Juniper Lee Porn Story: Revenge of the Dark Between Justice and Duty – Chapter 2

“What are you talking about? You led me here, you know this is for the best.” June turned fully toward him.

“I thought that, but I was wrong!” Danny replied forcefully. “The ghosts aren’t dead people or memories, they’re living, breathing things!”

“You have a very broad definition of the word ‘life’.” June quipped.

“And it just got broader. Look, listen to me, I saw a ghost have a child.” Danny said. Juniper raised one eyebrow, lowering her arms to her sides. “And anything that can give birth to new life can’t be a dead memory, it just can’t.” June stared at him for a moment, her eyes narrowing. “You can’t wipe them out. Sure they’re different from us, but they still deserve to exist.”

June didn’t know what to say, he was right of course. A child… if she did this she would be killing a child. She could never do that. And yet… And when the time comes, you have to be ready to do it. No matter how lifelike the ghosts may seem. It is your duty, and it is what’s best. Those had been Monroe’s words earlier that night. No matter how lifelike they seemed… it was still her duty. There was so much riding on this, if she chose wrong, it could be disastrous. So she chose not to choose.

“It is my duty.” June said defiantly, clenching her fists. Danny closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, frowning darkly.

“Fine. Then it’s my duty to stop you.” Danny raised his fists clenched at his sides, which began glowing with green energy. June moved into a low stance, her arms at the ready, her eyes locked on her opponent’s. They faced each other for a moment, but suddenly Danny took flight, piercing the air to reach her in the blink of an eye, his glowing fist hurtling toward her face.

With magical speed, June’s arm split the air up an upward motion, catching his wrist as her other fist slammed into his stomach, hurling him cleanly over her head to send him flying into the far wall. The impact shook the castle, but she took no notice, darting after him and flinging herself into the air, her long black hair flowing behind her as she came down, her leg lashing out at the last second.

Her leg just barely missed, gouging out a chunk of the sturdy brick wall as Danny slipped to the side. His fists pulsed just before a blast slammed into her chest, knocking her back to the center of the room. She skidded on her back before planting her hands on the ground, flipping to her feet in a crouch. Danny was on her before she even turned her eyes toward him, flying through the air like a bullet to land a solid uppercut.

June flew back through the air again, flipping through it with her head reeling. She felt a pair of hands grab her arms as a foot slammed into her lower back, sending her hurtling even harder straight into the wall face-first. She grunted as she peeled off of the wall and fell to the floor in a pile of debris, lying on the ground for a moment to allow her spinning head to steady itself.

She looked up when she heard a pair of footsteps approach. Danny Phantom stood over her with his hands on his waist, his glowing green eyes staring into hers furiously. “You don’t care at all, do you? You just want to butcher them.”

“I trust Monroe… and he says this is best.” June pushed herself up slowly to her hands and knees, taking deep breaths to steady herself.

“Why don’t you think for yourself?” Danny asked. “You’ve got to see that whoever told you that is wrong.”

“I won’t disgrace the name of the past Te Xuan Zes. I won’t!” June lurched backward suddenly, yanking a small vial out of her pocket. Danny moved after her, but she hurled the vial at him. A green blast ripped the vial apart before it even got halfway there, sending a cloud of gas flying into his face. Danny coughed and sputtered as the smoke filtered into his lungs and its magical energies flowed into his eyes, Very quickly his glowing green eyes turned black.

June pressed the attack, lurching forward and slamming a fist into his stomach. Danny doubled over as the assault continued, her strikes battering him all across the large throne room until finally she grabbed his collar and hurled him into the throne, which cracked and split apart, sending him flying up against the large sarcophagus in a shower of wood and debris.

Danny Phantom groaned in pain and pulled himself up slowly, his white eyes beginning to regain their green glow. June bent down and scooped the Spirit Orb up off the ground, turning to walk toward him. “I’m sorry.” She told him as she moved. “I’m not here to hurt anyone, and it’s obvious you need to rest.” She raised the orb in front of her, feeling its magical energies beginning to coalesce before her. “Rest in peace, Danny Phantom.”

A powerful green beam emitted from the orb, shooting straight toward the ghost. Danny must have heard or seen the beam coming somehow, because he took flight mere seconds before it reached him, he flew over the beam, landing on the ground as it ended, all of the magical power filtering into the sarcophagus behind him. Danny stayed on his feet, growling, but June had ceased paying attention to him.

The sarcophagus began to groan, cracks of green energy flowing through the wooden structure. June stood transfixed as the cracks spread through the coffin, surging from green to red as it began to vibrate. Her gaze moved down to Danny as he turned to look at her, his eyes wide in fear.

“June. Run.” He said stiffly. She didn’t even have time to before the sarcophagus detonated, sending wooden splinters flying in every direction. June lifted her arms to protect her face from the wooden debris. At last the sound died and the debris stopped flying, so she lowered her arms to look. A massive form was standing before her, and looked extremely powerful. But she wasn’t worried. She’d faced a God before, this was nothing.

The massive being stepped out of the rubble, its boot step causing the castle to tremble. “Even eternal sleep cannot contain me.” It proclaimed victoriously as it stretched out, its back popping with a thunderously sickening noise.

He then looked down at the two relatively tiny figures, his eyes meeting June’s, and then going wide in surprise. “I recognize that power.” A dark growl escaped his throat. “The Te Xuan Ze… but you are a mere child. Is this truly the best that the most powerful line of mystical warriors has left?” He let out a hearty laugh, his hands clutching his stomach. “How the mighty have fallen.”

June growled and clenched her fists angrily. “Oh yeah? I’ll show you who’s fallen!” She darted forward, rushing past Danny to hurl herself into the air.

“No! Don’t!” She heard Danny scream from behind her, but she ignored him, whirling through the air, the magical energies of her birthright surging through her thin frame. She whirled through the air, her hair billowing out behind her as she steadied, her long leg moving in front of her, the power building as she began to near the massive ghost. She didn’t even see the counterattack coming.

Something massive slammed into her side with the force of a hundred wrecking balls, seeming to knock the entire world into a state of scattered oblivion. She felt her body smash through a solid barrier before hurtling through the emptiness, her body limp as she struggled to hold onto what consciousness she had left. It was futile however, and the universe plunged into darkness.

She could feel something… something wet pressed against her forehead. A soft groan escaped her throat as her eyes slowly opened. She was lying in what looked like a normal living room. A girl with long red hair and green eyes was sitting on a chair beside the couch on which she lay, dabbing her head with a wet washcloth. She wore a blue bandana that kept her hair back, and a black sweater.

“Well, hello there.” The girl smiled gratefully. “I was just thinking about calling an ambulance.”

“Uhn…” June groaned. “Where…? How…?”

“You’re safe, this is my house.” The girl gestured to the room around her. “I found you in the basement lying in front of my dad’s Ghost Portal. How did you get down there?”

June slowly pushed herself up to a sitting position, narrowing her eyes until her vision cleared enough for everything to come into focus. “Ghost Portal… he… he’s still back there.” She looked around quickly. “I’ve got to get back in there… oh man how could I mess up this badly? What did I just do? I have to do something…”

“Whoa, slow down.” The red-haired girl said quickly, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Calm down, and let’s start from the beginning. Hi, I’m Jasmine, my friends call me Jazz. And you are?”

“Juniper. June. Look, I really don’t have time for this. I think I just made the biggest screw up I will ever make in my entire life.” June said quickly as she pushed herself up from the couch, climbing to her feet. Jasmine stood up in front of her, looking surprised by the sudden move. “I’ve got to get back in that portal, he’s still in there and he probably needs help!”

“Who needs you?” Jasmine asked confusedly. June took a deep breath and hurriedly explained everything that had happened in the Ghost Zone. By the time she finished Jasmine looked like she was about to faint. But she still took a deep breath and rubbed the side of her head thoughtfully. “We can get back there, I can help. But how are we going to defeat this guy?”

“I don’t know, I’ll play it by ear.” June turned to march downstairs. Jasmine followed her quickly as June leapt down the second half, landing in a clean crouch and running for the portal.

“Whoa, hold on there!” Jasmine shouted. June whirled to look back at her, seeing her standing beside a compartment that had opened in the wall, where Jasmine was leaning up against what looked like a floating space shuttle. “I think it’d be better to take the Spectra Speeder and not fall endlessly through an infinite void of nothingness, don’t you?”

June didn’t say a word as she entered the Spectra Speeder with Jasmine, too wound up for her normal attitude to surface. Her stomach felt like it was going gymnastics. She couldn’t believe what a mess she’d made. She’d wanted to put the ghosts to rest, not free this monster and get a good person trapped without her. How could she make such a mess of everything?

“You okay?” Jasmine asked after the small ship had entered the Ghost Zone, moving through it easily. June looked over at her from the passenger’s seat, then looked out the front windshield again. “So what are you doing here, anyway? How do you know about this? I mean, I lived in the house with this portal for months before I found out it actually worked.”

“It’s a long story.” June told her. Then she stopped a moment and looked over at her. “You’re not a ghost, what do you think of them?” Jasmine looked at her in surprise. “Do you think they’re real people… or just shadows of real people?” Jasmine looked down at the control panel thoughtfully for a moment before speaking.

“They have to be real people, I guess.” Jasmine replied.

“Why do you think that?” June asked.

“I have my reasons.” Jasmine replied cryptically. June knew that tone as one not to be questioned, so she settled in for the ride, waiting to once again reach the castle where she’d left Danny. Both girls gasped in surprise when a burst of flames ripped through the Ghost Zone toward them, vanishing in the direction they’d come from as quickly as it had appeared.

“What was that?” June asked in surprise.

“I don’t know. But I think that’s Danny.” Jasmine pointed to a blinking dot on the radar screen in front of them. “If he’s registering on the Real-World radar that must mean…” She gulped and pushed the throttle up higher, thrusting them on their way. June waited anxiously as they neared the castle. The Spectra Speeder flew straight in through the large double doors, flying inside the throne room before it came to a stop.

“Danny!” Jasmine lunged into the back and had the door open before June could even stand up. She rushed after the redhead, running out into the castle and running across the half-destroyed throne room. She skidded to a stop when she saw Jasmine knelt down beside a kid June didn’t recognize. His hair was black, wearing a white shirt with read trimmings and a pair of plain blue jeans. His face and arms were covered in bruises, a bit of blood leaking from cuts and gashes.

“Danny, come on! Wake up!” June watched Jasmine grip his arms tightly, her eyes beginning to cloud over with tears. “Oh, I knew I should’ve been keeping a closer eye on you… come on Danny, pull through this. I know you can…” Her voice fell to a soft squeak, waiting for any response from the kid. June watched with one hand over her mouth, wishing he would just wake up… but he didn’t. His body remained limp on the ground, his chest not even seeming to move.

This wasn’t right… June was sure the kid she’d fought with was a ghost. Was this really the same kid who’d brought her here? Was it possible he was both? What did that mean? Could a ghost be ‘alive’? June could leave him… one less ghost to send on to the great beyond… but the very thought of it made her heart wrench. No, she couldn’t let his life end like this. She was the one who’d caused all of this, and even after she’d tried to kill him, he’d tried to save her.

Her mind made up, June rushed up to the body, her hand digging in one pocket for a small multifaceted crystal. When she pulled it out it reflected back the light of the Ghost Zone with a dazzling array of color, catching Jasmine’s attention through her tears as Juniper knelt down beside the limp boy. Clutching the stone in her hand she slowly lowered it down onto his chest, her other hand moving to his forehead.

The Te Xuan Ze was the protector of the balance between the world of magic and the world of humans. As such, the magical energies of the universe were always at her command, often focused through physical objects like potions and stones. So they gathered now, focused through the stone in her palm, flowing from her body into the stone and into the body of the boy beneath her. A soft blue light filtered through her fingers, emanating from the stone, but there was no other outward sign of the powerful magic at work.

Jasmine watched through her tears, covering her mouth with her hands until suddenly Danny took a breath, gasping for air like he’d just come up from the ocean’s depths. Jasmine’s eyes went wide as he took another, and another. The powerful glow of the stone spiked for a moment as he took a deeper breath, then faded completely as the boy drifted back to normal, his chest gently rising and falling against her hand.

“D… Danny?” Jasmine squeaked softly. June removed the stone from his chest and shoved it in her pocket as Danny’s eyes slowly opened, now plain old blue as they cast about above him. They soon locked onto Jasmine’s eyes.

“Jazz…?” Danny said softly. “I feel like crap…”

“Don’t speak. Here, we have to get you home to rest.” Jasmine wrapped an arm around his neck and slowly pulled him up. Danny leaned against her heavily as she dragged him to his feet. She had a bit of trouble. So June stepped forward quickly to wrap Danny’s other arm around her shoulder. He looked at her for the first time, and then looked down at himself. When his eyes rose to hers again, he looked almost defeated.

“Don’t sweat it.” June told him softly. “You’re safe with me.” Danny looked doubtful, but wasn’t in much of a position to do anything about it. Juniper and Jasmine helped him into the Spectra Speeder, where June stayed with him in the back while the redhead piloted them back toward the portal entrance.

Neither Danny nor June said anything until they reached the basement with the portal, climbing out of the small shuttle. Jasmine spoke as the two girls helped Danny stumble out. “We should get you upstairs to rest.” Jasmine said worriedly.

“No. Pariah Dark’s on his way to get the Crown of Fire… if he gets it, it’s over.” Danny tried to move away from them, but his legs gave out and he fell against he side of the Spectra Speeder weakly, sliding down to his butt.

“Jasmine’s right, you need to rest.” June said. “My spell can only recharge your spirit, it can’t heal your wounds.”

“Why do you care?” Danny countered angrily. “You were trying to destroy all of us ghosts not thirty minutes ago.” June winced at the sharp rebuke, but knew she deserved it.

“And I was wrong… Danny, I didn’t know any of this. I didn’t know you were… well… alive.” She sighed and let her hands hang at her sides, meeting his angry gaze. “That’s not a good excuse, but it’s the truth. And I’m sorry I tried to take you out… heck I’m sorry I came here. I thought it was my duty as the Te Xuan Ze…”

“This ‘Te Xuan Ze’ duty includes murder?” Danny asked.

“No. It doesn’t.” June said, taking a deep breath. “Even if it did… it doesn’t anymore.” She turned away from him, clenching her fist in front of her grandly. “This will be the birth of a new Te Xuan Ze code, where ghosts are given the same treatment and respect as the rest of the magical world. A code that strikes down persecution and bias in all its forms, where ghosts don’t have to hide in a hidden pocket dimension away from the rest of the world.”

“Hey, don’t go too far. I’ve dedicated my life to keeping the ghosts IN the Ghost Zone.” Danny said. “A lot of them aren’t very nice.”

“Oh…” June put a hand to her chin. “Then I promise not to attack the good ones.” She said simply. Danny grumbled and June turned away from him again. “Now you rest up and relax. I’ll go take care of this Pariah Dark guy. He won’t catch me off-guard again.” Danny and Jasmine stared at her until she slowly leaned over to the redheaded girl. “Hey, which way is Casper High?”

Jasmine pointed off in one direction. “Right. Just sit tight and let the Te Xuan Ze do her thing!” She whirled and darted for the front door, throwing it o-en and charging down the street in the direction Jasmine indicated. The magical energies flowered through her body, pushing her faster than any normal human could go until she was almost invisible to those around her. Her hair flew behind her in a solid sheet, and she had to squint her eyes against the wind.

She saw a large sign indicating the presence of Casper High School, and turned to head toward it, leaping into the air to sail through it, her legs bending underneath her until she hit the roof in a crouch, small pieces of the roofing splitting from under the impact zone. She saw the massive horned ghost from before smashing the bleachers aside with his mace, the ring on his finger sending a soft green beam into the ground.

“Yes… there it is… my Crown of Fire.” The ring pulsed green, burning the ground away until the form of a small golden crown was uncovered. It floated into the air as Pariah Dark opened his palm, grinning as it moved closer. Juniper grunted and leapt from the school roof, soaring through the air toward the floating crown, her hands outstretched and clutching at the air.

“Gotcha!” She exclaimed victoriously as she grabbed the crown out of the air, rolling on the grass and flipping to her feet with the crown in one hand. “Looking for this, kingy? Come and get it!”

“You?” Pariah Dark turned on her, his fists clenched in anger. “Even with the Te Xuan Ze gift, no mere child can stand against me. I don’t need the Ring of Rage or the Crown of Fire to crush you.” His voice roared.

“Then prove it and crush me!” June shouted challengingly. Pariah Dark roared and raised his mace, bringing it crashing down on top of her. June leapt out of the way, whirling on her hands to land on the turf a few feet away in a crouch. She leapt forward as he began to lift the mace, landing on it and springing off of it toward his head. She whirled through the air, her leg lashing out to slam into his face, the force of her magic sending the massive ghost king stumbling back.

June landed on the ground in a crouch, smirking as the ghost king finally steadied himself. “Funny, I don’t feel crushed.” Pariah Dark howled in anger, bringing his hand up as a massive ball of fire formed in his palm. June raised one hand, half a dozen small stones fluttering out of her pockets to float in front of her in a slow circle, quickly whirling like a tempest as a blast of fire flew toward her.

The stones pulsed blue as the fire struck, the power of the stones thrusting it to each side of June to burn into the ground around her. June grunted as she strained to hold the stones aloft against the ghost king’s power, but soon the flames died down and she remained untouched. A slight smirk split her face as the stones began to circle in her palm.

“My turn.” The stones whirled around her wrist, their power flowing into the palm of her hand in an electric surge flowing between her fingers. The power built with a powerful hum, her entire hand beginning to vibrate with the barely restrained power. Suddenly she thrust her hand forward, the lightning flying out in a massive bolt that struck instantly, slamming into the ghost king’s chest. He howled and stumbled back again, one hand clutching the strike zone, which was blackened and burned.

Pariah Dark growled hatefully, his hand clutching the burn on his chest. “You know, with how scary you look and how Danny talked about you, I’ve gotta say, I was expecting a lot worse.” The ghost king stared down at her, then a crooked grin split his horrible face as he stood up straight.

“Perhaps, child. But I think you dropped something.” He held something up in his other hand, holding a golden, burning crown. June’s eyes widened in surprise and looked down, realizing it was true. She’d dropped the crown. She looked up again as the ghost king moved the crown on top of his head. Once it settled into place it burst into brighter flames, shining almost as brightly as the ring on his finger.

“Okay, so you look fancier. Big deal.” June huffed. Pariah Dark merely grinned, lifting his hand as another ball of flame appeared in it. June readied her defensive shield, but the blast roared straight through it, slamming into her and driving her into the ground, where she skidded halfway across the football field, finally rolling to a stop on her side, her hair a wild mess on her head. “Ughn…”

Pariah Dark laughed as he approached her, mace in hand. “Pitiful child. The most powerful Te Xuan Ze in history could not defeat me, and you believed you had a chance? Arrogant human.” He gripped his mace tighter in one hand. June pushed herself up and growled, looking up at him as the mace swung toward her. She rolled forward to avoid it as it came crashing down. She leapt back at the mace and whirled, her leg lashing out, but the mace suddenly rose toward her, slamming into her.

“Gaaagh!” Juniper screamed as the mace slammed into her extended leg, sending her hurtling back through the air to slam into the ground again with a heavy thud. She rolled on the turf again, clutching her knee painfully in both arms. Pariah Dark laughed and approached her slowly.

“So glorious. The Te Xuan Ze, helpless before my power. I’ve been dreaming about this moment for a very long time.” June groaned and pushed herself up slowly, limping on her wounded knee. It felt like it was just sprained, thankfully. If it was broken she probably wouldn’t have even been able to get up.

“Well… keep dreaming… you psycho!” Juniper grunted through her pain. She reached into one pocket, pulling out the spirit orb, which was glowing bright crimson. “Enough games… I’m taking you out for good.” She held out the stone, which pulsed brightly in her hand. A powerful green beam of energy shot out toward the ghost-king, looking as if it would suck him right in.

But a simple wave of the massive mace sent the beam flying in a different direction, uselessly hitting the grass. “My turn.” Pariah sneered and swung the mace like a golf club. Juniper howled as it slammed into her lithe body, sending her hurtling through the air straight toward the school. She slammed into the wall, putting a body-shaped dent in the side before she slowly peeled off of it, falling to the grass with a heavy thud.

Her vision was beginning to blur as she opened her eyes, seeing the massive form of the ghost king approaching her. His finger began to flash brightly as he pointed the ring right at her. The power built up in front of his hand, almost pulsing with powerful light. “Goodbye, Te Xuan Ze.” June groaned and pushed herself up with shivering limbs, but the blast was already coming. She gasped when she felt herself being pulled down into the ground by a pair of hands.

They pulled her through the ground itself, then up several floors through the school to the roof, where she saw Danny Phantom once again materializing in front of her. He panted and kneeled in front of her even as she panted for breath. His bruises and assorted wounds didn’t seem to have healed at all.

“Guess we’re both out of our league…” June quipped through clenched teeth.

“Only if we fight alone.” Danny replied. “But I think if we work together we can take him down.”

“I’m definitely open to suggestions.” June said.

“Yeah, me too…” Danny replied bashfully. June narrowed her eyes, but suddenly he tackled her and they once again phased through the building just before the mace came crashing through, breaking through half of the building before coming to a stop on the bottom. Danny floated away through the walls, setting June down on the front lawn and letting them both become solid again.

“Why don’t you use your red orb thing?” Danny asked.

“I tried it. It didn’t work. I need more power.” June replied.

“Have any spare batteries?” Danny smirked.

“Very funny.” June smirked back. “These artifacts are powered by my own magical energies, and my power is limited. But I guess I have to try… do you think you can keep him busy?” She asked.

“If there’s one thing I can do, it’s keep a ghost’s attention.” Danny quipped. They both winced as the front of the school split apart, Pariah Dark cleaving his way straight through the middle and stepping out the front toward them, a victorious grin on his face. Danny rushed forward to meet him while June hung back, reaching into her pocket to pull out a small blue orb.

“I need more power…” She closed her eyes, cupping the small blue orb between her hands. She tries to block out the world around her, focusing on the gem, which began to glow softly between her hands. She could feel the stone’s power flooding into her, her own power bolstered somewhat, but it still wouldn’t be enough. The gem could only recharge her, not give her power beyond what she already had.

“Come on…” She wracked her brain trying to think of something, running through her small armament of enchanted artifacts in her mind. But she couldn’t think of anything that could bring the big guy down. He’d resisted the Spirit Orb, an artifact especially created to destroy ghosts, how could anything else bring him down? It seemed so hopeless.

She opened her eyes when she heard a dark laugh from the other side of the schoolyard, seeing Danny on the ground in his human form, trembling in weakness while Pariah Dark stood over him. “This time, child. Stay dead.” The ghost king said as he raised his hand, the ring on his finger pulsing brightly with energy. Juniper stopped thinking and sprang into action, rushing forward as fast as she could.

She managed to tackle Danny to the side before the beam could disintegrate him. They hit the grass several feet away and June whirled to her feet in time to see the massive beam moving toward them again. The six small stones floated from her pockets again, forming a larger ring in front of her as she held her hands out, the power of the magic creating a blue field. Pariah Dark’s blast hit the field hard, almost cracking it instantly, but June howled against the force and held on.

“I can’t… hold it…” Juniper grunted under her breath, her hair flowing out behind her head from the sheer power being directed at her. “Danny… run…” She panted.

“Neither of you will escape my wrath.” Pariah Dark exclaimed darkly, pushing even more energy into June’s slowly crumbling magical shield. She held it as long as she could, her magic pushed to its very limit, all of her power focused into this single shield. It couldn’t last forever; this had to be the end of her. But at least she could let Danny get away.

A soft gasp escaped her lips when she suddenly felt something enter her mind, flowing through her body. An alien force she couldn’t name, but she wasn’t scared. It almost felt comforting, like a familiar friend come to visit. She opened her mind and allowed this new power to flow through her, reenergizing her body and pushing her power far beyond what it was before.

June howled and the power of the jewels in front of her streamed forth straight through Pariah’s beam, slamming into his head and knocking him back. June flew into the air with renewed strength, her body crackling with energy both ghostly and magical so intense green electrical streaks were running across her body. She threw one hand forward, a shining blue Ecto Blast ripping instantly through the air, ripping through Pariah’s body and plunging into the street beyond.

“Gaagh!” The ghost king howled in pain, clutching his wound and falling to one knee. “This isn’t possible! My power is made up of both ghostly power and magic!”

“So’s ours!” June howled, her voice strangely mixed in with Danny’s. “And yours is thousands of years out of date! So kiss your butt goodbye!” She took in a deep breath, her fists clenching and the power welling up deep in her chest, almost exploding inside of her it was so intense. She thrust her arms out to the side and let out a Ghostly Wail, the powerful blue waves leaving visible ripples in the air, almost as it if could rip the air itself apart.

Pariah Dark tried to use his ring, but the ring itself shattered in a burst of green power, scattering uselessly to the ground as the wail ripped into the ghost king. His armor fell apart, shredding from his body as chunks of his horns and flesh peeled away. When the Ghostly Wail died down, Pariah Dark was lying back in the ruins of the street, which had been ripped to shreds by the force of the wail.

June landed in front of him, reaching into one pocket and pulling out the Spirit Orb. She looked up when he saw the beautiful form of the ghost Crystal floating toward the massive body, barely moving. She looked down at the ghost king, her eyes brimming with sadness.

“Crystal…” Pariah Dark’s voice shuddered.

“Rest easy, my king.” Crystal told him softly. “Forevermore.” June waited a moment, then raised the Spirit Orb, a powerful green beam lashing out toward Pariah Dark. This time the energy enveloped his body, covering it like a blanket. The ghost king didn’t look to be in any pain, in fact he almost looked serene as his body slowly began to dissolve, growing more transparent.

At last his body vanished completely, fading from sight and leaving only an imprint on the street to give any evidence that he’d ever existed. June looked up to watch Crystal land, then felt something shifting inside of him, a force driving his consciousness apart.

Juniper grunted and stumbled a bit as Danny Phantom fell out of her body to the street in front of her. She put one hand to her head. It was spinning like a top all of a sudden, as if her brain had been ripped in half. How did she know the strange ghost who was floating toward them? She’d never seen her before… maybe that was Danny’s knowledge. Had they really been the same person?

“I thank you both. A hero should rest when his time has passed.” She told them with a soft smile.

The ghostly girl turned and approached June. “Te Xuan Ze. There is still so much you must face. Rest easy, but know that your journeys will not end for some time to come. Above all, you must rest well and fight smart. I know you have the strength to face what lies ahead.” She looked over at Danny. “As do you, ghost-child. You will both face so much more… I wish it were not so, but there is no denying it.” She turned away from them and approached the spot in the ground where the ghost king had faded. “In time, all of the Ghost Zone will fade… as all things must pass. But it is still worth fighting for.” She lifted from the ground to float away, leaving the two heroes to stare after her.

June looked over at Danny, watching him turn to look back at her somewhat sheepishly. “So…” Danny’s ghostly body seemed to flash with a bright light, reverting back to his human form. “Wanna head back to my place?”

“I would, but I really should try to find Monroe and Ray-Ray.” Juniper replied. “They’re probably worried about me.” She was actually more worried about them. Monroe was responsible enough, but Ray-Ray often got into trouble even in a place he was familiar with, there was no telling what he would do if he had a whole new city to explore on his own.

“So I guess this is goodbye then.” Danny said. He almost looked bashful, running one foot across the ground and rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. Actually, it was kind of cute.

“Hmm… we’ll see.” June smiled. “If what that ghost said is true, I think we may see each other again sooner than you’d think.” June really liked that idea, but something was still nagging at her. “And… I really am sorry I tried to, y’know, destroy you all.”

“Hey, don’t sweat it. You’d be amazed how often it happens, seriously.” Danny chuckled. June chuckled with him. She knew how that felt perfectly. She just never imagined she would wind up playing the role of ‘bad guy’. “And I guess I learned something from all this. And getting rid of Pariah Dark once and for all isn’t a bad thing. So… yeah.” Danny blushed slightly.

Juniper gave him a tender, almost flirty smile. “Yeah… take care of yourself, Danny.” She turned to walk away, waving at him lightly as she walked.

“You too, Juniper.” Danny waved back at her, smiling.

“It’s June.” She called back to him, waving over her shoulder. She kept walking, not looking back until she’d rounded the next street corner. She would have liked to stay, but there wasn’t much else to say, and she had responsibilities. So she rushed along toward the hotel they’d found the night before, making her way up to the room. To her shock she found Monroe and Ray-Ray both still asleep.

Monroe opened his eyes and yawned when he heard the door. “Oh… is it mornin’ already?” He asked sleepily.

“You two have been asleep this whole time?” June said incredulously. “What if I needed backup?”

“Backup? For what?” Monroe asked confusedly. June slapped her forehead and sighed.

“Nevermind… just both of you get up. We’re leaving now.” Juniper said roughly. Monroe stared up at her for a moment, and she sighed. “Look I’m sorry, I’ve had a rough night, okay?”

“I expect to hear quite a story when we get back home.” Monroe told her.

“Oh I’ll have it for you. I’ll wait downstairs.” June left the room and made her way back out to the sidewalk, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. She waited a few minutes before suddenly she saw Danny in his human form walking toward her. “Oh, hey. Did you forget something?” June asked.

“Not really… just wanted to see you off properly.” Danny said, blushing slightly. June quirked one eyebrow curiously. “Hey, we have to stick together right? Te Xuan Ze and ghost-boy… so I dunno, I thought instead of just walking away we could keep in touch…” Danny reached into his pocket and took out a small note card, holding it out to her.

June took it and looked down at it. It was a phone number written on a card that had the words ‘Fenton Paper’ dyed on it. “Fenton, huh?” June looked up at the boy slyly. Danny blushed and coughed. “Sure… I’ll keep in touch.” She tucked the card safely into one of her jeans pockets, giving Danny a smile. He looked like he wanted to respond, but before he could Ray-Ray and Monroe emerged from the hotel.

“Okay, let’s go home now. This snooze fest was not worth the screaming we’re gonna get from mom for being out all night.” Ray-Ray grumbled darkly as he turned to walk down the sidewalk.

“Hold up lad, wait for those who know where they’re goin’!” Monroe rushed to keep up from him. June looked after them, then smiled back at Danny, pushing off from the wall.

“I’ll definitely keep in touch.” June told him. She walked up to him and leaned in to kiss him lightly on the cheek, giving him a smile. “Take care of yourself until then.” She pushed away from him and turned to follow her brother and dog away from Amity Park and the ghost-boy. This had been a heck of an adventure, and a learning experience for her. One she would carry with her for a long time to come, especially since she had every intention of calling Danny back.

“Hey, does anybody remember where we parked the flyin’ carpet?” Monroe asked. When she finally caught up with them. June and Ray-Ray stared at him, then exchanged a quick glance before they both broke into a rapid-fire blaming session. Yes, things would be more interesting from now on… but some things just never changed.

THE END

“Te Xuan Ze and ghost boy together… good. The stage has been set for the clash of the worlds.” Clockwork turned away from the dual images playing in his lair, putting his hands together in front of him as his middle-aged form shifted into that of a toddler. “We’ll just see if they have what it takes to make it through the trials ahead.”