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Chapter Thirty Six
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"They were never of my creation."
A lone ghost floated on the divide between eternity and infinity, crystal clear eyes taking in the world that surrounded him, attention trained on the energy that swirled and moved around his being. Energy that held him much like a mother would to a beloved child.
"I am so old, little one. Older than your kind have words to describe… Those of my kind have children. So many children. Of mine I gave power, and protectors. Of others, however… Those who you faced were not of my creation." A picture formed in front of him, a twisting and writhing darkness that carried with it stagnation, and rage. "There is no stagnation in death. Words you yourself said, did you not?"
"Who are they?"
"Shades, shadows, and tricksters. Drifters from a world that is dying. They seek to destroy me, and make a new world for themselves. They have been trying since the beginning...which is why I made my guardians. To protect myself, and my children."
"...They failed."
"They were not suited to the turning of one of their own. For you, and yours, for those who have tasted defeat, and death, and loss… For you and yours who have lost so very much… You will be the protectors they could not be." The energy around him slowly drifted away, a warm laughter heard in his head. "You will succeed, where failure was. The past can never be repeated…
"So fight well, my protector."
Once more the world changed to stretch out forever, but there was no space here. Merely forests and woods that felt like they would never end. A place where nature ruled, and mankind could never trespass. A place where the old things dwelled, and where sleeping gods stirred. A lone girl stared at him, amused expression on her face as she tiredly looked him over. "You would be Danny Phantom, then."
"Funny, it seems everyone but me knows who I am, these days." Danny Phantom. The fighter. The ghost kid. The hero. The protector. The guardian. He was so used to being known, he wasn't even sure if that was who he was. "Can't say the same for you, though…"
"I'm a friend. Or...I will be." A quiet laugh, the girl looking at him in wry amusement. "For a Timekeeper, you are much more lost than I would have thought… We will meet again soon, Phantom, and I will tell you what I know."
"...Please don't tell me this is one of those bullshit prophetic dreams I'll understand in a moment of crisis... I'm really sick of those dreams." Another laugh, the girl covering her mouth before she got control of herself.
"Amusing, but no, not quite. I'm...a psychic. A human that is dying, and will soon become a ghost. I'm not too surprised to meet you in a dream, but I didn't expect it quite so soon…"
"Yeah, well, expect the unexpected, and all of that."
"As I've learned… Phantom, there's something you should know about the Worldbreaker-"
"He's Alvarro." A surprised look, Danny smiling bitterly. "Time visions. I wouldn't call myself a timekeeper, but, since my dad is one… Things slip in. Slip by. The truth…" How much had that truth cost him, he wondered. The truth of what had happened to the last council.
"Not...quite the truth." Danny gave her an odd look before hearing a sigh echo around the woods. It wasn't until he heard the sigh that he realized the woods were utterly silent. A silence that lingered and grew, and felt like it would never fade. "Alvarro...isn't… He's still there."
"Chained? Well, yeah, and we're kinda hoping we can keep it that way-"
"No. There's the Worldbreaker, and then there's...Alvarro. There's the Guardian of Fate, tucked away in a darkened corner of the mind, and fighting. Alvarro...isn't gone. He's still alive." Another sigh, the girl clutching one of her arms, and looking pained. "I'm really very sorry that this task falls to you, and that I ask so much...but if you kill the Worldbreaker like expected…
"You'll kill a very scared Alvarro."
Danny's gasp of surprise changed halfway through to a groan of pain and what the fuck. He knew he was going to be pretty out of it when he first woke up but ow. Forget dying, it felt like he had been run over by a couple of semi trucks and then stabbed by a couple thousand steak knives for good measure. And, really, that was the last time he went into the Shadow Clouds. ...By himself, at least.
"Being the highly intelligent person I am, I have deduced by your groan and sympathy inducing look of absolute agony that you're finally awake." It took a few long moments to place the voice, Danny relaxing at once and, right, okay. Mate. Safe. He was safe with his mate.
"Can I use the excuse it was to save the world? Or have I used that one too many times?" Even to himself he sounded utterly exhausted, and judging by the fact he couldn't even open his eyes, he was probably still a bit on the core exhaustion side. There was the vague sense of Andrew carefully prying one of his eyes open, Danny just barely wondering what he was doing before bright light and ow. "Ow. Goddammit- Ow, ow, ow- Stop that! Stop causing pain to mate!"
"Oh? And here I thought you liked pain," Andrew teased, flicking the light off anyways and carefully pulling the blanket up over Danny. "I'm going to assume that, judging by that scythe you brought back, you're officially Guardian of the Unknown, oui?"
A tired hum and nod - or at least as close to a nod as he could get - Danny biting back a yawn. "It's actually a really good story, and kinda funny, if you take out all the death, mass murder, and trauma." A quiet sigh, Danny relaxing more at the hand that brushed his bangs back gently, the sensation of a kiss being pressed to his forehead felt a second later. "So what's...diagnosis…or whatever..."
"Core exhaustion, which is going to feel like hell considering how much power your core can hold. How you used it all up, I have no idea. The shadows, most likely, didn't help either. I would assume that it would take a week or two to recover to your normal levels, and four to fully recover-" Andrew paused at seeing Danny was just barely listening to what he said, eyes mere slits and hand trying to make grabby motions for his. Or at least twitching in his direction.
Rolling his eyes, Andrew crawled into the bed next to him, curling around him and clasping the teen's hand with his own. "Go back to sleep, mon cher. I'm sure you could certainly use the rest, at this point." An uncertain look, Andrew smiling and kissing his cheek. "I won't leave. I promise."
A small nod, Danny curling up to his mate and slowly drifting off, and...there had been something he was supposed to tell Andrew… Right? Something about a world, and a strange girl with terrible news. But he couldn't...it was all so blurry, and he was so tired. Maybe...maybe just a small nap wouldn't hurt. Just a bit of rest.
Just a bit longer.
::
"The Worldbreaker needs to be dealt with." The voice that spoke was quiet and serious, Danny confusedly looking around for the source and seeing nothing but a beautiful field that stretched out in front of him, rolling hills sloping down to surround a pristine and crystal clear lake. "He will kill others as he did to my friends. He will imprison others as he did to me."
"Well, yeah, I figured that much out. See, thing is, I kinda...don't know what to do from here." A small step forward, and then back, and then… He had no idea what he was supposed to be doing. Some guardian he was turning out to be… "So, yeah, little feedback. Some advice. Maybe an idea or two. That- That would be pretty nice. And helpful. That would be nice and helpful."
"It is too risky to discuss this with you hear. Too many can slip in and out of dreams. Too many can listen, and watch, and carry information back… You must free me if I am to give you my aid. If we are to stop Alvarro, I must be released from my prison." Prison… The flash of a lance embedded in an ancient tree.
"You're...Aldora…" The Guardian of Destiny that had been sealed away for as long as the Worldbreaker. A guardian who was still watching, and listening, and waiting for a moment to escape. ...This moment. "How do I get you out." Because she was- Had been Alvarro's partner. If anyone had an idea on how to end this mess, and soon, it would be her.
"To wake me and free me we must first meet face-to-face. For that, you must find the staff that hides the dreamworld and changes it as it sees fit. You must search until you find the unending sea of blue where the sun never sleeps, and never sets, and water has never been. From there, the one coated in stars will guide you across the bridge."
"Right. Okay. Sea without water. Person made of stars. Bridge. That...yeah. That sounds easy. That- I can do that." He was doomed. "Don't suppose you have a road map, or something? Another bit of advice? Something besides a cryptic riddle from a fantasy book?!" An aggravated sigh, Danny crossing his arms. "Honestly. Haven't you ever heard of a straight answer?"
"Oh? And what would you know about being straight."
"...You're ten thousand years old. Stop making 21st century jokes. It's creepy, and unsettling." Instead of a response, the world around him merely shattered into pieces, the teen filled with the sense that he had just missed a step of a stair that he hadn't realized was there.
"Danny?" It took a few gasping breaths for Danny to realize that Andrew was leaning over him and looking worried, a hand soothingly running through his hair. "Are you alright, mon cher?"
"...You're very lucky I can't move, right now, or you would be hug tackled." A quiet laugh was the only reply, Danny huffing as he was carefully pulled into Andrew's lap. "I'm serious! Straight up hug tackled to the floor! And clung to! Fiercely!"
"Oui, oui, because we all know that you are very fierce," Andrew teased, scratching at Danny's spine, the teen slowly relaxing and leaning heavily against him. "You didn't answer my question." A few moments of silence, Danny giving a tired smile.
"Not really...but better, now that I have you holding me."
"...That was sappy."
"Well, I did have a good tutor."
And this...this was good. This friendly, playful banner that felt oh so familiar and comforting. A routine he could fall into as easy as breathing. This...this was very good. Relaxed and happy as he was, it took a few moments for him to notice he had bandages on him. Everywhere. He...he had bandages everywhere.
"...I'm curious, is there any place that wasn't bandaged?" Even his wings hadn't been spared, the feathers wrapped with bright white bandages in the worst of places where he remembered getting a few nicks. And...there was a smiley bandaid on one of them. That… "The bandaid is mocking me."
"Good, it's supposed to," Andrew nodded, settling back down on the bed, and the mountain of pillows, before slowly pulling the blanket over them. "Would you like to know how long you slept for?" A cautious nod. "Four days-"
"What?! Four days?!" A tiny snicker of laughter, Danny frowning and lightly punching Andrew in the stomach. It was more of a weak poke, than anything, really. "That was cruel."
"You deserved it for being gone for three days." Danny sighed dramatically, not really arguing because, okay… Might have deserved that. Pausing, he looked back up at Andrew with an accusing look, the man only raising an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"I haven't gotten a proper kiss from you, yet- No, stop that! Stop grinning! Dammit, Andy, I'm being serious!" Before he could complain more, Danny was blinking as he was pulled into a deep kiss, the teen relaxing at the familiar sensation at once. It was a few moments before he realized he was pressed against the bed with Andrew curled around him protectively, pressing kisses to every part of his skin. "You are being surprisingly doting. What did I do to earn this treatment?"
"Does it have to be suspicious for me to shower my mate with love and affection?" Andrew half asked back, still doing his best to spoil Danny rotten. Considering the teen was a limp pile of happy ghost, and maybe purring just a bit, he figured he was doing a good job. "Especially considering you've been asleep with a case of core exhaustion for near two days."
"...And I'm being spoiled instead of thrown out of Vidya? Daw, did someone miss me?" Blinking as Andrew only curled around him more, Danny gave a small sigh. "Sorry. It was kinda...blurry and time vision-y, at most points. Will it help if I told you that I couldn't stop thinking about you the whole time?"
"Mm, maybe it would help a bit," Andrew mused, nuzzling against Danny and blinking as he felt the teen shift before pressing something into his palm. Looking down to see a small quill charm, he gave a quiet laugh. "I was wondering if that would work."
"I'm very impressed that you made it past that crazy blocking energy in the Shadow Clouds," Danny nodded, tucking himself closer to Andrew and humming happily, nuzzling against him because five days without Andrew cuddles. "It also...helped. It helped a lot."
"So it would seem. Is there any chance you'll be telling me what you faced? Or are you withholding information so I don't faint from shock."
"...Yes. Besides, I think I'll wait until I tell everyone at once. Then they'll be witnesses to my murder. So, what's been going on here in the last few days that I've missed?" A quiet silence, Danny narrowing his eyes. "Aaandy. What are you keeping from me…"
"You know, mon cher, I think you could use some more rest. Doesn't that sound lovely? Rest? And silence?"
"...Only because I'm still very tired. But I will find out." More cuddles first, though. Definitely more cuddles. And maybe think on figuring out that riddle because really…
Danny had a feeling they were going to need Aldora sooner than expected.
More of a transition chapter, but at least Andrew and Danny are back together again. Co dependent nerds.