Danny and Vlad walked leisurely over to the others. Both were tired, particularly Danny, and aching, Vlad more so than Danny.
"So, what's our next step Phantom?" Betty inquired, trying to get back into the usual routine of things. Danny shook his head.
"That's all the ghosts taken care of. Do what you guys want. Find family. Call people out of town. Rest. Or help clean up. I don't mind. But… I'm not going to be around for a while. So, just do what you've been doing for the last week. Thank you for picking up the slack when I wasn't around also," Danny answered. Betty and the previous hostages nodded, a few giving wary bows unsure how to behave around the new king, before they filtered away. Valerie also left promising to meet up with Danielle later after checking on her father.
"Why aren't you going to be around?" Danielle asked immediately.
"Because I have to go into the Ghost Zone and get used to being king," Danny replied evenly. Maddie, Sam, Steven and Danielle immediately began to protest. Danny held up his hands for silence.
"I've made up my mind about this. And it won't be forever. I want to stay in the Ghost Zone for about a month and see how the ghosts spend their time," Danny interjected to calm them down.
"Why a month?" Steven inquired quickly.
"It took me a month to get used to being half-ghost. I think it's a good amount of time," Danny answered with a shrug.
"Why do you have to go in the first place?" Sam complained with an upset pout. Danny smiled softly at his girlfriend.
"Because I've never stayed there before. I've gone for a few hours maybe a day or so in the past but I've always been busy. I go in, go where I need to go, do what I need to do and leave. I don't know what it's like to be in the Ghost Zone. If I'm going to be its king, I need to know," Danny reasoned calmly.
"Danny, are you sure it's a good idea to go so soon?" Maddie began. Danny turned to his mother.
"Mom, I need to do this. Putting it off isn't going to change that," Danny replied.
"But straight after such a gruelling fight? Danny, you're exhausted. Don't you think you should take a few hours and wait until tomorrow before leaving? Amity Park is in ruins and you're going to leave," Maddie desperately debated, trying to discourage her son. Danny glanced to the crater where Pariah Dark fell to earth. He sighed.
"Mom, I know why you don't want me to go. But… I have to do this. Danny Phantom can't do much about the damages to the town. So there isn't much point in me being here. This is important. I don't want to go but I have to do this. If I'm going to be king, I'm going to take it seriously. It's only a month," Danny decided.
Two hours later, since Maddie insisted on preparing a meal for everyone and waiting for Jazz and Jack to join them, they were all standing in front of the Fenton Works ghost portal. Dumbledore turned to Danny and fingered the time medallion around his neck which had been hidden by his long white beard until now.
"Danny, how does this medallion work? I was told that when I was finished here, I simply had to remove it," Dumbledore inquired. Danny smiled.
"When you take it off, your ties to this time line will be broken and you'll be transported back to your time. The medallion will stay here. I dunno about where you'll pop back up in your present or how much time will have passed. That's Clockwork's business. But I'll make sure to get it back to him for you," Danny answered. Dumbledore smiled gratefully.
"Well then, I'll take my leave. It was my absolute pleasure and privilege to meet all of you. I wish you all well, particularly you Danny with hopefully your long and prosperous reign as king. And Harry, thank you for assuring me that all my plans work out," Dumbledore announced with twinkling eyes and a warm smile. Harry bit his lip.
"Sir, I just… I have to tell you. What we look for the night you died… it was a fake," Harry blurted out, having to inform his past teacher of the injustice of his coming sacrifice. Dumbledore frowned.
"Did the fake help you find the real one?" Dumbledore asked with an angry edge to his voice, clearly upset with Harry for defying his wishes. Harry nodded.
"It did but-" Harry started. Dumbledore held up a hand.
"Then it is a necessary action. Harry, I appreciate your attempt to correct that wrong, but if what I do during that event enables you to become a step closer to defeating Voldemort, then I will gladly make that move. As you know full well, my death is a key part of my future plans. I cannot be saved," Dumbledore interrupted sternly. Harry closed his mouth feeling very scolded and nodded sadly.
"I'm sorry Professor," Harry mumbled. Dumbledore softened his expression.
"I understand your concern Harry. But you cannot change the past, correct Danny?" Dumbledore concluded shooting the halfa a small smile. Danny nodded.
"Right. One tiny change can have massive consequences. Trust me on this. It's best to leave the past alone," Danny confirmed. Everyone frowned at him.
"How do you know that?" Jared asked. Danny shuffled uncomfortably.
"Well, I may have once asked Clockwork to send me back in time to reverse something and ended up messing up the present completely. I changed one thing and ended up never being born, Fenton Works was never founded. Thankfully Clockwork fixed it," Danny admitted nervously.
"What did you change?" Harry inquired curiously. Danny avoided everyone's eye.
"Oh, nothing important. Something silly actually. Forget I mentioned it," Danny attempted to deflect the question. Vlad narrowed his eyes dangerously, still in ghost form.
"Daniel," he growled warningly. Danny ignored the older halfa.
"Tell us what you changed," the older halfa added sternly. Danny turned to the portal.
"So while I'm gone only open the portal in emergencies. You have the boo-merang if you really need to find me as well," Danny changed the subject.
"Daniel! What in blazes did you change that was so awful?!" Vlad shouted. Danny sighed, knowing he wasn't getting away with avoiding the question. He turned to Vlad.
"Remember the ecto-acne?" Danny asked.
"I don't see why that is relevant," Vlad hissed. The others backed away slightly sensing an argument. Danny rolled his eyes.
"Because it was the reason I went back. I went back to prevent your accident so you'd never get that illness and pass it on to Sam and Tucker," Danny retorted stiffly. Vlad blinked in surprise. Danny huffed his rising temper away.
"I went back, stopped you getting blasted by that prototype portal and stopped Vlad Plasmius ever being created. But it didn't work like I hoped. Dad got blasted instead. You married mom and everyone was miserable. Well, you weren't but… you know I still don't get it. You were the new dairy king in Wisconsin. But mom wanted to experiment and you didn't want her to. It was messed up. Clockwork erased my meddling," Danny recounted. Everyone was speechless for a few moments before Vlad scowled.
"You messed with my past!" Vlad yelled furiously. Danny yelped in alarm as the older halfa lunged at him. Danny swiftly dodged and froze the older halfa in a block of ice.
"Let him cool off in there for a few hours. So um… Dumbledore, I'll take that medallion and go," Danny remarked. Dumbledore paused before nodding and grasped the medallion around his neck ready to take it off.
"Harry, take care and I wish your family all the best. Pass on my well wishes to Hermione and Ronald," Dumbledore concluded before slipping the jewellery over his head and into Danny's waiting hand. In a flash of blue light, the elderly wizard was returned to his time. Danny slipped the medallion over his head, mindful of the crown and turned to the portal.
"Oh, when Vlad gets out of that ice, tell him he didn't have powers in that alternate timeline and mom divorced him once dad admitted he loved her. See ya in a month," Danny called over his shoulder before grabbing a small bag with a few provisions such as clothes for his human half, extra thermos just in case and a few long shelved snacks. With one last smile and wave, Danny stepped through the portal.
Everyone left in the lab glanced at the huge block of ice.
"Should we help him?" Jared asked, gesturing to Vlad.
"Better leave him for a bit. You know to cool off. He'll be fine. He was once froze in ice for like a day and he was fine," Sam decided. They all nodded. Jack turned to the control panel and locked the portal.
"Guess I should check on my parents," Tucker commented and took his leave.
"And I should go find the I.G.A. members here and do all that paperwork," Steven added, leaving with Tucker. Harry nodded.
"Jared and I can go through the Ghost Zone right? We'll wait a couple of hours before going," Harry suggested. Maddie nodded in consent and they filed out of the lab, leaving Vlad stuck in ice mid-lunge at a now absent Danny.
Danny shifted his bag a little more comfortably on his shoulder and watched the portal lock itself down. With a steadying sigh, Danny began to fly towards the Far Frozen. The crown was still concerned about him as he was still feeling the effects of the fight with Pariah Dark. But it was also comforting Danny as he was nervous and apprehensive about staying in a place he'd always deemed extremely dangerous. And he was also nervous because he was going to be all alone during the stay. Before long the Far Frozen came into view and Danny landed in the village. The resident ghosts watched Danny with awe and curiosity. He paid them no mind though and walked with purpose to Frostbite's throne room.
Frostbite was sitting in his icy throne seemingly waiting for the halfa. The moment Danny entered the large furry ghost jumped to his feet and gave an elaborate bow. Danny rolled his eyes.
"Frostbite, you don't need to do that. You're my friend," Danny protested. Frostbite straightened before smiling.
"My king, it is custom to bow to your leaders. Therefore I should show my respect and loyalty to you by doing so," Frostbite stated calmly. Danny sighed. This was going to take some getting used to and he could already tell that Frostbite wasn't going to drop it any time soon. After all he still called him Great One after all these years of being friends.
"My king, what can I do for you as your humble servant? The Far Frozen is at your service," Frostbite boomed with an inclination of the head. Danny swallowed down yet another protest at the new title.
"I want to spend some time in the Ghost Zone. And I need to figure out what to do with Undergrowth, Nocturne and Pariah Dark. I'd also like to have a word with Walker and how he runs his prison. Do you mind if I stay here while I do that?" Danny explained.
Frostbite grinned and shook his head.
"Certainly not my king. You are and have always been welcome in this realm. I will have a room organised for you to use as you see fit and I'll send a courier to fetch some food from Princess Dora. Anything you require or desire will be provided my king," Frostbite agreed happily.
Within a couple of hours, Danny, with Frostbite at his side, was flying to the Ghost Zone's prison to have a word with the warden. Danny wanted to give every ghost present in the prison a fair and just trial and their sentences re-evaluated. He knew from experience how unjust Walker could be. He also wanted to establish an archive of all prisoners for two reasons. One was purely selfish, he wanted a record of all the ghosts in the Ghost Zone prone to causing trouble available to him should the I.G.A or himself ever need it. But the second was more for the ghosts. Having a record in place and strict rules would mean that fewer ghosts would be arrested without a proper reason and given ridiculous charges, such as Danny's own primary sentence of being imprisoned for one thousand years due to being in possession of Real World items and driving an illegal vehicle. It didn't take long for Danny to force the warden to obey him. The warden wasn't happy in the slightest in having all his prisoners questioned and their sentences potentially rescinded.
And Danny starts his stay in the Ghost Zone.
So the next chapter will be a time skip of a month.
But will Danny still be able to propose to Sam? And any ideas how he'll do it?
Let me know what you guys think of the story so far.
Well, the poll is closed now. The winner will be announced on my facebook page tomorrow with an ad for the upcoming fanfic. Check it out. There's a link in my bio.
Until the next chapter.
