DP: Terror Prince Ch. 18

Once Tucker announced the news, everyone headed downstairs to the lab to figure out what was going on, including Wulf and Jack. Wulf seemed a little overjoyed because he licked Danny on the cheek as he came running down the stairs. Tucker linked his PDA up to the computer. Suddenly, an image of Technus appeared in a window like a webcam. Tucker was hooking up some speakers because there appeared to be some audio problems at first.

"So this ghost is a friend of yours Danny?" Maddie asked to clarify while Tucker was hooking up some wires.

"Not really but he agreed to help us. Since Clockwork's tower was destroyed, we had no choice but to ask him for help. That Life Record is basically the only clue to the ghost that attacked me and where Clockwork might be." Danny answered. It was a little embarrassing to say since Technus was more often than not his enemy.

"Is this thing on?" Technus asked, his voice pretty loud and clear on the speakers. Joan looked a little interested

"It is now Technus." Sam answered. "Can you hear us?"

"Of course I can! Do you forget who I am?" He countered, acting a little offended. Sam groaned. How could she not when he was always shouting his name to the sky?

"Yes we know. You're the Master of Technology and anything that plugs into an outlet." Danny retorted a little annoyed. "What did you find out about that Life Record?"

"I was getting to that." Technus said, obviously not a happy camper himself. "Well after obtaining some old construction plans of Clockwork's tower I got from the Observants and some pretty primitive technology, I was able to make the machine that could read the Life Record. As for what's on the Life Record…you might want to see for yourself…"

With that, Technus turned the camera to the machine. Danny saw that the machine was made out of some pretty primitive equipment. There were some machines that looked like they were from Old England or something that an inventor might've just recently made. Even the screen was made from an aged and worn wooden TV.  Several antennae were sticking out of it in various directions. They were all shaped differently too, from just the standard V-shaped antenna on an old TV set to the unknown shapes that were used for satellites and other stuff that was often seen on rooftops. Yet, the resolution was crystal clear, thanks to Technus' knowledge in electrical wiring. Soon, the webcam stood still and Technus hit play. Instantly, the whole room went quiet.

The screen showed something that looked like it was out of a movie, like when Sam, Tucker, and Danny watched Danny's evil older self attack Amity Park. Everything was desolate and lifeless except for occasional weeds and patches of grass. Other than that, it was a complete wasteland with no buildings or machines. Just a whole area of nothingness. The sky was filled with thunderclouds so thick, it looked like it was the middle of the night. However, there wasn't any rain nor puddles on the ground. There was only the occasional grumble of thunder and flashes of lightning. It was just stirring for the moment, as if it was waiting for something.

The screen panned to a small person on a black horse. He looked like he was slightly younger than the average teenager but his eyes seemed old and blazed with fire. He was slaying his enemies on horseback like it was nothing. The adolescent was obviously unaffected by how much blood he spilled or lives he ended. As his eyes whirled around to face oncoming enemies, they seemed to be calculating every position they took and how to quickly take them down. Then, as fast as the lightning in the distance, he enacted his plan, killing the oncoming enemy instantly. Danny could tell who the child was right away. It was definitely the ghost from the cemetery but he was…human.

"Raaaah!" The child yelled as he ran through another enemy with his sword, splattering blood everywhere. Jazz had to look away, unable to stand how much blood was on the screen. Joan was muttering to herself, probably a quick prayer to the dead that were falling in battle. Danny continued to watch as the kid jumped off of his horse to take on a group of soldiers. It was frightening how he was so young and yet, so bloodthirsty.

Suddenly, something off-screen caught his attention. While the kid was distracted, an arrow had pierced his horse in its side, delivering a mortal wound. With a strained whinny that was filled with pain, the horse fell to the ground. Seeing his horse had been shot, the child cried out as he ran over to his steed. Danny could see that the boy loved his horse dearly. A few tears were forming as an enemy came up behind him. In anger, the child whirled around and stabbed him in the chest, spilling blood on his face before running into the fray once more. His feelings of compassion for his horse were gone. He was determined to fight in revenge.

Everyone was pretty speechless, mostly Jack and Maddie. They'd been hunting ghosts all their life so obviously they knew a lot of history. However, the clothes, weapons, and even the fighting techniques were nearly unheard of. They'd most likely been lost in history thousands of years ago. That and the fact that a ghost was able to make the imagery so crystal clear using what nowadays would've been called antiques or junk.

As Danny continued to watch, the kid was making quite a bit of progress but his stamina was wearing down. Sweat was forming on his brow. He was pretty wiped from fighting for such a long time on the battlefield. It didn't stop him from wounding the soldiers that came close to him. He was soon surrounded by several corpses with blank wide eyes and terrible expressions, reminding Danny of the grisly sight when he had to face against the living corpses at the cemetery.

In an instant, a giant howl of pain completely cut through the silence. The boy's eyes widened as he turned around to see what had happened. A dark silhouette appeared in a flash of lightning, a sword piercing its chest. In reaction, the child ran over toward the silhouette in a frantic sprint. Who the silhouette was shocked everyone, even Wulf.

The man that had been stabbed had an eye patch over his left eye, a long scar over the other eye, and black hair. He had a black goatee that covered most of his chin. His skin was pale but definitely human. He was clothed in black armor with a sword in his stomach. When it came to human proportions, he was huge. His muscles seemed to make up his entire body. The ideal warrior. The resemblance was so uncanny, there was no mistaking it. The man that was stabbed was a human Pariah Dark.

"What does Pariah Dark have to do with all of this?!" Danny asked, the question that was whirling in everyone's mind.

"You'll see in a second child! Keep watching!" Technus argued off screen. Danny rolled his eyes in annoyance but kept watching.

The kid that had been killing people left and right ran up to Pariah like a madman. He knelt down to him and saw the massive amount of bleeding that was coming from his abdomen. The boy's face twisted in horror as he saw the amount of blood and quickly began to press onto the wound with some fabric. The wound wasn't healing at all though. It only made the wound bleed faster and gush, making Pariah groan in pain.

"Please…you have to live…" The boy begged, a few tears forming in his eyes as he watched Pariah's life slowly drain away. The warrior's face was already starting to lose some color. It wasn't much time and he could see that. Even so, he continued to beg for him to live. Suddenly, a large hand came up to his face, moving up to ruffle the boy's hair in a kind gesture, which was almost unheard of. As far as anyone knew, Pariah was a ruthless king that cared nothing for his subjects or followers as long as he got what he wanted. The room went quiet as Pariah began to speak.

"Forget about me…Live on for the sake…of our people…and lead them to victory…" He said with a heavy groan before his hand slipped from the boy's face. He coughed heavily, blood dripping from his mouth. The boy gripped Pariah's hand tightly just before he spoke one final time.

"You've made me proud…Elijah…" With that, the man fell silent forever.

Danny would've been overjoyed now that he finally knew the boy's name but he saw this was not the time. Elijah's eyes were overflowing with tears as he began to stand up. He would fight in his father's name. Just as he stood up and wiped away the tears, Elijah heard someone coming closer but before he could do anything, a blade appeared through his stomach. Everyone in the room cringed as they saw Elijah bleeding profusely from the wound.

In horror, Elijah stared at the blood covered blade that had pierced his stomach. He turned around shakily as his life began to fade. All he could see was a dark figure with an insane look in his eyes. From what Danny saw, Elijah must've recognized that figure. The dagger was quickly pulled back out of Elijah's back and he was shoved to the ground by the figure. The figure seemed to vanish as Elijah was left to die.

The screen suddenly cut to black.