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theapprenticeofthanatos · 8 months

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TAoT: Chapter 34: Kindred Spirits Part 3

WE LIVE!!! ACK.

We are truly sorry for the lack of updates on this fic, life has been rough (still is) and we lost motivation there for a bit. Sorry about that!!! Hopefully IRL things will calm down a bit, but it’s unlikely. BUT we are still going to do our best to update at least once a month (even though we didn’t manage to last month… or the month before 😬).

To everyone who made it this far, thank you for sticking with us, y’all are the best! 😭

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Danny POV:

As Danny returned to consciousness, he groaned miserably. His head felt like a little elf was taking a sledgehammer to his skull. What had happened? The last thing he remembered was…

Ellie.

She… she had literally shot him in the back! Why that little… Danny blinked, hissing as pain shot through his eyes. When he got his hands on her—

But then he froze. Where… was he?

Immediately, he could see that he was trapped in the same black and green containment cube that Vlad had imprisoned him in the first time they met, in what he assumed was one of Vlad’s many secret labs (how many secret labs could one billionaire have?). To Danny’s right sat a large computer terminal, and on its screen were pictures and videos of him; fighting, flying, morphing… it looked somewhat like a video game character info screen. There were even simulated strands of his DNA.

Eww.

The next thing that Danny noticed was the fact that there were lit candles scattered all over the room. They smelled like stinky cheese and rotten eggs, and they made Danny’s eyes water. What was that all about? Had Vlad decided to do a bit of redecorating? Spice up his lab a little bit? Because it wasn’t working.

There was movement in the corner of his vision, and Danny craned his neck to see as Vlad emerged from the shadows, with a pleased grin on his face; he looked every bit like the cat that caught the canary.

“You’ve been spying on me?” Danny said immediately, disgusted. “Y’know, am I even really surprised? Of course a fruitloop like you would keep files on me.”

Vlad’s smile fell instantly, replaced by a look of indignant rage. “I am not! A! FRUIT! LOOP!” He snapped.

“Could’ve fooled me,” Danny retorted with a smirk. “What with this whole villainous lair setup you’ve got going on.”

Vlad growled, but then his anger seemed to fade as he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed tiredly. “I am not a villain, either. All I am, Daniel, is a man… that wants to be loved.”

Vlad pressed a button on the wall beside him, and there was the sound of machinery moving behind him. He stepped to the side, revealing a tube-shaped containment pod, inside of which was…

Me?

No. A clone. A seemingly perfect, identical copy of none other than Danny Phantom was standing in the pod. Its eyes were closed as if it were asleep, and would wake at any moment.

A chill ran down Danny’s spine, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. This was beyond creepy.

“It has taken months,” Vlad rambled on. “But now, at last, the good clone is nearly ready to accept your DNA.”

The good clone? That meant… “Wait, Ellie’s a clone? Of me?”

“If by Ellie, you mean Danielle,” Vlad drawled disdainfully. “Then yes.”

“And the others…” Danny was connecting the dots now. “Frankenstein, and the bedsheet ghost! They were clones, too?”

“Yes,” Vlad confirmed. “Bad clones. Mistakes.” He snapped his fingers, and the miniscule specter Danny had been chasing around town suddenly darted into the room. It whizzed around Danny’s head like an annoying fly, before coming to a stop at Vlad’s side.

Suddenly, the tiny ghost grew in size, until it was Danny’s height. And now that Danny could see it in close, gruesome detail, he felt like he was going to be sick.

The ghost looked… well, the best way to describe its appearance was that it looked like it had spent a few minutes inside of a microwave. Its skin looked like melted cheese on a hot, greasy pizza, and bits of it fell away, slopping onto the floor where they bubbled away into nothing. The ghost bared its fangs at Danny and hissed, and its left eye suddenly fell out of its socket, landing on the floor with a wet splat before it disintegrated into goop.

Vlad continued monologuing as if nothing had happened. “And I would watch a hundred more failures dissolve into ectoplasm to get the perfect half-ghost son.”

“Oh, yeah,” Danny chuckled dryly, scowling at the other halfa. “Nothing loopy about that. Y’know, once I get outta here, maybe I can help you find a nice cat to care for, instead of growing humans in your secret lab!”

Vlad merely smirked at Danny’s taunting. “Are you under the impression that you’re getting out of this? I need a DNA sample of you mid-morph to complete my work. And then…” Vlad sneered as he snapped his fingers, and the goopy clone shrunk back down before darting towards Danny. “You will be obsolete.”

The miniature ghost struck Danny in the center of his forehead, and burrowed into his flesh like a tick. Pain immediately flooded Danny’s body, igniting every inch of his nerves like lights on a Christmas tree. It felt like every one of his muscles was seizing, and he struggled to fight against the ghost as it attempted to overshadow him.

“Get… out… of me!” Danny growled, his teeth grinding together as his eyes rolled back in his head. But then a spark of cold flickered to life in his chest, and Danny felt stronger. It was like his core was trying to burn away the invading spirit, and Danny worked with it, gathering every bit of strength to push the clone out. Out, out! Get out!

But then Vlad pushed a button on his computer console, and Danny screamed as electricity shot through his body. It arced along his spine and made him feel like he had been dipped in battery acid. The shock stopped after only a few seconds, and Danny’s head slumped forward as his vision went black, and he fell unconscious.

Sam POV:

Sam and Tucker stood on the sidewalk, staring up at the brick facade of FentonWorks. They needed to get inside, but 1) they didn’t have Danny with them as an excuse, and 2) school was still in session. A peek through the window revealed Jack and Maddie Fenton sitting in the living room, and the two teens knew that they would be questioned immediately on sight for their truancy.

“How are we going to get inside now?” Tucker lamented.

“Back door.” Sam answered simply. “Come on.”

She led Tucker around the street corner and to the backyard, where she proceeded to boost him over the fence before climbing over herself. Together, the two teens scurried across the backyard and came to a stop at the back door. Tucker peered through the kitchen window, before giving Sam a thumbs-up: the coast was clear.

Carefully, Sam slowly turned the doorknob. The latch released without a sound, but the hinges did squeak as she pushed the door open. Luckily, the sound was drowned out by Jack’s voice in the living room.

“Why, when I get ahold of those kids, they’re gonna get the scolding of a lifetime! They’ll be cleaning out beakers and Erlenmeyer flasks for weeks!”

Maddie sighed. “Let’s just hope that a summer at Camp Delphi will teach Danny to be a little more responsible with his learning.”

Sam tuned out the rest of the adults’ conversation as she closed the door behind Tucker. Moving as silently as they could, the two of them made their way across the kitchen and down into the basement. Once they had made it down the stairs, they abandoned any pretense of stealth in favor of quickly grabbing what they needed to rescue Danny.

Tucker hopped into the Specter Speeder and started its warm-up sequence, while Sam grabbed the Boo-merang from its spot on one of the counters. Spying the Specter Deflector, she decided to snag it as well; maybe it would come in handy later on. Sam really wanted to stay and grab just a couple more gadgets—they were going up against Vlad, after all—but they were already running on borrowed time. So with both devices shoved into her backpack, she ran back to the Specter Speeder and hopped in.

“Ready to go?” Tucker asked her.

“Sure,” Sam muttered testily. “Let’s go with that.”

Tucker wisely kept his mouth shut and returned his attention to the controls in front of him. Sam moved to close the door of the Specter Speeder, but she froze when the familiar, booming voice of Jack Fenton came from the top of the stairs.

“Sam! Tucker! Get out of there!”

Frick.

“Uhh, whaaat?” Sam called back, her heart pounding like a timpani as a nervous sweat trickled down her back. They were gonna be so dead when they got back. “I can’t hear you over the, uhh, roar of the rockets!”

Sam slammed the door shut and whirled around to face Tucker. “Could you activate the roar of the rockets, please?” She hissed.

“On it!” Tucker squeaked, his hands flitting over the controls.

Sam could feel the vehicle coming to life under her feet, and she took her spot in the passenger’s seat just as the gateway to the lab’s underground tunnel slid open, and the Specter Speeder shot forward like a bat out of Hell. They flew down the tunnel and surfaced outside, quickly taking to the skies and leaving the Fenton household far behind them.

The two teens and their stolen hovercraft came to a stop once they had cleared the tallest of the buildings in Amity Park, and Sam powered on the Boo-merang as Tucker opened the windshield of the Speeder.

“Okay.” Sam stood and looked down at the tracking device in her hands. “Find Danny.”

And with that command, Sam drew back her arm, and threw the Boo-merang as hard as she could out into the open air. The device took to the air like a bird, and it immediately zipped off towards the horizon, in search of Sam and Tucker’s ghostly best friend.

Sam sat down as the windshield slid shut. “Tucker, follow that stupidly named tracking device!”

Danny POV:

Danny awoke with another pounding headache. Whether it was the same one from before or something new, he didn’t know or particularly care. And as he blinked his eyes open, he saw that he was now inside one of the containment pods he had seen earlier. His wrists were cuffed to the sides of the pod, and a light tug revealed that the metal restraints weren’t going to break easily.

Scowling, Danny gritted his teeth, preparing to rip the handcuffs from the walls. But then he heard the clicking of a dial, and suddenly his world lit up in blinding, electrifying pain. Danny screamed as his muscles spasmed, and he could feel his body trying to transform against his will.

The cold in Danny’s core tried to protest, but it was quickly smothered by another presence. A presence that felt like an invader, that was trying to take over his body and make him bend to its will.

The clone. It was still inside of him.

White rings of light formed around Danny’s waist, but he bit down on his tongue hard enough to draw blood as he fought against the transformation. With a great deal of effort, the rings shrank, but they didn’t dissipate like he had hoped. It was clear that the clone was fighting against him, intent on obeying Vlad’s orders so the crazed fruitloop could get Danny’s mid-morph DNA sample, and then… what?

Make a new, more obedient Danny? And put the old one out of commission?

Yeah, fat chance, pal.

As Danny fought against the clone within his body, he could just barely hear voices outside his containment pod. It sounded like Vlad, and… his mom?

The shock of hearing his mother’s voice caught Danny off guard, and it gave the clone a chance to take over. The transformation rings crept over his skin again, before Danny managed to push them back down with a pained scream.

The sound of two more clicks reached Danny’s ears, and then the pain was suddenly amplified. He could hear the electricity buzzing in his skull, and feel it as it shot up his arms and down his spine, rooting him to the ground where he stood. It was like thousands of fire ants crawling under his skin, their touch like battery acid to his flesh.

But Danny wasn’t going to give in. He wasn’t going to let Vlad win. He couldn’t, because if he did, then Vlad would kill him. He didn’t want to die!

The cold in Danny’s core grew stronger, and the clone doubled its efforts. He could feel it inside of him, its essence trying to smother the cold in his core and force his ghostly transformation to take over. But he couldn’t let that happen. He needed to get out. He needed to get away.

Suddenly, a surge of cold erupted from Danny’s core, freezing the metal restraints holding him captive, and covering the window of the pod in frost. Through the pain coursing inside of him, Danny could just barely make out the voice of his mom again.

“Containment chamber beginning to overload.”

The clone in Danny’s body seemed to be frantically trying to change him, but Danny wasn’t going to let that happen. The white rings crept up and down his torso, and out of options, Danny dug into his core, searching for every last ounce of strength that he had. If he could just break these chains, and escape the pod, then he would be free. He just needed to push… a little harder…

All of a sudden, the electricity zapping through Danny’s body grew stronger—so strong that the pain it was causing was almost unbearable—and then a split second later, there was a deafening BOOM, followed by the shattering of glass, and the electricity was gone. A billowing, acrid smoke filled the air, and with his restraints now broken, Danny had to fight to keep from collapsing right then and there.

He couldn’t feel the clone in his body anymore. Whether that meant it had been pushed from him in the explosion, or it had disintegrated like the others he had fought before, he wasn’t sure. But far more importantly, he was free. Now, he just had to…

Mustering what strength he had left, Danny finally allowed his ghostly transformation to wash over him. Feeling strangely detached from his body, Danny floated up from the wreckage of the containment pod, and drifted forward into the smokey room. Vlad emerged from the smoke in front of him, looking completely shocked at the devastation Danny had caused to his lab, but Danny didn’t care. He just turned intangible and passed right through the elder halfa, ignoring the angry shouts that echoed after him as he glided up to the ceiling, and left the confines of the underground laboratory.

It took Danny a bit to find his way through the maze that was one of Vlad’s many mansions. He was so exhausted that he had to stop, falling to his knees as he reached what looked like a den of some sort. It was complete with a roaring fireplace, a lush armchair, and stuffed animal head trophies hanging from the walls.

So, they were in Vlad’s Colorado mansion, then. Danny remembered it from back when Vlad had stranded Danny and his mom out in the mountain wilderness, only to “rescue” them and make a move on his mom.

Danny weakly shook his head. Not important right now… need… to get away…

But how? He didn’t have the strength to fly away now. He couldn’t even stand. He was thousands of miles away from home, how could he possibly get back…?

Shadow-travel. That… that was an option. But he definitely didn’t have the energy for that. He didn’t want to risk trying to shadow-travel home, only to be ripped apart if he wasn’t strong enough to hold himself together…

Thanatos. He could shadow-travel to where Danny was, and take him back home. Yes, that… that would work…

Exhaustion weighed on Danny’s shoulders like a heavy stone as, with a trembling hand, he pulled off his right glove. His apprentice mark glowed brightly against his skin as he brought his fingers to the silvery letters…

But just as Danny’s fingertips brushed against his forearm, a blast of green ectoplasm shot up through the floor, striking him in the gut and sending him flying. Danny hit the wall on the far side of the room and fell to the ground, cracking his head against the stone floor.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

Danny’s head spun, his eyes watering as he looked up and saw Ellie standing in front of him. The girl glared at Danny, but as she raised her hands he noticed that there were tears in her eyes. Before Danny could question her, she shot another ecto-blast his way, and Danny barely managed to throw up a weak ecto-shield that cracked immediately on impact.

A green cloud of smoke filled the air between the two halfas, and Ellie’s ecto-blast flickered out as Danny’s shield shattered and fell away. As the smoke cleared, Danny watched as Ellie growled and immediately began charging another blast between her palms.

“Stop fighting!” She shouted, and a smirk formed on her lips, but it was clearly forced; a weak attempt at looking confident. “I know you’re too weak to beat me,” Ellie goaded, but the words fell flat in the air between them.

Something… something was wrong. If Danny didn’t know better, he’d say that Ellie seemed scared.

Danny’s gaze fell to the floor, and his eyes widened in alarm as he saw that Ellie’s feet were beginning to melt into goop—just like the other clones had. “Ellie, stop!” He cried.

Ellie sneered; the expression looked rather out of place on her childish face. “Why? Are you scared?”

“No! But every time I’ve fought a clone, they’ve turned to goop.” Danny pointed a shaky hand at Ellie’s feet. “Like you are now.”

The cockiness fell away from Ellie’s face instantly, replaced by shock, and then fear as she looked down and saw the green ectoplasmic goop leaking from her legs and onto the stone floor. She shrieked as she stumbled back, the ectoplasmic charge flickering away in her hands as it was completely forgotten. After a few tense seconds, Ellie’s boots resolidified, and it was like nothing had even happened; she looked completely normal.

Ellie looked at Danny then, and the look on her face was that of a terrified child. Danny’s heart ached for her as he got to his feet with a grunt of pain. “Ellie, please,” Danny wheezed; he was pretty sure that his ribs had been bruised at minimum. “I don’t want to fight you.”

“Then let my father have your morph DNA!” Ellie pleaded, tears welling up in her eyes. “So he can save me! I-I don’t…” Ellie sniffled, and Danny was sure that his heart was going to break in two as she tearfully whispered: “I don’t want to die.”

“Neither do I, Ellie,” Danny told her. “But if Vlad succeeds in getting what he needs from me, then I will die.”

Ellie frowned, seemingly confused by Danny’s words, and she shook her head. “No, he… my dad wouldn’t let that happen. He’s not that kind of guy.”

Clearly, Ellie didn’t know Vlad as well as Danny did. “Oh, yes, he is.” Danny argued. “And once he gets what he wants—the perfect half-ghost son—then he’ll forget all about you.”

That wasn’t the right thing to say. Ellie’s expression immediately soured, and her face flushed with anger. “You’re a liar!” She snapped.

“Oh, yeah? Then why is there another clone?” Danny countered. “The one in the containment pod. You’ve seen it, haven’t you?”

Ellie’s lack of an answer was confirmation enough.

“If you were what he really wanted, then why aren’t you the one in the pod?” Danny asked her, hoping she would realize that he was telling the truth. “Why aren’t you the one all prepped and ready to receive my DNA sample? Why are you the one doing Vlad’s dirty work?”

But despite Danny’s earnestness, Ellie wasn’t having it. She shook her head furiously as she covered her ears with her hands, and when Danny took a step forward Ellie screamed. Before Danny could react, Ellie threw up her hands and shot him in the chest with a two-handed ecto-blast that sent him crashing into the wall behind him.

The impact caused white spots to fill Danny’s vision, and his limbs to stop listening to him. Danny fell, unable to catch himself as he collapsed on the floor. He could feel himself fading from consciousness, and as his vision faded, he just barely caught a glimpse of Ellie kneeling down beside him.

“You’re a liar,” Ellie whispered, but Danny could still make out the tremor of fear in her voice. “And I’m going to prove it.”

Thanatos POV:

Clockwork didn’t even look up as Thanatos appeared in the center of his clock tower. “Doors exist for a reason, you know,” he said wryly to the death god. “You’re supposed to knock on them.”

“Can you find Danny?” Thanatos asked, completely ignoring the Primordial’s comment.

Clockwork raised an eyebrow at the question, his expression slightly insulted. “I can find anybody in any timeline. Why do you ask?”

“According to Danny’s friends, he has been kidnapped.” Thanatos ran his fingers over his mark again, his brow furrowing with concern as he felt nothing in response. “I would prefer to just find him myself, but… for a reason unbeknownst to me, I cannot sense him.”

“I see.” Clockwork glided over to one of the seeing glasses and placed his hand on its surface. “Then I will just…”

However, Clockwork trailed off. Thanatos looked up at him, concern growing in his chest. “What is the matter?”

Clockwork was quiet for a long moment, and when he spoke again he sounded rather confused. “I cannot sense him either.”

Thanatos felt his stomach drop. He walked over to Clockwork and glanced at the screen in front of them, which was swirling with green mist. “What do you mean? You are a—”

“Yes, I am a Primordial,” Clockwork cut him off, sounding more intrigued than frustrated by the problem. “But Clockwork is only a small part of my true form. An astral projection, if you will. I can only do so much in this state. And right now, someone is interfering with my search.”

“What? Who?” Thanatos asked.

Clockwork was quiet for a long moment, his expression screwed up into one of concentration. “A god…” He muttered, his frown deepening. “But as for whom, I am not sure.” He slid his hand across the glass, and images of Danny—at various points in time—began to scroll by quickly. “I can still see Daniel’s past. I will look at the last point in his timeline that I am able to see before my sight is blocked. Perhaps that will shed some light on this situation.”

Not a second later, the screen froze on an image of Danny in his ghost form, standing beside a girl with white hair and a jumpsuit just like Danny’s.

“Ah,” Clockwork hummed thoughtfully. “It’s time already, is it?”

Thanatos was becoming annoyed at the lack of answers. “What are you going on about now?”

Clockwork sighed and backed away from the seeing glass, his hand falling to his side as he gave Thanatos a sympathetic look. “Apologies, my grandson. But I cannot help you in this search.”

Feeling his heart rate suddenly spike, Thanatos closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath. He then looked at Clockwork and managed to politely ask, through gritted teeth, “Why?”

“My hands are tied,” Clockwork said simply, but Thanatos could swear that there was a pleased tone to the god’s voice. “I am not to interfere.”

“Couldn’t your apprentice help?” Thanatos suggested, feeling desperate.

“No,” Clockwork replied firmly. “She—They cannot be involved. This moment… it is crucial to their timeline.” He gave Thanatos a small, frustrating smile. “But don’t worry. Everything will turn out as it is supposed to.”

Thanatos bit back a growl of frustration and turned away from the ghost. Why had he even bothered going to Clockwork in the first place? He had thought that maybe Clockwork would be kind enough to assist him in finding his apprentice, but no—all the ghost had done was try his best to get under Thanatos’ skin.

Thanatos would just have to find Danny on his own. And when he did, he was going to have a talk with Vladimir Masters.

Suddenly, to Thanatos’ surprise, a flicker of faint magic sparked to life along his right forearm. His apprenticeship mark.

Danny.

The sensation disappeared just as quickly, but it had been enough. Thanatos had been able to get an idea of where his apprentice was being held: Colorado, USA.

And that was a start. It didn’t matter who was trying to keep Danny away from him, be they god or mortal.

No one could hide from Death.

Danny POV:

Danny was getting sick of waking up with pounding headaches. Why couldn’t he wake up gently after being so violently knocked out? Twice, might he add! Here was a better question: why couldn’t people just not knock him out? He was sure he had some form of brain damage by this point. Being knocked out so often couldn’t possibly be healthy.

Through the pain, Danny managed to crack open an eye, and he was dismayed to see that he had been placed inside a brand-new containment pod. The one he had destroyed was off to the side, still billowing bluish-gray smoke. And in the pod directly across the room from him was the so-called “perfect clone.”

Great. Fantastic, even. Well, at least he knew where he was this time.

“Ah, you’re finally awake.”

Danny opened his other eye, and saw none other than Plasmius floating in front of his pod-shaped prison. The older halfa looked… perturbed. Annoyed, perhaps?

Good. Let him be annoyed. Danny thought. All he cared about was escaping, but first…

“Where… where’s Ellie?” Danny croaked. Would it be rude of him to ask for a glass of water?

“Whatever Danielle is doing is not important right now, Daniel.” Vlad answered dismissively. “What is important is you telling me where that tattoo came from.”

“Tattoo?” Danny repeated, confused. He didn’t have a… wait a minute.

Danny looked down, and saw that his elastic bandage was gone, leaving his right forearm bare and exposed. Vlad must have removed the bandage while he was unconscious.

Vlad scowled and rolled his eyes. “I’m not an idiot, Daniel. I know a tattoo when I see one.” He turned to one of his various computers and pressed a button, and on its screen appeared a picture of Danny’s forearm, with the black lettering of his mark on display in high definition for anyone to see.

Danny’s blood ran cold. Thanatos had warned him of the dangers if others were to ever learn that he was Death’s apprentice; they would want his powers for themselves, and they would do whatever they could to get it. And Vlad… definitely seemed like someone that would fit into that category.

Thankfully, it seemed that Vlad hadn’t figured it out just yet. And Danny hoped he would be able to throw him off the scent.

“It’s not a tattoo, fruitloop,” Danny scoffed with a dramatic roll of his eyes. “Or, uhh, not a permanent one, anyway. It’s just, y’know, one of those temporary tats you find in cereal boxes and stuff.”

It was clear that Vlad did not believe him. “Oh, really? And in what cereal box did you find that?” He asked incredulously with a wild gesture towards the computer display.

“What, you don’t know?” Danny retorted snarkily. “Being a fruitloop yourself, I thought you knew all about different types of cereal.”

It took a second for Danny’s comment to register in Vlad’s mind, and when it did the elder halfa’s face flushed green with indignation as he realized that Danny was intentionally messing with him. Danny smirked, and if he weren’t trapped in such a dangerous situation then he might’ve even laughed.

Vlad clenched his fists, and then he sighed tiredly. “Sometimes, I truly wonder how you have survived for so long with that smart mouth of yours, Daniel.” He muttered bitterly.

“I’m pretty sure it’s all thanks to my charming personality,” Danny responded cheekily.

Vlad growled as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I am not having this ridiculous conversation right now, Daniel.”

“Seems to me like you are, actually,” Danny pointed out.

But Vlad didn’t rise to the bait that time. Shame. Danny still had more sass to dish out. Though really, he knew he should be more focused on escaping than antagonizing; he didn’t want to be here any longer than he needed to be.

But he hadn’t been able to contact Thanatos. He hadn’t been able to speak the summoning phrase—he had barely managed to brush his fingers against his mark before he was captured again.

Hopefully, somehow, Thanatos had still noticed Danny’s meager call for help. But in the meantime, Danny would have to try his best to escape on his own.

“Y’know, you really should let me go,” Danny said coolly as he glanced down at his restraints, looking disinterestedly at them as if they were irritating slap bracelets at best. “I’m sure that my friends are looking for me, and when they find out that you kidnapped me—”

Vlad cackled, sounding every bit like the two-bit villain he appeared to be. “Oh, please. I’m not afraid of a couple of teenagers.”

“W-well, I’ve got another friend!” Danny shot back. Thanatos was his friend, right? Acquaintance, at least? … boss, perhaps? Whatever, it wasn’t important right now. “And he’s, uhh… he’s pretty scary. And he’ll definitely be looking for me, so you better let me go before he gets here.”

Danny had known that it was a long shot that Vlad would cave to his vague threats, but he hadn’t expected the other halfa’s demeanor to immediately turn cold and serious.

“Oh, another friend, you say?” Danny could hear the venom and hatred in Vlad’s voice, and it made him wonder just what exactly had happened between Vlad and Thanatos at the airport just… what, eleven days ago? Seriously? It hadn’t even been two weeks from his return, and Vlad was already causing him problems? Come on!

Danny looked up at the sound of squeaking metal, and he watched as Vlad dug through a filing cabinet. The halfa pulled out a piece of paper covered in strange scribbles, along with a couple of those awful-smelling candles.

“Luckily for you,” Vlad called over his shoulder as he taped the paper to the nearby wall and sat the candles on top of one of his work desks, setting them alight with a snap of his fingers. “I’ve prepared for your new friend.”

Seemingly satisfied with whatever he had done, Vlad turned to face Danny with a triumphant smirk. “I know how to hide from the Ancients, Daniel. You learn a trick or two when delving into things that you shouldn’t be.”

“… what?” Danny said bewilderedly. “Ancients?”

Vlad gave Danny a rather unimpressed look, as if to ask: how stupid are you? “Well, duh. Obviously that’s what your new buddy is. I’ll admit he’s a little… different from most old ghosts I’ve met.” If Danny didn’t know better, then he would’ve sworn that he saw a shiver run down Vlad’s back. “But I have measures in place for protecting myself. After all, you don’t learn as much as I have by being nice and asking permission. Of course I’ve upset a few mighty spirits along the way,” Vlad emphasized with finger quotes. “But there’s nothing ghostly that a few stinky candles and ancient runes can’t keep at bay.”

Well, Danny was pretty sure that a few stinky candles were going to do absolutely nothing to stop an immortal god of death, but he certainly wasn’t about to tell Vlad that.

But before Danny could think of anything else to say, he noticed a flicker of movement behind Vlad, and he watched as Ellie phased through the back wall of the lab. Their eyes met, and Ellie quickly placed a finger to her lips in a silent command: don’t say anything.

Oh, Danny was going to say something. And certainly not something that Ellie wanted to hear.

Ellie was a good person; Danny could tell. She was just misguided, and she refused to believe that her “father” could possibly be as evil as Danny claimed him to be. Danny couldn’t blame her—he had seen time and time again that Vlad was an expert at manipulating others into trusting him. But Danny knew that Vlad didn’t care for Ellie in any way; it was obvious in the disdain that crossed Vlad’s face whenever Ellie was so much as mentioned. It was more than clear that Ellie was expendable, considering Vlad had sent her to do the dirty work of capturing Danny, instead of doing it himself.

Ellie was an unstable clone—she could have died obeying Vlad’s orders. But it was as clear as day that Vlad just didn’t care. And the clone in the pod across from Danny was the most damning evidence of all. If Vlad really cared for Ellie, then why wasn’t she the one waiting to receive Danny’s DNA sample? And why couldn’t she see it for herself? Why couldn’t she see that she was being used?

If Ellie couldn’t believe the truth from Danny’s mouth, then he was going to make sure that she heard it from Vlad’s.

“So, what’s the deal with Ellie?” Danny saw Ellie’s eyes widen in alarm at his question, but he pressed on anyway. “She’s different from the other clones I’ve fought.”

“What about her?” Vlad drawled with a roll of his eyes, clearly irritated by Danny’s inquiry. “All of my previous attempts at cloning you have yielded one mistake after another. She just happened to have fewer mistakes than the rest.”

“What mistakes?” Danny pushed back. “She seems just fine to me. Why did you even bother making another clone after her?” Ellie drifted closer, but Danny was careful not to look at her as he glared into Vlad’s red eyes. “Why isn’t she good enough for you?”

“Because she’s a brat!” Vlad finally snapped, his eyes flashing bright with anger, and his shouting echoed through the room around them as he went off on a tirade. “Biologically she’s like you in almost every way, but mentally and emotionally it’s like—like dealing with a toddler! Throwing tantrums, having meltdowns, just—being a dolt! A simpleton! With this next clone, I made sure to put a lot more effort into their brain power.”

Ouch.

Danny had a front row seat as he witnessed what he was pretty sure was Ellie’s heart breaking, and it hurt to watch. Tears welled in her eyes, and the tiniest hiccup broke from her mouth.

And it was deafening.

The anger fell from Vlad’s face instantly, replaced by shock, and he turned to see Ellie standing right behind him.

“Is that… what I am to you?” Ellie asked quietly, her voice just barely above a whisper as tears began to trickle down her cheeks. “An imperfection? A mistake?”

For what was likely the first time in Vlad’s life, the elder halfa seemed to be at a loss for words.

And Ellie wasn’t taking that silence for an answer. The tears continued to fall, and the hurt was still written as clear as day across her face, but the sadness in her eyes changed, morphing into anger. She grit her teeth as she wiped the tears away with the back of her hand, and her cheeks flushed green with fury as she glared hatefully at Vlad.

“D-Danielle,” the sorry excuse for a so-called father finally managed to stammer out. “How… how long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough.” Ellie growled. Her hands started to glow a dangerous green, and Danny frantically began to struggle against his restraints. No! Was she crazy? She couldn’t fight Vlad on her own!

Vlad seemed to have finally gotten over his shock, and he cleared his throat. “Alright, that’s enough.” He said coldly. “Danielle, listen to me—”

“No!” Ellie shouted. “I’ve listened to you enough!”

And with that, Ellie darted forward, running at Vlad with both fists glowing bright green with ecto-energy. Vlad seemed to be startled—if only for a split second—but then he widened his stance and raised a single hand, and Danny watched in horror as the older halfa’s fingers flared to life with blindingly pink ecto-fire. Was he going to kill her?

No! Danny couldn’t let that happen, but he couldn’t break free of these stupid chains—

Ellie screamed in rage as she leapt forward, and Danny felt like he was watching a devastating car accident in slow motion. Vlad aimed his ecto-blast right at Ellie’s chest, and fired. The beam of hot pink ecto-energy shot forward, and Danny cried out as he watched it make a beeline for Ellie’s core.

But the shot never landed. At the last second, Ellie ducked down and slid across the tile floor between Vlad’s feet, completely missing the attack that would have undoubtedly killed her. She slid to a stop at the foot of Danny’s containment pod, and got to her feet just as Vlad turned around to face her, his face one of complete surprise.

“How’s this for a mistake?!” Ellie shouted, and she slammed her fist into the release button on Danny’s pod.

“NOOO!” Vlad roared.

But he was too late. Danny’s restraints clicked open and fell from his wrists, and Danny punched through the glass door with an ecto-charged strike. It shattered on impact and fell away instantly, leaving nothing standing between Danny and his captor.

Danny leapt from the containment pod, only stumbling a bit when his feet hit the floor. He felt lightheaded as he turned to look at Ellie. She sniffled as she wiped the tears from her eyes, and Danny’s heart sank at the sight. “Are you… okay?”

He regretted the question as soon as the words left his mouth. Of course she wasn’t okay. But thankfully, Ellie didn’t smack him upside the head for asking something so stupid. Instead, she turned to him with a tired, yet confident smile and said: “Do you wanna ask questions? Or do you wanna kick some butt?”

Danny only had to think about it for a second before giving his clone a nod. After the day he’d had, kicking butt sounded pretty good right now. So Danny took a deep breath and allowed his ghostly form to wash over him as he and Ellie turned to face Vlad.

The oldest of the three halfas still seemed to be reeling from his shock, and Danny wasn’t going to give him the chance to recover. He looked at his clone, and they both gave each other a nod. Together, they raised their hands, and before Vlad had a chance to block or dodge the two Phantoms shot him in the chest.

The combined power of their ecto-rays sent Vlad flying backwards, and he slammed into the containment pod that held the other clone. Vlad slumped forward and faceplanted onto the concrete floor, and Danny wondered if that was it; had Vlad been knocked unconscious that easily?

But he didn’t get a chance to check. The loud creaking of metal echoed across the room, and the containment pod holding the perfect clone tipped forward. It seemed to fall in slow motion, until it landed on Vlad with a resounding CLANG, accompanied by the shattering of glass and the fizzling of electrical circuits shorting out.

Ouch. Vlad would sure be feeling that in the morning. Danny almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

Danny turned to congratulate Ellie, but faltered when he saw her face. Her mouth was set in a firm line, and her eyes looked… tired. Hurt. Distraught. When Danny rested his hand on her shoulder, he could feel the slight tremor that shook her frame, and he could only imagine what she was feeling in that moment. Betrayal, loss, fear for the future…

What would happen to Ellie now? Because there was no way Vlad would let her stay after this betrayal. Not that Ellie would possibly want to stay with him after what he had said.

Speaking of the devil, it seemed that Vlad wasn’t down for the count just yet.

The sound of creaking metal began again, and Danny watched in disbelief and Vlad pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. The destroyed pod fell to the side with a thunderous crash that shook the floor, and rolled onto its side, revealing what was left of the clone it had once held.

And it wasn’t a pretty sight. The air in the room seemed to be poisonous to the clone’s skin, judging by the way that its flesh was quickly bubbling away into slimy green goop. The clone reached for Vlad with a feeble hand, but there was nothing that could be done; its entire body disintegrated away into nothingness within mere seconds.

And that seemed to break something inside of Vlad. His solid, blood-red eyes were almost manic as a deep, guttural scream tore itself from his mouth. “NO! NO! NOOOOO!!!”

Danny didn’t know why Vlad was so upset. Sure, he had probably just seen months of his time and effort fall apart before his very eyes, but he wasn’t the one that had just watched an identical clone of himself melt like a popsicle in a microwave. Danny was sure that that scene was going to haunt his nightmares for the rest of his life.

Vlad turned on the two teens then, and he looked every bit like a bloodthirsty tiger that had cornered its prey. He snarled as he got to his feet and stalked towards them, his cape billowing behind him and making his presence just that much more intimidating.

Ellie clenched her fists and brought them up in front of her, but the way that they shook didn’t go unnoticed by Danny. “I can do this,” she whispered, and Danny wasn’t sure if he was saying it to reassure him, or herself.

Danny stepped forward and put his arm out in front of Ellie protectively. “You don’t have to,” he told her. “Get behind me, and cover your ears.”

Danny opened his mouth and took a deep breath, and he could feel the bitter cold forming inside of his ribcage, swirling into an angry blizzard that was ready to be freed. Ready to bury the man that had caused so much pain. Not only to him, but to Ellie, and to the other clones as well. He could feel his core thrumming with anger—with power.

So Danny gathered all that power into the center of his chest, closed his eyes, and released his Ghostly Wail.

The sound was deafening in the enclosed, underground room. It reverberated off of the walls and came back, seemingly growing louder and louder as it threatened to destroy all that stood in its way.

And it was pushing Vlad away. Despite the man’s best efforts, he was knocked off his feet by the sheer strength of Danny’s ecto-charged voice, and sent careening into the brick wall behind him. Cords and various instruments were ripped from the walls, and Vlad’s multi-million dollar cloning lab was destroyed in mere seconds.

Good.

Danny could feel cool liquid trickling from his ears, and his throat burned as if he was breathing fire. All too quickly, the last of his energy faded away, and Danny fell to his knees as his ghostly form fell away and left him weak and human. His arms shook with effort, and he couldn’t hear anything through the deafening ringing in his ears. He felt ready to collapse.

But it was worth it. All the pain and suffering was worth it to take this place down, and make it so that Vlad couldn’t hurt him anymore, or Ellie, or any more clones that he had planned to make.

It was worth it.

Danny’s head spun as he looked up and saw Vlad lying in a crumpled mess against the far wall. The elder halfa had reverted to his human form, as well. And it didn’t look like he would be getting up anytime soon, which was a relief. Danny didn’t have the strength left for another fight.

Ellie wrapped an arm around Danny and helped him to his feet. He could see that her mouth was moving as if she was speaking, but he couldn’t hear anything. And as he finally managed to get his own feet under him, he noticed a thin trail of green ectoplasm leaking from her ear.

Was… was that because of him?

But before Danny could say anything, a rumble shook the entire room, and the ceiling suddenly caved in. Danny knew he wouldn’t be able to get out of the way of the falling debris (and the Specter Speeder? What?) and he was sure he was about to be crushed.

But… that didn’t happen. Instead, he felt someone’s arm wrap around his waist, and pull him out of the way of the Specter Speeder with surprising strength and speed. Danny watched in shock as the Specter Speeder crashed into the wall, right where he and Ellie had been.

There… there was no way Ellie had moved him. She didn’t have the power to do that. Certainly not after their fight. So who…?

Danny saw movement from the corner of his eye: Ellie. She looked like she was yelling at someone behind him, but Danny was more distracted by the sight of Tucker and Sam climbing out of the Specter Speeder. They… they had come to rescue him? What? And how?

Honestly, Danny didn’t care. He just knew with a surety that he had the best friends in the world—scratch that. The universe. And if he could stand in that moment, then he would’ve run over and tackled them in a bone-crushing hug.

The arm that had grabbed Danny sat him gently down on the floor, and it was then that Danny remembered there was a stranger standing behind him, who had dragged him out of the way of certain death. So Danny slowly turned his head, looking away from his friends (who had run over to check on Vlad, apparently), and back at Ellie. She was still shouting, but Danny couldn’t make out the words over the ringing in his ears. And the person she was yelling at… despite the blurriness of his vision, Danny could still tell who it was.

“Thanatos…?”

The god turned at the sound of Danny’s voice, and the glowing gold of his eyes left afterimages in Danny’s vision that made him feel like he was going to be sick. Yeah, okay, so he might have a concussion… but that was better than being crushed by a two-ton flying machine.

Ellie’s eyes bugged out as she gestured wildly towards the death god standing next to her, and Danny could finally make out what she was saying. “Woah, woah, wait a minute! You know this weirdo? Who the heck is he?!”

Danny flinched as her shouting sent a shot of pain through his head. “Yeah… but could you tone it down a bit? You’re too loud…”

Ellie looked at Danny incredulously. “Could I tone it down? You’re the one making people’s eardrums rupture! Now who is this guy?! And why is he here?!”

“Oh, uhh…” Danny glanced at Thanatos, who looked equally confused, but about Ellie. He was staring at the ghost girl with a perplexed expression—as if there was something about her that he couldn’t quite place. “Thanatos? Are you—”

But Danny was cut off by Sam and Tucker, who tackled him to the ground in a group hug. He didn’t even care that them doing so reignited the pain of his many injuries; he was just so glad that they were okay; that they had come to rescue him.

“Danny!” Sam exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear as she pulled away from the hug. “You’re okay!”

“Well, somewhat okay,” Tucker commented dryly. “You don’t look too great, if I’m being honest.”

Tucker barely dodged a smack from Sam, and Danny chuckled. “What? Nah, I’m fine,” he said weakly. “Couldn’t be better. How did you guys find me, anyway?”

Tucker held up the Boo-merang with a proud smirk. “We followed this little guy across the country, and he led us right to you. It actually landed over there, with Mr. Moneybags.” Tucker jerked his thumb over his shoulder in a lazy gesture towards Vlad. “By the way, don’t worry about him causing us any trouble. I left him with the Specter Deflector as a parting gift.”

But Tucker’s triumph was disappointingly short-lived, as a pained groan echoed from the other side of the room. They all turned to look, and saw Vlad slowly pushing himself up from the rubble. Honestly, Danny was kind of impressed—the man was like a human cockroach.

Okay, that was a little rude. But Danny was allowed to be rude after the day he’d had.

Thanatos took a step forward, but Ellie was quicker. She stormed over to Vlad, her fists clenched by her sides, and delivered a swift, football-launching kick to his face before anyone else could react. There was a sickening crack when her boot met his nose, and he fell to the floor once more, definitely unconscious, and Danny was pretty sure he wouldn’t be getting up quite so quickly this time.

“Stay away from me, and my cousin,” Ellie growled.

… wow. Honestly, Ellie was kinda scary when she wanted to be.

A hand gently grabbed Danny’s shoulder, and he turned to see Thanatos kneeling next to him. The god was holding what looked like a slice of lemon bar, and he offered it to Danny. “Here. It is for your ears.”

Huh? What was wrong with his ears? Confused, Danny gingerly brought his hand to the side of his head, and when he pulled it away he saw that his fingertips were slick with a shiny red and green liquid.

Oh. That… that wasn’t good. Maybe using his Ghostly Wail in an enclosed underground area hadn’t been the best idea.

Danny took the proffered food from Thanatos and turned it over in his hand, wondering how exactly a sugary pastry would help his ruptured eardrums.

“It’s ambrosia,” Thanatos explained. “From Persephone. She told me to give it to you, since… well, you seem to get injured rather often.”

Well, Persephone certainly wasn’t wrong…

Hesitantly, Danny nibbled at the corner of the ambrosia bar. And to his surprise, he felt better almost instantly. The buzzing in his head cleared immediately, and his hearing returned to normal as all of his aches and pains quickly faded away.

Surprisingly, the ambrosia did not taste like lemons, like Danny had been expecting. Instead, it tasted like… oranges. Sweet oranges, and honey, with a hint of… cinnamon?

Strange, but the taste filled Danny with a warm, fuzzy, happy feeling. One that made him feel like a little kid again, before all the stress of school and fighting took over his life.

It reminded him of his mom.

Danny moved to take another bite, but Thanatos reached over and smoothly snatched the ambrosia away from him.

“That’s enough, Danny,” Thanatos said as he dropped the little bar into a small white satchel, which held a couple more slices of the godly food. “I don’t need you spontaneously combusting yet again.”

Thanatos handed the bag over to Danny, and gave the halfa a stern look. “This is for emergencies only,” he warned. “Use it sparingly, and do not give it to anyone else.”

Danny took the little cloth bag and stared at it, feeling rather confused (it seemed that ambrosia didn’t cure plain old stupid). “Uhh, okay… Thanks…?”

Thanatos nodded as he stood, and turned to leave. But he froze when he saw Ellie standing in his way. She was back to her human form, and scowling as she placed her hands on her hips and stared down the god of death.

“Okay, great. Danny’s fine,” she said. “And my psycho of a dad’s got a broken nose. Awesome. Now who are you?”

Thanatos seemed to be at a loss for words, but Ellie didn’t give him a chance to speak either way. “Why are you so spooky?” She continued, pointing a finger at Thanatos threateningly as she proceeded to straight up interrogate him. “Why are you wearing a dress? Why are your eyes weird? And why do you have giant pigeon wings?!”

“Hey!” Danny leapt to his feet and stepped in front of Thanatos, holding his hands out towards Ellie in a placating gesture. He knew that most ghosts seemed to become pretty spooked around Thanatos for some reason, but that didn’t mean she had to jump straight into insults. “Ellie, be nice. This is Thanatos, my mentor. Thanatos,” Danny began, turning to face said god. “This is Ellie, my…”

He trailed off. Thanatos was staring at Ellie with a haunted look in his eyes, as though he had seen a ghost (Danny facepalmed internally at the comparison; this was not the time for jokes). “Uhh, Thanatos?” Danny said, concerned. “Are… you okay?”

Thanatos flinched as if he had been struck, and glanced at his apprentice for only a split second before returning his attention to Ellie. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out at first; it was like he didn’t know what to say.

But at last, he spoke, his voice no more than a whisper, and said:

“… Dianthe?”

~~~~~~~~~~

Danny passed out, like, three times this chapter. Poor guy. People need to stop knocking him out, he doesn’t have that many brain cells left to spare!

And just so you know: DANNY IS NOT THE REINCARNATION OF DIANTHE. Promise. We know it may look like that, but that is not the case. However, please allow us to reference a line from Chapter 22 that may help you put the pieces together, if you haven’t done so already:

“Once, Danny and his mother had looked almost the same[…]”

Danny and his mother looked very similar??? Hmm… And Thanatos has seemingly mistaken Ellie for his first apprentice??? Hmm… interesting. 🤔😈

First: Prologue

Previous: Chapter 33

Next: Coming Soon!

#danny phantom #sam manson #tucker foley #dani phantom #vlad masters #thanatos #clockwork #taot #the apprentice of thanatos #lotu #legacy of the underworld #percy jackson and the olympians #fanfiction #crossover fanfiction #we are so sorry this took so long 😭

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theapprenticeofthanatos · 1 year

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TAoT: Chapter 26: Ultimate Enemy: Part 6

Danny POV:

“Hello again, Daniel,” Clockwork greeted.

Danny brought his hands to his face and let out a frustrated growl. He did not have time for this.

“Look, I’m sure what you have to say is very interesting,” Danny acknowledged, struggling to keep the irritation out of his voice as his ghostly transformation washed back over him. “But I’m in a bit of a rush right now. I need to get home before—”

“Time is frozen,” Clockwork explained coolly. “Here, as well as in your timeline. Nothing will happen until you return. So relax,” Clockwork waved his hand, and a plush armchair appeared behind Danny. “Forget your worries for a time.”

“I can’t,” Danny argued. “Please, I—”

“Really,” Clockwork’s tone left no room for argument. “I insist.”

Danny opened his mouth to argue, but Clockwork brought his hand to Danny’s chest and shoved him. Danny stumbled backwards and fell into the armchair, while Clockwork elegantly sat down on a chair across from him. With another wave of his hand, a coffee table appeared, upon which sat a teapot and two cups with saucers.

“Tea?” Clockwork offered as he poured himself a cup. “It’s an herbal blend. Good for healing and relieving stress.”

Danny stared at the ghost in disbelief. “Are you fricking serious?”

“Absolutely.” Clockwork filled the other cup and placed it in front of Danny. “This tea was common in Ancient Greece.”

“Wha…? No, that’s not—gah!” Danny threw his hands up in frustration and stood up. “I’m outta here. See ya—”

Danny took a step forward, but suddenly he was back in his seat.

What? I… didn’t sit down.

He looked up at Clockwork in bewilderment. The ghost merely sipped his drink, looking as if nothing had even happened. Danny waited a moment, but Clockwork said nothing, so he stood up again.

And was immediately back in his seat.

Clockwork spoke up then. “I quite literally have all the time in the world to wait for you to calm down and listen.”

Danny stared at him dumbfoundedly. “Wait. Are you… doing this?” Danny gestured to his armchair.

Clockwork gave a noncommittal shrug. “Am I?”

Danny glared at Clockwork as he stood up a third time, took a step towards the ghost…

And was once again back in his seat.

Danny snarled in exasperation. “Do you really think you can keep me here?”

Clockwork placed his cup back on its saucer. “Yes.” He replied flatly. “Rather easily, in fact.”

Danny folded his arms with an angry grumble and looked away. He bristled with barely restrained anger as Clockwork took another long sip of his tea before setting the cup and saucer back on the table and leaning back in his chair.

“So, Daniel,” Clockwork steepled his fingers, and his appearance made Danny feel like he was in some sort of counselor’s office. “How are you feeling? Worried? Stressed, perhaps?”

“Yes,” Danny hissed. “I am very worried that my family is going to be murdered by me!”

“Hmm.” Clockwork nodded sagely. “That is a reasonable worry to have, but fear not. Remember, time will remain frozen until you return. They will not die while you are here.”

Danny wanted to argue, but it wasn’t like there was much he could really do. His attempts to escape so far had been unsuccessful, and Clockwork didn’t seem intent on letting him leave anytime soon. So he reluctantly slouched back in his chair and glared at Clockwork.

Clockwork met Danny’s angry look with an annoyingly neutral expression. “I imagine that today has been a bit… confusing for you.”

That’s an understatement. Danny thought to himself, but he nodded silently.

“As Master of Time, I am not supposed to interfere with matters concerning the natural progression of the timelines,” Clockwork explained. “However, I do not believe it would do any harm if I were to let you rest here for a moment, and let you ask some questions.”

“I don’t have any questions,” Danny insisted. “I just need to—”

“Oh?” Clockwork cut him off, his voice light and conversational. “No questions? Well, may as well have some tea, then. It’s getting cold.”

Danny had half a mind to once again get up and try to leave, but he knew it was unlikely he’d be able to take more than a couple of steps before he ended up back in the armchair. He wasn’t a big fan of tea, but he picked up the cup and held it in his hands. It was pleasantly warm. He stared down into the amber-colored liquid, and his reflection stared back up at him.

His eyes looked… normal, but the memory of his reflection in Vlad’s computer monitor came to his mind and he grimaced.

“Actually, I may have… one question.”

Clockwork didn’t say anything—he just looked at Danny expectantly, waiting for the halfa to continue.

Danny opened his mouth to speak, but faltered. He was going to sound like he was crazy. Heck, maybe he was.

After another moment of hesitation, Danny finally asked: “Is… my core having a voice… normal?”

His core squirmed uneasily in his chest at the words.

“For you, yes.” Clockwork answered. “It is normal.”

The confirmation didn’t bring Danny the relief that he thought it would. He placed a hand over his core, wincing as the action sent a dull ache through his chest where the medallion had once resided.

“So does that mean… my core is a separate being?” Danny questioned.

“No.” Came the short reply.

Danny looked up at the ghost, surprised. “But…”

Clockwork held up a hand, cutting Danny off. “Your core is you and you alone. In fact, it is your soul.”

Danny was somewhat taken aback by Clockwork’s answer. He had sort of always wondered what exactly a core was; his parents had plenty of theories, but none of them were particularly well-formed or thought out or confirmed by any sort of science. Before he had become a ghost, Danny hadn’t been sure he even believed in souls. He did now—he supposed he had to—but to actually have their existence confirmed was just… weird.

“So… my core, or soul, or whatever… is me?” Danny clarified.

Clockwork nodded.

“But… I didn’t think those thoughts,” Danny pointed out. “And the voice—”

“Is nothing to be worried about,” Clockwork finished. “Now, why did you ask about your core, Daniel?”

“… uhh, wait…” Danny said slowly. “But what about—”

“I will answer your questions in due time,” Clockwork assured him. “But for the moment, please answer mine.”

“Well… yeah,” Danny muttered begrudgingly after a long moment. “I’ve been… hearing a voice in my head. And Vlad—from the future—said that my… alternate self had started, like, going crazy and talking to himself before he… was… split in half. And I was worried that me hearing a voice meant that I was starting to become like my other self!” Danny’s voice rose as he struggled to voice the worries in his head.

Clockwork frowned thoughtfully. “Surely you have noticed some differences between you and your alternate self?”

Well, duh. Danny thought for a moment before answering; other than their rather obvious physical differences, what was different between them? “I mean, besides how different we look, I have never killed anyone.”

Danny’s core stirred and whispered uncertainly, as if it were disagreeing with him. Danny absently placed a hand over his chest again as he continued. “I would never kill anyone. And I’ve never even heard of the Oreo… orpheo-something, let alone seen or killed one.”

“Do you, perhaps, mean the Ophiotaurus?” Clockwork supplied.

“Yeah, that thing. I—I mean, my other self said that he killed it, and it gave him the power to… to kill gods.” Danny’s breath caught in his throat. “A-and he said that—that a demigod has to kill it to get that power, b-but I’m not a demigod, and—”

“Daniel,” Clockwork interrupted gently. “Breathe.”

The teacup fell from Danny’s grasp and shattered on the stone bricks as Danny closed his eyes and brought his hands to his temples, fighting to steady his rapid breathing. His core was whispering—whining almost anxiously as he took a deep breath and held it, before slowly letting it go.

No freaking out. Not right now.

… okay.

Danny took another deep breath, just to be sure he was calm, and opened his eyes. His gaze immediately landed on the broken teacup by his feet, and he winced.

“I’m… sorry about the mess,” Danny mumbled apologetically.

Clockwork held out his hand and twisted it, as if turning a doorknob. A blue light shimmered around the remnants of the teacup, and Danny watched in amazement as the pieces fitted themselves back together seamlessly. The teacup floated upwards and settled back on the table with a clink, as good as new and once again filled with steaming golden tea.

“No harm done,” Clockwork said easily. His expression was rather emotionless, but a hint of concern laced his voice as he asked, “How are you feeling, Daniel?”

Danny shrugged helplessly, his head propped up on his hands as he stared mopily at his feet. “Honestly… I’m very, very tired…”

“That is understandable. You have been through a lot recently.” There was a pause. “Daniel, may I ask you a question? In regards to what your alternate self said about the Ophiotaurus.”

“Sure,” Danny answered flatly, lifting his head to look at the ghost. “Knock yourself out.”

There was a twinkle in Clockwork’s eye and the faintest hint of a smile on his lips as he asked, “Did your alternate self ever say that the demigod had to be living?”

Danny thought for a moment, before slowly shaking his head. What was Clockwork getting at?

“Well then, perhaps a brief explanation of half-ghosts is in order.” Clockwork leaned forward in his chair.

“There are certain elements that are required for a half-ghost to come into existence. Not just any being could become such a perfectly balanced mix of life and death.” Clockwork explained. “For all the living matter within a body, there must be something… spectral, if you will, for the living matter to fuse with. For example, perhaps a portal to the Ghost Zone opened on a mortal and a lost core at the same time, and there was just the right amount of ectoplasmic energy to merge the two together into a new being. In exceptionally rare cases, perhaps the half-ghost was born naturally. Or perhaps,” there was a knowing glint to Clockwork’s eyes that unnerved Danny and sent a chill creeping down his spine and through his core. “A dying mortal had a portal form on top of them, and that mortal happened to have a past life that provided the perfect template for their current, living body to merge with the ecto-energy, creating a new being with perfect equilibrium. A being with memories both old and new, both lost and found, both forgotten… and remembered.”

Danny’s stomach flip-flopped as his core thrummed anxiously—or perhaps excitedly?—at Clockwork’s words. It was pretty obvious that the ghost was trying to hint at something, but… what? Was he hinting at how Danny had become a halfa? If so, which way had he…?

“Of course,” Clockwork continued, startling Danny out of his thoughts. “Half-ghosts of this sort are unique in the sense that they are sometimes able to remember their past lives. Oftentimes, a catalyst can help the half-ghost to remember their past. Sometimes that catalyst is something, or someone, important to them from their previous life.”

Danny had no idea what Clockwork was even talking about at this point, and he stared blankly at the ghost. The words made sense to him, but it was as if his brain was just refusing to process them at the moment. What did half-ghosts have to do with anything? Was Clockwork trying to tell Danny something about himself? About how he had become a halfa? Or what kind of halfa he was? Apparently there were different types of halfas? He was still struggling to process what had happened with his old enemies, and Demeter, and…

Danny dropped his hands from his face as he let out a tired sigh. “I’m sorry, but… I have no idea what you are trying to tell me right now. A lot has happened today and… my brain is fried.”

“That is quite alright, Daniel,” Clockwork assured him. “I did not expect you to understand it all just yet.”

“Then… why did you tell me all this now?” Danny asked bewilderedly.

“Because you will understand. In time.” Clockwork picked up the teapot and refilled his cup. “One day, you will look back on this conversation, and it will finally make sense to you.”

Danny just stared at the ghost yet again. Clockwork made no sense to him. It was like the ghost enjoyed speaking in riddles to confuse people. Danny’s gaze fell to the teacup in front of him, and he frowned. Clockwork had attacked him the first time they met (well, okay, Danny had started it), but now he was offering him tea? And chatting as if they were friends? Speaking of, Danny still had no idea what Clockwork had meant by “old friend.” One, he had never met this guy before. And two, Danny was pretty sure friends didn’t try to kill each other.

“Hey, Clockwork? Can I ask you a question?” Danny piped up after a minute or two of silence.

“What is it, Daniel?” Clockwork replied as he placed his cup back on its saucer.

“Why did you attack me? Back when I first showed up here. I mean, I kinda started it,” Danny admitted as he glanced away awkwardly. “But you said that you were supposed to, like, destroy me or… something.”

“Because a group of ghosts called the Observants ordered me to,” Clockwork answered. “You’ll be dealing with them yourself in the future.”

“What? Why would a group of ghosts I’ve never even met order you to kill me?!” Danny shouted.

“To prevent you from becoming your alternate self,” Clockwork responded, his face settling into a faint scowl.

His answer was like a knife through Danny’s core. So… was that it, then? No matter what Danny thought or did, he was going to become… that?

Please… no… I don’t want to… his core mumbled tearfully. Danny didn’t blame it; he felt the same way.

“So I’m just going to become him no matter what I do,” Danny muttered, his throat tight as tears pooled in the corners of his eyes. “Are you going to… finish the job?” And if he was, should Danny just let him? He didn’t want to become that. He didn’t want to kill innocent people, he didn’t—

“No, I am not,” Clockwork said with a shake of his head, much to Danny’s surprise. “That would be counterintuitive to keeping the integrity of the timeline, after all.”

“ …what?” Danny sniffled as he swiped at his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“What I mean, Daniel, is that your alternate self, as he is now, was never meant to exist.” Clockwork revealed. “It was through the influences and beguilings of the goddess Gaea that your alternate self became who he is now.”

“Gae—” Danny started to repeat, but Clockwork quickly held his finger to his lips in a gesture of silence.

“I may say her name, but you cannot.” Clockwork warned. “Lest you draw unwanted attention.”

“Uhh… okay?” Danny said slowly, confused. “Why? Wait, is it ‘cause names draw attention or something?”

Clockwork nodded.

“Then… why can you say her name?” Danny countered.

“That,” Clockwork stressed. “Is a topic for another time.”

“Okay, then why did… she do that?” Danny asked instead. “Why did she… influence him? Me? … him?”

“Gaea sees mortals as mere pawns, and has no qualms with using them for her needs. Your alternate self’s life is not the only one she has disrupted. Unfortunately, I can’t really tell you much else,” Clockwork said regrettably.

“But… but you said that we have all the time in the world to talk,” Danny pointed out indignantly. “So talk!”

“I know what I said,” Clockwork stated calmly. “But there are matters that you are not yet privy to, that we cannot yet discuss.”

Danny scowled. “But—”

“The future,” Clockwork cut him off smoothly, and the warning tone of his voice sent a chill down Danny’s spine that made it clear there would be no more discussion on the matter. “Is not for you to know.”

The two ghosts sat there for a long moment, in almost deafening silence. Danny wasn’t really sure how to respond. Was Clockwork mad at him?

But that didn’t seem to be the case. Clockwork clapped his hands together, breaking the heavy silence as he gave Danny a friendly smile. “So, do you have any other questions?”

“That you can answer?” Danny snarked, albeit rather hesitantly, as he was somewhat put off by Clockwork’s sudden change in demeanor.

Clockwork gave a sympathetic shrug, but Danny could see the ghost of a smirk on his lips. “You won’t know unless you ask.”

Danny leaned back in his chair as he mulled over the information he’d received so far. The Ophiotaurus… Halfas… He didn’t have the mental energy to think about either of those right now. And then he had learned that there was a group called the Observants that wanted him dead. Neat.

“Can you tell me more about the Observants?” Danny asked hopefully.

“Not much,” Clockwork admitted. “Like I said, you’ll meet them soon enough.”

“Okay…” Danny hummed thoughtfully. “Why did you listen to them? When they told you to kill me. Why didn’t you just say no?”

“Because if I had refused, then they would’ve taken matters into their own hands,” Clockwork explained with a sigh of annoyance. “And your timeline would have been fractured from their meddling. Besides, I didn’t attack you like they wanted me to. Believe me,” Clockwork’s eyes flickered dangerously. “If I had truly wanted to get rid of you, you would never have even had a chance to react.”

Well then.

“Uhh… thank you…?” Danny said awkwardly, unsure of what he should say.

Clockwork looked a bit surprised by Danny’s response, but then he chuckled. “Of course.”

The room fell quiet for a brief moment as Danny thought of what else to ask. “Why are you doing this, anyway?” He gestured at the teapot and the teacups on the table. “Why are you helping me? I thought you said you weren’t supposed to interfere.”

“I’m not doing anything except making sure that everything plays out as it should,” Clockwork responded. “Besides, I am merely returning a favor.”

Danny stared at the ghost in confusion. “I still have no idea what you’re talking about,” he stated bluntly.

Clockwork chuckled again. “You will.”

Danny was still confused, and he opened his mouth to ask Clockwork what he meant, but the ghost suddenly froze. His brow furrowed, he frowned as he set down his teacup and pulled off his right glove, revealing…

“You have an apprentice?!” Danny shouted in disbelief.

Clockwork didn’t answer, his attention fully focused on the silver letters on his right forearm. His frown deepened as he ran the fingers of his left hand over the characters, obscuring them and making it so that Danny couldn’t read what they said.

“My apologies, Daniel, but I'm afraid you must leave now,” Clockwork finally said. “Something has happened with my apprentice that requires my immediate attention.”

“But…” Danny began, but he trailed off as Clockwork gave him a look that made it clear he wasn’t joking around. “Uhh, okay…?”

Danny and Clockwork stood up, and Clockwork raised his hand. A woosh came from behind Danny, and when he turned around his armchair was gone, replaced by a large blue portal.

“That will take you back to your place,” Clockwork informed him. “And your time. Amity Park, 2008.”

Danny nodded again, only half paying attention as he was still trying to catch a glimpse of Clockwork’s forearm.

“Daniel.”

Danny froze before sheepishly meeting Clockwork’s gaze. The ghost gestured to the portal, his expression… his eyes were still worried, but as he gave Danny a small, encouraging smile, Danny would say that Clockwork almost looked amused.

“Get going.”

Danny nodded once more before turning back to the portal. It was time. He had to do this. He had to fight Dan. He didn’t feel like he could do this, but it wasn’t like he had a choice.

As Danny stepped into the portal, he glanced back over his shoulder, and this time Clockwork’s hand was moved, leaving his mark uncovered and legible against his blue skin.

Φάντασμα.

Phantom.

Before Danny could even begin to question that, Clockwork caught his gaze. The ghost’s expression was one that Danny couldn’t place, but he gave the halfa a small nod.

“Good luck.”

Jazz POV:

“Uggh… my head…” Jazz groaned as she opened her eyes. The room around her was fairly small and dark, but as her blurry vision cleared she saw buckets, spray bottles, a mop, and various other cleaning supplies. Her head throbbed as she got to her feet and tried the door. It was unlocked, and opened out into one of the Casper High school hallways.

Why had she been in the janitor’s closet? How had she gotten into the janitor’s closet? The last thing she remembered was standing outside the door to Mr. Lancer’s classroom, with the Fenton Peeler in her hand, and then…

Jazz looked frantically around the closet for the Fenton Peeler. “Please, oh please don’t be… aha!” She reached down and pulled out the Fenton Peeler from where it had fallen under the shelves.

With her weapon back in hand, Jazz rushed out the door, nearly crashing into the janitor as she did so. She started down the hall with a hasty shout of “sorry!” over her shoulder as she ran back towards Mr. Lancer’s classroom.

What time was it? Were the students still taking the test? She needed to stop Evil Danny before—

The door to the classroom swung open right as Jazz was reaching for the doorknob, and she narrowly avoided bumping into Mr. Lancer.

“Oh!” The teacher looked surprised by her arrival. “Hello, Jasmine. What are you doing here so late?”

“Late?” Jazz repeated, feeling disoriented. “W-what time is it?”

Mr. Lancer frowned as he glanced at his watch. “It’s just after 4:30. The test was over hours ago. You didn’t even have class today.”

“I…” Jazz brought a hand to her aching head. Had she passed out? What had happened to her? She remembered looking through the door window and making eye contact with Evil Danny as she reached for the doorknob… His eyes had flashed red, and then… she’d woken up in the janitor’s closet. He must’ve stopped her, somehow. “I was looking for Danny,” she finally answered.

“Ahh,” the disdain in Mr. Lancer’s voice was obvious. “Mr. Fenton. Well, I regret to inform you that he’s not here. He was the first student to turn in his test, and then he was out the door, off to gallivant about the streets like a hooligan.”

Jazz’s heart sank. She had missed her chance. Evil Danny could be anywhere by now, doing who knows what. Oh, gosh, had he gone after her parents? What if—

“In fact,” Mr. Lancer tapped a stack of papers in his hand, pulling Jazz from her thoughts. “I just need to drop these papers off at the front office and then I’ll be heading over to the Nasty Burger to meet with Daniel and your parents, to discuss… Daniel’s disappointing lack of academic integrity.”

Jazz remembered Mr. Lancer mentioning that when they spoke yesterday. She had hoped to talk to Danny about it all when he got home, but… her Danny hadn’t come home.

And she had to make sure that no one else ran into the other Danny.

Thinking quickly, Jazz ripped the papers from Mr. Lancer’s hand and sprinted down the hall before he even had a chance to react. She winced as he yelled after her, “War and Peace! Miss Fenton, what are you doing?!”

Jazz glanced over her shoulder and saw Mr. Lancer running after her—well… hurrying after her; she wasn’t quite sure it could be described as running.

She paused at the end of the hallway, unsure of what she should do next—she honestly hadn’t thought this far ahead. She looked wildly around her; there were lockers, trash cans, a drinking fountain, an open window…

“Miss Fenton!”

Out of time to think, Jazz threw the papers out the window, and they scattered like confetti on the school grounds as she sprinted through the foyer and out the front doors of the school. She hoped that that would delay Mr. Lancer and buy her at least a little time to get to the Nasty Burger before him, and stop Evil Danny before it was too late. She would deal with the earful from Mr. Lancer later.

Jazz pulled her keys from her pocket as she ran across the parking lot, unlocked her car, and hopped in. She pulled out her phone as she started her car, tossing the Fenton Peeler into the passenger’s seat as she called Sam.

Sam picked up on the first ring.

“Jazz, what happened?!” the goth shouted. “We saw you at the door, but then you disappeared!”

“Yeah, what was that about?! I thought you said you were going to take care of him!” Tucker added.

Jazz watched through her rearview mirror as Mr. Lancer exited the school and walked around to the courtyard, likely to go gather his papers. “I said that I had a plan,” she corrected.

“And what happened to that plan?” Sam asked, a little calmer.

“What do you think happened?” Jazz snapped.

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

Jazz sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m sorry for snapping at you two. It’s been a pretty stressful day for me.”

“Yeah, it’s been the same for us, Jazz,” Tucker sympathized. “I mean, look at who we’ve been stuck with the past couple of days.”

“So, what’s your plan now?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know,” Jazz admitted. “But I think it would be better if we met up. Where are you guys?”

“Patrolling,” Tucker answered.

“Looking for Evil Danny,” Sam clarified.

“Where are you guys now?” Jazz put her car into gear and pulled out onto the street.

Jazz turned onto Main Street. She immediately saw Sam and Tucker waiting for her on the sidewalk, so she pulled up to the curb and waited for the two young teens to get in the car.

“Have you two seen Danny? Our Danny?” Jazz all but demanded once Sam and Tucker were both seated.

The teens only shook their heads.

“Do you have any idea where he could be?” Jazz asked, fighting to keep her voice steady.

Tucker shook his head again as Sam answered. “We haven’t seen him since we left the future.”

Jazz thought about her note, hoping against hope that it had somehow reached Danny. But even if it had, that didn’t mean that he had found a way back. Yet. “So… I guess we’re on our own for this.”

“Looks like it,” Tucker muttered dejectedly. “Besides, even if we somehow take down Evil Danny, what then? What if our Danny never comes back?”

Sam whirled on Tucker. “Do not say that. He will come back.”

“Hey, I never said he wouldn’t.” Tucker held up his hands placatingly. “I’m just saying what if—”

“Forget the what-ifs, Tuck!” Sam shouted with a glare.

Now Tucker was getting frustrated. “But what if—”

“What if you shut up?!” Sam interrupted.

“Enough!” Jazz shouted, her voice far too loud in the small, enclosed space. Silence reigned as Jazz took a deep breath before speaking again. “Look, it has been a long and stressful day for all of us, but that doesn’t mean we should be jumping down each other’s throats.”

Sam and Tucker sheepishly looked away from each other.

“Now.” Jazz settled back into her seat. “Does anyone have a plan for dealing with Evil Danny?”

It was just after 5 P.M. when Jazz, Sam, and Tucker arrived at the Nasty Burger. Sam and Tucker leapt out of the car before it even came to a stop, running towards the group standing in front of the restaurant. Jazz saw Mr. Lancer, her parents, and…

“Evil Danny,” she hissed under her breath.

Jazz turned off the car and opened the door, making sure to grab the Fenton Peeler before she got out and slammed the door shut. She activated the Fenton Peeler, and began to run as soon as its armor had finished forming around her. As she neared the group, she could hear Mr. Lancer shouting.

“South Beach Diet, people! What’s going on here?!”

“I’ll tell you what’s going on!” Jazz proclaimed, coming to a stop just feet from her parents and Evil Danny. Her parents turned to her with looks of shock, while Evil Danny looked angry.

“Jazz? What are you doing out of bed?” Maddie exclaimed.

Jazz didn’t answer her mother. Instead, she leveled the Fenton Peeler at Evil Danny’s chest, and pulled the trigger.

Evil Danny was barely even staggered by the energy blast, but the Peeler did its job. His face contorted in pain as his skin began to crack and flake, and it reminded Jazz of a snake shedding its dead skin, revealing the predator inside.

The adults in the group gasped in shock and horror as the ghost fell to its hands and knees, smoke rising from its skin as the charred remains of its disguise fell to the pavement. The two younger teens gave each other looks of grim determination as Jazz stepped forward and pointed accusingly at the specter.

“That’s not Danny!” Jazz announced triumphantly.

Jazz’s parents recovered from their shock quickly. They both pulled ecto-guns from their belts and immediately trained them on Evil Danny, who hadn’t yet made an attempt to stand up.

“Where is he?” Jack demanded angrily. “Where’s our son?!”

“What have you done with our boy?!” Maddie cried.

Evil Danny’s shoulders began to quiver, and Jazz smirked. Why had she even been worried? Her parents were two of the world’s greatest ghost hunters. With her parents standing over him, their weapons drawn, of course he would be shaking in his boots.

But then she heard it. A low, gravelly chuckle, and she realized…

No, he wasn’t shaking in fear.

He was laughing.

Evil Danny looked up at Maddie, his red eyes glowing bright and dangerous.

“I am your boy!” He hissed.

Before anyone could react, the ghost shot into the air, glaring cruelly down at them.

“What kind of parents are you, anyway?” He sneered. “The world’s leading ghost experts, and yet you couldn’t figure out your own son was half-ghost!”

Crap.

Jazz looked at her parents with wide eyes. They looked too stunned to speak. That was… an okay reaction. At least they didn’t seem upset. She and Danny would have to deal with the aftermath of that reveal later. After they—or she—took down Danny’s evil self.

“I mean, hellooo?” Evil Danny rolled his eyes. “Did you really never find it odd that all of your inventions always targeted, locked onto, or worked on me? Every. Single. One of them. Did you really never think about it? And then all the similarities… all the convenient excuses… I mean, it was so obvious, that it’s a small wonder I was even able to keep my secret identity, well,” Evil Danny chuckled. “A secret.”

“Liar!” Jack snapped, his hands and voice shaking with rage as he aimed his gun at the ghost. “Don’t move!”

“Actually,” Evil Danny countered, baring his fangs in a malevolent smile. “Nobody’s going anywhere. Not until it’s time for you to be blown everywhere.”

He raised his hand, and it flared to life with green ectoplasm. He flung his arm out in front of him, sending out a wave of ectoplasm that hit Mr. Lancer, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz’s parents, wrapping around them in thick strands that pinned their arms to their sides and sent the group flying backwards into one of the sauce vats, gluing them to its side. They began to scream and yell, but the ghost merely pointed at them, and globs of ectoplasm shot from his fingers, gagging and silencing them all almost instantly.

Evil Danny landed a few feet in front of Jazz, his back to her. Had he forgotten she was there? If so, then now was her chance to strike! Jazz pulled her arm back as she ran towards him. Aiming for the middle of his back, Jazz threw her fist forward with all of her might. And…

Her fist went straight through him.

Evil Danny cackled. Jazz felt bile rise in her throat as he turned his head completely around like an owl, and she winced at the sound of his bones cracking.

“Oh, Jazz,” Evil Danny tutted. “That was pathetic, even for you.”

The ghost turned to her, and Jazz didn’t even have time to run before her helmet was ripped off her head and her arms were pinned to her sides by the same ectoplasmic goo that bound everyone else. She screamed and quickly found herself gagged.

“Now, now, Jazz. There’s no need for that.” Evil Danny grabbed Jazz by the neck of her chestplate and slung her into the rubble of the Nasty Burger.

Jazz couldn’t even scream as she flew through the air, and she slammed into the sauce vat where the others were currently trapped. She blinked away the spots in her eyes, and began to struggle once she saw Evil Danny starting to walk towards them. But the ectoplasm around her torso held tight, and it had glued her to the searing hot metal of the sauce vat behind her. Tears filled Jazz’s eyes; this was it, wasn’t it? She had failed, and Danny wasn’t back, and now they were all going to be—

“Aww,” Evil Danny crooned, his tone mocking and cruel. “Don’t cry, everyone. You’re all giving your lives for a greater cause.”

Evil Danny turned away then and strode out into the middle of the empty street, where he raised his hands high and turned his face up towards the sky. “Do you hear me now, Gaea?!” He shouted, his voice booming through the abandoned clearing. “You said you’d never leave me! Not like my mother, not like my father… and you won’t.”

He turned back to them, a deranged look in his eyes. “I’ll burn these sacrifices for you, and then you’ll see. You’ll see that I don’t need them. You’ll see that I have what it takes. That I’m not weak. You’ll see that you need me! You’ll—”

Evil Danny’s crazed monologue was cut off by a black-and-white blur crashing into his side, sending him sprawling across the street.

Tears filled Jazz’s eyes again, but this time they were tears of joy as her little brother came to the rescue.

“Stay away from my family, maláka.” Danny—the real Danny—growled as he landed in front of the Nasty Burger.

First: Prologue

Previous: Chapter 25

Next: Chapter 27

#danny phantom #dan phantom #jazz fenton #sam manson #tucker foley #clockwork #taot #the apprentice of thanatos #lotu #legacy of the underworld #fanfiction #crossover fanfiction #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians

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