"Can you still summon your weapons?"
Danielle nodded, taking a deep breath, and clutching her fists, concentrating before yelling out, "Beast Bracelets!" with an echo to her voice. A flash of white light encompassed her wrists, and Danielle smiled as she pounded her knuckles together.
"Alright, everyone, listen up," Tucker said. "We're gonna do this Danny's signal. The is simple. Divide and Conquer. Soon as his hands are free, Sam and Jake, I need you guys to restrain his arms. One of left, the other go right."
"I'll go left," Sam same confirmed, gripping the hilt of her weapon and charging it with purple energy that ignited the flower on the bottom.
"Then that means I get the right," Jake said with a grin on his face.
"Make sure you get his arms out of the way so he can't use his weapons." Turning to Danielle, Tucker said, "Ellie, take out his legs and bring him down to our size. Once we have him where we want, Danny, you come back in for the final blow, and I'll snag him into the thermos. Everyone clear?"
"Clear," Danielle, Sam and Jake replied.
"Alright, everyone, get into position. We're ready on your call, dude."
Danny tightened his grip before using his newly acquired strength and pushing upward and breaking Baron's guard.
"NOW!" Danny commanded, the two voices echoing. Pushing off the ground, he proceeded to flip backwards, arching through the air. That the sound of his voice, the others dashed forward toward their enemy.
"Rosewhip!" Sam cried out as she shot forward, pulling back and cracking the whip. The thorny vine shot forward, and almost seemed to come to life as it forcefully wrapped around both of Baron's right arms. The thorns were painful, causing Baron to cry out, though he had no time to react as they dug deeper when Sam got into her position, causing him to drop his swords as she yanked his arms toward her.
"Power Putty: Chain Links!" Jake called from the opposite side. Baron suddenly felt his other arms as they too were bound and forced away from him, this time by glowing green chains as Jake pulled him toward him as well, causing Baron to drop the last of his weapons.
The bug-man ghost grunted, annoyed that he had been caught, and tried to fight back, but suddenly went limp as a sharp pain erupted from the back of his legs. Too distracted by what was going on with his arms, Baron didn't notice when Danny had backflipped that Danielle had dashed forward, flying under her brother, and passing right between his legs. Danielle came to a stop behind him, powering up her gauntlets before throwing a hard punch at the back of each knee and bringing him down.
Danny landed in a crouch and stood to his full height, raising his scythe into the air and drawing it back. A fierce wind began to stir as cool air swirled and spun around the blade in a circle. Small crystals made of ice began to form in the circle, exploding in an impressive flash of light as the preparations completed.
"Spirit Squall!" Danny cried out, swinging the scythe through the air. The violent wind shot forward as the ice crystal formed into a glowing arc of light and streaked across the small bit of space between them. The impact of the attack shook the stage as an explosion of arctic air engulfed them all. No one could see Baron through it, but his cries of pain were loud enough for them to know that the hit was successful.
The seconds ticked by, but no one moved. Sam and Jake still held on to their restraints, though they seem to have gone slack. The five waited for the smoke to clear before Danny stepped forward, allowing his weapon to vanish.
Baron breathed hard as his body, cold and covered in various patches on ice, shivered from both the cold and the pain. As Danny came to a stop before him, Baron gave a strained but hardy laugh.
"I must say, it's been a long time since anyone has beaten me," Baron said, bringing his head up to look at Danny while the others made their way forward as well to flank him. "You little creatures are mightier than I could have ever imagined. It's an honor to be sent to Oblivion by such worthy foes."
"We're not sending you Oblivion," Danny said, the echo of his spirit having faded away. "We're sending you back to the Ghost Zone. Where you belong."
Baron looked on, shocked. This had not been the way of ghosts, not since he had passed on to the realm of the dead. If you were challenged by another ghost, it was eat or be eaten. Baron stared at them, confused by this strange group of ghosts.
"You're…not like other ghosts. Tell me, who are you?" Baron asked.
"My name is Reaper. We are the Ancient Spirits of the warriors that once protected the realms of the living and the dead."
"My word," Baron said, looking on in awe. "I never believed in those old ghost stories. But to see the power of the Ancient Ones with my own eyes…". Baron paused before a large grin came to his face. "The Realms will be alive with challenge once more when word spreads of the return of the Ancient Ones. I look forward to the battles to come. Many a ghost will want to challenge you all."
"Oh yeah? Well tell'em, the Phantom Rangers are here and will stop anyone who comes our way," Tucker declared before opening his thermos and sucking Baron into it. With a twist of the cap, the battle was over.
"You sure you kids are gonna be ok?" Maddie asked once more.
"Yes, Mom. We'll be fine. This isn't the first time we've had to take care of everything here while you guys were on a research trip," Jazz replied as she walked up the stairs toward her room.
The TV downstairs had been reporting about the surge of ghosts that had mysteriously sprang up in town all morning. The talk of the town was the so called "good guy ghosts" that had fought off the others, calling themselves the "Phantom Rangers". As soon as Jazz had seen it on the news, she knew that her parents were likely going to be getting together with their research team about it. Which meant she and her siblings were gonna be on their own for at least a few months.
"You know if you want us to stay, we can."
"Mom, its fine, seriously. I've got my card that's linked to the family account, I've got all the emergency information and documents, and I'll be sure to make sure the sibs get to school and stay out of trouble. You guys go, work with the team and do your thing."
"Alright, alright. I'll let you go then. You kids be careful. We love you."
"We love you too, Mom. Tell everyone that we said high and that we want a batch of Gracie's cookies," the red-head said with a small smile before hanging up.
Jake let out a sigh as he too hung up and handed the phone back to Tucker. The phone stopped glowing blue as he put it back into his pajama pants pocket and turned to the others.
The five rangers stood around, back in the Fenton's basement, now back in their human forms. Their jumpsuits had been replaced by their pajamas once more, no trace of their ghostly appearances anywhere in sight.
After making their way back into the house, they were able to succeed in transforming back, just before Jazz came downstairs to where they had set up the sleepover. Jazz had asked them if their parents had come home yet, and Danny told her that they hadn't seen them and that they had heard something about ghost.
Jazz wasn't surprised by the answer and prepared to comment on the unbelievable claim, when they turned on the TV and saw the news reports. To say she was shocked was an understatement, and she quickly told them to check the basement and let her know if they were down there. To no one's surprise, they weren't, and so Jazz said she was going to give them a call because she had a feeling they weren't coming back anytime soon.
Those words, unbeknownst to Jazz, stung for the two younger siblings, especially Danielle, but they had no time to dwell on it as they had to come up with a way keep Jazz from finding out the truth. Jake had suggested that they just make it so when Jazz called, it went to one of their phones and fake being one of his parents. Everyone thought it was dumb until Tucker mentioned that he could actually route the calls to his phone, and had in fact already done so, assuming it was a better option then letting people get worried that they were missing.
When asked about how they would pull that off when none of them sounded like either parent, Tucker suggested that Jake do it as he had the ability of mimicry. Everyone looked at him, and Jake simply shrugged his shoulders before clutching his fist. His ring shimmered for a moment before his eyes turned electric green, and once he spoke, the voice of Maddie Fenton came from his mouth. Everyone was shocked, especially Danielle, who not only was saddened to hear her mother's voice but could also already feel her nerves frying themselves knowing she was going to have to listen to him mimic everything.
"Are you sure we shouldn't just tell Jazz the truth?" Jake asked as his voice shifted back to his own while his eyes returned to normal.
"I'm sure," Danny said with a nod. "In fact, I think it's best that we don't tell anyone about this unless we have to. The less people that know, the less people that'll be put in danger because of us."
"Well, safe to say that's not really an option anymore," Sam said, arms crossed as she stood between Danny and Tucker. "We sure that we're really ready for this?"
"I'm not sure what I'm sure of anymore. Before yesterday, we thought all of this was made up. Now? We're gonna be fighting ghosts," Danny said, look at his palm, contemplating his next words. Clutching his fist, he looked back up and said, "But there is one thing I am sure of, and it's that something big is coming. Big and bad. And if we're not ready, it won't matter if we were sure or not."
"Then I guess that settles it. We're in this together, as the Phantom Rangers," Tucker said with a smile, holding his hand out. Danny smirked at his friend's enthusiasm and placed his hand on top. The others followed suit, and Danny looked them all in the eyes.
"Tucker's right. Together, we'll do this. We're the Phantom Rangers," Danny said.
"Glad you agree. Now, about that catchphrase-"
"Do we really need a catchphrase?" Sam asked.
"How about "Morphin Time!" or "Ready, Ranger Up!"" Jake suggested.
"Both of those ideas suck," Danielle commented, shaking her head.
"Yeah, I'm still questioning if we need one, but if we're gonna do it, we're gonna need something better then that," Sam agreed.
"What about…Goin' Ghost?" Danny suggested.
"Where'd you come up with that?"
"No idea. I guess I just…followed my instincts."
"Hmm, Goin' Ghost…" Sam said, mulling it over. "You know, its not half bad. Got a pretty nice ring to it."
"Yeah, that's definitely a catchphrase I can get behind," Danielle said with a smile. Tucker and Jake both nodded in agreement, bringing another smirk to the leader's face.
"Then that settles it. Goin' Ghost on 3. 1, 2, 3!"
"GOIN' GHOST!" they all cheered as they threw their hands in the air.
The room was dark, the only light coming from monitors before him, though it didn't seem that the man had any trouble seeing. From various angles, the man could see the 5 Rangers as they fought the ghosts that had escaped the human made portals.
"My, my. What an interesting new development," he said, sharp fangs gleaming as he smiled. "I never expected that they would show themselves now, but I certainly can't say this is unwanted. I'll have to keep my eyes on these young ones. They may be of great use to me."
"Lord Plasmius," a solider said as he walked into the room and knelt before the man who's back was turned to him. "We have successfully delivered the human prisoners and await your orders."
"Excellent. Contact Skulker and tell him that I require him to meet me there," Plasmius said, turning and beginning to walk past the solider. As he reached the doorway, he paused, asking "Before I take my leave, tell me, what do you know of the Ancient Ones?"
"Apologies, my Lord, but I've never been one for old ghost stories. From what I recall hearing throughout the Ghost Zone, they were once the most powerful entities to exist before our king, Pariah Dark, defeated them. Most believe that they were sent off to Oblivion, but some still believe that they'll return to rule once more."
"And what do you believe? Do you believe that these are those same warriors, returning to rule again?"
"As I said, my Lord, I've never been one for old ghost stories," he replied, raising to his feet. As Plasmius began to walk away, the solider followed him silently before asking, "If I may, my Lord; do you believe that this is them?"
"Me? Well, I've never been one for ghostly gossip, but I certainly think that whoever these children claim themselves to be, they will certainly be of great use to us," Plasmius said, his red eyes glowing in sinister delight.