So, after that nice prologue, here is the beginning of our tale and the beginning of journey of mystery, adventure, and suspense. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Do not own Danny Phantom. I still don't understand why Butch would continue Fairly Oddparents and T.U.F.F. Puppy but not continue this. He had something here! Anybody else agree?


Danny Phantom

Roses and Blood

Ch. 2-A Chance To See The Outside World

...Twenty years later...

Another day. Another day that was the same in and the same out for the young ghost named Darren. Wake up, wander around the castle for hours on end until sunset, then be at the beck and call of his master the vampire Vladimir Masters whose vampiric nature had been corrupted by ectoplasmic energy and turned him into a nosferatu halfa. After serving his taskmaster all night long and making sure that he was comfortable in his coffin when the rays of sunlight started to peak over the castle then it was off to bed for just about two or three hours then the course would repeat itself over and over again. To the spirit it was like he was doing this for centuries but for some reason he couldn't remember for how long he had been serving his master.

For that matter pretty much all of his memories were mysteriously missing from his mind. The ghoul had spent many, many hours trying to figure out what they were but to no avail he just couldn't remember a single shred of them. Mostly what he got from this was a severe headache and had to go rest to get rid of it. But he never gave up on this endevor that he vowed. He knew that he had memories and knew that one day he would be able to see them clearly and vividly again.

It would be a little easier to try to remember if he was allowed to go past the castle door but Darren was forbidden to never step one foot outside by Masters, warning that if he ever did the ghost would die where he stood. Why he was prohibited made the specter always wonder what was out there that the creature didn't want him to see. The ghoul's curiosity was filled with so many theories and possibilities of what laid beyond the mountains or even down the main path that lead down to city that sat in the valley below. He yearned to just one day slip out, head straight down that road, and see what the town had to offer. Of course, he wondered if his keeper would discover him gone and get very angry. It would then make him shake in fear in how bad the punishment would be. It could be worse than what he got now if he really got out of line which was being chained up in the dungeon and flogged for about three hours.

Just the thought of it made him quiver in pain from the last one which occurred only three days ago. Luckily he could recover quickly but the sting still remained in the young man's skin.

But after his wondering finally got the best of him the ghost decided that he was going to make the trip and just suffer through the consequences if there were any. He planned it so that when the vampire went to sleep he would wait about an hour after to make sure that the monster was fast asleep then climb out one of the broken windows and follow the trail down into the tiny metropolis below and return just a couple of hours before the sun set and act like he had never left the castle but secretly keep the memories of this adventure to himself for a long, long time.

It was the night before the spirit was going to make the venture and he was making sure that everything that he did seem perfectly normal to his boss. He followed orders to the point, didn't talk back, and was the model servant. It struck Vladimir as odd that his serf was acting so calmly and following his every command to the letter. The creature of the night figured that for once the ghoul was finally starting get the gist of what he was employed to do. As the faint colors of dawn appeared on the horizon the nosferatu was crawling into his coffin that was located in what was the throne room, propped up against the steps of the throne platform in front of the old king's chair. Watching him settle in Darren was trying his best not to lose his nerve the time crawling so close to the end. Once the lid was shut and silence ensued once more the ghost watched the light of the sun creep over the mountains through the wide balcony that sat off to the side of the room, counting the seconds that turned into minutes which then turned into one full hour.

Seeing that his chance had come the spirit quickly moved down to the first floor and into the room that he had found the best window to climb out of and stepped out onto the rocky slope. His exhilaration was climbing as he walked around the fortress to get to the main road he suddenly thought of something. The mostly used path would probably take more than just a couple of hours to walk down. Suddenly his plan started to look like it was going to be an impossible mission. But his hopes were quickly lifted when he saw that there was a shortcut for emergencies and was he in one. Not wanting to waste anymore time he rushed onto the trail and about an hour and a half later his eyes was seeing the city for the first time. It was another two hours before he was walking into the limits of the metropolis and was astounded by the sights and sounds of everything that was going on as the citizens were beginning their days.

Yet there was so much going on it was starting to overwhelm the ghost a little too much. Trying his best to duck around a few people that were coming right at him he was knocked backwards by one and the next thing he knew he had knocked into someone who wasn't too happy about it. Getting a cruel smirk on his face the human being said to his friends that surrounded him, "Hey, guys, looks like someone doesn't know how to walk right. Maybe we need to teach him how. Am I right?"

The cronies giving similar grunts of agreement the apparition turned to face them and say, "Please, I don't want any trouble. I was knocked out of the way by someone and accidentally fell into you. There was no intention of doing that to you on purpose. Again, I'm sorry but it wasn't my fault."

"Sorry, but someone's got to pay the consequences of disrespecting me, one of the highest nobleman in town. And by the looks of thing you're the only one here," the aristocrat disagreed, a vicious glint shooting across his eyes. "Boys, let's get him and show him how things are run around here."

Fear flashing through his bright green orbs Darren quickly took off down the road, the lower classed men following right after him. The chase continued throughout the many street markets and neighborhoods. The group almost managed to catch up to the ghoul a couple of time but he managed to a few feet ahead and elude being captured. It then entered the restaurant district and the commotion that it was causing was starting to destroy the peace of the area, especially for four friends who were enjoying a wonderful breakfast until the ruckus passed by the building and interrupted their meal. Seeing that there was an issue that she needed to take care of one of the quartet quickly got up, stepped outside to see what was happening, and followed. The pursuit finally ended in an alleyway when the nobleman managed to trip the spirit down who crashed into the ground, quickly recovered and crawled into a ball next to a bunch of trash that sitting nearby. The group then quickly surrounded him and raised their fists ready to deliver a nasty beating.

"Hey!," a voice shouted from behind, stopping their strikes as they were coming down. "Just what in the good light above is going on here?"

"Now, who in their right mind is-," the aristocrat snapped turning around to see who had stopped him and forgot what he was about to say next when he recognized the person glaring at him.

It was the temporary king's daughter, Nyreena Dark, her royal blue hair shining in the morning sun and her ice blue eyes glowing with anger and rage at the scene before her. Her dress, a black and blue everyday gown with a corset and long billowing sleeves that hung off her shoulders clearly showed her body language that she did not approve this sort of behavior. His cruelty instantly switching to quaking fear the nobleman asked, "L-l-lady Nyreena, what a surprise. What, uh, brings you by on this wonderful day?"

"Oh, nothing much," the young ghostly woman answered while she walked closer. "I was just enjoying some time with my friends when all of a sudden our meal was suddenly interrupted by your gallivant through the streets. Just who are you picking on now, Kalstros?"

"Nobody, absolutely nobody," the young man replied sheepishly, knowing that he was in a heap of trouble already. "It was just someone who rudely ran into me nothing more."

"Uh huh. And you really expect me to believe that, do you?," the temporary princess asked, not buying the story one bit. "Look right now I am in a forgiving mood at the moment and if you don't want me to loose that I suggest you and your friends get out of here before my temper gets the best of me."

One of the cronies who didn't believe her leaned over and whispered to a buddy next to him, snickering at the same time, "Hah, I'd like to see her try. She's so prim and proper all she might do is just go and get the guards to punish us."

Unfortunately she heard every word that he said and that forgiving mood went right over the mountain range. Suddenly the woman's hands had lit up and caught on fire yet her skin never burned. Raising them up her expression shifted to a horrific glower and fired several fire balls that sent the group of men scurrying for their lives, tripping over each other as they tried to dodge the flaming spheres. Once that they fled the phantasma's hands returned to normal and sighed to calm her anger down a bit. Wanting to see the poor person that those disrespectful men were bullying she walked over to see who it was and her heart lept right into her throat. It was another ghost, penniless and homeless by the ratty clothes he was wearing and looked like he was going to shake in fear and fall into a pile of ectoplasm. He was so scared that he had buried his face into his arms and didn't want to look at anything. His behavior making her worry the lady stooped down and placed a hand on his shoulder which surprised him. Quickly looking up to see who was touching him all he could see was the face of an angel staring into his glowing green eyes. Relieved that he was okay the female ghost commented, smiling wide, "Oh, thank goodness. I was hoping that I managed to catch those hooligans before they had a chance to strike you. Are you okay, though?"

Darren tried to answer but the young woman's smile was distracting him. Her expression was showing her teeth which revealed that she had fangs just like his vampiric master. He wasn't sure whether or not to trust her but the phantom decided to take a leap of faith and answer, "Yes, I am. And what he said was a lie. Someone had knocked me into him and he took it the wrong way. I'm just glad you intervened before it was too late. Thank you."

"You're welcome," she replied, her eyes filling with warmth and comfort. Figuring that he probably didn't have a decent meal in a long time the noblewoman offered her hand up and said, "Here, come with me. I think you deserve something to eat after that horrible ordeal. You can come and eat with my friends and I and enjoy a hearty breakfast."

"Breakfast does sound very good," the ghostly man agreed, the last thing he ate was a couple of weeks ago. "But how do I know that this isn't some kind of trick? I've had a hard time trusting people right away and I don't mean to sound distrusting myself but I can't take being bluffed at every turn."

"Because, when I offer something or give my word I fulfill it to the letter. To not would go against my family's honor and see us shamed for possibly a long, long time," Nyreena answered, her vision telling the truth. "And I certainly don't want to be the one to cause that. So will you trust me?"

The servant, by observing her body language and her eyes, knew then that she was someone that could be trusted, even with a life. And her kind and gentle nature made him feel so comfortable and not so nervous about being in the city for the first time. Taking her hand she helped him up and he answered, "Yes, I will. For you, I promise to return this favor in any way possible."

"I hold you to it," the contessa agreed giggling a bit at the same time. "Now come on. My friends will be wondering where I went off to and why I haven't returned."

Gripping his hand a little tighter she lead the way as the both of them walked back to the restaurant the customers having returned to their meals and conversations once they realized that the ruckus had died down. Sitting at a table in the center of the spacious room were three young adults that were about the young ghostly woman's age one was studying a mechanical blueprint and the other two were holding hands and looking at each other with love in their eyes that only two soulmates could share. Grabbing an empty chair and setting next to hers the lady sat down in her seat and said, "Sorry for taking so long. It was that horrible Lord Kalstros and his band of brutes that were terrorizing this poor spirit. They were about to beat him when I got there and stopped it before they had a chance to lay a fist on him."

"I think out of all the nobles, Ny, you are the only one that have the courage to fight yourself than to let somebody else handle it," the other woman, named Sam Manson and a lady herself, commented as she looked up from her fiancee.

"Sam, you're forgetting yourself there," the temporary princess reminded her fellow highborn. "If only your parents could support of it like mine do. But I know what you're going to say. Your parents are so set in the old ways there is no way possible that they are ever going to change. I even know that they still don't approve of you marrying Danny."

"But after they see what I can do to support our marriage I just know they'll slowly come around," the raven-haired man proved, placing an arm around the woman he loved. Turning his attention to the newcomer he asked, "So, uh, did you get a chance to introduce yourself to our good friend her or did she rush you right down here like she always does whenever she's trying to save a life?"

Realizing that she didn't introduce herself after saving his afterlife the phantasma mentally slapped herself then retorted at her companion, "You just had to point out one of my flaws, didn't you? Of course I rushed him down here. What point would there be if I didn't at least treat him to a hot meal for all the trouble that he was given?"

"It's alright, it's alright," the serf interjected, placing a hand on the young noblewoman's shoulder to calm her down. "There just wasn't a place to get the formalities out of the way. But I think now would be the perfect time now that we're all together. So I will start it off. My name is Darren. That's it. Nothing else."

Hearing the ghoul's voice made the halfa wonder where he had heard that voice. It sounded so familiar but he just couldn't place where on Earth he had heard it. Setting on the back burner for now he cleared his throat and said, "Well then, I'm Danny Fenton. This gentleman sitting next to me is my childhood friend Tucker Foley. He's knee deep into his blueprints to make a peep so I better introduce him before he misses out of the conversation."

"Huh?," the distracted mechanic asked, looking up when he heard his name mentioned. "Was someone talking to me?"

Noticing the newcomer he asked, "Who's this? Someone Nyreena saved again?"

"Tuck, you've got to start paying a bit more attention, old friend," the other man chortled. "This is Darren and yes she did save him, from Kalstros and his goons."

"Oh, well, since he doesn't have a bruise on him I'd say she got to him just in time," Foley observed, taking a drink of coffee to help keep him awake. "Nice meeting you, and sorry for not being so attentive, this is important."

Giving him a glare the purple and black claded girl introduced, "Now that Tucker managed to get in a hello before delving back into his work, I can have a turn. I'm Sam Manson of the Manson nobles. And don't call me Samantha or else you will have to worry about your afterlife."

"Easy, Sam. I'm sure that he won't dare make that mistake in the future," the contessa assured, giggling a bit. "And now me. I'm Nyreena Dark of the Dark nobles. My family has been standing in for the missing royal family for about seventeen years now. My father decided to take it upon himself and our clan to keep the balance for our kingdom until the monarchs have been found or a new royal line has been chosen by fate."

"What did happen to them?," the assistant inquired, getting quite intrigued at this. "Did they just disappear without a trace or was there some sort of foul play?"

"You must be new in town then if you don't know what happened to them," Danny figured. "The story is that almost twenty years ago the royals were in their castle nestled high in the mountains then suddenly they had disappeared without so much as a clue to where they went or what might have happened to them. Thousands of rumors sprung up from when the news was confirmed but none of them were true so they soon died away. Then the nobles came together to decide who would be the new king but all they really did was have horrible arguments and no solution. Finally Lord Pariah, Nyreena's father, decided that he had enough of this nonsense and tells them that until either the rightful rulers returned or fate had decided to reveal the new king his family would take charge and handle things from then on out. They were all surprised that he had silenced them all like that and were quickly on board with his decision. Since then things have been normal and the kingdom's peace is till in place but deep down everyone knows that nothing will ever be the same until the missing family is back on the throne."

Shocked at what he had learned Darren was even more surprised that he and his master were living in the very castle that was described in the story. By what he knew it was the only palace in the mountains by all the maps that were in the library of the fortress. But he wouldn't dare reveal this to the group in fear that he might be persecuted as being a part of the disappearance. Quickly thinking of something he commented, "Oh, wow. That's just horrible for something like that to happen to anybody, let alone a family in power. I must respect your father, Nyreena, for taking such a bold move to help keep this place in order. He is a ghost that will live in honor for years to come."

"Thank you," the stand-in princess acknowledged, blushing a bit. "If Father was here and he heard you say that I know that he would be honored enough by the compliment."

By then a plate of food arrived for the servant who gratefully dug in and ate every bit of it the gnawing hunger in his stomach finally sated and quiet for once in a long while. Once the dish was empty the phantom leaned back in his chair and sighed in content. The others watching him they all couldn't help but feel a pain in their hearts the familiar pain of seeing someone who had nothing while they had the necessary comforts of life. When the bill was paid for all the food ordered the five left the business then Tucker bid his farewells saying that he needed to get to his job before his boss had a cow for being late. Bidding their friend a farewell the foursome walked about town showing their new commrade all the city had to offer. The enslaved spirit was having such a great time he wasn't keeping an eye on the sun's position and before he knew it the light source of the world was starting to slowly sink towards the edge of the mountains. When the group had reached an open area where it could clearly been seen Nyreena pointed out, "Hey guys, look. It's going to be a wonderful sunset this evening."

Hearing what time it was Darren almost slapped himself in frustration at forgetting to keep track of the time. He needed to climb up the mountain path before the sun had disappeared behind the range and be back at the castle before Masters had woken up for the evening. Getting a worried look on his face he farewelled, "Uh, hey I just realized that I need to get going before it gets too late. Thank you again for the wonderful day. I'm glad to have met you all and please give my regards to Tucker when you see him. But I must go and hope to see you all again soon."

As soon as he left the three were very confused by his behavior and wondered why he had to suddenly rush off with giving a more proper goodbye. Quickly reaching the city limits the ghost had found the shortcut he had taken down the mountainside and used it once again hoping that he would be able to return in time before his excursion had been discovered and possibly be killed once his taskmaster laid his dark blood red eyes on his slave.


Ooohh, let's hope that our poor soul makes it back in time before the worse happens! Hope you all are here to find out! See you then!