DP: M. of the Spirit Gems ch28

Danny flew up several thousand feet into the air and only came to a stop when he knew that he was at a safe distance from Amity Park. High in the clouds, now glowing weakly in the rays of the ever rising sun, the ghost floated silently, taking in the beauty for only a few seconds. He looked down over the city, still clearly able to hear their shouts of fear, and scanned the area for his enemy.

A black glint caught his attention. He smiled cleverly. "There you are," he said softly.

The black ghost grew larger and larger, faster and faster. Once near enough, the dragon opened its mouth and roared.

Danny narrowed his eyes before closing them completely, only seconds before the giant jaws slammed down over him like a trap. SNAP!!

Shade smiled, proud of himself for his easy catch; but he was suddenly taken off guard; his stomach began to grow hotter and hotter with every passing second until the pain was nearly unbearable. He shouted painfully, only seconds before his body exploded into oblivion thanks to a shock wave, which was accompanied by white light.

Danny had his arms spread out, white light emanating from his body. After a moment, he let his arms drop slowly and opened his eyes.

All the black smoke-like particles joined back together and formed Shade once again, this time the same height as Danny. The evil ghost groaned painfully and clutched his stomach while glaring furiously at his rival. "Did you honestly think that that move would destroy me?" he hissed.

Danny frowned. "No," he replied. With a clever grin, he added, "Just weaken you."

Shade hissed and bared his teeth. "You are a fool to be fighting against me at this hour," he said. "You will lose your spirit!"

"Not yet."

"You are too proud, Danny Phantom. You're powers are no match against mine!"

Shade threw his arm back and blasted as much ectoplasmic energy as he could. Danny held up a hand before him, and only inches from impacting with him, the purple ray froze.

Shade gasped softly in shock.

Danny stared at the ray before glaring at Shade. He pointed at the black ghost. "Return," he commanded.

Immediately, the ghost ray made a sharp u-turn and headed straight back for its thrower. Shade gasped in horror and cried out in pain as he was hit and thrown back by his own attack.

Danny got into ready stance. "Leave Amity Park and my family alone," he said. "And I won't kill you."

Shade hissed back and made his hands glow purple. "Do you honestly believe that I will do what you will?!" he hissed. "We Shadow Ghosts are immune to commands, Danny Phantom! You will not defeat me as easily as you did the Ghost Keeper!" He yelled angrily and charged for Danny, ready to swing his fist into him.

Danny bared his teeth and crouched low before flying upwards as quickly as he could and evading the attack. Shade came to a halt after swinging at nothing and glared up at his opponent. "You run from battle?!" he taunted. "You are not a fool; you are a coward!"

"Is that right?" Danny replied with a grin. He pulled his arm back and formed a fist. It began to glow with white ectoplasmic energy. "Then, if I am a coward, why am I not afraid to do this?!"

He charged down towards Shade at such incredible speed that the black ghost could not evade the attack. Danny swung his fist into the Shadow Ghost's body and ripped right through it, causing the ghost to explode again.

Danny slowed to a stop and looked upwards. Shade reshaped himself and groaned painfully before glaring at Danny in anger. "I will not go down so easily!" he yelled.

Danny held out his fists. "Good," he replied. "Because then, it wouldn't be much of a challenge, would it?"

Shade yelled angrily and charged for him again, this time throwing several attacks at Danny. Danny evaded several of them, teleported a few times and even caught a few attacks and threw them back at Shade. Shade was hit by one but managed to dodge the others before continuing on his way to Danny.

Danny was hit only a few times by the ghost's attacks, but because of the training he had had in the Ghost Zone, he was able to ignore the pain and keep fighting.

"I will send you back to the abyss of the Ghost Zone if it's the last thing I do!" Shade yelled furiously.

The white ghost narrowed his eyes. "I just got back from that Zone," Danny growled as Shade continued to attack him. "I am not about to lose the only chance I've got to spend the rest of my life with my family and marry the woman I was forced to leave behind. Not by a LONG SHOT!!"

Shade roared, seeming to stir the world around them. He charged once more and got ready to throw his fist out again.

Danny straightened out and held up his hand. "Stop," he commanded incredibly calmly.

Shade gasped in shock and came to a complete stop, only inches from Danny's hand. Danny glared back at him, pulled his arm back and then threw his fist into Shade's face, sending the ghost flying out of control while shouting in pain.

The white-haired ghost brought his arm down and then looked to the east. He could see the sky begin to turn orange.

I'm running out of time, he thought. I need to finish this now.

Shade recovered from his blow and grew several feet taller. He glared angrily at Danny as he transformed into a dragon again. "I will not be defeated by a hybrid," he hissed. "Give me the final gem and I will spare their lives!"

"Don't bet on it, Shade," Danny growled back. "I will never give that gem, or myself, up to you, no matter how honest your words sound. I came through that Ghost Portal, and I intend to stay here for good!"

Shade roared furiously. "Then if I shall meet my doom here, so shall YOU!!!"

He charged for Danny while blowing green flames of fire. Danny held up a hand to shield his body from the flames. Shade took the opportunity to drag him downwards with him. While engaged in a violent battle, white light against black shadow, they plummeted downwards, towards the park, ready to end the battle once and for all.

*****