Danny Fenton, son of local ghost hunters and brother to the genius Jazz Fenton, is royally screwed.

(That was a good pun, sue him.)

He might be having an existential crisis or two, but that is not the point.

The point is that, thanks to his amazing and always on his side good luck (can you feel the sarcasm?) decided it was a genius-level idea to put more responsibility on his poor, abused shoulders.

And sure! The last few years, he's fighting less and gaining more allies, but that doesn't mean he's ready to be the King of The Motherfucking Ghost Zone!

(Sorry Jazz, this is totally a situation that is acceptable to cuss.)

Yes, the seventeen-year-old teen superhero had a bomb dropped on him. Lucky him, right?

"Clockwork? This must be a mistake! I didn't offer my candidature, as far as I'm aware!" Danny's exasperated voice, nearing panic actually, asked the old- excuse me, child-looking purple ghost in front of him.

"Daniel, the Ghost Zone had a King, not a president, but nonetheless, yes, Danny. You did offer your candidature, as you so eloquently put it," the Time Master's amused answer won him a glare from the halfa.

"I did not! Wait, is it a weird win these amounts of battles and you're King!- ghost thing?Well, that doesn't actually make sense-"

The, now-adult, ghost chuckled.

"No, Daniel. But you are close. You defeating the previous Ghost King made you the Ghost King, since you challenged Pariah Dark and he accepted it," Clockwork started to explain as he looked at the boy sitting in his room with a medallion around his neck.

"But it wasn't just me fighting! There was Vlad, Skulker, Ember and a bunch of others! I didn't even lock him up in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep, it was Plasmius who had the key!" Danny fiddled with the time medallion. It was calming him, slightly.

"But you fought him. You subdued him and removed his crown and his ring, (A/N: I know that in the show, Danny only removed the crown, but for plot purposes, let's say he somehow took the ring off too :P) which are the symbols of the King. Even after his imprisonment, Pariah was still King due to wearing the Crown," the explanation continued.

"You defeated him while he was at full power and removed the items of the King. According to Ancient Laws, Daniel, you are the High King of All Ghosts. I apologize that you just find it out now, but I know you would've most likely refused, due to the sour relationship you still had with the other ghosts, not knowing what that entails. Since the Ghost Zone without a King is- nevermind that."

"Wait- what? What would happen to the Ghost Zone without a King?" The half-ghost stopped fiddling with the medallion, catching Clockwork's gaze.

Silence. The sound of morning traffic were no more, thanks to the ghost analyzing him at the moment.

"It would slowly destabilize and destroy itself, taking the human realm with it," the answer made the air chill around the black-haired boy, chilling blue eyes watching the Time Master with a fierce, protective gaze.

"That can't happen."

"I know."

Silence. It unnerved the younger, especially since all his life he was surrounded by sound.

"Fine! Let's say I accept the title and all. Can't I give it to someone else? I can just let someone else take the crown! I have no idea how things work, what I need to do! And will I become a full ghost? Will I still see Sam, Tucker and Jazz? My parents? Heck, Valerie? And ok, yeah, it does sound cool, but I have responsibilities at home!" Phantom shook his head, "I have school! I just entered senior year and man is English kicking my ass! Not to mention-"

"Daniel, calm down," the ageing ghost interrupted the teen's rant.

Deep breath. You got this, Fenton.

"Ok, ok, I'm calm...-ish," he rubbed his head.

"Good. No, you cannot simply give the throne to someone else. Would you rather Undergrowth was King?" "no-!" "Exactly."

"Daniel, you won't become a full ghost, yes, your friends will be able to visit and you - them and you're gonna do fine" smirked the Time Ghost.

"...Wow, you're usually not this direct with information, what gives?" the youngest Fenton smirked back.

"It is a special occasion, is it not?" the smirk softened into a gentle smile. It was unusual to see the normally stoic and serious ghost look... like he cared for Danny. Sure, he did, but usually it was more discreet.

"Yeah..."

Sheepish, the blue-eyed teen looked down. But quickly rose his head with widened eyes.

"Oh, man! Sam, Tucker and Jazz will kill me! ...all the way," the worried frown turned into a sneaky smile towards the end, meanwhile Clockwork sighed, already used to his antics.

"Well, Daniel, prepare for the Coronation," ignoring the startled "Coronation?! What coronation?!!!", the ghost entered a portal made by him and disappeared with it, taking the time medallion with him.

Time resumed.

Danny unfroze and looked around his room, searching for Clockwork. A sigh escaped his lips as he realized the Time Master went back to the Ghost Zone.

"High King of All Ghosts, huh? I'm royally screwed."

Danny still thinks it's a good pun.