AN: I want to try something a little bit different here. We have a two-parter on our hands. Of course, that means this chapter is shorter than the others, so I hope you can forgive me. Here's a Danny Phantom Title Card! I got the Idea from reddit.
Familial Assault: Part 1
Title Card: A smiling Walker stands over a stage holding a Puppet Cross brace with a snarling Lynn attached to the strings, facing down Naruto and Danny.
Tagline: The ones closest to you are the most dangerous!
Title theme 4
In Nate's long career as a Shinobi, he had learned a couple of things.
Mainly to expect the weird and bizarre.
Hand fused together with his asshat of a teammate? No problem.
Track down and apprehend a Ninja Ostrich? Bring it on!
He's the secret reincarnation of a half-alien god's son? Cool.
Ghostly possession? He's had worse.
Female talking robots equipped with a walking arsenal of mass destruction and boobs? Neat.
To be honest, you'd have to turn the sky purple to get his attention at this point.
Good thing it was currently green!
The Ghost Zone definitely qualified as a weird place even by his standards. Up was down, left was right, and humans were the ghosts. It was like an MC Esher painting of islands floating in a green void.
He bounced from one island that was completely on fire to one that was frozen over. After he left that one, the next was in the shape of a spiral.
"Make a wish!"
"No thanks, Desiree." Kitsune gave the wish-granting ghost a thumbs down as he jumped off her floating lamp.
"No man is immune to the temptation of a wish!"
Kitsune ignored her as he leaped further and further away.
"Lunch deary? Today's special is mystery meat!"
"I already ate," Kitsune said as he shut the floating double doors the Lunch Lady appeared from.
Even weirder was that every island and door that he passed that was inhabited functioned as its own separate pocket dimension.
Kitsune leaped from mysterious floating island to mysterious floating island, relishing in the low gravity compared to the human world. He took every opportunity he could to do a slow spinning front flip.
Of course, he could jump high enough to do it under normal circumstances—and faster too. But where was the fun in that? It wasn't often he was in a low-gravity area, and damn it he was going to enjoy it!
"You're like a giant kid."
"I never denied it. Learn to have some fun, Kurama. You can't just sleep all day!"
"And do what? Watch you bumble around like an idiot? I'd rather sleep while I'm able before you get back home."
"We're called the Louds for a reason."
Kitsune was about to make another witty remark when his negative emotion sensing kicked in. Obeying his instincts he immediately jumped to the right, using his chakra to stick to a nearby sideways floating island. A pink ecto-blast blew up the island he was standing on before. He flipped again as a pair of ectoray-handcuffs whizzed by under him.
He came to a rest by having his hand tether him to a platform that was upside down.
"Well, well, well, it seems the fox has stumbled out of his neck of the woods."
"Well, well, well if it isn't the flying tampon," Kitsune replied in the same mocking tone as he flipped his body up and crouched on the platform Spider-Man style.
A ghost in a pressed white double-breasted suit with pinstripe pants and a black fedora floated down from above to Nate's level. Behind him, specters dressed in police riot gear snickered and guffawed.
"Crass remarks like that will only earn you a harsher sentence, Kitsune. Tell me what business do you have in the Ghost Zone? If you do so, I may consider a lighter sentence for you."
"None of your damn business, that's what," Kitsune blew a raspberry underneath his mask. "You talk like you actually have a chance at taking me to jail anyway, Walker."
The ghost warden narrowed his glowing green eyes at Kitsune and adjusted his hat. "Guess we have to add resisting arrest and failure to comply to your already long rap sheet."
"Crap, you made up. Do you even have legal jurisdiction to detain someone?" Kitsune said as he stood up and crossed his arms.
Walker frowned and then teleported behind Kitsune who promptly turned around. He then grabbed Kitsune by his jacket and hoisted him down off the platform.
"Listen here punk, I am the law around here. If I say jump you ask how high."
"Okay, yes sir!" Kitsune said with a mock salute before he poofed into smoke.
"A damned clone!" Walker swiveled his head around until he finally caught sight of what he hoped was the real Kitsune standing on another patch of debris a little bit away. The teen made a rude gesture and then jumped away.
Walker turned to look at men who were still trying not to laugh.
"What are you waiting for?! After him!"
Kitsune smirked as he heard Walker's shriek from far behind him. Of course, he could simply fly away using six-paths chakra, but he found out that chakra has similar properties as Ecto-energy. Ghosts would be able to sense him like a beacon. On top of sensing him, they were drawn to him like a human bug light.
He bounced around from rock to rock dodging blasts from every color of the rainbow, much to Walker's chagrin who Kitsune could hear barking orders as they pursued him.
While he jumped, he spun around, flashed through a couple of hand signs, and spat alternating balls of fire and wind from his mouth, one of Walker's men being forced back with every shot.
If the Ghost Zone used currency, Kitsune was certain that his bounty would have a lot of zeroes attached to whatever arbitrary number Walker believed necessary.
Back when he freelanced and worked for Vlad, he made frequent trips across the otherworldly realm. Naturally, he crossed paths with Walker and the prison staff. Walker tried to arrest him for trespassing on grounds of being a mortal in the Ghost Zone, but a Rasengan to the gut dashed the vigilante warden's hope of locking him in a jail cell.
Kitsune had cemented his place on Walker's wanted list when he was complicit in helping Wulf (and Danny) escape from Walker's prison. He hadn't been in the Ghost Zone since that episode, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that Walker had been on the lookout for him since then. Thankfully, he had already completed his business before Walker found him.
He reached under his mask and wiped his face, frowning when his hand came back wet, pink, and slightly flaming. He inconspicuously wiped the compound on his pants before anyone could notice. He may write about it, but romance was certainly not his forte.
Avoiding a freeze blast that left a nearby platform frozen solid, Kitsune shot out a long chakra chain to help him cross a particularly large gap. Pulling on the chain, he slingshot himself to an island filled with a lush jungle and a skull-shaped mountain.
The moment his feet hit the ground, an alarm blared out.
SECURITY ALERT! SECURITY ALERT! UNKNOWN ENTITY PRESENCE DETECTED ON SKULL ISLAND! ACTIVATING INTRUDER DEFENSE SYSTEM!
Kitsune grabbed his head as the overly loud klaxons threatened to make his sensitive ears bleed.
"Smooth. And you call yourself a ninja."
Kitsune wasn't given time to reply as he backflipped out of the way of an errant missile. He summoned a golden chain that latched onto it and then swung it into an incoming Walker.
He chuckled as he watched the prison warden go flying back and had to be caught by his men.
"Add assaulting a peace officer to your already long rap sheet," Walker growled out as he shoved his men off him.
"I'd argue the island defense system did more than I did."
Patience worn out, Walker charged and threw a wide punch. Kitsune easily slipped under and delivered a harsh counter that sent him flying back. He then jumped and did a split kick that connected with the jaws of two officers. He dodged a swing of the baton and slammed a Rasengan into the shield of another, easily breaking through the ecto energy.
All parties then leaped out of the way of the island's defense system as a bunch of lasers came from the ground.
Kitsune pulled out a pair of trench knives and deflected the claw of a grapple gun from Bullet, the only ghost other than Walker who looked different from the other goons.
"Either you go to jail, or you die," Bullet snarled as the claw retracted. "It makes no difference to me."
"You first, then!" Kitsune channeled his chakra and sent a blade of wind at Bullet, who shot it down with a ray gun before it got too close.
This time it was Kitsune's turn to charge as he jumped over pit traps and razor wire. He swung his blade and it clashed against Bullet's claws. The pair traded glancing blows as they continued to slash and parry in close range.
Kitsune's negative emotion sensing then kicked in and Kitsune flipped over Bullet, put his knives away, and grabbed him by the cape, using him as a meat shield from Walker's ecto-blast.
"Ha! Serves ya right!" Kitsune mocked proudly as a toasty, smoking Bullet fell to the ground.
"The only thing that's going to be served around here is your prison term."
"Hey! What are you two punks doing on my island?"
Both Walker and Kitsune looked up to see a furious Skulker flying right towards them.
"You know how long it took me to set up those traps for the Ghost Boy?!" he shouted angrily, the flames that made up his hair flared larger than usual.
They shared a glance, and then together they blasted Skulker with an Ectoray and a Super-Mini Rasen-Shuriken sending him screaming over the horizon, vanishing in a twinkle.
"You haven't heard the last of me!"
"Now, where were we?"
Suddenly, Kitsune's watch started to beep, making Walker flinch. Kitsune pulled up his sleeve and saw that the time said 3:00.
"Crap, I'm late! My sister is going to kill me!" He exclaimed with pure panic in his voice.
"Sister?"
"Sorry Walker, it's been fun, but I have to cut this short~"
Walker became alarmed when he saw Kitsune hold up two fingers in front of his mask. He knew that technique, it was recorded clearly in the documents.
"Wait!" Walker charged forward intending to grab Kitsune but was a moment too late as the teen vanished into thin air.
Walker sighed as he adjusted his fedora. "Teleportation. How annoying. I don't know who's more elusive: Kitsune or Phantom?"
He floated in front of his men, an idea in mind. "We're going to Amity Park. My hunch is telling me we still might have a good chance of catching our offender."
Walker quickly became confused at his men remaining silent instead of barking in confirmation.
"Um, boss?" One of his lackies called out, pointing to something behind him. Walker turned to see a barrage of missiles and lasers headed his way. He'd forgotten Skulker's island defense system was still active.
"Crapbaskets."
Walker closed his eyes and braced for impact.
BOOOOM
He landed right outside of Royal Woods and hurriedly changed his clothes, stuffing them in a gym bag. Once that was done, he started leaping through the rooftops.
He landed right outside of Flip's Food and Fuel, right where he left the van (for a fee of course).
"That'll be a hundred buckaroos, Loud!" Flip said, standing by the vehicle. "I even filled her up for you so that's an extra fifty on top of that. Plus, another twenty for landin' on my roof. Don't think I didn't see that. You Louds and your weird shenanigans."
"Fifty bucks!" Nate yelled, his eyebrows raising to his hairline. "The tank was already just about full!"
"That's the price you pay for convenience, friend."
Nate started to come up with a way to weasel out of paying when his phone buzzed. He didn't even have to open it to know it was either Lori or Lynn getting on him about being late. So, he did the smart thing and decided not to answer it as it continued to vibrate incessantly.
"Convenience my ass!" Nate said while begrudgingly digging in his pocket. He pulled out his frog-themed wallet and one hundred and fifty dollars' worth of funds. He grumbled under his breath as he slapped the notes into Flip's outstretched palm.
"Pleasure doing business with you, Loud!"
He quickly checked to make sure all the luggage was in place he had packed that morning. He didn't want to waste even more time going back to the house because he forgot underwear or deodorant or something silly like that. Spirits forbid he had to buy them in Illinois.
After making sure everything was in the clear, Nate blew the man a raspberry as he hopped into the van and drove off, leaving skid marks.
—X—
Unfortunately, despite breaking numerous traffic laws. He didn't get to the middle school in time to avoid a frowning Lynn impatiently tapping her foot.
Nate slowly rolled down the window nervously smiling at his younger sister. "Well, I made it, right?"
Lynn wordlessly slung the back door open and tossed her gym and book bag inside. She then marched to the passenger seat and climbed in.
"I'm not going to say anything about you being late," she said as she buckled her seatbelt. "Lori is going to do it for me," she started laughing at Nate's horrified expression. "Sucks to be you when we get home."
"I thought we were close!" Nate exclaimed.
"Yeah, not when you fuck up though."
"I got lost on the path of life?" He offered weakly.
"Uh-huh, you always give that excuse, and no one buys what you're selling. Let's get moving to Ohio, we have an MMA tournament to get to!"
Nate had to give it to her, he messed up. How did Kakashi stand being late all the time? It just didn't sit right with him.
"You say that as someone who's consistently late…"
Nate decided to address Lynn instead of bickering with Kurama. "Where's Lincoln, shouldn't have you forced him to come with us?"
"Nah, he and his friends are having some sort of club get-together this weekend. I didn't want to drag him from that."
"You're a good big sister."
"Damn right I am," Lynn said harshly though there was a faint blush on her face that allowed Nate to see through her words.
"Ready to kick some ass!" Nate yelled as he cranked the engine.
"Hell yeah!" Lynn exclaimed jubilantly. Nate laughed as he punched the gas. If Lori was there, she would've scrubbed Lynn's mouth out with soap–then beat him up for allowing it.
"You and Lincoln have been helping me train for this tournament for weeks now! I can just smell that trophy," Nate glanced over and saw the girl was drooling as if she had chocolate in front of her. "Ooohh yeah, it's coming home with Mama. Not even that upstart from Amity Park is going to win this time!"
"Upstart?"
"Yeah, this goth chick has been climbing the ranks like nobody's business. She's been beating people black and blue. Muay Thai, Karate, Wrestling, Brazilian Ju-Jitsu, Judo, Boxing, Kenpo," Lynn listed off the styles on her fingers like they were items on a shopping list. "I've even heard rumors she's skilled with weapons on the side too. I mean what kinda monster is this girl? Where did she even get the money to pay for all this training?!"
"You're not scared, are you?" Nate said with clear teasing in his voice.
Lynn gave him the side eye for asking such a question. "You know the answer to that. Lynn Loud isn't afraid of anyone. Not in this world or the next! Not only that, I never give up. That's how you become number 1!"
Nate almost wanted to cry brotherly tears of pride, but unfortunately, he had to drive the van.
"Besides, after I win this, I'm coming after you next, Nate."
Nate scoffed as he steered the van onto the highway. "You wish, you're still one hundred years too early to beat your big brother, ya know. I think our daily bathroom battles prove that, squirt."
Putting her feet on the dashboard, Lynn waved him off as she made herself comfortable. "Cramped area, so we all get in each other's way. That's fighting tactics one-oh-one," she reasoned. "I'm sure that I could at least hold my ground against you if we got totally serious in a ring. If Lori, Luna, and Lincoln work together with me, I think we have a good chance of taking you down."
"...You've got it all planned out, huh?" he said while nervously stretching his cheek.
"Of course, you're my goal, Nate," Lynn said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You inspired me to start combat sports, to begin with. You do everything so effortlessly, but I think this is the one area I can beat you in."
"There's a difference between enjoying something and just doing it because you want to be better than someone, ya know?" Nate said with a note of warning in his voice.
"I know that, Nate. I enjoy fighting. It comes naturally to me. Like music does for Luna, fashion for Leni, and being annoying does for Lori."
Both siblings laughed unashamedly at the last one.
"Lori would kill you if she heard that."
"She'd kill you for laughing at it."
Lynn calmed down after a couple of moments and wiped a tear from her eye. "I know all sports are kinda my thing, but combat sports just feels the most right to me, ya know? I know at the end of the day it's my own skill I'm relying on. Just me and my opponent."
"You're never alone. Even when you fight by yourself you carry the weight of the people who support you."
Nate expected a 'Yeah, you're right, big brother," or a "Thanks I appreciate it!" What he wasn't expecting was for Lynn to hard slug him in the shoulder, causing him to swerve a bit.
"What the hell, Lynn?!"
"That was the cheesiest, sappiest, power of friendship thing I've heard in the last month–And I hang out with Lincoln on the regular!"
Nate's face burned as he realized she had a point. "Th-The power of friendship works a lot more than you think it would," He weakly tried to defend himself.
"Yeah, yeah, whenever I'm out there, I just think about all the training you and Lincoln put me through."
Nate decided to leave the conversation at that, he didn't think he was going to get anything mushier than that out of the girl. He wasn't Lincoln or Luna.
"So, tell me more about this girl from Amity Park," Nate said trying to steer the conversation. "Maybe I can help come up with a last-minute strategy."
Lynn's eyes lit up with excitement. "Well, to start she–"
"Achoo!"
"Bless you."
"Thanks, Danny," Sam said as she rubbed her nose.
"Why are we going one state over again?" Jazz asked as she shifted the Fenton GAV (Ghost Assault Vehicle) into gear.
"I've always been into martial arts," Sam explained. "Our scuffles with Kitsune gave me a reason to take it further if I ever want to stand with Danny as an equal rather than run and hide all the time."
Tucker nodded his head in agreement from the seat next to Sam. "Yeah, and me and Danny have been going to the shooting range. Turns out a lot more goes into firing a weapon than just pulling the trigger."
Jazz's eyebrows raised in skepticism "They actually let you guys in there?"
"Fat chance," Danny said. "I had to overshadow the guy running the place. You'd think there'd be more people in there, but they're all out hunting for 'Inviso-Bill', so no one really cared about two teenagers using the firing range."
"Helps that most of the town thinks the high schoolers should know some sort of self-defense because our school gets attacked all the time," Tucker added.
"Well, it's good you three are taking things seriously now. Kitsune is head and shoulders above anything else I've seen you guys face. Not to mention the other members of your rouges gallery have been getting more dangerous too."
"You're telling me," Danny said with frustration. "It's bad enough fighting them, but now everyone has to have some kind of angle."
"Exactly!" Jazz took one hand off the wheel and pressed a button on the center console. The radio on the dashboard flipped to reveal a screen where images of the various enemies Danny had faced in the past flashed by. "They all tend to follow certain patterns that let us identify them though. Like Ember always does something big and flashy to grab attention."
"I guess when you put it like that it makes sense," Danny said as he watched the images flash by. "But wait a second… These are my personal ghost files. How did you get access to them? I changed the password after last time."
"Your password is Paulina Fenton2." The other three deadpanned to a stunned Danny.
Tucker reached forward and put his hand on Danny's shoulder. "Seriously dude, you need a new password. You're just asking to be hacked by Technus or somebody."
Danny slapped the hand away. He thought it was a good password. Not his fault, people like to snoop on his personal life. "Better than 'Open Sesame'," he fired back at Tucker.
"Hey, that was our little secret!"
Sam rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Boys…"
"If you're done with your little two-man comedy show bit," Jazz said, drawing their attention. "I'd like to talk a little bit more about Kitsune."
Danny shrugged and leaned back in his seat. "What's there to talk about? He can clone himself, he can spit fireballs and silk, he has ecto-sealing chains, and to top it off he's probably the most disciplined fighter out of everyone I've come across." It pained him to admit it, but he rarely felt as outmatched against someone as he did Kitsune. Only Vlad, Dan Phantom, and Undergrowth came close, but at least they were vulnerable to the Ectothermos. Kitsune shared none of those weaknesses.
Jazz sheepishly looked away. "It's not a recap if that's what you're thinking…It's more of a theory crafting."
"I'm listening." Danny decided to humor her. He and Jazz had gotten off on a bad foot. He thought he should at least hear her out.
"Well, his name is derived from a Japanese Yokai. One that's known for transforming into people."
"Uh-huh."
"I was thinking aside from the fact we can probably add transformation to his list of powers…His powers themselves might be a variation of the ghost we've already seen. Sort of like how a Jiangshi and a vampire are two different creatures." she pressed a button on the screen and a page of the lore of Kitsunes flashed on the screen. "If we get a sample of whatever energy he uses, we can probably trick Mom and Dad into calibrating the Fenton gear to work on him–And anyone like him."
"...That might actually work," Danny said after a couple of moments. "His powers work on ghosts, so there's no reason for the inverse to also be true as well."
Sam leaned forward. "So basically, we were on the wrong frequency to deal with him, huh?"
"Bingo!" The Fenton siblings confirmed.
"How are we supposed to get a sample of his energy to begin with?"
Jazz pursed her lips at Tucker's question "I don't know, you three probably have a better chance of getting close to him than I do."
"I'm not going to lie, I'd feel kinda scummy doing that to him."
"I'm with Sam on this one, guys," Tucker agreed.
Danny scratched his head as he weighed his options. He turned to see that not only Sam and Tucker were looking at him expectantly, but even Jazz was looking at him through the corner of her eye. "I think we should. It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it."
"Um…Let's worry about this after we come back from my tournament?" Sam said in an attempt to diffuse the awkward atmosphere.
"That's right, Sam. I'm sorry I–" Whatever Danny said was cut off by him exhaling a puff of pale blue mist, his ghost sense going off.
"You, okay?" Jazz asked him.
Danny looked around but saw nothing but the northern Illinois scenery going by. "It's nothing, maybe it's getting a little bit colder since we're getting close to the lakes?" He rolled up the window and pulled his jacket closer around himself.
Sam nodded, choosing to believe him. "I hope we don't get some kind of ghost incident in Ohio, I don't want my tournament victory to get dashed over something silly."
"The only thing scary about Ohio is the football teams~" Tucker supplied, laughing at his own joke. "Am I right…? Guys…? You're not laughing."
"You seem quite confident you're going to win," Jazz said, ignoring Tucker.
Sam pulled a sketchbook out of her bag and started drawing. A drawing of Danny fighting alongside Wulf and Kitsune against Walker that she was finishing up. Another recent pastime she picked up after the Desiree incident. "I mean there's one girl I'm concerned about. But I think I have a real chance at bringing home the gold."
"Who is tough enough to scare you?" Danny asked incredulously.
"Certainly not the football teams?" Tucker interjected, trying his joke again. Sam reached over and slapped him upside the head for his troubles, causing his beanie to go tumbling off his head and towards the back of the RV.
"Pfft…No one, you know me," Sam said, relaxing in her seat and starting to draw again as Tucker got up to retrieve his hat. "But I will admit this Lynn Loud chick from Michigan is pretty good."
"That must mean she's great then," Danny corrected.
Sam simply shrugged her shoulders. "I give credit where credit is due."
"What does she fight like?" Jazz asked curiously, glancing back at Sam through the rear view mirror.
The goth girl put her pencil to her lips in thought, thinking back to the sparse videos she'd seen. "To be honest… like an animal. Fast, aggressive, and accurate. She'd much rather dodge altogether than guard."
"How's her ground game?" Danny asked next. Sometimes Sam forgot he was as into combat sports as she was.
"Surprisingly good for her fighting style. She won't hesitate to go for the takedown if she sees the opportunity then she somehow gets even more aggressive."
"A real powerhouse, huh?"
"Unnaturally so," Sam said amused. "Why do you think she's competing against the fifteen and sixteen-year-olds instead of the thirteen and fourteen-year-olds?"
Since they weren't pros or even amateurs the guidelines of who competed where wasn't super strict. It ran on a bite-off-what-you-can-chew mentality. You could go up in the age groups, but you couldn't go down. Still, it impressed Sam nonetheless.
"I'm actually getting kind of excited to see her in action." Danny said with growing hope clear in his voice.
Jazz thrummed her fingers on the wheel. "Let's hope nothing bad happens. We tend to be trouble magnets no matter which state we're in…"
–X–
Walker smirked maliciously as he looked in his rearview mirror. The smiling face of a middle-aged woman greeted him back. A poor unfortunate mother he happened to overshadow. Oh well, it was for the greater good. The sooner he got these punks off the streets, the better.
"They don't suspect a thing."
He glanced over at his lieutenant, Bullet, who had possessed the body of his own's husband. In his lap sat a long-range directional microphone that was plugged into the radio so they could all hear the conversation,
"Why don't we just take them in now?" asked the child in the back seat who was also overshadowed by one of his men.
"Didn't you hear what they were talking about?" Walker said. "They plan to confront Kitsune at some point. If we follow them, they'll lead us right to Kitsune. Then, we'll nab two birds with one stone~"
Sometimes Walker hated being the boss, it meant he had to do the thinking for everyone. That's why the Ghost Zone was so lawless in the first place. It was up to him to uphold the law. Kitsune and Phantom belonged in jail, and he'd see to it.
AN: Welcome back, it's been a minute. Shortest chapter yet I know. This one is a two-parter, so I wanted to focus on build-up without it being muddied by the action. Please forgive me.
Anyway, I've started porting this story to AO3 so while doing that I've decided to clean up the other chapters. I wanted to give them that Taka touch after working on my other stories. I don't like to half-ass stuff. I've finished 1 and 2 so far. So you might be interested in re-reading them, there's some new stuff in them too.
As always, like they say on YouTube please follow/fave/comment/review/kudos. Every little bit makes my day.