Chapter 4 - Powers of Shadow

“Nobody move! We're on Ghost Alert Code Red!” Danny looked up to see his parents climb out of the Fenton RV and wander off with a scanner. Danny quickly turned back to Danny Fenton and headed towards them with Dash in his arms, unconscious. “Mom, Dad! What are you guys doing here?!” Danny saw the scanner in Jack's hands and noticed that it wasn't pointing at Danny like normal, but it was pointing to a different direction, measuring a far distance. “We had reports of shadow ghostly activity. Probably the first one in months!” replied Maddie as she was franticly looking for the shadow ghost. Danny had to tell his parents about Dash, but he had to play dumb as if he didn't know what happened. Dash gave a painful moan and started breathing heavily. “Uhh guys, Dash is acting weird…do you think it had something to do with that shadow ghost, or whatever?” Maddie took a closer look at Dash as he gave out yet another painful moan. “This child has lost his shadow! We have to take him to the lab, now!”



“Wait, why is it important if he loses his shadow?!” he asked as his parents placed Dash in the back of the RV. “We don't have time, we have to get home!” yelled back Jack. “If you see anything, you must report to us immediately!” Danny had never seen his parents so serious on this one ghost. He turned back to Danny Phantom as he stood there, watching his parents drive back to his house. Danny flew back to his friends and told them the news. “So what are you gonna do about it?” asked Sam. “I have to follow my parents back to the house if I'm gonna learn anything about these shadow ghosts. If anyone asks where I am, tell them my parents took me home on the count that I'm sick.” Both Tucker and Sam nodded their heads and Danny flew back to his house. When he phased his way down to the basement, he saw his parents standing Dash up in a giant, metallic, cylinder and closing the door leaving, Dash inside.



“Did you find anything yet?” asked Jack. Maddie nodded her head and sighed as she looked into the tube where Dash was fast asleep. “We have to tell them, you know…” said Jack as Maddie took out a family photo from her pocket. “I know dear, but I never wanted them to know this way…” She stared deeply into her photo as she kissed the spots where Danny and Jazz were. Danny had seen enough, he phased out of the building and headed somewhere in the park where no one could see him. He took the medallion out of his pocket and wore it around his neck. “Clockwork!” he called out. “Time Up!” Everything froze around Danny as the infant specter Clockwork formed in front of Danny. “What seems to be the trouble, Daniel?” he asked as he changed from infant to elder. “My parents…they know what's going on! They're worried, Clockwork, what makes this thing so frightening?! How do my parents know?!”



Clockwork picked a flower from the ground and held it out for Danny to see. “As you know, shadow ghosts take the shadows from others and use it for energy. When a shadow ghost does take a shadow, they take the spiritual energy that keeps the victim solid.” He clenched his fist tightly around the flower and let go to reveal nothing. “Slowly, and painfully, the victim fades away from existence, never to be seen again…” Danny stared at Clockwork in disbelief as he changed from elder to adult. “No it can't be…and Dash?”



“Will cease to exist…” he interrupted. “But what if he gets to my friends? Sam, Tucker?” Clockwork picked many flowers this time, holding each in between his fingers. “As long as it has a shadow, it will be attacked,” he said as each of the flowers began to fade, “one, by one, by one…” Danny started to tremble as Clockwork's voice rang in his ears. His heart dropped each time a flower disappeared from existence. “How to my parents know, why did they keep it a secret?!” Danny was furious; he wasn't thinking straight. His hand even started to glow with energy right before he was ready to attack Clockwork. “I want answers!” he demanded. “Calm yourself Daniel! Shadow ghosts thrive off negative energy. If he takes your shadow in this state, he would become unstoppable!” Danny stopped grinding his teeth and his hand stopped glowing. “We must make this quick,” he said as he changed from adult to infant, “as we speak, he is aware of my presence and will find you.”



“How is that possible?” asked Danny. He couldn't believe that even the master of time was uneasy about a shadow ghost. “Shadow ghosts are masters of shadows; they can even travel through them to different locations, even hide in them. Each shadow is like a door to the Shadow Dimension; as long as it has a shadow it is accessible. You will recall your visit to a different dimension (sorry to interrupt. Clockwork is talking about Danny's adventure in my previous DP fanfic Emily Entity)?” he asked. Danny shook his head in response; how was he gonna forget? “He could be anywhere in that dimension, this dimension, even staying in the Shadow Dimension anywhere with a shadow.” Danny was confused; how many dimensions are there? “What is the Shadow Dimension?” he asked. Clockwork changed from infant to elder and said, “The Shadow Dimension is a place that can only be reached if you command shadows. Once inside, there is a door to every shadow in the universe, making it impossible to track that person down. Each shadow is like that person's eyes and ears throughout the universe, which means he could be observing us right now. Unfortunately, time stands still in the Shadow Dimension, which means he is not affected when I stop time.


Clockwork paused and changed from elder back to infant. “You want to learn how your parents know of shadow ghosts? Well if I recall, your parents had an encounter with the very shadow ghost a year after he had received his powers. The day he found his powers was roughly 2 years ago. An accident changed his life due to the fault of the ghost Johnny 13, and to get his revenge, he is willing to wipe out an entire continent as long as he gets the man that changed his life.” Danny thought back to the biker ghost with the living shadow. “What did he do?” asked Danny. Clockwork gave a big sigh and changed from infant to adult. “It is a gruesome tale, but if you must know, I will show you…come with me back in time.”

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