It's been a few days since Paulina and surprisingly Star, left the A-listers after bad mouthing Dash.

Here we fade in to a squinting red eye with a dark pupil. The eye opens. Pan to the Ghost Zone. The eye belongs to a black bird, which calls as it is flying. It flies around a flight of stairs and goes over to a murder of the birds in a tree. It lands on the tree and calls. Close up of the bird. It calls again.

Pan down.

Vladis standing by a box with a purple cushion inside. Cut to the back of his head. He turns around, an evil grin on his face. Cut to a view of the tree the birds are in, with Vladand the box. Vladflies away, satisfied.

We Cut to an overhead view of Pariah's Keep. Vladflies into view and flies into the castle. Cut to the inside. He flies through a hall full of skeletal guards and depressed-looking portraits of a guy who looks like George Washington. He opens a door at the end of the hall, leading into a room with a sarcophagus with an odd green light shining on it. He flies towards it.

Vlad: Here we are.

He stops at the foot of some stairs. A skeleton holding a pumpkin with a sword sticking out of it is in the background. Pan up the stairs to the sarcophagus as Vladsays this next line.

Vlad: Pariah's Keep.

Cut to the skeleton holding a pumpkin with a sword sticking out of it.

Vlad: Home of the Fright Knight-

Cut to Vladlooking up at a sphere a skeleton is holding. In the middle of the sphere is a ring- the Ring of Rage.

Vlad: And before that-

Vlad holds up the Skeleton Key. He sticks it into a skeleton's nose, which is key-shaped (haha) and turns it. The sphere around the Ring dissolves, leaving a liquid residue on the skeleton's hands and dropping the Ring into Plasmius' hand.

Vlad: The Ghost King. And here I am, Vlad Plasmius- *He puts the Ring on* With all his power in the palm of my hand.

He flies up dramatically, beginning to laugh. The ring, however, merely sputters and emits smoke. Plasmius, surprised, looks at the ring, and then looks away, frowning. Cut to the sarcophagus. Fast pan to the crown at the top of the sarcophagus.

Vlad: Ah, of course. The Ring of Rage only works when one wears the Crown of Fire.

He flies up to the sarcophagus and sticks the key into a triangle in its chest.

We Cut to one of those birds, which caws. Vlad turns the key. The sarcophagus' eyes glow red. The birds fly out of the tree, and the coffin opens, revealing Pariah Dark, the Ghost King.

Vlad: Separately, they're nothing, but together- *Pariah's un eyepatched eye opens* They give you power unimaginable.

Pariah stomps out of the coffin. Vlad looks at him, mortified. Pan up from Pariah's feet to his face. He is a huge, Scottish, maybe Viking-like ghost, with only one eye, horns, one of which is broken, a beard thing, and LOTS of hair. He wears a flaming crown- the Crown of Fire, obviously.

Ghost King (Pariah): *Slow and dramatic.* Who dares?

Vlad: *Uncertainly* Uh, hello. Plasmius, Vlad Plasmius, did I mention I'm a huge fan of your work?

He smiles with uncertainty. Pariah's eye narrow.

We then cut to the outside. An explosion rocks the castle, throwing Plasmius out. Cut back to the inside. Pariah pulls the sword out of the purple pumpkin. The pumpkin flies into the air and explodes, revealing the Fright Knight.

Fright Knight: The Fright Knight lives!

Pariah throws the sword at Fright Knight.

Ghost King: To serve me.

The Knight looks quite surprised. He bows at the sight of the King.

Fright Knight: King Pariah! You're up!

Ghost King: And perhaps it's time to remind you-and that intruder- who RULES this place!

Cut to the outside. Plasmius is there, looking very beaten.

Plasmius: I've got to get out of here before he- *Pariah flies out of the castle, looming over Plasmius* Finds me!

Pariah grabs Plasmius.

Ghost King: You have freed me from my sarcophagus, and thus woken me from the forever sleep. *He brings Plasmius up to his face. He sees that he is not wearing the Ring of Rage* You're not the one who woke me! YOU ARE A DUPLICATE! *The duplicate Plasmius disappears in a wisp of pink smoke* So, where…

Pariah suddenly gets a surprised look on his face, then grimaces. Cut to the real Plasmius, who is currently back in the Keep, chatting up the Fright Knight.

Plasmius: But surely, you and I could work out some sort of deal.

F. Knight: A deal? *His eyes narrow..*

Both are suddenly hit by a blast of red ectoplasm. Plasmius flies away from the fray.

Plasmius: Call me. *He does a half salute*.We'll talk.

He flies out of the castle, past Pariah. Pariah fires a blast at him, which hits him full force. He is thrown back, smoking, and transforms back into his human form.

Cut to the Fenton Portal, open for no reason. Nearby, Jack and Maddie are working on the Fenton Pants. Jack plugs a plug into it, smiles, and presses a button. Charges from the plug enter the suit, causing it to glow and stomp.

Jack:.Sweet! The Fenton Pants are charged and operational! I'm telling you, Maddie, once this ectoskeleton is finished it will be able to beat back any ghost, no matter how powerful!

Maddie bends over the Fenton Pants.

Maddie: Yeah, but the interface is still glitchy and dangerous, Jack.

The Portal is now visible in the background.

Maddie:.We need to work the bugs out before-

Suddenly, a beat-up Vlad flies out of the Portal and crashes to the floor, Ring in hand. His hand closes on the ring. Jack and Maddie look at him, horrified.

Maddie: Vlad Masters? *He is reflected in her eye-lenses*

Cut to Vlad. He holds his hand up to Jack.

Vlad: Jack, my fat old friend- *Close up of his face* Help me.

He faints. Jack looks at him, terrified. Fade out.

The next day we cut to (F/N), Shadow and Danny, leaning against a tree looking quite content. Sam, Paulina, and Tucker walk up to him.

Sam: You two seem pretty happy today.

Tucker Why shouldn't they be? Last night Danny shoved Ember AND Skulker back into the Ghost Zone. And (F/N) took down 20 flocks of angels without breaking a sweat.

*He points behind himself*

Danny: And we still had time to finish Lancer's totally useless book report. [He leaps from the tree, hands on hips in a triumphant position.]

(F/N): *Does the same* Nothing could spoil this day.

He seems to have spoken too soon. Dash and Kwan are nearby, and Dash is holding a football.

Dash: Think fast, Fentoni!

He throws the football. Danny is hit and thrown back by the force of the football. Sam, (F/N), Shadow, Paulina and Tucker rush to him, mouths open. Cut to Danny. The football is on his chest. He leans up, dazed. Dash and Kwan run past him, laughing. Seething, Danny turns around and fires a blast of ectoplasm from his finger.

(Goof: The football is nowhere to be found.)

The ectoplasm knocks over a sign that says 'No Stopping Any Time'. Dash and Kwan trip over it. Danny walks over and picks up the sign, smiling.

Danny: No stopping any time, nitwit.

(F/N): *Chuckles* Nice one bro.

Paulina: *to Dash* What did I ever see you? Oh that's right, nothing. *Hi-fives (F/N)*

(F/N): *Kisses Paulina* Good one hun.

Paulina: Thanks babe.

(F/N): Anytime.

Danny.drops the sign by their sprawled bodies. They look at him, frowning.

We then cut inside of the school. Danny is putting books in his locker. Sam, (F/N), Paulina, Shadow and Tucker are with him.

Sam: You realize you're playing with fire.

(F/N): Yeah D, don't you remember what happened the last time you used your powers on Dash?

Paulina: Last time?

(F/N): Yeah he got back at Dash but then got possessed by Poindexter, I'll tell you the whole story later.

Paulina: Gotcha.

Danny: *As he turns to look at her* Well, sometimes I have to use my powers for the greater good.

He points off-screen. Sam, (F/N), Shadow, Paulina and Tucker turn to look. Cut to Dash and Kwan by their lockers. Dash's locker is straining to stay shut. He opens it, and toilet paper cascades onto him. There are designs on the toilet paper. Cut back to our three heroes. You know who I'm talking about.

Tucker: And come on, how good was that?

Close-up of Sam.

Sam: *Sarcastically* Nice. Using your powers to stuff toilet paper into a locker. He's going to find out it's you.

Danny: Have you seen his grades?

Danny, Tucker : *Double-Pointing at each other* Never gonna happen.

(F/N): Not unless that toilet paper has a certain logo on it.

Cut back to Dash. He holds up some of the toilet paper.

Dash: Hey!

Close up of the toilet paper. We can now see that the design is Jack Fenton's face. Kinda reminds me of the Happy Bunny toilet paper...ah, good times...

Dash: THIS IS FENTON WIPE!!!

He turns over to where Danny and Co. are standing, seething. Cut to Sam.

Sam: "Never" is Karma's doorbell. Ding-dong, *She pantomimes ringing a doorbell* It's for you.

Paulina: *to Danny* You might wanna run.

Danny, sensing impending danger, runs away. Cut to an overhead shot of Band Geek and Mikey playing a Yu-Gi-Oh! type game (according to Danny, 'Nerd Poker'). Cut to Band Geek.

Band Geek: Aha! I blast you with my Ball of Infinite Exposition! *He holds up said card. Cut to Mikey*

Mikey: Aw man, you bored my character to death.

(Nitpick: His voice is a little off.)

Cut to the doors to the cafeteria. Danny bursts through, looking for a place to hide. He sees Band Geek's trumpet. Cut to Dash.

Dash: FENTON!!

Danny, however, is nowhere to be found. Dash runs out of the cafeteria. Cut to under the cafeteria table. Two little blue eyes peek out from underneath: Danny's. He looks away and breathes a sigh of relief- a little too soon, it seems. As the cameras pans over, we see that Valerie, Ghost Hunter, is also under the table, hiding from...well, you'll see. They notice each other- and don't acknowledge it well.

Danny: Find your own hiding spot! I've got dibs on 'Under the Nerds Playing Nerd Poker'. *He points behind himself*

Valerie: Ease up, Fenton. You're not the only one who needs to hide, you know.

Cut to the outside of the cozy little table. Running by is Nathan, a geeky looking fat kid with glasses, really big hair (afro?), and a sweater with an alien on it. He is holding a picture of Valerie.

Nathan: Valerie! WHERE ARE YOU?! It's only three years until Senior Prom! WHY WON'T YOU SAY YES?

Cut back under the table.

Danny: Three years? We could be here a while.

Close up of Valerie.

Valerie: Wanna check over our book reports?

Cut back to Danny. He smiles slightly.

Cut to a street in Amity Park. Danny and Valerie round the corner (out during school hours? Naughty naughty...), panting. They run over to a dumpster and attempt to hide behind it. Unfortunately, Sam is already hiding there, curled in a somewhat fetal position. She points at Danny, silently asking, "What are you hiding from?"

Danny: Hiding from Dash.

Sam points at Valerie.

Valerie: Hiding from Nathan. *As she says this, Nathan runs by* You?

She points over. Danny and Valerie turn around, mouths open, as the next line is said.

Pam: Sammy-kins!

Cut to the alley's opening. Pam runs by, holding one of those frilly, lacy, ribbony pink dresses we know Sam will NEVER wear in a million years.

Pam: At least try it on!

She runs away. Cut to the dumpster. Danny, Sam, and Valerie peek up from behind it.

Danny: C'mon.

Cut to Danny's house.

Danny: Over there. We can all hide in my house. *points to it*

Cut to Danny and Sam running together. Valerie is behind them. Cut to just Danny, (F/N), Paulina, Shadow and Sam.

Sam: So...what's up with this? Why are you helping her all of a sudden?

Danny: Ah, she hid me from Dash earlier today. I'm just returning the favor.

(F/N): Hmm, seems fair to me.

They get to the steps of Danny's house.

Sam: Well, be careful. The last thing you'd want to do is invite arch-enemy into your own house.

Valerie stops at the steps, surprised, and then walks up behind them. The three open the door to a surprising sight. Danny's jaw drops and so does (F/N)'s.

Vlad is sitting in their living room, towel over his suit, having tea and playing chess with Jack. Maddie is holding the teapot, Jazz is reading a book, and the sight is not at all pretty. Close up on Vlad.

Vlad: *Casually moving a chess piece* Ah, hello, Daniel! Danniella!

Cut back to Danny, Paulina, Sam, and Valerie.

Sam: Too late.

Close up of Danny's face.

Danny: You! *stomps over to where Vlad and the others are sitting* What are you doing here?

(F/N): Shouldn't you be in Wisconsin? Or anywhere else?

Maddie frowns, and pours the tea. The boiling hot tea purposely misses Vlad's cup and instead falls on his pants. He howls in pain.

Maddie: Totally valid question. *holds up the teapot*

Vlad: Still steaming?

Maddie: You have no idea.

She yells in his face. Apparently, Maddie is still angry about what Vlad did in Maternal Instincts. He now talks to Danny.

Vlad: I was just, you know, passing through. *Close-up. The next words are said jokingly.* And then I saw that MARVELOUS Battlesuit and thought, since I can't just destroy Jack and take it, I suppose I'll steal its secrets right out from under his nose!

Jack looks worried. Vlad is still smiling. A second later, they're laughing like the idiots they both are. All of the kids (teens) blink twice. Cut back to Jack and Vlad, who wipe their eyes, still laughing. Maddie walks over with the teapot.

Vlad: I swear, I am such a josher. *He holds out his teacup* More tea please. *Maddie pours the tea on his head* Not there! Ooh!

Vlad gets up, covered in tea, frowning. Maddie merely walks away, scowling. Jack runs after her. Danny walks up to Vlad.

Danny: We don't know what you're up to, Plasmius.

(F/N): Actually, We do. You just told us.

Vlad:.You're right! *The force of that statement blows Danny backward* And say a word and I'll share your secret with- *He notices Valerie. Pull back to fit her onto the screen.* Ah! The young Miss Gray! *He walks over to her, hands folded for some bizarre reason*

Valerie: *Absolutely clueless* You know me?

Extreme close-up of Danny.

Danny: You know her?

Cut to the Ecto-Exodus Alarm, which, like all other inventions, looks oddly like Jack- in this case, a bust of Jack. Its eyes glow red. Jack and Maddie run into the room where it is. Jack flips up the top of the bust, revealing a button. He presses it.

The family photo flips over, revealing a panel labeled 'Ghost Zone Radar'. It pictures several ghost-like pixely images moving towards one point.

Jack: Galloping goblets, it's the Ecto-Exodus Alarm!

The teens run over.

(F/N), Danny, Sam, Paulina Jazz: The Ecto-whaty-what?

Cut back to Maddie and Jack. Hey, that rhymes.

Maddie: The Ecto-Exodus Alarm! An alarm that only goes off when we're about to face a massive ghost invasion!

The Pacman Ghost-like ghost images race closer to the point, the Fenton Portal. Cut to Danny, (F/N) Paulina, and Sam.

Danny: Stall them! *He and (F/N) run off.*

Jack runs in hopes of reaching the portal. Sam purposely sticks out her leg.

Sam:.Umm...Oops!

Jack trips and falls. Maddie begins running also. Jazz drops her book on purpose and Paulina tosses her lipstick on the floor on purpose too.

Jazz and Paulina: Whoops!

Maddie slips on the book and slides into the closet, which closes behind her. Sam and Paulina shoot an odd look at Jazz, who frowns and looks away innocently.

Paulina: *In her head* Does Jazz know too?

Cut to Valerie. She prepares to grab her backpack with her ghost hunting stuff in it-except that it's not there. Of course, who would have it but-

Vlad: Looking for your ghost hunting equipment?

Cut to Vlad. He is holding Valerie's backpack. Val walks up to him, clearly surprised.

Valerie:Ghost hunting? How do you know about my ghost hunting equipment?

Vlad drops the backpack into her hands, puts his arm around her shoulder, and ushers her away.

Vlad: Please, walk with me.

They leave the house. Cut to the Fenton Portal. A red light is flashing. Danny and (F/N)  run down the steps and they both transform into Danny and Ravager as they jump into the air. They float in front of the Portal, bracing themselves

Danny: Okay, here we go…

(F/N): Be ready for anything.

The music gets all tense, tension is high...

It's only the Box Ghost, aka Best Ghost on the Face of this Earth. He sticks his head out of the portal, then his arms.

Box Ghost: Beware!

Danny and (F/N) stare, then begin laughing.

Danny: Oh man! Only you?

(F/N): Well this should be easy.

They spoke too soon once more. A blue beam of ectoplasm shoots out of the Portal and hits them square in the chest, knocking them to the ground. A boot lands on their chests. Out of nowhere comes Skulker, standing on him. The Box Ghost is close behind.

Danny: Skulker?

(F/N): What are you doing here?

Skulker: *To other ghosts* I told you there was a way out through here.

Ember's head pops out of the portal, then Walker's, then an Ectopus, then Johnny 13's shadow. They all look very scared. Along with them comes about a million other ghosts, bursting out of the portal, shouting 'go go go'! Skulker follows up with the final-

Skulker: Goooo!!

The Ghosts burst out of the basement and go into the storm clouds above Danny's house in four columns, with a few stragglers. Back inside, Danny pulls Skulker off of himself and flies him out of the house by the leg. He throws him down one outside, but he gets back into position easily. Danny does a little back-flip and then proceeds to punch Skulker...

But is stopped by the Dragon Ghost, who is being ridden by Poindexter. Okay, that's just weird. Close up on Poindexter.

Poindexter: I know this might sound a little fishy, but Skulker isn't the bully here!

Danny: Bully? *The Dragon Ghost releases them* What are you talking about?

(F/N): What are all of you running from?

As he says 'What are all of you running from?', Pan up. Several ghosts that Danny has fought- Desiree, Penelope Spectra, Technus, and Ember among others- are shown. Close up on Ember.

Ember His name is Pariah Dark, the King of All Ghosts.

We Cut to Skulker, Lunch Lady, and Walker.

Skulker: And why would we be in a hurry... *He pounds his fists together. Close up on him.* We'll always have time for this.

The ghosts were about to beat up Danny but (F/N) got in their way.

(F/N): You are not laying a hand on him.

Walker: And what can one girl do against an army of ghosts?

(F/N): When your the granddaughter of Sparda you can do anything.

All the ghosts eyes widen in terror when they heard that name.

Ghost: S-Sparda?!

(F/N) inhales and unleashes a sonic scream which sounds like a thousand ghost screaming as she sent a loud sonic wave sending all the ghosts, even the most powerful ones away and (F/N) kept going and going to the point where her hair changed back to her normal form as Danny saw this and was surprised.

Danny: Woah…

After the ghosts were all gone (F/N) lost a lot of energy as she fell to the ground and changed back, as we then see her sit up as Danny came to her and we then see Sam and Paulina run out of Danny's house and stops at the curb. She looks worried.

Sam: You okay? *Danny opens his eyes and frowns, Paulina and (F/N) glare at her.*Sorry, standard question.

Paulina: *She helps (F/N) up* What was that about?

Danny: I dunno. But I think Vlad Plasmius just became the least of our worries.

We fade into another part of the city. Valerie (in hunter garb) and Vlad are riding on her ghost hunting hoverboard. Close up on both of them.

Vlad: So, the equipment is tuber-locking and it functions properly, does it?

Valerie: Heck yeah! *They land on a building* It's like you designed it just for me!

Vlad hops off. The hoverboard retracts back into Valerie's feet.

Valerie: Why would you do that? *She removes her hood* I'm like, fourteen.

Vlad: You're also the most capable ghost hunter I've ever seen!

Cut to Valerie. She smiles as the next lines are said.

Vlad: You're smart, you're fast, you're strong- *Cut to Vlad* And most of all- you're motivated.

Cut to Valerie.

Valerie Really?

Cut to view both of them.

Vlad: Of course! Why else would I say such a thing? *Close-up. The next words are said in the same joking fashion he used before* I would have to be some sort of, oh, diabolical villain, to manipulate you like that!

His face is villainously back-lit. Valerie stares at him. He smiles big and fake. They both laugh. Vlad wipes a tear from his eye.

Vlad: Ho ho, I kill me! *He clenches his fists* Or Jack! *He gasps. Valerie looks confused. Cut back to Vlad.*And, my dear, it's the reason I can trust you with this.

Vlad pulls out something from inside his suit and displays it in his palm- the Ring of Rage . He then holds it up. Val's face can be seen through the ring.

Valerie: A ring?

Vlad: *Lying through his teeth* Not just any ring. It's been passed down from ghost hunter to ghost hunter for generations.

He gives it to her. She puts it on.

Valerie: I don't know what to say.

We get a Close-up of her arm. An x-ray effect takes place for a second. Vlad runs over and grabs her hand.

Vlad: Don't say anything, dear. But please, let's keep it our secret, hm?

As he finishes this sentence, a ghostly moaning is heard. Valerie does a double-take.

Valerie What was that?

She puts on her hood as the next lines are said.

Vlad: Probably Jack, goofing up again.

Close up on his part.

Vlad: I believe you have a job to do.

Valerie activates her hoverboard.

Valerie: I won't let you down, Mr. Masters.

She flies away into the night. Vlad steps onto the ledge.

Vlad: Oh, of that- *He transforms into Plasmius* You can be sure. And young Daniel and Danniella will be so busy protecting you, stealing that battlesuit will be a snap.

He kicks the head off an ornate stone dragon, crashing it to the pavement.

Fade to three glowing green skeletons. They are standing in front of the Fright Knight.

Fright Knight: Your armies are amassed? *The skeletons grunt and salute him* Then on my orders-

Ghost King: On MY orders! *Pariah suddenly comes up behind the Knight, surprising him. Close-up on Pariah. To the skeletons* Go to that world.

Cut to the skeleton armies.

Ghost King: Bring the Ring to me.

Cut to Pariah.

Ghost King: And to those who stand in your way-show no mercy.

The three head skeletons and the Fright Knight bow down before Pariah. He then walks over to a railing overlooking the skeleton armies. They grunt and raise their arms in salute to him. Zoom in on one skeleton's glowing red eye, and fade out.

Next: Chapter 26: Reign Storm Part 2.