A bit of a longer chapter than the last one. Hope you enjoy! It's more of a recap of what's happened the past ten or so chapters, for those lost or confused. There's a lot going on in this story, after all!

Warnings for : plot, recaps, fillers, getting grounded

Also please consider pledging to MY so I can keep making you guys wonderful stories! - com/mjanderson

youtuberepeater com/watch?v=1oAn81h21aQ

Chapter Thirty Eight

::

"Alright, End Of The World Avoidance meeting now begins!"

"Can we vote on a leader that's not sitting in someone's lap? I feel like that's something we should do." Tucker's words only got him a pillow thrown at his face, the teen huffing and throwing it back at Danny. Andrew caught it before it could hit, letting it instead flop onto his mate's stomach. "Using assassin mate boyfriend person is cheating."

"Play to win," Danny snickered, cuddling closer to Andrew, still mending from...from everything, if he was being honest. It had been a few days since his trip into the Shadow Clouds, and he had finally been okayed by Andrew and Jazz to move around again, and call a 'meeting' to order. "So, let's go over what we know!"

"Well, we know Aldora tried to contact you in your dreams and warn you about some 'ancient evil' waking up. We now know that ancient evil to be the Worldbreaker, aka a complete and utter dick," Sam hummed, flipping through papers on her lap, legs propped up in Tucker's lap, and body leaning against Valerie, who hardly seemed to notice.

"We know Umbra was the last Guardian of the Unknown before you, and that someone named Alvarro betrayed the Council," Valerie pointed out, slightly snorting. "Whatever that means."

"We know the Worldbreaker is tied up to the Council, and he's the one who got them destroyed," Randy pipped in, sitting curled up in a chair, pencil scratching across the paper almost furiously, trying to find some way around the portal crisis. Luckily he was very good with calculations, but even then… "Worldbreaker is a dick."

"We know if the Council of Twelve doesn't reform soon, the Spirit World will begin to fall apart," Jazz sighed, at the table with Clockwork, papers spread out all around them. Clockwork looked two steps away from tearing them all to pieces, while Jazz looked ready to help and then set fire to them. "Most likely because of the Worldbreaker, although we don't know specifics, quite yet."

"We know the Fenton ghost portals are what originally began the tears between the worlds, and what caused things to become so unstabilized," Andrew hummed, flipping through pages himself as he scratched at Danny's scalp, the teen happily helping him go through the papers.

"Don't forget the three portals the Guys-in-White are building, as well as the army to go along with it," Tucker snorted, pausing to rub at his eyes. Even for him, staring at a screen too long became tiring. "Overall? A lot of not good things."

"So, Danny dearest, what did you learn on your trip into the Shadow Clouds?" Sam asked, glancing over to Danny. She had to raise an eyebrow at seeing him suddenly look nervous. "Tell."

"That was not a question or request," Randy pointed out, holding his hands up peacefully at the glare. "Alright, alright. I guess we do need to know." A small nudge to Danny from where he was on the armchair closest to their couch. "What happened?"

"Oo, wow...what didn't happen," Danny snorted to himself, holding a hand out for silence as he thought it all over. "Okay! First things first, the Worldbreaker's actual name is Alvarro. He was a corrupted spirit. He was also the Guardian of Fate."

"I suppose now we know how Alvarro betrayed the Council," Jazz sighed, pulling a paper out on the original document Danny had found that started this whole mess. "Corrupted, you said?"

"Yeah, okay, um… See, there's this other world that also parallels this one, right? Those shadows- Well, they're not really shadows, it's just what they look like when they cross over into the Spirit World. But see, enough of them slipped out and managed to corrupt Alvarro. Well, Umbra and Alvarro were like brothers, so when Alvarro kinda snapped, he went to kill Umbra, but Umbra didn't fight back because how could he.

"So after that Alvarro went on a rampage because he saw what he had done, and he destroyed this ancient city and the other Guardians. But see, two of them escaped, Clockwise and the former Guardian of Dreams, Dusk." A shudder from Clockwork at the name. Ugh, that spirit… "But the Guardian of Destiny, Aldora, she managed to seal him to the Spirit World to keep him from destroying anything else. Alvarro, he did the same thing, trapping and sealing her in the Black Woods. She's been trying to contact me but she can't say much because apparently Alvarro- The Worldbreaker can slip into my dreams as well.

"And, well, this all happened in a single day. Thousands killed, the Council destroyed, and the Spirit World shattered in a way it had never been. Also the Guardians, specifically the one who guards Unknown, are jailers to the Gate of the Unknown, the place where the shadows seep out, that they try to keep bordered up so they can protect this world.

"I learned all that through time visions and- Okay, after that I arrived at Umbra's old lair and castle? I ended up facing an illusion version of Dan except there were some tricky words said to me and I almost kinda lost my mind and everything but then Andy shifted reality enough to give me a sign that Dan was lying about killing you all and burning Vidya and Andy to death-" A pause, Danny digging under his scarf to pull out a chain necklace that he had attached the quill charm to. "After that I ended up facing a shade of Umbra, who filled in the rest of the gaps and who I had to fight in order to get the scythe." A gesture to said weapon, resting on the back of the couch. "And then there were some visions about my death, your guys' death, and Andy's death which may have also almost broken me and then there was another shadow attack and that's when Randy and Andy found me."

After he finished, there was a rather horrified silence from everyone, Danny more amused than anything as Andrew tucked him under his chin, curling around him and letting out a broken little, "Nooo."

"Alright, to be fair, it wasn't that bad-"

"Petit mec, just...just stop talking," Randy groaned, covering his face and looking as pained as Andrew. "How did I get two danger-prone brothers. Can't I just have one nice little brother who does everything I tell him?"

"Pat," Danny grinned, patting the man's head as best he could, Andrew still wrapped around him. "But, yes, that's what I learned, and all. So on top of dealing with the Worldbreaker, we also have to deal with the Guys-in-White army, as well as a horrible threat from another world that we still don't fully understand."

"Daniel." Danny looked back at hearing Clockwork, expression curious. "You're grounded."

"Aw, but-"

"Grounded," Jazz glared, Danny going silent and sticking his tongue out. "How do you even- How do you get wrapped up in these situations?! Do you know how dangerous that all was?! You could have been killed! Again!" A snort of laughter, Jazz snapping and trying to throw a pen at his head. Clockwork, luckily, was quick to remove it before it could also be used to stab someone.

"It's alright, my dear, at least he's back," Clockwork soothed, smiling fondly. Danny only narrowed his eyes, tugging on Andrew's shirt and tilting his head back towards the two of them. Andrew followed the tilt, rolling his eyes and nodding. Danny nodded as well, throwing a pillow at Tucker, who yelped at the sudden, unexpected impact.

"You owe me $20."

"Aw, what! You only said $10!"

"You doubled it because you were confident." Danny grinned in victory as Tucker grumbled and took his wallet out, Sam raising an eyebrow at him. "What? It's like a family thing, at this point. Making bets on those we love. It's how we show affection."

"Yes, by betting against the other," Andrew snickered, kissing away Danny's pout. The teen only gave a huff after he realized he was grinning in sappy adoration. Honestly, his mate was just too unfair to him.

"Alright! Anyways, we know that the shadows are still locked away for now, so what we really need to concentrate on is taking down the Worldbreaker and the Guys-in-White, preferably before the later get those portals working and ends up freeing Alvarro." Danny sighed, sinking down in Andrew's hold. "Is it too late to go back to high school and pretend this was all a really trippy dream?"

"It's summer," Valerie pointed out, smirking at Danny's groan of pain. "For now, we'll want to focus on the Guys-in-White, since they're the biggest threat at the moment- Have any of you seen any other ghosts?" Danny blinked at the random question, opening his mouth to answer before pausing and falling silent. All the ghosts he had seen...were in this room- Them and the Observants.

"...No, actually," Randy frowned, looking confused. "I usually see about a dozen a day, but now I'm seeing no one… I'll look into it, go to the usual gathering places. See if everyone's hiding because of what went down...possible they fled into the human world, like with Pariah-"

"Yes, but not many of them are subtle, are they?" Andrew pointed out, looking a bit concerned at the situation. Hundreds of ghosts just...gone? "They'd be on the news within a day, and these four would know if they were in Amity Park…"

"True...I'll check the kingdoms and greater clans, first, then," Randy sighed, standing up and lightly stretching, setting his notebook on Andrew's head, who shook it off with a huff, Danny catching it in amusement. "Dora's kingdom, Far Frozen, and a few of the other places nearby to start with. Ta!" A flash and Randy was gone, Danny looking back to Cockwork in curiosity.

"Have you seen anything?" He took the sour look and grumble as a no. "Alright, so for now we still need a bit of recon on the Guys-in-White," Danny sighed, looking to his friends. "If you guys break into anymore bases? Try not to get your hair chopped off-"

"Hey! Clockwork fixed it!"

"Pixie cut is not your style."

"Why you little-"

::

"Unending sea of blue where the sun never sleeps…" Danny quietly sighed, slumping further against Sasha, soaking up sunlight in the garden as he absently stared at the skylight. He had been trying to figure out Aldora's riddle but...it wasn't an easy task.

"Danny?" The teen looked up at seeing a plate of cookies held in front of him. Raising an eyebrow, he looked to Andrew in confusion. "I've found fresh cookies tend to help."

"You know how to bake cookies?" Danny asked, leaning into Andrew's side as he took a seat beside him, plate set on the ground. "I must admit, I did not know that about you." A hum, the teen taking one of the cookies and biting into it, eyes widening. "Oh my god...it's just like the ones Clockwork has- How-"

"They're my mother's recipe." At the startled look, Andrew laughed and kissed the teen's forehead. "It was a recipe she taught me when I was still little, before she died. According to Clockwork, he says they're the only ones in all the timelines that 'soothe your worries and troubles'. I figured now would be a good time to make some." He had expected a clinging hug, or sarcastic comment. He was not expecting the full out tackle to the ground and hard, possessive kiss he was dragged into. Not that he was in anyway against it.

"Have I told you how crazily in love with you I am, lately?" Danny grinned brightly, pressing more kisses to his mate, who only laughed and hugged him closer.

"Mm, I suppose it could stand to be mentioned a few more times." Andrew pulled the teen into another kiss, parting to snuggle closer against him, Danny humming happily and finally relaxing for the first time and what felt like...a very long time.

"So, random question, do you know about a blue sea where suns don't sleep?" He took the baffled look as a no. "Riddle Aldora gave me to try and find this...this staff to try and contact her so she can tell me how to free her. Thing is, she said it hides the dreamworld, so I'm thinking Guardian of Dreams-" Guardian of Dreams...Dreams. Clockwork had once mentioned his mentor had a 'friend' who tutored his own pupil in the ways of dreams. And he knew only one ghost that could enter another's dreams.

"Danny?" Andrew curiously blinked but returned the kiss he was given anyways, looking amused. "Figured something out?"

"Yes, and you're brilliant, and perfect for inspiration, mon ange." Danny grinned brightly, snatching another cookie and jumping up. "Come on! We need to go see Nocturne!"

Coated in stars, huh? Now just to find this 'unending sea of blue'...

As you can tell, the story is starting to really diverge from where it was going last time around. (If you even remember last time, it's been so long!)