Skulker's PoV

It took a bit to get the girl talking - the girl was reluctant to trust, but clearly felt she was backed into a corner. Eventually he had the full story, to his dread.

"I thought Undergrowth was still hibernating in the Desolate Sea." Skulker grumbled, regretting so many aspects of his unlife.

Undergrowth. One of the primordial ghosts. Awake and making a play for the living world.

Sam gave him a proud smirk. "The Growth can never be halted, only slowed down."

Oh yeah, and that was the other thing. The way the girl was brainwashed and fixated on both the whelp and Undergrowth. The plant definitely messed something up there, but there was no way in heck that Skulker was gonna untangle that. But he could and would take advantage of it

"So the whelp's been incapacitated by a developing ice core?" Skulker mused, careful not to say anything to set off the unstable girl in front of him. "I'll admit, I'm a bit surprised it's generating enough to affect him to this degree. But then again, this is Phantom, is it not?"

"So I've been told." Sam replied testily, absently petting a flower wrapped around her arm. "Now you shall tell me what you know of fixing it."

"Hmmm, very well…" He acquiesced.

He was surprised that Plasmius hadn't done anything to stop Undergrowth yet. If he wasn't going to do anything, and Phantom couldn't do anything…

Skulker wanted to bash his head against something. (In fact, inside the mecha-suit where his 'physical' form resided he did just that.) Despite Phantom being his prey, he's had to team up with the whelp far too many times over the years.

He didn't care about protecting others, or some other stupid reasoning. He just cared about his own livelihood. If Undergrowth succeeded, Skulker's afterlife would be made infinitely more difficult. Thus, he was forced to act.

But first, he had to get away from the whelpette.

The vines around him tensed slightly, and Skulker grit his teeth at the reminder that he was currently well and truly caught (which was not a proper indication of skill! He had been expecting Phantom, and was confronted with somebody with unknown capabilities instead. False information had led to the downfall of greater men than he.)

"Different cores require different methods to properly care for," Skulker replied slowly, an idea forming in his mind. "I have a metal core, and it's never developed to the point of being able to - Waitwaitwaitwait!" He panicked as the vines began to constrict once more, "I know someone that can help Phantom!"

At the mention of Danny she immediately stopped and gave him a conflicted look.

Skulker breathed a sigh of relief. He had her.

Undergrowth didn't have natural brainwashing abilities (none recorded at least). His control was over plants. Human manipulation was a bit outside his usual power set, and it was clear he messed up something if the girl was gonna go against her morals to actually torture him. (She might have been bluffing. He didn't want to risk it.)

"How do I know you mean it?" The green eyed girl glared at him. "You're Danny's enemy. You've hurt him."

The whelpette wasn't stupid, so he couldn't blatantly lie. A mislead would be necessary.

"I give you my word that I mean what I say." Skulker stated. "I have no desire to hunt the whelp while he's unable to fight back. When I get him, it will be because I've outsmarted him, because I've earned that pelt of his, and not a moment before. Therefore, it's only appropriate that I ensure he returns to fighting form as soon as possible." True

The best misdirections were based on truth.

She stared at him in silence. Long enough for him to start sweating and calculating his odds of survival if he were to eject immediately.

"If I find this is a lie, I will engineer a plant whose sole purpose is to slowly digest you over the rest of your ghostly existence." Samantha stated coldly.

Hmmm, he might have been too truthful…

Sam's POV

"Pass a left here and continue on for a couple minutes."

Sam dutifully drove the Speedster around a floating rock, really not appreciating how much trust she had to extend to Skulker.

If he decided to fight her, he would lose. Skulker's armor was broken and dented, one arm twisted beyond repair while various pieces sparked dangerously, and Sam could see the internal mechanisms from a gash in his side.

No, Skulker wouldn't fight. But she could easily see him lead her into a trap.

"Remind me why you feel the need to drop me off first?" Sam asked the Hunter ghost, hands gripping the steering wheel.

"Because the person who can help Danny is skittish. I need to find them first." Skulker replied roughly. "You and your boyfriend don't exactly have the best of reputations here. They're liable to run if they see you."

"So why not just have me trailing behind?" Sam snapped.

Was Skulker trying to get in her good graces by constantly referring to Danny as her boyfriend?

… The fact that it was somewhat working should probably concern her more.

"It might take a bit to find them." Skulker replied as he attempted to shift an arm in place with a squeal of metal that caused her to grimace. "It will be far better, time wise, if I knew exactly where you are when I find them."

Sam grumbled at that, but she had no real option but to go along with it. Danny didn't have forever. Considering she had no idea how it would take for her to find and interrogate another ghost… Skulker could very well be telling the truth. Which didn't exactly help her temper.

Sam had to take a steadying breath. Skulker had helped Danny in the past. To her knowledge, he had never gone back on his word.

But those times, Danny was conscious and able to defend himself if need be.

For a moment, Sam let herself slump in exhaustion. She just wanted to find somebody to help Danny. Was that too much to ask?

"Right here," Skulker pointed with a squeal of broken metal. "The purple door on the right."

Sam looked to the right. And then looked at Skulker. "There are a lot of doors to the right." She said dryly. "And all of them are purple."

Skulker scoffed. "That door." He retorted, pointing to a door that looked like every other door.

"Or course. How could I miss that?" Sam drawled as she parked next to the door, easily jumping out with several vines wrapped around her arms.

Skulker coughed as he moved in front of her. "Why don't you wait out here for a second while I go talk to her? Let her know the situation?"

Sam rolled her eyes but gestured for Skulker to continue. The battered Hunter quickly made for the door and knocked on it.

It took several moments, but soon the door opened to reveal Ember McLain.

The blue haired ghost took one look at Skulker and burst out into laughter. "Ok, whatever you're here for is absolutely worth it to see you like this." She smirked evilly. "So what happened? Babypop kick your can again?"

Skulker growled before pushing Ember into the realm and closing the door.

And Sam was alone again.

She waited a full two seconds before letting out a groan, her head falling into her hands heavily.

This felt like it was getting out of hand. Like it was going to blow up on her. She was already stressed from dealing with Clockwork, but what else could she do?

She was supposed to come in, interrogate one ghost, get her answers, and return. She should have been back by now, applying whatever cure to Danny, before presenting her victory to her father.

After that, she and Danny would have time to actually talk. M-maybe even kiss?

She wasn't blushing. T-the heat in her cheeks was absolutely not a blush, and there was nobody around that could prove otherwise.

Regardless!

She had now talked to two ghosts, and still no answers. Skulker claimed he knew somebody that could help, and she hated how she was forced to trust him.

And she still had no idea how long this would take.

For her Father, for Danny, and for her own happiness, she genuinely couldn't think of another path.

The vines and flowers she had with her wrapped around her slightly, giving her a small hug that she appreciated.

The door opened once more and Skulker waved for her to come through.

With no small amount of trepidation, Sam exited the Speedster and cautiously walked into Ember's realm.

Ember's domain was…

Not 'normal'. No ghost's domain could ever be called normal.

Yet it wasn't nearly as crazy as Sam had expected it to be.

The living room had an open design, several guitars on the wall as decoration, and with several arches leading further into the domain. In the center was an odd set of steps that descended into a pit filled with couch cushions and a giant TV. The color scheme was all black and blues, and the carpet looked like flickering blue fire.

It was odd, but it was the sort of eclectic design she could imagine in the real world.

The fire motif made her uncomfortable, but overall it seemed a perfect match for the singer that was watching her carefully.

A look that she readily returned.

Skulker coughed, interrupting the staring contest. "I've explained the situation to Ember." He informed her. "She'll host you until I get back."

"Yeah yeah, that's fairly obvious since ya waved her in. And now this host is kicking the trash out of here, so get out." Ember called out dismissively, strumming a few chords idly.

Skulker didn't waste a moment longer, and in moments it was just Rocker and plant girl staring at each other, a mixture of judgment and dislike on both faces.

Eventually Ember let out a scoff, walking down into the pit and throwing herself on one of the cushions. "I don't know why the trashcan thought leavin' you with me was a good idea, but, go ahead and have a seat I guess."

Sam descended into the pit after her, keeping an eye on the ghost girl. "I'm still trying to figure out why he needed to leave me behind at all." She commented suspiciously. "And as to why he decided to leave me with you as opposed to anybody else."

Ember shrugged, "Even after all this time I still don't know what he's got going through that tin brain of his." She strummed the guitar a little before giving an evil grin. "For all he knows, maybe I'll take the chance for a little revenge after all the beatings Baby-Pop's given over the years."

Sam glared back, "will you?" She felt her vines trembling in preparation.

Attacking somebody with fire for hair with plants was probably a bad idea. Attacking said person within their own domain was even more so. If this was Skulker's plan, then she's furious she fell for it.

Ember's grin grew, the room heating up slightly as her hair flared. "What would you do if I did?"

Sam refused to be intimidated. She probably would have refused before being chosen by her Father, but especially now. Vines twisted and formed around her arms, thorns extending maliciously in preparation. "Then you will find this rose has thorns."

The tension in the room was practically a physical force between the two girls until Ember suddenly relaxed, leaning back into the cushions.

"Rose, huh?" Ember snickered in amusement. "Thought you woulda gone for hemlock. Somethin' a bit darker would have fit your style more."

Sam blinked, confuses at the sudden shift… And dang it! Ember was right, that would have been so much better!

Feeling off balance from the sudden lack of tension, Sam wasn't quite sure what to do.

"C'mon, sit down, relax. No telling how long the tin man's gonna be gone for." Ember insisted, idly played a few chords as she leaned back against the cushions.

Sam did so hesitantly, sinking down and marveling at how comfortable it was. Her vines relaxed from their combative stance and relaxed against her providing another layer of comfort. "You're alright with me being here then?"

Ember looked up with a quirked eyebrow. "You gonna start anything?"

"… No." So long as the other didn't start it or go against her Father, she didn't think she had any reason to.

Actually, she really should have asked her Father about his stance on other ghosts before she left. Except… then he would have known her plans… And he might have said she couldn't do it…

Never mind. Being unprepared was better.

"Then sure. I got no reason to fight right now." Ember studied Sam carefully, something in her eyes that Sam couldn't identify. "Except maybe over your choice of clothing. I could dig your previous getup, but this…I guess it's still spooky, but leanin' more into homeless creep. Not really a fan."

Sam felt her face flush as she touched the leaf dress she was currently wearing. It… was admittedly quite different from how she dressed before her Father enlightened her. One she might have scorned in a previous life.

"These were chosen for me by my Father." Sam managed to defend, pushing down the shame and embarrassment that she shouldn't be feeling. "And I would warn you not to insult it."

It was an honor to wear anything her father had chosen.

Within her soul, a portion of Sam's psyche raged at the unnatural thoughts.

Ember raised an eyebrow lazily, and for a moment it looked like she was about to say something else before shrugging. "Eh, far be it for me to criticize if somebody wants to change their style. Got too much of that B.S. when I went through school."

"You went to school?" Sam echoed.

Ember quirked an eyebrow, "what, you think I just popped out of the ether?" She scoffed. "Nope. I did my time, fought back against the system."

There was enough scorn in Ember's voice, Sam was sure there was a story there.

Yet more proof of the magnanimity of her Father. All of that was no longer something people had to worry about.

"I don't imagine it's changed much." Sam admitted cautiously.

Ember let out a dramatic sigh, "Yeah, yeah. Saw plenty of that when I was out on my tour."

When Sam gave a skeptical look, Ember smirked, "You do know I actually got fairly popular before I made it to Amity Park, right? My tour involved multiple states! Your town wasn't that special." She snarked at the plant girl.

Sam frowned, "I am aware." She said, struggling to dredge memories that should not be as difficult to recall as they were. "What I find questionable is how much you paid attention to stuff like schools when you didn't have to."

"Hey! I'll have you know it's important to know your audience, especially after all these years, and my target demographic happens to be in those schools." Ember protested lightly.

"What's there to know?" Bitter feelings rose up through the fog. "It's an establishment wherein both teachers and students shun anybody with a speck of individuality. Where jocks are free to do whatever without consequence because sports is a religion everybody worships, and the cheerleaders are so stereotypically vapid and petty that it hurts the brain trying to think of what they're planning on doing after High School."

Sam stopped abruptly, confused at the frustration and anger. Where had that come from? She knew all of that of course, but none of that mattered anymore. The only thing that mattered was the Growth (and Danny, who would join them to help the Growth).

Ember didn't seem to notice her confusion, instead cackling in amusement. "Preach it sister!"

"I - You had to deal with the same I assume?" Sam asked, shaking her head..

Ember barked out a bitter laugh. "You're talking to a literal spirit of rebellion. What do you think made me want to rebel?"

Fair enough.

"I'm told college is different." Sam admitted hesitantly.

Was she actually having a… A peaceful conversation with one of Danny's enemies?

"Eh, I guess. Maybe." Ember shifted her guitar and idly played around with a few of the knobs. "But to get there, you gotta get through the gate of high school. And that? You said it. It's a cookie cutter press determined to make everybody the same. And if that's what you want then hey, more power to ya. That's fine. Good for them. We just call these people 'boring'.

Sam tried not to laugh. She honestly, truly did. But she couldn't stop a burst of laughter at Ember's words.

"Tell me I'm wrong." Ember challenged with a smirk, her hair dancing merrily as she leaned forward.

"I can't," Sam admitted as she finally managed to get her laughter under control. "I agree, if that's what they want, then sure. But what's frustrating is how those people then feel the need to shame anyone who wants something else."

Ember clicked her tongue. "Exactly! The moment somebody does something outside the mold, BAM! Schools are just mini clone factories."

"I thought they were cookie factories?"

"They can be both. Cookie clone factories."

Both girls laughed together, and Ember gave a nod to Sam. "But hey, that's why they make girls like us every century or so. Willing to buck tradition and throw the whole status quo into chaos."

As Sam watched Ember go back to absently strumming her car, she felt… Conflicted.

She didn't expect to actually get along with anybody in the Ghost Zone. Especially not with Ember McLain, one of Danny's enemies.

This was… Confusing. It.. It wasn't against Undergrowth, right? So… This was fine? And Ember wasn't human… Undergrowth wouldn't have an issue with her?

Right?

"Since we'll be waiting for the trash can, we might as well make the best of it, Nightshade Girl." Ember remarked, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Got any hobbies? Besides annoying ghosts with Babypop?" Ember made a show of looking over her outfit. "And gardening, I guess."

Sam hesitated for a moment. In the end… No, it wasn't wrong. Ember wasn't fighting against Undergrowth, and she was friends(?) with Skulker, who was helping Sam find a cure for Danny. So long as that remained true, it was alright for them to be friends.

Relieved at the conclusion she came to, Sam managed a nod as she answered. "I… I do enjoy writing poetry.

Skulker's POV

Skulker rubbed his temples in frustration, the cavalcade of noise heightening the headache from a long day already.

Not that it was too surprising. In general, ghosts didn't get along with each other. The Ghost Zone was not a friendly place - a lesson all ghosts learned since the moment they formed.

They fought or they died. Only those with enough power could afford to give mercy.

The ghost's he had gathered all actually had a decent amount of power, to be able to stay alive as long as they had. They - and he included himself in this statement - no longer needed to fight for their survival every day. But ingrained instincts were hard to push down, and they all were aware there were much bigger fish in the sea.

It was because of this that whenever you managed to get a group of them together, things tended to… Escalate.

*Bang!*

"You gotta be joking - you wanna save the punk?!"

"Mutiny! You'll walk the plank for this, ya scurvy ghost!"

"BEWARE!"

"Why should I, the Great Technus! Care for who has finally taken the ghost child out?"

"Do you think they'll like a cookie for FINALLY GIVING THAT BOY HIS JUST DESERTS?!"

Well, he had gathered these particular ghosts for their strength. Not for their intelligence.

"Skulker."

The noise instantly died down as Warden Walker, who had been quiet up to this point, spoke up in a texan drawl.

"You tempted me to this little gatherin' of lawbreakers by sayin' you had information I'd be mighty interested in. And I've thus far restrained myself from apprehendin' the lot of you." Walker's voice was casual, but nobody could mistake the intensity of his look as he glanced at all of them, causing most to tense. "But so far, the only thing I've heard is this Undergrowth, who has no rap sheet, unlike the lot of you, has successfully done what you all have tried to do."

Walker was the most powerful ghost here at this time. Unfortunately, Skulker calculated that Walker was also the one with the least reason to be here.

Thankfully, 'the least' was still pretty big.

"Is the destruction of the Ghost Zone enough of a reason?" Skulker ground out, causing Walker to lift his head in slight surprise, slowly tilting his head in silent permission to continue.

Alas, the rest of the room decided to voice their skepticism.

A high and squeaky voice rose above the rest. "Oh, c'mon, you're just mad that somebody didn't respect your dibs on Phantom, aren't you?" Youngblood taunted.

Skulker narrowed his eyes at the child ghost. "That -"

"Liar liar, pants on fire!" Youngblood interrupted gleefully with a smirk.

Skulker growled in frustration. "Do none of you know of Undergrowth? Seriously?" He asked incredulously, getting a round of negatives at that.

"Look, why should we care who offed Phantom?" Johnny 13 sneered, various sounds of agreement coming from others.

Finally! A relevant question! They all had a stake in this. Skulker simply needed to point it out.

"How was your last date with Kitty?" Skulker drawled lazily, confusing both the biker and his girlfriend.

"What's that got anything to do with it?" Johnny asked.

"Went rather well I think," Skulker noted as he thought back. "Walk through the park, dine and dash at that Thai place, daredevil stunts after dark, and a fight with the whelp to top it all off."

"Oi! You spying on me and Kitty?!" Johnny darted up angrily, his shadow solidifying menacingly over his shoulder while Kitty looked like she was about to use her power on him.

Skulker gave a disappointed glare. "Don't flatter yourself. I was observing Phantom. Observing you was completely incidental. Now, how do you think your next date will go without any roads to bike on? Nowhere to get dinner? The only thrill being running away from ghost eating plants?"

He spun towards The Box Ghost and the Lunch Lady before Johnny could respond. "No more boxes, everything square and cardboard will rot and decay. No more kids eating at the cafeteria."

Youngblood. "No more fun and games besides the people here in the ghost zone, and if we were satisfied with that we wouldn't be trying to get into the physical world, would we?"

He raised an eye at Technus. "And I'm sure -"

"Bah! Do not attempt to condescend to the Great Technus! I am uncondescendable! Reaching your conclusion is simple for one such as I." The technology ghost scowled, though it was clear Skulker's words had finally made it through.

"Undergrowth doesn't desire to rule the world. He wishes to conquer it by destroying all of humanity. Worse, he's actually strong enough to do so," Skulker looked at every ghost there. "I'm not proposing we help Phantom. I'm proposing we get Phantom to help us. "

A ghost felt a constant urge to fulfill their obsession. The inability to do so felt like an itch in the back of their mind. But so long as they made plans to fulfill it, they were good. However, if it became impossible for them to do so, it could positively ruin the ghost.

Too many ghosts had obsessions connected with humanity. If humanity was killed off, a large portion of the Ghost Zone would go insane. And that wasn't even taking into account the connection between the physical world and the ghost zone. He had no idea what that connection would do, but that much death would undoubtedly have negative connotations.

It was a bit of a risk, poking at everybody's obsession like that. Pointing out their potential inability to fulfill them. But it worked.

"Ok, fine, all that explains why we should be worried." Johnny grumbled reluctantly. "But you skipped an important point! Why do we have to help Phantom? If this Undergrowth is that big a deal, let's go and beat him up, pure and simple."

"Because we'd lose." Skulker answered back while bringing up his hand and bringing up a holographic image.

"This is Undergrowth. The plant ghost." He introduced. "Current age: unknown, but Fright Knight claims to have known him during Pariah Dark's reign, and even he is unaware of Undergrowth's age."

Skulker had to prevent a grumble at everybody's look of surprise at his knowledge. Did nobody understand when he said he was the Ghost Zones best Hunter? Or did they think he was joking? Of course he looked up all he could on the top predators in the area!

The hologram changed images, showing a large ball of clumped up plants.

"Much like Vortex, Undergrowth could be classified as a primordial force of nature. His 'body' is the entirety of the plants he summons. He has no conventional body to speak of - if he desires a body part, he can simply form a torso, head, or arms from any section of plant. This detail is important, as attacking the 'head' is no more effective than any other part of the plants. He does not duplicate so much as create another head and torso from the same body. Right now, we know he has taken over Amity Park. With the knowledge that the plants are indeed Undergrowth, this means that as of right now Undergrowth is the size of a city!"

Everybody blanched at that information, and Skulker was grateful to see that they understood the implications of this.

"Ok, let me rephrase Johnny's question," Kitty finally spoke up from Johnny's side with a slightly panicked look on her face. "What in the name of the ancients makes you think we can beat this thing even with Phantom's help?!"

"Excellent question." Skulker nodded calmly. "Undergrowth has a few known weaknesses. The largest one being that he is unusually dependent on the nutrients in the soil to sustain him. Every plant he grows, every wound he regenerates, uses up those nutrients. Cause enough damage, and he'll run out of nutrients eventually and fall into a hibernation state."

That's what happened last time according to his sources. The Desolate Sea of the Ghost Zone had apparently been a pretty big forest once upon a time.

"His dependency on the earth is a double edged sword." Skulker continued, "he can't turn intangible, since that would cut him off from the earth. Nor can he fly. However, it should be remembered that Undergrowth has been around long enough to have thought of defenses to counter this flaw."

Skulker rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Fire causes more damage." He continued, "as will ice. Honestly, even with Phantom it won't be an easy fight. But somebody with Phantom's strength managing to figure out how to use their core makes our odds much better."

"A decent brief," Walker admitted, looking at Skulker with narrowed eyes, "but if I may, how did you find out that Undergrowth was attacking to begin with? Not even my patrols have come across anything odd. It wasn't the boy - you said he was unconscious due to his core problems."

"That's where we're in luck." Skulker acknowledged the Warden's question. "Undergrowth's abilities revolve around plant control. Not human control. However, he seems to be trying to branch out."

With another gesture, Skulker brought up a hologram of Sam. "I assume everybody is aware of who Samantha Manson is?"

To his surprise, it was Youngblood spoke up. "Yeah, she's the girl that wants to get Phantom cooties." The young ghost then mimed gagging.

The surrounding ghost's had to muffle their chuckling, and Skulker had to acknowledge that, technically, Youngblood wasn't wrong.

"Yes, well, it seems that Undergrowth had attempted to brainwash her." Skulker scoffed. "And failed. She's loyal to Undergrowth alright… But also to Phantom. She tricked Undergrowth into thinking Danny's dead, then hid him. The whelpette has deluded herself into thinking that Phantom will join her once he's healed. The moment fighting begins, she'll undoubtedly be against us. But for now, so long as we declare ourselves 'not against Undergrowth' and are willing to help Phantom, she'll show us where the whelp is. I have her at Ember's place now until we're ready."

"Aaaaand how exactly can we help Phantom?" Kitty asked curiously. "Sure, we can talk about how we use our cores, but I don't know anybody with an ice core."

"That's not necessary," Skulker refuted, unable to withhold a grimace. "We all know one ghost with an ice core. And he's powerful enough to channel it offensively."

The door knocked, drawing everybody's attention.

"Hello?" A forlorn voice drifted in, "Is there any friends in there? The letter said to come here for a friend…"

Everybody's expression turned to varying degrees of horror.

"Him?!"

"Batten up the hatches!"

"You can't expect -"

"Enough!" Skulker cut everybody off with a glare as he walked towards the door. "He is the only ghost we know that has an ice core and can use it reasonably well. The rest of us can try to teach him about cores in general, but we need an ice user."

"Uh, I'll go help Ember distract that Sam girl!" Kitty volunteered quickly.

"Hey yeah, I'll come -"

"Nope! Sorry Johnny, this is girl time. But you guys have fun bye!"

Skulker rolled his eyes at the grumbling and opened the door to reveal a large, blue tinted ghost wearing pajamas. What was unusual was the expression of innocence and longing.

"Oh, hello." Klemper greeted, "will you be my friend?"

Skulker sighed internally. The sacrifices he made…. "Yes Klemper." He resigned himself. "We will be your friends - ooof!"

He was thrown backwards as Klemper got him in a huge hug, and Skulker growled.

Phantom better appreciate this…