Chapter 6: The Wendigo

After a quick turn back to the cabin, he took a few things, namely appropriately wear, because he figured he'd be out a while.

Once he was far enough, he landed.

Danny took a moment to examine the area. He was far away from civilization, surrounded by trees. This was the perfect place for him to try and practice talking to Nat.

"Okay… so… what do I say to her?" He asks himself as he starts pacing as he ponders how he will act.

After a moment or two, an owl landed not far from where Danny was.

It watched him, with unnaturally red eyes.

"Fresh meat…" A growly voice went.

As that went on, something was watching Danny and the owl from a distance. It was a stag deer. It watched with intent, as if waiting for something.


Elsewhere

Someone was flying through the night sky of Canada, someone who wasn't here to cause trouble but to find someone.

This was Ember.

Using her guitar like a surfboard, she flew around, trying to find something, anything that could lead her to Danny.

"In retrospect, I should've grilled that dweeb in the dumb hat for more info… Sctually, now that I think about it, he'd have warned Dipstick."

She groaned as she flew.

As she did, her ungloved hand lightly touched her lips.

To say she felt something she hadn't truly felt since her human days was a shock to her was an understatement.

Since that kiss, it was as if she was looking at her physically younger foe differently.

Her eyes, his silver hair, his dimples and his form fitting suit. It was making her face turn red.

And he said I have beautiful eyes… She thought.

It was then she noticed something up head on the ground, something that caught her off guard.

"Snow?" She asked, looking far ahead and scratching the side of her head. "At this time of the year?"

She flew faster, looking not at the ground, but at the clouds.

As far as she knew, these clouds looked normal. She didn't sense anything remotely ghostly.

Whatever did this, it was certainly no ghost.

"This ain't Vortex's handiwork… Hmm… kinda weird." That's when she smiled. "If anything remotely weird's going on… he's probably around. He must be near so I'm on the right track. I'm totally gonna find him."

With that, she flew faster


Meanwhile

In another cabin, Nat was looking at her phone, looking over pictures Susan took during the dinner.

There's one where she and Danny were talking that she smiled at. It was also clear from the look on Danielle's face that she didn't seem all that welcoming.

Ellie walked by, noticing the small girl's face too.

"Either she thought you were gonna take her mac n cheese, or she's blocking you on the way to marrying into a family of fakes." Ellie snarked.

"Would you stop that? The Disasteroid happened!" Susan spoke up.

"You'll believe anything… like stories about some man-eating monster living up here." Ellie remarked.

"Hey, the wendigo is a real thing! Just like ghosts!" Susan stated.

As the two friends continued bickering, Nat finally lost her patience and stood up.

"Okay… enough with the lunacy!" She said. Both of them were about to ask, but she beat them to it. "Both of you!"

Ellie and Susan crossed arms and looked away.

"Still, I don't think that girl likes you that much. She looks pretty territorial." Ellie said.

"That's another reason why I invited them. I figure coming from a warmer part of the states that he's not familiar with it, so I figure a little lesson or two would help him and help his family like me." Nat stated.

"Wow, you really seem to like him, even though he's a year younger.." Susan pointed out.

"Well… he can't be worse than my last boyfriend, Rod." Nat said, scowling at the thought.

"Ugh… that guy. He wouldn't shut up about his wanting to be a software salesman, or his passion for solar panels… if only he could pronounce it right." Ellie said, crossing her arms and hating that they remembered the guy.

"So glad you decided to be less accepting of him." Susan said, groaning at recalling him.

"Guy was such a wimp, even the birds overpowered him." Ellie said.

"Right. Anyway… I bet Danny will be different, I'm sure of that. I'm sure he's just a normal guy with no trouble coming his way while he's here…" Nat said, admiring the picture of Danny.


Meanwhile

Danny was outside in the woods, wearing his snow jacket in human form as he paced around.

"Okay… Nat… I've never snowboarded before… So be gentle?" He asks with a smile, only to drop it. "No… I don't like how that sounds, too wrong."

He pondered a moment.

He wonders if he might be going too fast, given he just met Nat. However, he recalled how nice she was and how she didn't seem bothered by anything about him.

It was as if as soon as he left Amity Park, he had a better chance meeting girls. After all, Sally May liked him instantly and now Nat seemed charmed by him.

He smiled to himself.

"I'm a babe magnet…" He said to himself.

With that, he felt a surge of confidence.

With a breath, he tried again, walking towards a tree and pretending it was her.

"Okay… Nat? Can you show me and my sister how to snowboard? We're a little new." He said before fist pumping. "Nailed it!" He leaned on the tree, smiling to himself. "At least her friend Susan seems to like having me around. Ellie, not so much but… I'm sure it'll all work out."

He then noticed the area seemed to lighten up. He looked up at the sky and realized the full moon was peeking through the clouds. That allowed him to see just how white and beautiful the area was.

Wow… it's really amazing. Sam would love this… Tucker, not so much… He thought in amusement.

Once that was done, he realized how late it was as the clouds covered the moon again.

"Been out long… too long… better head back."

That's when he heard it.

"Danny?" He thought he heard his mother calling him.

He looked around.

"Mom?" He called out.

"Danny…" His mother's voice said again.

"Uh… sorry? I kinda needed some fresh air." He went.

"Come here." That voice went again.

Danny could hear it was coming from behind some trees about 20 feet away.

"Uh… why?" He asks.

"Come here." The voice went again, this time slower and more demanding.

Danny was about to take a step forward when something just appeared in his head.

A memory of something Sam told him about.


Flashback

In Danny's room, Sam showed the book she got on Wendigos to Danny and Tucker.

"So, on the slim chance it is one, I should probably brush you up." She said.

Danny took a closer look at the book, only for a sound to distract him.

It was the snoring Tucker, who fell asleep on his bed. Sam glowered at him for a moment, annoyed.

"Books always did bore him…" Danny joked.

"Anyway…" Sam then turned the book around to read it. "According to this, Wendigos are fast and powerful hunters, able to use their nimble bodies to their advantage. They also have the power to lure victims out by pretending to be someone they know."

"Like shapeshifting?" Danny asks.

"No, they don't have that power. It's more copying a person's voice. They'll change it to sound like someone you know, use that voice and make you come closer." She explained.

"How would they know what that person sounds like?" He asks.

"Observation? Or maybe some kind of magic that makes it sound familiar to you? Either way, it's pretty terrifying. But many accounts point out the voice isn't perfect, it might come off as stilted, or robotic, or something that makes you realize it's not them… So, on the off chance it is one… remember that." Sam said.

Danny nodded. That's when Tucker's snoring got their attention again. As both stared in irritation at him for falling asleep, Danny mused at an idea.

"So… wanna wake him up by putting ice down the back of his shirt again?" Danny asks with a mischievous smile.

"Absolutely." Sam said with a grin.

Flashback over


With that memory in his head, Danny clenched his fists.

"You're not her, are you?" He asks whatever made the voice.

"Of course, Sweetie… come here." It went again in her voice, sounding far colder and more stiff than before.

Realizing what this is isn't his mother, Danny morphed.

He flew up in the air and fired a ghost ray at the tree. The blast burnt a hole through it, making whatever was behind it jump out of the way for safety.

Danny just now realized what it was didn't trigger his ghost sense, but he didn't care. All he knew was that this thing emulated his mother's voice.

"Who or what are you?!" He demanded.

He saw something land in the snow on all fours. He couldn't get a good look due to the distance and that it was dark. All he could see is that it was lanky and hissing at him.

That's when the clouds moved and the moonlight came, revealing it.

Danny's eyebrows raised and his mouth hung agape.

What he saw was something with white-gray skin, very emaciated with the ribcage very evident and likely few muscles given how stick-like the limbs were. It had no clothing whatsoever. It also had no nose, just two slits where the nose was, eyes so sunken back they appeared black, and a mouth with no lips that had large yellow teeth that were sharpened to the top.

It made a piercing, inhuman screech at him before it suddenly moved with incredible speeds up another tree.

The creature once again hissed before jumping off and attempting to grab him.

Danny used his powers to turn intangible, making the creature phase through him.

The monster landed on all fours, surprised and angered that its prey avoided it so easily.

Realizing this creature has no counter to his intangibility like the last non-ghostly entities he's encountered, Danny saw he had some advantage here.

Flying downward, Danny fired a barrage of blasts at the creature, each shot narrowly avoided as it hopped like a frog.

After it jumped up, Danny saw an opening. He flew in and punched the creature with enough force to send it flying back, spinning in the air as it landed head first before rolling away.

At first, Danny cringed at the sight of how it landed, only to be surprised as it managed to stand back up, the sound of bones breaking as it did so. Danny only blinked in surprise before his eyes glowed blue.

"Let's see how you pull yourself back together after this!" He said before flying at the creature.

The monster howled at him and tried to leap up and pounce on him, but Danny fired two streams of blue that froze the creature in ice.

As it landed on the ground, Danny was first relieved. That's when he heard cracking. He saw the creature was actually managing to break itself free.

Sliding back, Danny avoided the reach of its claws as it hit the ground.

Danny mentally made connections as the creature hissed at him before another high-pitched screech at him.

"Teeth, claws, sunken eyes, pale skin… looks like Tucker at a salad bar for a whole day… yeah… this must be a Wendigo." He reasoned.

The Wendigo once again came running at Danny on all fours like a lizard, somehow coming in very fast. Danny, however, was fast enough to react. He raised a ghost shield in time.

This managed to save him, as the creature hit the shield head fist, causing it to fall and land on its back. As it did, the back landed on a rock, causing a painful sounding crunch. Danny cringed at the sound before noticing the creature was getting back up, snarling angrily at him.

No time to think, Danny swung his arm and fired a crescent blast of energy downward, but the Wendigo used its speed to run on all fours to avoid the attack. It screeched at him, trying to jump up and attack him, but Danny was too high in the air for it to be a threat. However, as it jumped up, he saw the wild, animalistic look in its eye and knew he couldn't just let this creature be.

He waited for it to get close enough to perform an ax-kick in its head. The creature went falling, hitting the snow face first. The impact made snow fly up, temporarily blinding his view of the monster.

Danny landed on his feet, watching as the creature shook its face free of snow. Smiling, Danny turned invisible and started flying towards the creature, readying a punch.

However, to his shock, the Wendigo looked in his direction and snarled, reaching out with its claw.

This made Danny move to his right, only for his side to get a cut.

"AAUUUGGGHHH!!" He went, clutching his side as he turned visible.

He wasn't too bothered as he could heal, but he noticed the Wendigo licking the green now on its claws. It hissed, apparently not satisfied with the taste as it looked to him for more.

The creature leapt at him, only for him to blast with both hands to send it flying back.

Danny hovered up and turned invisible again, only for the creature to get back up and came running towards him.

"How is it finding me?" He asks before thinking. "Maybe it can see another way?"

He stopped and landed on a dead tree, remaining still.

The creature stopped, looking genuinely surprised that Danny seemed to be gone.

From its view, Danny was not on the tree.

Danny tested his theory, he turned visible and the creature acted as if it saw him again. He turned invisible once more and it looked surprised to see him gone. He repeated the process, turning visible, the creature screeched at him, he once again turned invisible and it looked completely lost.

He took advantage and fired a ghost ray at the face, hurting it enough to anger it.

Danny turned visible once more.

"It can somehow see me when I move… Guess no point in turning invisible for now…" He said.

The creature hissed at him again and came running.

Danny charged a fist and flew in, swinging a punch to the head.

Once done, Danny landed on his feet. He looked back with a smile, only to gasp at what he saw.

The Wendigo's head was bent backward in such an inhumane way that it should've died. However, it reached for the head and managed to readjust it to resume the fight.

"What… what are you?" Danny asks.

The creature hissed at him once more, baring its teeth at him.

With quick speeds, it bridged the gap between it and Danny, then began clawing at him.

Gasping, Danny managed to avoid a swipe at his chest. He then managed to avoid a swipe at his face. However, he failed to react in time to one that cut his leg. Hissing in pain, Danny was distracted as his shoulder also got a nasty cut.

Pulling back, Danny felt the burning pain on three parts of his body as he was beginning to lose his patience.

The Wendigo came running at him again, attempting to claw him again, but Danny had enough. He was able to grab one of the wrists in time to spin it and toss it away. The Wendigo hit the tree, giving Danny a moment to take a breath and decide how best to finish this.

He tried firing beams from his eyes, but the Wendigo jumped out of the way of each consecutive shot and attempted to pounce onto him. Danny made a ghost shield, but the creature's weight made him lose footing, causing him to land on his back.

The Wendigo bared its teeth, breathing heavy and staining the shield as if it were glass. Despite the barrier, it was now Danny took notice of something that made him want to gag. The breath.

"Ugh… how about instead of meat, I show you what toothpaste is?!" Danny asked as he phased into the ground, lowering the shield in the process.

The Wendigo turned its body around, trying to find its prey until he phased out from a few feet away.

Seeing Danny made motions, namely a 'come at me' one, made it screech.

However, this was what Danny Phantom wanted.

He put his hands together to emulate the move from a video game he plays with friends.

The Wendigo ran on all fours in a dog-like manner this time, once again leaping at him with the sole intent to tear him apart and feast on him.

"Your late night snack time's over!"

Once close enough, Danny fired a stream of energy out his hands, big enough to fit his whole body.

The Wendigo was momentarily pushed back before disappearing into the light.

Once Danny was done, he took a look at the environment.

Snow melted, two trees looked burnt up and torn, and the ground appeared to have been partially vaporized. But above all, he notices what looked like the creature's hands and feet on the ground, turning into a dark vapor before disappearing.

As he momentarily felt relief, his ghost sense went off. He looked around and saw it. A blue light rose from the ground in the shape of a small ball. He took a moment to observe it as it stood there, seemingly watching him back before flying into the heavens. Danny didn't know why, but something felt like what he saw was no threat.

Once it was gone, something else rose from the ground, something that felt malignant. It was a dark wisp, one that rose 10 feet before stopping. Suddenly, two red lights appeared, squinting at Danny in rage. He realized these were eyes, and whatever they were attached to looked angry at him.

"Uh… hi. I'm Danny Phantom… and you are?" He went.

Suddenly, the dark vapor flew off. Danny would have followed, but the injuries he received still affected him.

It was now he felt tired, fighting the monster he just encountered.

It was only now he noticed something watching him. The stag deer from earlier. He waved at it.

"Uh, hi… big guy." He went.

The deer walked away, leaving Danny unsure why it didn't run away. However, his injuries took precedence.

Think I'll stay here and let myself heal or something… He thought.

As he lied down to try and get a little rest, he didn't know someone saw him from a distance in the air.

"There he is…"

Meanwhile, the owl that observed flew away, seemingly satisfied with what it saw.

Behind its eyes, another was watching.

"So that's Danny Phantom? Interesting…" This being went with a deep voice and a grin of sharp teeth.


Danny stood in the snow, seeing nothing but flakes falling from the sky.

The area was gray, cold, and unbearable even for his ghost form.

He looked around, seeing nothing but a mountain. He had no idea how he got here, nor was he bothered, something he found a bit odd.

However as he took a step forward, a pair of eyes, not unlike those he saw in the dark vapor, appeared before him.

He stepped back with a gasp as a mouth full of sharp teeth appeared below them and grinned.

"No!" The mouth opened wide and came towards him. "DON'T! NO!"


Danny gasped, sitting up. He looked around, seeing no trace of the creature or anything like it.

He moved his head to where he destroyed it, reminding him what happened.

"How long was I out? Still night, and I don't see a sign of the sun, so it couldn't have been long…" He no longer felt the injuries he sustained, so it had to have been no longer than 10-15 minutes. He started to crawl in the direction of the cabin on his knees.

He would've gone further had his ghost sense not gone off.

Worrying, Danny felt himself too tired to even look up. That's when he heard the sound of boots touching the snow. His eyes darted upward and he saw familiar skull-themed boots. As he worked up the strength to look up, he saw them worn by a very feminine figure.

"Hey there, Baby Pop…" Ember said, having a satisfied smile on her face that didn't look remotely evil, just relieved.

Danny groaned and he shook his head as it hung in irritation.

"First that Wendigo, now this?" He asks.

"Who's Wendy Go?" Ember asks, sounding a bit jealous.

"No, the Wen-" Danny rose his head, then stopped. "Never mind… what are you doing here? Came to threaten me over what happened again?" He asks.

To his surprise, Ember laughed it off.

"Just the opposite… I got thinking…" She took a step forward and, to Danny's surprise, placed her hand on his face. "I'd like you to tell me more about my eyes…"

The diva sent him an affectionate look as Danny felt his face flush. Ember was doing something extremely unexpected of her. She was acting not evil for a change. He mentally cursed himself for liking the touch of her for something other than hitting him. It was also at this moment he realized something rather important he had to ask, less this got more extreme.

"Uh… how old are you?" He asks.

"Well… for the sake of my body, let's say 16." She answered.

"Let's say?" Danny asks.

"We can talk about that later…" She said before hugging him, his head now close to her chest. "I'm actually glad for once I found you…"

Danny, due to where his face was, turned red before he managed to pull himself away.

"This is… sudden. Did… how did you know where I was?" He asks.

"I overheard your friend in the glasses mention Canada. I noticed the unnatural snow in the area. I noticed a large blast of ectoplasmic energy, and then I saw you, then I connected the two." Ember explained.

"Oh… Tucker always did have a big mouth…" Danny muttered.

"Yeah… and speaking of mouths…" Ember said as hers came closer to Danny's.

Reacting fast, Danny pulled away.

"W-Wait… you're… you're not here to fight me?" Danny explained.

"Nope… just the opposite. I think… I think I like you… a lot." Ember admits.

Danny felt his face almost catch fire as she just admitted that. Not helped that she now sat with her legs spread apart, knees near his, and placed his hands on her hips. It was obvious she was seducing him, especially as her arms wrapped around him.

Is this really happening? He thought.

Danny gulped.

"Uh, Ember...if this is a joke, it isn't funny… not that I want you to stop." He said.

"I'm not joking, Baby pop. I'm thinking of doing a duet with you." Ember said.

"R-Really?" He asks.

"Yeah..." Ember stated.

Danny couldn't help but start smiling.

"Wow... that's... unbelievable." He admits.

"Same could be said about you..." Ember said seductively as she held him close and slowly inched her face to his.

Both ghosts closed their eyes and slowly began the kiss.

Danny felt himself melt as for the first time, the two of them were willingly kissing each other.

Ember felt a flurry of emotions: Pleasure, triumph, but also another. She wondered if this is what joy really felt like.

Danny also felt emotions: shock, confusion and even pleasure too.

For a moment, he just let Ember kiss him and kissed her back, but Nat flashed in his mind. This new girl seemed interested in him and he had no history of her trying to kill him or anything, so he reacted.

"No!" He went, pulling away.

Ember, confused and a bit hurt, reached for his hand with her ungloved arm. Danny placed his hand on hers, making her think he's returning the feeling.

"What's wrong, Danny?" She asked, wondering why he's acting like this.

That was the first time she used his real name. While it did feel nice, he had to be firm.

"I'm sorry but... since then..." He pulled her hand off his face and looked her in those same eyes. "I've met someone..."

Ember looked hurt, pulling away and standing up, looking away.

For the first time, Danny felt bad for her.

Granted, they are enemies but he didn't want to hurt her this way. Danny felt guilty as he genuinely felt himself genuinely attracted to her.

"I'm sorry..." He said, reaching for her hand and taking it. "I really am... I was actually starting to like you..." He admits.

Ember turned her head and didn't look flattered. She looked hurt. She pulled her hand away and kicked him in the head with her boot.

"You will be!" She said, teeth gritting and her fiery hair getting more intense.

Danny sighed in irritation, the pain in his head not bothering him that much in comparison.

"Why did I say that right now? After a big fight?" He asks as he gets up.

Ember glared at him but smirked as she got an idea.

"Tell ya what, I'll forgive ya if you come with me to the Ghost Zone." Ember said.

"Sorry, but I kind of got stuff to do right now. Can we wait till Monday?" Danny asks.

"I wasn't asking..." Ember said as she swung her fist at him.

Danny caught it. He tried to punch her, but she grabbed it too.

The two struggled to either break free of the other and dominate each other.

While they acted angry, inside it was different.

Both of them felt a growing attraction, one they did not want to admit to.

Little did they know their fighting attracted something else.


New chapter with some help from Flower princess11.

The Wendigo makes its presence known to Danny, or at least one of them. And now, he's going to be its new prey.

Noticed the Birdemic reference/take that?

I based the scene between Danny and Ember on Liu Kang and Jade from Mortal Kombat Annihilation. Not a good movie... but it has a few moments.

But now that's fought this monster, more to come.

Invader Johnny: She will have to. He's certainly in it, but as time progresses he'll evolve in how he reacts with girls. Ember will certainly see Nat as a rival, but I doubt Danielle would join forces with her.

RonaldM40196867: Yes. Yes but not here. Most likely. No. No.

pokemon fan 1991: She might do that.

Luiz4200: It'll be a while before she gets over it.

julimart: Glad you feel that way on it. Thanks. :)

LockAndKey989: He won't attract everyone, I assure you.

Leonardo: Maybe, maybe not.

tomahawkESP: No Krampus, sorry.