Danny Phantom Fan Fiction ❯ Danny Phantom -- Return of The Reign ❯ Meeting The Fugitives and Something Changing ( Chapter 5 )

A part of me isn't too happy with this chapter...
Ah, well! Enjoy Chapter 6...and a few familiar friendly faces!

 

~~CHAPTER FIVE~~

~~MEETING THE FUGITIVES AND SOMETHING CHANGING~~

 

Lisa screamed as she tumbled into the Ghost Zone. When she resumed her floating posture, she turned with a gasp when she saw the portal disappear. She gulped, but then smiled weakly. “It's okay…if I can just find the Fenton Portal, which I'm sure is open, I can get out of here!”

 

Lisa suddenly gasped sharply. With a groan, she held her head and shut her eyes. She slowly and weakly opened her eyes again, and saw that her vision was blurring slightly. “…And I need to find it soon…” She said weakly.

 

The Drifter managed to regain the strength to fly again. She couldn't help but feel considerably horrified at how empty the Ghost Zone was. Was each and every ghost under the power of the Ghost King and Nightshade?

 

Lisa looked down with she thought she heard voices.

 

There was a small group of ghosts that didn't have the chokers around their necks…they seemed to be trying to find a place to hide. Lisa gasped, however, when she realized that two of them were extremely familiar.

 

“…Zero…Sapphire…?” Lisa gasped again, only in happiness. “Zero! Sapphire!” She called to them as she dove down.

 

The two ghosts indeed turned their heads when their name was called. They widened their eyes and hung their mouths open when they saw their friend. “Lisa!” They called. Lisa tenderly embraced them.

 

“What're you doing here?” Sapphire cried.

 

“What do you mean me?! What about you?!” Lisa cried back.

 

“We were able to escape before the Ghost King's armies captured us!” Zero said.

 

Lisa smiled brightly in relief and joy, but she then looked behind them, however, to see unfamiliar ghosts. “Who're they?” Lisa asked innocently.

 

One of them looked humanlike, like Zero and Sapphire, only her skin was green. She was also wearing a blue and green dress, had braided blond hair, and was wearing a strange necklace that had a green jewel like a dragon's eye.

 

Beside her was a large, black-furred, dangerous-looking wolf creature that stood on two legs. He was wearing a green hoodie and had a flaming tail.

 

Finally, there was a green, tiny, and yet adorable-looking ghost dog who looked at Lisa confusingly.

 

“Is this…a friend of yours?” The humanlike ghost said.

 

“Yes, she is!” Zero quickly said.

 

“Hi, I'm Lisa!” Lisa peeped up.

 

“She's the one who…”

The wolf suddenly gasped and pointed to Lisa, shouting something in a totally different language.

 

“What? What?!” Lisa cried in slight fear.

 

“What is it?” The girl asked, following his gaze. She gasped as well. “The choker! You're one of them!” She cried.

 

“What? No, no! Wait! WAIT!” Lisa cried.

 

“You guys, stop!” Sapphire pleaded.

 

The necklace the girl was wearing glowed brightly; suddenly, her form changed into that of a large blue and green dragon. The wolf snarled dangerously and stuck out his razor-sharp claws. The little ghost dog wasn't little or adorable anymore; it had transformed into a large and drooling sharp-toothed hound, growling.

 

“Please! Please don't!” Lisa cried, ducking behind Sapphire and clutching her arms. “SAPPH! MAKE THEM STOP! PLEASE!!”

 

Zero and Sapphire ran toward the three and tried to get them to stop, but the wolf jumped over them and landed right in front of Lisa, who showed her teeth in fear and winced her eyes shut as she turned her face from him.

 

The wolf was about to cut Lisa into shreds before he blinked and whined in surprise. He brought his black nose to her and sniffed her all around. She opened her eyes and turned back to him and stared at him in confusion.

 

Just then, the wolf smiled widely and licked the Drifter.

 

“AAGH!” Lisa shrieked in surprise. “Uh…thank…you?” She asked. The wolf once more spoke in, to her, an unknown language, but she managed to catch the word “friend.”

 

“Friend? I mean, yes! Yes, I'm your friend!” Lisa said.

 

“He must smell someone familiar on you.” Sapphire said. “…Danny, perhaps?”

 

“HAH! We told you!” Zero told the other two ghosts.

 

The dragon and the dog stared at each other, and then reverted back to their regular forms. The girl quickly ran to Lisa. “Are you really friends with the half-ghost?”

 

Lisa nodded. “And I know that I'm wearing the choker of your enemy, but it's because it gives me power! I'd explain all the details, but it's a really, really long story!”

 

“I see…please forgive us!” The girl begged, clasping her hands together. “We're just so worried that someone under Nightshade's power will find us and bring us to him!”

“Of course I forgive you…I don't have time to hold a grudge, anyway! I need to get back to the real world! And fast!” Lisa cried. “Not only will I be big trouble if I don't, but Danny needs me!”

“He does?” Sapphire asked.

 

“All the ghosts AND most of the townspeople are attacking him! I gotta get back NOW!” Lisa screamed.

 

“Relax, young Lisa! I believe we have the answer to your problem.” The girl said. She turned to the wolf, who nodded. He once more brought out his claws and slashed them in midair. Lisa stared in confusion, but gasped when she saw a dimensional drift rip open. She quickly ran to it and looked inside. She gasped.

 

“Danny!”

 

Within the rip, Lisa saw Danny flying as quickly as he could from his own parents while trying to attack the ghosts that came his way as well.

 

Lisa was about to jump in before she turned back to the other ghosts. “Please…if you're friends with Danny, too…please…please help! You know about all the ghosts attacking! You know about how they're invading Amity Park! Danny and I can't handle it on our own! Please, please help me! Please help us!”

 

The ghosts all looked at Lisa, and then each other.

 

~

 

Unfortunately, Danny didn't watch where he was going as he flew incredibly fast and he smashed into a building. As he fell to the ground, holding his head, he looked back to see that all his human enemies, including his own parents, had him surrounded. They all aimed their guns at him, charging them up…(Maddie had changed her Fenton Bazooka to a regular gun.)

 

“NOOOOO!!!”

 

Almost in slow motion, Lisa seemed to appear out of nowhere and jumped in front of Danny, bringing up a violet shield, bouncing off every energy beam back at the shooters. As they all got blasted on their undersides, they all looked up and gasped when they saw the Drifter.

 

“Miss me?” Lisa asked sweetly.

 

“A…Ali…!” Danny said weakly, yet happily.

 

Sam, Tucker, and Summer, who were in the background, silently cheered in relief.

 

Lisa crossed her arms. “If you ever think about attacking this boy again, there will be pain, and lots of it!”

 

“You think you can intimidate us?” Jack said. “There's…well…there's a bunch of us, and only two of you!”

 

Lisa smirked. “Not quite.”

 

The Drifter snapped her fingers, and all around her reappeared the ghosts she had met up with earlier from their invisibility. [1] Danny gasped.

 

“SIC `EM!” Lisa cried, and they all attacked. “Just…be careful with the one in red and the two in the jumpsuits!” She turned from the attacking ghosts to help Danny get to his feet. “Let's get the crud outta here!” She then took him into her arms. As she flew him to safety, they were both equally surprised by Lisa's strength.

 

Also, as Lisa flew Danny away, there were many ghosts who got in their path, but she either avoided or defeated them all. She refused to yield until she knew Danny was safe!

 

When Lisa got Danny to the top of the highest roof in town, she started to feel dizzy again. Danny immediately saw it and grabbed her by the arms. “Get back to your body! Now! I can handle myself!” Lisa looked upset and unsure, but she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and flew back down, leaving Danny to gently touch his face, a smile slowly forming.

 

Lisa quickly flew around through the fighting mayhem. The GiW were fighting the ghosts, Valerie was fighting the ghosts, Jack and Maddie were fighting the ghosts, the ghosts were fighting the GiW, the ghosts were either fighting or avoiding Valerie and Jack and Maddie, and, in annoyance, Valerie was also fighting the GiW.

 

Lisa stopped flying for a quick second with a gasp. While Jack and Maddie were fighting the ghosts, they weren't watching Vlad…who was about to be blasted from behind!

 

“VLAD! I--I mean, Mr. Masters! O--or, whatever your name is, LOOK OUT!” Lisa screamed as she swiftly flew to Vlad and shoved him out of the way before the Ghost Ray hit him. As she and Vlad slid across the ground, she fired her own Ghost Ray at the ghost, who was then knocked away.

 

Lisa then turned back to the old man below her. “Uh…we gotta stop meeting like this…” She squeaked with a nervous smile.

 

“Get away from my college buddy, ghost gal!” Jack demanded as he aimed his gun at her.

“Jack, calm down! This is the ghost who rescued me!” Vlad said, not wanting the girl to be destroyed…at least, not until he could learn everything he could about her.

 

“Uh…I think I better go now.” Lisa said and attempted to fly away before Vlad grabbed her by the ankle. “AGH! I wish you humans wouldn't do that…”

“Who are you? What's happening? And…why are you protecting humans?” Vlad asked hastily.

 

Lisa glanced at him and made her leg form with her other leg to form her ghost tail, causing Vlad to lose his grip on her. “Sorry…I can't tell you…I should be seen, not known…heck, maybe I shouldn't even be seen!”

 

“But you…”

“Bah-bye!” Lisa quickly said before she attempted to zoom off; she stopped, however, and turned back to Vlad. She gave him a smile. “…My name's Lisa, if knowing means that much to you…Lisa Phantasm.” She then flew away.

 

“Get back here!” Maddie said, aiming her gun.

 

“Maddie, wait!” Vlad said, blocking the path of Maddie's gun. “Look! She has that exact same necklace that all the other ghosts have! I can tell, she holds the keys to unlocking this mystery…”

 

Maddie looked at the retreating girl and sighed. “I suppose…”

 

Lisa continued to fly, gasping a little since she was still recovering from what happened.

 

“Ali! Down here!” The Drifter looked down to see Summer with Sam and Tucker, calling her. She was holding her body! She quickly went invisible and grabbed her friends, dragging them into a dark alley so nobody could see. She quickly got back into her body, but she didn't get up from the ground.

 

“Uh…I--I'll just stay in here…for a second…go…get to safety…” Alissa murmured gently and weakly.

 

“No, we're staying with you!” Summer said.

 

“Besides, it's too dangerous to go back out there anyway!” Tucker added.

 

Alissa giggled quietly. “Mm…Danny…I need to help…Danny…”

 

~

 

As the ghost war went on, Danny began to feel dizzy from all the fighting he had done and struggled to stay up. When most of the dizziness had left him, he gasped when he saw Plasmius right in front of him.

 

“Oh, I'm not in the mood…” Danny groaned.

“Relax, Daniel, I have no intentions of fighting you right now.” Vlad said, crossing his arms with a smile. “But I guess it's only fair to warn you; they may want me, but it's your little ghostly sweetheart they want first for some reason.”

 

“What? They do? I--I--wait a minute…she's not my sweetheart!” Danny cried. “And they might be after her, but none of this would be happening if it weren't for YOU!” Danny then tried to fire a Ghost Ray at Vlad, but he dodged it.

 

“What?! I didn't awaken him this time!”

“No, but YOU woke him up the FIRST time! YOU'RE the reason he's so angry and vengeful!” Danny roared as he fired another Ghost Ray at Vlad, this time, hitting his mark. After he tumbled backwards, he immediately got back up, bared his teeth, and fired his own Ghost Ray.

 

As the ghosts and humans either attacked or ran, and Danny and Vlad once more clashed, thunder boomed and rain started to come down.

 

~

 

Back at the alley, Alissa's eyes snapped open and she brought herself up with a gasp. “Did I…did I fall asleep?” She breathed.

 

The other three kids turned to her. “Ali, you're up!” Sam said.

 

“So I DID fall asleep?!” Alissa shrieked.

 

“Uh…only for like, 6 minutes.” Tucker said.

 

“6 minutes too many! I gotta get back to Danny!” Alissa cried, standing up, though she wobbled.

 

“Ali, don't!” Summer cried, running to her, holding her up. Alissa glanced at her, then glared, and then smacked her off of her. Summer stumbled backwards as she held her hand and gasped. Alissa had never hurt her before…

 

Alissa quickly brought her necklace back out and wrapped it around her neck, Lisa Phantasm quickly flying out. She reached into the butterfly bag her body still wore and pulled out her Ecto-Stick. She then flew off to find Danny.

 

During her quest, however, Lisa saw Valerie fighting the ghost dog. “Oh, do I remember you…” So saying, she pulled something on her gun that caused numerous other guns to surround it. They all fired at the ghost dog, who howled in pain. He fell to the ground and de-transformed back into his smaller state. Valerie only smirked in victory and aimed her guns again.

 

“NO!” Lisa screamed, gripping her Ecto-Stick tighter. She gasped and turned to it, however, when she noticed that it was glowing. To her extreme surprise, the stick she held started to morph into…a sword!

 

What Lisa now held in her hands was a glowing green blade. She was confused, but when she heard the dog whimper in pain and fear, she gripped the handle of her new weapon and aimed it at Valerie. A bright green beam came from the tip and hit Valerie right in the head, knocking her off balance and off her jet-sled.

 

As Valerie got back on her feet, Lisa quickly flew over and grabbed the ghost dog. She hugged him close, hung him over her arm, and flew away. She gazed at her Ecto-Blade in wonder and confusion, but she was determined to get to Danny first.

 

Lisa gasped and turned to the right when she heard a cry of pain. She stopped flying and gaped her mouth open when she saw Danny fighting against Vlad…and was apparently losing as well. [2]

 

Lisa was about to fly forward, but brought the dog to safety first. “Stay. Please stay.” She begged him, placing him in a high tree. With a confused look, and then a smile, he licked her. Lisa shook her head a little in surprise, but smiled, and flew back up to where Danny was.

 

~

 

Danny cried out as he skidded across the floor, not getting up when he finally reached a halt.

 

“Come on, Daniel, get up; you're stronger than that!” Vlad demanded.

 

Danny just groaned, trembling in pain.

 

Vlad then brought his glowing fist down, attempting to strike him again.

 

His fist met with a glowing green blade.

 

Pulling his hand back in pain, Vlad widened his eyes in surprise when he saw Lisa standing in front of Danny, holding her sword.

 

“I don't know who you are, where you came from, or what you want, but if you even attempt to hurt Danny, that automatically makes you my enemy.” Lisa said darkly.

 

“You simply can't keep yourself from him, can you? Not even a dimensional rip into the Ghost Zone can take you from him…” Vlad said mockingly with a smile. “Lisa Phantasm, correct?”

 

Lisa gasped quietly. “How did you…w--whatever! Just keep your overgrown mitts off my friend!” Lisa commanded, swinging her sword across as a threat. Vlad stared at her after that action, and then started laughing.

 

Lisa just stared at him with an almost hurt face, but her eyes slowly started narrowing. “What…what…what is so funny?!” She cried, her eyes glimmering scarlet.

 

“Ah, nothing…” Vlad said as he finally ceased his mocking laughter. “It's just hilarious watching mere children think they can defeat me so easily…”

 

Lisa hung her mouth open. “I am NOT a child! And neither is Danny! We're both much stronger than you think!” So saying, Danny got back to his feat, surprised that Lisa was there. “And for your information, I bet I could whip your butt even if there were two of you!” Lisa went on, not noticing Danny behind her until he grabbed her by the arms. She quickly turned to him with a gasp.

 

“Ali, no!” Danny whispered. “He just might take you up on that offer!” Lisa gave him a confused look.

 

“You really think so?” Vlad asked Lisa. “Then let's have a little test run.” Right after saying that, three more Vlads appeared around the kids, who cried out. “Oh, I hope you don't mind that I added two more to your wager. Two for you, two for him?”

 

Lisa sneered at the real Vlad and lunged at him, but one of his duplicates got in her way and shot a Ghost Ray at her. As she toppled backwards, Danny tried to deal with the two duplicates he was so generously given, but they both grabbed him by a wrist each.

 

“DANNY!” Lisa cried, about to fly to him. But the real Vlad grabbed her by wrapping his left arm around her, the other duplicate beside him in case she tried to get away.

 

“Now what do you think you're doing? Didn't you say that you and Daniel are stronger than you appear? Fine; prove it. Either you should break free from me, or he should break free from them.” The real Vlad said with a fang-showing smile.

 

Lisa stared at him in horror, but her face then twisted. Wait a second…`Daniel?' Why the heck did he refer to him as…?

 

Lisa's thoughts vanished when she heard Danny screaming. She quickly turned her head back to him and saw that the two duplicates were electrocuting him with their Ghost Stingers. [3]

 

“DANNY!!” Lisa screamed, thrashing against Vlad's hold. A familiar feeling suddenly washed over her; the feeling she had when Zero and Sapphire attacked him while all she could do was float and watch; the feeling she had when Nightshade made the moon steal Danny's life-force and she was trapped in a net…and the scream that she heard each time…

 

Helplessness.

 

The feeling was helplessness.

 

Finally, Danny's heart-wrenching scream weakened before ending entirely, and his head fell forward.

 

Lisa's eyes were wide and full of terror, and they began to glimmer red once more. She, too, let her head fall forward, a few sobs coming out.

 

Vlad chuckled in victory. “Now, if you don't mind, there are some things I'd like to ask…”

 

Before Vlad could finish, he noticed that Lisa's body was starting to glow dark violet; her hair even started to rise up and her clothes started to ripple.

 

Lisa slowly picked her head back up, revealing her eyes to be scarlet red. Then, she grabbed the arm that held her and bit it, pulling.

 

Vlad cried out in pain, releasing the Drifter, allowing her to fire two bright red Ghost Rays that hit a duplicate each, causing them to disappear and Danny's limp body to fall to the ground. She whipped her head back at the last two Vlads and fired another red Ghost Ray, destroying the final duplicate.

 

Vlad was still holding his bitten arm as Lisa gave him a wicked gaze. She held her sword up toward him…and attacked him.

 

Lisa kept slashing at Vlad, and he kept blocking it, until she simply slashed across the short distance between them, causing a bright green wave of energy to come out and strike the vampire-like ghost. He cried out and fell to the ground, his body splashing against one of the puddles on the roof.

 

As he struggled to get up, Lisa only smirked evilly and gave him one final blast, causing him to fall off the roof, screaming as he did so.

 

Lisa kept her smirk, but it disappeared when she heard a voice groaning. She blinked once, and when she opened her eyes again, they were their normal midnight blue; she gasped as she blinked. “Danny!”

 

Lisa quickly turned back to her beloved Halfa and helped him up. Danny blinked his eyes open and shook his head slightly. “Uh…Ali? Where's…where's…?”

“He's gone…for now, anyway…” Lisa held her head. “It's…it's all kinda blurry…but I know I beat him.”

 

“Really…?” Danny said weakly, even though he tried to sound surprised. He then looked down at Lisa's sword. “Where'd you get that, anyway?”

 

“You know, I'm not really sure…” Lisa said truthfully as she examined her weapon. “It used to be my fighting stick, but…when I really wanted to beat someone, it shape-shifted into this!”

 

“Huh…you must have a slightly different version of that power I see a lot…”

“What power?”

“Shaping ectoplasm into solid objects. Although…maybe you can only shape already solid objects that are already formed with ectoplasm.” Danny explained.

 

Lisa looked at Danny and then looked back at her sword. “…Cool! I got a new toy!” She giggled. She then looked up as she noticed that the rain seemed to be letting up.

 

Danny turned his head just a little and saw something. “Hey, look!” He said, pointing downward. Lisa followed his gaze and saw that the ghosts were, once more, retreating. They all just collided into one large mass and flew away; except, of course, for the ally ghosts Danny and Lisa had befriended.

 

Lisa slung Danny's arm around her neck and gently flew down to the other ghosts. “Are you all okay?” Lisa asked them, and then turned around to see the ghost dog running toward her, yapping. She smiled, but she then gasped when she turned back when she heard guns charging up. She and the other ghosts watched in horror as the GiW, no longer distracted by the other ghosts, fired their guns at Danny and Lisa. Danny, who was already extremely weak, got blasted back so far away that he became out of sight. After skidding across the ground, Lisa looked up and gasped as she watched Danny become farther and farther away. She flew up and after him before she was blasted again, the other ghosts following.

 

Danny finally landed near a tree a bit far from the town at large. Lisa and the other ghosts finally found him and flew toward him. “Danny! Babe, tell me you're alright!” Lisa begged. Also, the human kids ran up to them, panting, Summer carrying Alissa's body.

 

As Danny opened his eyes, a bright blue ring suddenly appeared around his waist. “Oh, no…” He said, and then looked up with a gasp, seeing three GiW figures in the all-white suits flying toward them. “No!” Danny cried, watching the blue ring in horror as it attempted to transform him back. “If they see me change back, they'll tell the others, and then they'll take me in for questioning! And experiments! Lots and lots of really PAINFUL experiments!” Danny screamed at the top of his lungs. (XD Cute!!)

 

Lisa bit her lip, trying to think of something, but she then blinked, figuring something out. “Oh, no, they won't!” She declared. She quickly flew back into her body and, while fighting the dizziness, jumped out of Summer's arms.

 

“You guys!” Alissa said, pointing to the ghosts. “Make them invisible!” She pointed to the kids. Instantly, they all grabbed the kids and they all went out of sight.

 

“And as for you…” Alissa said, grabbing Danny by the arm. He yelped as he was suddenly pulled behind the tree, changing back, yet unseen.

 

The GiW finally came up to the tree, thinking that's where they saw the Ghost Boy. But when they looked behind the tree, the last thing they expected to see was there.

 

Alissa had Danny backed up against the tree, her hands on his chest and her lips pressing onto his. Her eyes were closed and peaceful, but Danny's couldn't have gotten any wider as he tried to speak. Once their attention turned to the GiW, they screamed.

 

“What's your PROBLEM?!” Alissa cried, faking infuriation.

 

Luckily, these GiW either didn't recognize Alissa as the girl Danny Phantom was carrying, or didn't see her altogether. “What're you two doing here?!” One of them cried.

 

“…Isn't it obvious?” Alissa asked.

 

“You kids can't be expressing your affections in rather vulgar manners as a massive ghost invasion is happening!”

 

“…What ghost invasion?”

“…All right, so the ghosts have gone now, but you should still be in bed! It's still too dangerous out here!”

 

“Alright, alright!” Alissa groaned, taking a firm hold on Danny's hand as she stomped away. The GiW then flew away.

 

Danny and Alissa stopped walking and turned back, making sure they were gone. “Yes!” Alissa jumped up, clasping her hands together. “We did it! We're okay!”

 

As Alissa spoke, the ghosts finally released their hold on the other kids, making all of them visible once more. Sam had her arms crossed and seemed to be glaring at Alissa slightly.

 

Summer ran up to Alissa. “Nice! Now then, mind introducing us to some of your new friends?” Summer said, bringing her hand over to the unfamiliar ghosts.

 

Danny looked at the ghosts as well, but then his eyes slowly widened. “…W--WULF!!”

 

Upon hearing his name and seeing the glee in Danny's eyes, Wulf hurriedly ran to Danny and pounced on him, licking him incessantly. Danny was laughing the whole time.

 

“Dora!” Sam said, hugging the ghost princess.

 

“Samantha! I--I mean…Sam…I'm so glad to see you again!” Dora said, hugging the Goth back tightly.

 

And, of course, Zero and Sapphire were hugging Alissa, and even giving Summer a squeeze.

 

“I missed you so much! I was so worried about you!” Danny told Wulf as he finally got back on his feet, but he was pinned back to the ground as the ghost dog pounced on him, licking him as well. Danny laughed a little. “Yeah, yeah, I missed you too…I guess…”

 

As Danny once more stood up, holding the dog in his hands, he turned to Wulf as he spoke in Esperanto again. “Uh…Tuck?” Danny asked his somewhat-Esperanto-speaking friend.

 

“Don't look at me; I didn't catch that, either.” Tucker said, shrugging.

 

“He said `I told you we'd meet again.'”

 

Everyone turned their heads toward the one who spoke. “SUMMER?!”

 

“You…study Esperanto?” Tucker asked the Punk.

 

“I have a lot of time on my hands.” Summer answered.

 

Tucker clasped his hands and gazed at her lovingly. “You ARE the perfect woman!”

 

Summer just gave him a dark glance and shoved his head away. “Anyway…” She then looked up to see that Wulf was looking at Alissa in a worried way. Alissa cocked her head slightly to the side and made a small squeak of confusion.

 

“Hey, what's the matter?” Danny asked, walking up to Wulf.

 

Dora turned to Summer. “Can you really speak his language?”

 

“Uh-huh.”

 

“Please, ask him what has happened! He was nearby Pariah's Keep before he got away with us; he must have overheard something and know more than any of us!”

 

Summer nodded and came up to Wulf, speaking in Esperanto as she did so. When he spoke back, Summer widened her eyes with a gasp.

 

“What? What'd he say?” Danny asked.

 

Summer slowly turned to Alissa, revealing her eyes to be horrorstricken. “Ali… Alissa…Nightshade has…he's…after reawakening this `Ghost King,' he helped him enslave the entire Ghost Zone. Only these ghosts were able to escape before they, too, were enslaved. And…he said that…it all has something to do with you.”

 

Alissa just stared at Summer, eyes close to bulging out of her skull. She exhaled sharply and her legs wobbled before they finally gave up on her and she fell to her knees. “…What…?” She spoke so quietly she was barely heard.

 

“Wulf doesn't know why, either, but he does know that the Ghost King and Nightshade taking over the whole Ghost Zone, the ghost invasions, all of it…it all has something to do with you.” Summer said.

 

“He must want her back.” Sapphire said.

 

“But how?” Zero asked. “The three of us all broke free from him! Even though she still has that necklace, he can't control her with it anymore!”

 

Alissa felt tears spring to her eyes. “Lovely…” She said, wincing her eyes shut. “The town's being attacked and it's all my fault…I don't even know how or what for…but I know that it's my fault! All my fault!” She cried, the tears falling though her hands covered her eyes.

 

Everyone gazed sadly at the redhead. Danny was about to walk to her before the ghost dog beat him to it. He whined and then licked her leg. Gasping softly, Alissa looked down to see the dog looking up at her, whining yet smiling. “Aww…thanks…” She said as she bent down and picked him up with both hands. “You're sweet…” The dog then licked her face relentlessly, licking her tears away. She started laughing. “S--stop! Stop! That tickles, you furry twit!” He finally stopped and smiled at her, panting, happy that he brought her smile back.

 

Alissa then looked up at Danny, standing up again. “Is this the dog that you told me about? The one that was so much trouble?”

 

Danny nodded. “You better believe it; he's adorable, but a big pain in the--”

 

“Oh, but he's so sweet!” Alissa said as the ghost dog began licking her face again. “You never told me how sweet he was! Does he have a name?”

 

“Uh…well, if he does, I don't know it…I sorta kinda named him Cujo, but it was kinda a joke…”

 

“Hmm…” Alissa held the dog at face level. “Do you like that name? Cujo? Does Cujo sound like a good name for you?” There was silence, but the dog started yapping again before going back to panting. “I think he likes it!” Alissa said as she scratched his head.

 

Alissa kept Cujo in her arms and turned to the other ghosts. “Listen, you obviously can't return to the Ghost Zone…but I do know of a place where you guys can stay.” She turned to Danny, who nodded and transformed back. Still holding Cujo, she jumped into Danny's arms and whispered something to him. He smiled and nodded again. “Follow us!” She said to the others as Danny flew her away. The ghosts grabbed the other kids and flew after them.

 

~

Back at Pariah's Keep, Nightshade was still watching the crystal on his staff, which was still showing Danny and Alissa.

 

“So…” Pariah, who was sitting on his throne, spoke. “There were some absconder ghosts!”

“Relax, your majesty.” Nightshade said. “Those ghosts are highly unneeded. In fact, they may just make my plan easier…”

 

Pariah glared and stood up from his throne. He stomped toward Nightshade and grabbed him, taking him into his fist and bringing him up to his face. “Tell me, how much longer will it take for your precious PLAN to COME THROUGH?!” He roared.

 

“My king, please stop!” Nightshade said as he broke free from the king's hold. “Trust me, I have a very good feeling that in two nights from now, the anticipation will finally end, and we can finally bring you your crown, and both worlds will belong to you. You must believe me; this will all be worth the wait.”

 

Pariah kept his glare, but he then turned away. “I will take note of your word. You have the next two nights…should you fail in whatever you are planning…” He said, his hand balling into a fist, which then began to glow red.

 

“Of course, your majesty…” Nightshade said. He then turned back to his crystal, which shone brightly. It then showed the image of the inside of Danny's home, Maddie treating the wounds that Vlad claimed he gained from the ghosts.

 

“I very much wish I could come up and ask you, Plasmius…” Nightshade chuckled darkly. “…How does it feel…when you're one of the pawns?”

 

~

“I hope this place is okay.” Alissa said. “If you need anything, you can come to me anytime you want. I know it's not much, but…”

 

The entire group was in a dark, abandoned apartment just next-door to Alissa's apartment. The whole place was dark, curtains were torn, cobwebs were here and there…Alissa felt horrible for not knowing where else they could go, but they didn't seem to mind.

 

“As long as we're hidden from our enemies, it's fine, Alissa.” Dora said. “We're very grateful.”

 

Alissa was able to smile, but she still felt bad.

 

As the kids said good night to the ghosts, Alissa knelt down to Cujo. “Listen, Danny's told me about how you always butt into most of his fights. I know your intentions are good, but you can't do that right now. You and the others must stay hidden at all times until called for. When we tell you to stay, we mean STAY. Understand?”

 

Cujo started to whimper, but he licked Alissa's face again.

 

“Good boy. Good night.” Alissa said as she gave Cujo a final head rub. He walked around in a circle before lying down and closing his eyes.

 

“How'd you get him to listen to you?!” Danny cried as Alissa walked up to him and the other kids.

“All you gotta do is be peaceful, quiet, and sensitive.” Alissa chuckled. “And let's face it, Babe, in the heat of the moment, you aren't any of those.”

 

Danny widened his eyes before narrowing them. “Why, you…” Alissa giggled.

 

Finally, Danny took all the kids in his arms and flew them out of the apartment and back to the ground. “So, I guess this is good night, eh?” Summer asked.

 

“Do you think you can make it?”

 

“Ali, relax. The ghosts are gone. Well…see you in the morning, I guess…” Summer said before turning and walking home, Sam and Tucker doing the same. That just left Danny and Alissa alone.

 

“Uh…” Danny looked at the girl when he heard her speak. “Listen…about earlier…sorry.”

“Sorry? About what?”

 

“Well…” Alissa's cheeks started to gain color and she averted her eyes from the boy. “Sorry about…about how I got the Guys in White away…”

 

Danny stared at her in confusion, but he then blinked and looked away, too, his face burning as well. “Oh, that…well, uh…I wouldn't have thought of anything else!” He said. He then looked sad. “The only thing I'm upset about is…is that our date got ruined…”

 

“Ruined?” Alissa squeaked. “What're you talking about?! Babe, I had an awesome time with you!” She claimed, grabbing Danny's arm and using it to pull him close to her. She nuzzled her cheek against his arm as she continued to speak. “Sure, we ended up being spied on and ghosts attacked again, but all in all, I had so much fun with you, and…well…” Her voice started to drift off and her eyes looked away from him again, though she kept her grip on his arm.

 

Danny's face showed surprise, but he smiled warmly, the kind of smile that would make any girl melt. “Thanks…can I still walk you home?”

 

Alissa looked up at him and smiled. “Ah, let's do something a bit different! I'll walk you!” Danny was surprised, but they linked their arms together and walked to FentonWorks.

 

“Hello!” Danny called as he opened the door to his house. To his slight bafflement, Jack, Maddie, and Jazz were all in the Living Room. Jack and Maddie looked like they just walked into the Living Room, looking very fretful. The moment the door closed, they all looked up and immediately ran to the kids. The parents tightly embraced their son.

 

“You're alright! You're both alright!” Maddie cried, still squeezing Danny. “Where've you been?!”

 

“We would've looked for you two sooner, but we had to treat Vladdie's wounds and make sure that Jazz was okay!” Jack said.

 

“It's okay, we're fine!” Danny said as Maddie finally released him. “…Where is Vlad?” He then asked.

 

“Oh, he's resting right now…you wouldn't believe what those ghosts did to him!” Maddie said.

 

“He must've been caught in the blasts, `cause no ghosts even came to Danny and me! Too preoccupied with the Ghost Boy, I suppose…” Alissa said.

 

Suddenly, the parents' faces became more serious. “Speaking of which…” Maddie said. “We need to talk to you, Alissa. About a certain something that happened tonight.”

 

Alissa was a little frightened. “W--what are you talking about?”

 

“She's talking about this.” Jazz said, pointing to the TV.

 

What was on was clearly the News, but it was talking about the second ghost assault. What it was showing now was the ghost attack and, in the corner of the screen, Danny Phantom carrying Alissa in his arms as he tried to get away from the attacking GiW.

 

“…Oh…that…well, uh…” Alissa stuttered. Jazz bit her lip. Even Danny started to look uncomfortable.

 

“Alissa, what were you thinking?!” Maddie cried. “You know how dangerous and untrustworthy ghosts are! How could you let him take you like that?”

 

“You don't understand, Maddie!” Alissa cried back.

 

“Oh, dear…” Maddie said as she sat upon the couch and held her head. “Alissa…you're not one of those people who honestly believe that absurd proposal of ghosts and humans actually hanging out and being friends, are you?”

 

Alissa's face twisted to show a cross between heartache and fury. “You…you actually think of ghosts that way?” She had known they were ghost hunters, but she never really knew just how disgusting they thought they were…and it gave her infuriated chills. “B--but Maddie! You don't know the Ghost Boy! He's not like the other ghosts! He cares about this town and us! He's a good ghost! I know he is!”

 

Jack and Maddie glanced at each other, and then burst out laughing.

 

Alissa's eyes widened; she had come to a revelation: she hated what people laughed at her like that.

 

Before Alissa could ask what was so funny, Maddie wiped her eyes and stared back at her. “Oh, Alissa…you're still young…there's no such thing as a `good ghost!'” She said, giggling near the end of the sentence.

 

“And even if there was, WHICH THERE ISN'T…” Jack said, eyeing Maddie as he said the last part, which made her giggle more. “…It certainly isn't him!” He pointed back to the TV, which then showed Tiffany Snow. Everybody turned back to the TV.

 

“Also in light of our second ghost attack, a new ghost girl whose alias is still unknown has recently appeared.” So saying, in a small box beside the woman, it showed Lisa Phantasm. “However, it's clear that she's obviously an acquaintance to Danny Phantom.” As she said that, the box enlarged to take up the entire screen, showing numerous short scenes of Lisa fighting alongside and protecting Danny somehow.

 

Upon hearing the volume of the others talking, Vlad had emerged from Danny's room and looked over the stairway railing at the others.

 

“But is she friend or foe? Since most of Amity Park now sees our first ghost kid, Danny Phantom, as a hero and an ally, and since this new girl seems to be on his side, many people think of her as another ally. But we are still not totally sure. Now onto Lance Thunder…”

 

Jack slapped his forehead. Maddie sighed heavily. Alissa gulped a little. Danny looked at her in worry, and Jazz crossed her legs with a worried face. “Well…she promises to make things more interesting, huh?” Jazz said nervously.

 

“But no ghost is meant to be trusted…not one…why doesn't Amity Park understand that?” Maddie murmured.

 

Alissa's eyes were wide upon hearing Maddie's remark, and they then began to glimmer scarlet. Her hands slowly balled into fists. “Ghosts were humans once, too…” She hissed under her breath. The parents took no notice of this, nor did they notice that the lamp on a small table right beside them started to glow black and also started to shake…

 

“Anyway, Alissa, we think that it's so sweet that you want to give everybody you meet a chance, but ghosts simply do not--” Maddie couldn't finish for at that moment, the lamp that was surrounded by black energy exploded! Everybody cried out in surprise and Alissa squeaked and grabbed onto Danny. Vlad, who was still watching from a distance, widened his eyes and hung his mouth open.

 

As the pieces fell down to the ground, Jack and Maddie immediately ran to where the lamp once stood. Danny was holding Alissa back, and as such gasped in surprise when she pulled away from him. She stared at her own two hands and then closed them. “I…I gotta go!” She said as she ran for the door.

 

Vlad raised an eyebrow toward Alissa, and he then turned around and went back to Danny's room.

 

“Alissa, wait! It's too dangerous to…!” She was already gone.

 

Panting, Alissa ran down the street back to her house. She knew it. She didn't know how, but she knew it. She was responsible for that lamp incident. Everything Jack and Maddie were saying made her so angry…like she wanted to destroy something, and she did. She knew something was happening to her…but what?

 

 

~*~

[1] As you might've already guessed, Dora was in her dragon form when she came from her invisibility.
[2] Don't forget the somewhat thunderstorm! Makes the scene more intense!
[3] Y'know, Ghost Stingers? That electrical ghost attack? Vlad used it once before on Danny in The Million Dollar Ghost, remember?


Yay, I brought some old friends back!
And Danny and Ali had a Fake-Out-Make-Out!  (Lil' jealous Sammy always makes my day...)
And yes, I know the ending seemed kinda rushed and anticlimactic, but I wanted to end the chapter with a note that something's happening to Ali...something bad.
Uh-oh, VLAD'S a pawn this time?! In what kind of Chess game?!
You'll just have to wait and see!
Oh, and I'll be drawing a picture of Lisa with her new Ecto-Blade soon, so you can see what it looks like. (I told you, I'm bad at description!)
And finally, I know that it seems like Summer, Sam, and Tucker got off a bit easily with the whole spying thing, but just wait until the next chapter!
Seeya!