Pariah's Keep
-:-
The echoes from their footsteps reminded Phantom just how massive the abandoned castle was.
The entirety of the gothic-style castle was made out of red and black stones. Though there were once skeletons that stood instead of armored suits, there was only ash and bone left. The paintings that were framed in gold that filled the halls were either torn, stolen or also burned. Torch holders and black chandeliers that once held candles had either fallen or were no longer burning. Making the castle feel even eerier than the last time Danny was there.
Pandora, Princess Dorathea, Frostbite, Danielle, and Danny all walked silently together toward the Great Hall. The few knights that accompanied them there were stationed outside the main gate in order to ensure no one tried to sneak in, or out.
So far, they had yet to find anything to suggest that Pariah was released, or that sympathizers or rogues might've been using the place as a home base.
"You know, for an old tomb of a castle meant to keep a guy locked away, there sure aren't many-"
"LOOK OUT!"
Danny quickly tackled his clone to the floor as several arrows went flying overhead. The others were protected by Pandora's shield.
"Is everyone alright?!" Frostbite exclaimed with worry clear in his voice.
The older half-ghost coughed out the dust that he had inhaled. "Yeah! Yeah, we're good!"
After making sure the coast was clear, the Phantoms helped each other up, the eldest with only a scratch or two.
He looked over at his younger half and crossed his arms in a scolding way. "You were saying?"
She chuckled nervously and apologized, letting the other take the lead down the rest of the hallway.
"I do find it strange that we haven't run into the other traps set around the castle. Perhaps someone has been here, my son," Pandora voiced from behind them.
Danny couldn't help but agree; there was something off about the lack of evidence or traps.
"Maybe they only reached a certain point and couldn't continue onwards," Dora suggested.
"That may well be possible. Perhaps we shall find more answers once we reach the Great Hall," Frostbite offered.
A silence fell between them again as they continued forward.
The Halfa felt a tap on his hand and turned to see Dani giving him an uneasy look.
"What's wrong?" He whispered, just loud enough so only she could hear him.
She hesitated for a moment before whispering back. "At first, I didn't think much of it, but as we've been investigating I've been thinking about it. I think Kid and BB were spying on me earlier…"
Danny's eyebrows furrowed as he looked toward her. "Do you have any idea why?"
Dani shook her head and seemed even more unnerved than before. "No, I don't. But I didn't want to confront them about it either, so I just let them follow me from a distance. And I always made sure I never lost sight of them, just in case."
He nodded and gave her a reassuring side hug as they continued walking. "You did the right thing, Dani. I'll see if I can find out anything about it later. Would it help you feel better if you hung around Frostbite, Dora, and me for a little while?"
She sighed, "I wouldn't want to be a bother-"
Danny stopped in his tracks and placed a hand on Dani's shoulder with a stern look. "You are never a bother or a burden, Dani. I know we don't hang out much, but you are my family. You don't ever have to hesitate to ask for something or if you need help. In the end, it's what you want and what helps you feel safe."
The female Phantom contemplated his words for a second before offering a small smile. "Then can I ask to hang around you for a bit? Just until I know it's safe?"
Danny pulled his self-proclaimed cousin into a gentle hug. "Of course, stay as long as you feel the need to."
She smiled as she hugged him back. "Thanks, Danny…"
The group remained silent the rest of the way, running into no more traps, though cautious all the same.
Once they entered the Great Hall, Frostbite suggested that Danny be the one to investigate, as he was the last person to be there and would notice any significant changes.
The first thing he checked was the sarcophagus. He walked up to the now demolished pedestal and stairs that had once held up the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. It had been styled after Pariah Dark, the previous tyrant of a king, and was predominantly red, green, and black. The head resembled the outline of his face while he was wearing the Crown of Fire. The lower half consisted of rows of skulls and bones in a striped pattern.
Danny frowned as a deep sense of uneasiness rose in his core as he stared at the carved image of the Crown of Fire.
'That's right… the ceremony is tomorrow-'
"Is something wrong?" Frostbite's voice rang out.
The Halfa looked back and sent a reassuring wave letting the other know he was fine.
'The faster we check this place out, the sooner we can leave Fenton,' he mentally encouraged himself.
Upon closer inspection of the sarcophagus, he noticed that while there were some scratches around the keyhole, there was no sign that someone had actually managed to open it. But they still had to be sure…
His ears rang loudly as he bent down and placed his hands along the top half of the Ancient Egyptian-like coffin. He took a deep breath and slowly began to try to pry open the lid… with no luck.
He breathed out a sigh of relief and looked back at the others. "It's closed," he announced.
The others then all let out sighs of relief as well.
Danny nodded and stood back up, and then noticed that a certain purple pumpkin was missing from nearby.
He crawled over the debris and started to sweep the room for the missing item and saw that it was, in fact, not there.
"Where's Fright Knight's pumpkin?"
Frostbite, Pandora, and Dora all shared a glance.
"Well, you see Danny he-"
"WHO DARES TO ENTER PARIAH'S KEEP?!"
Danny immediately went into defensive mode, dashing over to stand protectively in front of Dani and Dora.
The doors that led to the hallway flung open, and there stood a black knight, in full-body armor with a black helmet that obscured his face and a mohawk of spikes on top, his long purple hair flowing almost like fire. Along with gray shoulder guards, he had a white skull at the center of his waist and wore a torn-up purple cape. He had gray flaming gauntlets and flaming boots. In his right hand, was the infamous sword Soul Shredder, glowing a ghostly green.
However, what took the Halfa off-guard, was the pink and white apron that read 'kiss the cook' being worn around the knight's armor and neck.
The entire room froze as the ghosts all stared at each other.
"Uh well… this is awkward," Dani commented.
Fright Knight's wide pupilless green eyes blinked as he seemed to process who was standing in front of him.
"Lord Frostbite? Lady Pandora? Princess Dorathea? What are you all doing here?" he asked inquisitively.
The knight's eyes scanned further and locked eyes with both the Phantoms.
"Oh! You're here!"
Danny watched as the knight frantically began to look around before deciding to just hide the sword behind his back as he kneeled.
He sighed tiredly and pinched the bridge of his nose as he heard Pandora and Dani chuckle amusingly behind him.
"Fright Knight, why are you wearing an apron?"
The knight looked up and blinked at the teen. "Because I was just cooking dinner, sir. How else am I supposed to look intimidating and frighten my enemies if I should get food all over my armor?"
This time both Phantoms had to hold back their laughter.
Danny made the gesture for the Knight to rise before continuing. "You don't need to kneel, Fright. Now, why are you out of your pumpkin?"
Fright Knight rose and sheathed his sword back into his belt. He then took off his apron and snapped his fingers, the apron disappearing in a flurry of purple flames. He cleared his throat as he stood at attention. "If I may speak freely?"
Danny nodded and the black knight relaxed in his posture as he began his explanation. He recalled how the Observants were the ones to release him and how he was tasked with watching over Pariah's Keep ensuring to scare anyone away who may have had intentions to break the old tyrant free. When asked how long ago he was released, the knight was unsure but knew that it was a recent development. The only condition they had was for him to remain in the Keep until told otherwise.
"Perhaps their intentions were to have him remain here until the Heir was crowned," Dora suggested.
The youngest Phantom scoffed, "Yeah, and then have Fright Knight follow Danny's every move to make sure he wasn't doing something the flowing eyeballs wouldn't approve of."
"Dani…" The eldest halfa warned as he crossed his arms.
She sighed aggravatedly before crossing her arms in a pouting motion.
Danny looked between the rulers and the black knight interacting as he thought about all the information gathered so far.
After doing a once-over, there was a severe lack of evidence or signs of intrusion. Plus with Fright Knight there, any intruder was either sent to live out their worst nightmares for eternity or had run off and didn't bother to come back. But then where could that rogue ghost have come from? Where did he get the piece of cloth? Could it have been from an old flag during Pariah's reign?
That's when he had a moment of realization.
He turned to the others with a concerned frown. "If the assassin was a sympathizer, why attack Lady Helenia? Most of the sympathizers I've met in the past always had similar goals to try to 'resurrect' or 'break out' Pariah Dark. But as we saw coming here, no one has been here. So how could the assassin have benefitted by killing Lady Helenia?"
The rulers all contemplated the questions as well. Pandora's expression turned serious, "I agree with you, my son. There seem to be pieces missing from this puzzle, and yet they are not here."
"Are you saying that it was a set-up?" Dani asked, no longer in pout mode.
Frostbite hummed in thought. "Very perceptive, Dani. Now that you mention it, it does seem as though the assassination attempt may have just been that."
"Then what were they actually after? Was it perhaps a distraction?" Dora asked.
Danny crossed his arms as he considered that possibility, which, to him, was even more worrisome.
"Let's head back. It's obvious we're not going to find more clues here, maybe we'll have better luck checking in with vendors about suspicious activity tomorrow. Fright Knight, we'll see you at the announcement ceremony since the Observants will most likely want you present for that, so be prepared just in case."
The knight saluted and walked away to probably go finish cooking, as the apron magically appeared again.
After he left, the rest of the investigation group agreed on his decision and all of them cautiously began to make their way out of the old Keep.
The deep uneasiness in Danny's core remained.
Kingdom of Aragon
-:-
The dinner that night had been quiet and tense.
There were four guards stationed within the room, four more than usual, but no one on the Team had decided to comment on it.
Danny, Danielle, and Frostbite had yet to return before the Team had decided to turn in for the night. Or at least that's what Conner would've done if Dick hadn't called another meeting.
"Everyone comfortable?"
"As comfortable as we're going to get," Artemis sighed tiredly.
The acting leader nodded and crossed his arms. "Megan and I will start first. I myself wasn't able to infiltrate the meeting, but Megan was. Anything interesting happen, Miss M?"
The female martian nodded and stood up. "Is everyone alright with me sharing the information telepathically?"
After getting a unanimous agreement, she quickly shared her experience of the meeting with the rest of the Team.
A few minutes passed as everyone gathered themselves, and they began to discuss what they saw.
Artemis started the conversation. "Sorry Dick, but I think Wally really may be onto something. Did anyone else see how Danny reacted every time the Heir was brought up? Hades even seemed to be trying to rub something in, knowing that it would annoy him."
"Yeah, I saw that too. But maybe we're looking at this the wrong way. What if it's not that they don't get along, but that Danny is in charge of protecting the Heir? That would explain why hades kept emphasizing Danny's title as a knight and making comments pointedly towards him when the Heir's safety was brought up." Zatanna pointed out.
The Team seemed to contemplate this theory.
"I mean it would make sense as to why he keeps getting summoned to these meetings. Since he is seen as the Ghost Zone's 'Protector', it would only make sense for him to be chosen as the Heir's personal guard."
"Yeah but then why isn't he with the guy? He's been hanging around Frostbite and Dora this entire time."
"As far as we know."
"Even so, Gar brings up a good point. With the way Frostbite phrased it, it seems like the Heir is on the Festival Grounds, so why wouldn't he be where the Heir is? Hmm… let's get back to it later. We still have other reports to go over anyways. Wally?"
He sighed as he remained seated. "We honestly don't have much to report on. Dani just ended up visiting a bunch of her ghost friends and going to different shops and food vendors. Other than that, she didn't do anything else."
Kaldur raised an eyebrow. "Did any of the shops seem remarkable at all? Perhaps a shop owner or the particular friends she met up with?"
Gar shook his head. "Sorry, but following Dani around honestly didn't reveal anything."
Dick hummed in thought before nodding. "Okay, Kaldur? Zee? You guys get anything on Hades?"
"It was difficult to follow him without being noticed, so we could only investigate so far. However, we did find him being particularly demanding with a hooded shop owner."
Zee crossed her arms and added, "I would even go as far as saying he was threatening the guy."
"For what?" Conner asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We're not too sure, but whatever it was, Hades was very upset at the fact that it was sold out," the sorceress replied.
"So first we found out that this guy really doesn't like us, then we see him eyeing Danny a little too much during the Blizzard Games and the meeting, smiles after an almost successful assassination attempt, and now he's talking to a mysterious shop owner about sold out stuff? How much more suspicious can you get?" Wally asked sarcastically.
"Unfortunately, Hades does look like the prime suspect. However, what would Hades have to gain from planning an assassination?" Kaldur pointed out.
Artemis let out an annoyed sigh, "So we're back to where we started…"
Conner's super hearing caught the sound of footsteps and the faint voices of Frostbite and Danny.
"It's them," he announced as he gestured to the door with a nod.
Dick and Megan shared a glance before the latter put up a Mindlink and camouflaged herself. They 'watched' as she hid in the high beams of the hallway to listen in on the conversation as the two walked down the hallway.
Both Danny (in ghost form) and Frostbite looked worn out with a few bumps and scratches, Connor noticing that Danielle wasn't with them.
Danny sighed tiredly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "She's just as stubborn as the last time I saw her."
The yeti chuckled, "Indeed. Though, if I may be so bold, she does get it from you, Great One."
The half-ghost rolled his eyes but still had a smile.
There was a brief silence before Danny sighed. "At least we can rule out that it wasn't Pariah."
Frostbite's smile disappeared and became uncharacteristically serious.
"While that is true, Great one, I still worry for the safety of-"
"And I appreciate it," he interrupted while putting a hand up. He offered a tired but reassuring smile. "Really, I do, but there's no need. I can take care of it. Besides, I'm more worried about if they're going to try a stunt like that again. Whoever was behind that attack is likely to make another attempt, so we'll need everyone to have their guard up."
The yeti frowned. "But-"
"I'm well aware that the Heir's safety needs to come first, but I could honestly care less right now. The people come first and foremost… that's what he would want."
Most of the Team was surprised by his answer, different emotions flowing through the Mindlink, though no one said anything.
There was a brief pause before Frostbite grunted in defeat. "As you wish, Great One."
"Thank you, now I think its time for both of us to head to bed. We're going to need all the sleep we can get for tomorrow," Danny smiled tiredly.
The yeti chuckled. "Agreed. I shall see you tomorrow then, rest well."
"Thanks, you too, Frostbite," The Halfa replied as the yeti walked away.
Danny stopped just before going into his room and looked at where Megan was floating. She covered her mouth to stop her gasp of surprise and remained completely still. He stared for about a minute more before grunting and finally retreating into his room. Once the door was closed, Megan flew back as fast as she could into the room with the other team members.
The Mindlink remained intact as Conner watched Megan return to the visible spectrum.
'Did he see you?' Gar asked, his tail flicking nervously.
Megan shook her head with an unsure look. 'I honestly don't know, I tried to remain as still as possible, so maybe he didn't?'
'Judging by the way he looked up and made almost direct eye contact with you, even if he didn't exactly see you, he definitely knew someone was there.' Dick concluded.
'Well considering that he shot a LexCorp camera that was camouflaged before, I wouldn't doubt it.' Connor recalled.
Dick nodded and cleared his throat. 'We'll have to get back to that at a later date. After hearing that conversation, I think Wally's theory may have some evidence behind it now. However, Zee's may be correct as well.'
'Maybe it's both? Danny might not like the guy, but still chooses to protect him and carry out his orders,' Gar suggested.
'Good idea Gar, either way, we'll have answers by tomorrow.'
The Team looked at Kaldur with confused expressions.
'How do you know?'
'Tomorrow is the announcement ceremony,' the Atlantean reminded.
Gar's eyes widened with newfound excitement. 'Oh, that's right! We also get to meet the Heir tomorrow after the ceremony too!'
'That's right, so let us go wash up and rest for the night. Tomorrow we need to make excellent impressions.'
'And we'll hopefully be able to pull Danny to the side tomorrow to answer some questions too,' Dick sighed tiredly.