The Dark Prince II

Chapter 25: Getting to Know You; Getting to Know Me

Danny huffed as he flew away from the town, noticing the sirens but ultimately decided it was a bad idea to linger around and be found by human officials even though their policies have always been questionable. Even Walker has better judgement on his jurisdictions; he has been around for years and he has witnessed things from strange to downright evil. The fact the prince himself was under the warden's mercy showed how wary he is when it concerned the humans and their opinions.

He decided to stop at a nearby forest to gather his thoughts and takes a moment to think over what has happened.

Dan is back, and he has unleashed chaos to the world. Not only that, but he ultimately declared war onto both humans and ghosts, and now his worst secret is out. How could so much chaos have happened in less than one hour? It was literally his worst nightmare come to life-

His eyes snap open upon the memory of his time at the Realm of Fears.

"After all, who would you better…. Then yourself?"

"Hey."

Danny jumped at the voice and turned with his hands charged with energy to attack the intruder. However, he lowered them and sighed upon realizing it was Vasilisa.

"Oh, it's you."

"It's me." She responds coolly.

Danny said nothing and looked her over as she jumps off the board and summons it away. Knowing this meant she had no intention of fighting him, his aura calmed enough for some of his usual glowing to dim. He hid deep into the forest because he was literally a glowing being and could be noticed within a mile, especially in the middle of the night. He could never figure out how to stop this glow, as Pariah himself also seemed to have that glow to him as well and decided it couldn't really be helped. After some practice, he did manage to control it enough to where it would make him approachable without blinding anyone, but it did put him in the spotlight- figuratively speaking.

He sighs softly. "You found me pretty quickly."

"Clockwork gave me this." Vasilisa held up the Infinite Map. Her masked expression was impossible to decipher, and her tone was dull. "It's how I was able to get to you and that other guy…"

"I see…" Danny murmured, feeling a bit bitter about Clockwork at the moment. Not only did he not tell Danny about Dan's escape immediately, he breached his trust in telling Pariah his dark secret without confiding him about it. He was not sure how he should feel and honestly needed time to determine that later after he figured out what to do next.

But he did know that he owed someone something.

"I suppose I should thank you for the rescue; I don't know what would have happened had you and Plasmius not intervened."

Lisa paused, looking a bit baffled at being thanked. "Don't mention it." She said seriously. "Just consider it payback for that fall."

The lips on the prince's face quirked up a bit, remembering in amusement her stunned reaction to him on their first meeting. "Of course."

"But we need to get something straight here." She finally stepped forward and clutched the helm of his shirt, pulling his face close to hers. Even with his bright aura, he still couldn't see past her mask to see her expression, but he knew she was angry. "Just because we helped each other out does NOT make us friends. I don't know what Clockwork thinks, but this changes nothing. Right now, I don't know how I should feel about you considering what happened tonight. You are not going anywhere until I hear everything about your history with this guy. Clockwork just gave me a rundown- I need to hear your side if you want me to somewhat trust you."

She lets go of him and takes the moment to remove her mask. She is giving him a glare while he stares back at her. She then points behind him at two large boulders. "Sit."

Danny raised a brow at her and crossed his arms. "Ordering me around? Bold of you to make commands to a prince."

"Don't pull that card on me," She snapped. "You want my help, I want answers."

"So do I. Where did Plasmius go, and where is my crown?"

"Nuh uh. I asked first."

"I asked you second."

"You are wasting my time!"

"If you want to help, I need to know what happened. Plasmius helped the guy escape!"

"Wait, what?"

"I thought Clockwork told you."

"I said he gave me a run-down; not the biography!"

"Well, where is he?"

"What is your affiliation with that Phantom?"

"Answer me, damn it!"

"No, you!"

Danny felt his aura flaring in agitation, and he growled as he clenches his fists as he glared at the unphased huntress. "Impudent brat…" Now he was beginning to see why every ghost he ever encountered called him that; teenagers were absolute hellions themselves.

Lisa crossed her arms and huffed back. "Please, I've been called worse. We can do this all night, you know. But know that the guy is till out there, and he could be doing more damage. Give me one reason why I shouldn't turn you in right now as that would solve all our problems; it's clear he is after YOU."

"You know exactly what would happen if you do that right…?" Danny hissed, narrowing his eyes. "And considering he now knows who YOU are, how much are you willing to wager he won't go after your family?"

Lisa froze.

"You claim to be the best huntress to know my history, but you know nothing about HIM." Danny continues, voice tense. "You have experience of three years, but I have had almost a century. He was able to destroy both worlds within a YEAR in another timeline. There was a reason I kept him locked away outside in Clockwork's watch."

"… And look how that turned out." She muttered bitterly.

Danny opened his mouth, but didn't have any comeback because he knew she was right.

Both were silent, letting the crickets chirp for a moment.

"… Plasmius took off with your crown." Lisa finally responded. Danny perked up at this. "Tried to stop him, but you were in pretty bad shape. He used the suit for an opportunity to get away as well."

"That bastard…" Danny grumbles, shaking his heads. "First he tries to steal Pariah's crown, then he steals mine too."

"Also… I think something happened to it."

"…?" Danny gives her an inquiring look.

"It's lost some of its glow, and it has some black electricity radiating from it. This sounds weird but it looks… damaged. When I tried to hold it, I felt a very dark aura radiating off it."

"…"

Danny felt his fists shaking before he turns and walks towards a cliff.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"To find Plasmius. I need to have a long talk with him; he's going to be lucky if Pariah gets to him this time."

"But you don't even know where he is!"

Danny paused, causing her to crash right into his back. He takes this opportunity to spin and wrap her in his arms. She protested in his hold before realizing he was snatching the InfiMap. She jumped at him right as he demanded to be taken to Plasmius' current location, and soon both were warped into the last place they expected to find a banished former hybrid.

Lisa stares up at the abandoned landscape while Danny blinked in confusion. "… Prince Aragon's former castle?"