DISCLAIMER:
I, Impudent Miscegenation, of Fanfiction (dot net), do not own or have any affiliation with the creators of Danny Phantom. All rights respectfully go to Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon. I don't gain material profit from my works featured here, I write for my own amusement.
I OWN THE O.C.'s. IF THERE IS A GUEST O.C., THE OWNER OF SAID O.C. WILL BE MENTIONED.
I'm happy with how many people reviewed! :D I will be responding to them below the story, if you're interested.
I also want you to know that I'm drawing a lot of inspiration from Dark Prince by The Other Ghostwriter. Even if you don't really like slash fics, it's beautifully written and just a magnificent piece overall.
Think that's it. ONWARD!
Previously on Royally Screwed: We were introduced to Concilium Sanctum; a.k.a. bunch of old ghost farts bickering, I mean debating, on the future of the ghost world. As it happens, our favorite little halfa is next in line for the throne! And, if Clockwork is correct, Danny ascending to aforementioned throne will bring everlasting peace between the human world and the ghost zone. Unfortunately, in order to become King, Danny cannot exist as a halfa anymore. Poor guy's gotta go the way of Elvis if he's gonna be king. Amaryllis, an ancient Roman ghost (that Clockwork has a thing for, but you didn't hear it from me), takes it upon herself to warn the young hybrid. In doing so, she places Danny's 7th period English class to sleep even quicker than Lancer could, but also probably giving more than one student a bump on the head. Fortunately, that seems to be the extent of the damage. Lastly, Danny willingly goes with this ghost chick into the 'Zone to figure out just what the heck she wants with him.
Royally Screwed
Chapter One: The 'Zone
Danny found himself in a large room, ancient pillars holding up the construct. The floors were a polished stone and the ceiling was the same-it seemed. Danny curiously inspected his surroundings, green eyes glowing brighter with wonder. Amaryllis stopped in her tracks and Danny would have ran into her if he hadn't caught himself. The ancient Roman gestured to just outside of the building and Danny tilted his head slightly. Amaryllis smiled.
"Let us venture outside the villa for a moment." She said softly and Danny found himself blithely following the older woman. The ghost glanced back at the hybrid and sighed.
"I have to apologize, halfa." She murmured and Danny furrowed his brow. Before he could voice his confusion, however, Amaryllis elaborated. "To make sure that you would come with me and not attempt to battle me, you have been under a certain level of… emotional guidance from my aura." The ghost refused to acknowledge it as any kind of 'mind control', though essentially there wasn't much a difference. Danny found himself frowning but unable to get too upset, likely because of the aura of calm he was still being placated with. A voice told him that he should be freaking out and absolutely horrified but another, more dominating, voice reassured him that there was no reason to get really upset-Amaryllis hadn't even tried to hurt the humans in his classroom, which meant that she couldn't be all that evil. Danny was brought out of his internal debate when he realized his surroundings. He jumped in surprise and looked around at the 'outside' that Amaryllis had referred to. They were in an outdoor place that sat in between two ancient-looking buildings, one that the pair had left and another they had yet to enter.
"Wha…?" He intelligently articulated whilst his wide, green eyes got even wider.
A softly glowing, blue grass-like foliage covered sweet-smelling black earth. Flowers of various kinds seemed to pulsate gently with power, also glowing just slightly, their blooms in bright shades of color unlike anything on Earth. Looking up, Danny was even more surprised to find that the Ghost Zone's 'sky', while its usual green, had an entirely different atmosphere. The air was, in a word, less-oppressive. Free, almost. The radioactive green came in different shades but it was a gradual change; similar to the sky on Earth, Danny realized. Clouds swirled and circled the land above and, even though they were in shades of black and deep purple, they had a very natural aura about them.
Amaryllis led the halfa onward before seating herself on a blanket that was placed in the grass. It took Danny a few moments to realize that he was standing around and staring while the ancient Roman was staring at him calmly, waiting. The hybrid flushed, green because of the ectoplasm that was in the place of his blood, and he sat himself down across the ghost on the same blanket. Amaryllis smiled.
"You're not used to this; I don't mind waiting for you if you wish to continue marveling at this place." She explained softly, Danny shaking his head a bit in response. He was still fuzzy in his brain because of whatever Amaryllis had done to repress his self-defense reflexes. The ghost sighed and bowed her head. Danny finally felt himself become clear and all of his emotions rushed him at once. He shook his head to clear it of the disorientation that had occurred because of this before rearing on Amaryllis with a frown, standing up with a jolt and sputtering in indignation.
"I need answers. You kidnapped me and practically drugged me with your powers!" His anger and distrust was coming back. Amaryllis remained calmly seated.
"Would you have willingly come with me, an unfamiliar ghost, through an unknown portal and into a reclusive part of the Ghost Zone if I hadn't done exactly that? Answer me honestly, please." The ghost rested her hands daintily on her lap as she waited for his rebuttal. Danny opened his mouth only to close it again, looking sheepish but still very much like he needed an explanation. Amaryllis gestured to the blanket.
"Have a seat, young halfa. You have much to learn and there is plenty that you need to hear. I have already given you a solemn vow; I will not harm you." Danny hesitated and, against the voice that told him to run, lowered himself into the position he was in previously, seated indian-style across from the ghost (that he still had very mixed feelings about). His form was tensed; at a moment's notice, he'd be ready whether it came to fight or flight.
"... I want answers." He all but demanded and Amaryllis chuckled at the boy's callousness.
"And you shall have them. All of the answers you seek and more; in due time, I promise you." She looked around the outside space that they were in and back to Danny. "You are aware that this place is the Ghost Zone. But you are also aware that this place is different, am I correct?" Danny nodded. The Roman smiled.
"What if I told you that once, very long ago, all of the Ghost Zone was like this?" Danny gaped and looked around once again.
"What? That's… That's not like the Ghost Zone at all!" The boy exclaimed and the elder ghost merely shook her head with sad eyes.
"Sadly, not anymore, it's not. But at its creation, the Ghost World was just that, young halfa; a world in mirrored harmony with humanity. They likely never went over this in your Earth history classes because, to humans, a time where we-the undead-coexisted with the living never happened, thanks to the Ghost Zone's keepers, the Concilium Sanctum." Danny blinked.
"Why did they do that? Why make it so humans don't remember ghosts as being good?" The half-ghost frowned. If his parents had been taught this supposed side of history, maybe they'd be more open to the idea of good ghosts. The ghost across from him gave him a sad look.
"Pariah Dark." The very name sent shivers up the boy's spine. The old Ghost King that had almost killed him (well, technically it was the suit his parents had made that had almost killed him but details details) and it figured that he'd have a hand in making ghosts change history.
"When he reigned many millennia ago, he sought to control the human world as well as the Ghost World. After our world was but torn to shreds, the Mad King decided that he needed to reign over the mortal realm as well. If nothing had been done, the human world would be worse off than the broken abyss that is our home. The Council intervened, as I'm sure you already knew. After Dark was dealt with, it was decided that the human world would be better off without interference from ghosts, lest something similar to that event occur again. It was for our parallel world's protection that we were distanced from each other. All ghosts were hidden away in our world and the memories of the humans who knew of them were stolen." Danny reeled from the story. His mind was still barely processing that humans and ghosts ever could coexist.
"... Why are you telling me all of this?" The older ghost put a finger to her lips.
"All in due time." She answered cryptically, causing Danny to frown.
"You sound like Clockwork." He mumbled and Amaryllis' smile only grew.
"I suppose I do, don't I? That old man only wishes he could have a personality as dynamic as mine, though." She laughed and Danny felt his frown melt away without her powerful emotional influence.
Sam and Tucker, along with the rest of their class, came to with groans and a few whines. For a few delirious moments, nobody could quite recall why they were scattered across the classroom with headaches in various states of alertness. Unsurprisingly, Sam was the first to remember the events preceding the unanticipated classroom nap.
"Ghost!" She exclaimed, pushing herself up onto her feet and yanking Tucker upright with her, the boy grunting in response. It only took a few seconds of scanning the classroom to realize that someone very important was missing from it. Was he elsewhere fighting the ghost girl that had come from the portal? If that were the case, she shouldn't give away his absence by saying anyth-
"Where's Danny?!" Sam could have slapped Tucker in that moment.
The second building, as it turned out, was more of a museum than anything else. There were tapestries, ancient artifacts, and even prophecy scrolls. Amaryllis gestured to a tattered fabric decorated in forgotten symbols and obscure pictures.
"And this is one of the only known instruction tapestries which instructs how to manifest a protection glyph. The effectiveness and radius is depending on the power level of the ghost who created it, but the basic idea is that the glyph will be able to prevent any malevolent spectral entities from causing harm within an area. A simple idea, yes, but very difficult to master." As she was about to move on, Danny spoke up.
"Look, not that this isn't more interesting than Falluca's physical science class, because it totally is, but why are you showing me this? Why tell me all about the Ghost Zone's history and whatnot? I mean, I'm fourteen…" Amaryllis nodded in thought.
"Wisdom, little one, is not always measured in years. Though they certainly help prove a point." She chuckled to herself as though she'd mentioned an inside joke before continuing. "And as for why I tell you this… Well, as they say in your world, those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it." Danny was even more confused.
"I don't know who you think I am, but I'm not gonna try and enslave the human and ghost worlds, if that's your thought process." Amaryllis shrugged her shoulders.
"Power is blinding sometimes, little Phantom." Danny rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, okay. Like I'm an all-powerful ghost king with an inferiority complex." He snarked, but very well remembered the lesson on power that Clockwork had given him. Amaryllis gave the boy a sad look.
"No, no. I don't see you as ever having an inferiority complex, your roots a well-placed as they are." Danny, being clueless at best, completely missed her implication and sighed.
"Look, this whole part of the ghost zone is cool and everything, but I gotta get back to my home. Amity Park? The human world?" Amaryllis waved her hand and a portal appeared; displayed was the outside of Casper High, where students were just being released. Before Danny could move towards the portal, Amaryllis held out her hand.
"A few parting words, Phantom… If you ever seek to make peace with yourself and your family, they must know of you-both of you. Fear is powerful, Phantom, and it warps the mind in more ways than one; you don't want such a thing to keep you tethered to your secrets. They will understand." Danny swallowed thickly, his throat suddenly parched.
"L-Look, I don't think…"
"Phantom," Amaryllis interrupted, a soothing hand placed on his shoulder, "they will understand. And once they do, you will be a freer young man for it." Danny had a feeling that she was using her calming aura again which was gone when she removed her hand and stepped away from the portal.
"This will not be the last we see of one another, Puer Sancto." She smiled and vanished as Danny stepped away from the Ghost Zone and into the portal that would lead him home.
Puer Sancto means Holy Child according to Google Translate. I tried to get the translation for Ghost Child, but the ancient Romans didn't exactly have a term for that-and carelessly putting two singularly-translated words together more often than not warps the meaning. But enough about my battlewith dead languages, onto the review replies!
moonmunirah97: My first reviewer! Thank you! And I am a huge fan of the idea as well. And, yes, I wonder…
flying ducks298: You're very welcome. Don't choke on it.
Kimera20: Oh, jeez. Make me blush, why don't you?
AjaK: Of course.
JennaUtena: I know the plot's overused but I'm glad you're enjoying my personal take on it. I hope you continue to root for me! Thanks for the support.
TheMissingShadow: Well, it's not soon, but I hope you liked the update.
Waffles: I've always liked the idea myself. Hence this, really. And angst? Oh, yeah. Plenty of that.
danielm366: Here ya go.
A Vivid Reader: If I'm honest, I'm excited to write it. All in due time, I suppose.
Patric: Well, here you are.
Any: It's on a silver platter.
A very special thank you to 50n, who is the reason I'm even updating this at all, honestly. You all should go check out their story "Don't Feed the Ghost Boy". Shameless advertising, people.
Keep on reading and reviewing! Stay fabtatulistic!
~IM