Chapter 54
When Danny came to, his vision was blurry. He blinked a few times, seeing chaos breaking out all around him. Fire was raging, a lightning storm was brewing overhead, and the skeleton guards were being attacked.
"Huh?" He shook his head, shifting his gaze to Vlad who was using the stone to cast fire at the assailants. His eyes widened – it was the yetis from the Far Frozen. They came after all!
"Phantom!" He heard from behind him. He looked and smiled at Frostbite, then a twinge of pain caused him to gasp. "What is this?" He asked, looking at the belt around Danny's waist.
"Specter Deflector," he groaned. "Don't touch me," he warned.
Sam and Tucker ran to Danny, freed from their cuffs. "Danny!" Sam knelt to his side and pulled the belt off. She hugged him. When she pulled away, their faces were right next to each other. They blushed and stood. Danny shakily turned to Frostbite.
"My forces are doing all they can, Phantom. But with each use of the stone –"
The ground shook and suddenly the floor began to open beneath their feet. Danny took hold of his friends and flew them back, before looking below. "Oh my God."
A sea of ectoplasm brewed in the crack under the earth. He looked up at Frostbite frantically. "What do I do?"
"You must get the stone from Vlad to close the tear and destroy it. I fear more tears will happen. You must be quick."
Danny nodded. "My dad built a suit. I'll go get it, but you and your men need to get out of here now. It's too dangerous."
"We will fight on, Phantom. We realized laying down our afterlives was necessary to help you save this world – and ours. Now go!"
Danny changed forms and speedily flew to the suit. His breath caught in his throat as he realized that the crack in the earth extended all the way outside – and the suit was melting in the vat of ectoplasm down below.
"Oh no."
He looked back at the Old Town Hall with fearful eyes.
"No," he told himself. I can't give into fear. I won't.
He breathed in slowly and flew back to the building.
Sam and Tucker's brows were furrowed. "Where's the suit?" Tucker asked.
Danny shrugged. "Disintegrating in ectoplasm at the moment."
Their eyes widened. Sam started. "But that means—"
"It's gonna be fine," Danny assured them.
"But that stone…it could –" Tucker said.
"Kill me. I know," he stammered.
"You can't do this," Sam told him, grabbing his arm.
Danny just frowned. "What do you mean? You know I have to," he said, as he brushed her hand away.
After a moment of silence, Sam sighed. "When I thought you were just Phantom, I thought you were invulnerable. It never once occurred to me that I could lose you. Not to mention, you're you. I'm not ready to lose you or Phantom."
He looked down. "I'm gonna be fine…"
"Don't lie to me," Sam said, taking his chin in her hand so he would look at her. "You promised no more lies."
"The truth is…I don't know," he said, shrugging. "All I know is I'm the only one who can stop him."
Tucker frowned but took Sam's arm. "We have to let him, Sam."
She looked back at him, tears in her eyes. But she ultimately nodded then looked back at Danny. Without warning, she pulled him in for a kiss. The world seemed to freeze at that moment with chaos surrounding them.
"You can do this," she told him after pulling away.
He nodded with a determined look in his green eyes before jolting up and toward Vlad.
He was laughing maniacally atop the platform overseeing the chaos, with Jazz and Maddie staring blankly into oblivion. Vlad raised the stone overhead and then blasted it toward some of the Far Frozen yetis. Three of them dissipated into thin air.
Anger filled inside Danny.
"Stop this!" Danny yelled, a strange shock wave coming from him, sending Vlad off his feet.
He furrowed his brows but then smirked when he floated back into position.
"Try to stop me," he challenged.
Danny yelled as he flew at Vlad. Vlad was surprised by his speed, as he made impact and sent them both to the ground. Danny had him pinned to the ground. As he reached for the stone, Vlad kneed him in the stomach and escaped.
As he dusted himself off, he turned toward Danny who was now throwing an ecto-ball toward him. Vlad easily dodged then blasted him. Danny dodged his attack then flew at him again, this time turning them both intangible as they flew through several walls of the building. He slammed Vlad against the last wall. It was the same location where the man had died. Scorch marks were still visible.
They continued to fight for thirty more minutes, each holding their own. Vlad was surprised by Danny's endurance and skill level. He had learned things so much faster than Vlad had as a halfa – though he would never admit it. Still, Vlad had tricks up his sleeve.
When they ended up in the main room again, Vlad pushed Danny to the floor with great force. In an instant, he duplicated himself, and the two duplicates grasped Danny's arms on either side, keeping him on the ground. The real Vlad raised the stone toward Danny, but suddenly, something in his eyes faltered. He lowered it and outstretched a hand toward him. Danny eyed him cautiously.
"Join me," Vlad said, as the duplicates dissipated.
"What?" Danny shook his head as he stood up.
"Just think of all the things that we could accomplish together. The two most powerful beings on earth. We would be unstoppable."
"Vlad, listen to yourself. Is any of this what you actually really want? A loveless, lifeless marriage with a woman who really hates you? Ruling over a world that is literally splitting in two? What's going to be left at the end of all this?"
"A world where I get everything I want? Infinite possibilities to all the lands I will rule over?" Vlad said, gesturing around with wide arms. "Yes, my wife may be under my control, but at least she'll do whatever I want. Make no mistake. This is what I want. And you can have it too, Daniel. I see you like that Samantha girl –"
"Don't even say her name," Danny fumed.
"Well, as I see it, she'll either die today or live, depending on what you choose. So you may want to choose carefully. Will you join me?"
"Never."
Vlad shrugged. "I had hoped for better things with you, Daniel. You are my greatest failure." He raised the stone again.
Danny's eyes widened as the flash of light struck him. He hit the ground hard and cried out, grasping his side, ears ringing. When he looked at his hand, he saw red all over. His hearing was muffled, but he heard the faintest scream from Sam. He was in a daze as Vlad waved the stone around; the green aura around it growing exponentially. The ground was shaking, and with it, the crack in the earth was expanding.
Before he knew it, he was plummeting into the abyss. He couldn't make sense of anything. He couldn't even think of the word fly. Abruptly, his plunge ended. He felt a strong arm on his back and blinked his eyes open. It was Frostbite.
Danny looked down below and gasped. He was inches from the ectoplasm. He looked back at Frostbite, head pounding as he flew them both back to the surface.
"Oh Daniel, if only you'd gotten here sooner. Someone tried to be brave for you and play hero," Vlad mocked, gesturing toward Sam who lay unconscious in front of him.
Clarity overtook Danny. "Sam!" He cried, rushing to her side. There was ash on her face. Her arm had a nasty cut, and her shoulder was badly bruised.
"This battle is over, Frostbite. Leave now or suffer the consequences," Vlad demanded.
"Never!" Frostbite yelled, forming an icicle and flinging it at him.
Vlad formed a shield then proceeded to blast the stone at Frostbite.
"Agh!" Frostbite cried out, tumbling off the cliff and into the abyss. A puff of green smoke billowed out.
"Frostbite! No!" Danny yelled, flying immediately to his aid. He was nowhere to be seen. "No…" He murmured, shaking his head in disbelief. "No!" Rage boiled to the surface as he flew up at lightning speed and landed in front of Vlad.
"Come for a rematch?" Vlad laughed, raising the stone one final time.
"You killed Frostbite!"
"He was already dead technically. But now things are a bit more permanent. So Daniel, will you get out of my way like a good little badger, or am I going to have to make your death permanent too?" Vlad's eyes glowed a brighter red.
Danny stood his ground. "I've learned a lot from you, Vlad. About myself, about this whole ghost world…but what I've learned most from you is exactly the type of person I never want to become."
Vlad laughed. "Have you now?"
"Yes."
As Vlad raised the stone again, Danny was about to go for him when in a split second he saw Vlad's gaze shift to Sam, laying on the floor next to him. Vlad shot it toward her, and as if in slow motion, Danny jumped in front of her. When he cried out, something strange happened.
An unearthly bellow sounded from his core. The stone's fire ricocheted from the force, and the entire Town Hall began to shake. Vlad was knocked off his feet, and everything in the building began blowing backwards. When Danny realized this force was coming from him, he directed the force at the enemy ghosts and at Vlad only.
Sam's eyes fluttered open as she looked up at Danny with a bewildered look in her eyes. She was amazed as she saw that the noise was coming from him, and the damage he was doing was unbelievable.
All the windows shattered outwards. The remaining skeleton ghosts dissipated instantly on impact – as did the duplicates, as the Far Frozen soldiers ducked and got out of the way. Vlad himself was knocked backwards, all the way to the back of the room. The stone and scepter had been knocked out of his hands.
The noise slowly died down and then everything was silent, as Danny fell to his knees, and the light around him formed. He was human again. Sam caught him before he fell further.
"Danny!"
"Sam," he said, smiling. Then his eyes widened. "The stone!"
Sam looked up and saw Vlad was crawling towards the stone which was by the thrones. "Jazz!" She shouted.
Jazz shook her head, finally coming out of the daze. "Wha—what?"
"You have to destroy the stone!"
Jazz's eyes widened as she saw Vlad crawling toward it. He was inches from regaining it, before she stomped on his hand.
"AGH!" He cried, holding his hand in pain.
She picked up the stone and scepter. "How do I destroy them?"
"The ectoplasm!" Tucker yelled, running with Mr. Fenton trailing behind. "Mr. Fenton said the vat of ectoplasm should destroy them."
She nodded and ran to the crack. She tossed both things in and watched as they began to melt. Everyone gasped as the earth rumbled beneath their feet. The chasm began to steadily close.
Jack grabbed his Fenton Thermos and walked up to Vlad. "Well, Vladdy, I'd say see you later, but I'm betting that we won't be seeing you for a very long time." He clicked the button and sucked Vlad inside.
"Oh…fiddlesticks," Vlad said from inside.
"Well, Danny boy – how does it feel to have saved the world?" Jack asked as him and Jazz and Tucker approached Sam and Danny.
Maddie shook her head and looked around. "Jack? Jazz?" She said, standing up and walking to everyone. "What happened? Danny, are you okay, sweetie?"
"Yeah, I think I'm – agh!" He gasped. His wound was beginning to glow green.
"We have to get him to the Far Frozen!" Jazz shouted.
All sound faded out as Danny began to lose consciousness.