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by Ithic Ascendant

It's one thing after another. A cosmic freak, caught halfway between life and death. Lies at the worst time, hidden truths long buried surfacing. Everything he thinks he knows comes into question. As Danny Fenton dies, but not all the way, a series of events is set in motion. The young man faces hardships not faced by any on the planet, slowly shaping him into something more. DP AU

22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Frenemies

As fun as it was blasting rich snobs with cannon sized paintballs, Ember had been dead long enough to recognize things. The subtle change in atmosphere, a pressure difficult to describe, and the ancient feeling that had cropped up out of nowhere. A malice so thick it's suffocating.

All the fun they were having seemingly vanished into thin air, the ghouls moaned in fright, and then the sound. Everything was quiet, the people they were 'playing' with stopped shooting back, and out of nowhere, Halloween became real. Literally. A storm brewed rapidly, lightning striking around non-stop. Inanimate objects turned into monsters, and people ran in actual terror. Out of the corner of her eye, Ember saw some poor sap that was missing all of his hair get zapped by a stray bolt. He quickly grew in height, grew fur everywhere that wasn't the top of his head, and started smashing a mailbox nearby.

"Kid." Her tone was stern and serious, all the playfulness from earlier gone. Youngblood turned around to face her, his smile gone. He noticed her look and nodded in turn, as a ghost, he could feel it too.

"What's happening Ember?" The rocker looked around, concerned and on edge.

The rock star shook her head, "Not sure pipsqueak, not sure, but I think I've felt this before…" her eyes narrowed before panic started making its way through her body. "Oh. Oh fuck."

She whirled around and knelt down to eye level with the tiny pirate captain. "Listen tiny, and I mean listen. Something scary is coming, and Imma need you to take my advice. Don't, no matter what, get hit by the sword, okay?"

Youngblood bit his lip, now far more nervous than before. "What's going on Ember? What's happening?"

Ember forced a smile and patted his head, standing up at the same time. "An old ghost is coming, a hostile one. Fright Knight." The boys' eyes widened, he had heard of the spirit of Halloween, horror stories really, but never expected to meet him, especially in the mortal realm.

Seeing his understanding, she continued, "No matter what, when you see him, run. I don't know why he's here, but you can't be associated with him. Seeing your ship, he might try and recruit you by force. Or end you. That's a bad end buddy. So you and your crew need to run. Now."

The ghost child shook his head in defiance, vehemently. He pulled on her arm, desperately hoping he could change her mind. "No! We can go together! Come on, le-"

Neeeiiiiigh!

Too late.

The clouds of the night sky parted with great force, revealing the Fright Knight himself, atop his horrible steed: Nightmare. His blade, Soul Shredder, was burning and crackling with fire and lightning. Even though she knew what was happening, it still made Ember cringe. Even if he tried to leave now, Youngblood wouldn't make it far. The spirit of Halloween wasn't known for being merciful, he was known for hunting down those in his way.

A brutal butcher for a mad king, hell bent on spreading chaos and fear.

And he was flying down right towards them. This night just went from great and fun, to awful and fucked. Ember bit her lip, and turned back to the kid. "Listen buddy, fuck the ship. Get out of here. Hide."

Still, he protested. "But-"

"I said I'd be your babysitter for tonight," Ember cut him off, stern but caring, "and a babysitter keeps the kid safe. Kitty would kill me if I let you get hurt." She smiled at him, a strained one, "So please, go!"

The scared ghost child was torn, he didn't want to leave her, but every instinct from his core was screaming at him to run. Bones landed on his shoulders, even more shaken than he was. "Youngblood, you gotta leave. Listen to the singer, and go! I'll come with you, and the boys will help her." He flew off a bit, flapping his featherless wings, "We gotta go!"

With one last glance, Youngblood made to get away. A slash of fire burned through the air before he could, cleaving through the sails and mast with ease and descending down to the road below. The sails burned bright green, and the mast crashed into the deck, crushing several ghouls instantly. That wasn't enough damage to destroy them, but they'd be out of the fight for a while. The asphalt below melted under the undead heat, but luckily the fire didn't grow.

Fright Knight had arrived. "You will not be going anywhere child." His gaze turned to the undead rocker, anger rittling his voice, "and YOU! I remember you, wench. You trespassed into the kings' territory years ago. You had luck on your side then, but I still have time to spare this eve, unlike back then!"

Nightmare beat its wings threateningly, and Fright Knight pointed his weapon down towards Ember, "I shall see to your execution post-haste, woman."

Strumming her guitar, Ember laughed at him with false confidence. "I'd like to see you try, dipstick. All I gotta do is stay away from you till morning." The knight bristled in fury.

She took a step back, and whispered to the kid. "I'll distract him, go!"

Youngblood nodded, and his slingshot hook was replaced with a long barrel and an old reflector sight. Like the cannon his peg leg could turn into, this modification fired ecto-infused cannonballs. And he had it aimed right at the spirit of Halloween.

With practiced agility, the dial on her guitar was switched to a skull and she let loose a harsh riff while jumping back. She floated away as the sound waves bombarded Fright Knight and his steed. Loud and destructive as they were, a simple purple shield stopped the sonic attack in its wake. The waves of energy dispersed, splattering across the purple energy and splintering the wood below his steed.

Youngblood flew away with a look of fear on his face, trailing just behind Ember and blasting his cannons. Both peg-leg and hook cannon fired shot after shot. The impact forced the knights advancement to a stop, but the shield held nonetheless. The cannonballs exploded into bits of fading ectoplasm on contact, dispersing in the night air.

"Peasants!" Fright Knight called, "I shall have you pay for your insolence," swinging his sword back, purple and green fire intertwined, "with your afterlife!" The blade swung forward, true and infernal, and a blaze of verdant and lavender twirled towards the two ghosts.

The younger ghost yelped in fright and backpedaled, putting everything he had into but large enough to carry his master. Without having to worry about his movement, a retreat. For added effect, his parrot transformed into a manta-ray, skeletonized, Youngblood returned fire at the dark knight. The fire absorbed the shots, engulfing them with little difficulty. Ember countered with her own fire, the ponytail erupted and swarmed around her in a whirlwind, and launched to intercept.

The two attacks met, and Ember's cyan fire was being quickly overpowered. She started playing her guitar again, floating back the whole time. Visible sound waves impacted the inferno and combined with her fire, buffing the attack and bringing the collision to a stalemate. Seeing an opportunity, the ghost child swapped from cannon shots to ecto-rays. Red energy formed in the barrels of his peg-leg and hook-gun, before firing and meeting at the epicenter of the spectral clash.

The attacks imploded on one another, and both of the ghosts under assault began to retreat back towards the portal. Both kept sending attacks back at the cloud of multi-colored smoke, hoping to stall for any amount of time. Rays and sound waves bombarded the smokescreen, but all were batted away with ease.

Fright Knight emerged more angry than ever, casually deflecting shots non-stop. Deciding to forgo attacks with her artifact, she flipped it around and used it as a board for extra speed. Now leaving behind the ghost ship, it creaked and cracked as it burned. Without its master to support it, the ship fell to the ground, crashing into the street and adding fuel to the fire, literally. The sea of green flames consumed the ship, ghostly wood and all, the ghouls on it left to burn. They would reform, like the ship, so long as Youngblood actually made it away from this fight.

The boy wouldn't be playing pirate anytime soon, however.

Bones, the ghostly assistant, pushed his limits as his captain returned fire. Oh, how this whole night went to shit. It was going well, too. With another guardian there for the boy, his job was immensely easier, his annoyance levels far lower than normal. Plus, the pranks they were pulling were marvelously entertaining. The small firefight was a blast- literally- as well. He almost felt, dare he say it, alive!

Then Fright showed up. Samhain, as he was known to few, is not someone anyone anywhere ever wants to meet. The murderous specter is far too powerful for his own good, arrogance to back it and then some, and down right homicidal. The number of ghosts that have met their end from his sword and power, not even counting his master, was far more than any spirit was comfortable with.

And here he fucking is, chasing them. The currently a manta-ray assistant felt the need to voice his opinion, "We're doomed! We need help if we even hope to have a chance of getting away!"

Ember shot a glare at the skeleton, "Less whining, more running! Why don't you help a little besides bolting with a tail between your legs!"

Bones attempts to stutter out a response, but when Youngblood screeches out a fear filled 'Incoming!', he's forced to dive right as another arc of energy slices over where they just were. Ember dived the opposite direction, using her guitar like a skateboard and kick-flipping a burst of fire and sound back at their pursuer. Of course, the enraged spirit was no more pleased than before, and continued to rain attacks at them, unconcerned.

It didn't take long for them to gain altitude, with their assailant being a good motivator for escape. Waves of fire, energy slashes, and stray violet ecto-blasts flew past them and illuminated the Hallows Eve night sky. Flashes of their battle showed through the clouds; bright blue and red battled malevolent purple and acid green for dominance, but it was obvious what the winning colors were.

The clouds provided little visual cover, as sparse as they were, and Fright Knight had no problem following them with malicious intent. Following, however, is something he had no desire to do anymore at the moment. He had had enough of that for one day.

When Ember and Youngblood split in a deep dive, he made his choice. The siren would die, and the brat could come later. At least the Halfa from before put up more of a resistance than these two, and his aggression was admirable, even if an abomination he was.

"Stop running wench, and accept the inevitable!" Nightmare folded its wings in the dive, and the fire from its hooves increased in volume, pluming behind them in a fiery trail.

Ember took a peak over her shoulder and nearly sputtered out of control then and there. Now feet away, she had to pull up and switch tactics. With no small amount of panic, she gripped the neck of the guitar and turned. Blue and green energy burned around the body of her artifact, solidifying into a buzzing blade. Now with axe in hand, she swung with all the momentum and inertia she had been building from her descent.

Although she was hoping to decapitate the Halloween reject, she honestly didn't expect to. As cocky and inflated her ego was, she wasn't dumb. She knew Fright was well versed in the arts of war, and he had far too much experience to fall to such an admittedly simple trick. With deft skill, their weapons chambered off of each other in a passing blow, and the knight flicked his hand, dislodging her balance and sending her into a temporary tumble.

Before her opponent could capitalize on her stumble, fire exploded from the back of her guitar, letting her launch away at the last moment. Ember wiped the sweat away from her brow at the close call, eyeing just how uncomfortably close she got to getting decapitated. Or teleported to that freaky dimension his creepy sword is connected to. Neither were fates the rock star wanted, she had many plans to continue her eternal afterlife, and this spirit of Hallows-bullshit was not a part of them.

Happy the kid got away, but still up shits creek, Ember snarled. Even though she didn't need to, she exhaled to calm herself, and let the energy loose. If she had a crowd cheering her name, a really big one too, maybe she could fight him for a while. Probably not, he was too old and powerful for that, but she was stubborn like that. So stubborn in fact, that she still chose to fight even now.

Not that she could get away anyways.

But as her guitar glowed blue with her special brand of fire, and her eyes turned red, she braced herself. Maybe, just maybe, if she stalled long enough, that goody-goody Phantom would show. With babypops help, she at least had a snowball's chance in hell of making it out of this. She hated having to rely on hero-boy like this, but until then, she would fight.

As her hair grew in size and temperature, Fright Knight closed the distance, and she charged forward with a melodic battle cry. Their weapons, both artifacts of power, clashed again, sending waves of multi-colored fire in every direction.

The night was young, and the rocker had a knight of horror to hold off.

---

Far away, now out of immediate danger, Youngblood could feel his core pulsing painfully in his chest. He looked down at his manta-ray mount, noticing the rabid and paranoid look in his partner's eyes. His assistant, Bones, was far older than both Ember and him combined, and he obviously knew what they had just gotten into. Or rather out of. "Bones."

His friend didn't seem to hear him, frantic eyes still scanned the passing surroundings. "Bones!" He called louder, and actually made it through to him. His specter mount jolted, frightened from the call, but calmed down soon after.

Now out of his terror driven tunnel vision, but still scared shitless, he properly responded. "What is it Youngblood? We can't stop, not with him behind us!"

The red-eyed ghost child had never heard his friend so scared. Frightened. He could feel it, deep down, but he still wanted answers. Their height had lowered, now above passing streets and heading into town. "Who was that?! Ember said it was Fright Knight. Did she mean… the evil guy who helped the ghost king?"

As funny as it was to see a skeletal manta-ray nod its head, now wasn't the time to laugh. "Yes. She was right on the money. Samhain, or Fright Knight as he is more commonly known, is not something either of us will be able to handle. Ever. We were lucky to get out of there."

That still didn't make him feel any better. They had practically left Ember to deal with that guy, and they were barely fairing when the three of them were together. The way Bones practically whimpered saying that name didn't help his nerves either! "What about Ember? We can't just leave her there! We have to help her, or- or-"

"Or nothing!" Bones interrupted, "We can't do anything to him! The spirit of Halloween is far too powerful on a regular day, much less his day!" The boney specter laughed bitterly, "And we'd have better luck getting Spectra to play pirate with you and having fun, than actually getting help to fight Fright."

Youngblood made a nasally whine and bit his lip. He didn't want to leave her, especially not to that spooky asshole! And that's saying something coming from the captain of a ghost pirate ship. "But- can't we do something to help?"

For the first time in a while, Bones changed forms. Taking on the form of his largest flier, he transformed into a prehistoric creature. With a wingspan well over twelve feet, Youngblood was able to comfortably sit on the back of the pteranodon skeleton. The skeletal ghost flapped his wings once, then twice, and their speed increased immediately. "No, my boy. I'm sorry, but we have to run and hope she can get away."

Bones didn't want to give him false hope, but he couldn't leave the kid alone with those words. "If she can survive till daybreak," an ironic choice of words considering their species, "then Fright Knight will be forced back into his seal."

It helped, but not much. "How strong is he? This Fright Knight guy's a big deal right?"

Reading the expression of a skeleton isn't easy, especially not one with the skull of a dinosaur, but it's pretty easy for the ghost child to see 'grim' written all over his face. "Very. There's not many who are stronger unless you're talking Kings of the Dead."

And that helped even less. Suddenly, Youngblood had to tighten his grip when Bones dived right. He yelped in shock and looked around, expecting to see the gothic knight who was chasing them earlier. His eyes widened in surprise at the… genie? She was keeping pace with them, her spectral tail trailing far behind her.

Still wary, Bones initiated contact first. "Who are you?"

The green skinned noirette laughed and held out her hand, glowing a soft lavender. Their flight stopped immediately, and both ghosts felt far more vulnerable not moving at top speeds. They looked to the interrupter of their flight, readying themselves for a fight. "My name is Desiree," she smiled and tilted her head, letting her other red eye become visible, "and you are in my territory, bluntly speaking."

Desiree waved her hands towards herself, and the two in her grasp felt themselves pulled towards her. Youngblood readied himself to fire his cannons again, but stopped when the hold disappeared from them. Both ghosts looked to one another, before looking back at the wishing ghost. "And I would like to know, in specific details, why you two look like you're running for your afterlives."

Bones spoke up before the child, flapping his wings more out of habit than necessity. "It's because we are, and you should too. Fright Knight is in town, and we need to go. Now."

Urgency and fear was practically laced in each syllable and letter, but Desiree was as stoic as ever. The same mischievous smile played her lips, though the tightening of her eyes gave away her surprise. "Fright Knight?"

"YES! Fright Knight!" Bones snapped, and Youngblood flinched. It's not often the bored looking specter lashes out like that, but clearly the night had taken its toll on his nerves. "Please, we have to go! And you should too!"

Desiree shook her head, "This is my haunt, one given to me by a friend. I will wait till Phantom arrives and see if he wishes to combat the spirit of Hallows Eve."

Where Bones saw absolute madness, the little ghost pirate saw a chance, and his eyes shined with hope. "Um! Desiree! Would you… be willing to help fight Fright Knight? We have a friend that stayed back so we could get out!"

The skeletal pteranodon snapped his head up at his master, glaring with admonishing intensity. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He whispered harshly.

Before he could respond however, the wish maker's laughter caught his attention, as his panicked glare found a new target. "What's so funny?! We're running for our afterlives here!"

The laughter left, and the shapely woman returned the glare in full focus. Bones withered under her gaze, unable to keep his up against a more powerful being. "I have no problem fighting the Imposter of Fear, but I will only do so if my… friend desires a fight with him." Her eyes drifted over to the storm brewing over by Danny's house, "Though I suspect he shall desire to challenge Fright Knight."

"Then… we just have to wait?" As hopeful as that sounded, time wasn't on their side. "Isn't there any way we can go help Ember now?"

That mischievous smile returned in excess, and another fit of laughter rang out in the air. "Of course, young man." Her smile widened even further, maniacal and scheming. With impeccable grace, the green genie extended her hand, lavender smoke playfully dancing along her fingers, "All you have to do… is wish for it."

---

Jazz was losing her mind.

Her parents are out of town, her brother is MIA, her uncle apparently moved to town and won't answer his phone, and neither of Danny's… 'friends' knew where he was. For all she knew, Vlad was just a convenient excuse Danny used to skip on Sam and Tucker, and she couldn't even blame him for it! Personally, she wouldn't even associate with them after what they did, but Danny has too big a heart to leave them like that.

But the question still remained: where is Danny?!

No doubt, whenever he got a chance to look at his phone, he'd flip a brick at the number of calls she made. That was fine though, she was a worried sister, and she had every right to know where the hell her brother is! Especially when the little ass didn't answer his phone during a freaky ghost storm!

Boom!

And there it was again, the two ghosts fighting above their house. One she recognized, and a flurry of embarrassment found its way into her attitude. Yes, she liked Ember McLains' music… but the way she acted was so abysmally embarrassing that Jazz wanted to die. Even now, she didn't know what overcame her, but that didn't matter.

What mattered was the ghost she was battling. A knight decked in gothic armor with a mane of purple fire, mounted upon a steed just as horrifying as its rider. The duo of what she assumed to be ghosts, genuinely sent shivers down her spine. Even though Jazz has seen countless ghosts throughout her life, plenty of which passed through her parents lab, the dark knight on his steed made her genuinely afraid.

A storm of absolute madness raged around the spook, turning inanimate objects and organics alike into monsters. This had to be something out of a nightmare, because it fell too far outside the bounds of reality for the bookworm to accept.

And Danny, in this hot mess of a storm, was nowhere to be found.

So, against her better judgement, Jazz stepped outside, despite her shaking. Against her better judgement, she got in her car and started it, despite the burning inferno down the street. And against her better judgement, she left her driveway and made her way towards the address of her uncle's new residence, even if she didn't know that area at all and would probably get lost along the way.

Because as a big sister, it was her duty to find the little brother she loves and make sure he's safe. And then lecture him to the high hills about not answering his damn phone!

---

"What the fuck just happened?"

One second he was making his way towards his portal, a surprisingly long trek since he wasn't entirely sure where that attack put him. And as it turned out, it was really far. The next second he was battling a group of ghosts that had ambushed him. A group of formless shapeshifters couldn't put him down on a normal day, and even if he was exhausted, the constant supply of energy from the zone made him suped up, if not a little winded. And on the third second, with his hand stabbed through the chest of one of the ghosts, the pulsing core clutched in his hand.

And then that sickening feeling he got from teleportation nearly made him puke his guts out. Out of nowhere, the comforting feeling of the Ghost Zone left him, and the barren desolace that is the mortal plane was all that remained. His fatigue seemed to increase thrice-fold, and all the aches and pains suddenly made itself known with righteous fury.

But still, he kept himself upright, and ripped his arm free of the dissipating corpse of the specter that had attacked him. Danny kicked it down, not even bothering to watch the ghost disappear. With a core now in his hand, he quickly popped it into his mouth and crunched down it. The rush met him once again, filling his body with momentary relief and energy, but it did little to appease his already diminished and damaged state.

But every little bit helps.

Then, Phantom noticed his surroundings. Yes, he was in the mortal realm. Yes, he was in Amity Park. And yes, that made things much easier.

But there were three ghosts in front of him, one had a look of disgust. Another had a look of fear, and the third stared on in confusion. He recognized at least one of the three undead before him. "Desiree?"

The wishing ghost nodded, but her puzzled face never left her. She looked over the Halfa, taking in his new uniform and his damaged state. "Hello Phantom, it is… nice to see you again?" The uncertainty in her voice kind of hurt, no it definitely hurt, but he had other things to worry about. Maybe he should have held out on eating the core, but what's done is done.

Eyeing the other two before him, Danny decided to make an educated guess, "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say one of those two wished me here?"

Surprisingly, it was the ghost child that answered back. "Yes! I want help fighting Fright Knight!"

Danny twirled to the kid, surprise all too easy to see. A range of emotions ran through his face, but it eventually settled on a savage grin, fangs and all. "Oh, I'm more than ready for round three with that ass hat… but why do you want to fight him?"

Round three.

That meant the… ghost? Yes, most likely the ghost(?), before them had fought the spirit of Halloween on two separate occasions and survived. That, in and of itself, was a tremendous achievement. But he wanted to fight him again, wanted another chance at harming Fright Knight, and that made the two weaker ghosts both excited and scared.

Bones was definitely scared, but finding not one, but two ghosts who willingly wanted to fight Samhain was a miracle in and of itself. Never mind the creepy cannibal, as powerful as he seemed, a wishing ghost may be the key to victory here. "Forgive me for this, but could we not wish the Fright Knight away?"

Desiree scoffed and shook her head, "I'm flattered you think I'm so powerful, but even if I can alter reality with a wish, it only works on those less powerful than me or in… more indirect wishes." That mischievous grin left her almost immediately, "And Fright Knight is certainly not weaker than me. I can do nothing… directly to him."

"Directly… huh." Danny glanced at his hip, the broken Fenton Thermoses catching his eyes. "Hey Des, I wish that my equipment was fixed."

Confusion gone, Desiree grinned with malicious glee, "So you have wished it," purple smoke gathered around her hands, "so it shall be." The magic surrounded his waste, encompassing the busted ghost capturing equipment and repairing it almost instantly. Danny laughed and clapped in both glee and amazement, "That's what I'm talking about! Thanks!"

This was going so much better than he thought it would. Three allies to help him, repaired equipment, a known and close location of his target… all that's left was Vlad. Where the fuck is his mentor?! With him here, a victory was practically assured, so why hadn't the billionaire bachelor showed himself yet?!

Danny sighed to himself, he could beat the shit out of his uncle later. Now however, required coordination and planning. Even with three companions of this weird battle, he couldn't be careless. Frighty Tighty practically handed his ass to him on a silver platter before, but this time, oh it would be different.

"Can we go now?!" Youngblood practically shouted, "I don't know how long Ember can last against Fright! We need to go now! She needs help!"

Ember?

Danny groaned, because of fucking course. Of all the ghosts to be fighting his most recent enemy, it's Ember. The very hot ghost he beat the shit out of weeks prior. Because, of course, it couldn't be someone else. That was his luck, and despite himself, he knew he would help her. Even if she did use mind control on the town, his damn hero-complex wouldn't let him leave her be.

"Fine." Phantom stated, "Let's go. No need to waste time." Despite the questions on each of the ghosts mind, they followed into the storm. Bones was cursing himself the whole time, but still, he followed. He didn't know why, perhaps because of his master's desire, but he couldn't deny that on some level, he wanted to beat the spirit of Halloween.

So he followed, with his master on his back. Disregarding his better judgement and following the creepy white haired cannibal.

And through all of that, a resounding question rang uncertain. 'How would this end?'

---

"God fucking damn it!" No matter what curse it was, it was never enough.

She had been fighting against the Fright Knight for almost an half an hour. An accomplishment in and of itself. But it mattered little, when the spirit in question wasn't winded in the slightest! Fire? Worth-fucking-less. Sound? Hah! He barely seemed fazed. Any form of ecto-manipulation based attack? He's been dead too long to be affected by such attacks.

He's too fucking powerful!

Ember wanted to give up, but her stubborn personality held out. She knew that even with everything that's happened, that dipstick goody-goody would show up and help. Probably.

But after all this time fighting this freak, she began to have doubts. Maybe he didn't bother with ghosts outside of fighting them? Maybe he had a grudge against her? Either way, she needed help, and the one she was honestly hoping for didn't show.

And for that, she was up shits creek. Deep. She was screwed by something fierce, buried underneath the monster that is Fright Knight.

God fucking damn it.

Why did nothing ever go right for her? Record label for her song? Died by house fire. Potential boyfriend? Stood up as a prank, the asshole. About to take over the world with her music? Stopped by a cute hero, who had a good streak far too strong for her liking. Take the pipsqueak out for fun? Get attacked by a ghost far more powerful and fucking scary than anything ever had a right to be!

Nothing ever went her way, whether that included her life. That statement was found to be true when she narrowly dodged the sweeping blade and was still burned by it.

Ember twirled her guitar, raising a shield of fire to intercept the ecto-blast Fright had sent her way. With the shield, she got off scott-free, but was forced to retreat again when he came slashing for her. To be honest, up to this point, she wasn't sure if he wanted to kill her or send her to that dimension connected to his sword. But when she saw the ripple of energy through the metal, like water, she knew it was the latter.

Fuck. She'd rather die again than be sent there. A dimension of one's worst fears, like that sounded pleasant in any way shape or form.

Letting that mocking smirk she's always been so good at, taunt her enemy, she flew away from another wave of fire and retaliated with her own. "What's the dipstick? Weren't you gonna end me?" She twirled by another blast, "Where'd all that gusto go?"

Fright Knight growled, finding the wench before him even more annoying than the whelp from earlier. His mane of fire erupted in a lavender pyre, brightening the dark skies. "So be it, harlot, feel fear."

And before she could even understand what was about to happen, Fright Knight kicked off of his horse, sending it down below. Ember could barely bring her guitar up to block the slash, and she was shot down to the earth past the winged equis. She slammed into the street, dazed and confused, but her instincts told her to run, and she responded immediately. Her cyan hair covered her body and she teleported out of danger.

Seconds later, a rush of fire blanketed the point of impact, charring the ground black and purple. The asphalt melted and crackled, but the fire remained contained. Around the area, a multitude of monsters thrashed around. The rush of ectoplasmic energy stunned them, some of them even reverted back to what they were before the change. People, now free of their monstrous transformation, scattered and screamed in fear.

Ember reappeared in the air almost half a mile away. Even though she doesn't need oxygen, she panted furiously. An old habit from her time alive, and a hard one to break, it's one many ghosts have after they find themselves in the afterlife. But it was a telling sign, showing exhaustion and fatigue.

Honestly, at this point, she had to run. There's no point fighting anymore, if Youngblood didn't make it far enough away with the time she gave him, the little shit deserved the blade he got in return. Her green eyes scanned the area, taking note of any landmarks. She didn't recognize anything to be honest, but then again she never bothered to explore the town when she came here. But she knew what to look for in terms of escape, a big glowing sign with 'Fenton Works' on top of the building.

And of course, in between her and escape is the goddamn asshole she'd been fighting and losing to. "Ugh! Nothing ever goes my way!" She wasn't even trying to be a bad guy here, but still karma kept giving her the short end of the stick!

With trepidation, Ember hopped on her guitar. Letting the last of her energy converge around her, she took off towards the knight, a fiery trail left in her wake. She didn't have enough energy to keep invisible at high speeds, the teleportation having taken far more out of her than she thought, but she could form a shield one last time to block his attack.

The wind tore past her as her figure whistled towards her target, and Fright Knight took no time to notice her. He swung his sword with a scream of rage, and energy waves raced out with each slash. Ember dodged around the deadly projectiles, and she could practically feel escape in her grasp. The spirit of Halloween noticed this, and narrowed his eyes.

"It's time to end this, banshee." His sword rippled like water, and his entire body glowed violet. Out of the corner of her eyes, Ember saw the dark knight turn into a cloud of dark purple smoke. She realized too late what he was doing.

"Fu-" A sword rammed through her stomach, and Ember's eyes widened in both shock and pain. She glanced down at the blade she had impaled herself on, and back up at Fright Knight. His beady little eyes were like small upturned crescents, and each word was laced with venom. "Enjoy fear."

Embers' world turned black, her body dissipated into a green mist and was sucked into the sword. She didn't let loose a scream of pain or fear, only keeping her glare focused on her opponent. Before her entire spirit was sucked into the blade, she had one last thing to say: "I'll be back, bitch."

And with that, she disappeared from the world, stuck in a dimension of fear.

---

They're too late. Danny watched on with morbid fascination as the ghostly rocker was sucked into the sword. So that's what it's like, it didn't look comfortable, and suddenly they were on timer. With Ember stuck in Regni Metus, they were going to have to make this quick.

"Ember!" Danny looked over to Youngblood, the kid that was being babysat by one of his enemies. He looked ready to cry, and the skeleton-ghost thing he was riding on looked visibly uncomfortable with what he just saw. Somehow, someway, his white bones paled in color, an odd phenomenon that happened no doubt because he's a ghost.

Thinking fast, Danny takes two of the three Fenton Thermoses on his belt off. He looks to Desiree first, "Des," he presented the capture equipment, "if you find a moment where Fright Knight is weakened or stunned, use this to capture him. Channel energy into it, press the button and it should suck him up. Make sure you put the cap back on immediately."

A little surprised, the red-eyed beauty nodded and took the thermos. "This is what you had me fix, yes?"

"Yep, and I've got three of them." Danny turned to the ghost child, whose attention was now on him. He tossed the Fenton Thermos over to him, "Look kid, I'm sorry you had to see that, but it's alright. We can still save her."

Youngblood bit his lip while clutching the thermos, but he shook his head up and down with determination. "Alright. Just uncap this, channel energy, and press the button?"

Still flying forward, Danny voiced his agreement. "That's right." Turning back one more time, this time the Halfa addressed his motley crew. A half-dead hybrid, a genie, a child pirate captain, and his skeletal dinosaur ghost. What a team! "We need the sword! If you can somehow get it from him, slam it into a pumpkin and it should release her!"

It went unsaid that if she gave in to the fear, she wouldn't be able to leave. But Ember's a strong girl, based off of their short meeting, and Danny's rather confident that she'll make it out.

Without waiting for a response, Danny faces back forward and stares down at his target. With other people to actually help him, unlike his mentor who he's still pissed off at, he can actually be a little more reckless and daring with his attacks. Electricity sparks up and down his arms, crackling like chirping birds. His eyes glow a menacing green, and with all that power being channeled, his voice takes on a heavier echo. "Keep your distance! Don't get close to the sword and attack from afar. Go!"

And Danny dived.

He wasn't exactly going for quiet, so his approach was noticed. The electricity he had been harnessing grew as he crept closer, and each spark that went along his arm brought a tingling of pain from his still healing burns. "Guess who's back?!" He continued to charge at Fright, and swung his arms forward, sending to whips of electricity.

Despite his shock, Fright Knight batted away one tendril of current and parried another, "How are you still in existence, Halfa scum?!"

Danny flew past him, twisting in a roll and forcing the whips of crackling energy back onto the offensive. "I'm just made of tougher stuff, chump!" Both knouts came flying back to the ruthless knight, and he was forced onto the defensive once again.

"Chump?!" Samhain bellowed incredulously. "I shall show you 'chump', whelp!" While floating back, he let loose a wave of fire to stop the onslaught of electricity. Once cleared, he whistled loudly into the air. Knowing that his enemy came in a pair, Phantom scanned the air for the not-so-noble steed.

An explosion some feet away made both fighters turn. Youngblood had engaged in a shootout with Nightmare, blasting the flaming demon-horse with cannon shots while aboard his own mount. Danny grinned, and took the lull in combat to capitalize on his opponent's distraction. The whips came back, combining into a large one, with double the length and voltage. It was no longer held in his hand, but attached to his arm up to the elbow.

Heaving the high-powered whip back, Phantom cracked it forward, catching the knight off-guard. It struck him in his chest, sending a lethal shock through his body and slapping him back. Another lashing went out, catching the stunned spirit by his leg.

"Insolent pest!" Fright attempted to slice through the electrical bindings, but with a yank, he was pulled back. Almost losing the grip on Soul Shredder, the knight tried again while in mid-pull, but found himself soaring down below. Behind the two, several more explosions rang out as Desiree joined the battle with Youngblood.

The General of the Ghost of Genocide crashed into the ground with force, barely missing the pavement, and instead hitting the softer soil. The loam cratered under him, and he quickly phased into the ground to escape another whip of electricity. Danny clicked his teeth in annoyance, but immediately turned his attention to the visible opponent in the air.

Flying forward, Danny split the whips back into two. The plan had been simple: keep at a distance while Danny engages up close to distract him. If the opportunity arose, capture Nightmare. Once it was four against one, it should, in theory be relatively simple to capture the spirit of Halloween.

None of the fighters actually hoped to beat Fright Knight in an extended battle. Of the four, Phantom was the most powerful, but having had two scuffles with the bastard already, this fight was putting him on his last legs. His arms and chest burned and ached with each passing moment of exertion, but he pushed on. Victory was almost in sight.

Arriving in range, Danny quickly thrust forward the two whips. One wrapped around the neck of the creature, getting a neigh of protest from it. The other found its way to its back leg, constricting it with currents of deadly force. "Capture it! Quick!"

Youngblood fumbled with the thermos, but Desiree was quick on the recovery by bringing out her own gifted capture device. With strain, Danny held the horse in place, even when the tendril around its back leg snapped. With both hands he held the horse still while the tractor beam of the Fenton Thermos sucked it up. When it was finally stuck in stasis, the Halfa let loose a sigh of relief and released his control over his green electricity.

He smiled tiredly, "Good job gu-"

"!"

A wave of purple crashed into the Halfas' back, engulfing the boy in a plume of violet fire. His scream of pain rang out, but he quickly flew out of the dangerous inferno. His smoking form retreated to his companions, all of whom eyed him with concern.

If everything didn't hurt before, it definitely did now. Danny, while still mad at Vlad, was infinitely grateful for the fire-proof hood. A good chunk of his hair had been burned off, but nothing that wouldn't grow back. He needed a cut anyway. But Danny was dangerously close to overheating, and his huffs and puffs were draining him. The cooling fall air was barely helping, but they still had a chance.

Desiree floated over to the Halfa, "Danny, are you okay? That was… not pleasant to watch."

He smiled at her, even if it was a weak one. It didn't help that he knew ectoplasm was leaking from his lips. With green stained teeth, he attempted to comfort her, while digging around in one of his pouches. "Yeah, that hurt… would I be able to wish my health back?" He gestures to his current appearance, "Or at least not be all banged up?"

Before she can answer, Danny raises a hasty shield to protect them. Soul Shredder clashes violently against the energy shield, forcing cracks from the point of impact. "YOU BLIGHT UPON THE WORLD!" The sheer volume of his voice makes the Halfa wince, "RETURN NIGHTMARE TO ME NOW!"

"Desiree! I wish you and I were two hundred feet back!"

Without saying a thing, lavender smoke encases the two and teleports them away before the shield gives way. Fright Knight slashed through, and gives a scream of rage when the bubble is sliced in twain and releases a puff of smoke instead.

The two reappear right next to their temporary teammates, startling Youngblood and Bones. "Thanks Des, you got us out of a jam there." She nods her response, but a quick glance shows that she seemed a little winded. Maybe teleporting from inside of an ecto-shield wasn't the best idea, he didn't even think that his ecto-signature could hinder her like that. There goes wishing for a heal.

Immediately, he readies his whips again, having found them to be versatile enough to contend. Before he charges back into the frey, he calls back to his group. "Whenever I have him, fire at will! I'll try and get the sword away!"

He didn't have to travel far to meet the spirit again, and he was still bellowing in rage, if not more than before. Danny brought down both whips to slam into him, but Fright sliced through them with ease, the cut off pieces fizzing out into dust. Not at all deterred, the Halfa focuses his vision, letting loose an ocular blast point blank. Stumbling away, Fright isn't prepared for the series of ecto-blasts that slam into his back. He's lurched forward, more infuriated than ever, but before he can retaliate, a whip of electricity wraps around his neck.

A current of power forces its way into him, shocking him still, then another wraps around his sword-wielding arm, creating a circuit with his body as the switch. Ignoring the pain, he takes a page from the Halfa scourges book and fires his own ocular blast, this one purple instead of green and far more powerful.

Danny yelped in surprise, barely raising a shield to protect himself in time. The blast destroyed it, sending him flying back, but a barrage of cannonballs knocked him back once again. The constraints that were holding him vanish with the Halfas' momentary absence, and Fright retaliates against his long-range attackers with another slash of energy from Soul Shredder.

The three scattered to get away from the attack, Desiree going high and Youngblood still mounted on the skeletal pteranodon dived down. While falling, the little pirate dug into the bones for support and fired large red ecto-blasts using his slingshot. They didn't come fast enough to be an issue, and Fright Knight could have easily deflected them, but a giant green hammer smashed into him.

Desiree smirked and brought her hand back; it had been a while since she tested the limits of her shapeshifting, and she was more than pleased to see her range and power had extended. It's a shame she couldn't wish the bastard spirit away, but support she could provide. Her attacks would have to be limited to ecto-attacks, which was something she admittedly never practiced much, and shapeshifting quick attacks. Since it was her body, she would have to be careful to not get hit by the sword. He could block with it, but hitting her transformed hand would send her to that damned dimension and she wanted none of that.

Fright Knight made to attack, his sword reared back for a powerful strike and glowing with violent energy, but he was stopped once again by an electric entangle at the base of his arm. He growled in obvious fury and his head swiveled behind him like an owls, now on backwards. Green eyes met green eyes, and despite being creeped out by such an act, Danny grinned and threw another tether, this one not made of electricity but pure ectoplasm. It wrapped around his sword hand, and going unnoticed by the wielder, around the hilt as well.

"You think this will stop me?" Fright Knight snarled, "When I'm finished with you, I shall take your comrades and rip them apart with glee!" He flexed his arm, destroying the binding of electricity. "And there's not a thing you can do!" He made a move to break the other restraint, but a cannonball to his side stopped him, he grunted from the impact. His head whipped back around in time to see an incoming ecto-blast and block it with his hand.

Danny yanked hard on his constraint, pulling the arm of Fright Knight. He jerked back, annoyed but more than ready to retaliate. Another barrage hits Fright, forcing his free hand forward to raise a shield. A second whip forms, another of ectoplasm, and he flicks his wrist back towards the sword. It wraps around the fuller, the base of the blade, and holds it tight.

More covering fire hit the knight, overwhelming him with numbers and suppressive fire. He roared in defiance, but he was unable to move his arm, lest he lower the shield and take damage unto himself. Danny slowly moved the second lasso of ectoplasm to his hand that held the other, combining them to a two in one special. Purposely keeping away from electricity with his objective, he formed another ecto-construct. The lasso twirled in his left hand momentarily, before he sent it forward, this time to wrap around the central ridge of the blade.

"What are you doing, scourge?!" Unable to counter, the powerful spirit found his anger rising each passing second. Each one of these ghosts could not hope to hold a candle to his power, but yet combined, they made up the difference. If he lowered his shield, he would be under constant fire, but his sword was well restrained. His arm could barely move, and the blade was unable to reap his foes when confined there so tightly. "Damn it! Release me abomination, so I may end you all!"

Phantom smirked, even with his waning energy and strength, he held steadfast. Another round of ecto-blasts and cannonballs, and even a prolonged ecto-ray from the mouth of Bones hit the shield, cracking it. The knight was pushed back, and for just the briefest moment… Phantom felt his grip slacken just a smidgen on Soul Shredder.

And Danny pulled.

The blade was wretched free and flung towards the Halfa. Once out of the hands of its master, it noticeably powered down, losing its shine, color, and intensity. Every other ghost in the fight froze, none having expected this to happen. While this was a part of the plan, truth be told, both Desiree and Bones weren't entirely sure they would be able to separate the legendary weapon from its master. But seeing the strange half-ghost hybrid actually do so… seemed to mean something.

What it meant, they wouldn't learn till later.

Reality caught up with the spirit of Halloween. "Noooo!" Desperately, he stretched out his now free hand, hoping to call his weapon back to him. His greatest strength and weakness, for a brief moment, halted in mid-air, but did not come back to him. The binds were held in place, Phantom pulling desperately to get the ancient artifact away from its horrible master.

Snarling, Danny bared his fangs to his most recent enemy with a condescending sneer, "Not happening fallacy of fear! Don't worry," He yanked the lines holding the blade back, grunting from the effort, "I'm just borrowing it! I'll return it," Danny pulled it again, "maybe?"

Truthfully, if at all possible, he would not be returning a dangerous weapon to this psychopathic undead. But from what Vlad had said, and the books pertaining to his sealing, the sword was needed to keep Fright Knight sealed with his curse.

But he could play keep away for now.

Desiree, seeing the object they were gunning for now in the hands of their de-facto leader, began making her way over to him. Youngblood eyed the blade hungrily, ready to free his friend and sister-figure and just be done with this night. And Bones was absolutely speechless, he couldn't even believe that they were doing this and succeeding. Sure, it was with a ragtag group of misfits that didn't belong together in any setting, but this was happening, and it made him laugh at the sheer absurdity of the situation.

Without Soul Shredder to send them to an unfortunate end, more opportunities to contribute to the fight sprouted up. While making her way to Phantom, Desiree transformed her arms into lassos, their target already set. She twirled them for a moment, before unleashing them unto Fright Knight to ensnare him. It caught him off guard, the ancient spirit too distracted and enraged to notice.

Samhain moved his arm to burn the offending piece, but stopped when he felt his strength begin to weaken. The lasso glowed a translucent lavender and spread up the arms of the wishing ghost. Slowly, the power was being siphoned off from the dark knight, empowering Desiree and making her gasp at the sheer magnitude of it.

When Danny looked down, even with his enhanced vision he couldn't see a pumpkin down below. Based off of memories, Amity Park, his neighborhood especially, didn't really decorate for this particular holiday. That left him with very few keys to get Ember out of that dimension of fear.

Not seeing his target, he yanked the blade all the way to him. Now fully gripped and in his hand, he noticed Soul Shredder light up slightly. That… made it seem like anyone could use the blade, but maybe that had more to do with claiming another artifact for their own. That's a timely process that the Halfa had neither the time or patience for at the moment.

Danny looked around and found Desiree above him, so he quickly flew over to her, his ghostly trail leaving a wispy wake behind him. "Des, I wish I had a pumpkin!"

The wishing ghost looked down at her friend, ready to grant his desire, but before she could throw away Fright Knight to gain some distance, he let loose another roar of fury and broke through his bindings. Desiree screamed in pain and held her hands together. Technically, it was her fingers that were shredded from his escape, and she whimpered as her digits slowly reformed. The Halfa grimaced at the look of pain on his friends face, and he felt his own righteous anger spur forth.

Quick to intercept, Danny pointed his free hand forward and willed some of the last of his energy to his beck and call. His arm grew alight as more electricity sprouted from his skin and raced down to his fingertips. The energy focused on the ectonium tips for a brief moment, before exploding out in a loud display of electrokinesis.

And even without his sword, drained of energy in more ways than one, and outnumbered, Fright Knight proved himself to be every bit of a powerhouse as his legend indicated. He raised his hand, forming another shield, this one covering his body. The electricity slammed into the front, and more red ecto-blasts slammed into the back, keeping the knight locked in place.

Out of the corner of his eye, Danny saw Bones floating below in a new form. A small monkey, barely the size of his chest… and it was holding the thermos Youngblood had.

The shield the spirit of Halloween had conjured began to spin, dispersing and intermingling the foreign energies as the sphere grew. Color, size, and brightness skyrocketed as the protective power slowly began to turn offensive. "I will have my sword and steed, you insignificant gnats!" Danny stopped supplying energy to his enemies new weapon, and instead used his own thermos to suck up Soul Shredder right before Fright's eyes.

"RAAAAGH!" Like his ghost repulse, the energy flew out in every direction. Purple, green and red exploded out in an attempt to destroy Fright Knights enemies. Danny was quick to grab Desiree around her waist, startling her. "Sorry about this," he said, before launching them back with as much speed he could muster. Bones was still far enough away to get out unscathed, but Youngblood was blasted higher up into the sky with a startled scream.

Thankfully, unlike many of his other attacks, this one did not have a large area of affect. The technique itself was interesting though, and Danny made a mental note to try it out later. On Vlad. He could at least be a guinea pig for some new attacks after leaving him to deal with this asshole for so long.

Danny clipped the thermos back onto his belt and turned his attention to Desiree. "You okay?" His eyes never left the knights angry visage.

The wishing ghost nodded, and Danny let loose a sigh of relief. "Yes, I'm fine Danny. Thank you for being concerned…" She stared down at her fingers, still in pain but slowly receding as they reformed. "I will not be able to grant your wish for a moment, however. Not until I can actually focus my energy."

That was fine, he supposed. It's not an appropriate time to get Ember back with this asshole still on the loose. Danny bit back a grimace when he saw Youngblood in the air and unmoving. Obviously he was fine overall, if he had taken fatal damage he would have dispersed and left a core. That just left him and Bones for the most part. And speaking of bones…

The spectral skeleton was directly below Fright Knight, with the Fenton Thermos uncapped and ready to be used. Phantom was glad that the ghost was waiting for him, even if the knight was more winded than at the beginning, Danny was positive that he could break out of the pull of the thermos if he wasn't initially distracted.

With the last dregs of energy left in him, Danny formed his ecto-claws, now barely covering his hands up to the wrist. No cores left for a sudden boost, no constant supply of energy from the GZ, and no real back-up… 'man, what has my half-life become?'

Now in a dive, his opponent snapped his head up and charged right at him. Fright Knight fired off shot after shot of purple ecto-blasts, but none of them landed. Danny rolled and dodged, occasionally batting the blasts away the same way his opponent had done so, just not nearly as casual. Danny kept his mouth shut as power began to build in his mouth, a fanged focus barely pulsing into existence between his teeth.

Tired.

That single word was encompassing his whole body and mind, but he still had to push on. Like everything else in life, he endured and continued, and it's only through these tired thoughts did he realize the simile that is his life. Everything's a fight, and struggle seems to be a long-time friend.

And like everything else in his life, this last bout was of course, a struggle.

They met in seconds, all momentum cancelling out on the other. Danny attempted to grab the ruthless knight with his claws, but his opponent thought the same. They interlocked their fingers together in a contest of strength. The Halfa seemed to be winning at first, his empowered hands dug into the gothic gauntlets and his enforced limbs were gaining leverage.

A purple glow snaked its way down Fright Knights arms, his own ectoplasmic reinforcement, and any leverage Danny was gaining was pushed back almost instantly. He grunted with effort, but the spirit before him was older, more powerful, and not nearly as exhausted as he was. Where his energy coated fingers were scraping away at his hands before, now the Halfa could feel his fingers bending and creaking, ready to break.

"A bold move, to contest me in strength, whelp." Danny groaned in pain, and for just a second, green energy escaped his lips, though it went unnoticed. "But foolish all the same. You will parish, as will the rest of your cur."

For a moment, they continued, pushing against one another, but it was obvious Phantom was losing. His energy covered hands were losing their glow, and he was being pushed back. Danny heard a crack, one of his knuckles popping and getting dangerously close to breaking. He stared hard into the knight's eyes, both glowing green with animosity.

"What? Where is the whit from before?" He snarked arrogantly, "Nothing to-" he was cut off when Phantom opened his mouth, green light escaping past his lips. A beam of unstable ectoplasm immediately rushed out and slammed into Fright Knights chest, buzzing and screeching against metal. Their grip on one another broke, something Dannys' aching hands were grateful for, and Fright plummeted down while the volatile attack attempted to carve into his chest.

From below, Bones watched on in absolute surprise. This was, hands down, the dumbest and most reckless thing he had ever done in his afterlife. He may not remember his life before, but he was almost certain nothing compared to helping fight an evil spirit of legend. And the one they chose to ally with… willingly fought against Fright Knight. Clearly, the boy was insane and exhausted, anyone could tell, and yet the ghost boy kept fighting.

If he had actual eyes instead of little green orbs, they would have been popping out of his head when Phantom clashed in a grapple with the Samhain. It was a spectacle to behold, watching it and being a part of the opposition, and not something Bones ever thought he would be doing. The skeletal ghost knew his place, he's weak. Every year that passes, his power barely increases, and he purposely avoids fights. He would never be included in anything major that went on in the Ghost Zone, and he was fine with that.

But being here, and being a crucial part of this plan… it felt good. And when Phantom opened his mouth, he would have shit himself if he could have. The boy unleashed a torrent of volatile energy at point blank, propelling the evil spirit into capture. Fright Knight was shot down towards him, and Bones knew. It was time.

He pushed energy into the Fenton Thermos and pressed the button on the side. A white beam shot out immediately, startling the specter. It shot up at the descending knight, catching it in its tractor beam. He was pushed down by the attack by Phantom and pulled down by the thermos, screaming the whole way down.

"I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE HALFA SCUM!" Fright Knight struggled and resisted, but with two opposite forces pulling him in the same direction, and without his weapon of power or trusty steed, he was severely weakened. To top it all off, Phantom had caught him off guard with that attack, and it pushed him into capture relentlessly. "KNOW THIS, PHANTOM! I WILL END YOU, AND ALL OF YOUR ABOMINABLE KIND!"

And as soon as it began, it ended. The spirit of Halloween was captured and a danger to no one anymore. All spirits present were in stunned silence, and looked around at each other warily, as if they couldn't quite believe what just happened.

Danny broke the silence first with a tired laugh, "Third time's the charm?"

---

It wasn't that bad at first.

Just small things.

Mocking whispers, silent insults, and the voices were familiar. She hated them, hated the memories that came with them, and hated the people they belonged to. Then the scenery changed, from the empty black void to the familiar halls of her damned high school.

She hated high school too, and every single person who she went to school with as well. The second she appeared in the halls, the voices came back, but far louder. They openly mocked her, just like high school. Familiar faces popped up left and right, and she couldn't control her body as she walked through school. She couldn't fight back against the jeers and ridicule.

And when she passed by the school bulletin board, she saw the date. That date. The day she died. And she struggled even more than before, there was no way in hell she wanted to relive this day.

But she was forced to watch, a passenger in her own body, as her unsuspecting innocent and naive self walked through school with meek confidence, barely fighting against the insults thrown her way.

She hates it, and Ember knows that she hates this next part even more. The boy she had a crush on, the star quarterback, asking her out. The stupidly naive way she accepted, and laughing that at the time, she didn't notice.

But she notices now. She can hear it, and every bit of shame and embarrassment that came with it.

Time flew by as she watched her death day go by. So much more mocking, very openly too. The seventies were a tough time for social outcasts, maybe she should have checked out what school was like nowadays before she tried to take over the world.

Ember watched as her past self walked towards the empty home with blissful ignorance, and fear began building. The worst part was yet to come, and she wanted out now! She struggled, tried to use any of her ghost powers, but nothing worked.

Amber, her human self when she was alive, practically skipped into the empty house. Her parents were gone, away somewhere she couldn't remember, and she made it to her room quickly. Ember hated that she was feeling the same emotions her past self did, the giddy happiness and excitement, because unlike the naive Amber, the dead Ember knew all of that would be crashing down.

She picked a dress out, a nice one too, and she fumbled and flummoxed as a normal teen would do on their first date. Amber left the house, happy and unaware that today would be her last day on Earth… and perhaps that made it even worse for the unwilling passenger, because she knew what to expect.

For four hours, up until eleven at night, she waited. The movie theater was packed as usual on a Friday, the 17th of '71, if she remembered right. And that made it worse, because unlike her living self, Ember could see where the asshole and his friends were laughing at her. Laughing at her pain and fear and embarrassment, and she had to feel it all!

AGAIN!

And then, as if the hour long walk of shame and humiliation back home took only a couple of seconds, she was there. In her room. Still stuck in her old body and forced to feel all the old emotions that she's put extra effort into burying for her entire afterlife. Ember had to watch with self-pity and self-loathing as her old, weak self cried herself asleep, unaware of the impending doom.

The smoke came first, the fire having started downstairs. By the time Amber started waking up, she was already choking on it and rubbing her dry and stinging eyes. The fire alarm wasn't working, and knowing the people in the neighborhood they wouldn't call the fire department until it's too late.

They didn't call.

Ember could feel the fear rolling off in droves, a passenger to her worst nightmare, her worst day. While crying, Amber tried to open the door. She didn't succeed, the cheap door handle was too hot and was going to melt soon. She tried ramming itw with her shoulder, but without the necessary oxygen and strength, it was meaningless.

From the fires, she heard the more mocking. Laughing. Insults. All of it, and in desperation, Ember screamed. The fear of the past, mixing with the fear of that day burned her mind and heart, much like the fire. The humiliation and scorn derided her self-esteem, breaking her down as the fire licked her mortal body.

As if to mirror her dead self, the desperation of the living made Amber pick up her guitar by the neck. She made to bash the door, but she hesitated and looked at the guitar. It was the only thing in life that gave her comfort and saved her, and her living self couldn't find it in herself to use it as a way to break out. It was her only friend, her only salvation, and her only relief to the shitty life that was Amber McLains.

So, accepting her fate with dread and no small amount of fear, Amber sat down with her guitar. She held it closely, crying as the fire began burning the door. The flames licked the walls next, spreading rapidly over the posters she had covering them.

And Ember was forced to feel it all: every last emotion, every bit of pain from the lack of oxygen and the fire burning her skin. Both Ember and Amber screamed as the fire consumed their body and the ridicule broke their minds. Fire broke down and turned Amber to ash, the guitar, her artifact, burning with her soul. Her dreams would never come true, leaving her to be forgotten as the laughing stock of her shitty second-rate public school. Never to be remembered.

It felt like it lasted forever, but Ember held on… and then it started all over. Her death day started again, and finally Ember figured out what her fear was. The day she died, and everything that came with it.

She watched it again, then a third time, then a fourth. And as the fifth time came around… it stopped, and finally Ember found herself able to move again.

---

"-er!" She stirred, tired and depleted.

"-ber!" The voice wouldn't shut up, and she had an unexplainable desire to smack the shit out of it.

She groaned and turned, but found herself being shaken. "Ember! Wake the fuck up!"

Her eyes shot open, wide with fear and scared. She looked around frantically, wondering where she was. Her eyes landed on… babypop first, the dipstick who ruined her plans. She felt anger first, but was too tired to act on it. Then she saw Youngblood and that dumb bird that was assigned as his watcher.

Memories come flooding back to her, and she's quick to say the first thing on her mind. "What the fuck are you doing here pipsqueak? I thought I told you to run!"

Youngblood smiled and laughed out loud, floating away slightly from a lack of control. The small skeletal parrot, for once, wasn't scowling and didn't have a bored look on his beaky face. He was smiling, if that was possible, and he chuckled along with the child he watched over. For once, in all these years, he genuinely seemed to be in a good mood.

The only thing that stopped her from beating the shit out of the two was a severe lack of energy. "What's so funny you little shits?!" They only laughed louder.

She sighed and dropped her head down onto the ground. Green eyes rolled over to take in the rest of the crowd. The genie was definitely something she wasn't expecting, and it made her raise an eyebrow. Ember had to admit, she was pretty hot, even if there weren't any legs to appreciate.

Then her eyesight landed on goody-goody. Danny fucking Phantom, the ghost boy who ruined her concert and kicked her ass. She took in his appearance as she laid there. He was looking pretty roughed up, putting it lightly. The new suit was cool, better than his other one and much more professional looking. A good chunk of his hair, the long white locks on the left side specifically, were burnt away. Actually, his whole body was covered in bruises and burns, and he had a mean shiner on his right eye. The boy was bleeding from his ears, eyes, nose and mouth.

He's had a rough night apparently. "You look pretty fucked up, dipstick."

Danny looked over to her tiredly, and from his sitting position he stretched his legs out like a cat. It hurts to stretch out so much, but the relief following it made up for it. "Yeah, three rounds with Fright Knight kinda does that to ya."

That actually got her to sit up, albeit a little slowly and with a level of difficulty. "Three rounds- holy shit. There's a story there I take it?"

The Halfa laughed, but stopped immediately and clutched his sides painfully while muttering under his breath. "Fucking broken ribs again." He shook his head and looked back up to her, "Yeah, there is; a long one too."

Leaning back, Danny let himself float up off of the gravel of the four story building they were on. No gravity is much more comfortable than any gravity. "Honestly, this whole night kinda went to shit. It started as a distraction, and ended with me going toe-to-toe with the Halloween reject." He hefted up a pair of thermoses Ember recognized as the device that trapped her.

Ember growled at the sight of them, but Danny just twirled them around with both hands. He popped the right one up in the air and presented it to her, "I give you: Fright Knight, the asshole." The left one came next, "And his trusty steed: Nightmare the creepy horse thing."

Any anger she had was gone for pure surprise, and her jaw dropped. Danny laughed again, this time much more softly to avoid his broken ribs. "I gotta say Ember, the surprised look is nice, but your new outfit? I like it much more." His eyes traveled up and down her ghostly apparel, appreciating it despite its state of dismay.

It was the rockers turn to laugh, "You're waaaay too young to be flirting with me, babypop." She shook her head again, "So, you rescued me?"

He nodded in affirmation.

"I thought you rescued people, not- you know- bad guys?" She questioned, confused and wary. "Why'd you rescue me?"

Danny smiled at her, and for a brief moment, it looked far too mature for someone as young as him. "Because I was asked." The Halfa pointed over to the pirate ghosts talking to Desiree, "Little guy practically begged me to help, even wished me over from the GZ. Spirity little shit, that's for sure."

Ember barked up another laugh and forced herself onto her feet, groaning at the effort required. God, she couldn't wait to get back to her lair and just sleep. "Yeah, he is. Way too much energy for someone who's supposed to be dead."

The rocker surprised Phantom when she extended a hand to him. He looked at it, then to her, with a raised eyebrow. "What? Take it."

He was too tired to argue, so Danny just shrugged his shoulders and took her hand. As it turned out, he was too tired to resist her surprisingly hard pull. She yanked him over and shocked him to his core, literally, with a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks for saving me babypop." The smile she beamed at him was dazzling.

A green blush rushed to his cheeks, and suddenly the night didn't feel like a total waist after all. He returned the smile with glee, "Anytime Ember, just call and I'll help. But no more hypno-schemes!"

She stuck her tongue out playfully while floating over to Youngblood. "No promises!"

Out of nowhere, Youngblood found himself being yanked back and brought up to face level with Ember. "Time to go squirt. I'm tired as shit, but I'll be sure to chew you out later for actually trying to fight Fright Knight."

The young ghost protested while kicking his legs back and forth, and his assistant followed behind. From their location on this apartment, they weren't too far from his house, and their direction was obvious: the portal. As Danny watched them go, he turned to his friend, Desiree, who was looking over towards him. "Thanks for the help Des. I really appreciate it… how are your fingers?"

Both ghosts looked down at the question, and Danny was relieved to see them fully healed and functioning. "Good as new Danny, good as new." She looked back up at him and hesitated for a moment, before steeling her resolve. "I have a question… if you don't mind me asking."

Danny hummed his response, allowing her to go ahead. He had a feeling he knew what was coming. "When you appeared, you had just finished a fight with a ghost. And after afterwards…" She seemed to struggle with the correct words, or possibly tact, before deciding to just dive right into it. "... you ate its core right? Why did you do that?"

Perhaps he's never really thought of the implications of eating ghost cores, especially in front of another ghost. Skulker seemed disgusted when he did it in front of him too… "Yeah, I ate it." He scratched the back of his head, nervously, "When I eat cores, I get a little bit of their strength and an energy boost."

On the plus side, she didn't seem terribly disgusted, but she definitely didn't seem to like the idea. "Is that because of your… Halfa situation? Most ghosts go mad when they eat other cores."

Ah. Yeah, Vlad did explain that to him, "Apparently, because we have both our brains and our cores, we can regulate it. I dunno how it works, but I do know there's not… any repercussions from doing it." He would ask Vlad later. Honestly, it seemed pretty gross at first, but since they taste good and benefit him, he just went along with it. It would be good to get some more information out Vlad before anything too negative happens.

Noticing that she seems to hesitate, Dannys' smile faltered. "You don't have to be okay with it, I understand. It's not a normal thing." He didn't really know what a normal thing is for ghosts though.

Truthfully, Desiree didn't know what to think. It's not like she had any other friends in the afterlife, but knowing that the only one she actually made was a cannibal was tough to swallow. Then again, he's a half-ghost, as strange as that is. Perhaps… it wasn't that bad. "Do you eat sentient ghosts, or just ferals and animalistic spirits?"

Danny shook his head no, "Just ferals and animals so far. I don't think I wanna cross that line, to be honest. Not unless I was pretty much about to die myself."

There was a pregnant silence left between the two, "Well, this conversation got off track a little."

Danny laughed, but having not learned his lesson yet, winced when his broken ribs poked into him. "Yeah, it has. Any chance I can get a heal?"

Desiree hummed in thought, "We can try, but even exhausted, you're a more powerful ghost than me. I am not sure how well it will affect you." Lavender smoke began to gather in her hands, but she waited until he said the magic words.

"Des, I wish my wounds were healed." She complied and said her usual response. The smoke flew from her hands and encircled the Halfa. It entered his body, through his wounds and through his open mouth, chilling him with the strange and foreign feeling. He coughed out blood and ectoplasm when it went in his mouth, and again when it left seconds later. Desiree frowned at the feeling, the same one she got when she couldn't do anything to a more powerful being. A sort of blockade, a small effect granted, but nothing terribly significant.

Phantom looked down at his arms and legs, inspecting them for damage. The burns and cuts along his face and neck were gone for the most part, but some still remained. His arms weren't doing great, but were much better, and his legs weren't even touched by the wish. And his insides still hurt like a motherfucker, the same as before. "So only a partial fix, huh?"

The wishing ghost looked down apologetically, "I'm sorry Danny, I wish I could do more."

"It's fine," he waved off, "you fixed me a little. Any bit helps…" His eyes trailed tiredly over to the destroyed street and got an idea, "but there is another way you can help me."

She perked up, happy to help and smiling brightly. "I wish the damage caused by tonight's ghost attack was fixed." He hoped this satisfied her, she had no reason to feel guilty over the limitations of her power and this whole fiasco with Fright Knight was something she didn't even have to get involved in. He was more appreciative of it than she realized.

"So you have wished it, so it shall be." The smoke from her wish magic expanded in size tremendously. It blanketed the street and houses, fixing any damaged cars, houses, property or anything in its path. The melted street and sidewalk reformed over good as new, the houses were no longer broken and covered in paint, and the same could be said for the cars Ember and Youngblood had vandalized. Everything was back to normal, better even. He did notice that the wave extended past his street and into the surrounding neighborhoods. Maybe the pirate duo expanded their area more than he thought.

When it was all said and done, the area looked great. There wasn't even any litter on the street anymore, and the whole place looked brand new. If the town wasn't being attacked by ghosts so often, maybe the housing value would have gone up. But then again, property in Amity Park isn't very expensive for a reason, and it was probably going to stay that way too. The Fentons didn't help, but the recent supernatural happenings didn't help at all either.

"Thanks Des! I really appreciate it!" Danny beamed at her a million watt smile, more than satisfied with the end result. She perked up even more. He tried to stretch again, but found the pain to be a little much and stopped himself.

"Well, I gotta go home and sleep off this pain." He waved at her, "See ya Des."

Phantom tried to fly off, but found his height faltering and unable to fly in a straight line. When he suddenly felt gravity he thought he was going to meet the ground faster than he wanted. Luckily, Desiree was able to catch. He sent her a thankful smile, "Can I get a little help going home actually?"

The wishing ghost hugged him closely, much to his embarrassment, "Of course! All you had to do was ask." She liked having a friend, truly, even if he was a pseudo-cannibal, and still… it's not like she had any other friends. Not many options to choose from, her inability to trust others hampered any form of social trust. And if that one friend, the one that freed her from her curse, just so happened to be a ghost-eater?

So be it.

---

Vlad tiredly dropped down into his new office chair, less from physical exhaustion and more from mental fatigue. He sighed for the umpteenth time that night, still unsure how to proceed with this newfound information. As Halfas', the elder half-ghost assumed that their clan would play big roles in the world. At least eventually.

But the innuendos that Clockwork, the riddle-me-this annoying beyond all belief ancient, kept dropping were mind boggling. The images that he had seen on the time-screens in the ghosts' lair were concerning and painted an even bigger picture when paired with the words spoken by the ghost of time. While true, both him and Daniel would become major players, he already knew that. It was an eventuality that was only a matter of time.

But the scale of it. Of his influence. Of Daniels…

The small glimpses into the future gave hints that could make up the groundwork for his, and eventually Daniels, desires.

He would have to redo his plans. More training was necessary for his charge, far more than he previously thought. Vlad thought he had years, decades even to enact his plans, but with the advent of the meta-age…

Time may be neutral and non-interfering, but he is most certainly not on their side. The ticking bastard may bet on Daniel, and favor him heavily for whatever reason, but he wouldn't interfere for any reason. He couldn't and wouldn't, unless his nephew somehow stumbled upon the destruction of their reality, Clockwork would stay out.

No answers. Only deception. No gifts. No slights. Vlad would gain nothing from interacting with Clockwork, even if the oldest ghost in existence did now allow him visitation rights.

He only told him one thing that wasn't buried under a mountain of riddles and double meanings: "Train Daniel, Vladimir, because he will need it for his, and everyone's, future."

And even then, it was cryptic and eerily prophetic that did nothing to answer his questions. But he would heed the warning, and take the advice seriously. There were already plans to move to Amity Park anyway, for at least half of the month. That would be changed to full time, and his duplication was going to get some serious use in the coming years. No doubt, that would probably become his most used ability in the coming times.

Ring~ Ring~ Ring~

And that's his doorbell. Anger bubbled up from his core, but he pushed it down. He wasn't even moved in here fully yet, less than a day, who in the bloody hell was here at this time of night? He took the human way, walking down stairs and through open doors, rather than just phasing through everything. His visitor could wait and angrily ring the doorbell all they wanted, didn't they know it was nearing midnight?

There lived a certain man in Russia long ago~

He was big and strong, in his eyes a flaming glow~

When Vlad finally walked into his foyer, his phone rang this time. His entire being was drained of patience after the day he'd had, and truly, it was a miracle that he didn't crush his phone and disintegrate it right then and there. It was a good thing Daniel wasn't here, the boy would have never let him hear the end of it for his choice of ringtone. It just fit so well, and it tickled a sarcastic side of Vlad he didn't even know he had until he heard the song on the internet.

Looking at the caller I.D., the older Halfa groaned in defeat. "I knew there was something I was forgetting." Daniel was calling, and while he didn't necessarily forget about him, because his mind was majorly preoccupied, he definitely forgot to check up on his nephew. A rather glaring mistake considering his most recent opponent.

Ring~ Ring~ Ring~ Ring~ Ring~

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Hold your horses!" Vlad screamed, barely holding back his ghost side. Now wasn't a good time damn it, for either of this.

"Clockwork, you must be having a laugh right now." He muttered darkly. Time this, time that, it just kept popping up.

Carefully, Vlad picked up the phone and pressed the answer button. He wasn't scared, he would never admit to that, but he was slightly ashamed. The original plan was to fight the Fright Knight together after the artifact was acquired, but that went out the window with the ghost of times' appearance. The only reason that meeting wasn't rushed along was because he was assured of his nephew's victory, apparently he had a rather good chance for almost every timeline.

Good to know he had some form of luck, because that's what he would have needed to take out that ancient monster.

"Hello Little Badger." Simple enough greeting and curt affection, a decent way to judge his reaction.

The line is silent for a second, and the doorbell rings several more times, grating his patience, but eventually, after almost thirty seconds of silence, Daniel finally answers. "WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!"

Ah, so he was angry.

---

The duplicate made haste towards the front door, snickering at the originals' misfortune of having to deal with the nephew. That wasn't going to be a pleasant phone call.

Ring~ Ring~ Ring~ Ring~ Ring~ Ring~ Ring~ Ring~

Lord almighty, what was wrong with this person? Honestly, close to midnight and they had the gall to ring the doorbell so much. Maybe he could charge them with trespassing? That sounded like a nice idea, especially after the day they've had. It would make the originals' mood go up, at least.

There's a special kind of dark comedy in serving a trespass notice. Again, as he approached the door, the half-ghost duplicate in human form couldn't help but laugh a little at the idea. Oh, this is going to be so much fun.

He opened the door, quickly, with a scowl on his face and in his crimson silk sleepwear. What else would he be wearing at this time? Definitely not a suit, and he didn't appreciate the rumors in the tabloids about him actually having sleeping suits. That's preposterous, they're not that comfy.

Any form of spiteful reprimand that was on his tongue immediately dripped away like saliva. Jasmine, his niece, stood in his doorway. She looked tired, worried, and very angry. The duplicate bit back a silent groan, maybe this was karma? The original dealt with the protege, and the duplicate deals with the sister…

It's almost fitting that they say the same exact words.

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!" Jazz pushed past her uncle roughly, and stomped into the still partially barren house. "I'VE BEEN TRYING TO CALL FOR HOURS!"

This time, he couldn't hold back the groan that escaped his lips. "What a long day."

It's just one thing after another.

---

A/N: Tired as hell. Anyway, this chapter's about 15k. I rewrote the ending a few times, and I'm more or less satisfied with it. It could still be better in my opinion, but I've kept the delay going long enough. Also, Samhain anyone?

I'm happy to finally be able to get further into the story. I've got big plans coming up, but setting up the timeline and rearranging cannon to make sense is more difficult than I thought. I never noticed it when I watched the series as a kid, but there's no such thing as chronological order in Danny Phantom. That's why I introduced Walker the way I did, same with Fright Knight. I'm not trying to skip around and be ambiguous about the date. If anything, I'd prefer it if people know the rough date, or at least the month and season of when things are going on. I especially look forward to the X-mas chapter and everything that follows after.

Check out my other story if you like BNHA and Tokyo Ghoul. I'm gonna try and alternate between the two stories.

As usual, report any mistakes. I'm writing most of these chapters with a lack of sleep, so help is appreciated.

TTGG03: Details are important, and I strive to make everything coherent, easy to follow, and exciting! And yes, Walker has made his first appearance!

OechsnerC: Thank you!

kimcat: Walker can be sneaky when he wants, but as for how exactly, I'm not sure yet. Ideas are rolling, but nothing's stuck yet.

Distant Radiance: I cannot, absolutely, wait till I get to the Pariah arc. That'll be close to the end, but after that I can finally go on to the crossover section! He's gonna be so powerful, and writing the final fight is gonna be a blast! I'd agree that fighting scenes are my strong suit, but I've been trying to get better at fleshing out characters, settings, and their interactions in regards to the plot. Hard to do, but I'm making progress I think. I too, am a long chapter kind of person. You can get more juicy details out of them and they're generally more enjoyable than a short two-thousand word quick drop.

TorioWint: Your welcome and thanks for the complements! Stick around, I got big plans for this fic. Wait till it actually crosses over into DC in the second book.

Dp-Marvel94: You're welcome and I'm glad you like everything so far!

Again, sorry for the delays, and stay safe with this covid stuff. Wear a mask and wash your hands often. Also, if you're in the U.S. right now, don't be an idiot and go to those damn riots and protests. There's a time and place for these things, and crowding up in the middle of a worldwide pandemic isn't one of them. If this was a zombie apocalypse type virus, we'd be fucked six ways from Sunday.

See ya next time!