Chapter Twelve: Old


"So, I'm going to talk to some of the other ghosts about going out to find Vlad." Danny said as he relaxed on the bed with Dan, the bottle of Ghost Zone wine half-empty. They were both undressed, the blanket pulled up over their naked bodies after Dan had "thanked" Danny for his help. Danny idly ran his hands through Dan's flames as he spoke, the other ghost possibly too drunk from his first four glasses of the wine to even know what he was saying. "The world hates him, of course, but maybe he can redeem himself by helping save it, no strings attached."

"Mm, maybe he's happy wherever he is." Dan murmured. "Maybe he found another planet to rule."

"And hasn't sent a single letter?" Danny chuckled and poured some more wine into Dan's glass. "That's not like him."

Dan shrugged, shifting his position to drink the wine. "Just a theory." He murmured around the glass.

"Your head is foggy and making you think silly." Danny chuckled, pouring himself another glass and sipping from it. "Mm, but this is some quality stuff, huh?"

"Mm, wouldn't know." Dan laid his head on Danny's chest again, lazily swishing the wine glass. "Never had wine before."

"Plasmius never even took the time to get you a glass of wine? Scandalous." Danny chuckled and took another sip before he tilted Dan's face up to his, kissing him and slipping wine between his lips at the same time. Then he pulled back, licking his lips. "Round two?" He grinned.

Dan reached over him to put his glass on the nightstand, Danny doing the same, before Danny pulled him close and rolled over so Dan was on the bottom again, kissing him deeply.

.

Space, the final frontier. That was how the intro to an old show that Vlad Masters used to watch went, and as he drifted aimlessly he couldn't help but think of how vast space really was. It had been four-and-a-half years since he had been banished into space in his ghost form, and so far the only trouble he'd had was when the Ecto-Astroid had smacked him out of orbit and into the darkness of space.

He hadn't seen any sign of life out here, but he was pretty sure that he'd gone further than any astronaut. If he ever returned, he would draw pictures of what he'd seen, and tell people. That is, if anyone wanted to hear what he had to say.

He'd screwed up, badly. He'd told them what he wanted as a reward BEFORE he did the deed, and so when he failed Jack had thrown him into space. Granted, he was planning to make Jack look bad once again by saying his weapon had failed, but he never got to go back.

He did, however, see the entire Earth turn intangible. How was that managed? It must've taken so much power. And he knew that only one boy would be capable of rallying humans and ghosts together. Ah, he missed his little badger.

He halted on a small asteroid and sat down to rest, sighing. His human form had been kept alive by his ghost form, but he suspected he would need to consume much human food and water before he could safely change back into a human again. On the bright side, he had been learning new powers. Apparently ecto-energy flames did not need oxygen to work in space, and he'd learned quite a few nice fire moves.

Now, if only he could find any sign of life…or maybe a portal that would take him to the Ghost Zone. He'd heard of portals in the Ghost Zone taking you to space, so why not the other way around?

Oh, if only he could open a portal on his own! When he felt the time fluctuation five years ago, before Daniel had done the favor for him, he had seen flashes of a life that wasn't his. It looked like Daniel, but wasn't. And he was marvelous. He could open portals at will, and he had the world at his feet – both worlds. He didn't know who that ghost was that bore Danny Phantom's symbol on his chest, but he knew that he wanted to learn that portal ability.

The problem was, it might require actually being remotely close to the Ghost Zone. Still, experience and knowledge told him that the Ghost Zone was as vast as space, and was just on the threshold of it – not just Earth. Therefore, if he could tap into that border, that threshold…if he could find even a hint of the Ghost Zone, he could try to open a portal.

You had to find a weakness in the fabric of space to open a portal. That's what he'd been told when he asked The Box Ghost, who was AMAZINGLY good at opening portals willy-nilly, when he was still a young ghost. Ah, how well he recalled those days. Blissful, carefree, and following Walker around as he taught him the Rules – which were ever-changing to suit his own whims.

His favorite part was when Walker had taken him along to watch him storm a ghost museum in the human world. He'd heard of it, but never seen it. And it was amazing what was inside. He had seen a purple-cloaked ghost looking around frantically before he shook his head and disappeared, and thinking about it, he had actually seen flashes of that purple ghost with the older Phantom ghost.

He had a name…Clockwork? Yes, Clockwork. One of the Old Ones, it was nearly impossible to see him. Most of the Old Ones vanished, but Clockwork remained ever vigilant. Why was Clockwork in the museum? What did he seek? And why wouldn't he have known if it was there or not before he went?

And, ah, the museum's curator – Nicholas Armbruster A.K.A. Skulker. He'd escaped with his life, but appeared three weeks later in the ghost zone, putting together a robotic body to hide his shameful tiny form. Vlad had offered to help him gather parts and weapons, so he could go on doing what he loved. In return, he had done many favors for him – like securing Daniel that fateful night when they first met. Oh, how he truly missed that boy. So full of life. Such fire. So strong-willed. He had to have it!

Still, dwelling on the past was not going to help him with his present. Vlad had slipped up, and now the world and Daniel were both out of his reach. He got off the asteroid and continued to float along, his mind focusing on his core to hopefully draw out any trace of that sliver of a threshold.

.

"So…Dan is living with Danny now?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow. "Do you think that's SAFE?"

"For who, Dan or Danny?" Tucker sighed, lowering his fork. "And anyways, Danny said he was just staying the night."

"If Danny has his way, he'll be there long-term." Sam poked at her broccoli. "So, when are you gonna make a move on Jazz?"

"Yeah, and get my ass beat by Danny for looking at his sister?" Tucker frowned, starting to eat again.

"You're his best friend, Tucker. Danny would be okay with it." Sam said, smiling. "You know, you could ask him for permission to date his sister first. Remember when Youngblood started flirting with Dani?"

"Danny kicked Youngblood's butt seven different ways and told him to stay away from his daughter." Tucker nodded. "Then Youngblood begged permission to court her, and even brought gifts and swore to never do anything bad again."

"Yeah. Speaking of which, where IS he?" Sam asked.

"Last I heard he was ferrying Ember and Skulker around the Ghost Zone and telling all our allies the bad news." Tucker replied. "Why does every dinner conversation involve ghosts? We sound like the Fentons over here. How's your day? How's the latest cause?"

Sam sighed. "Well, obviously the 'latest cause' has been put on hold with the crisis at hand." She looked at him. "My day was spent making sure that everyone knew what to do in case of emergency. Valerie's dad has opened up the underground shelters, which have walls that ghosts can't just phase through."

Tucker nodded. "That's good. And we have our own branch of Phantom's Army patrolling the streets – you know how crisis can drive people to lose it and commit crimes assuming that we're all gonna die, anyway."

"Actually, surprisingly, everyone is calm. I guess it helps that we don't have Pariah's Army at our borders." Sam frowned. "I don't know why, though. Why hasn't he attacked yet?"

"Not sure. Maybe we're being led into a false sense of security. The only evidence we have is Dan and Clockwork's word, and Plasmius and the Fright Knight showed up." Tucker sighed. "I'll have to find out if he's been active at all in the Ghost Zone. The fact that the Ghostwriter is involved is…wait." He set down his fork. "The Ghostwriter can alter reality."

"Yeah?" Sam blinked.

"So, we could have them at our doors and we wouldn't even know it. All he has to do is write that they are unseen and unheard by anyone." Tucker groaned. "I dunno, maybe I'm just being paranoid."

Sam sighed. "I don't know either. Danny didn't see anything while out there. Or even sense anything. If ghost energy was at work, wouldn't he know it?"

.

"Sam said, as she continued to eat." Ghostwriter murmured as he wrote in his book, chuckling.

"Having fun?" Plasmius asked.

"Oh, yes. The ghost shield does not protect them from my power." Ghostwriter looked up at him, smiling. "They're completely under my control."

"With the boy regaining his powers, I can't use our bond. Therefore, we must use your power to get one of his friends to think him so insane they find it unsafe to leave Pariah Dark's ring with him." Plasmius chuckled darkly. "Humans, so easy to toy with."

"And now you see where I get my enjoyment from." A purple-cloaked figure said, surprising Plasmius and making Ghostwriter look up. "Humans are the world's greatest source of entertainment, always changing."

"Gaea." Ghostwriter greeted. "How nice of you to actually come out of the shadows and join us. Are you going to make a move soon?"

"I'm still simply observing your actions." Gaea said calmly. "Tell me, do you think that if a half-ghost can pass through their shield, then an overshadowed person could?"

"Possibly." Plasmius said. "Then again, it could just be coded to ignore his ghost signature."

"I suggest we try that theory next chance we get." Gaea smiled. "I might have a candidate, but I have to go into the Real World for a little while first."

"Might?" Ghostwriter raised an eyebrow.

"Just keep writing, Writer. I'll find us our human." He waved a purple glove and vanished into a green portal.

Plasmius shrugged. "He always like that?"

"Yes, he is." Ghostwriter went back to his writing, chuckling.

.

Even blind, Clockwork could sense big changes approaching. He got up from his bed and went to the window, sighing. An Old One, perhaps more than one, was using their power. He hadn't felt that since Danny's first Christmas Truce. Hopefully Danny and Dan would be able to get through this, but he had a sinking suspicion who was the one that let Pariah Dark out in the first place.

"Hopefully he can't go through this shield…" He murmured. "I should go to the portal and access ghost energy to regain my sight." He went to the door, opening it and stepping out. While he could just phase through, Tucker had made it known he didn't want people just flying through doors and walls.

He walked down the hall silently, looking in at the dining room where Tucker and Sam were eating. "Tucker?"

Tucker looked over. "Yeah?"

"I'd like to gain access to the lab." Clockwork said calmly. "I think I can use it to gather enough ghost energy to regain my sight."

"Of course." Tucker nodded, getting up from his seat. "We'll take you there now."

Clockwork nodded, waiting as the two humans got up and walked over to him. He sensed an Old One using their power again and frowned, looking around.

"Actually, didn't Danny say that he didn't think it was safe for Clockwork to be near the Ghost Zone right now?" Sam said, looking at Tucker.

"When did he say…?" Tucker blinked, then nodded. "Oh yeah, he did say that."

'Someone's manipulating them.' Clockwork thought. 'I have to get to the portal!' He flew off the lab, ignoring Tucker's calls for him to come back.

Only one person could be changing what the humans were doing like that.

One of the only two Old Ones he knew still existed. And without his sight, he couldn't intervene!


It's called "Old" because of all the old people, get it? Lolololol.
Seriously, though. We got a look at what ol' Vlad is up to. Yay.
And Clockwork suspects something is wrong, so he's off to investigate!

Er...but I gotta tell you guys something. I'll be putting this aside until I've finish the next batch of "Are you Awake?" chapters, because I have been asked to continue it by certain people that didn't leave reviews but caught me in a livestream chatroom. And since I hate to disappoint them, "Powerless" and all the others will be put on hold while the Danny twins move on in their story.
Sorry for leaving you with this cliffhanger! *hides behind blast shield* ~ Zone