Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season!
I may have taken some artistic liberties with the inside of the Fenton RV, but I hope you'll forgive that. The titles of the last chapter and this one come from the song "Hey Brother" by Jakob Samuel (which I think would make a great MMV video for Danny Phantom, especially "The Ultimate Enemy"
Danny opened his eyes, gazing into the darkness of the Fenton Family RV. What had woken him? Oh yeah, the call of nature. He lazily phased through the wall separating his bunk bed from the small RV bathroom, then phased back to his bed once he was finished.
As he settled back onto the somewhat too-firm mattress, his phone lit up, blasting light into his face, and started vibrating. Danny cursed silently and slapped his hand over the phone, turning it invisible in the hopes that he could extinguish the light before it could wake anyone. In the bunk bed across from him, Tucker slept on the bottom, curled into himself, while Sam claimed the top. Sam murmured in her sleep, but thankfully didn't wake up.
Danny sighed in relief. But now, unfortunately, he felt wide awake. He laid on his bed for a few moments, before he sighed again and decided to go outside. He brought his phone, still invisible, with him.
The winter night was cold, but it hardly bothered Danny, even in his human form. The trailer park that they had stopped at for the night had only a few dim lamp posts, so the stars stuck out brilliantly in the night sky. Danny loved it. The only thing that would make it better is if he were flying, up there with them.
His phone buzzed again, and he glanced down at it, annoyed. He was pretty sure he had placed his notifications alert to mute. The only sounds it should be making were if someone was texting or calling him, and who would be doing that at – according to his phone – 3:36am?
But to Danny's surprise, someone was calling him. His caller ID helpfully informed him that that someone was "Fruit Loop."
(Danny had tried to block Vlad from contacting him, and had even changed his number a few times. But Vlad somehow always found a way to get around that, despite Tucker's best efforts. In the end, Danny had simply given up, entered Vlad into his Contacts as "Fruit Loop", and resolved to ignore him every time he called.)
But as Vlad's latest call went to voicemail, Danny realized that was the 12th time Vlad had called him, all within the past couple hours. When his phone started buzzing again, once more showing "Fruit Loop" on the screen, Danny couldn't take it anymore. He pressed the "Accept" button and hissed,
"What do you want, Vlad?"
"Ah, Daniel! Took you long enough. I thought you young people were always glued to your phones all the time, didn't you see me calling?"
"Vlad, it is four in the freaking morning. Why are you calling me?"
Vlad hmmph'ed. "Where are you right now?"
Danny frowned. "...In…uh, I think the middle of Colorado. On our way home from LA." His blue eyes narrowed, though Vlad couldn't see him. "Why?"
"Ah, so it isn't you that's terrorizing downtown Amity Park at this moment?"
Danny's jaw dropped. "Wha - what? No, of course not! What's going on?"
"I called because I was curious, I wanted to know how someone else had brought you over to the dark side where I'd failed." There was a pause. "Though I heard that that circus freak escaped from prison, I suppose he could have something to do with it."
"What? No, Freakshow has nothing to do with - Vlad, what's happening at home?" Danny pressed.
"Well, a ghost that looks remarkably like you, if a bit bigger, stronger, and older - and dirtier, in all honesty - is currently destroying bits of Amity Park. I'm watching it on the news right now. Ooh, he just took out parts of the Nasty Burger. Not that I care about that greasy old ratshole but - oh my, there goes the used electronics store."
"Vlad!" Danny shouted, clutching his phone hard enough to hurt. Something dark and fearful was forming in his chest. "Vlad, describe this ghost to me. Exactly."
Vlad complied. "Red eyes, pointed ears, wearing a raggedy black and white suit. I even thought he used that terrible Wail of yours, but if it's not you then probably not."
Danny's heart dropped to his feet. His vision swam, and for a moment he was afraid he was going to pass out. Then, with a deep breath, he gained control over himself once more. "Vlad. Vlad, I need you to go out and stop that ghost immediately. Go help Dani - go see if she's alright!"
Danny had no doubt that his cousin would have rushed in to save the day. But if Vlad was witnessing continued destruction, then she could be in trouble.
Danny could hear the scorn in Vlad's voice when he replied, "Daniel, I don't know how it is that you think you can give me orders -"
"Vlad! I swear to God if you don't do what I just said, then I will finally tell my parents the truth about you! About your ghost powers and every evil, disgusting, immoral thing you've done with them, every attempt on my dad's life - everything!" Danny snapped.
There was a long pause on the other end. Danny waited, heart pounding against his ribcage. Would this be the day he finally used Vlad's secret against him? That day in Wisconsin, when Danny and Vlad discovered each other's ghostly alter ego, seemed so long ago, and yet, as if no time had passed at all.
"Well," Vlad answered eventually. "It's no good being the most powerful man in town if the town's not here, is it?" There was a shuffling noise, then Vlad's voice again, but further, as if he wasn't speaking directly into the phone. "Fear not, citizens! Mayor Masters knows just what to do!"
Danny hung up, then phased back into the camper. He rushed to the back of the van, where his parents were sleeping in the pull out bed; his dad was snoring as loudly as a lawn mower, per usual. Danny yelled over the noise, "Mom, Dad, wake up! I have to go!"
Jack snorted awake, flailing about in bed for a moment. "Huh? Wha? Stay away from my breakfast, you fast-talking rabbit!"
Maddie was a bit more coherent. She bolted up from bed and immediately turned on the lamp that was connected to the wall. "Danny? Sweetheart, what's wrong?"
Tucker and Sam were also awake, waiting for Danny to explain himself. They were used to abrupt, early morning wake-ups, unfortunately.
But Danny didn't have time to explain. Unless he was able to find a natural portal that placed him near his family's portal and didn't spit him out in 1800s London or something, it would be a long flight back to Amity Park. Each second he stayed here made his skin crawl with anxiety. He had to know if Dani and Valerie were alright, never mind all the civilians. Heck, he should check in on the ghosts, too. If this enemy was who he thought it was…
"Look, there's a ghost attacking Amity Park, very dangerous, I have to go now," Danny said in a rush. He transformed into his ghost form and rose into the air.
Sam grabbed his wrist. "Danny, wait. We can - "
"I can't wait, Sam," Danny snapped, more harshly than it meant. He sighed, then said, "It's - him."
Tucker gasped as Sam's eyes widened. "You mean…he-who-is-trapped-in-a-thermos-that-we-hoped-would-be-forever?" Tucker asked.
Danny nodded. Sam squeezed his wrist, but then let go.
"Go do what you need to. We'll be there as soon as we can," she said.
"Danny, honey, what's going on? What can we do?" Maddie interjected.
Danny turned back to his parents. They were both standing now, looking serious, even his father. They'd accepted his ghost half, and at first seemed thrilled that he was technically taking up the family business of ghost hunting. But he knew they were still uncomfortable watching him head out as Danny Phantom.
How could he possibly tell them about Dan? About the murderer, the monster Danny had turned into, if certain things had been different? Dan was everything Dr. and Dr. Fenton had once imagined ghosts to be - violent, cold-hearted, dismissive of other people's life, health, or well-being. Danny had hoped to never have to tell his parents about Dan, despite trying to be more honest and upfront with them. Shame, and old habits about lying to them about anything remotely ghost-related, had kept him quiet.
"Sam and Tucker will fill you in," Danny said finally, reluctantly. "There's probably updates about it on the news and the Amity Park Ghost Attack Tracker app. But I have to go now. I love you guys."
Almost as if on cue, everyone's phones started blaring with the tell-tale "Whee-Whoo, Whee-Whoo, Whee-Whoo" shrieking of the Ghost Attack app. On that note, Danny burst out of the Fenton Family RV, rising into the air and speeding toward Amity Park - trying to reassure himself that everything would be fine when he got there.
….
Danielle grunted as she landed on a hard rock.
She sprung to her feet immediately, ignoring the pain in her shoulder. At least she was in ghost form; otherwise she would have fallen straight through into the swirling mass of the Ghost Zone.
Dani took in her surroundings warily, body tense. The toxic green sky of the Ghost Zone looked dulled somewhat, as if covered by a gray film. In the distance, large flumes of smoke rose into the air, as if multiple spots of the Zone were burning at once. And on either side of Dani, personal items floated in the Zone's invisible current alongside boulders and other debris: teddy bears and rocking chairs; balls, books, and ballet slippers; even portraits and kitchen utensils.
All these things had to come from ghosts' lairs. Had Phantasm really caused so much damage?
Speak of the devil - Phantasm landed gracefully on the same rock as Dani, which was plenty big enough for him to stand 30 ft away. Dani narrowed her eyes, itching to finish the fight they had started, but she held herself back. Conversations with Team Phantom, and her own experience in the field, had taught her that sometimes it was better to wait for the enemy to make the first move, even if that was to simply start talking. It was a way to waste their energy and preserve your own, maybe even gather some information.
Dani wasn't usually very good at this strategy, but most of the time she didn't need to be. Rounding up stray ecto-puses or sparring with Danny's usual rogues gallery didn't require as much energy or planning. But for Phantasm, Dani would use whatever she could to gain an advantage.
Hopefully he would start monologuing soon - most bad guys liked to brag about themselves and the exact ways they were going to defeat Danny/Dani once and for all.
And luckily, Phantasm didn't disappoint. He grinned at Dani and said,
"Well, to be honest, I had hoped to destroy Danny before I made it to this point, but hey, sometimes improvisation is a good thing." He spread his arms wide. "What do you think of the new digs, little clone?"
Dani grit her teeth, but allowed herself a moment to look around. And only now did it hit her where, exactly, in the Ghost Zone they were.
The place they were standing wasn't just a large rock; it was one of the Ghost Zone's floating islands. To Dani's right, a medieval-style castle, blood-red in color, loomed menacingly. Four turrets stuck out of the castle like pairs of horns. A foreboding face, like that of a jack-o-lantern, was carved into the castle gate. A stone-and-metal fence ran along the castle's perimeter.
Pariah's Keep.
Ohhhh, this is not good. To land here, a place that every ghost avoided if they could help it, by chance was one thing. Bad luck, as Johnny and Kitty would say. But Phantasm sounded as if coming here was his plan. And nothing good ever came from violent maniacs seeking the resting place of the deposed Ghost King.
Dani faced Phantasm again and put her game face on, not wanting him to see her anxiety. "Alright," she called. "Enough fooling around. It's about time you started answering my questions. Who are you? Why are you destroying the Zone? And what do you want with Danny Phantom?"
Dani didn't really think Phantasm would answer her. But she was surprised by the vitriol in his voice as he snarled,
"Don't waste our breath on things you already know!"
Dani pursed her lips, willing herself to stay calm. At her silence, Phantasm's angry expression eventually shifted into one of surprise. "Wait…do you really not know who I am?" he questioned.
When Dani didn't respond, he started cackling. Laughter burst from him as he doubled over, his whole body shaking. Dani shifted uneasily, unsure if she should take this opportunity to strike, or wait to hear any answers the strange ghost might provide.
Finally Phantasm straightened, wiping a tear from his eye. "Oh, that is hilarious! I can't believe he never told you! But, then again," Phantasm's lips twisted into a sneer. "Lying to his family is what Danny does best, isn't it?"
Rage shot through Dani at the slight. She was losing her patience with the wait-and-see approach. "Shut up," she growled. "You don't know anything about Danny or our family."
"Wrong again, little clone! I know everything about them." Phantasm lifted into the air and began to circle Dani; she pooled ecto-energy into her hands and started turning to keep Phantasm in her sights.
"Well, since you're such an ignorant badger, I'll give you a hint," Phantasm continued. "You and I are actually a lot alike, Danielle. Neither of us would be here without dear Danny and Vlad, after all."
Dani scowled. She wanted to brush Phantasm's words off as typical villain banter, but that second part stuck with her. What could they possibly have in common? Besides the ghost powers, of course, and possibly a connection to Danny - and Vlad, too, apparently? Had she been right earlier - was Phantasm a halfa? Or…
Dani had seen a lot of Vlad's experiments perish – clones like her, children who would have been her brothers, if they'd lived. She thought she was the success, the only one who'd been stable enough to survive. But what if that wasn't true?
"Are you…" Dani's mouth had gone dry, and she swallowed a few times before she could continue, "Are you…really like me? Are you…a clone?"
Phantasm chuckled. "Not quite, little Phantom."
Then he landed on the ground, back straight, and bared his teeth. "But that's enough for now, I think. Tell me, little clone, can you do this yet?"
Phantasm's body twitched and stretched, and then suddenly there were three of him. Each copy made another, and another, until Danielle was surrounded by about twenty Phantasms. They were all perfect copies, too, from the limp, yellowing hair to the ragged black and white suit to the blood-red eyes and sharpened teeth.
Dani scoffed at the display. "Oh please, like that's so impressive." She closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated, willing her ecto-energy to separate from her, trying to mold it into a replica of herself. When both of her ears popped, like when she flew too high too fast, she opened her eyes again. There, standing back to back with her, were three Dani Phantom duplicates.
"You could always surrender," Dani told Phantasm, glancing around at the pack of them.
The Phantasms grinned. They all rose into the air in unison, then began spinning around her, like some haunted, out of control merry-go-round.
"I could," called one of the Phantasms.
"But where's the fun in that?" The rest of them chorused.
Dani sighed. "Get ready, girls," she said. "Looks like we'll have to do this the hard way."
A melée ensued then, a flurry of punches, kicks, and blasts of ecto-energy. Dani and her duplicates worked well together, outnumbered though they were.
Usually Dani didn't like using duplication, because it always left her a little disoriented. And recently, she hadn't had to use it; whenever she felt overwhelmed by numbers, Danny or Val or Sam or Jazz or Tucker, or even Maddie and Jack, was there to back her up.
But they weren't here now. Dani had to rely on her own powers, any and all of them, if she had to.
Suddenly, one of the Phantasm duplicates broke off from the pack, making a bee-line for the door to the castle.
"Hey!" Dani yelled after him. She looked at her three duplicates. "You girls got this?"
"Yep!" "Of course!" they chorused.
Dani nodded in acknowledgement. Then, seeing a break in the Phantasm mob, zoomed after the one that had gone into Pariah's Keep.
Dani shivered as she passed through the giant gate into the castle. An air of foreboding permeated the place, a subtle yet strong warning to stay away. At least the booby traps were no longer active, but unfortunately, that meant there was also nothing stopping Phantasm – and Dani was sure this was the true one – from flying down the halls unimpeded. And to Dani's dismay, he headed to the exact room she feared he would – Pariah Dark's resting place.
Was he after the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage? He would have to open the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep to do that, which couldn't be done without a skeleton key. Not to mention that it would release Pariah all over again. Dani hadn't been alive for Pariah's takeover of Amity Park, but she'd heard stories from Team Phantom and the Far Frozen Tribe. Keeping him locked away was priority #1.
"Hey!" she called. Phantasm had stopped in front of the intricately carved sarcophagus. He spared a quick glance over his shoulder at her. "Don't do this! You can't let Pariah out! Please, think about what you're doing!"
"Who said anything about letting Pariah out?" Phantasm asked, tone light. "I admit, I have some sympathy for his position, rotting away in this prison because of goody little two-shows Danny Phantom." His eyes narrowed, before he composed himself, giving a half shrug. "But, you know. Not enough to release him. I don't really want the competition."
He then raised his hand towards the coffin. "No, little clone, I'm only claiming what's mine." His hand began to glow a blood red color. Soon, the sarcophagus began to shake, rocking violently in its perch. And then, slowly but surely, the Ring of Rage and Crown of Fire phased through the coffin, drifting towards Phantasm.
"No!" Dani yelled. She surged forward, arms wreathed in ecto-energy. She shot bolts at Phantasm, who turned and raised multiple ecto-shields. Dani's attack broke through the first two, but the third held. It was enough time for the Crown and Ring to settle on Phantasm's head and finger.
Energy exploded from Phantasm like a bomb. Dani held her hands up, bracing herself against the blast, but she was soon thrown against the wall. Pain lanced up her backside, but she staggered up. She had to stop – whatever was happening. She raised a hand to her forward to shield her eyes from the bright, sickly green light that enveloped Phantasm. What was happening?
After a few more moments, the light dissipated. Still standing in front of the sarcophagus was Phantasm, but he was - different. The hair that had hung limply near his shoulders was now a bright white flame, more like Ember's hair, blazing brightly on the top of his head. His cheeks and eye sockets were no longer sunken, giving him a revitalized look. He even seemed more muscular than before. And the tattered black jumpsuit he'd worn had knit itself together, all shiny and new; there was even a cape attached to the back.
And emblazoned in the middle of the suit was a stylized white DP.
Dani's eyes widened. Horror washed over her as a terrible thought entered her head. Her brain began putting together everything she'd observed about Phantasm, all his strange remarks, like a sickening puzzle.
"Danny?" she whispered.
Phantasm turned towards her. His grin stretched far wider than a human's could. "Hey, little cousin. Like what you see?" He chuckled. Even his voice was different, deeper and full of strength. "So, let's make a deal, huh? You stay here and wait for me like a good girl, and when I've finished dealing with Danny, I'll come back and explain everything. What do you say?"
At first, Dani could only stare, open-mouthed. Then she raised a hand and slapped herself, trying to overcome her shock. She swallowed a lump in her throat enough to say, "Sorry, Phantasm, or whoever you are. No deal."
Phantasm shrugged, like it didn't matter to him. "Well, in that case…" he snapped his fingers. Dani tensed, looking around for a portal. Something brushed her foot and she startled, glancing down. Reaching out of the ground were glowing, bony hands that grabbed onto her, revealing ghostly skeleton soldiers. Soon they were crawling all over Dani, surprisingly heavy despite their lack of mass. She cursed as she swatted, punched, and blasted them away, but more kept coming out of the ground to overwhelm her.
"See you soon, little clone!" Phantasm called. Through the bodies piling on top of her, Dani could just make out Phantasm snapping his fingers again. A swirling portal appeared, and then he was gone.
Poor Dani's having a tough time. But don't worry, she's gonna get her own power and the help that she needs soon!
Please let me know what you think!