A/N: Wahoo, and Happy Fourth of July to everyone wherever you are! I hope you have a great one and—
Ms. Hyde: Hold on, dearie! Here you are being all cheery as usual just before a very un-cheery story, which, in fact, was my idea!
truephan: What?! This wasn't your idea, it was pearl84's!
Ms. Hyde: My, my, dearie. I wouldn't think you would fib about all this. *takes out very wicked looking hatpin* You are too, well, cheery!
truephan (swallowing thickly at the site of the weapon): Well, no, I wouldn't fib….It's just that reading Chapter Nine in pearl84's story, Endgame, did give, uhh, you the idea!
Ms. Hyde (smiling smugly after slightly lowering her hatpin): That's more like it, dearie. I knew you would see things my way eventually. I am the master of this one-shot and don't let any reader doubt that! And never mind about pearlie's story, either. Unless you want to please her deviously handsome Vlad Muse and read it since he's the real author of that story. And he's also responsible for the excerpt I took from Chapter Nine to give everyone the background and inspiration for this work of my genius.
truephan (rolls eyes): You know, I'm in such a festive mood that I will say 'whatever' to that; and just remind the readers that we don't own the Danny Phantom franchise or characters! Shall we just roll on now?
Ms. Hyde: For once we do agree! Here is my one-shot, everyone. Enjoy…or else! *brandishes very long, thick and sharp hatpin*
Realm of Nightmares (1)
(Unique and Terrifying)
Prologue
Nightmares.
Each of them is unique and terrifying only to the dreamer's mind. Even something as innocent as a fluffy teddy bear—which would normally generate an unconscious smile while you snuggled with a plush pillow—would be petrifying if in a split second it twisted in form and not only became an enraged grizzly, but a beast of one wielding knives bloodied with its last victim. And if its bloodshot eyes were now fixed on you, you might end up screaming yourself awake.
But what if you had a nightmare from which you could never wake? That is the kind of place, or really, realm to which Fright Knight sent Skulker in Chapter Nine of pearl84's story, Endgame. So, just what kind of place could be so vile and work so differently on ghosts?... Hmmm?! That brave, eh? So then, approach that large, heavy gate of a tormented mind, slide back its rusty bolt, ignore the loud creaking as it opens, and enter…..
Skulker cautiously looked around the foyer; but not seeing or smelling anything amiss, he turned visible and walked slowly towards the pumpkin.
"Fright Knight?" he asked in confusion; and when the pumpkin shook in response, Skulker immediately yanked out the Soul Shredder.
In an instant, a flash a green light lit up the room, and Fright Knight suddenly reformed beside the pumpkin.
The medieval ghost looked confused at first; but when he saw who it was, his eyes widened, "Skulker?"
"Fright Knight? What happened? Why were you trapped in that pumpkin, and what happened to your ghost mare?" Skulker asked urgently.
But Fright Knight's expression melded into alarm as he suddenly grabbed Skulker by the arm and whispered, "Leave. You must depart from this place before it is too late!"
Skulker froze briefly. He had never seen the knight so afraid. Could it be that…?
Fright Knight suddenly grabbed the Soul Shredder from Skulker and sheathed it into the scabbard at his side.
"You must go," Fright Knight then repeated with urgency and began to pull Skulker with him towards the foyer's exit.
"Is it Pariah? Did he escape again?" Skulker asked in alarm.
But Fright Knight shook his head before he nervously glanced around and replied, "It is worse. Something… more evil than…" But Fright Knight did not finish, and instead halted and looked in true worry at the Hunter, "Skulker, you must leave. Fly far away from this place—from the Ghost Zone. Find the deepest corner of the earth to hide, and hope it is enough."
Skulker suddenly glared and yanked his arm from the ghost knight. "I hide from no one! Now, enough of this! I am not going anywhere! I came here because I need your assistance to find Plasmius! He has been missing for three days!"
"Plasmius…," Fright Knight muttered quietly; and Skulker was shocked to hear the ghost call the older hybrid by his name. He always called him 'master' or 'liege'!
"He has been defeated, Skulker… He is no more," the ghost knight revealed soberly.
Skulker stared at the other male ghost in disbelief. "What? Are you saying Plasmius is…? No. It is not possible, Fright Knight! Who told you that,and who has done this to you now?"he demanded to know.
"My master," Fright Knight replied automatically.
"Plasmius?" Skulker asked, confused.
"No. Me," a third voice suddenly replied.
Skulker jolted and his eyes quickly moved over to the fireplace. An unknown male ghost was leaning against the side of the fireplace mantle. The creature looked right at home as he rubbed his black-gloved fingers together as if the dirt in between them was more important than the other two ghosts in the room.
Skulker had no idea how this creature had just shown up in the room, and had further managed to bypass his hunter's nose. But as he took in the smell of the creature now, the Hunter had to hold back a gag of disgust. He had never smelled something so fowl!
But the worst of it was that Skulker was sure he had found the source of that strange smell he had been picking up for a while now. And even when he didn't have his energy reader out, the Hunter could sense this creature was powerful… and dangerous.
But this creature…. What was he? And…why did it smell like this? There was nothing understandable about his scent. No fear. No excitement. No real emotion. All there was to its smell was this putrid scent of evil…. and violence.
"Fright Knight…? Who gave you permission to leave that pumpkin?" the creature with bright red eyes and flaming hair asked causally as he finally locked his eyes on the ghost knight. "Am I going to have to punish you… or your pet again?"
Fright Knight quickly flew over to his new master, and prostrated himself before him.
"No, Master. Forgive me," the ghost knight begged. "Punish me if you must, but I beseech you, do not to harm Nightmare again."
"Do not move," his master commanded before stepping around the Fright Knight and walking over to Skulker.
Instantly, the Hunter raised his sword and narrowed his eyes threateningly at the unfamiliar creature.
He had no idea he was looking at Danny's evil future self.
Phantom instantly stopped his approach and grinned. "Skulker… It's been a while. Last time I saw you, you were so weak that you had to merge with Technus to survive…"
Skulker frowned to mask his confusion and fear.
"Who are you? And more importantly,what are you?" the Hunter demanded.
Phantom rolled his eyes at the typical questions. "I have a feeling this is going to get old very fast…"
The evil spirit sighed in surrender before waving a hand in disregard and answering, "I suppose you can call me Phantom… Eh. Dan also has a nice ring to it…" He shrugged. "Whatever. I'm not much of a fan of names. It's just something so insignificant. Now,what I am…."
The evil creature's grin returned as he obviously did care about that part. "I bet you can figure it out. Tell me, what do you think of my scent? One of a kind, right? I am particularly proud of it."
"Then, I hope you enjoy smelling like 'abomination'!" Skulker growled back. "I don't particularly like the scent, so I might have to wash your pelt a few times if I am going to use it as a throw rug!"
Dan instantly burst into laughter. "HA! AH-HA-HA-HA!"
The Hunter ignored him as he glanced over at Fright Knight, and found the medieval ghost was still with his face to the ground. Curses! For a powerful ghost, Fright Knight gave in too easily! Then again, Skulker could sense this creature in front of him was powerful! He needed Fright Knight's help if they were both going to make it out of this in one piece!
"You know, Skulker," Phantom said with a last snicker. "I kind of liked you. The whole 'Greatest Hunter' gig… Hilarious!"
"Hilarious?" Skulker growled back. "I am going to give you a permanent smile after I slice off your head!"
The Hunter abruptly charged forward at the unknown creature; but Dan easily side-stepped his attack. And yet, this is what the hunter planned. Now that he had been able to get very close to the evil specter, he jerked towards him and threw a gas bomb right at the creature's face.
Dan yelled as the bomb exploded and he was engulfed in the burning gas.
Skulker wasted no time, and flew over to the ghost knight.
"Fright Knight! Get up! This creature isn't your master!" Skulker exclaimed.
But sensing more than hearing Phantom come up behind him, Skulker whirled around; and in one quick motion, he thrust his blade right into the evil creature's core.
Phantom gasped; but then his surprise melded into a sneer as he grabbed the offending sword by the hilt and yanked it out of the Hunter's hand.
Skulker didn't even resist as he was too shocked that the creature was still standing after such a deadly blow.
Taking a step back, the Hunter asked in disbelief, "How is this possible? A direct blow to a ghost's core would send even the most powerful ghosts to oblivion… Unless…" The Hunter froze as he realized, "You are a spirit."
"I told you, you'd figure it out," Dan said darkly before throwing Skulker's sword to the side. His chest began to heal as if getting his core run through was a simple paper cut. "There is no oblivion for me… But you, on the other hand..."
Skulker gasped as someone suddenly seized his hands from behind, and restrained him. But when he realized who it was, the Hunter hissed in disbelief and anger, "Fright Knight? What are you doing? Release me!"
"The Fright Knight only obeys my commands now," Dan said evilly. "See, when I remembered how useful he was in my timeline, I had to come find him again… And with his—" The spirit chuckled. "—old master out of the way, he is now my loyal slave forever—or until I grow bored of him. The latter will probably come first."
Skulker glared when he realized why Fright Knight had assured him Plasmius was gone.
"You… What did you do to Plasmius? Where is he?" Skulker demanded.
"The cheese head?" Phantom asked with a grin. "Let's see… Last time I saw him, he had a gaping hole in his chest, and… Oh, yeah. I blew up an entire tower around him… So, he's probably now floating around in pieces in the Timeless Realm."
Skulker stared in horror at the ghost. But when the evil spirit began to move closer, Skulker reacted by firing two rockets from the activated weapons on his shoulders.
Phantom simply turned intangible and ignored the loud boom and the shaking room as the missiles hit the wall at the far end.
Skulker growled; but before he could fire off anymore of his arsenals, Dan teleported right in front of him and suddenly phased his hand into the Hunter's chest and grabbed the suit's power cell.
The Hunter gasped in surprise and fear. How did this creature know where his suit's power cell was?
Dan chuckled. "You know, Skulker, the good thing about me knowing you so well, is that, well,I know you so suit's power cell controls the suit, doesn't it? So, if I turn it this way…"
Skulker cringed as all his limbs and weapons went off line the instant the evil creature twisted the cell and disconnected it from the suit.
"But… I also know the suit's power cell is directly linked to your core…," Phantom added evilly. "So, imagine what would happen if someone would suck your power cell dry? Oh, wait… I can do that…"
Skulker yelled in pain when the creature began to absorb the suit's power, and in turn, the energy in his own core!
Phantom's body glowed bright green and his aura flared; but just as he sensed Skulker was about to perish, he stopped and removed his hand from within the ghost.
Dan silently nodded at Fright Knight, who finally released the Hunter.
Now that he had no support, Skulker groaned as his useless suit fell backwards. He could feel that his core was too weak for him to even attempt to escape from his suit.
"Don't worry, Skulker. I'm not going to destroy you…," Dan said with a smirk. "I have something better in mind for you… Fright Knight?"
The medieval ghost had his eyes lowered to ground; but when he heard his name, he shivered in fear as he had already guessed what his master wanted him to do…
"Master?" he replied in quiet dread.
"The Soul Shredder…," Phantom replied calmly.
Fright Knight's eyes widened as his fear was confirmed; but as he reached for the cursed sword, he spoke, "My liege. Perhaps we could just leave him. He poses no threat to a powerful being as yourself."
Phantom shrugged. "And?"
"Sire, there is no reason to harm him further," Fright Knight insisted anxiously.
Dan laughed. "Who said I need a reason?" But then the spirit's face melded into a dark glare as he added, "You know what to do."
Knowing what was about to happen to him, Skulker grunted as he struggled to free himself from his suit; but he was too weak to even turn intangible!
Phantom suddenly looked down at the Hunter and said with a smug smirk, "It's been fun, but I have other people's lives to ruin… Like, Oh, I don't know…Ember's, for example…"
Skulker yelled in fury, but he could nothing as Phantom waved him goodbye and then walked away.
"Make it quick, Fright Knight," the evil spirit ordered offhandedly.
Fright Knight frowned as he watched his master leave before approaching Skulker. He looked down at him in sorrow. "I do not wish to do this."
Skulker was now panicked as he answered, "Fright Knight! You cannot use the Soul Shredder on me! I am not human! I will not come back from the Realm of Nightmare! You know it works differently on ghosts! I will be trapped in that realm forever! Do not do this!"
"I must obey my master," Fright Knight replied soberly.
"Fright Knight, that spirit is not your master! He is worse than Pariah Dark! That creature is going to destroy all of Existence! You cannot help him do such a thing! For once in your after-life, do not let someone control you!"
"Servitude is all I know. I am deeply sorry, Skulker. It was an honor working alongside of you…," Fright Knight answered as he raised his Soul Shredder.
Skulker's eyes widened. "Fright Knight! No! NO!"
The medieval ghost brought his sword down and ran Skulker through. With an echoing scream, the Hunter's whole body lit up green, and in an instant, he was gone, suit included….(2)
Skulker slowly opened his eyes and startled slightly when everything around him was bathed in an intense and eerie green glow. Its brightness momentarily blurred his vision before it suddenly dulled until he could finally see in front of him.
The place was completely barren except for a few large boulders—which, now that he studied the ground and boulders longer, really weren't glowing and were actually a darker shade of green in color.
That seemed odd.
The ghost glanced upward, and frowned when he could see that the sky, however, was swathed in that same emerald light that he initially saw.
Where was he and why did this all feel so foreign to him? Actually, there was more. He even felt off. He was very dizzy and there was this sinking feeling in his core that he did not understand. He closed his eyes briefly as he searched his dulled mind. There was something important that he should remember about…. Or, was it about someone?
Wait a moment… That was something important! Who was he?
His jaw clenched and his eyes shot wide open. He really didn't remember much before he had opened his eyes and was inexplicably standing upright when he first got to this place.
The ghost grunted away the panic that all of the sudden seemed to want to seize him when he couldn't grasp who he was...He harrumphed a bit in understanding. At least he somehow knew he wasn't the cowardly type.
He glanced around again in hopes of getting some answers from his strange surroundings; but he was even more confused by the sights. Why was he seeing this green glow? And were the ground and boulders really not glowing? He felt strangely compelled to investigate.
But just as he took a step forward, he stopped. Did he just hear something that sounded like metal?
Skulker raised one of his arms up and narrowed his eyes when it slightly clinked again. Was his arm…? He tapped his finger on the hard metal covering his arm to confirm his suspicions.
He looked down and frowned even more as he immediately thought, "So…. it seems that I'm somehow trapped in a metal contraption—or, am I merely made of metal? Is this my true body? How odd then that my body would be the source of any glow, green or otherwise? …"
His jaw clenched again. He wasn't satisfied with any of these thoughts! He could see he was glowing green, but it didn't feel right. But he didn't know why! He really couldn't recall anything at this point…Could he be that confused?
Once more he grunted. He had to think! And yet, he suddenly just knew he wouldn't run from challenges of any kind!
The cyborg ghost closed his eyes and dug into his mind. He had to remember….he just had to remember!
At first, all he could see were webs of confusing thoughts; but then, as if a stubborn ray of light was breaking forth out of an angry storm cloud, he caught glimpses of his most recent memory….
A green glowing sword….a hideous laugh….a feeling of complete helplessness and even…terror!
The Ghost Hunter immediately ceased the thoughts. He wasn't going to give into those….weak emotions! He paused. He was strong….and yet, at the same time, that conclusion urged him to remember more, even when he could only hear pieces of it…
"Fright Knight! You cannot use the Soul Shredder on me! I am not human! I will not come back from the Realm of Nightmare! You know it works differently on ghosts! I will be trapped in that realm forever! Do not do this!" (2)
He knew he had been panicking when he had uttered those words. He concentrated harder.
Realm of Nightmare….Was that where he was?
Not human…He was not human? So, then…did that mean he truly was a…ghost like he remembered himself saying? And if so, why was he covered in a metal suit?
He jolted when a memory suddenly jutted out from within his murky mind.
Works differently on ghosts.
He remembered Fright Knight telling him…
"Fright Knight!" he shouted to his brain, and he instantly gripped his head.
He remembered! Fright Knight was a ghost…like him…and the medieval ghost slashed him with his weapon…
He raised one of his arms up to his eye level again before squinting one eye and examining it.
"White…," he whispered. "My ghostly aura should be white… Why is it green, then?"
Reflexively he pinched the aura and tried to pull it away from his robotic skin. Suddenly, as if it were awoken by his touch, the aura intensified in both color and luster. And at the same instant, Skulker lost his train of thought.
He blinked as he tried to grab back onto whatever his mind had just lost. But it was as if a lamp had been turned off, when no more than a split second later it was burning brightly in his brain….He didn't understand it. He had to be thinking about something other than…nothing. It made no sense.
Sense.
The word echoed in his mind before it seemed to change into something more concrete; something that was instinctual within him for he was suddenly aware that he was sensing—no, smelling something.
His brow furrowed. He was now both unsettled and irritated about being confused over the fact that he was detecting more than just a smell.
"What is that?" he began, only to be jolted completely from his thoughts by a loud cracking noise directly behind him!
The ghost whirled around on his heels with enough time to see some kind of thing erupting out of the ground!
Skulker's eyes widened in disbelief. The thing bubbling steadily out of the ground wasn't made of the cold grey dirt from which it was emerging. Instead, it was hot and fiery red just as it grew and formed what look like arms before their skin slightly cooled to ash mixed with pulsating veins of lava. It hissed with angry steam as its newly formed crusty legs stepped out of its craggily grave.
Skulker felt a shiver grip his ghostly spine when he was now looking right into the glaring red eyes of lava come inexplicably to life!
Suddenly, the green glow around Skulker flashed brightly, and his mind went blank again.
He gripped at his head. For a second time he couldn't even remember where he was, much less why there was some kind of aggressive thing just about to attack him! But no matter how confused he was at the moment, at least one thing was riveting his mind: He didn't want that thing touching him!
The monster growled and began to slowly move towards him. All the while, its molten body bubbled and released a foul scent of sulfur mixed with decay.
The Ghost Hunter frantically searched around for something to help him, but there was nothing around that he could use. In fact, his mind was so foggy that he didn't recall that he had weapons built into his robotic suit.
But then, Skulker grunted in defiance. He wasn't going to run from this. He had an armored suit and maybe that would be enough to protect him from this creature. He froze slightly when an odd thought crossed his mind. Although the creature before him was terrifying, it was intriguing in its own way, too. It certainly had to be unique. He couldn't recall encountering it before now, at least.
"Capture it," his instincts whispered at him, and a pleasant rush tensed his whole body, even his suit.
He stepped forward in a battle stance just as the creature lunged at him. In a corebeat, the two clashed; and Skulker gritted his teeth at trying to ignore the pain he did not expect at the creature's searing blow. He was especially alarmed when in the next instant that same blow had carved through his robotic arm as easily as a hot knife through butter!
Skulker reflexively jumped out of the way when the lava-like creature attempted to make contact again. But when he glanced at his useless arm lying close by—which was still smoldering at the site of the searing impact—he jolted when a jagged piece of memory unexpectedly flashed in his mind.
Hadn't he been just as handicapped not too long ago…and just before he had come to this place?
Skulker tensed when he heard a menacing laugh and turned to the molten beast. He jolted a bit at its hideous face. Was it...smirking? It seemed familiar somehow. But how could that be? He frantically searched his mind and his ghostly muscles rippled uncomfortably as his memories began to return to him. That's right! He had been attacked by that spirit who had looked a lot like the whelp! And hadn't he deactivated his power cell? But how could that spirit have done that?
He gasped at his next thought. Fright Knight! Fright Knight had helped that evil creature.
"Fright Knight!" he hissed furiously. But the creature's next blow interrupted the obviously distracted hunter ghost's thoughts. This time, he screamed in pain when his remaining robotic arm was severed off.
But Skulker quickly swallowed down the pain, and growled at his own foolishness instead. No! What was he doing!? He shouldn't be letting his guard down so easily—let alone giving into pain! He was stronger and smarter than this, because he was… a hunter!
"I am a hunter," he muttered, and narrowed his eyes on the monster in front of him. "And I must focus like one."
He barely managed to avoid the lava-beast's next attempt to melt one of his mechanical joints. But what could he do without any arms?
He startled slightly when a thought suddenly flashed before his eyes.
He had weapons! But then he frowned in frustration. He couldn't activate them…Wait…He grew slightly excited as more memories flooded his mind. He was inside of this robotic suit and so he could activate them from his control room! He had to do that now!
However, before he could focus on where his ghostly body actually was, he grunted at the impact and the scorching pain that came with it. He could feel himself grow dizzy and weaker. And the feelings triggered more memories. He was already weak. That was why he was losing now. That… that evil creature had attacked his power cell, and drained it….
And Fright Knight had helped him.
The feeling of anger and betrayal egged him to get up and keep fighting. But when he couldn't because he was still dizzy, he felt frustration and self-reproach wash over him yet again. He should have acted more quickly and been stronger in fighting his foe…He thought he was a better hunter than this and that he would never have let any prey catch him off guard…
It was his own fault he was here, and about to be defeated by this monster.
But then, just as he felt as he would pass out, the green aura around him flared up and his robotic eyes had to squint from its intensity.
"It's so bright," he thought. "And green… Why is it green?"
Before he knew it, however, he was even dizzier and standing upright on the edge of a lush small island. He looked down, and saw salt-water waves softly caressing the wet sand at his feet.
The Ghost Hunter groaned a bit when he realized that he didn't know where he was or who he was….but he stopped with that thought almost immediately. He suddenly recalled that he had already felt that way before…and not too long ago. Was he having déjà vu?
He grunted in annoyance as he turned around to inspect the land behind him.
"It does not matter what I feel!" he commanded himself. Still, he paused when he didn't know why he had said that with such conviction, especially when he was still feeling so…lost.
He swallowed thickly as that unsettling uncertainty intensified and threatened to consume his thoughts.
The ghost tried to grunt that weak emotion away and cling to his first notion. It didn't matter if he was lost or confused or whatever. He had to remain calm. He had to remain…strong. Perhaps that could somehow give him a clue on how to clear the cobwebs from his mind.
Skulker pursed his lips in determination and concentrated on sweeping any tangled thought away. Yet, he couldn't fully shake the deep, conflicting feeling of being out of control…and an even more troubling and foreign emotion.
Suddenly, however, he caught whiff of…something unknown to him. He was not alone… Though he didn't comprehend why, he instinctively turned in the direction he just knew whatever that being would be. But he frowned when he could not see a thing but sea as far as the horizon. He must have been mistaken about that scent, then, because how could he smell something different from the salt air that was enveloping him?
But he immediately answered his own question with his next clearer thought: "Because it is one of my special powers."
Could it be then? Did he smell something more than the water in front of him?
He frowned in frustration with what he saw. He couldn't be wrong….And yet… there was still nothing but water in front of him.
"No! My power is never wrong!" he angrily growled.
The thought of being wrong certainly didn't bode well with him and he reflexively rejected it. And yet, he unconsciously lowered his eyes when he couldn't deny the foreign sensation that was taking root in his central core: doubt.
But then, he detected that strange smell once again. He looked up and scowled.
"There is nothing there!"
Now feeling even more discouraged, the Ghost Hunter was beginning to turn away from the beach when he heard a loud splash behind him.
He twisted violently around just as the green aura encapsulating him intensified in energy and actually blinded him momentarily. It was as if a bomb had gone off, and had left him deaf and blind. His mind became numb to any thought just as he felt himself being seized by some unknown thing at practically the same time.
He didn't know how long he was out of it; but when Skulker's mind finally cleared, he looked around and wondered whether he was awake or not. In fact, he didn't know much of anything at the moment. That thought—added with feeling wet and hearing the sound of water sloshing and metal screeching in protest—sent chills up his spine.
He looked downward and noticed that he was waist high in water, and there was a green glow reflecting off of it, a glow that was coming from his body!
He unconsciously flexed one of his arms and it creaked even louder.
He stared down at it with widen eyes as he moved it yet again. He couldn't believe it! Was his arm made of metal? And why was it glowing?
If only he had known that these questions had previously passed through his mind moments before…
But then, he startled when he caught something at the corner of his left eye. Some thing moved within the shadows just beyond the green glow surrounding his arm! And he could not shake the eerie feeling that it was eager to have him draw close so as to suffocate him within its menacing embrace! Fear momentarily paralyzed him.
But in the next moment, he snorted in irritation, "I do not fear anything!"
He paused as even more thoughts were triggered, which, oddly, began to calm him…His eyebrows creased just as his eyes shifted in concentration. He was a ghost, wasn't he? A ghost within a metal suit…
Another odd memory quickly eked out of his brain, and he somehow knew it was the most recent one. Wasn't he in the bright sun only a moment ago? Then why was he now in this dark and wet place?
He quickly honed his senses as he scanned the area. Though he couldn't see much of anything, he could hear dripping water echo in the dank darkness—and it still smelled.
The ghost tightly scrunched his brow trying to squeeze more memories out.
He reflexively reached for his PDA embedded in his armored arm and looked at it, puzzled at another vague memory. Wasn't he unable to move his arms because they were…gone…before he came to this place?
Now, he wasn't so sure. He drew in his lower lip. He was very edgy about the fact that he didn't know what he was going to do about this current situation in which he found himself.
His ghostly eyes pierced through the darkness in search of clues as to his next step. He began to slosh over to what looked like the dark wall of this cave when he all of the sudden stopped. His steps. They were very odd. The ground wasn't hard at all. It was both firm and soft, as if he were walking on a firm sponge. But he didn't want to think about it too much and continued toward the wall. When he finally got to it, he lightly touched it.
He puckered his face in confusion not only because it seemed to ripple slightly at his touch, but also because he noticed that it still smelled; and its odor was exactly like that scent he detected before… before he ended up here.
Not only that, but the wall was coated in slime and even had a hardly noticeable glow to it. Still, he was both intrigued and mystified by it since it obviously wasn't made from stone or dirt.
"So, what is this thing, then?" he couldn't help but ask himself.
As if fate were answering for him, a loud whooshing sound rang in his ears followed by a tremor before a large crevice rent open right in front of him and light poured in.
But Skulker soon saw that light wasn't the only thing pouring in! Water was gushing in along with all kinds of debris and sea-like ghost creatures and an almost hurricane-force wind threatened to topple him over. The Ghost Hunter tried to steady himself as the ground beneath him moved even more violently at the onslaught. In spite of his efforts, he quickly lost his balance; and gasped just as he slipped under the larger volume of water that was now within this cave. He swept his arms forward in an upward stroke and was surprised once he had broken the surface when he began coughing!
How could that be? He was a ghost….
Ghost…
The word dredged more buried memories; and as they surfaced what he had last said to Fright Knight slammed right between his eyes:
"Fright Knight! You cannot use the Soul Shredder on me! I am not human! I will not come back from the Realm of Nightmare! You know it works differently on ghosts! I will be trapped in that realm forever! Do not do this!" (2)
The thought cloaked his core with terror. But he immediately shook it away. He couldn't be like this…he would fight these very strange feelings and sensations…He would be victorious because…He paused briefly, searching for why he had said that. But then, he gritted his teeth with the next thought and shouted, "I will not be weak because I am the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter!"
The last word echoed all around him and seemed to help clear his mind.
Like electricity activated by a switch, all the memories that had kept eluding him over and over again surged forward.
Skulker screamed in a mixture of anger and frustration. He was the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter! How could he have let his guard down? How could he have let himself be sent here by Fright Knight?
But he would not give into a growing fear that he could now tell had been nagging him as soon as he had gotten to…this place.
As he bobbled along the surface of the choppy waters of this small lake, the crevice all of the sudden closed in on itself and shut out the light.
Skulker's efforts to throw his fear away were swept away as easily as feathers in the wind when he was completely enveloped by total darkness once again. He could feel terror scratching at his central core.
Furrowing his brow in determination, he angrily shouted, "Cease! I refuse to give into these emotions! I will find a way out of this! I fear nothing! I fear no one! I am the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter!"
His anger actually helped him to focus, and he began to lift himself out of the choppy water so he could take full flight.
Just then, however, the green aura around him brightened, which blinded him as before. But not only that, his mind was a blank canvas yet again.
Skulker blinked back the spots before his eyes. He looked around in a lost state for only a moment before he was vaguely aware of an odd feeling that he was supposed to be doing something.
But when he then attempted to move—and couldn't—his memories came rushing back once again.
"What is this?" he growled under his breath when he tried moving his metallic arms.
His ghostly eyes could see that some kind of thickened rope was wrapped around both of his arms and pulling them out to his sides. He searched for the source and saw that they had come from the rubbery, moving walls! In fact, he could tell by their stench and feel that they weren't actually made of hemp, but were made of the same stuff as the wall.
How in the Ghost Zone did he end up in this situation? He was smarter than this…he was more skilled than to be caught so unawares. He couldn't be this weak.
"No matter!" He shouted in threat, instantly sweeping away any doubt—and the creepy sense of déjà-vu. "They will not hold the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter!"
But when he pulled against his bindings, they seemed to pull back, as if they were made of springs. He increased his efforts, but the counter-force yanked back even harder! Not only that, but the ground seemed to respond to his resistance and thwart his efforts because it was constantly shifting.
And then he realized that the ground wasn't the ground and the rope wasn't rope….this place was alive!
"Oh, no, you will not have me as your prey this day!" Skulker challenged.
As if responding to his defiance, his surroundings began to jiggle before a loud hideous laugh actually sounded all around him.
Hideous laugh….
Just like that evil creature who had commanded Fright Knight to…
At that moment, however, those string-like appendages holding the hunter ghost fast jerked him from his thoughts. The echoes of that hideous laugh of his memories finally bled into the laughter he was actually hearing, and his face puckered with realization. Though the snickering he was now hearing was similar to the one in his sharpening memories, it was different—and very real—and getting louder and more menacing, especially when he felt his robotic arms being pulled from their sockets!
Even when the pain was helping him to focus, Skulker grunted and refused to admit being grateful for it since he was too busy counter-pulling! Nevertheless, his mind raced as it counted out the clues for him: the smell of sand and sea intermixed with the stench now permeating his ghostly nostrils; a green glow; being dizzy and confused; the walls and ground moving; the opening and closing of the cave entrance; wind and water; that laughter that hadn't stopped now gurgling with wicked glee; the elastic tentacles still holding him fast; the sense of victory emanating from the smell.
He remembered.
Skulker now had no doubt that he was within the belly of some gigantic sea-creature….which must have swallowed him up at the beach!
The cyborg ghost gritted his teeth in defiance and increased his efforts, all the while ignoring the water splashing all around him from the struggle.
All of the sudden, however, the green aura around him flared brightly and he gasped briefly when he realized he had seen the blinding light before!
"What is happening?" Skulker demanded. "Is this the light that…?"
But the Hunter trailed off as he lost his train of thought.
When his mind cleared once more, he was screaming in pain from both of his arms being yanked away from his torso by some rope. He reflexively tried to counter the force, but he was a split second too late.
Now that his robotic arms were no longer attached to his body, he quickly fell into the water, and was surprised that somehow it was much deeper than before and he was totally submerged.
Wait! ….He already had been underwater within the last several minutes, hadn't he? What happened then?
But before he could figure it out, his core was gripped in sudden distress because he had just breathed in water!
"No! This is not possible!" he insisted to his mind. "I am a ghost and ghosts do not breathe…"
Little did he know that his nightmarish surroundings twisted all he knew was true.
He stifled himself when that thought triggered an impelling memory: the one about Fright Knight's slashing him with his Soul Shredder. But more importantly, he remembered reminding Fright Knight how differently that weapon acted upon ghosts. And since Fright Knight was a more powerful ghost than he, then, that definitely meant trouble.
"Time is of essence, then," he told himself and he knew that the only way he could surface was to kick himself upward.
When he tried to move his robotic legs, however, he couldn't! He looked down and saw that appendages like the ones that had pulled his arms off were now wrapped tightly around his legs and beginning to pull on them!
He frowned in self-approach at his lack of foresight. He didn't need to use his legs!
"Time to go intangible and flee from my armor, then," he commanded himself a bit more frantically than he liked since he was beginning to feel the effects of breathing in water.
But his eyes widened in distress when he couldn't go intangible!
"No! I will not accept this…." Skulker began thinking, trying desperately to fight the overwhelming tide of water and terror threatening to drown him.
However, no matter how much he tried to fight both his emotions and his physical distress, he knew he was going to lose. That thought did not bode well with him and he gritted his teeth. He would not give in, he told himself, even as moments later, he was feeling woozy from having even more water enter his ghostly lungs.
Nevertheless, with his last mental effort he forced himself to decry, "This… is… impossible! …This… has to… be… some… kind… of…"
But the thought could not be completed since the hunter ghost's consciousness had finally grown completely numb…
The next thing Skulker knew, he was very dizzy and standing upright in the middle of a forest.
But unlike the last time, his mind cleared faster and he couldn't help but gasp.
He had a foreboding, creepy feeling about this….and that really raked his nerves because he couldn't immediately shake it like he usually did…
The thought seemed to take over his logic:
How many times had he been through the beginning of a scenario like this before? Ten times? Hundreds? Thousands? Somehow, he knew there were many more than he could count—or even completely remember…But he knew that each time he did experience them, he would eventually remember bits and pieces of them…and they would all have something in common…
He struggled to pick his brain on what that was.
Snatches of distorted pictures flashed within his ghostly brain….And as more and more of them fitted into the grand puzzle, his eyes widened in understanding. He knew he had very little time to conclude anything, and, more importantly, to make sure he remembered any of it. But he was determined to remember nevertheless, or else he might go mad…
He didn't understand why he would forget what had been happening to him so quickly. He was a hunter and one of the hallmarks of a great one was a keen mind. He grunted in concentration….then he smirked in slight triumph when his brain retrieved some coherent—and important—memories. He sure hoped that they would be enough to dispel his growing fear and frustration.
He inspected his arm. He remembered that this green aura wasn't normal. It must have been the effects of having borne the sting from the Fright Knight's Soul Shredder.
He remembered that each time this aura flared, it would wipe his memory out—just temporarily enough to distract him from what should be his prey's taking advantage of him; and then allowing him to recover and remember enough to taunt and torture him about his failures! And that was in and of itself a terrible turn-of-events for any hunter.
He remembered that since he came….to this place, he always seemed to end up being totally incapacitated by the creatures attacking him—in fact, in almost the exact state that evil spirit had left him just before Fright Knight had run him through…
His smirk fell at that thought. If only he had been prepared to face that evil spirit, if only he were a stronger hunter, then he wouldn't be here. And if he had to be here, he should have his head remain in the game and be focused!
Obviously, then, all of these things happening to him were his fault; and that thought allowed the anxiety that had been clawing at him ever since he was stabbed by Fright Knight to take more root in him. …He really couldn't be the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter if he was not clever, strong, careful or focused enough to be victorious in the hunt…
Just then, however, the hunter ghost's thoughts were interrupted yet again when he heard a crash coming from just behind the nearby thick bush. And his eyes widened when his green aura intensified. He knew what that meant; and in the split second before he knew that his mind would be temporarily wiped cleaned, he was determined to concentrate and keep focused—and remember.
But no matter his efforts, he grunted when he felt a strong, heavy force plow right into him.
When Skulker came to his senses, he heard a raspy, evil laugh sounding out from right above him just as he also realized that he was under some kind of large hairy and very strong ghost-beast for some strange reason! He almost wanted to hurl from the smell of its breath; but the closeness of its sharp fangs dispelled any thought of that. As he struggled to pry his foe off of him, he struggled yet again with those nagging thoughts of despair. But as hard as he fought both the monster pinning him down and the monstrous thoughts stabbing at him, he couldn't help but feel that he was losing the battle. He had to admit that he was still the helpless prey rather than the predator—all because of his weakness.
Ironically, his memory came back into focus shortly after thinking that. But instead of giving him resolve, it deflated him.
The Ghost Hunter had never dreamed that he would ever be this weak, this sloppy in his tactics because he had never been so during his life or after-life. He groaned when the next thought hit him as he felt the beast's fangs rake his armor before it clamped down on one of his arms and began to twist it off. Why should he fight back? He could already see the green aura brightening, which meant only one thing:
What Fright Knight had told him about this place—the Realm of Nightmares—was frightfully true….
He was doomed! Doomed to live his worst nightmare over and over again for eternity!
He was trapped in a nightmare where he was the hunted and destined to lose to his own prey. And though he knew he wouldn't remember any of this—which was oddly bittersweet—his core was suddenly gripped in fear.
(1) Title of this one-shot was taken from the name of the place where Skulker was sent in Chapter Nine of pearl84's Fanfiction story, Endgame. Used with author's permission.
(2) Quoted directly from Chapter Nine of the Fanfiction story, Endgame, written by pearl84. Used with the author's permission.
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A/N: truephan: Poor Skulker! *sniff* Oh, why did you end this on such an unhappy note?
MsHyde: Huh? Just what did you expect, dearie? Just what kind of Realm of Nightmare would it be if Skulker was happy in it? A real gyp of one, that's what!
truephan: But Skulker is one of my favorite ghosts; and even though I did wonder what kind of place would get even him rattled—like where pearl84 put him— I really didn't want to see it.
MsHyde (blinks in disbelief): Are you for real? You asked pearlie about doing this spin off and gave me the computer, you know!
truephan: No, you asked Vlad Muse about it and then took the computer from me!
MsHyde (rolling her eyes): Now look who's dreaming!
truphan: Yeah, and it's a real nightmare of one!
MsHyde groans.
truephan: Well, okay, it was a bad pun. But it would be nice to let our readers decide how you did! And hey, maybe they could even share their thoughts in that box below!
MsHyde: Or else!
truephan: Whatever. Hope you liked the one-shot and Happy Fourth of July, everyone!
MsHyde: MsGoody-Two-Shoes, always ending on a happy note!