Are you a... ghost?(Invite Only)

[Jilak]

(OOC: Me and Mugen for now. PM one of us if you want in and we'll discuss it over IM. Some knowledge of Ghostbusters and/or Danny Phantom would be a plus.)

The rest of their flight was done in silence, until the two wayward ghosts finally reached the outskirts of Void City. Commonly known to some as The Plaza, known to others as 'the location of the most used NPC ever'. But that was neither here nor there. The point was, Danny and William had finally reached their destination. And from the looks of it, they had even managed to make it there without much of a fuss. Nothing could possibly go wrong now!
-Flashback-
Dr. Egon Spengler would like to beg to differ. Many, many, MANY things could go wrong. One of them being he and his team's ill-fated attempt to reseal Gozer. It was a simple solution, really. Cross the streams, open the gate to Gozer's home dimension, and pray to whatever deity they served that the catastrophe Egon predicted happened THERE and not HERE.

It would appear that they misfired, however, as they hit a dimension not belonging to Gozer... no, no, this was not home to Gozer at all. What it was home to, however, was what appeared to be a pretty powerful defense mechanism. Because what followed, instead of the god being fired back to his home dimension, instead of total protonic reversal happening in New York... Dr. Spengler was pulled through the gate that appeared.

"EGON!" He heard Ray's voice call out. It was too late, however. The(mad) scientist was gone.
--
Egon rocketed through the portal, coming out at what appeared to be a city. The outskirts of it, at least. One thing stuck out to him. And not the fact that he was in a parallel dimension, either. What stuck out was that his PKE meter, tucked away softly in his pocket, was beeping like CRAZY. He turned and found what appeared to be... a boy? Well, that wasn't to-wait, was he floating?

Dr. Spengler hovered his PKE meter near the boy. Indeed, that was the source of the disturbance. But there was another... adjacent to him. Yes, yes... an invisible specter. The only logical solution.

"Oh my... you're a full-bodied spectral disturbance, aren't you?" Egon asked, wonder laced in his voice.

"Er... I'm a... what?" Daniel asked.

"A ghost." Dr. Spengler continued. "I haven't seen readings like this since Gozer... but you don't seem to be nearly as powerful as her. You or the being beside you... but there does seem to be another god-like being in the vicinity..."

"...BEWARE!" Daniel resorted to the only plausible response.

[mugenginga]

William's first reaction was surprise. Surprise that the man before he and Danny had a device that could pick up on him. Then came worry. Worry bordering on fear. He was right, that thing was in the area still. "god-like being" could only indicate that. He did facepalm at Danny's reaction, but he couldn't talk with the man as he was, so he set his feet on the ground and focused momentarily.

Dr. Spengler would now be able to see the "being beside Danny". Well, for the most part. As it was, even at his most tangible William was still mildly transparent. His solidity in terms of sight was at about 95%, as it were. Dr. Spengler would also be able to see the way William was dressed and likely be able to guess at his position in life. I mean, the teen was dressed rather formally, had a circlet-like crown, and a stupidly fancy (probably dress) sword at his side.

Although of all his attire, the PKE meter would react towards his silver sun-like pendant and the large blue sapphire set within it the most.

"I can make no claim as to what your device is, good sir, but it would be prudent for us to not remain in this location. That thing you refer to as a 'god-like being' is not of the friendly sort. I have no doubts that it would kill you along with its destruction of both of us," he turned to Danny, "Danny, we should make leave of this locale. I shall feel more comfortable within the bustle of this... city."

He'd hesitated over the last bit as Void City was quite unlike any city he'd ever seen. Dr. Spengler would catch his rather proper way of speaking. Like as not he'd think nothing of is, the way the royal teenager was dressed was enough to indicate a high status in life.

[Jilak]

This was an odd notion, siding with ghosts. How was the good(mad) doctor certain he could trust them? They could have very well turned on him, possessed him, and attacked his comrades. But then again... he was in a different world, it was the only logical explanation for what had happened to him... so truly, these 'ghosts' were, in fact, his ONLY comrades to speak of.

One thing he noticed, however, was the way the other spectral force was dressed. He seemed regal, as if he had been a prince or some such in his past life.

"I'll have to consult Tobin's Spirit Guide later on to see if a prince of some sort is referenced," Egon thought, making a mental note.

"We should probably try to find a map of some sort. Try to find our way around town without too much trouble." Egon said aloud.

"Er, right. I've got this odd feeling that we may conveniently run into a furniture store." Daniel responded.

"Daniel, this is science. There's no such thing as 'conveniently running into things'. Merely probability."

At that point Danny began to miss Tucker's occasional tech-speak...

[mugenginga]

William nodded, "A map may be our best bet. I am able to read them with skill, although I fear the times have changed enough that I would not know any now. In any case, perhaps you should take the lead. That device of yours is capable of picking up on 'spectral disturbances', correct? It may serve a use if our enemy attempts to conceal itself. If you are worried about taking the lead, I give you my word that I mean you no harm, nor does Dan... Daniel?" William blinked, having just realized what Egon had said, "Is that your full name? It is improper to introduce oneself with a nickname..."

"As for my own name, I am Pri....."

William had gone into a bow as he began to introduce himself. It had been and still was quite proper. Of a posture few in the modern world managed. The few royal families that still existed were known for posture as such. It was also a proper bow, not the failures at the motion most modern people pulled. If Egon was any kind of history buff, he'd realize it was a bow of social etiquette and respect, not a bow one would give between equals or to a person greater. William did not intend to mean it as looking down on the man, but Egon was no more noble than Danny was.

However, the prince had paused and glanced away. He now looked pained. He was a Prince no longer. Amalthis had fallen, he had failed the last vestiges of his people. He closed his eyes and took a breath before he returned to looking at Egon and finished the bow. He spoke while still bowed.

"I am William of Amalthas the Sixth," he straightened up, "And I am serious in that we should take leave of this place. Please accept my apologies if I sounded insincere or rude in that regard."

[Jilak]

Egon didn't question the boy about the pained look he noticed. Nor did he ask about his unfinished title. Egon had read a bit about Amalthas in Tobin's Spirit Guide, enough to know it was a good idea not to dredge up old memories. That'd be like telling Egon "hey, remember that time you failed to reseal Gozer? lolol". Seriously.

It struck Daniel as odd that Egon guessed his first name. It reminded him an AWFUL lot of Vlad. Perhaps the two were in the same archetype. Who knows? If so, Vlad would definitely be on the 'traitor' side. But that's beside the point.

"My bad, but no one actually CALLS me Daniel. Except my old enemy, and that's not... exactly a good thing." Danny responded to William.

"I'll lead the way, sure." Egon responded, putting his PKE meter before him. The god-like energy was gone... for a moment. But then it seemed to EXPLODE out, nearly overloading the PKE meter. He looked up...

And there was a moderately tall man with an odd choice of clothing. A cape? Seriously? But that's not what concerned Egon. Nor what caused Danny to tense up.

No, what did, however, was the pair of blood red eyes staring at them, sneering.

"Why helloooo, Daniel." Came the familiar voice of Vlad Plasmius. Daniel instinctively moved to be in front of Egon, when a thought hit him. What could he do? Really, if Vlad chose to attack, he'd be lucky to even be able to avoid it. And even if he DID, that'd put Egon in danger again...

It was then that he noticed Vlad charging a blast of violet energy in his right hand. He could FEEL it, from where he was standing... heat making the hairs on his neck stand on end. And then the other halfa released, and Danny prepared for a world of pain, hoping William and/or Egon were well away from the blast radius...

[mugenginga]

There's a lot to be said for misguided intentions. A heck of a lot. William had paused as Ego stopped, looking down at his odd device. He likely would have shifted to his fully incorporeal form had he not felt it would be rude to the man before him. It did mean he had to walk. The meter wasn't the only thing to sense the burst in energy. William spun on one foot, his sword out in a flash as Vlad materialized. William glared and gripped his sword tighter. It was clear the teenager knew how to use it.

William was perhaps the first person to notice the energy charging. However, he was also aware that there would not be time to attempt to interuppt the attack, there was too much ground between the new arrival and the group. The new arrival who knew Danny, which couldn't be a sign of good things.

"Danny, sir, get out of here!"

After all, there was a lot to be said for misguided intentions. Call it countless years of fighting a losing battle to protect the last remnants of his kingdom. Danny had been shown to have trouble with his powers and William suspected what little the man had relied on his equipment. William was between Danny and Egon as the attack hit him.

William had felt worse. His death had been worse, being ripped apart by dimensional distortions was not what one would call "pleasant". Belphegor had managed worse once or twice, at least until he realized it would be better to target the prince's people. Still, it was up there. William was blown backwards a bit, but sheer determination despite the impact allowed him to hook his foot on the ground in such a way that he didn't get blasted into Danny or Egon. He fell less than an inch short of them, though.

"Nggh...." was the only sound he could get out.

[Jilak]

Too many things, happening far too quickly. Many thoughts flashed through Egon's mind, none of them comprehensible. He was terrified beyond rational thought, truly. He'd noticed young Daniel in front of him, and wasn't entirely sure why... until William was blown backwards a bit by the beam of ectoplasmic energy. Egon was awed. He'd never read about, nor seen firsthand, a ghost do that. Was that... was that even possible?

Apparently it was, as it had indeed just happened. And William had said something before it hit, urging the scientist and young Daniel to move. It was, perhaps, Egon's best option at this point. For a ghost that could shoot energy beams, and produced near god-like energy, his weapon would do nothing against him. It had had no effect on Gozer, and had only ALMOST worked because the four had crossed streams. In fact, even THAT had failed. He knew what he had to do in that instant.

Egon Spangler ran. He didn't look back, he didn't slow. He just. Bloody. Ran. Ran for cover, ran for safety, ran for self preservation. He could tinker with the 'energy rod' he was sporting when he was safe, but for now, he was almost entirely useless here. No idiot, he recognized this.

Vlad noticed the doctor's leave, but did nothing in the way of stopping him. He'd handle him later, right now, his main focus was the child before him... and the other behind him. Young Daniel almost seemed to be hiding behind William. It was laughable, really. The ghost boy had seemed so... exuberant, last Vlad had seen of him. But then again, the last Vlad had seen of him, Vlad himself was exiled into the cosmos.

Vlad was actually wrong in his assumptions. Danny wasn't 'hiding' behind William, but rather he was unsure of what to do next. William had told him to run. But was William really able to take on Vlad, whom, according to both Egon and William, produced a 'god-like' energy? Daniel couldn't make his mind up until he was forcefully changed back. And so he, too, ran. But it was only to find cover to change. He was no use to William in this form, he knew that.

Vlad's next move was obvious, to him. If young Daniel wished to run, well... he'd simply have to watch his comrade die. Vlad turned to face William, motionless, arms crossed.

"Well? Are you going to keep me waiting?" Vlad inquired, sneering.

[mugenginga]

William wasn't aware that Egon had run. He was in too much pain for that. It had subsided by the time Danny ran. Footsteps, indicating the other teenager had lost his "ghost form" again. William still wasn't sure what to make of that. How did one run around being half dead?.

He tightened his grip around his sword and pushed himself to his feet. The former Prince knew how hard it was to destroy a ghost, and he didn't have any delusions about being able to defeat the person before him. Still, if he could hold him off he could allow Daniel and the other man to escape. It wasn't like his existance was worth anything with his kingdom gone, anyhow. He wobbled as he held out his sword in a threatening manner.

"I would think one such as yourself would make the first move," William stated with a flat voice. He narrowed his gaze, "Or was that talk earlier just a show? It is said that the weakest wolf howls the loudest, after all..."

William wasn't very stable on his feet. It might have been smarter to take his intangible form, vanish from the view of those that could not see ghosts. But his sword created problems. It would be useless in that form of his, the blade relied on his tangibility. Ghosts of his realm could not pass through one another unless they were on seperate planes, and the ghost before him seemed rather tangible. He kept his narrow eyes on Vlad, hoping he would react to the bait. It was more likely the man would drop his guard if William upset him.

Then again, he could always fire another energy blast. At leat this time William would be prepared, and he could attempt to dodge...

[Jilak]

A frown formed on Vlad's face. The teenager was MOCKING him. He recognized that it COULD be a fallacy, but regardless, he would not stand for it. He wasn't on this odd island to be mocked by a mere CHILD. No. He was here to rip Daniel Fenton apart with his bare hands. And if he had to go through William first, he would. If he had to go through Egon, he would. But, having had a lot of time to think in space, he would allow Daniel one more chance to complete his objective.

He would give him the choice of complete death or becoming his apprentice.

Vlad 'tsk'ed before he attacked, a ball of ectoplasmic energy encasing his right hand. But he did not fire it. Instead, he flew at top speed in William's direction, reeling his fist back.

Daniel didn't have time for his usual battle cry, not this time. He needed to be in ghost form, and he needed to be in ghost form NOW. He struggled against what was dampening his power, sparkles appearing around him instead of the usual rings...

[mugenginga]

William had gotten the result he wanted. For a moment he'd thought he hadn't, that the possible result with another beam of energy had occurred, but then the man rushed forward. William almost tripped because of the way the man was broadcasting his attack, and the main reason he didn't was because it was the reaction he'd been trying to get. He kicked into the air in what seemed would be a backward leap.

Those with the powers or equipment to sense spikes and drops in paranormal energy would feel a drop now. A wave of energy drew back into the sapphire pendant hanging aroudn Will's neck and those that couldn't see ghosts in intangible form would think William had vanished. Gravity had no effect on him now, although illusions of it did and William managed to stumble a bit in the air. Dammit, he was used to being inches above the ground at most.

The problem was the dodge, which had been successful, now left him open. All because of his floating "stumble". If Vlad was fast enough, he'd be able to shift his direction and go after Will in the air. After all, the former Prince wasn't the only one that could fly. Will's only advantage is Vlad would also have to be intangible for any physical attacks to connect. His energy blasts would work as long as he willed them too, though...

[Jilak]

Vlad recognized that he had to compose himself. He was letting his pride get in the way of his victory, and he couldn't have that. Not now, when it was so close. Luckily, he was presented an opening when William stumbled in mid-air. He spun, not even taking the time to leave the ground, and fired off another blast of ectoplasm.

In Daniel and Egon's location, things weren't going much better. He couldn't figure out WHAT the sparkles were there for. He'd never sparkled before, that he could remember. But that was the key word. 'remember'. This was, in fact, perhaps the best sign he'd had all day. And Daniel realized it the second he realized his hair was once more snow-white, his eyes were once more glowing green, and he could once more walk through walls, disappear, and fly.

Egon, not paying attention to his PKE meter, didn't notice the oddity. It seemed that both Danny and Vlad's energies were... fluctuating. All heading towards a center point, you could say. Slowly.

He didn't have time to think, to rationalize, to even worry if his powers still worked. Danny simply flew before William, an ectoplasmic shield appearing, deflecting Vlad's blast.

[mugenginga]

William saw the attack flying at him, but he'd just gotten himself stable again. The rate at which the mind processes is too fast to comprehend, but he had quite a few thoughts. The main one was criticizing himself. He knew he wasn't used to flying this high and yet he'd attempted to use this form to dodge an attack. While he'd dodged that one, this one was sure to hit him.

What he didn't expect was for Danny to shoot in front of him and put up some kind of magical shield. Glowing green, in a similar fashion to the teenager's eyes when he was like this. The shock faded to a worried anger rather quickly. Daniel's powers were not working correctly and he was putting himself in the line fo fire. He was going to get himself killed, literally killed, and something told William that if the white haired teenager did manage to become an actual ghost, he'd have trouble adjusting. It wasn't exactly an easy thing to accept, being dead.

"Danny, get away from here!" William shouted.

The former Prince glanced at Vlad. He was sure that the man below them had been the source of that voice before. William did not wish for Danny to be killed, destroyed, or whatever term would best fit a "half ghost". Daniel was at least in part still alive, he still had a connection the mortal coil. He was supposed to be in this world, while William was not. The problem was they were in the air and Daniel's form was tangible despite currently being a ghost. William narrowed his eyes and dropped down, trying to make himself an easier target for the man before them.

"It is not my desire for us to both meet with destruction, Daniel! Hurry up and flee!" William held his sword in a threatening posture. It wasn't like the blade could do anything to the man before him unless they were both intangible, but the man didn't know that. He hoped the display would be enough to make him think twice.

[Jilak]

Vlad did indeed pause for a moment. Quite a long moment, in which no one moved. In reality, no more than a few seconds had passed, but to Vlad it might as well have been an hour. Yes, he'd almost forgotten about young Daniel. Young Daniel, who's powers were on the fritz. Young Daniel, who always played the part of the foolish hero. Yes... he WAS Vlad's original target, wasn't he? But Vlad couldn't exactly allow young William to go unattended, could he? And then, if the two rallied together, with a bit of help from the scientist currently cowering like the rat he was, they may have spammed attacks on him, which might have weakened him a bit.

And truth be told, Vlad loved his newfound power. But, there had to be a way to keep all of his guests entertained... ah, yes... there was that...

"Fear not, young man. I am nothing of not accommodating. Young Daniel may continue his foolish heroics, and you..." And suddenly, without warning, where there was once one Vlad Plasmius, now floated two.

"You may continue being ripped apart by my hand." Vlad finished, flashing a fang-revealing smile. More quickly than his eyes could keep up with, the second Vlad was upon young Daniel, hand around his throat. The two crashed into a building, out of site.

The original Vlad, however, hands glowing, flew towards William, firing off a couple of ectoplasmic blasts.

[mugenginga]

William had planted his feet, so to speak. He was still a few feet off the ground, despite now being lower than Danny, but it was a moment of planted feet anyhow. It would still be easier to knock him over than if he'd been standing, but he was not taking a position on the ground with his opponent capable of fight. He'd already given up the higher ground, after all. And the goal was to be a more enticing target, was it not?

Well, it was, but then his opponent did something he couldn't have possibly expected. He'd made a copy of himself. In about half a second, William realized they both seemed fully capable of seperate actions. Both were just as able to fight, and one didn't seem weaker than the other. And one was flying at Danny, and one was flying at him, and there was not enough time to react to both. For one, Danny now had a hand around his throat. For two, he was being launched towards a tree by a series of energy blasts. The problem was he was still intangible, meaning the opponent was making the effort to hit him despite his tangibility.

The inertia was pretty immense. Immense enough that William was tossed through where Egon was hiding. By through, Egon would now be having the unpleasant sensation that occurred when you passed through a ghost. Or a ghost passed through you, as the case was. And there was really no way for Egon to dodge unless his eye was glued to specific nuances of his meter. After all, in his intangible form William was a standard ghost, invisible to the standard naked eye. And the inertia was still too much to fight against. Dammit, this was going to hurt like hell...

A pulse of energy, once again centered around the sapphire set in the silver sun shape that was his pendant, flashed. William materialized just in time to smack right into a large rock. Had he had bones, several would have shattered. The result instead was that the now forced back into intangible by damage ghost fell to the ground. He actually passed through it... and didn't come immediately back up. The sword hit the ground like a solid object as the mostly transparent (and totally to those who couldn't see ghosts) specter passed through the ground. It wasn't until his hand seperated form it that it vanished as well, but the weapon was still there, above the ground. Those that could see ghosts for whatever reason would see it just fine, and it would give of a reading.

....In any case, William had fallen through the ground and wasn't coming back up, in either form.

[Jilak]

Egon's eyes had not, in fact, been glued to his PKE meter. As such, he didn't realize William was coming until, well, he passed through him. It always made him feel nauseated, ghosts passing through him. Not as bad as Peter must have felt when being slimed by Slimer, but still pretty bad. And not a situation he wanted to repeat, but luckily it was gone as quickly as it had come. His PKE meter had freaked out, indicating that William may have passed through it as well, but that, too, passed. He turned, quickly enough to see the former prince smash into the rock... and then he was gone. Egon was still getting a reading, so SOMETHING was there, but he wasn't sure about William's physical state at the moment. He'd hit pretty hard, was he okay?

And then the meter began to freak out again. Egon turned, quickly, and saw Vlad coming in his direction. He didn't have time to think, an oddity for him. He acted on instinct, and instinct told him that his neutrona wand would be his last hope. Maybe it could do the trick on a ghost as powerful as Vlad... but it hadn't exactly worked on Gozer, so it was a long shot...

Dr. Egon Spengler grabbed his weapon. What he had in his hand was his last hope. If he missed, he would likely be killed. But it wouldn't be quick, he knew. From the look in the ghost's eyes, he could tell that he would drag it out for as long as he could. He fired...

Dr. Egon Spengler missed. The ghost, Vlad Plasmius, dodged the neutrona wand's blast with significant ease. And Dr. Spengler was out of time. In a flash, the ghost's hand was upon his face, gripping... what was he...?

Dr. Spengler's answer would come in the form of a burning sensation. An intense burning sensation. It felt like his face was on FIRE. He dropped his neutrona wand, and, had Vlad not been clasping so tight, he'd surely have collapsed himself.

Dr. Egon Spengler, Ph.D., screamed.

--

"Surely you can do better, Daniel. Your current party seems... underequipped. Where is young Samantha? Young Tucker? After all, they were important parts of your life. Surely they should witness your downfall?" Vlad sneered, grip on Daniel's throat tightening. He continued to fly at top speed, not allowing the boy time to get his bearings. However, young Daniel refused to scream, refused to give this monster the satisfaction.

"Go ahead, Danny. Use your... what was that you called it? Ghostly Wail? Yes, why don't you? It may be your last hope, after all." Vlad continued to taunt, continued to fly. Danny wasn't even sure if they were in the plaza any more, he just knew those buildings he was being flown through HURT.

"Perhaps after we're finished, I'll find a way back to Amity Park. Back to our world. How will they fare without their greatest hero? After the ghost zone takes over your world, Amity Park will be our mecca. Samantha and Tucker? Their part in history will be that of a villain." Vlad continued, grip tightening to the point that things began to go dim for young Daniel.

"But it's... your... world... too!" He managed to gasp out, wasting precious air.

"It was. Before you and those trollops you call 'friends' banished me to the deepest recesses of space. But don't worry, Daniel. I'll be sure Maddie isn't alone."

He could take it no longer. He was done listening to the taunting, done with this hand around his throat. Danny Phantom released a powerful ghostly wail...

...which seemed to have almost no effect on Vladimir.