Darkness Chapter 9

Darkness
A Danny Phantom FanFiction by Cordria


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Chapter 9: Run


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Squinting through the harsh glare, Maddie’s eyes burned and watered. She could barely open her eyes up enough to catch even a glimpse of her surroundings. The fact that she was being dragged up a spiral staircase was obvious. But she wanted to know more. “Where are we going?” she demanded.

A sharp rap on the back of her head made stars jump into her already spotted vision. “Is my son alive?” Another slap to the head. Questions not allowed.

“Stop that,” Phantom’s voice drifted oddly in the stairway. Then he yelped as he was hit too.

“Walk and shut up,” a man’s deep voice commanded. From the sound of it, the talker was the man holding her arms behind her back.

“Now, now,” the woman’s voice chided from above them. “They are going to be so helpful, I’m sure we can answer a couple of questions.” She tittered. “They have been in the dark for so long, right?”

The man chuckled loudly at the horrible pun. “If you say so, mi’lady.”

Maddie squinted up the stairs, her blurry gaze barely making out the tall form of the woman leading them up the stairs. She was just a mass of fuzzy green with a glob of caramel-brown at the top.

“We,” the woman said, “are going upstairs to a room I had specially prepared for the two of you. I hope you like it; it’s taken weeks of hard work and planning. I was pleased as punch when I found out the resident ghost hero was actually a hybrid. I just had to meet him.”

“Oh, yeah,” Phantom muttered darkly from behind her, “honored, I’m sure.”

“As for your son, I’m happy to say he’s as alive as usual.”

The green blob of a woman was slowly swimming into focus. Maddie could now make out that she was wearing a floor-length, medieval-style dress. The odd caramel blob was actually her hair, carefully coifed on her head. “Why do you need my son and me?”

Maddie twisted her head over her shoulder, peering at the ghost trailing her up the stairs. Phantom was stumbling, his shoeless feet catching on the rough, stone steps. He was just too weak to be walking on his own. A large man was basically lugging the boy up the stairs like a piece of luggage.

“For the ritual!” the lady proclaimed. “It takes two, you see, a parent and a child. A mother and a son. It’s perfect!”

Maddie continued to study Phantom. His right arm was coated in dried, greenish blood. His skin was dotted with olive bruises and his cheeks were dark and shallow. Normally clean hair was matted with dirt and blood and his uniform was ripped and torn, hanging off of his skinny frame in rags. Both shoes and gloves were missing, revealing scratched and dirty hands and feet. His lively green eyes were dim and surrounded by heavy, dark rings. If she hadn’t known he was a ghost, she certainly would have wondered if he was dead.

The lady was laughing, her voice dashing against Maddie’s nerves like nails on a chalkboard. “Imagine, a mere two lives is all it takes for me to rule the world.”

Maddie’s head jerked around to squint up at the lady. Two? Danny, me, and Phantom… that makes three…

She was about to ask when the lady reached the door at the top of the spiral stone staircase. A gloved hand reached out to carefully push the wooden door open. “Come,” the woman commanded unnecessarily and swept into the room, her long dress brushing against the floor.

“Whoa…” Phantom breathed when he was dragged into the room. He quirked an eyebrow at the setup of the room, a sarcastic quip jumping to his lips. “Alright, I’m duly impressed.”

He does have a point, Maddie agreed as she surveyed the enormous room. Gilded columns covered with creeping vines and moonlit flowers rose into the air, holding the massive ceiling high in the shadows. Fantastic stained-glass windows sparkled in the walls, chopping up the moonlight and sending it cascading against the tiled floor in a parade of colors. The floor was a swirling mosaic of blues, greens, reds, and blacks, all pointing to a double circle of gold laid into the floor in the center of the room.

In the center of the area, positioned perfectly on the golden rings, were thirteen candles. Eight blue and red candles were evenly spaced around the outer ring, four black candles and single green one had been carefully set on the inner ring. Each one, except for the lone green candle, were lit and burning brightly. In the dead center of the inner ring was a small dais. A long knife glittered in the candlelight against the dais’ black wood.

“First we’ll do the boy,” the woman ordered. “Bring him!”

As Phantom was yanked towards the rings of candles, Maddie licked her lips. “I don’t understand,” she asked, “what’s going on?”

The green-clothed woman stopped and turned around to face Maddie straight on for the first time. Maddie looked into the familiar features, her heart faltering. “You…” she whispered.

“Yes, me,” the woman laughed, her eyes narrowing. “I’ve been planning this for awhile. Even that bogus meeting we had. You see, Madeline Fenton, I’m here to gain my birthright. My failure of a brother has screwed up… twice.” In the vague light of the moon and candles, her auburn-brown eyes seemed to flare a bloody red.

“My family,” she continued, her voice tense, “has been owed this for generations. It is time to claim the payment for the services my family has rendered.” Her manicured, gloved finger shot out to point at the ghost-boy. “He is my key. We have been waiting too long for a ghost-human hybrid to show up. Enough is enough!”

She twisted around on her heel and strode after the man dragging Phantom into the ring. “Tie him up good,” she snapped. “He should be weak from lack of food, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

Phantom glared up at her when he was pushed roughly down on the dais. His lips moved, his raspy voice not echoing in the vast cavern. “Dipstick.” Maddie couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth.

“Is that the best you’ve got?” the lady demanded as she reached his side. Carefully keeping her long skirts out of the burning candles, she knelt next to the tied-up boy. “I was expecting better from the great Danny Phantom. You are pathetic. How you managed to defeat my brother I will never understand.”

He blinked up at her, confusion written in his dim eyes. “Who’s your…” he trailed off, his eyes widening. “Freakshow,” he breathed.

“Yes, yes,” she said, a smile twisting her face, “Frederik. He lost two of our family’s heirlooms, the idiot.”

Maddie stood still, watching everything happen, her arms trapped behind her by the iron-like muscles of the deep-voiced man. Freakshow… she thought, Phantom told me about him. He stole Phantom’s free will and made him steal things. She glanced down at the ground, remembering the horrified terror in the boy’s voice as he had told her about Freakshow. Of all the enemies the ghost had ever fought, Freakshow was by far the one that scared him the most. That man had almost made Phantom kill his friend.

“But!” the lady continued, her voice light, “after tonight that won’t matter. I will be the most powerful person on the planet. Nobody will be able to stop me from claiming my right. I will rule this world.” Her smile grew as she watched the ghost-boy’s eyes widen. She ruffled his dirty hair, but quickly stopped and stared at her dirty glove with a sneer. She rose from her crouch. “You, my dear hybrid, are my savior. You will make it all happen.” Her red eyes drifted across the spacious room to rest on Maddie. “You and dear Madeline here.”

Maddie watched in growing horror as the woman turned around and came to a stop behind the green, unlit candle. “Now!” the lady commanded, “Jose, get out of my circle.”

“Yes, mi’lady,” the man mumbled, hurriedly finishing off the knots holding Phantom in place before stepping out of the circle. The ghost just knelt on the dais, perfectly still, his eyes closed in concentration.

Her green skirts flared as the lady slowly sank to the floor. She mumbled softly under her breath, taking a long match out of her pocket. Striking it against the floor, she brought the flame up to the green candle. “And the young hybrid’s life…”

“Belongs to me,” Phantom interrupted, his eyes shooting open. They were glowing fiercely. A wave of spectral energy burst out of him, his ropes blasting into tiny pieces.

“No…” Maddie yanked against the unmoving arms holding her in place. “ Phantom!”

The ghost rose to his feet, his hands glowing an electric emerald. He raised an arm, a burst of ectoplasm slamming into the lady in green, sending her toppling over backwards. Another blast took out the man that had tied his ropes. Phantom jumped off of the dais and ran towards Maddie, scattering candles with his bare feet.

About halfway across the room, Phantom took to the air. He pulled to a stop beside her, one dangerously glowing hand hovering right over her shoulder. “Let her go,” he snarled at the guard. Instantly, the hands holding her vanished.

Phantom released the pent-up burst of energy, throwing the guard backwards into a wall. He turned his head to gaze at her with his glowing, green eyes. “Go! Run! Get help!” he panted. The ghost’s body was becoming more transparent with every passing second. Through his chest, Maddie could see one of the guards clamoring back to his feet. Phantom’s head yanked around, his spectral eyes tracking the man’s movements. “I can’t hold them off for long,” he snapped. “Go!”

Hesitating for one more second, Maddie reached out and touched the boy’s scarred and bloody hand. He glanced at her, confusion in his eyes. “Stay alive,” Maddie ordered. “We need to talk.” Phantom, a half-grin growing on his translucent face, nodded.

The she turned and raced through the room. A gaudily decorated hallway breezed into view behind a column and she took it, skidding around corners on the slick floor. She was panting heavily, too weak to run for very long. An especially slippery section of tile tripped her up, causing her to skid onto her hands and knees. She paused, her chest heaving. Behind her, Phantom screamed a battle cry. Maddie glanced over her shoulder once before pushing herself unsteadily to her feet.

Three more corners and an exit came into view. Two men, both muscular and wielding wicked-looking sticks, were blocking the way out. She slid to a sudden stop on the waxed floor, carefully keeping her balance. “Move,” she commanded. The two men glanced at each other, smiled, and shook their heads. “Then I move you,” she hissed, settling into a fighting stance.

Suddenly, Phantom was there, appearing out of a wall. He flew straight into the two men, throwing them out of the way. Sinking to the ground next to the door, he gasped for breath. “Go!” he whispered when she made it to his side.

Maddie knelt down beside him. He was barely visible. She reached out, her fingers going straight through his shoulder. He’s noncorporeal, her mind muttered to her. “ Phantom,” she said softly.

The boy looked up at her, tears in his dull, lifeless eyes. Just for a second, something flickered in his eyes, a tiny bit of emotion. “I’m sorry,” he cried, “I can’t help you anymore. You’re on your own.”

“No… you’ll be fine,” she whispered. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Phantom shook his head sadly. Then his eyes widened, looking over her shoulder. “No,” he breathed. He turned his gaze to her. “Run!” he screamed.

Maddie glanced over her shoulder. Men were tearing down the corridor, batons swinging dangerously. “Not without…” she trailed off as her head spun back around. She was alone. “ Phantom?”

With one final glance over her shoulder, Maddie pushed herself to her feet and ran.

She could barely see through the tears in her eyes.

To be continued…