Two young undead went around the castle. It was amazing how close they were to the rest of the vampires, yet no one noticed them.
"Wow, the castle looks so big from here," Serana breathed, looking up. She was now wearing her hood. "I mean, I knew it was big, but it seems huge."
Danny chuckled at her reaction. It was cute. And he couldn't help but agree with her - the dark construction truly was enormous from that perspective, about thirty meters tall. Not to mention that it was also on the high rock, while they were near its foundation. They kept going, the wet and cold northern wind was blowing into their faces, as the Castle was positioned on a small island to the North-West of Skyrim.
Finally they reached the pier, positioned under the mountain cliff. The place seemed really rundown. The stone constructions and the pier itself showed the signs of crumbling. The wooden boats were long since rotten, it was a miracle they were still floating on the fiery waves. The wind blow could actually be heard.
"It's a good thing we are cold resistant, eh?" Danny asked, looking at his companion.
"I don't know about you," Serana rubbed her hands. "But even vampires have limits," she explained, her breath visible.
Danny made an 'o' with his mouth. "Sorry, I'm just not sensitive to such things. Let's get inside."
As they went up the stone stairs, the pair suddenly heard a noise. Looking back, they saw several skeletons and a draugr, dressed in an ancient armor, with a battle-axe in his hands. Its glowing blue eyes narrowed and he leaped forward.
"You take the guy," Danny said. "Archers are mine," he added, seeing the skeletons loading their bows.
Serana nodded and her hand glowed with icy blue color. Phantom ran off, ducking under the swing of the axe on his way. The draugr didn't have time to make another strike as his hand was pierced by an ice spike. The zombie-like creature turned its head to the smirking vampire.
"Don't forget me!" Serana said loudly, before launching another projectile.
Phantom ran after the skeletons, jumping from the arrows, or simply becoming intangible. He hurled a green blast at the undead standing on the other end of the pier. The blast reduced it to the pile of bones. Then Phantom got to the other skeleton and kicked it hard with his leg, launching it over the railing. Danny looked back at Serana. The young woman sidestepped the axe, cursing at how many times she had to strike to finish off the draugr. She swiftly moved behind it, before Phantom saw a glistening dagger in her hand.
With a scream Serana stabbed the free space between the helmet and the chest-plate of the undead's armor. Dark blood leaked from the wound, the draugr fell on his knees, the light in its eyes died out. Phantom approached her as she was wiping the dagger clean.
"Neat knife," Danny commented. "The bread must tremble."
"Like it?" Serana looked up. "Elven work. Made from moonstone, and has a minor addition."
Phantom noted the light purple glow of the blade.
"It is enchanted to make weak-minded people flee in terror after the smallest cut," she explained. "The spell of Illusion School. Sadly, it doesn't work on the undead. Shall we go?"
"Yep."
They went inside, opening the old rusty door. The place was too dark at first, no surprise, Serana had said no one went into that part of the castle but her. Back then the corridors were still livable. Danny picked up the nearest torch and snapped his fingers, engulfing its head in the green flames. As they went forward, Serana was showing him directions, which she had memorized quite well.
It was a long path, through the creepy dungeons, inhabited by the black hounds, vampires which had gone mad from their thirst, and, of course...
"A freaking SPIDER?" Danny exclaimed, holding a razor sharp end of the named animal's leg, which was nearing his head.
"I didn't know it was here!" Serana yelled, swinging her dagger.
She had to duck away from the hit of another of eight legs of the huge beast. How did it even see her?! It was their size, not counting the above mentioned legs. Serana needed to avoid being trapped in the web, with which the spider had fouled the room. It was sticky, and some already was on her clothes.
Danny made an effort and pushed the spider away, the strength was enough to launch it into the nearest wall. It seemed that the spider got entangled in its own web. It started wiggling, but it only made the situation worse. Serana used the opportunity. One hurl of another ice spike into belly, undefended by chitin, was enough to kill it. Phantom rose to his feet and dusted the padded armor.
"Nice pets," Danny commented. "You really should hire a maid."
"Sure, if you can find a candidate to work in this place, go ahead."
Phantom shrugged and got to the lever sticking from the ground. He pulled it and heard loud noise of desks hitting each other. To get further they had needed to access across the hole filled with spikes. Serana had told him that it was her father's idea during one of his...paranoidal moments. Safety measure.
"Wait...I just realized..." Danny said slowly. "I could fly us to the other side."
Serana facepalmed.
They kept going through the dark and wet corridors, cleaning their path from the annoying beasts and nutcases. They passed the kitchen, full of blood and remnants of those to whom it belonged, and Serana admitted that she didn't know about that part.
"What was that about 'knowing each corner of the castle'?" Danny asked, before being hit by a rusty pot. "Ouch!" he rubbed the back of his head.
Serana smirked, as the green glow in her palm disappeared. They finally exited in the garden. It looked to be abandoned for many centuries. Well, actually it had been abandoned for many centuries. Many dead trees were around, the rows of what used to be accurate garden beds behind the iron fences, full of weeds and other kinds of unneeded plants. In the center of the courtyard, surrounded from all sides by the stone walls, was sun clocks.
"What an irony," Danny mumbled. "A vampire using sun clocks."
Receiving no answer, he looked to the side, seeing Serana saddened look. "Hey, you alright?"
"You should have seen this place all the time ago," she mumbled. "It's amazing how beautiful the garden can be once tended by a caring owner."
Phantom smiled softly. "Don't worry, we will find your mother."
"Thanks," Serana smiled, before going to the center of the yard, to the sun clock. She pulled on a hood again, because the sun was showing that it was noon. She looked closely at it and raised her eyebrow.
"Weird. Some parts are missing," the vampire rubbed her chin.
Danny looked where she did. Indeed, each hour was symbolized by a disc with phases of the moon. Well, for some exceptions.
"Think that a secret entrance might be discovered?" He asked.
"I don't think. I know. Let's search around, they might be around."
The companions scattered around the yard, looking in every corner.
"Found one!" Danny called loudly from behind the vase.
"Yes, I did, too!" Serana responded, finding it behind a rock in the center of the pond.
"Another one!" Phantom finished after a few minutes.
It was the last one as well. The group returned to the center, before putting the disks at the missing places. Nothing happened at first. But then with loud noise the stone floor started to move, revealing a staircase.
"Yes, that's a lot like her," Serana smirked.
They then went down, Danny igniting the torch again. They were going downwards. Then through the corridors only to come up the spiral staircase. Opening the door, they saw what looked like a study. A very big study. It was a room with two stores, with a stone staircase leading upstairs. In one corner there were bookshelves. In the center there was a wide circle. Upstairs were alchemic tables and ingredients.
"Wow," Serana looked around. "Look at all this. She must have spent years collecting these components. And what's this thing? I'm not sure about this circle, but it's obviously... something. Let's take a look around. There has to be something here that tells us where she's gone."
"Any ideas where to look?" Danny asked, putting the torch in its stand. The room was lit enough as it was.
"Hm... My mother was meticulous about her research. If we can find her notes, there might be some hints in there."
Phantom nodded and they started to look through the shelves. It must have been there. They rummaged through them, looking at each suspicious book. Finally, something caught Danny's eyes. A rough stack of papers wrapped in a piece of leather.
"Is that it?" Phantom asked, showing his companion the book.
"Let me take a look..." Serana went through the pages, before smirking. "Yes. We got it."
"What does it say?"
"It says...by the blood, she actually did it!" The young woman exclaimed. "The gateway to Soul Cairn!"
"A what?"
Serana sighed. His confusion was understandable. "It is...my mother's theory. She guessed that souls used during the enchantment of weapons don't disappear into nothing. They actually go to their own plane of Oblivion. And now she actually found the way to get there. It must be the greatest achievement for any necromancer!"
She seemed to be excited. Danny meanwhile raised his eyebrow.
"She is a necromancer?"
"Well, yes. Each vampire is to a certain degree. She taught me everything I know."
"Including you?"
"Well, I can resurrect the dead for a while to fight for me, but that's all I can do," she shrugged.
"Really? All you can do? Even if it is concerning, in my world no one can even dream of it," Danny smiled.
Serana blushed slightly and looked away. "I thought everyone in Oblivion could do that," she mumbled.
"Not everyone and I am not talking about Oblivion. Anyways, what else does this thing say?" Danny inquired.
"She fled to Soul Cairn. It is described here how we can get there as well," Serana looked back in the journal. "We need...Finely ground bone meal...purified void salts, soul gem shards and...damn."
"What?"
"Of course mother wouldn't have left the instructions lying around if there wasn't a catch. To access the Cairn we need her blood. The problem is..."
"She is on the other side," Danny finished slowly. "Wait. You are her daughter. A part of her blood is in you."
"Hm...that makes sense. Although if we end up without limbs on the other end I'm blaming you," Serana said and closed the Journal.
Phantom snorted and smiled. They started searching, and although Danny didn't have a clue of how that ingredients looked, they were lucky that all of them were in the same room. Upstairs they put all of them inside a bowl, which was on the edge. One step and you would fall on the first floor.
"Alright, we got everything," Serana mumbled, before taking a dagger from her belt. "Well, here goes nothing."
She made a cut on her palm and hissed in pain. Danny was surprised by her willingness to do that, she had a lot of courage. As the drops fell in the bowl, the ground shook slightly. Within the circle on the ground shone a bright purple portal, and the staircase appeared, leading straight to it. Both young people stared at it.
"Okay...let's do it."
They slowly went down the stairs. Suddenly purple energy appeared and pinned to Phantom. He gasped from pain and jumped back, out of its sight. Serana looked at him curiously. She was not affected by it at all.
"What is this?"
"I think it has something to do with me being an undead," the vampire mused.
"Then why am I...oh. Of course."
White rings appeared around the waist, revealing Danny's ghostly persona. The half ghost grinned at Serana's reaction.
"Let's try it again."
This time, everything worked. Serana, as a necromancer was truly confused at how strange her companion was. She couldn't imagine a person becoming dead or alive just like that, on a snap of fingers. Even the mightiest of mages didn't possess such power. It made her wonder just how powerful the Daedric King truly was. Certainly more than he was showing.
Passing through the portal was like passing through the doorway. They felt nothing at all, simply stepping out at another end. The Soul Cairn was as gloomy as its name. Dark sky, filled with purple clouds, which threw lightings towards the ground. The lands were barren and void of any form of life. Dead pitch black trees, mindless souls flying around. Dark buildings were scattered around, and a large wall was away on half a mile distance. At some places there were light purple beams directed towards the sky.
"Well, that's...dark," Serana commented, as they kept going down the stairs.
Danny meanwhile sighed. "I feel at home right now," he smirked. "Well, actually it kinda is. The rest is more positive looking."
"You mean there are other planes of Oblivion?"
"Thousands. And each has a guy in charge," Phantom shrugged. "That 'Princes' are just an exceptionally powerful bunch. It has been the King's job to unite them all. There hasn't been any for thousands of years, and thus came the anarchy."
Serana wanted to write down her observations, but she didn't have anything to write on or with. So she had to memorize everything he was saying. That book could make hundreds of septims.
They kept going down the wide path. The place didn't get any better. Souls - purple see through entities were roaming around without any purpose. There were many black milestones or stone ruins. And not a single indication of a sentient person. Serana felt extremely uneasy around the place. She suddenly noticed that Danny was not near her anymore. Quickly looking around, the vampire saw that Phantom was standing by side, examining a strange fungus-like plant. Groaning, she approached him.
"Could you at least warn me you are going somewhere?" Asked Serana and crossed her hands.
"Sorry," Danny smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Interesting biology around here. I wonder where it came from."
"Oh, so you specialize in plants now," she responded sarcastically.
"Of ectoplasmic kind, yes. Not sure what use of them, though. I'm a bit of a scientist, you know."
Suddenly something started shifting between the rocks. Serana put a hand on her dagger and her other hand glowed red. Phantom prepared ectoblasts. Soon the steps were heard behind them, and to the sides. It was clear that they were being surrounded. Soon skeletons emerged from their hiding spots. They were pitch black, some had no legs and were floating. Some were armed with weapons and some were not. They immediately lunged forward without any warning.
Phantom immediately blasted two of the nearest beings and they dissipated into pitch-like substance. Serana's red glowing hand emitted a beam of energy, which didn't seem to have effect, but in reality it did, it just was too slow. Her dagger struck the black bones, and the skeleton staggered a bit. The vampire sliced the part of the spine which was connected to the head. It did the trick. For the lack of organs the skeletons needed to receive enough damage to 'die'. Serana then moved aside from another swipe of the axe and launched an ice spike, piercing the skull. They were really weak, both of the group came to realize.
It took them less than a minute. None even broke into sweat. Serana put the dagger in its sheath, watching Danny kneel near a black poodle.
"Hm...strange..." he mumbled. He dipped the fingers of his white gloved hand in it. "It is ectoplasm..." he rubbed it between his fingers. "I need it for my...further research. Do you have an extra vial?"
Serana nodded and gave it to him. "How exactly are you going to conduct them?" She asked curiously.
"Once I return home, of course," Danny got up and put the vial on his belt. "Shall we go?"
Then they heard a horse whine. Looking to the side, they saw a horse. Its body was skeletal in appearance, its eyes glow white, and its mane and tail burned with a purple flame. Danny whistled as it approached them with hesitation. Serana looked concerned.
"Are you sure you should approach it?" She asked.
"Hey, look, it likes me!" Danny obviously didn't hear her as the skeletal steed nuzzled his face. The vampire sighed. He was so childish sometimes. "Hey, buddy, can you give us a ride?"
The horse whined, which the ghost took as an invitation. He immediately jumped on its back, the flaming mane didn't do him any damage. Serana was unsure about that creature which came seemingly out of nowhere, but seeing how her friend seemed to get along with it, and since Phantom obviously knew more about the place than she did. The ghost smiled at her, shiny in his strange white and black armor, and suggested her to sit near him. Serana guessed it wouldn't do any bad, shrugged and hopped on the horseback.
"Wait...do we actually know where to go?" She suddenly realized.
"Ehm...nooo..." Danny responded slowly. "I just thought we should go to that castle on the distance."
He pointed at it - a giant black structure, with tops of its towers crumbled and floating in the air.
"If the inhabitants don't know where your mother is, we may at least try."
They set off, as the horse beneath them trotted forward.
"Do you know who lives there?" Serana inquired.
"I told you, I haven't been here before. But maybe I heard of them, dunno. Anyways, how about we add some speed? Ata, boy! If you are a boy."
The horse suddenly sped up on a huge speed for the steed. Serana yelped and unintentionally wrapped her hands, so as not to fall, around the nearest thing - Phantom's body. Danny didn't notice, as he held on one of the neck bones of the horse, enjoying the wind tripling his stark hair and blowing into his face. They soon got to the place, and only then Phantom felt something wrapped around him. He looked back, and saw that it was Serana. The vampire released him quickly and jumped off the horse, looking away, at the castle. Danny shrugged and got down as well.
"Wait here, buddy, okay?" Danny stroked under...chin, apparently. The horse neighed in response.
They went up the wide stairs, towards where the main entrance was.
"I'm surprised no one is guarding the place," Commented Serana. "With how it stands out..."
"Yeah, it surely is...ouch!"
Danny suddenly hit the invisible barrier. Hissing slightly and rubbing his forehead, he made a step back. Curious, both of the undead outstretched their hands. The barrier flickered with a faint purple light at their touch. Phantom started fumbling along it with even more curious expression on his face, sitting on his knee.
"So, what now?" The vampire asked.
"Serana? Is that you?"
From behind a column on the opposite end came a woman, which looked to be in her early forties. She obviously was a vampire, with the same orange eyes, dressed in the same clothes as Serana, although entirely red. Her hair was done in two braids, and a wicked black dagger was on her belt. The vampire approached the barrier.
"Mother!" Serana exclaimed with a note of joy. "How do we get inside? We have to talk."
"Serana, what are you doing here?" The woman snapped. "Where is your father?"
"He doesn't know we are here, I don't have time to explain."
"I must have failed. Harkon's found a way to decipher the prophecy, hasn't he?"
"No, you got it all wrong, we are here to stop him."
"Wait a moment, you've brought a stranger here?!"
"Yep. Down here, lady," called Danny and smirked at her, still doing something with that part of the barrier.
"Have you lost your mind?"
"Mother!"
"You, come here, I would talk to you," the woman said sharply to the half ghost. Danny shrugged and got up.
"So, how has it come to pass that my daughter is accompanied by a walking candle?"
"Actually," Phantom crossed his hands. "You can somehow call me a local. Although I never was in this part before," he commented, looking around.
"It pains me that of all things my daughter had to resort to a help of Daedra."
"Hey, as far as I know you exist because of my kind."
"Thanks a lot," the woman said dryly. "What secret motive are you seeking to use Serana for?"
"I met a lady in distress so I decided to help," Danny smiled innocently. "It's my second job. The first one being not falling back in the studies. Although I guess I am rambling, aren't I?"
"You do," Serana mumbled.
"Am I supposed to believe that Daedra is helping willingly? That you come here under a guise of her protector because of noble intentions? Serana, this stranger is a being that would slay you once you outlive your usefulness, yet I should entrust you to him?"
"This stranger has done more for me in the brief time I've known him than you've done in centuries!" Responded Serana loudly.
Danny's eyes widened slightly. So did the other vampire. Phantom really thought it was nothing big, all he did was fight beside her, and she could do fine on her own from what he had seen.
"How dare you! I gave up everything I cared about to protect you from the fanatic you call a father!"
"Yes, he is a fanatic. He's changed. But he's still my father. Why can't you understand how it makes me feel?"
"Oh, Serana, if only you'd open your eyes. The moment your father discovers your role in the prophecy, that he needs your blood, you'd be in terrible danger."
"So, to protect me you decided to shut me away from everything I cared about?" Serana asked.
Danny sighed quietly and sat on a small rock nearby. He really felt out of place at that family dispute. So he just got out from their sight. He hoped everything was going to be alright between the two. But, Phantom also learned more about his companion, although not in the way he would have preferred.
"You never asked me if hiding me in that tomb was the best course of action, you just expected me to follow you blindly. Both of you were obsessed with your own paths. Your motivations might have been different, but in the end, I'm still just a pawn to you, too. I want us to be a family again," Serana said quietly and sadly. "But I don't know if we can ever have that. Maybe we don't deserve that kind of happiness. Maybe it isn't for us. But we have to stop him. Before he goes too far. And to do that we need the Elder Scroll."
Danny really felt sorry for her. He wanted to reassure her, but it was not the right moment. Phantom got up and was actually to do that, but her mother was the first.
"I'm sorry, Serana. I didn't know...I didn't see. Please, forgive me. I'll take you to the Scroll."
Then the woman looked at the ghost.
"Your intentions are still unclear to me. But for Serana's sake I'm willing to trust you for now."
"Why, thank you," Phantom responded with a smile. "So, are you going to remove this barrier?"
"It is not within my power. It has been put here by the Ideal Masters."
"Whom?" Danny raised his eyebrow.
"The owners of this place. They put the barrier so I would not get out until they manage to get their hands on my soul. Until three Keepers are destroyed, it is going to remain intact."
"So we have to kill them first," Serana crossed her hands.
"Not exactly," Danny suddenly put in, rubbing his chin and examining the invisible wall. "I haven't been poking the barrier for nothing," he smirked. "It isn't exactly the strongest one I have encountered."
"So you have an idea?" His companion asked.
"Yep. Step aside please," Said Phantom as his fingers sparked with green light. "It might explode from this."
"What exactly are you doing?" Inquired the older vampire.
"If I manage to pick the right ecto-frequency, I'll be able to disrupt the portal by sending charges of the opposite...charge," Danny chuckled.
They just stared at him. Phantom sighed. "It is either magic or science," he muttered. "Never it is both."
Suddenly the wall started to flicker more under the attack of green energy. Then a minor explosion occurred. Danny coughed out the smoke, while the flicking stopped. Phantom outstretched his hand and it went through. He grinned at the impressed faces.
"I've been learning about these things ever since I was born," Phantom commented. "Shall we go?"
"Yes, follow me," the vampire lady turned around. "I am Valerica, so to speak."
"Danny Phantom," the ghost introduced himself and nodded theatrically.
Rolling her eyes, Valerica opened the door and everyone went inside. They were then going through the dark corridor of the castle. As the older woman was on some distance, Danny leaned to Serana.
"Were you serious about what you said back there?" He asked quietly.
"Well, compared to mother even by opening the door you would have done more. But yes, thank you for helping me," she smiled.
"Don't mention it," Phantom took off the nonexistent hat and beamed.
Then they bumped into Valerica, who stood frozen in place.
"Why did we..."
Danny stopped in mid sentence, once he saw what was there. In a middle of the wide square courtyard stood a dragon. It had massive protruding spikes from the back of its neck and extending down to its tail. Four horns sprout from its head.
Its flesh was greatly decayed its his wings looked extremely weathered. It was grey-green in complexion, and its scales were constantly dripping and oozing. Flies could be seen around its body, and yellowish drool could be seen constantly dripping from its mouth.
"Durnehviir," Valerica muttered, hiding behind the column. "He was supposed o guard me. So I won't escape."
"So, basically you have been waiting until one of you, immortals lives longer," Danny said with amusement. "Alright, let's see what we can do."
"Are you insane?!" The old vampire whisper yelled.
"Mother, he knows what he is doing." Serana responded, "I hope you do."
"Yep. Not the first dragon I've met. She tried to kill me for not inviting her for a dance. Anyways....Hey, hello, pal!"
Danny went forward, completely calm about confronting the gigantic being. Serana facepalmed and groaned.
Durnehviir looked at the ghost, turning its long scaly neck. A low growl escaped his mouth. Before he spoke.
"Wo Los Hi?" The dragon asked in his own language, which Serana and Valerica could not understand.
"I am Danny. Danny Phantom," the half ghost smiled. The vampires stared at him. "So...can we settle the issues between us, Durnehviir, right?"
"Fin in fun do hi. Lot kendov," the dragon mumbled. "Ofan zu'u fin vam. Zu'u fen let hi ou."
Danny raised his eyebrow. "Your masters? I've never met them. But thanks for the nice words, although I need Valerica for achieving the great goal."
"Nust fun hi lost met."
"Really? Maybe we don't realize we are talking about the same people."
"Laat prodah."
"Hey, let's not rush things..."
Durnehviir stomped his feet and fully turned to him. Danny glanced at Serana.
"Okay, new plan!"
Danny summoned the shield as a torrent of fire came out of the dragon's mouth. Durnehviir leaped into the air, sending gusts of air with his wings. Serana ran to the half ghost, brandishing her dagger.
"What in the Oblivion you've said?!" She exclaimed.
Phantom swung his hand and the barrier appeared behind them, blocking the arrow.
"Well, sorry for not surrendering your mother. Take care of that damn skeletons. Durnehviir is mine."
Serana did not object, before launching an ice spike at the archer. Phantom looked up and saw the dragon flying above, about to hurl more fire. Danny's eyes glowed with ice blue color, before he hurled the blast first, hitting Durnehviir in his jaw, covering it in a thin layer of ice. The dragon roared, cracking it easily. Phantom narrowed his eyes and jumped in the air, quickly reaching its level.
Meanwhile on the ground Serana kept fighting that endless horde of the same black skeletons. She launched more ice spikes, before dodging the swing of the broad axe. The skeleton who had done that was soon penetrated with another black dagger. It crumbled, and Serana saw her mother behind it.
"This friend of yours is the weirdest Daedra I've seen," Valerica commented, seeing explosions in the sky. "I didn't know they could fly."
Danny meanwhile bulleted downwards, avoiding another torrent of fire.
"Jesus, pal, chill!" He shouted, summoning a shield.
The dragon lunged forward. Using its powerful legs half of Danny's height, Durnehviir broke the shield with ease, but Phantom was not there. The dragon was flying in its position, looking around. He suddenly felt something atop of him.
"Hello there!" Danny grinned, before kicking his head.
He hit maybe too hard, making Durnehviir plummet to the side - into the nearest tower. Phantom hopped down from his opponent right before the dragon crashed into the stone construction. Danny proudly crossed his hands, seeing the results of his work. Durnehviir shook his head and looked up at the ghost, before hurling more fire. Danny responded with a powerful blast, before two forces of nature collided with each other, sending sparks everywhere.
"When will you learn?" Phantom asked, slowly gaining the upper hand.
He suddenly stopped, leaping to the side, and plummeted down at the opponent, his fist blazing with green energy. If the damage from the impact with the stone wall had not been enough, then it was surely compensated by that strike, which deepened the cracks. The force of collision was huge. There was no retaliation, so Phantom assumed he had at least knocked that beast out. Suddenly from the dust came a long tail, to which Danny had no time to react. He was hit hard with the spiky edge.
Phantom was glad he had gotten that nice white armor from his FarFrozen friends, otherwise he would have become a sieve. But being thrown through the wall was not a part of his plan. Danny swiftly landed on his feet, although his chest hurt a lot. It would heal, but he had no time to waste, because Durnehviir's head was reaching inside. Phantom ducked away from the jaws' attack. Danny saw a small axe laying on the ground. He quickly picked it up, trying to think up a scheme where to land a strike.
The dragon unleashed more fire, and Danny yet again covered himself in ectoenergy.
"Fireproof and free of charge," he grinned, much to his enemy's anger. "Got anything down your..."
"Fus ro dah!"
A powerful wave sent Phantom flying into the opposite end of the room, and damn, did it hurt. Groaning, Phantom fixed his bones. He then cried and lunged forward. Such daring was unexpected, and with all his force Danny hit the dragon in the face with the axe he had picked. It went very deep, almost cutting off the part of the rotting flesh. Durnehviir roared in pain, but Phantom then made an ice spike, before launching it straight into its opened jaw.
The roaring stopped. Durnehviir fell down, loudly, destroying everything his limp body encountered, before it finally crashed on the surface. Danny descended to the ground, near the dead dragon, as his eyes gained a strange look. He glanced to the side and noticed that he had an audience - namely two ogling vampires.
"Well," Serana commented. "That sure was impressive."
"I killed him!" Danny exclaimed as Durnehviir's corpse dispersed with dark purple energy.
"I never thought I'd ever see the death of that dragon. Volumes written on Durnehviir allege that he cannot be slain by any means. It appears they were mistaken. Unless..."
Phantom raised his eyebrow.
"The soul of the dragon is as resilient as its scaly hide. It is possible that your killing blow has merely displaced Durnehviir's physical form while he reconstitutes himself."
"So I didn't kill him."
"Yes."
"Phew, and here I thought I killed a sentient creature. That's a relief."
Valerica looked at him strangely. "What do you mean?" She asked slowly.
"He hasn't killed a fly since I've met him," responded Serana.
"What?! With this power..."
"I can do a lot of things. I know. And me losing self control is one of the things none of us wants to see," Danny crossed his hands. "I haven't killed a single person in my life. Or afterlife for that matter. Now. Can we get to the Scroll?"
Danny suddenly felt Serana tapping on his shoulder. He looked at her in question.
"Ehm, who are these guys?" She pointed somewhere.
Phantom looked to the side and hissed, showing how unhappy he was with the predicament. There were two creatures in white robes with gold outlines, along with dark cloaks with very tall collars. They had green skin and one eye, they were floating above the ground, watching the half ghost.
"Clockwork help me," Danny muttered, before approaching them. "Long time no see, guys. How is it going?"
"What. Are you doing here, Phantom?" One of them spat.
"I can ask you the same question," the half ghost crossed his hands. The vampires decided that it would be better to let him speak, despite the tense atmosphere.
"You are present within our domain, boy. Uninvited," the second said.
Danny's eyes widened in surprise. "I didn't know you are forcing souls to remain here."
"It is a fair exchange. A soul for power. Simple as that."
"I knew you Observants are a real bunch of arrogant bastards ever since you tried to kill me. But to actually do this...is that even legal?"
A pair of eyes narrowed at him. "If YOUR MAJESTY ever cared to open the law book, then you would have known that we have all rights to do what we are doing."
Valerica's eyes widened. That part Serana hadn't told. Speaking of, she was partially surprised as well, the young vampire honestly hadn't fully believed it.
"I don't have to read the law to know that it is immoral," Danny glared at the Observants. "Actually, I know a thing or two. And I know that unless you challenge the King on a fair fight, trying to kill him IS a crime. How else would you call sending a dragon after me?"
The Observants were quiet, and Phantom grinned at realizing his superior position.
"I have the authority to enter wherever I want. You had no right to attack me."
"We didn't know it was you."
"Oh, so you would have killed if it was someone else. With each second I get disappointed with you more and more. I will come back here. It seems that now I can return home, but lucky for you I have other important things. Durnehviir said you need my newest acquittance's soul. Not going to happen. I take her under my protection."
"You can't do that, we have signed a contract!"
"I dissolve it then. Try to stop me," Phantom grinned. "You know you are no match for any of us on your own."
The Observants screamed in exasperation. Judging from their reaction, he got them hard.
"Fine! Go as far as you wish, just get the hell out!
"I had no other intention," Danny kept grinning, while the Observants flew off.
"That was...impressive," Serana commented.
"Why, thank you, my dearest companion," Phantom bowed theatrically, making the vampire roll her orange eyes. "You are free, Valerica. Now officially."
"You have been hiding a lot."
"Nope. You just haven't asked if I am in charge of the entire Oblivion. And yes, I am that powerful, let's drop the topic."
"I don't know what to say..."
"Just thank you will be enough," Danny smiled.