Future-tense one-shot. Still follows the CM/EG universe.
Also, this is just random. The idea just came to me, and I went with it… Sorry if it's no good ahead of time. :/ But I wanted to get my feet wet with trying out older Danny… Hehe.
Power-Play
It was hard for Danny to decide how to feel about his current predicament. And to explain it would be quite a long story. All the same, there he was. Strung up by his legs from a long tree branch, with his hands tied back, upper ghost suit gone, and with his ectoplasm rushing to his head from being upside down for close to an hour now.
His green eyes scanned around at his surroundings. The island was cold, murky, and dark; but it was vast. It was certainly not his kind of place, but somehow it suited his captors.
His young fourteen-year-old face did not really betray any true emotion as he stared at the hundreds of gruesome ghost gargoyles around him. Their black and grey skins and bat-like wings pulsed with blue veins, much like their eye color. But Danny had already sensed these creatures did not have a cold core, like him. And their energy was definitely not stable enough to be blue energy. No…the blue color in their energies came from something unnatural.
But they were certainly thriving here if their numbers was anything to go by. They were everywhere in this place. In fact, Danny felt overcrowded just looking around at them all. While others were perched high on stone walls that made up their gothic home, others occupied themselves with mundane tasks, like sharpening axes or snacking on questionable green slabs of meat. Ironically, they were ignoring him, as if it wasn't anything new to have someone dangling upside down in the middle of their main courtyard.
The only ones paying attention to him were those around him, guarding him. Their pupilless eyes were fixed on him, while their large slightly parted jaws leaked blue drool, as if they were starving mutts waiting to be fed.
Hmm, he guessed that's exactly what they were waiting for. Honestly, it was enough to terrify anyone…
Danny let out a loud bored sigh. "Is this what we're doing all day? I'm starting to see double and my legs are going numb. Hey… anyone mind loosening the ropes for me and letting me go?"
"Silence!" one of the gargoyles watching him growled as more drool leaked past the folds of his mouth.
A smirk slowly curled on the teen's lips. "And if I don't? You guys going to beat me up some more? Or steal more of my clothes maybe?"
The creatures around him snarled in threat; but before any of them could reply, another voice spoke.
"My… what bravado…."
Being upside down, Danny had a hard time turning his head to the voice. But he soon found the owner moved in front of his direct line of sight. It was another gargoyle. But this one had silvery-grey wings with a cape in between its downcast wings. He was much larger than most of his kin as he stood on his back legs.
The creature then suddenly grabbed his face and sniffed him. "You are quite the interesting catch, too…. You do not seem old enough to hold such a prime cold core…"
In spite of the creature probably being able to bite off his head if it wanted to at this proximity, Danny narrowed his eyes in challenge. "Don't let my boyish charm fool you… I'm not someone you want to go messing with…"
"You don't say?" the larger gargoyle replied amused before he abruptly punched the young hybrid in the stomach. The creature smirked as the ghost teen gaped before he started coughing as he tried to recover from the blow.
"Do you know what we do with cold cores like yours?" the creature asked, blue eyes flashing with hunger.
"I bet you're gonna tell me," Danny answered with a wheeze.
"How about I just show you… now that you've been marinating long enough…" the gargoyle leader answered evilly.
Danny's eyes quickly narrowed again when one of the creature's claws grew longer and he pressed it against the center of his chest. He suddenly realized why they had taken off his upper suit.
"I'm warning you…You do not want to do that," the half-ghost suddenly said coldly.
The gargoyle briefly paused. The way the young ghost had said that had sounded almost menacing; but in a way that was beyond his age… as if he was older than what he physically appeared to be.
But refusing to be intimidated, the creature pressed his claw in and grinned as the young ghost cringed when the claw cut through his flesh and beads of green ectoplasm began to ooze down his claws and on the ground.
But he didn't notice Danny's aura grow brighter and then begin to pulse…
"Ectoplasm taints the core," the gargoyle said evilly. "It's always best to let it drain out of the body slowly before harvesting a cold core. It's more… delicious that way."
Danny gritted his teeth as the claw dug in deeper creating a larger wound before it was finally pulled out of him. Breathing heavy, he briefly watched as his ectoplasm began to puddle in heavy drips on the ground.
His head instantly felt worse.
"There, you should be ready to feast on fairly soon…," the gargoyle said. "Our leader will be most please to enjoy such a rare delicacy as you…"
But as the creature turned to leave, Danny spoke up again, "I've been to feasts before…You… You always end up eating way too much…" The half-ghost chuckled weakly before he asked, "You ever done that? Bitten off more than you could chew before?"
The gargoyle looked back at him with confusion. He had never had such reckless and chatty prey before. It was strange… This ghost was strange.
"No?" Danny continued when the creature didn't respond. The teen looked at him with a smirk again; and added, "You will today. You're going to wish you chose another meal…"
This time, the gargoyle growled in annoyance. "Who are you?"
Danny chuckled again; though it was clear being drain of ectoplasm was affecting him. "If I tell you… It will spoil the surprise."
"What surprise?" the creature asked impatiently.
"What if I told you I took the liberty of inviting a friend to your feast?" Danny grinned darkly this time at the creature; and added, "I should probably warn you though…He's not as funny… or as nice as me…"
The gargoyle's eyes widened when he suddenly saw the white-haired ghost's hue turn a solid gold color; and his appearance rippled…
This ghost was not any youngling. He was just wearing a disguise! And that energy…
The larger gargoyle suddenly turned to the guards around him, and quickly asked, "Where did you find this meal?!"
One of them immediately answered, "At the Far Frozen. Our typical hunting grounds, commander. He seemed young and alone, so we…"
"He's not alone!" the commander barked back. "And…" He looked back at the grinning 'teen' before adding, "And he isn't young… No mere ghost pup can wield synchronized energy."
The gold hue around Danny's body brightened even more as he said smugly, "You might want to untie me now… I might even go easy on you if you do… Can't say the same for my friend though! He's a bit hot-headed…"
Danny snickered at his own quip.
But the commander ignored him this time as he told his subordinates, "Quick! Release this creature and get him off our land! I will go alert our leader and the rest of the tribe before—"
But the commander's words died in his throat when he felt the temperature abruptly shift. But it wasn't a drop in temperature like it was usual when powerful ghosts got angry and would affect the ambient temperature by several degrees… No…. the temperature was rising.
And it took a very powerful ghost with a specific type of core to raise the temperature, especially in the Ghost Zone.
Danny grinned because he knew exactly what was about to happen. And his core jumped in excitement at recognizing the familiar energy electrifying the air with heated power.
After all this time, it was as welcoming as the air in his lungs.
Eyes narrowed with confidence and something else, Danny said, "Before you all get beaten to a pulp, I should introduce myself, after all… You might have heard of me… My name is Phantom…."
The commander gaped in disbelief as he instantly recognized that name.
"And I'm Plasmius…" another voice sneered.
The leader had no time to react when a bolt of gold energy slammed into him throwing him clear across the courtyard.
In that same instant, Vlad materialized and glared murderously at the creatures around him before he duplicated and began to attack the monsters closest to the young half-ghost with equal ferocity.
While his copies attended to the immediate threat, the real Vlad floated over to Danny who was smirking at him. "You're getting rusty, old man. Another minute, and I might have had to save myself."
Plasmius rolled his eyes at him. "Another minute, and you'd be passed out. Hold still…"
The older hybrid shot a blast at the rope keeping the other half-ghost suspended from the tree; but he also used his levitation power to keep his protégé from slamming into the ground.
Once he had him back on his feet, Vlad reached around, grabbed the ropes around Danny's wrists and burned them off.
"Easy there…, " Vlad said when the younger half-ghost swayed. The man looked at the bleeding wound on the other's chest, and added, "Looks like you had a bit too much fun…"
"Not yet…," Danny answered as his green eyes flashed a gold color before his fourteen-year-old disguise dissolved away and he took his true twenty-six-year-old ghost form. Naturally, his ghost suit reformed itself back on his body, too.
Vlad smirked this time. "I have to hand it to you… Your little plan worked… They didn't even hesitate to take the bait…"
Now that he wasn't tied upside down and being bled out, Danny quickly recovered and replied, "After all this time… You still doubt in my effectiveness at playing 'the bait'. Some guardian you are…"
"I could have let them eat you, you know…" Vlad countered before they were both suddenly distracted by a loud battle cry.
They watched as Frostbite and his kin appeared on the island. They wasted no time at charging at the gargoyles and attacking.
Danny smiled at that. "Man, frostbite knows how to make an entrance."
Plasmius scoffed. "Are you saying my entrance was not impressive? I hope you know it takes skill to time a good entrance with your never-ending witty banter!"
"It also takes skill to not let the bad-guy get away…," Danny answered smugly, gesturing to his left at the fleeing commander and some of his guards.
Plasmius frowned at the creatures before he abruptly teleported in front of the commanding gargoyle, cutting off his escape.
But at the sight of him, the creature bowed his head submissively as he backed away, saying, "Forgive me! I did not know who he was! We thought he was just another ghost! Please have mercy!"
Plasmius narrowed his eyes and asked darkly, "Are you afraid of me, Gambit?"
The commander tensed. This half-ghost knew who he was? How? Wait… They planned all this!
These guardian ghosts had baited him and his tribe like mice with cheese, just to hunt them down…
Gambit kept his head lowered, in hopes of not getting attacked. "You and your protégé's power is well-known to my tribe. But more importantly…Your fire core precedes you. It demands respect."
Danny suddenly appeared next to Vlad and scoffed. "Is he serious? So, these ghosts eat ice cores; but are terrified of hot cores?"
"My tribe and I know better than to challenge a hot-cored ghost, especially one of Plasmius' caliber!" Gambit continued nervously.
Danny crossed his arms; and though there was clear amusement in his eyes, he narrowed them and said, "I'm kind of offended. My cold core has caliber too!"
"If only he knew… It's not my hot core he should fear the most right now…" Plasmius answered wickedly. He glanced at the other half-ghost and added, "How about it, Daniel? Would you like to educate him and his little tribe?"
Danny smirked. "I think they definitely need some education…"
Vlad's fisted hands on his side pulsed with gold energy; but it traveled seamlessly towards Danny.
Instantly, a set of black rings appeared around the younger hybrid's waist and changed his ghost half to its elevated form. While his green eyes turned icy blue, which appeared darker against his now bluer skin, his white hair began to sway like icy flames and a mixture of gold and blue energy pooled around his hands.
"Gambit, is it?" Danny sneered, and the commander cowered even more. "You and your little friends have been invading the Far Frozen and attacking Frostbite's people for far too long. It stops now. You see… Plasmius and I have a certain guardianship… And we do not like it when ghosts like you threaten said guardianship. So, unless you want to stay on our radar—and believe me, you do not want that—I suggest you stay away from the Far Frozen…"
"But… But we need to feed on ice-cores to survive!" the gargoyle replied fearfully.
"I say you all need to find yourselves another diet… Otherwise…." Danny's icy gold energy reached out like a rope, yanking the commander closer to his face as he finished threateningly, "…I am going to show you how 'nice' I really am. Get it?"
The creature readily nodded.
Danny grinned, letting his fangs peak through. "So glad we can come to a civilized understanding…"
But suddenly, Danny blasted him with his icy energy and the creature was frozen in place. Then, looking around at the other gargoyle ghosts, he just as quickly released a wave of energy from his core, freezing them, too.
Plasmius, who had raised a shield to protect himself, lowered it and watched icy slush fall around his feet. "A warning would have been nice…"
White rings appeared around Danny and he returned back to his normal ghost form. "What? I'm helping you stay on your game. Like I said, it took you too long to come rescue me."
"Your friend was slowing me down," Plasmius answered, crossing his arms in annoyance this time. He glanced around the area looking for Frostbite. "You know I could have easily teleported to your location; but you insisted on inviting the abdominal snow-freak."
"Hey, be nice," Danny scolded as he also looked around for Frostbite, too. It was hard to spot anyone with all the chaos around them.
"He needed our help. These ghosts had been snatching the younger ghosts in his kin for a while now. Not to mention, we were both feeling the shift in power these jerks were causing around here. Stopping them benefited everyone."
"Yes, yes, I know," Vlad replied dismissively.
Right then, Frostbite returned. It seemed he had been scouting the inside the gargoyle tribe's dark castle.
"Great one! You did it!" the snow ghost exclaimed. "My kin and I have been trying to locate these creature's domain for decades! You do not cease to amaze me! It takes true bravery to have allowed yourself to be used as bait in order to aid us in tracking these foes at last!"
"I'm sure Daniel is honored to have been dangled like a piece of meat by a dear friend," Vlad commented haughtily with a smile.
The older hybrid ignored the warning he felt the younger one push at him through their supernatural bond.
But Frostbite didn't even seem to catch Vlad's snide remark, because he just laughed and beamed, "Imagine! A few more minutes and they would have slowly sliced him open and eaten him piece by piece! Oh, and he would have felt it all because they always eat the ice core last! It's a delicacy to them! Your bravery knows no bound, Great One!"
This time, Plasmius' eyes widened with slight horror before they quickly narrowed in fury.
But feeling his guardian's defensiveness flaring, Danny laughed nervously and pulled the older hybrid away by an arm.
"Frostbite! Always joking around! Whoa! Look at the time! It's super late! FB, you and your kin can wrap this up, right?"
Frostbite nodded. "Yes… yes! Now that we know where these vermin hide, it should not take us long to track their leader and put this matter to rest at last!"
"Great! Well, you know where to find me if you need me. Come on, Vlad!" Danny urged.
The older hybrid looked annoyed at best but he decided to let it go. They had agreed a long time ago that while they might not always 'like' each other's allies; they would respect them.
"Fine… After you 'Great One'," Vlad mocked sarcastically.
Danny rolled his eyes; but waving at Frostbite, he flew off the dreary island at last.
They were quiet for a moment as the two flew alongside of each other; their flight was as in sync as the soft gold glow around their ghostly bodies.
"I was not being reckless," Danny suddenly said, glancing at the older hybrid.
Plasmius hummed before answering, "I have not said a word."
"No, but I can feel you're annoyed with me."
"I don't like you putting yourself in unnecessary danger. You should know that by now," he answered coolly.
"I took a calculated risk… You said so yourself. My plan worked," Danny retorted.
"Indeed," Vlad just said.
There was another silence before Danny blurted out. "You worry too much."
"I worry just enough," Vlad did not hesitate to reply, appearing unfazed. "But why does it matter? You are not a child, Daniel. If you want to take 'calculated risks' who am I to tell you what you should or should not do?"
"My guardian," Danny answered with a small smirk. "And as my guardian, I had no doubt you would track me in time to avoid me becoming dog chow."
"Flattery will get you nowhere," Vlad answered though it was obvious he was trying to hold back a smile.
And Danny felt it.
"You know it's true," the younger hybrid continued, his smile growing. "I took the risk because I know you have my back."
"Your faith in me still astounds me, little badger," Vlad muttered, glancing at him.
"I like to think that faith is returned… especially after all these years," Danny replied. "Otherwise, we wouldn't make such a great team."
"A great team indeed….," Vlad answered. "Very few dare challenge us now-a-days, hmm? It's easy to get overly confident… or careless."
Danny rolled his eyes this time. If one thing had not changed in all these years, it was the other hybrid's always finding a way to get his point across.
He sometimes wished it would annoy him as much as it used to…
"Okay, fine. I get the message. I'll be more careful…," Danny replied waving a hand dismissively, though he did mean it. He supposed being cocky also stuck with him. And it didn't help when he had a very powerful half-ghost as his guardian.
"Admit it, though. You enjoyed that as much as me," Danny suddenly added with a smirk.
It had been way too easy to fool those gargoyle ghosts; and then the look on their face when they realized who he and Vlad were…
Priceless.
The man smirked back. "Enjoy what? Seeing a fourteen-year-old version of you, tied up and in need of rescuing by yours truly? And then watching my enemies cower with my presence alone? … Never."
Danny laughed this time before he suddenly shape-shifted back into his fourteen-year-old teenage form. "Unkie, Vlad! Thanks for saving me from the core-eating gargoyles! What would little ol' me do without a guardian as powerful as you looking after me?"
Plasmius narrowed his eyes at the young hybrid, though he couldn't mask his amusement completely. "You said it, Daniel. You would be 'dog chow'."
Danny laughed some more as he changed back. "Yeah, okay! My hero! Can we go home now? All this talk of chow suddenly has me starving!"
"Actually, I wanted to show you something first," Vlad replied with a smile before he raised a hand and fired a bright beam of gold energy in front of them. A ripping sound echoed in the area before a swirl of gold energy ripped an opening in front of them.
"Show off," Danny grumbled. He was still a bit jealous Vlad could make portals.
"Says the person who shape-shifts at every chance he gets," the older man replied.
"I do not," Danny denied.
But he was ignored; and the two flew into the portal.
Instantly, they found themselves in another part of the Ghost Zone.
Danny came to a stop as he looked around, and further expanded his ghost sense to try to get his bearings. One thing he knew about the Ghost Zone by now was that the place had energy prints. Different places felt distinct to one another and could be tracked like scents.
He could feel they were pretty far from Vlad's portal; but not so far that he couldn't feel its remanence in the distance. But… he also could sense his parents' portal in the opposite direction. Again, it was far but he could still sense it…
"I'm sure you can feel we're halfway between Amity and my Wisconsin portal," Vlad said before he gestured for the teen to follow him. They flew out a few more miles as he continued, "I figured it would be the best place to do this…"
"Do what?" Danny asked curiously.
"Why make us a lair, of course," Vlad answered with a grin. "Nowadays we are spending a great deal of time in the Ghost Zone. It only makes sense to carve out a territory in here, too. A safe place to relax in from time to time..."
"A territory, huh?" Danny mused. "How long have you been thinking about this?"
"For a while… Actually, I've always wanted one. It just wasn't ever a top priority for me."
"But it is now?" Danny raised an eyebrow.
Vlad shrugged. "Priorities change. Do you want to see it?"
"Obviously," Danny answered with a smirk.
Vlad ignored the cocky younger man; and continued to lead them. They soon came upon a vast island. It was just a lush forest with rivers; but what was most interesting was how there were smaller land masses slowly moving towards it. There was also an abnormal amount of Novas in the vicinity.
"Did you make this?" Danny asked, truly astounded this time. He had never seen this land mass before. Not to mention, it had Vlad's energy all over it.
"Not entirely. The land mass was much smaller; I decided to upgrade it. Novas are remarkable things. They tend to gravitate towards surges of energy. In turn, they pull other Novas and land masses towards them. All I did was feed the area some of my own energy to act as that catalyst… As you can see, it's working beautifully. It's getting grander by the day."
"Huh…," Danny replied. "Well, at least you didn't scare off someone from their home and claimed it for your own."
Vlad smiled evilly this time. "Who said I didn't?"
"Vlad…" Danny began in warning.
But the man just laughed. "Still easily ruffled, little badger. I'm joshing you."
"You better be," Danny grumbled. But really, maybe he was being a bit hypocritical. It's not like he didn't do a bit of scaring nowadays, too. But now he was mature enough to understand sometimes it was needed when you dealt with ghosts. Now he understood when it came to ghosts, it was all about power.
Truly intrigued, Danny flew down to the expanding land mass. It was definitely impressive. It had lots of potential. And he had to agree with Vlad in that lately they had been spending a lot of time in the Ghost Zone. Sure, their allies allowed them to 'crash' at their territories… But this would be more convenient. Not to mention, it was a good power-move.
A territory within the Ghost Zone would allow their presence to be more prominent around here.
"You're not planning on putting up an ugly castle here, right?" Danny asked, still looking around.
Vlad who was floating beside him, coughed. "No…"
Danny rolled his eyes. "Seriously, what's with you and castles?"
"And what would you have me construct? A little cliché cottage house?" Vlad argued.
"A cottage sounds nice actually. Cozy."
Vlad grinned wickedly. "Alright. I'll make you a little wooden box right next to my grand and spacious castle."
"Whatever, Masters," Danny replied before he crossed his arms and pinned Vlad a more serious look. "But speaking for real now, what's this really about?"
"I told you… I think having a lair would benefit us."
Danny shook his head. "I'm not saying it wouldn't but… I know you. You do not just wake up one morning and decide to build a place in the Ghost Zone. You've been thinking about this for a while; and I want to know why. To what end?"
Vlad looked away to stare out at the beautiful forest.
Danny instantly tensed. "I knew it. You're still keeping something from me! Vlad, I'm not a child anymore! Whatever it is, I can handle it. How much longer are you going to keep me in the dark about whatever it is you know?"
"You will know when it's time," Vlad finally answered. "In the meantime, I need you to trust me on this. Do you at least like the location?"
Danny scoffed but did not reply at first. But then he soberly said, "I know this has to do with our bond and guardianship. I can feel it has been burdening you for years." He stared right at the older man and added more softly, "We made this choice together. That means, whatever this leads to, is not just your responsibility to carry, but mine, too. You need to tell me the truth. I deserve to know."
"Stop insisting, Daniel. I will not budge on this. I told you. You will know when it's time," Vlad answered seriously before he released another wave of gold energy across the land mass. In turn, the swirling Novas seemed to absorb some of the energy because they flashed gold, too.
Danny just stayed quiet. He felt angry; but mostly worried. Of course, he trusted his guardian; but he didn't understand the other man's instance to keep quiet. Nowadays, they shared pretty much everything. And as he got older, Vlad tended to see him as more of his equal than when he used to see him as a little kid. But for some reason, this was the one thing the man would not tell him about… whatever it was.
"Do not be upset," Vlad suddenly asked softly. "You just do not need to know yet… I like to think I can still protect you in that sense now that you barely need my protection at all."
Danny shook his head. "You just saved me from getting eaten by gargoyles."
"We both know you could have escaped and handled those creatures just fine without me…"
"Stop. You know I'll always need you, Vlad…"
Vlad smiled. "Well, do you like it?"
Danny sighed helplessly before he closed his eyes and focused on the feeling of the land around him. It definitely had Vlad's ecto-print all over it…
He needed to fix that…
The young hybrid quickly let his own energy swell before he released it in several waves of blue and gold energy, which eventually melded into the energy already present.
Vlad smiled in satisfaction. Good, now this was officially their territory.
"I'm still saying no to the castle," Danny suddenly said once he opened his eyes again.
"We'll see," Vlad answered with a smirk.
Danny rolled his eyes before he said, "I'm still starving. And definitely not in the mood for ghost food."
Vlad chuckled. "Alright…. Let's head back. I'm sure George has made dinner by now."
"Oh, I hope so!" Danny said, stomach grumbling.
Vlad raised a hand in front of him and created a portal home.
But then Danny suddenly spoke up, '"Oh, by the way, my parents called about Dad's birthday next week. He's still insisting about having the party at FentonWorks. He says it's tradition by now."
About to fly into the portal, the other hybrid paused and raised an eyebrow at the younger one. "He does realize we're all going to be crammed in there if he's planning on inviting everyone?"
It was true. In the many years, his and Daniel's family circle had grown. Jasmine for one was married and already had a son. Daniel had Samantha, Tucker and a few more friends he made in college and his current job… And then, of course Vlad had his own family. That was a lot of people to fit inside a four-person home.
"Honestly, it is no problem for me to host the party," Vlad continued. "The Wisconsin castle is barely used nowadays. And there's plenty of rooms, as you know. Even my home in Florida would be more accommodating than Fenton Works. I am not opposed to that either. I would just have to let Stephanie know."
Danny shrugged. "You know my Dad can be as stubborn as you when he wants to be. Besides, it's his birthday. Might as well make him happy."
Vlad sighed helplessly. "Fine. I can always rent a house in Amity… Or stay at Amity's fine hotel."
Danny grinned. "Aww… What? A blowup mattress is too below you, Masters? …You're still such a rich boy."
"And you're still a little brat," Vlad replied mockingly.
"As if you'd have me any other way," Danny answered smartly before he waved and dove into the portal.
Vlad sighed. "Some things never change…," he said to no one before he also disappeared inside the portal.
As the portal closed up several figures emerged from the shadows of the trees.
They were five gargoyle ghosts. But the one leading the others was bigger. And like Gambit, he also carried a cape between his wings. But unlike the rest of his kin, his body was a solid black with blue veins; and his wings were glowing blue with dark undertones.
His blue eyes narrowed at the space the half-ghosts had just disappeared through.
"So…those are the half-ghost guardians that unveiled our home to the FarFrozen clan…?" the creature said in a deep annoyed voice.
"Yes, Chief Grošek. They got Gambit and many of our tribe captured. Our home is lost now!"
"Hmm," the gargoyle leader replied as he walked forward inspecting the land around them. "This is certainly a beautiful place. Much potential to be a great domain for any ghost… It seems those two have marked it as theirs…."
"Yes, their stench is all over it," the smaller of the three gargoyles sneered.
The chief breathed in deeply and the gold energy wisping around the developing land entered his large nostrils. His eyes flashed gold.
"Truly so… But their mark is not just here…. They move around the Ghost Zone like two prowling lions, unafraid and unperturbed by anything…or anyone."
"Chief Grošek," another of his companions spoke up. "It would be unwise to tamper with such force. Not only do their half-ghost status with their regenerative cores make them dangerous to us; but they hold a guardian bond. We cannot hope to match such power."
But the chief smiled, his sharp teeth displaying for anyone to see. He closed his eyes and breathed in again, pulling more of the lingering ghost energy in the area.
"Guardian bonds… supernatural bonds… It makes no difference… They never last. Do you all know why gold energy is seldom seen?"
They just stared back confused.
"Because as powerful as it might seem, it is such a fragile thing…. The unique type of bond it takes to wield it, is so easily corruptible…"
Chief Grošek's claws began to glow with gold energy before he brought them together. "So easy to unravel…" As he extended his claws out the gold energy expanded before it broke apart, revealing a ball of red energy in one of the monster's hands and blue energy in his other.
The creatures' jaws began to slobber as they stared at the cold blue energy in their leader's hand. They clearly had no interest in the hot energy at all. In fact, they seemed repelled by it.
"Once unraveled all you have is simply ice energy and fire energy…. Opposite powers that when used against each other…"
The smaller gargoyles jumped back when their leader suddenly slammed both energies together, which effectively snuffed each other out, leaving behind grey dead particles of matter in Chief Grošek's claws.
"So, let the little lions parade around," Chief Grošek sneered. "It will give us the opportunity to scavenge behind them… grow stronger again."
The gargoyles next to their leader quickly opened their mouths, drawing in the gold energy surrounding the island and the Novas nearby much like their leader had…
"And then…. We'll show them just how fragile their power truly is."
Any guesses on what Vlad and Danny's guardianship is within Existence? I'm sure most can guess it. Lol. And noooo, this isn't a story arch… though it would be fun to write… *glares mistrustingly at Vlad muse*