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The Life We Fight For

Chapter 21: Playing With Fire

Danny Phantom flew high above the clouds of Amity Park at full speed, the wind whipping through his wild white hair. He was pushing his top speed, fueled by adrenaline and determination.

His first stop was Sam's. Over the phone, he had explained to her that he needed the goth to use her resourcefulness to help them find more information about the whereabouts of their newest enemy. However, he hadn't yet told her exactly what he planned to do.

Danny had just under an hour before Vlad would come up to his bedroom in the mansion to end Danny's confinement, and after that it was just a matter of hoping and praying that Vlad wouldn't come looking for Danny until he returned from the Ghost Zone.

It had been a while since he'd felt like a rebel, and he'd honestly grown to miss it. Vlad was a no-nonsense cheesehead most of the time, and especially intelligent. Danny could never seem to get away with anything around the older half ghost.

But this time, he had a lot on the line. This plan of theirs had to work, without a hitch. If Danny could manage to pull this off, it meant he could finally go home.

Home. It was something he had taken for granted in the recent years. He'd gotten a newer sense of what his family meant to him and how important a home was when his family and friends were saved by Clockwork not even a year ago. Now, he saw himself getting a better grasp on what 'Good' and 'Evil' truly meant.

Good and evil could not be defined by any one person or their actions alone. Good was not a belief, or a set of morals that the world saw as acceptable, and Evil was not a disease one could have that determined that they would do wrong.

To be a hero, Danny had always thought that he'd had to become the light for everyone in Amity as well as the sword against those that threatened their peace.

Living with Vlad he'd been able to see that not everyone thought that way, and that good and evil was subjective to the person. Vlad believed that he deserved to have his perfect family and that it was within his rights to interfere with the Fenton's lives in order to right the wrong dealt to him.

Danny, likewise, believed that taking down Ivix would restore his family, and thus fix the less than ideal situation surrounding him. He was willing to fight and commit an act of violence in order to restore his peace.

No one person was all good or all evil, there were only those that were more so one than another, in a way that no human or ghost could measure.

As Danny dove through the clouds and towards his destination, he reminded himself of the risk he needed to take and the importance of sticking to this plan of his. If Vlad were to find them out, or worse, something went wrong and Ivix gained the upper hand, it would be disastrous.

Therefore the ghost boy set his expression to one of determination as he turned invisible and intangible and lowered himself to the height of the large houses coming into view around him. Finding the correct one, Danny floated into the dark and Gothic-themed bedroom that belonged to his friend without any difficulty. He dropped onto the large bed cross-legged and patiently waited for Sam to appear.

Talking to the girl on the phone had taken much more time than Danny would have liked, but the explanation was necessary. Sam always had a mind of her own and would never be as easily convinced as Tucker or Jazz. Sam was almost always the first one to call out a bad idea for what it was, much to both the appreciation and annoyance of her two friends.

Danny could hear the girl's footsteps a short distance away with his enhanced ghostly hearing and eagerly watched the door, his head tilted slightly to better catch the sound. Once the rhythmic thumps of combat boots began to slow and get louder, Danny blinked out of sight.

The now invisible boy watched as his friends entered the room and bit his lip to keep himself quiet. Sam looked around with a single raised eyebrow, curiously rubbing the back of her neck.

"Danny...?" She called out, trying to find something her eyes could focus on. Sam caught sight of a weighted sort of shadow on her large bed and pretended not to notice, continuing to look around her bedroom. "He should've been here by now."

Danny waited for Sam to look in his direction before becoming visible once again as suddenly as he could. He grinned at her with a bright smile.

"Boo!"

Sam dramatically placed her hands over her chest and gasped as she'd seen the actresses do in romance movies her parents had forced her to watch. Danny mock pouted when he realized she hadn't even flinched and rose off the bed, arms crossed. Sam laughed and walked over to him.

"You are too predictable, Danny Phantom." She said teasingly. Her brows creased for a moment before she raised her hand to Danny's face and thumbed away a small bead of glowing green blood from Danny's lower lip.

The halfa couldn't keep the tinge of blush from his cheeks. He awkwardly looked away to the far wall and reminded himself that he had a ghost to catch.

"A-Anyway," Said Danny. "Jazz said that the dragon ghosts could hold the answers we need in order to find Ivix. So we need to get to the Ghost Zone as fast as possible."

"About that," Sam said, opening up her closet. She pulled out two pairs of silver boots, both with some serious tech embedded in them. "Tucker came up with this after seeing the blueprints from the Fenton Peeler. Silver's not really my color, but these should get us around the Ghost Zone without you carrying us around."

Danny raised his eyebrows, impressed. He was glad he had such resourceful friends he could count on. It certainly took a bit of stress off of himself. He turned back to the window.

"Sweet," Danny replied. "It seems like this plan might be one of our best yet."

Sam nodded, though Danny didn't see it, and took a step back. She grabbed her purple, spider backpack from her desk and turned to see Danny floating by the window. She knew Danny sometimes preferred to float a few centimeters above the ground whilst in ghost form to appear taller, but she didn't have the heart to tease him about it. Besides, they had bigger things to worry about.

"You know I'll support you no matter what," she said. "But I want to know if you've really thought this out. Not the battles, or finding the ghost's lair, but...what this could do to you and Vlad."

Danny avoided looking Sam in the eyes for a moment, suddenly conscious of the fact that they were similar to his mother's and he could almost never lie when in their presence. Sam's eyes were always bright and inquisitive, but with a layer of kindness and courage that only her friends could see.

"Thanks Sam, but I'm sure that this is what I want." said Danny.

It clearly wasn't enough to satisfy the curiosity surrounding those lavender-colored eyes, but she relented and didn't push the subject any further. This was her friend, and Sam Manson would always support her friends.

She was the strong, passionate one of the group, but in many ways Sam was also a deep-thinker and a good listener. She held out her hand to the boy in front of her unwaveringly.

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Danny smirked at her over-the-top confidence. He guided her to the window before hooking one arm around Sam's waist and phasing them both out of the house and into the open air.

Sam loved the sensation of being so weightless, and within the strong arms of her best friend. Danny often expressed his love of flying and she could definitely understand. It was a feeling of freedom that could not be replicated through other means.

Danny was very quick to pick up Tucker and get them all back to Vlad's house, all the while reviewing the plan with his friends and getting into his 'Heroic Headspace' as Jazz liked to call it. His eyebrows were set tight and his mouth curved into a determined frown.

Once in his room Danny was quick to grab the Simulator from its hiding spot and switch it on, once again shuddering at the strange sensation. Sam and Tucker were hiding in the lab, and Jazz was talking to Godfrey, making sure that the older ghost wouldn't venture into the lab or Danny's room before they could get away.

The pieces were all in place, and now it was time for the game to begin.

With a quick glance to the digital clock in his room Danny changed to his human form and hid the Ectosignature Simulator under his mountain of soft pillows. He snatched a random school book from his desk and plopped onto his bed stomach-down. Vlad was expected to arrive any minute.

Danny opened the book to a random page and tried to appear as if he were reading. Soon enough he found his body too tense and his mind too on-edge to focus. He closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe. It was a trick Sam had taught him one day when he'd just gotten his powers.

Back then, he got frustrated very often due to his highly unstable ghost powers and crazy new double lifestyle. Most days he would suck it up and do his best, but occasionally, he simply couldn't focus. Much like now.

Those were days where Sam would come over, make him sit down cross-legged (even on the ground if he had to) and close his eyes. It was difficult for Danny to not be on high alert at all times, and being stripped of his ability to see took him right out of his comfort zone.

After he closed his eyes Sam would make him breathe. It didn't have to be big, deep breaths, he just had to focus on his breathing. After a bit of that, he could focus on something else, like Sam's tone of voice, or other sounds around them. Birds chirping outside, the wind blowing around them, even a car passing by. It relaxed him every single time.

Danny could suddenly hear familiar footsteps a short distance from his room but kept himself breathing. He needed to look natural. It needed to seem as if nothing could possibly be wrong.

There was a knock at the door. He didn't take his eyes off the book - though he had yet to even read a single word- and relaxed.

"Yeah?" Danny called out, surprised by how casual he sounded. The door opened.

"If you are actually reading, I believe you have been in here long enough." came the voice of Vlad Masters. Danny looked over somewhat sheepishly.

"Hey, can't a guy read in peace anymore?" he said jokingly. He sat up and looked fully at the billionaire. "If I'm free, I'm gonna go hang out with Jazz. Probably for a while- we've been coming up with some new ideas for my ghost powers. You know, that stuff can take some time, maybe all day-"

"As fascinating as that sounds," Vlad interrupted, looking down at his expensive wrist watch, "I have a meeting to attend this afternoon and may not be back in time for dinner. I could try my best to make it-"

"No!" It was Danny who interrupted this time. "Don't worry about us at all! Just go ahead and pretend we're not even here. Work stuff needs concentration, so take all the time you need!"

Vlad raised an eyebrow at him curiously. He adjusted his tie- one of the nicer ones he wore on his work days- and cleared his throat.

"Yes well, I ask that I may come back to my house still standing, and preferably with both of you safely within it. Though I suppose that for you, that might be too much to ask. Until then," Vlad made his way to the door as he spoke but paused as he grasped the doorknob. "you might want to turn over that book, it will be easier to read that way."

As the door closed behind Vlad Danny's eyes shot to the book below him and he smacked a palm over his forehead. The book was indeed upside-down. Flipping it to face him correctly, he could now clearly see it was a poetry book and that Vlad probably knew from the start something was up.

Danny shook his head roughly. No, he couldn't afford to think like that now. Tucker was supposed to get into Vlad's systems and have everything ready to go by now, he needed to set this plan into motion.

It was time to go into the Ghost Zone.

With one final check to make sure the device hidden under his pillows was indeed working, Danny changed into his ghost form. He poked an intangible head out into the hall and waited, listening for Vlad's footsteps to fade out of earshot. Once the man was far enough away Danny shot through the floorboards and down to the lower levels of the house, through multiple empty rooms and halls till he finally reached the lab.

Sam and Tucker were both watching the screen of the dark-skinned boy's PDA when Danny entered the room. Only Sam looked up.

"Tucker's just about done here...I think." Sam told him, raising an eyebrow at the technological coding before her.

Danny could tell Tucker had been working hard by the other boy's concentration on his screen and the way he glanced at the monitors every so often, making sure he didn't set off any alarms.

"Great. Vlad's leaving the house, so we've got to take this chance while we've got it." Danny replied. Tucker let out a long breath.

"This was way harder than hacking into Skulker's upgraded armor," Tucker said, sounding impressed. "But I think I've got it. There's a copycat system in place now, so we should have no problems getting in and out through V-man's portal."

Tucker had pulled an all-nighter to get his program absolutely perfect. He considered it a great challenge to take on Vlad's tech and was willing to put his whole heart into it. For his friends, he would do just about anything.

"Bad news is," Tucker continued. "this thing won't last forever. Vlad's security is already trying to break through and destroy my own. I'd say we have about 12 hours at best before that happens."

Danny's lips tightened into a straight line. He nodded, though neither Tucker nor Sam could see it as they were tugging on their new boots. They joined together in front of the portal and Tucker held out his PDA.

"Ready?" Tucker asked them. Without waiting, Tucker pressed a button and the lock on the portal obediently opened.

Danny squared his shoulders and headed inside first, followed by Sam and last, Tucker.

"Dora will help us if we can explain to her what's going on," Sam said. "we should hurry to the dragon ghosts' domain ASAP."

With that said, the trio moved out, flying as fast as the boots would allow. A speed a tad faster than the Spectre Speeder could go.

Every now and then, the three friends would be forced to hide as a ghostly enemy flew by, or in the case of the Box Ghost, they plowed right through and never looked back.

It all seemed like smooth sailing as Danny, Sam and Tucker sped through the Ghost Dimension with little trouble, and as the kingdom under the dragon's reign came into view, it all seemed too perfect.

In the Ghost Zone, perfect almost didn't exist.

Danny let out a sudden cry of surprise and Sam and Tucker whipped their heads around to see the ghost boy engulfed in a glowing blue net, struggling to stay airborne.

"I thought it was you," came a robotic, animalistic voice. "Come to give me your pelt, child?"

Sam acted quickly, turning to Skulker and firing at him with her Wrist Ray. The ghost moved fast, dodging her attacks with ease whilst gaining speed and flying towards them.

Tucker managed to free Danny in time for the halfa to throw up a shield around them seconds before Skulker reached them.

The hunter ghost flew into the green shield with a satisfying 'Clang!' and growled, disoriented but recovering quickly.

Skulker produced a glowing blade from his arm and sliced down the barrier, forcing a grunt out of Danny as he could no longer hold his shield against the pressure.

Just as the green shield dissipated Tucker and Sam opened fire on Skulker continuously. Unable to dodge them both, Skulker turned intangible and dove through the air, coming to a stop in front of Danny.

"I do not," Danny groaned. "have time for this!"

Danny shot an ectoblast at Skulker, not waiting for the ghost to be struck before rushing forward, as if chasing the ball of green light, and slamming a fist into the metal ghost's chest at the same time that his ectoblast hit Skulker's left arm.

The hunter roared with anger. He swung a hand down and gripped Danny's arm tightly. A red glow emitted from his metal glove, and Danny suddenly felt the sickeningly familiar sensation of being electrocuted.

Sam flinched at Danny's scream and tackled Skulker, throwing him off of her friend. Tucker grabbed his Fenton Thermos and aimed it at the two.

"Sam, watch out!" Tucker tried to warn her. Skulker was up too soon however, and Sam was quickly overpowered and held with her arms behind her back.

Danny shot a blast of cold ice at Skulker's back, barely having caught his breath. He froze what he could reach of his enemy's control panel, and prevented him from hurting Sam any further.

"Let her go Skulker!" Danny demanded. His energy wasn't even close to being drained, yet he felt as if he'd been fighting for hours. The tingling feeling of aftershock from electricity was sending him back to a time he'd much like to forget.

Physically, Danny was fine. Mentally, he was just short of a trainwreck.

"Please," Skulker growled, snapping Danny back to the present. "What are a couple of little brats like you going to do?"

"Kick your metal butt, that's what!" Tucker shouted.

Skulker laughed and his metal body glowed with that same red glow. The ice encasing his back melted off in waves within mere seconds. He looked at Tucker mockingly.

"You and what army?"

Danny saw a shadow being cast over them in a quick movement, and his eyes shot up to the swirling green above their heads.

There, diving towards them, was a huge dragon. Its body was a dark blue and its mouth opened wide to reveal rows of sharp teeth.

Skulker seemed to panic and pushed Sam away from him, angling his right arm to aim at the beast. The arm transformed into a bazooka and Danny acted as quickly as he could, firing and destroying the weapon before the dragon could be hurt.

The dragon grabbed Skulker in its long, black claws and roared, throwing the ghost upwards before smacking him away like a baseball with its thick, spiked tail. Skulker flailed, soaring through the air faster than Danny's eyes could follow.

Tucker put his Thermos away, figuring they could spare the ghost since they were already in the Ghost Zone. Besides, it didn't look like the hunter would be coming back anytime soon.

"Wow..." Sam commented to the dragon. "Uh, thanks for saving us?"

The dragon lowered its massive head and looked at Sam, Tucker and Danny in turn. The teens remained silent in fear that the dragon might find them a threat. Once the dragon's bright yellow eyes settled on Danny however, the dragon seemed to relax.

"Follow."

The dragon huffed and started to fly off in the direction of the large domain of dragons. Surprised to hear it speak, the three teenagers looked at each other briefly before shrugging and flying off, pushing high speeds to keep up with the ghost.

The beast led the trio high above the kingdom Danny almost couldn't recognize from the first time he'd seen it. Dora had become the queen after her brother was defeated by Danny and her rise to power brought a new and peaceful age to the dragons who'd previously been trapped in the Dark Ages.

Once they reached the castle Danny felt like a small bit of weight had been taken from his shoulders. He could finally get help from someone he truly considered an ally.

Everything in the throne room was huge, clearly meant to hold dragons rather than human kids. The dragon guards inside the room were told to contact the queen and the hurried off, giving Danny the sense that the dragon that had saved them was not just a scout or a guard.

"Why did you save us?" Danny decided to ask as they were waiting. The dragon did not look at him, but instead kept its eyes fixed on the far wall, uninterested.

"I protect those Her Majesty deems precious." Said the dragon. Sam's eyes widened a fraction.

"So you do know who we are!" She said. "You must be like a personal guard of Dora's, right?"

"I'd trust him with my life if it came to it!"

All four turned to the woman in question who was walking into the room in human form. Her clothes had gotten the royal touch since they'd last seen her and Dora had made her appearance a bit older to better reflect her real age. She truly seemed like royalty now.

"We are so glad to see you," Tucker breathed. "you have no idea how intimidating this guy is."

Dora laughed and approached the group with a smile on her face.

"Thank you for helping my friends, Virgil," Dora told her guard. "I'll take it from here."

With that, the dragon now known as Virgil departed and finally the teens could relate their plight to their friend.

"Sadly Dora, we're not here for a friendly visit." Said Danny. Dora gave him her full attention. "We really need your help."

"Well, my kingdom and I are always open to you, Danny." Dora responded. She had a quick look around before motioning to the door she had recently come out of. "Let us go somewhere private and talk about it."

The kids agreeingly followed after the royal through the many twists and turns of the castle, amazed at how the halls and rooms also became human sized as Dora led them along.

She guided her visitors to a less busy corridor and into a room much like a study that Danny would see in Vlad's mansion. Everything was expensive looking and perfectly placed, and the only thing that showed use was the desk located in the back middle of the room.

"What is it that has brought you here, Danny and friends?" Dora asked, beckoning for her guests to sit on the chairs in front of the desk.

"We need info on a location we think you might know something about." Said Tucker, pulling out his PDA to take notes.

"It's about a ghost named Deus Ivix." Danny clarified. "He's got someone really important to me under his spell and we need to find him as soon as possible."

Dora was silent for a moment, her expression turning to one of contemplation and focus. She looked at Danny with a gentle sternness in her eyes.

"This is a serious problem," She conceded. "Ivix does indeed have a history with my people, and we monitor his Isle constantly. I knew he had escaped from his prison long before even the warden ghost was made aware. This is how connected he and his domain truly are."

Dora kept eye contact with Danny, her body language that of a concerned friend or parent.

"To go to his part of our realm, to fight on his 'turf'...it would be nothing short of suicide."

Danny jerked to respond heatedly but a slim hand on his arm stopped him. Sam gave him a chilling look and once again met Dora's gaze.

"We have a lot at stake here, Dora," She replied for the group. "And if it were either of us here in that position, we would want the same done for us."

Dora once again took her time to digest the words said to her. She truly wanted to help her friends, but the truth was, she couldn't allow them access to the evil ghost's domain.

She was not joking when calling the idea suicidal. She knew of only one person who had survived a battle on Ivix' Isle, and she wasn't willing for the children before her to entertain such a person. Besides, she had much to do today, and couldn't spare the time to give the teenagers details on such a gruesome event.

"I truly wish I could help you, but I am losing valuable time as it is. If this had been another day, perhaps I could have-"

The door opened, interrupting the Queen's apologies. In came a dainty servant girl holding an envelope. She curtsied quickly to Team Phantom before turning her attention to Dora.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid I come bearing bad news." the girl said. Dora frowned.

"What is it, Fiora?"

The servant handed the woman her letter and stepped back a bit.

"The guest of honor for the celebration this evening will not be able to attend," Fiora explained. She then looked to her queen with uncertainty. "What should we do?"

Tucker, as usual, perked up at the thought of a celebration taking place. More specifically, the thought of food at such at event.

"You guys are having a party?" Asked the techno-geek.

"We were," Dora clarified. "however I am unsure of how to proceed now. This event was to celebrate the liberation of my people since my brother's defeat. I had planned to call on our top guard to be the Guest of Honor, so he could be rewarded for keeping Aragon away in the dungeons, but it seems he's too concerned with Ivix's return and cannot make it..."

"If I may, ma'am," Fiora interjected gently. "are not Sir Phantom and his companions a perfect fit to replace your chosen guest?"

Dora's previously creased eyebrows raised in realization. It was too late into the preparations for the event to cancel it now, not to mention that to do so would be a massive let-down for her subjects.

"I think we can make a deal here." Sam commented. Danny and Tucker both nodded in agreement.

Dora sighed. If it were any other event she would have turned down such a proposition immediately. It seemed fate was on the side of Team Phantom however, so, help them she would.

"Although it is against my better judgement, I will agree to tell you what you wish to know about that ghost, but you must attend the event as my honored guests first." Dora proposed. Danny stood quickly and held out his gloved right hand.

"You got a deal!"

Dora shook the boy's hand then gestured to her servant.

"Fiora will lead you to your room, Danny. There you can wait for the celebration to begin. It is in exactly one hour from now." Dora told him.

She ushered the teens out of the room swiftly and hurried off to put the final details for that evening into place.

Meanwhile, Danny, Sam and Tucker followed the servant Fiora up a grand flight of marble stairs to a room which rivaled the size of Danny's room in the Masters' mansion.

For starters, everything but the stone walls was white and black. The rugs were black, the bedsheets were white. The curtains were black, but the wardrobe was white. On and on it went in this fashion, and as Danny stepped into it he almost seemed like a decoration himself.

"You can rest safely here, and for anything that you might need you may call to the guards posted outside to fetch me. I will return to retrieve you in an hour." With this said Fiora left the trio to their own devices.

"So, how long have you had your own room in the Dragon Kingdom's castle?" Sam questioned, gesturing dramatically to the space around them. It truly was a sight to behold. Danny winced at her tone and plopped down onto the huge white bed.

"Dora insisted on it after I started visiting her more often here," Danny replied after a moment. "And before you ask, I didn't have the heart to critique the decor."

Satisfied, Sam sat beside Danny, fiddling with her Wrist Ray. Tucker took a seat from a white desk near the far wall and sat in front of them.

"We can't afford to spend too much time at this party." Said the human boy. "But I guess at this point we don't really have a choice."

Sam quirked an eyebrow upwards. "You're just excited to get snacks."

Tucker grinned but kept silent. Danny wished he could indulge in the friendly banter between his friends but he couldn't bring himself to feel happy in such a situation. As immature as it might be, Danny was having a hard time seeing the bright side of the circumstances around them.

He wasn't like Tucker, who was easily distracted, and a goofball at most times. But he wasn't quite like Sam either, with her constant drive to promote her beliefs and her neverending confidence. He was just...Danny.

If Vlad could hear him Danny had no doubt the man would have laughed and said that Danny was exceptional, a thought that almost made his mood even worse. Vlad was only a fraction of his worries right now, but somehow he'd been brought to the forefront of his mind.

What if Vlad didn't forgive him after Danny returned? What if Vlad caught them before they could complete their goal tonight? What would Danny do if Vlad ended their alliance?

Danny tossed his head about, forcing the pessimistic thoughts from his mind. Now was not the time to worry. He had to be strong.

"Dude, are you okay?" Tucker said, a bit louder than he normally would. Danny's head jerked up.

"Y-Yeah. Sorry guys, I'm just a little distracted." Danny said, telling the truth but unwilling to go into detail. No doubt his friends would have a hard time understanding his crazy train of thought anyway.

"You know you can tell us if something's wrong, right?" Sam asked.

"I know, don't worry Sam."

"If you say so..."

The conversation switched to their previous battles with ghostly enemies, and how they'd used different tactics to take on different levels of ghosts. But even speaking hypothetically, a plan of attack was hard to apply to an enemy they'd never fought head on before.

"If Dora doesn't agree to help us, we'd be running into this fight blind." Tucker sighed. The last twenty minutes of discussion and planning still had yet to produce a non-fatal result.

"We'll figure it out, Tuck." Danny assured his friend. "And if we can't overpower him, you guys have to promise me you'll run."

"Yeah, right." Sam rolled her eyes. As if she'd be willing to do that!

"You're kinda stuck with us man." Added Tucker.

Deciding to leave it at that, Danny did not reply. Since gaining his powers, he'd been in situations where 'do or die' decisions had to be made constantly. He wasn't afraid to die if it meant those closest to him could live.

Turns out he wasn't alone on that thought.

Silence enveloped the group as the weight of their predicament settled on their shoulders. They were kids. Extraordinary, courageous, and intelligent kids, but still kids nonetheless.

They should have been worrying about homework, finding their own style, and pining over romantic interests. But life had dealt Team Phantom a different set of cards. A cruel one.

After ten slow minutes, a knock on the door startled the teens. So much so that Tucker nearly dropped his PDA.

"My apologies for the disturbance!" Came the voice of Dora's servant girl as the door opened and she stepped quietly inside. "Her Majesty has instructed me to give you all a gift."

Tucker was on his feet in an instant. Indeed, Fiora held an old-fashioned box in her hands. It was about the size of a sandwich box, small but decorated with precious jewels. Fiora turned the box around and opened it, first pulling out a pin.

It was round and bright neon green, almost glittering yellow in the light. On it was a swirl of white making the pin resemble somewhat of a target. Fiora held out the object to Tucker.

"This is a symbol of protection," Began Fiora. "it has the ability to create a shield around the wearer. The queen specifically wanted you to have this."

Tucker inspected the pin for a moment before making the decision to attach it the his beret. He beamed at the new addition to his outfit. A second later, his eyebrows creased in hesitation.

"So...how do I use it?"

Fiora giggled. "Unfortunately, it is Her Majesty's wish for you all to learn how to utilize these on your own."

Tucker's shoulders drooped significantly but he refrained from complaining. Perhaps this meant Dora planned to help them on their mission.

Next Fiora pulled two bracelets from her box. Both were black, but contained a swirl of toxic green wrapping around them similar to Tucker's pin. She handed them to Sam with a bow of her head.

"Her Majesty thought this color scheme matched you best." Said the servant. "They display the symbol of Bravery, and will allow you to turn invisible."

Sam gaped at the gift, her smile wide.

"Sweet!"

Lastly, Fiora retrieved what Danny thought looked like another pin, only much smaller. Fiora closed the box and set it aside, approaching Danny.

"This is the symbol of Hope. It should suit you quite nicely." She said. Fiora suddenly moved very quickly, gently pushing away Danny's unruly hair from his left ear.

"Whoa, what- ow!"

The ghost boy felt a sharp pinch on his ear and flinched, jerking back and away from the woman. He reached up to rub the sensation away, only to find the accessory directly in the center of his earlobe as well as secured in the back. That lady moved fast.

"What was that for?!"

Fiora smiled innocently, holding up her hands in peace. Sam whistled at the new look, admiring the slight change. She noticed the earring was white, nearly blending in with his hair except for the black swirl of ink that matched the others' designs. Sam nodded.

"I approve," Said the goth contentedly. "But what's it do?"

"It is somewhat of a 'power-up'," replied Fiora. "It will greatly enhance the power of your abilities. Use it wisely."

Danny simply pouted in response, raising a glowing blue hand to his abused ear. The cold helped tremendously. Fiora once again looked on innocently.

"You have five minutes to be downstairs, the guests have already begun to arrive and you are to be introduced as our honored guests very soon." Fiora instructed. "Follow me, please!"

Danny and his friends hurried after her obediently, each fiddling with their new costume additions.

"Why do I feel like I'm walking into a trap?" Danny muttered, receiving a scolding jab in the side from Sam. Luckily, Fiora didn't seem to hear.

"This celebration shall be like no other, an event with the most noble of our kingdom!" Fiora gushed, leading the trio to a pair of large, ornate double doors. She moved behind them and with one final pat on Danny's back she said:

"Enjoy yourselves, this will be a night to remember!"

Next Chapter: Right at the start of the Dragon Kingdom's Event, Danny and Sam's friendship is tested.

Thanks for reading!

SPARKLE!

-P