We Are Phantoms

by DarkFoxKit

The sequel to My Brother's a Ghost. "My name is Andrew Fenton, but call me Andy. I'm a 14 year old boy, twin brother of Danny Fenton. If I had known what kind of fate awaited me in the future... I probably would've freaked out. My brother and I, we're more than teenagers... we are heroes, we are defenders. We are Phantoms."

104. Chapter 103: Performance of an Afterlife

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Is wearing a blindfold* You know this is unnecessary, right? I can already guess what you and Andy are up to.

DarkFoxKit: What do you think we're up to?

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Leading me into the living room where you have a… *Takes a sniff of the air* Triple layer cake with frosting and sprinkles waiting for me. *Takes another sniff* Bottom layer is the standard yellow… then chocolate on top of that, and at the way top is… *Takes a final sniff* Banana cake.

Andy: Told you we should've used nose plugs on her.

DarkFoxKit: Oh hush, there's more than just cake anyways. I know it's a day early, but since we're updating today, I figured we might as well celebrate now.

*Andy removed Onyx's blindfold with telekinesis. There was indeed a triple layer cake that was as big as Onyx herself, there were other goodies too, as well as presents.*

DarkFoxKit & Andy: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Smiles and giggles* Thank you, you two! I'm really touched by this!~ *Picks up and hugs Fox and Andy, making sure not to crush them*

Andy: We're really happy that you enjoy this! Maybe next time we can bring in Juliette to join in on the fun!

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Chuckles* Maybe. But for now, the three of us can enjoy this yummy cake and meal~ Oh! Is that a gigantic pizza! YUS! *Drops the two and rushes to grab a few slices of pizza*

DarkFoxKit: With stuffed crust~ I knew she would like it.

Andy: And now, we celebrate! Oh, what about the readers?

DarkFoxKit: They get to read a new chapter. Go on, readers, the chapter isn't going to read itself. XP

---

Chapter 103: Performance of an Afterlife

I could see myself and Juliette inside the circus, not only were we inside, we were on stage. There was a large crowd watching us. Somehow, we had managed to convince the circus staff that we were indeed performers. I could see Juliette looking at me in concern while I had… swords in my mouth? I watched for a moment, realizing what this meant I had to do. I shivered a little at the thought though, sword swallowing wasn't something I ever thought I would do in my half life. However, I noticed I wasn't sensing the entire length of the sword in my throat or body. That made me realize I wasn't phasing them into my body.

I tried to focus a bit more, but when I did it got harder to stay in the vision and I found myself essentially being thrown out of the vision. Just before I opened my eyes, I heard what sounded like fireworks.

"Are you alright?" Juliette asked in worry as she held onto me.

I blinked a little, shaking my head a bit to get rid of the disorientation. "Y-yeah… just not used to using my visions on command yet… but I think I know of a way we could go through the performer entrance and not get kicked out. It… is kinda risky if we don't do it right, but… we'll just have to become performers ourselves."

"I… am a bit concerned but I will still put my trust in you," Juliette said with a small, assuring smile.

"Okay…" I took a deep breath before telling Juliette about my idea. "In my vision, I was apparently doing some sword swallowing. I can't be sure, but I get the feeling that I was likely using my ecto manipulation to create realistic looking swords, and then 'swallowing' them. I saw you there too, which means I think you're supposed to be my partner in the act."

Juliette gave a small nod. "The best thing I could think to do is using my fire magic and potentially making flames of different colors. With that I could create a bit of a lightshow."

"Huh… that must've been the firework noises I heard when I came out of the vision…" I noted. "Perhaps you made some kind of fireworks near the end of the act. You know, sword swallowing shouldn't be the only act we put on, I think there are a few things we could put in as well to make it a really good show."

"Let's just remember to stay focused. We need to do the bare minimum to make sure everyone believes we're performers. The act shouldn't be super long, that way we can go to the sides and watch from there or look around. If we take too long, we give Freakshow a chance of getting a better foothold here or worse," Juliette warned.

"Then we'll do three things in the act; the sword swallowing, me using ecto manipulation to make some really cool, eye catching things, and you using your fire magic to set them on fire before exploding into colorful fireworks," I stated. "Does that sound like a good, short performance with enough substance to convince everyone we're performers?"

"Hmm… that might be enough…" Juliette muttered as she scratched her chin. "Not too short, not too long, and something we can end quickly if we spot Freakshow."

"Sounds good then," I said before flying down to the performer entrance that had a huge neon sign on it, making it hard to miss. "I just wish we had time to-"

Juliette stopped me and put a hand over my mouth. "Are you sure you want to use those words in a place like this?"

I grumbled as Juliette pulled her hand away. "... It would be nice if we had time to practice before doing the act itself. Do you think we would be able to do this in one go?"

"Yes, we will be fine, we just need to keep ourselves calm and act like we've done this a million times," Juliette answered in a confident tone. "Just believe that everything will work out and don't worry about the risks."

Juliette's confident answer really did make me believe we could do this. I could use some of that confidence myself right now. I couldn't help but chuckle though. "First I swallowed the Gem of Life, and now I'm going to be swallowing swords. My family might have to stage an intervention at this rate…"

"Just don't go swallowing the whole world," Juliette joked.

"Oh hardy har, har." I rolled my eyes

I soon landed near the performer entrance, seeing a lot of skilled looking ghosts going through it. There was a security guard anthro bull dog, who kinda reminded me of Cujo, but anthropomorphic, and always in his big, buff monstrous form.

"Wait," I whispered to Juliette. "We're going to need stage names. And… maybe different forms, I doubt they'll let a child deer in as a performer. And… maybe add in performer clothes too."

"It looks like there are performer clothes inside," Juliette said as she pointed out a few racks of clothes. "As for your appearance… I should make you more ghostly, and maybe a bit older. But I don't have to. After all, Youngblood is an old ghost yet he has the appearance of a child."

"Right… they could tell age by the ghost's core rather than their outer appearance…" I muttered.

"It doesn't sound like they're checking for that here," Juliette stated as her ears twitched a bit. "Mainly they're just asking performer names, the act, and if there is any danger to the audience."

"Okay, so we just need performer names," I noted.

"We should choose very basic, very common-sounding names," Juliette responded. "Something that we wouldn't normally choose. Some of the most common ghost names are based on the words 'ghost', 'specter', and 'geist', and 'phantom'."

I began thinking about what name I could use that sounded generic to 'ghost' or those synonymous to it. 'Spectra' came to mind, as her name sounded like 'Specter', but in a more feminine way. 'Skulker' sounded like a pretty good name too.

"We should also think of names that sound like performer names… so perhaps for you, a name and then 'the Spectacular Sword Swallower," Juliette added. "You could even go with alliteration by having the name start with an 'S'."

"Ah, how about… Speckter the Spectacular Sword Swallower? It's Specter spelled with a 'k'," I stated. "I just pretty much used Spectra's name, and added a 'k' to it instead of an 'a', because Skulker also came to mind."

Juliette gave a small nod. "That sounds like it would work. As for me, perhaps something based on 'phantom'... something elegant because I plan on being elegant with my flames. The stage name should probably end in 'the something Pyro'. Not sure what adjective I'll use… perhaps powerful? Or pleasant…? Do you have any suggestions?"

I thought for a moment. "Well… if you're looking for a Phantom name that sounds feminine and elegant, maybe you could go with something like… Phantia? Or maybe Phantella?"

Juliette gave a nod. "I'll go with that second one. As for the last bit… perhaps something basic like 'the Pleasing Pyro'? So in all it would be Phantella the Pleasing Pyro."

I shook my head. "It sounds a bit too tame, we want to catch the audience's attention with the name… maybe change the 'pleasing' to 'powerful'."

"So powerful does sound better…" Juliette mumbled in thought. "Very well. Phantella the Powerful Pyro it is."

"Alright, we got our stage name, now let's put it into use." I grinned. Just hope they don't need some kind of performer license too.

Juliette then pulled me off to the side, where nobody would be able to see us.

"I'm going to change your form to make you look more ghostly now," Juliette informed me as I began to glow yellow. "I think… perhaps a cyan blue? Or would you prefer another color? I'll also make you a tiny bit taller."

"Uh… maybe make me more of a dark purple color," I suggested.

"Oh? There a reason you want to be dark purple?" Juliette asked as my color began to shift into blue and then purple before growing darker.

"I wanted to be a darker color instead of a brighter color for a change, and it would make the fireworks stand out more in the end," I answered. "Besides, we don't see a lot of purple ghosts."

Juliette glowed a little as well, the grey and silver fur turning into a deep forest green with a light grass green contrast.

"There we are, how do I look?" Juliette asked. "I think you look fine."

"I think you look pretty nice yourself." I smiled. "The darker, forest green makes you look better than all those bright neon green ghosts we see everywhere."

"I did use some light green and kept the blue I had used before," Juliette pointed out before she took a breath and let it out.

"I can see that, but at least it's not neon green," I remarked.

"I think we're ready to head to the entrance," Juliette stated. "But just to be sure, let's go over the details once more. You're Speckter the Spectacular Sword Swallower, I'm Phantella the Powerful Pyro. Our act is you swallowing a number of metal swords, creating cool shapes with ecto manipulation, and then me setting them on fire while also creating my own fire. I'll ultimately be finishing it off with blowing up everything on fire into a brilliant show of fireworks. I will tell the guard over there that I have complete control of my flames and that nobody in the crowd will get hurt. That all sound good?"

I nodded. "That all sounds perfect. I would've made a list, but I don't think that's a good idea right now, it would look like we don't know what we're doing on our own."

Juliette and I, trying our best to look confident, like we belonged here, walked up towards the performer entrance. The security bulldog ghost stopped us.

"State your business," The bulldog demanded in a rough voice.

"We're two performers hoping to fill the open slot of the current show," Juliette explained as she pointed over to a board that had a bunch of different performer's names on it. "I am Phantella the Powerful Pyro and this is my partner, Speckter the Spectacular Sword Swallower. Our act is three fold, the first part is my partner swallowing a multitude of swords without injury. This shall be followed up by him removing the swords and them creating different shapes with his powerful ecto manipulation. I shall set some of these shapes on fire, using different colored flames, while also creating my own fire. Before you ask, I have complete control over my fire and have been practicing with it for centuries. I assure you that nobody will be injured by my flames… actually, there shall be one injury, the injury of disappointment when we end the show with a fabulous fireworks display that will leave the crowd wanting more."

Holy heck, Juliette, if this was a video game a popup saying 'Speech 100' would've just appeared… I thought in surprise, having forgotten that Juliette likely had lots of training in convincing speech.

The bulldog guard looked at Juliette for a few moments, then looked at me, then back at her. "I see you've got all your entry questions covered."

"We would have to request access to the wardrobe first, as our current attire lacks the style to draw in the crowd and add to our performance," Juliette responded. "That is the only thing my partner and I request. We do not need any payment as our payment is the enjoyment of the audience. Actually… I would like to request one other thing as a form of payment and that would be the privilege to watch the rest of the show."

"All performers are free to watch the rest of the show," The bulldog guard stated. "And as long as you return the clothes, you are free to use them."

"Thank you so much." Juliette smiled. "My somewhat withdrawn partner and I shall head on in and get into proper attire. We will then wait for our names to be called. That is… if we are welcome to take that final open slot."

"Yes… you two are allowed to take the final open slot," The bulldog answered. "Now head on in, the dressing rooms will be to your right. You can't miss them. If you need any help, there are employees willing to help get you dressed and undressed."

I bowed my head in respect. "Thank you, sir."

Juliette bowed her head too, before taking my hand and leading me inside like I was some shy child. When did I become the withdrawn one?

"The dressing rooms are likely split by gender, Speckter," Juliette stated as she led us to the right. "If you need any help, just ask those inside."

"Right…" I answered as I looked around the place. At least it's not that different from a circus tent in the living world.

We soon came up on the dressing rooms, and Juliette was right; the dressing rooms were split up by gender. I gulped a tiny bit before heading to the male dressing room.

"Let us meet back up here in 15 minutes tops," Juliette stated before walking into the female dressing room.

I guess I wasn't quite used to going through new places all alone before, so me being the 'shy, withdrawn' child made a lot more sense now. I usually had someone with me when exploring these places. I looked around the dressing room I was in. There were certainly quite a few ghosts here. I couldn't even tell if some of them were naked or not.

I decided that if I didn't speak to them, they wouldn't bother me. I felt a bit stiff, and since Chad wasn't with me anymore, I didn't even have him to keep me comforted. I walked towards the nearest clothing rack that looked to be in about my size. I found a set of leather armor that appeared to be in my size. There was a brown leather tunic, black pants, a dark brown leather belt, and a cape that seemed to have some kind of faux fur on it. The cape was black in color but the fur was a shiny silvery color.

I figured that this outfit would be perfect for my costume, though I hesitated a bit on the cape. The cape was nice and fancy, but I also knew they could be more trouble than they were worth. I could accidentally trip over on the cape while out in the ring and look like a complete fool in front of everyone. However, once I looked a little closer I realized that there was some kind of shimmer on it that was actively making it more accommodating for me. It shortened to a length that would make it impossible for me to trip over. I just hoped that if I put it on, I wouldn't look like 'Super Danny' when Danny had split himself up that one time.

I took out the outfit I decided to wear for my performance. When I did, I looked around. Am I… going to have to change in front of all these ghosts?

There was another thing Danny and I shared; we don't like changing in front of people we don't know. Heck, we always changed in the locker rooms after everyone else left at school. Surely there's a more private area for the… more modest changers?

I looked around for a moment, before seeing a green worm-like ghost wearing a staff uniform. The worm, thankfully, had ears, eyes, and a mouth so I could actually talk to them.

I walked over to the staff worm and got their attention. "Excuse me, are you an employee?"

"Yes, I am," The worm ghost confirmed. "Can I help you with something?"

"Yes, please. Is there a place more private I could change? I'm a bit shy," I requested.

"There are private stalls in which you can go into," The worm ghost answered. "They're over on the far wall and look like what you might see at a clothes store."

I nodded. "Thank you."

I walked over to where the worm ghost told me to go, and sure enough, there were private stalls like one would see at a clothes store. I smiled, glad to see I could change in private now. I walked into one of the empty stalls and began to change.

---

I was blushing a bit when I was standing in front of Juliette. Juliette was wearing this gorgeous dress that looked somewhat like flames. It had yellow and gold near the shoulders and went downwards into orange, red, and dark red. At the very bottom was some black, making it look like the dress had been burnt. All along it was swirls of gold and white designs that made it look like the flame was actively burning when it caught the light.

For some reason, I felt like I had seen the dress somewhere before, but I couldn't put my finger on it. All I knew was that Juliette looked quite amazing. Meanwhile, I felt like a complete cosplaying dork wearing my leather armor and tunic.

"Wow, Juliette… you look… really beautiful," I complimented, feeling a bit self conscious. "Maybe I should've picked something better out myself."

Juliette shook her head and smiled. "It makes sense that you chose what you are wearing. Sword swallowers usually choose something that isn't too restrictive, so your outfit will help sell the act."

I nodded a little. "I take it that your dress is fireproof though, right?"

"Yes and no~" Juliette grinned. "You'll see what I mean when we get in there."

I wasn't sure if I should be worried about that ominous grin Juliette was giving me, but she seemed excited at least. I was more nervous than excited, I was never one to perform in front of others, in fact, I still couldn't believe we were about to do what we were going to do. I swear, Freakshow has made me do the craziest things I've ever done in my life, and that's saying something.

"So where do we go from here? I've never had to join a circus before," I asked, looking around.

"Probably ask one of the staff where the waiting area is and wait for our names to be called," Juliette answered. "Or we can look around for Freakshow while waiting. From what I remember of the sheet outside, and from the names I've been heard getting called, we won't be going on for at least 5-10 minutes."

"Great, then we should use this time wisely and try to find Freakshow. The trail leads here, so he has to be in this big tent somewhere, this is like the man's dream job," I remarked. "The only problem is that there are too many trails, he likely did that on purpose to try to throw us off if we managed to find him here."

"We shouldn't split up," Juliette stated firmly. "But we can look around and ask the performers if they've seen anyone new besides us."

"Then let's do it," I said, feeling a lot more comfortable knowing I wasn't alone anymore in this world.

Juliette and I spent the next 6 or so minutes talking to the other performers, asking them about seeing anyone new besides us. Several of them didn't have an answer for us, as most of them were either new themselves, or didn't remember anyone they'd seen before here.

"Looks like asking around isn't getting us anywhere and we've confirmed there are trails of blue going in every direction," Juliette summarized. "Perhaps we should stop now and relax ourselves before our performance. Once we're done, we'll have all the time we need to find Freakshow."

"Yeah… I need some kind of practice though, even if it's just visual practice before going out there," I admitted. "I rather not mess this up and accidentally cut my own throat. That may not be fatal to ghosts, but I'd rather not find out if it was fatal to a half living."

Why did I choose sword swallowing? Surely I could've tried anything else… I thought to myself, having second thoughts.

I closed my eyes, trying to open that vision again, hoping it would give me a little bit of practice, or let me see that trick again to make sure I didn't mess it up. Too bad the circus wouldn't take 'fortune telling' as a performance. I was surprised that the vision came back, as it was my first time actually trying to see the same future vision more than once. Sure enough, I was still doing the sword swallowing in the vision, though I figured it was too late to turn back now anyways. I watched as my future self did his sword swallowing trick, trying to mark down every detail he did to make sure I would be able to do the same when my time came.

"While it's good to have a plan, practicing will only force us to become our own worst enemies as we'll constantly be judging ourselves for any mistakes," Juliette wisely responded. "We need to be as relaxed and stress free as possible when we go out there. Besides…" Juliette lowered her voice a little. "You won't be swallowing actual swords, right? The plan was you would make the swords with your ecto manipulation and make them look like real swords. Since they're made with ecto manipulation, you can break them apart as they enter your mouth. They also don't have to be sharp at all. We'll be in the center of a large ring without anyone nearby to see the blade in perfect detail. Meaning nobody will question the sharpness of the blade."

"Thing is I never had to use my ecto manipulation in this way before," I responded, opening my eyes and coming out of the vision. "I just want to make sure I get it done right or I could hurt myself. I should be able to do it just fine though. Just hope I don't end up with stage fright or something and end up choking."

I then sheepishly scratch my cheek. "While I don't usually get stage fright, I don't usually like drawing attention to myself much either. It's why Danny Phantom was more vocal than Andy Phantom was when he made his 'debut'."

"Then forget that you're going out there to perform for an audience, forget that you'll be on a 'stage'," Juliette suggested. "Stay focused on me and act as if it is simply the two of us in there alone and you want to show me a trick you have been working on."

I looked at Juliette, wondering if she knew that wasn't exactly that much better for me. I felt self conscious just wanting to show a friend what I learned. I suppose I still needed to tell Tucker and Sam about learning the fire magic Juliette showed me.

"Forget about your worries, Andy." Juliette smiled as she reached out and took one of my fur covered hands. "This isn't our world, there is nothing you can do to mess up or permanently damage your reputation. There's also the fact that you're not currently Andy, you're Speckter. If it would help, perhaps try to get into the mindset of 'Speckter' and think of this as one of Tucker's games where you take on the mindset of the character you have made."

I nodded at that. "You're right, I need to get into the footsteps of Speckter. Speckter would be confident and ready to show off his amazing sword swallowing skills to the world, or at least the Ghost Zone. And with his lovely partner, Phantella, there's nothing the two of them can't do!"

Juliette nodded and smiled. "There you go, Speckter~"

I was glad for the pep talk, I was feeling a little more confident. Then, before I knew it, we heard the announcement. It echoed across the entire tent.

"Ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and ghouls! Please put your hands together for two newcomers who wish to show their amazing talents, Speckter the Spectacular Sword Swallower and his partner Phantella the Powerful Pyro!"

"Let's get out there," Juliette said as she motioned towards the nearby entrance to the big ring.

I gulped a little, my nervousness returning a bit, but I nodded. I followed Juliette out to the entrance, pulling along a covered cart that I was planning on pulling the 'swords' from. As we were entering the big ring, I could see the spotlight was immediately on both of us. I could hear the crowd roaring in cheers as we walked out. The ringmaster was, surprisingly, an anthro elephant ghost, though he had three trunks, and he looked way bigger than any circus elephant I had ever seen.

"Smile and wave, Speckter, smile and wave," Juliette whispered as she smiled and waved at the crowd.

I gave a nervous smile and my wave was a bit stiff. Though I tried to play it off as me being more focused on pulling in the covered cart. Juliette and I agreed we needed something where I could pull out the 'real' swords from, and a covered cart was our best option. Juliette explained that it wouldn't be smart of me to make a bunch of swords in advance and store them under the cart as I would steadily get tired from maintaining so many objects I wasn't directly holding. She then suggested the covered cart instead of any other cart as I could stick my hands underneath the cover and create the swords there.

We made our way out to the center of the ring and stopped. Juliette turned to me and bowed her head a little before stepping back.

"First!" Juliette started, her voice being amplified by the enchantments that had apparently been used in the ring's construction. "My partner, Speckter, shall show the lovely audience his swords to show they are indeed real metal swords. He shall then swallow them without turning himself or the blade intangible! We ask that you not distract him during the process as even one mistake will cost Speckter his form and it would be ever so boring and dreadful to have to cut our act short."

I was glad I decided to go for a deer as my current form; deer were usually quiet creatures. It also helped that Juliette was able to speak to such a crowd while I would have likely hesitated and stuttered over my words. I stuck my hands under the covered cart to create the realistic looking swords. I had been practicing my ecto manipulation in the past several weeks now before the road trip. And with Scarlet's help, I managed to make the weapons look more and more realistic. So realistic in fact, that Scarlet one time picked up one of my weapons thinking it was one of her own. After practicing so many times, it had become extremely easy and not all that taxing to make the realistic swords. The tricky part was to make sure they weren't sharp for me to attempt the swallowing method. In order to do that, I made the edges rounded and made the blade in a way where it didn't thin out much.

Knowing I couldn't easily get away with a meager show I began to pull out one sword after another, leaning them against the cart, until I had a total of 20 swords. Due to the way I made them, I knew I could fit them all into my mouth and hold them there. And due to another type of 'training' with Scarlet, I had learned the very useful art of being able to turn off my gag reflex and sense of taste. It wasn't exactly something I liked to think about much though, as it brought back memories of the monstrosities that Scarlet called 'cooking'.

I could hear the crowd sounding in awe, and whispering among each other as I had pulled out the 20 swords. Many of them were asking if I was actually really going to be swallowing all 20 swords. I almost wanted to chuckle.

Juliette turned to me and mouthed 'you got this' and gave me a thumbs up. I gave her a subtle smile before I began my attempt.

To put on a good show I brandished the first blade and swung it around a bit to show that it wasn't some fake prop that would fall apart. I then tilted my head up and opened my mouth. I had to fight off the parts of me that were telling me this was dumb and dangerous in order to bring the tip of the sword to my lips. I then started lowering the blade into my mouth.

Once the blade was about an inch into my mouth, where it would be out of sight of everyone, I started to dematerialize the blade. I kept doing that until just the last inch of the blade and the hilt were sticking out of my mouth. In order to keep the sword in place, I lightly gripped it with my teeth while also holding onto it with a tiny bit of telekinesis.

Okay, first one down, 19 to go. I thought to myself as I began to repeat the process with the next blade, which I swung around once to show it was also real.

I repeated this process, hearing the crowd getting more and more excited and impressed as I managed to fit more blades into my mouth. I was onto the 8th blade when I realized that doing this wasn't as hard as I was making it out to be. This made me relax a little more, and also made me able to continue with this with more confidence.

Before too long, I was on my 20th sword. I was thankful I could dematerialize the blade in my mouth, otherwise I wasn't sure if I would be able to breathe right now.

"There you have it, folks!" Juliette announced as I began to slowly turn to show the crowds that I had indeed 'swallowed' all 20 swords.

The crowd erupted into applause, cheers, and whistles. However, Juliette quickly held up her hand to silence the crowd.

"While he has managed to get all the swords in, Speckter needs silence once more to safely remove the blades and put them back into the cart!" Juliette informed, making the crowd fall silent once more. "Go ahead, Speckter, whenever you are ready."

Juliette and I had talked about the second part, where I would have to rematerialize the swords as I pulled them out of my mouth. She said I'd need to go at a slow enough pace so I didn't potentially show the incomplete blade, but also not so slow that I started reforming the blade too much. We also talked about how I would need to memorize the blade so it didn't look any different from when I had made it. I would then take the sword and place them into the cart one at a time. Once they were underneath the cover, I would dispel them so I didn't waste any more of my energy.

Already having a plan in mind, and still feeling quite confident in myself and my abilities, I began to withdraw each sword. It wasn't hard to rematerialize them or keep them the exact same way as I had made them, as I had a clear image in my mind. It took a little longer to pull out all 20 blades and put them into the covered cart as I didn't want to rush, but it didn't take as long as I had originally thought.

"And that, folks, is Speckter's spectacular sword swallowing abilities!" Juliette beamed as the crowd started to applaud once more, seemingly louder than before.

I can't believe I just pulled all of that off! I don't know whether to be incredibly impressed or incredibly horrified. I inwardly screamed to myself while I just smiled and waved.

"Now we shall move onto the next part of our act!" Juliette informed the crowd. "Speckter shall fill this tent with shapes of different styles and colors simply using his amazing abilities!"

I lifted up my hands and grinned. Now this part I found to be a lot more fun. I began to create different kinds of colorful furniture floating around, I even created computers, game consoles, giant plush toys, little toy trains, and all sorts of different colored flowers. I could hear the crowd clapping and going wild as I created more things around us.

"And now for my part!~" Juliette smiled as she held out her hands and two large white fireballs formed in her palms.

As this happened, I noticed Juliette's dress beginning to glow a little but kept myself focused on the shapes.

Juliette tossed those fireballs up into the air and as they went up, they began to shift colors. They went through every shade of color in the rainbow, as well as plenty of other colors. And as they reached the top, the fireballs joined up into one large glowing multi-colored fireball. The large fireball then exploded outwards, splitting into a variety of different colored smaller fireballs.

Each fireball that had shot off from the large one's explosion found their way to one of my creations, setting them ablaze. Some of them, namely the ones hit by blue and white, froze over in ice before exploding into a cloud of snow. While others, like green, yellow, and pink whichmade vines and greenery coat the object before exploding into flower petals and tree leaves. The ones that were coated in the other colors simply exploded into a shimmer of colors.

I glanced down when I saw Juliette creating a huge fireball and noticed that her dress seemed to be ablaze and was shifting colors just like the fireball she was creating, but she wasn't panicking or acting like it was strange. It was then that I realized what Juliette had meant by 'yes and no' when I asked her if the dress was fireproof. It was a dress that was designed to be set on fire and look amazing.

Juliette finished creating the huge fireball, which was the size of the Fenton RV, and launched it into the air. It stopped about halfway up to the top of the tent and started to shrink in on itself. I saw Juliette moving her hands around a bit, condensing the ball of fire.

It went from the size of the Fenton RV all the way down to a basketball. When it stopped shrinking, Juliette quickly spread her hands outwards and the ball exploded in all directions. The flames that shot out from the fireball all were rainbow colored and each seemed to be a different shape and size. When they got out a certain distance from the center, the shapes exploded once more into different kinds of colorful fireworks.

After the last firework had exploded, there was silence in the audience. Juliette smiled and extinguished her dress with a wave of her hand before she grabbed onto the dress and curtseyed.

As she did so, I actually had to cover my ears a bit and Juliette's ears flattened against her head. And that was because the audience erupted into loud applause, cheering, whistling, and more. I found myself bowing, likely out of some kind of instinct.

"Thank you, thank you!" Both Juliette and I said out loud as the crowd was still cheering.

"We do hope you enjoyed our three part act!" I spoke up, feeling confident enough to actually speak to the crowd now.

"Wow! That was definitely a powerful and spectacular showing! Don't you agree, my lovely audience?!~"

The applause somehow got slightly louder in response.

"While I would say we should ask for an encore, I believe what the two of them showed likely took quite a bit of their energy and it would be unfair to drain them dry. However, I think we should instead offer them a chance to do their show again at a later point, wouldn't you agree?~"

The crowd whistled and kept applauding, which was likely them agreeing with the three-trunked elephant ringmaster.

"Then that decides it! Phantella the Powerful Pyro and Speckter the Spectacular Sword Swallower, I officially extend you the offer to join our circus!~" The three-trunked elephant ringmaster announced as he floated down and landed in front of us.

I blinked in surprise, I knew the show we put on was pretty good, but I didn't think we would be offered the chance to actually join the circus for it. It was just supposed to be a cover up for us to get in here. I looked over at Juliette.

The elephant ringmaster took off his hat and swirled it in front of him a little before bowing to us a little. The ringmaster then straightened back up.

"What do you say, Speckter and Phantella, would you join our circus?" The ringmaster questioned, looking more towards me.

I looked at the hat for a moment, not really sure why I was, but I felt a strange tug coming from it. I began to think about how cool it would be to actually be a part of the circus. I mean we did such a good job here, perhaps we could make a real career out of being circus performers. Besides, at one point in my life I had dreamt about running off and joining the circus.

I found myself grinning and started to approach the ringmaster.

"We appreciate the offer," Juliette spoke up, putting an arm in front of me, stopping me from moving any closer. "However, as you are stationed here in this amusement park, it would mean us giving up our own dream to show the entire Ghost Zone our talents. And we unfortunately cannot do that. This show here was our first and only one at this location, and we do hope you understand."

I blinked a few times, as if just realizing what I was about to do. Why the heck would I ever want to join the circus? I always hated the idea of running off to the circus, especially after what Freakshow did to Danny. … Wait… Freakshow?

I looked at the elephant ringmaster again. He looked a little annoyed at Juliette's rejection.

"But you have such talent, you shouldn't squander it by just travelling on your lonesome in the Ghost Zone," The ringmaster stated. "You belong here, where all the real talented ghosts belong."

Juliette smiled at the ringmaster. "Thank you, but no thank you. The whole point of myself and Speckter being here is to share our talents once before moving on. If we stayed and kept showing our talents, they would eventually grow mundane and more common. By travelling as we do, we make our acts a once in an afterlife experience. We do occasionally have some viewers see our shows multiple times, but that only happens when they are in the right place at the right time."

While Juliette was talking to the elephant ringmaster, I was studying him. I mainly narrowed in on his hat as that was what I had been drawn to before.

Juliette then put a hand on my shoulder, subtly putting some of the Gem of Form's power into me without making it obvious, while continuing to talk. "We appreciate the applause of every single person here and hope everyone understands our own desires. To join this circus would mean to give up our dreams, which led us to performing at this show in the first place."

I subtly activated my aura vision while Juliette kept talking. Almost immediately, I was bombarded by a blue aura coming from the hat. Not just the hat, but from the three-trunked elephant himself. My eyes went wide. This is Freakshow! We found him!

"Perhaps my… partner, Phantella and I, just need some time to talk about it first," I suggested.

Juliette shook her head before she turned to face me. I turned to face her as well. "No, we shall do this here and now. Our journey has been long and we are nearing the end. Speckter, do you really think we should join the circus, or do you think we should continue our journey which will eventually lead us home?"

As Juliette said that she quickly darted her eyes in the direction of the elephant that was truly Freakshow. I had the feeling that she had noticed my hesitance and was questioning if the elephant was Freakshow.

I let out a sigh before I gave her a nod, hoping she knew that meant 'yes, this is Freakshow'. "I see your point, Phantella, and I believe we should continue our journey. But the only way to do that…"

"Is by defeating you, Freakshow!" Juliette shouted as she turned and blasted him with a glowing yellow fireball directly to the chest.

Several things happened at once when Juliette did that. The crowd gasped in shock, some were wondering if this was supposed to be part of the show. The three trunked elephant fell back and slid a few feet, his form rippling as it was having trouble maintaining itself, then it flickered before shrinking down to a more human size. I heard someone gasping in the crowd, though I couldn't tell exactly who.

"Well… well… I didn't expect for you to put on such an amazing act." Freakshow coughed a bit as he got back up to his feet. "You actually made me believe you were circus performers. Which makes me even more interested in winning this game of ours~"

"You're not the only one who can act well, Freakshow. And we're done playing this game with you, we're ending this right now!" I snapped as I jumped at him, intending to ensnare him with telekinesis or raining swords down on him and trapping him in a cage of swords.

However, as I was about to ensnare the evil ringmaster, his hands glowed blue, and my telekinesis stopped, and my swords disappeared in a heartbeat. Freakshow then jumped away from me before I could catch him with my hands.

"Go after him!" Juliette shouted at me as she summoned some fireballs and threw them into the path of Freakshow, trying to block him off.

Instead of stopping, Freakshow dodged a number of the fireballs and made others disappear.

Tch, he sure does know how to use that Gem of Fantasy to get away. I growled in annoyance.

"You can still fly!" Juliette yelled as she ran over and slapped me on the back. "Stop standing there gawking and get going!"

I yelped a little before I jumped up at Freakshow, trying to catch that slippery man. I tried to slow him down with my ghost ray, I tried to use telekinesis again, but Freakshow kept either teleporting away, or used the Gem of Fantasy to stop my powers from reaching him. I tried to grab him with my hands, but he kept putting up a barrier whenever I got close that made me feel like I just slammed into a Ghost Shield. I could hear the crowd laughing, they likely thought it was part of the show. I was humiliated.

I slammed into Freakshow's barrier again, and rubbed my poor aching face.

"This is not a part of the show!" Juliette shouted at the audience. "That man there is a dangerous criminal from the living world known as Freakshow! He has in his possession a powerful artifact that is dangerous! And he has made a habit out of enslaving ghosts! So if you value your safety and freedom, you should flee!"

Then my ears twitched when I heard a very familiar voice behind me.

"Do you need some help? I know this man…"

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I turned around, seeing Danny Phantom himself floating there, just inches away from me. My heart nearly stopped when I saw him.

"Ah- hey! Uh… this um… this is just between us and him, you shouldn't get involved," I quickly said. "You should probably get the audience out of here though, since you… know of the man's dangerous reputation."

Danny frowned a little.

"You think you can catch me?" Freakshow suddenly laughed. "As if mere children would be able to match the ringmaster at his own game in the circus! But two against one just isn't fair, now is it? Perhaps I should call upon my own back up."

Freakshow took off his tophet and threw it in the air, it shined with blue energy from the Gem of Fantasy. "Performers! How would you like to get out here and help protect your ringmaster from these party poopers?"

"We might have more than evacuating the audience to worry about," Danny said with a frown.

Suddenly, we were surrounded by other ghosts. These were the other performers we saw in line earlier. There were a lot of them, and their eyes looked to be glowing blue. I cringed, realizing it was likely due to being under Freakshow's Gem of Fantasy's spell.

"I hate it when I'm right." Danny frowned. "Looks like Freakshow found a new way to control ghosts…"

"There's so many of them," I hissed as I looked around.

I saw Danny smiling. "Finally… it's been too long since I've been in a fight where I didn't have to fully hold back."

"Huh?" I looked at Danny, remembering that he wasn't my Danny, meaning he could be a lot stronger than the Danny I knew.

The other ghosts began to shoot their own ghost rays at us. Danny put up a barrier around us, protecting us from the attacks. I was impressed at how durable his shield was to be able to reflect the attacks While this was going on, I was surprised to see something blue and fast going around. I blinked, seeing some of the performers suddenly falling to the ground. The blue blur was often going around Juliette to keep her safe from the ghosts she couldn't see coming up behind her.

"Don't get distracted!" Juliette yelled as she slammed a fist into the ground.

The ghosts that were running up to her stopped and started to laugh. Though their laughter was quickly cut short as the ground beneath them began to glow. The glowing ground got brighter until the ground erupted and pillars of fire surrounded each of the ghosts, doing enough damage to knock them unconscious or leave them seriously injured and unable to fight.

Danny brought down the barrier. "If you're trying to catch Freakshow, you better do it now. I'll try to keep the other ghosts from attacking you."

"Uh, thanks," I said a little hesitantly.

I looked through the crowd of ghosts, finding Freakshow among the crowd. He was grinning, like he was excited about something. I didn't like that look on his face. I flew quickly. Danny flew beside me, using his ghost ray to keep the other ghosts away while I tried to get to Freakshow. I had to get Freakshow, but he kept finding ways out of my grasp whenever I would get close to him. I need to get him by surprise.

A large serpent ghost suddenly popped up in front of me without warning. I let out a yelp as it almost bit me, its fangs dripping with some volatile looking liquid. I quickly flew back, barely avoiding their dripping fangs. Using the moment of their lunge towards me, I grabbed the back of their head and shoved them into the ground fangs first. I was hoping that would trap the serpent there for a little bit and allow me to return my attention to Freakshow.

I was flabbergasted when I suddenly saw not only the other performers, but the entire audience had now surrounded us. Their eyes were glowing blue. Freakshow was grinning.

"It would seem our little circus act really drew in the crowd, wouldn't you say?" Freakshow remarked.

Danny flew over to Juliette, and seemed to be saying something to someone, but I couldn't see what he was doing. I was trying to get away from the other ghosts. How am I supposed to get to Freakshow now?

I yelped when one of the ghosts pinned me down. I groaned as I tried to turn intangible, but someone was electrocuting me, making it too hard to focus on being intangible.

"Let the icy flames of Niflheim surround my enemies and freeze them in their tracks," Juliette chanted as she created a large ice blue fireball and launched it into the air.

The fireball exploded and tiny little flames, which looked almost like snowflakes or hail, shot off in all directions. Instead of setting people ablaze, ice started to form around the ghosts' bodies. This stopped a majority of the audience from moving, and it also helped to free me as the ghost electrocuting me was encased in ice.

Suddenly, a blue and white blur came rushing towards me. I only had time to blink before a large looking fox creature snatched me right up with its mouth and tossed me onto its back. I yelped, clinging onto this fox. Its fur looked to be made of dark blue, blue, light blue, and white flames. It was running on all fours like a feral fox. Its eyes were glowing purple. I was surprised that I was on its back and not bursting into flames myself. It was moving quickly through the other ghosts, easily dodging the ones that didn't get encased in ice.

There's something… familiar about this fox… Isn't this… like with my future self when he used a fiery fox cloak? I asked myself as I was clinging onto the back of this fox.

When a ghost suddenly popped up in front of the fox, it didn't hesitate or react in fear. Instead, it opened its maw and bit down on the ghost's neck or wherever it could bite down, and tossed the ghost aside before it kept going.

I heard Juliette chanting that spell earlier, it made me wonder if she was alright. I know Danny was likely with her, so he must be protecting her right now, but Juliette is more than likely down for the count after unleashing a spell like that. Which meant it was up to me to get to Freakshow. If this fox was who I thought it was, then I knew I could trust that he would help me.

The fox and I had managed to get close to Freakshow, who was looking at us in surprise, he likely didn't expect me to come riding in on a flaming fox. I was so close, so very close to catching Freakshow. Unfortunately, Freakshow had one more desperate move in mind before I could catch him. The man sent out a wave of the Gem of Fantasy's power at us, causing the fox and I to go flying back a few feet. I groaned, feeling like my entire being was suddenly unstable. I fell off of the fox and hit the ground, curling up as my body felt like it was rippling.

"Get away from her, Danny!" A familiar voice shouted as I was beginning to recover. "Or at least don't look!"

I blinked open my eyes, trying to figure out what was going on. I didn't see the fox creature anymore, but something was definitely wrong. I pushed myself up, and looked down at my hands. That was when I realized what was wrong; I had human hands. Or at least I had my gloved human hands, and not the furry ones I had a minute ago. My eyes widened in horror as I looked down at myself, seeing my original hazmat suit. I was me again, I was Andy Phantom.

Freakshow must've done something that interfered with our form. Oh… no… did he affect Juliette too!? Danny was with her! I gasped, realizing how dire the situation just became. I likely have less than ten seconds to get to Freakshow!

With little time to think, I rushed at Freakshow. Unfortunately, I was quickly grabbed and pulled back down by another ghost. This one was a giant ape-like ghost with four arms, and a big spike on its back.

"Let go!" I shouted before blasting the ape back with my ghost ray.

The ape yelped and let go before I continued to fly at Freakshow. Once again, we were back to the same song and dance where Freakshow kept teleporting away or raising up a Ghost Shield to keep me from getting to him.

"Whoops, almost got me that time~" Freakshow taunted.

I glared, feeling like time was almost up. No… it should've been up already. It had to have been longer than 10 seconds if Danny saw Juliette's true form. Maybe Danny didn't see her or maybe Freakshow didn't change her back?

"Andy! Trust me! Keep your legs out straight behind you and get ready to grab him!" Juliette called out sounding a bit tired.

I blinked, not sure what Juliette was planning to do, but if she had a plan I decided to trust her. I changed my ghost tail back into my legs, as they were a tail before when I was charging at Freakshow, and straightened them out behind me.

"Apollo and Hermes, I ask that you grant my target the speed to catch his prey," Juliette softly muttered, sounding like she was chanting again. "Feet of Flames!"

All of a sudden, there was a burst of flames coming out from under my feet. I was suddenly blasting at Freakshow with almost little to no warning. Thankfully, Juliette told me to get ready to grab Freakshow just before she pulled this stunt. While I didn't expect to suddenly be blasting at the evil ringmaster with fire feet, I didn't hesitate to reach out towards Freakshow. Freakshow looked very surprised, and he had no time to react. I was coming in too fast for him to teleport or put up a Ghost Shield. He did try, however, Freakshow tried to get away. My right hand reached out and I touched Freakshow's jacket on his chest.

As soon as my fingers had brushed against Freakshow's jacket, the world around me began to fade away. I could hear Danny and Andy's voices calling out as everything began to disappear in a white flash.

---

"Did we… do it…?" I barely heard Juliette's voice echoing in the void that we were in.

"I… honestly don't know…" I spoke up in a surprisingly quiet voice, seeing Juliette on her hands and knees near me. "I'm pretty sure we were past the 10 second mark when I caught Freakshow… Did… Danny see you change back?"

"Yeah, but then the fox… got in between myself and Danny," Juliette answered, her legs shaking as she struggled to keep herself from collapsing. "And… this is why I don't normally use chant spells… they take waaay too much mana from me…"

I frowned in concern. "Are you going to be okay?"

My feet felt sore and burnt, but I was more concerned about Juliette.

"Yeah… I'll be fine… and your feet should heal… soon," Juliette responded as she panted a little.

"No!" I nearly jumped at hearing Freakshow's voice shouting. "No! I cannot have lost! You were over the 10 second mark! You were seen by Danny Phantom of all people! You should've lost back there!"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Juliette, you said that Danny did see you, but then that fox came between you two?"

"Yeah… Hey… Freakshow, you know… you never specified what kind of timer was being used…" Juliette chuckled, smiling a bit. "I get the feeling you were hoping… for a cumulative timer of some kind… where if we were spotted for even a second, that'd be a permanent second off the timer… But because you weren't specific, the Shadow Game decided for you… and it decided in our favor. After all… a Shadow Game has to be fair to both parties in some way or another…"

Freakshow's teeth were pretty much grinding at this point. "I will not accept this loss! You had help when you shouldn't have!"

"You need to accept the loss, Freakshow, otherwise there will be an even worse outcome…" Juliette responded. "Also… you never said we were forbidden from getting help."

"You weren't supposed to get help, that was the whole point of the rules of not letting the others see you! Yet you managed to find a way to get help anyways!" Freakshow snapped, his right eye twitching.

"That's the thing with Shadow Games, Freakshow, they have a level of genie logic to them." Juliette smirked. "Meaning that if you aren't extremely specific, your words and intentions can be twisted."

"And thanks to you, we both came out of this game learning a lot about ourselves, what we're capable of, and almost got broken down several times, but we got right back up," I stated. "And while I shouldn't be thanking you for that, it did help me overcome some things I needed to face. But since we won your Shadow Game fair and square, I believe it's time for you to hand over that gauntlet and that Gem of Fantasy to us."

"Either way, we'll get the gauntlet and Gem of Fantasy," Juliette added. "It's up to you on if you lose anything more. You also have to be honest and tell me if you truly know where my parents are. You promised to me that you would take me to them if we won. But I want to be sure that those were indeed my parents and not some fantasy you were conjuring with the Gem of Fantasy."

"Clever girl." Freakshow grinned. "Those were indeed a fantasy that I conjured up. Those were and weren't your parents. I showed you who you wanted to see using the Gem of Fantasy and altered their appearances to match. I never promised to take you to your parents, I promised to take you to the ones I was showing you. I never said they were your biological parents, so I didn't actually break the rules there."

I could feel Juliette's anger when Freakshow said this. I pretty much expected the whole parents thing to be a lie, but to have him confirm it like that probably felt like a sledgehammer to the face for her.

Juliette took a deep breath and let it out, speaking through somewhat gritted teeth in a monotone voice. "Very well… then I shall simply ask you to hand over the Reality Gauntlet and the Gem of Fantasy. I warn you against trying to back out the deal, Freakshow."

Freakshow glared, grabbing onto his gauntlet with his other hand, holding onto it tightly. "Are you threatening me?"

"It wouldn't exactly matter if I told you yes or no," Juliette coldly replied as she pushed herself to her feet, wobbling a little. "Yes, I could set you ablaze and take your life, but that would only satisfy me in the short run and would give you a quick release. But… I think I'll instead let the Shadow Game show you what happens to sore losers."

Juliette almost stumbled forward, I quickly rushed over and caught her, helping her lean against me despite my feet feeling like they were covered in blisters. Though I noticed the pain was starting to dissipate.

"I wanted to become the Master of all Reality! I'm not going to let a couple of brats take that away from me now!" Freakshow growled. "I am the ringmaster! I make the rules!"

"You were the one who challenged us to a Shadow Game, surely you know the rules regarding them," Juliette muttered. "There is the most obvious 'the loser must follow through on their stakes no matter what'. But there is also the more important rule. If you are the loser and try to back out of the deal, you forfeit…"

Juliette ran out of breath and needed a moment to recover. While this was happening, I started to see some kind of movement from behind Freakshow.

"Your soul…" Juliette finished.

I watched with fascinated horror as the movement turned into tendrils of shadows. There were several of them surrounding Freakshow, some of them developing evil looking faces, laughing.

"The denizens of the Shadow Realm are here to collect, Freakshow, are you going to hand over the rewards on your own and save yourself? Or are you going to stay stubborn till the end?" Juliette questioned.

Freakshow looked around fearfully, actually scared for a moment. And yet, despite this, he still stubbornly clung to the Reality Gauntlet and the Gem of Fantasy. "No! You cannot touch me! I am master of all reality!"

In a desperate attempt to get the shadows to go away, Freakshow tried to use the gauntlet and the gem to make the shadows disappear. The Gem of Fantasy did nothing, it didn't even glow. The shadows only grew, becoming more and more monstrous.

"No, you aren't, Freakshow," Juliette stated. "You were the delusional master of your own world. You exhibited signs of being envious of ghosts, you were a selfish man who wanted to be at the top of the food chain, and you tried to cheat, con, and lie your way out of any uncomfortable situation… but that won't work here. There are beings in the Shadow Realm much more ancient and powerful than you ever had the chance to be. Even if you had completed the Reality Gauntlet and got all its powers, I doubt you would've been at the very top. Last chance, Freakshow, surrender and admit defeat."

I looked at Freakshow, feeling nothing but pity for the man I should hold in contempt for what he had put me and my friends through. He so desperately wanted to cling to the delusion that he was more powerful than the shadows, that he was willing to give up his own soul for it.

"Fredrich, please, you need to let go, for your sake," I said quietly, using Freakshow's real name.

Freakshow didn't respond, he had closed his eyes, possibly hoping that if he didn't see what was happening, he would be safe.

"Very well…" Juliette sighed before she looked up. "He has forfeited the chance to admit defeat… do with him as you will."

The shadows all launched themselves at Freakshow. Juliette suddenly put her hands over my eyes, stopping me from seeing what would happen next. However, I heard a deep, loud howl from above and pulled Juliette's hands down enough to see a gigantic hand reaching down from above. Juliette slid her hands back over my eyes and held them there for a few minutes before she pulled them away.

When she pulled her hands away, all I saw in Freakshow's place was the Reality Gauntlet, the now dull blue Gem of Fantasy still in the gauntlet, and a torn out page from Freakshow's book.

I was glad Juliette decided to keep my eyes closed, I had a feeling I would've gotten nightmares from this for weeks if she hadn't.

"Maybe the Shadow Realm will show him the error of his ways and some entity will give him a second chance," Juliette muttered as she began to slowly hobble towards the pile of items. "Andy, how are your feet feeling? They should be healed now."

I moved my feet a little. "They feel fine now, but you shouldn't move around too much, you look like you're about to keel over."

I walked over to the pile of items, bending down to pick them up for Juliette.

"I'll be fine, but thank you for your concern," Juliette assured.

I held up the page, and the Reality Gauntlet. "Now that we have the Reality Gauntlet, and the gems… I guess we should figure out how to use them properly to save our friends and family… as well as getting back to our dimension, that would be nice too."

"Once we are ready to leave, we just need to declare such and we will be sent back," Juliette informed. "Though… we first need to decide who is going to put on the Reality Gauntlet and what exactly we're going to use it for."

I gave an uncomfortable look at the Reality Gauntlet. This thing had a lot of power, and to even have it in my hands already made me feel uncomfortable as heck.

"Do we want to go back to before everyone was captured, make them forget, and make the Guys in White forget?" Juliette questioned. "Do we want to simply free the group, get us all back together, make the Guys in White forget about us, and then carry on with our trip? Or what? I mean, we should definitely use it, at least a little, to remove our current exhaustion, stress, and fatigue."

"A complete reset of the summer does sound tempting, but… I'd rather not do that. It would feel like a complete waste." I frowned.

"We don't need to do a reset," Juliette replied. "To clarify, I was saying to take us back to when we got to Gothapalooza, make the Guys in White forget about us, return them back to normal, and make Danny and the others forget they were captured."

I nodded at that. "Yeah, that might be our best bet. I mean who knows what the Guys in White did to them in the lab, it might be best if they forgot. But… who's going to be using the Reality Gauntlet to pull this off? I mean you have more experience with these kinds of artifacts, so… maybe you should take it?"

"I could," Juliette acknowledged. "But as I am right now, I might not have the power to use it. Besides… it could be currently locked to humans due to some tampering on Freakshow's end. Oh…" Juliette frowned. "What are we going to do with Freakshow's tattooed ghost servant? Should we set her free and make her forget about Freakshow? Should we return her to how she was before Freakshow got his hands on her?"

"I think I should talk to her first, and make sure she doesn't attack before I get a chance to," I said. "I'd like to know what her relationship was with Freakshow, and why she remained loyal to him."

"Uhhh…" Juliette muttered before she looked up. "Shadow Realm, would you please bring Lydia, Freakshow's tattooed servant, here for us to talk? I know she wasn't a part of the game, but it would be incredibly helpful to talk to her as the results of this game directly impact her."

"You can… just talk to the Shadow Realm?" I asked in surprise.

Suddenly, Lydia appeared, but she was unconscious. Her body was encased in shadows. I was taken back by how quick the Shadow Realm responded.

"It is a sentient realm," Juliette softly answered before giving a nod. "Could you please allow her to wake up? We need to speak with her."

"Wait," I spoke up. "Perhaps I should put the Reality Gauntlet on first to show her it would be in her best interest not to react hostile towards us."

Juliette gave a nod. "Should we put the other gems on it?"

"Yeah, we might as well. I'll have to get used to wielding that power before using it," I answered. "Please smack me if I start letting the power go to my head or something."

"We should read the pages we got first, as there is surely something else we need to do besides placing the Gems of Fantasy, Life, and Form into the gauntlet," Juliette suggested before glancing back up. "Sorry, please give us at least 10 minutes before you wake her."

There was what sounded like whispers before it went quiet. It was really creepy knowing we were in a sentient dimension right now.

"You alright?" Juliette asked as she noticed my weirded out look.

"Let's focus on the pages," I sighed, not wanting to get sidetracked.

Juliette nodded and pulled out the first two pages we had collected and handed them to me. Each of the pages were about the Gems, the first one being about the Gem of Life, the second, the Gem of Form, and the third, the Gem of Fantasy. They talked about how each of the gems had their own powers, and what they were used for. However, there was a combination to them once they were put into the Reality Gauntlet, along with the power gem that activated the gauntlet itself. One had to tap the three main gems in a certain order to be able to unlock the Reality Gauntlet's true potential. First came life, then came the form that life gave, and finally, the life and form gives birth to fantasy and dreams.

Juliette and I had to phase our own gems out of our stomach. I used intangibility to phase off the… erm… stomach acid from the Gem of Life. I noticed that the Gem of Life and the Gem of Form were a bit dull. I wasn't too alarmed, however, because the Gem of Fantasy was dull too. I figured it had something to do with the Shadow Realm. I placed the Gem of Life into its hole shape in the gauntlet, while Juliette did the same for the Gem of Form.

"Go ahead and do what you need to do," Juliette said to me with a small smile. At the same time she raised one of her hands. "I'll be ready to slap some sense into you if need be."

"Heh… thanks… hopefully it won't be necessary," I chuckled sheepishly before I, somewhat hesitantly, put the Reality Gauntlet on my right arm.

Once the Reality Gauntlet was on, I tapped on the gems in the order from what I had read on the pages. First the Gem of Life, then the Gem of Form, and finally, the Gem of Fantasy. All three gems began to glow, and I could feel power pouring into the Reality Gauntlet itself. I moved my arm around a bit, opening and closing my fingers.

Juliette, who had taken the pages, glanced at them. "Okay, so what happens is controlled by your desire and imagination. Meaning the first thing you should do is think about the idea of removing our current stress, fatigue, exhaustion, and any unseen injuries. By specifying current, you aren't potentially leaving us open to genie logic where we'll never be able to get tired, stressed, or exhausted again. And before you say it, you and I both know that living a life like that would be very boring or torturous after a while."

"Yeah… Okay, I'll try it," I said, feeling a little nervous about screwing this up.

I waved my arm in front of Juliette for a moment. Juliette's body glowed white, and she suddenly looked as healthy as a horse. She no longer looked exhausted, or about to keel over. In fact, she looked pretty energetic.

"Thank you." Juliette smiled. "Now just do the same with yourself."

I clenched and unclenched my fist a little. "I already feel energized. I think putting on the Reality Gauntlet gave me back all my own energy."

"Then shall we wake Lydia up?" Juliette asked.

"Yeah, I think we're ready to deal with Lydia," I answered.

Juliette looked up once more. "We are ready for Lydia to be woken up. If you could wake her now, I would be grateful."

There were whispering echoes coming from all over. It creeped me out.

Lydia's eyes suddenly shot open, and she let out a shocked gasp when she saw us. She quickly glared at both of us, looking ready to attack.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I spoke up, holding up the hand that had the Reality Gauntlet. "Unless you'd like to turn into a tiny, harmless little mouse."

"Please, give us a chance to explain the situation," Juliette requested. "First things first, we aren't here for a fight. And secondly, 'here' is actually the Shadow Realm. A place outside of our regular reality but still strongly connected to it."

Lydia frowned, she likely knew she was outmatched. She looked down for a moment, wrapping her red cloak around her body, before she looked at us again. Lydia was usually silent, in fact, I rarely heard her speak before. So when she finally said something, I was actually pretty shocked.

"Where is Master Freakshow?" Lydia questioned, her voice sounding somewhat hoarse which was likely due to not being often used.

"He was taken by the Shadow Realm," Juliette answered, not wanting to overwhelm Lydia with too much information all at once.

"He…" Lydia blinked, seemingly struggling with what Juliette had told her.

"His body and soul were claimed by the Shadow Realm," Juliette clarified.

"Why?!" Lydia snapped before bringing up a hand and rubbing her throat.

"Because he tried to go back on his deal with us, he tried to break the rules of a Shadow Game," Juliette calmly informed. "He was a sore loser, and because of that he was claimed by the shadows."

I couldn't help but feel sorry for Lydia, she looked so heartbroken.

"So… Master… is gone forever?" Lydia questioned in sorrow.

"There's a chance he could eventually see the light of day again," Juliette replied, still using her calm tone. "Though it is a slim chance and solely depends on his willpower and if he wishes to atone for his sins and change his ways. There are stories of people being granted a second chance by the Shadow Realm, but they have to prove themselves worthy."

Lydia looked down.

"If you don't mind me asking… why do you care about Freakshow so much? From what I could see, he had only treated you as a slave," I asked. "I thought you were under his control like the other ghosts when he had his crystal ball, but you remained loyal to him despite him not having that artifact anymore."

Lydia shook her head. "You have only seen one side of Master Freakshow, you have only seen his… desperation and dark desires."

"Would you care to elaborate then?" I inquired.

"With how Master Freakshow was raised, he had it in his mind that every single being in the world liked him less than literally everyone else," Lydia responded. "His goal was to make himself the center of attention of the entire world, to make it an environment he truly thrived in and where everyone would like him. He wanted to make the whole world into one big circus where people would come from across the globe to see him."

I remembered reading Freakshow's diary, and from what I could tell, he didn't grow up with a very rich family. He seemed to like the idea of being in a circus though.

"You remember the ruby orb staff that Master Freakshow used to carry?" Lydia questioned.

"It's pretty hard to forget since he almost took my brother away with that crystal ball." I frowned. "What about it?"

"It was once the Showenhower family's prized item," Lydia informed. "It had been passed down for generations, and was given to the heir to the circus. Though the heir was only ever the strongest willed of that group… or at least that is how it was until Master Freakshow's father. Before Master Freakshow's grandfather could choose the next heir of the family circus and the wielder of the staff, he met an untimely demise which was believed to be brought upon by a curse. So instead of having someone to pass it down, it instead became an object that the heads of the family fought… and even killed one another over. In the end, Master Freakshow's father was the one to get his hands on the staff."

"That sounds quite tragic," Juliette commented.

"That would explain why Freakshow's father had that crystal ball…" I noted.

"Master's father shouldn't have gotten it," Lydia went on. "His will was not strong enough to fully control and subjugate the energies of the staff. And because of that, the staff instead was given the chance to worm its way into Master's father's mind and body. This caused the family to fall apart even quicker, especially after the family lost their fortune, which was also blamed on the curse that took Master's grandfather."

I remember reading in Freakshow's diary that his father slowly became more and more aggressive, and even began to hurt his own wife and child… I wonder if it's because of the entity that was in the crystal ball to begin with. The same entity that corrupted Danny… I frowned to myself, starting to get more uneasy the more I learned about that crystal ball. "That still doesn't quite explain why you were with Freakshow though."

"When Master was growing up, he was never able to make any friends," Lydia explained. "Due to the luxurious and very sheltered life that Master had, he never had the opportunity to socialize with anyone his age. He was schooled at home, never let outside the estate without a chaperone and guard, and was raised to believe that he was above the common folk."

So Freakshow was rich at one point. I wonder why he never wrote that in his diary. I guess he only started writing it after his family lost their fortune. I noted to myself. "So… what's that have to do with you?"

"Master's grandfather was one of the few beings that saw just how much Master struggled in his youth. Master had no siblings, nobody even close to his age to play or communicate with," Lydia replied. "On one of Master's grandfather's outings, he found me and took me in. Master's grandfather gave me to Master as a gift; I was to be Master's servant and guard, but also someone that Master could talk to and play with."

"So you were a gift to be Freakshow's servant and bodyguard?" I blinked. "And you stayed with him since? Was it because of the crystal ball? Were you exposed to it for so long that you couldn't help but remain loyal to Freakshow even after the crystal ball has been shattered?"

"Not at all." Lydia shook her head. "It is because Master named me, treated me more akin to a friend or cousin, and made sure that I was as comfortable as could be. Admittedly it was… a challenge for some time because I had been taught how to serve before I was given to Master. I was taught that servants aren't meant to be treated in such a kind way. When I was under the effect of the staff, it was only to boost my powers. The staff not only allowed one to control ghosts, and in some cases weaker minded living beings, but it also granted a power boost to those connected to it."

Hmm… I guess Danny did seem a bit stronger than usual when I was fighting him on that night on top of Freakshow's train, though it was difficult to tell since he had always been far stronger than I was when he was in ghost form. I wondered to myself. Especially since I was fully human at the time. "So you just… truly cared for Freakshow. He was… your Master, yeah, but… you saw him more as a friend."

"More…" Lydia softly said as she looked down at the 'ground' of where we were.

Oh dear gosh… I frowned, realizing what Lydia was implying there. If Lydia had been with Freakshow that entire time… I wonder why he never mentioned her in his diary… was it to keep Lydia a secret in case anyone took his diary?

"You loved him, didn't you?" Juliette guessed.

"Master Freakshow had treated me with kindness when I was given to him," Lydia admitted. "One's feelings tend to grow and blossom over time. However, as Freakshow grew… and he started using that crystal ball… he began to change for the worse… He became more obsessed with ghosts… he started wanting to be a ghost himself. It had always worried me, because I was scared that Freakshow would destroy himself to get his wish. I was hoping that when the crystal ball was shattered, he would go back to that kind boy that he was before he got his hands on the crystal ball… unfortunately, his obsession got worse after being arrested…"

Juliette sighed and glanced over at me. "He was obsessed with ghosts because of envy, right?"

Lydia nodded. "Ghosts had been gaining more and more attention, especially Danny Phantom. Master wanted to be in that spotlight, hence why he controlled Danny Phantom in the first place. As well as why he made Danny commit crimes, because he wanted to tarnish the reputation of Danny and the other ghosts and make himself look like the hero that stopped them and reined them in."

"If you knew all that, why help him go through with it?" I frowned.

"Because I pledged my afterlife to Master, because to go against Master would mean forfeiting my existence and disgracing what memories I had made," Lydia answered. "It was also not my place to step in Master's way. I will say, I did occasionally try to give hints at alternate methods and show him what he was doing. But that led to my silencing, as he had gotten tired of hearing me give options that he wasn't going to take. Besides, at the time I did not want to stop Master as he seemed to be happy, if only for a brief time."

I sighed before looking at Juliette for a moment, and back at Lydia. "Well… with Freakshow gone, what will you do now?"

"What is there for me to do?" Lydia questioned. "My entire point in existing, the one I had pledged myself to, is gone and there is only a slim chance that I will ever see him again."

"Well… just because Freakshow is gone doesn't mean your existence is meaningless. It just means you can find a new reason to exist," I suggested.

"Pledge yourself to me," Juliette suddenly spoke up.

Lydia's head snapped up to Juliette. "What? Why should I pledge myself to you? You're one of the reasons why Master is gone in the first place!"

"Because I was the one who was unable to convince him to admit defeat, I was unable to stop him from being claimed by the Shadow Realm. By the logic of my time, that would mean all his responsibilities and assets would transfer to me," Juliette answered as she outstretched a hand and held it open. "There is also the fact that I believe you have so much more potential that you ever realized, and I believe the darkness you have cloaked yourself in can be cleansed."

Lydia looked hesitant. She likely knew that she had no real purpose anymore without Freakshow, but she also wasn't sure about pledging her loyalty to Juliette.

"Juliette would treat you right, Lydia. If you want to make it up to Freakshow, perhaps you should move on with Juliette, and let yourself… well… be redeemed," I suggested. "It's never too late to change. And maybe if… or when Freakshow finally comes back, he'll see a better you and maybe he'll want to change for the best too."

"I also wish to protect you," Juliette added.

"Protect me? From what?" Lydia questioned.

"From facing the harsh punishments that undoubtedly await you for the countless crimes you committed," Juliette pointedly replied, still holding out her hand. "Not only are you likely wanted by the living, but I figure that you may even potentially be wanted by the Ghost Zone's court."

Lydia frowned. "But I never broke any of the Taboos!"

There's that mention of Taboos again… I noted to myself.

"Perhaps not the major three, but there are more than just those Taboos," Juliette responded. "You caused quite a bit of chaos in the living world, stole, broke into places, and were even witness to a being using an object to forcibly seize control of a ghost's will."

Lydia let out a sigh. "Would pledging my loyalty to you really help then?"

"Yes it would," Juliette confirmed. "One of my other servants is the Holy White Knight of the Ghost Zone, which you may or may not have heard about. I could convince those who wish to try you that you are already serving your sentence serving me and reforming your ways, that you have sought penance and turned yourself over knowing that what you did was wrong. If they still wish to take you, then I would do everything in my power to protect you from them."

"It sounds like you're already quite committed to this despite not really knowing me other than when we fought each other," Lydia remarked. "Why try so hard for me anyways?"

"Because I believe in the best of every being I come across." Juliette smiled. "I do also feel that I need to make it up to both you and Freakshow for not being able to stop him peacefully."

Lydia gave a sigh, before she reached out to Juliette's hand. "... Alright… I trust in your words, Mistress Juliette."

"I shall not betray your trust, Lydia, and I pledge upon my core that I shall do everything in my power to help you and care for you," Juliette promised. "And I do hope you and I will grow to be close friends."

I noticed Juliette and Lydia's hands begin to spark with blue and white energy when their hands touched, and I also saw Juliette wincing just a tiny bit. I blinked. "What was that?"

"I had to form a pact with Lydia, or more specifically overwrite the pact she had already made in the past," Juliette explained. "Marking her as a ghost that serves me of her own will. It will allow me to keep track of Lydia, make sure she is healthy and safe, and also make it so we can communicate without being in the same room. There is one other unique power to it that, if I had a lair and Lydia ever lost her physical form, her core would be immediately teleported to my lair to ensure its safety."

"If you had a lair?" Lydia frowned. "You mean you never found your lair, Mistress?"

Juliette shook her head. "For most of my time in the Ghost Zone, I was on the run from Skulker who saw me as a unique prey that was too special to let go. I also had other missions that were more important than finding my lair, which may or may not exist. After all, not all ghosts get lairs."

I blinked. I knew ghosts had lairs since they were pretty much all over the Ghost Zone, but I was puzzled by what Juliette was saying. "What are you talking about? You never made a lair in the Ghost Zone, so how could you have one to begin with?"

Juliette turned to look at me with a confused look. "Has nobody ever taught you about lairs?"

I crossed my arms, despite the gauntlet on my right arm, and raised an eyebrow at Juliette. "Danny and I kinda don't have a ghost teacher to teach us these things, other than you and Scarlet. And neither of you mentioned anything about lairs. We've just kinda assumed that ghosts made their lairs in the Ghost Zone or something."

"Riiiight…" Juliette slowly nodded. "Well first thing I should say is that ghosts don't consciously create their lairs, nor do they consciously create domains. I remember you saying before that you had heard about lairs and domains, so at the very least I don't need to go over the full basics. Domains are land masses in the Ghost Zone that form over time by boulders colliding into one another or pieces of the living world ending up in the Ghost Zone for whatever reason. Ghosts can claim domains and can pass down domains. Ghosts can also fight one another for control of a domain."

I nodded, since I figured that was what domains were in the first place.

"As for lairs, ghosts don't always have them. And it's not like a ghost just goes up to a random door and decides 'this shall be my lair'," Juliette continued. "A ghost, in a way, has to earn their lair. Not all ghosts have lairs, it mainly depends on the strength of their core, their time spent as a ghost, and in some cases there can be extra variables. If a ghost meets all the requirements to get a lair, then it will form somewhere in the Ghost Zone for them to find. Though I will say that even if a ghost does meet all the requirements, there is no guarantee they will get a lair."

I blinked as I tried to let the information sink in.

"It's a bit complicated, I know," Juliette admitted. "And I think maybe I can better explain it to you later. For now, I think it's about time we leave here and get back to our own dimension."

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right. We've kept everyone waiting long enough."

"Though…" Juliette frowned. "What is the exact plan? How are we going to help them?"

Juliette shook her head and lightly slapped her cheeks a little, having let go of Lydia's hand before starting her explanation. "I do have a plan for the short run. Let's go back to our dimension and then you can use the gauntlet to check in on Danny and the others. From there we can decide what we shall do."

Lydia gave a concerned look as she stared at the Reality Gauntlet on my arm. She likely just noticed the three gems I had on it, and of course the activation gem. "You're… the Master of Reality?"

"Uh… I wouldn't say 'master'. I'm still learning how to use this," I chuckled sheepishly. "But I am hoping to use it to save my friends and family."

"But once we have used it, we won't be holding onto it," Juliette quickly added. "A power like that needs to be split up and put in safe places."

Lydia sighed, before nodding. "I suppose… it's better in your hands than in my previous Master's."

"I give you my word that we won't be drastically altering the world in any way, Lydia," Juliette assured.

"At least I'll try not to," I added. "I'm still new to this whole reality bending thing."

"And if he messes up, I'll make sure he fixes his mistake," Juliette chuckled.

"So how do we get out of here? Do we just ask the shadows?" I inquired.

"Yep." Juliette smiled. "Shadow Realm, all three of us are ready to depart with our clothes and gear! Thank you for your hospitality as well as you overseeing and refereeing our game."

I heard more echoes, but this time I actually made out words. "We will be seeing you again."

"Let's hope not too soon," Juliette chuckled.

With that ominous message and Juliette's response, the shadows suddenly surrounded us. I let out a yelp as I shut my eyes.

"Just focus on your breathing," Juliette coached me.

I allowed myself to breathe, calming down as the shadows did whatever it was they were going to do with us. I trusted Juliette to know we weren't in any danger.

---

DP-Marvel94: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Glad you enjoyed it. It was extremely fun to write this part. As for Andy seeing that Corrupt version of himself, it was definitely enjoyable to write.

Andy: Personally I hated it and hope to NEVER experience anything like that again.

RedHood001: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Oh yeah, Corrupted Andy isn't just some cliche villain or 'dark side figure'. He's, in a way, just a more confident, less restricted, more powerful version of Andy. The main thing about Corrupted Andy, like with Corrupted Danny, is that he doesn't have very many inhibitions. He's not letting anything stop him from achieving his goal or completing his task or doing what he wants to do.

Honestly, reading back on the whole dialogue that we wrote gave me chills because I really LOVE morally ambiguous characters like that. A character that isn't good or evil, isn't selfish or selfless, they're just… unburdened and desire driven. While yes, some of the things that could be achieved by the Corrupted boys could be evil, like genocide, that isn't the only route they have that they can take to get to their goal. At that point it becomes 'Do I want to take the most direct route? Or do I want the route with the least casualties?'.

As for the added lore with the Ghost Zone's version of currency, I will clarify that it is just one of many accepted currencies. However it is the easiest to get a hold of. There are only so many sources of the Ecto Blanks/Ecto blanks in the area. But anyone can get them for free and concentrate their ghostly energy into it. And it serves as more than just a currency.

There are inventions out there in the Ghost Zone that have slots to put in Ectos in order to power the invention or power the household. Ectos are not just a currency but also a form of resource, and a good. In a way Ectos aren't just used as currency but also as a bartering tool (which is how business used to be done way back when). In fact, Andy's ecto-pistols can use Ectos as magazines/energy sources if he learned to use them properly. That way he could store up energy in an Ecto Blank, store that Ecto bill in his ecto-gun or in his room, and use that to power the gun instead of the gun draining directly from his power.

Overall we hope to add more lore to the world as we go along, and we've been testing with what lore we wish to add in other stories. So if you enjoy lore, stay tuned.

DarkFoxKit: What's funny was that there originally wasn't going to be a Corrupted Andy, it was a form Onyx and I talked about and how it could possibly happen.

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': After talking about how it could be possible, Fox essentially made grabby hands and said 'gimme'.

Andy: *Comes walking in* What are you two talking about?

DarkFoxKit: Nothing!

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Let's move on!

Mana16: DarkFoxKit: We figured there would be some safe zones since not every ghost would be strong enough to survive the 'kill or be killed' law. Or I guess in the ghost's case, 'eat or be eaten'? I mean you can't really kill what's already dead. We definitely plan to do more with the Ghost Zone once we get to season 3, and we are getting there soon, which will be fun.

In the show, all of Danny's group got brainwashed one way or another, Sam with Undergrowth, Tucker with the Pharaoh staff, Danny by Freakshow, so it would be interesting if they all did get brainwashed at the same time. But the closest I've seen that happening was when Nocturne came and put everyone to sleep, and Danny was the first one to wake up to rescue everyone else.

As for Flynn/Exodus, we've already finished the Freakshow arc before we even heard of him, so sadly no reference to him during this. But it could be something we'll show as a possible cameo in the future. Could be something Andy might be able to use, like the whole chain thing.

It is kinda funny how we made a character who could possibly be similar to Misery Vex without even knowing about Misery Vex. Though it's difficult to say if Vesper is a good ghost.

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Snorts* Ahhh… Vesper as a good ghost. That's a good joke… No, she is a black knight who has been turned dark via corrupting magic. As she is at this time, she is evil. It's actually safe to say that The Fright Knight would've given Vesper a wide berth.

Anime lover 3593: DarkFoxKit: Hey, it's good to hear from you again. And yes, Andy was wearing a maid outfit in the second world, though let's say that his clothes return to what he was wearing before the whole game started, or Juliette's Gem of Form changed his clothes too.

You're pretty much spot on. The Andy from that world saw Danny was here and tried to get him out, but then they both got caught up in the brainwashing. As for the true horror of the place… it's not something we'll be exploring this time, and we may have to bump up the rating if we do. But for now, it's easy for people to see that the amusement park's brainwashing is mostly based on how children get lost and kidnapped in amusement parks in real life, just with ghosts using actual brainwashing to keep them here.

As for Danny, the Danny from our Andy's world, you'll see what's happening to him soon enough. Thanks for reading and reviewing, it was nice to answer back to your review!

Luna Lillyth: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Worry not. Freakshow was being a little cheat and keeping the final page on him.

LegoFiend12: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Glad you find the story awesome. If you have any suggestions of your own or highlights of what we've done, feel free to share them. And thank you so very much for being supportive of us taking the time we need.