Once again I'm not 100% happy with how this turned out, but then I'll just edit in the future. Also, I maaaaaaaaaay have some ideas for a short epilogue or something, but I won't make any promises. Enjoy!

Tucker

Tucker snickered as he watched the situation go down from afar. He decided to step out of this specific part of the clusterfuck, knowing that it would be funnier if they revealed things one by one.

And he was a little bit more than distracting with his full on Pharaoh stuff over his body. This was Danny's night, the culmination of weeks stressing over every tiny detail and being unable to let Dora and her entourage do their work in peace.

It was also the culmination of years stressing over not letting his secret be known. After his parents found out and he became King, he realized he didn't have much to fear anymore. The overpowered bastard was now beyond the grasp of any kind of entity or government agency that could go after him (aka the GIW).

And Danny was tired of pretending to be what he was not.

He couldn't begin to understand how it must have been for him to be two different people all this time, to behave differently, to exaggerate some traits and hide others to give the illusion that the goofy, funny and absurdly good person Danny was, had been two different people all along.

As he watched him dance (pitifully, in that armor. He had insisted on wearing it because it looked cool and Sam had enabled him) with their girlfriend, he could see how happy it made him to be whole in front of everyone.

Soon he saw the rest of the humans approach the circle and watch the dancers, some Tucker recognized from school (Mikey, Dale and funny enough, Valerie) and some he didn't. The humans looked so out of place, not only for being alive, but for being dressed as if they were going to a party in Buckingham palace.

Ghosts didn't care that much for appearances - if they wanted to dress up a little it was completely up to them, but humans?

Humans simply assumed that some kind of dress code was installed.

Ha.

The funniest was Sam's mom, Pamela, who had decided to sit down after the Big Reveal™, her husband fanning her face with a napkin. Tucker saw her eyes going back and forth between her daughter, Danny and himself. He waved and smiled, just to be a little shit.

"Who's that, sir?" his bodyguard for the day, Kafele, asked. As far as he knew, he was a warrior or something. He looked so out of place here.

"That's Sam' mom."

"Ohhh, the High Concubine' reverend mother?"

Tucker sighed, but nodded. Yeah. Danny and Sam were, according to his court, his Concubines. Sam was the High Concubine because Danny couldn't, being the freaking Ghost King and everything.

With time he just stopped correcting them.

Not that Sam and Danny didn't get a kick out of the whole situation. And it wasn't like Tucker thought it was funny as hell that Danny's court had accepted Sam and himself as Royal Consorts. Well, at first they scratched their heads a bit when Danny said he had two consorts; but honestly? they were just happy that no one batted an eye that one of Danny's lovers was male.

Who would have thought that ghosts were that progressive?

He snorted and took a sip of his drink, his eyes going back to Sam and Danny. Their physical chemistry was off the charts and it was clear, even from his position at the food and drinks table, that they couldn't look away from each other. But Tucker already knew that. Did that make him nervous? Insecure? Hell yeah, sometimes. Other times he straight up felt like a third wheel all along, or even the bi-curious addendum of a threesome.

He was being unfair, he knew that, but with time he had accepted that trying to shut up thoughts like these was useless. He better embrace them, process them and speak with his partners about it. Or else he would have his ass kicked via a very heavy steel-toed black boot.

Instead, he tried to turn things around in his head, knowing that all these doubts were just inventions of his insecurities. His friends and partners never did anything, at least on purpose, that gave that impression. The times they did it was more out of not really knowing what the heck they were doing, mixed with having to deal with all the stuff in the GZ, and mixed with him being stupid and deciding to give "space" to his friends and therefore enrolling in computer engineering a year earlier.

(If he was a genius he had to take advantage of it and skip senior year.)

(Which in retrospect was a dick move because Danny needed him. Sam needed him. He just didn't see it.)

And now, sometimes he kicked himself for missing out on the fun Sam and Danny were having in the Ghost Zone. It stung, but at least they included him in everything and told him afterwards. And Danny had looked genuinely happy when Tucker managed to install wifi and electricity in the castle.

Hell yeah, computer engineering was awesome!

And magic too! Who knew that magic was too similar to science? And that a techno-geek could learn the basics in a few months?

Him. He knew. Because he was awesome.

Gasps in the crowd took him out of his thoughts, his eyes going back to his partners knowing they were doing something to mess with the humans again.

Indeed they were. Tucker rolled his eyes but smiled when he saw Danny kick the floor and start floating up and up into the impossible high ceiling, Sam in his arms. A myriad of tiny blobs of glowing ectoplasm appeared from the cracks in the walls, from behind the tapestries, from under the tables… Shades, small ghosts with simpler minds, that had taken refuge in the King's Castle and were very attracted to his emotions, like bees to pollen.

Danny told them once that shades didn't have lairs, so they usually hid in other ghost's lairs, feeding on the ghost's emotions and giving back highly concentrated ectoplasm they stored in their bodies, in a somewhat symbiotic way. The stronger the ghost, the more shades they could maintain. His boyfriend loved the little guys and once he settled in the castle he gave open permission of shades to make it their home.

Tucker could barely hear them all chirping and purring as the little shades circled around Danny and Sam, since the speakers started blasting "Super Freak", and it was a little loud near the food table.

He rolled his eyes at Danny's song choice. It must have been triggered by something their girlfriend said, judging by her smug expression and Danny's greenish burning face.

She's a very kinky girl

The kind you don't take home to mother

His eyes went to Pamela and Jeremy Manson, who were watching the spectacle with horrified eyes. Maybe it was the acrobatics Danny did with their daughter in the air, or maybe they were starting to connect every dot and every clue of their past.

When I make my move to her room

It's the right time, she's never hard to please

… Or maybe it was the lyrics. He was paying attention. Tucker saw Jazz grumble something to her drink at the other end of the table, her cheeks pink, so maybe she was as well. If someone else was listening, he just hoped they didn't see the way Sam took an aerial dancing move that brought her closer to her boyfriend to whisper something in his ear, provoking another flare in his face and making the shades circle faster around them.

Okay, they were being pretty obvious now. C'mon, Danny! He knew that the place literally listened to his every wish and desire, but this was ridiculous. He personally had selected a really nice and neutral playlist to ensure a safe place where they could come out of the ghost closet without any issue; but nooooo, of course mister overpowered stomped all over his careful thinking and was giving not-that-subtle hints via music. Subconscious or not, if "Careless Whisper" started next, he was staging an intervention.

Three's not a crowd to her, she said

Room 714, I'll be waiting

When I get there she's got incense, wine and candles

It's such a freaky scene

He choked on his drink. They had tried the scented candles and wine thing, once! And okay, there were rose petals involved, but those were a pain to clean and got stuck on his skin for far too long. Zero out of ten, not recommended. Also the "wine" had been non-alcoholic champagne. Look, they may have been seventeen, but neither liked alcohol.

"Danny…" he growled, glaring at the dancing pair illuminated by the shades.

"Sir, are you alright?" His assistant, Kissa, moved her eyes from the spectacle to her pharaoh. She was super chill and the level-headed of the pair of sisters that attended him personally. Also she was super smitten with the King but thought she wasn't that obvious.

"Yeah, yeah." Kafele gave him a napkin to clean his face. "Couldn't breathe for a moment."

The two anubis-headed ghosts turned to glance at him and Tucker knew what they were thinking. His kingdom was waiting with bated breath for him to die. They said that once he left his mortal coil he would ascend and recover his memories from his past life, and would take his place as their pharaoh. Until then, he was some kind of figurehead, with a regent council taking care of everything, like they did when the heir was too young to rule.

Honestly? He was okay with that. He really wanted to finish his degree and maybe mess around with politics, maybe even take on a more involved role in Danny's castle as his Advisor for a few years. Ghosts were patient and lived forever - they could give him a few decades.

Surprise surprise, a big chunk of his followers didn't think so, and were plotting to do more than wishing for his death (rude) so he can rule as he was supposed to.

Kafele and Kissa weren't of those, but they wouldn't save him from dying if it naturally happened sooner than later.

I guess this is my life now, he thought not for the first time, sighing. This is why he didn't like to go all Duulaman. He didn't want to give his subjects hope. And constantly fear they would stab him in the back. Literally.

He looked away to his partners as Danny laughed. The song changed, fortunately to something not that obvious, as the rest of the ghosts floated up to continue dancing with their king after letting the pair of lovebirds have their moment.

On the floor, the humans looked up at the inhuman display. The majority seemed to be fine with it, they were people from Amity and weird shit was common there; but some looked a bit overwhelmed with so many ghosts and revelations for a day. He saw groups approach Maddie and Jack Fenton, talking to them and leaving quietly with them. It was okay, they had expected people wanting to leave early and planned for it.

Movement caught his eye. He turned towards it and found Wes marching in his direction with those intense eyes he reserved for Danny. Until now, that is.

"Foley!"

"And that's my cue to leave," Tucker put his cup on the table and almost ran towards the crowds. "Don't follow me!" he shouted over his back.

The ghosts parted for him when he walked, some recognizing him as the ruler of New Egypt and others murmuring "my Lord", doing a courtesy to the High King's Consort. Having overlapping titles was kind of exhausting, since people weren't sure how to address him.

Who was he kidding. It wasn't like he didn't like the attention.

"Danny! Sam!" he called when he knew they would see him. The pair broke their kiss and looked down at him. He crossed his arms, arching an eyebrow.

Sam was chuckling as they floated down. Danny's ghostly blue skin was tinted green with a blush, as if they were caught by a parent doing something they shouldn't.

"In my defense, Sam started it."

He looked at her. "I hope those plans can be postponed until tomorrow."

"What if they can't," the girl smirked, stepping up to the challenge.

"Sam, it's not fair! You had him for the whole day! It's my turn with Danny."

"You can have him after I'm done with him," she narrowed her eyes.

He growled playfully, leaning in until their noses touched. "Samantha Manson, don't play with me."

"Oh, yeah?," she smiled wider, menacing, showing plenty of white straight teeth. "Or what, pretty boy?"

He tried to hide a shiver. He wasn't Danny, but he could also appreciate a woman that could crush you under her foot like any other (intelligent) man.

"Calm down, guys. There's enough Danny for everyone. Inhuman stamina and everything," their boyfriend put a hand on each shoulder, giving a quick peck on the cheek to Sam and then to him. His lips were cold, but his cheeks were warm.

They had decided to go all out about revelations today. Danny had been feral lately, having suddenly decided to come out of all the closets today. "If I get to flaunt my crown around, why can't I show off my cute partners?" he had said. It was like he suddenly gave up secrets and wanted to clear any misunderstanding or silence any suspicion.

I mean, ghosts weren't blind, especially the servants of the castle, who were massive gossipers and had family and friends all over the Realms. Ghosts knew the three were together, but it wasn't official yet, not in the eyes of the ghost law.

Tucker didn't know much about it, but he was assuming that what ghosts were talking about was more on the line of human marriage. Which, too soon, bro. He preferred to lay low, honestly. People knowing they were together together was okay, no problem - it was just… he was only seventeen!

Sam

"Ancients, Danny." Tucker was blushing hard. The suave persona Danny put on when in Phantom mode always managed to transform their boyfriend into putty.

"I mean it, bro." Danny said, cupping his face with his hands, leaning in for a kiss.

"Bro…"

She rolled her eyes. The amount of fluff and glitter and mushy feelings those two radiated was absurd. It was sometimes enough to make her upset in the stomach; which she bravely endured for them.

As the lovebirds kissed, she looked around to taste the reactions at this revelation. The ghosts already knew, of course, since gossip, especially juicy gossip like the King's private life, was spread around faster than the actual orders from Danny. Some of the ghosts she knew cheered, whooping and genuinely happy at their King's happiness; others continued on with whatever they were doing, not really caring about drama and gossip.

Her eyes searched for the humans, finding the A-listers hurdled at the food table, talking among themselves. Star looked up as if she felt she was being watched, her eyes finding Sam first before they rolled over Danny kissing Tucker at her side. Star's eyes went wide and she slapped Paulina's arm to get her attention. The girl turned to see what was going on, freezing when she realized what she was seeing.

Sam waved her hand, just to be a little shit.

On the other side of Paulina, Dash looked a bit green. Kwan, instead, was giving her a thumbs up and a smile.

She nodded and gave a thumbs up too, but didn't know what he was approving her for. It wasn't like she was the one sucking Danny's face right now.

She brushed her hair back, annoyed at the maids' decision of having it be free. At least they compromised on getting her bangs away from her face, but she would rather do a ponytail or a simple braid and be done with it. If she wanted to go over the top like her two idiot boyfriends, she would have done something more dramatic than her normal guard uniform.

She decided to march on and leave the lovebirds under Fright's watchful eye. She was hungry and thirsty after almost the whole day running around to have everything ready and to accompany Danny as he greeted all the ghosts.

You see, this gathering was serving a double purpose - this was the mandatory coronation ball they didn't get to throw (long story), and as a come out party for them as ghosts, or ghost adjacent, and as partners. And so, it was double the effort. Danny had been banned from organizing it, so he of course spent the last week pestering Dora and her army of assistants, maids and helpers. And pestering her.

Fortunately she managed to keep him tired and occupied with constant training and practicing sword fighting together, but the last stretch had been the hardest.

Anyway, she knew he was going to crash hard after this. Her teasing from before was just to get a raise from him, but both knew that the moment everyone left he was going to sleep for twelve hours. At least.

"Hey Sam," she heard Kwan call her from one of the few remaining groups of humans left in the place. Huh, after they got to see their hero and his castle, it seems they weren't that interested anymore.

Or needed time to think about how a fourteen year old died and gave his life to protect the town.

"Hi."

"Nice outfit," the words were awkward in his mouth, but she could see him trying to be nice. Behind him, Dash was frowning. Paulina was eyeing her with clear fear in her eyes. The rest of the A-listers hid behind the trio.

She smirked. "Thanks. Danny ordered a custom for me. And Tucker and the Fentons made some…. Uh, adjustments." Maybe divulging about these adjustments was a bad idea. Ghosts had keen ears.

"Is he really…." The boy seemed confused. His hands twitching as if he wanted to pat her shoulder in the 'bro' way he expressed himself. "Well, the King? How? Why?"

Sam pursed her lips as she put food on her plate. Answering that question would be difficult and not exactly something she should say in a party. Kwan seemed interested, worried, and his furtive looks at the halfa in question told her that the human wasn't trying to gather information to cause harm. Maybe Kwan was trying to match the Danny he knew with what they learned that day.

Unlike the rest of the A-listers hiding by the table, who looked ready to make a run for it.

"Because it was the right thing to do."

She wasn't sure the boy understood the weight on Danny's shoulders, or any of the humans still in the castle - she couldn't either, she never pretended to. But still, Kwan made a face between sadness and pity that told her he kind of did.

"Hungry?" The King they were talking about made an appearance, trying to hug her from behind and burying his face in her hair without making so much noise with the armor. She rolled her eyes. Danny was vibrating with so many emotions it was no surprise that some low level shades fell from his flaming hair to start circling around him.

Paulina made a strangled sound, but neither turned to look at her.

"So," Wes's sudden voice wasn't angry, but it was accusing. Sam glanced at Tucker, finding him cornered against the food table. "Pharaoh, huh?"

"Yeah, remember the Duulaman incident? Hotep-ra?"

"Their minds were wiped, Tuck," Danny said over his shoulder before nuzzling Sam's hair again.

"Huh-uh." Sam nodded, eating some delicious vegetable sandwich.

"True, true. I forgot. Ha! Forgot."

Sam groaned at her boyfriend's weak joke.

"There's truly no mystery here, Wes. I don't know what to tell you. I am the reincarnation of a pharaoh and I will rule over New Egypt when I die."

The warrior (in training) noticed Star, Kwan and Hanna, another satellite, making faces at how easy Tucker talked about his death.

"And you banging the King of the Ghosts doesn't affect that?" a ghost Sam didn't recognize, that was obviously listening in the conversation, choked on the ghost wine he was drinking. "Conflict of interest and all of that?"

Valerie cut through the tense silence when she walked right between Wes and Tucker with an empty glass in her hand. Her face was stony, but a twitch in her brow told Sam that the huntress had been listening in on the conversation, too.

"They've been banging before that." She stated in a deadpanned voice. She poured some punch in her glass, took a long sip, and refilled it again before turning and going in her merry way.

"And how do you know that?" was the first thing Sam heard Paulina say after their challenge.

(Which, what a shame. What a shame that the poor girl didn't get what she had coming.)

Valerie glared at the A-lister with the brunt force of the Red Huntress power.

"Because," she sipped her drink. It glowed toxic green sometimes, so it was spiked with ghost wine. Huh. "I've been trying to hunt Danny since freshman year." Another sip. "And after I gave up I started fourth-wheeling these fuckers."

She made a strategic exit before the barely hanging there humans could ask her what she meant. Hannah did a double take between the Ghost King still clinging to her (floating shades and everything), and the ex A-lister. Sam could almost see the gears moving behind her eyes.

Tonight was a night of closets and revelations, huh.

"You don't look surprised," everyone turned. Tucker was smiling, like he knew something. "At least about the banging thing."

"Please stop saying that."

"Of course," Wes ignored Sam's plea, grabbing his phone from his pocket and unlocking it. "Who do you think I am, an amateur?" Finally he found the Gallery app and scrolled towards a folder she didn't catch the name of, but was full of pictures of them.

"Ohhhh, interesting." Danny let her go to approach the other two, curious to see the pictures.

Sam walked closer too, at least to check how deep ran the damage of Wes' stalking.

It was… Well, it could be worse. Much worse.

She saw a picture of the three of them in the Fenton's backyard, this was super early in their relationship, in gym clothes and apparently doing some martial arts basics training with Danny. The next picture was a little bit embarrassing - of her kissing Danny's cheek as she gave him a thermos (she remembered this fight, also early in their relationship). The next was of her and Tucker sitting on a bench with Danny's homework on their laps, arguing about who got to do his homework this time.

(Tucker mimicked his chicken scratch best.)

Then, as the pictures became more recent, Wes caught them easily in more, huh, compromising positions. Tucker pulling down human Danny, who was wearing the simpler version of his kingly regalia, to kiss him deeply. A photo of her trapping Danny in Phantom mode against a wall in a dark alley, his legs around her waist and her hands tangled in his longer locks of white hair, their mouths locked in a passionate kiss.

The most recent was of the three of them cuddling in a park, on a picnic day - she was reading, laying on her stomach; Tucker leaning against her back doing something on his PDA, and Danny in human form sleeping with his head on the geek's stomach. That one had been a rare quiet day when the chaos post-coronation died down.

"Nice camera, dude! Do you mind sending them to me?" Tuck suddenly had his newest, high tech, probably super expensive phone in his hand, already hacking into Wes' phone to get the pictures. She hoped he would delete them after that.

"Hey, those are kind of personal moments."

"Does my hair really look like that from the back?" Danny reached with a gloved hand at the back of his hair, disturbing some shades that fluttered for a bit before resettling between the plates of his armor, probably to phase into his body and set camp there.

Before anyone could comment more on the pictures, a voice rumbled in the throne room turned dance hall.

"Lady Samantha Manson!"

She tensed, as she did when someone said her full name.

She turned as some young looking ghost she didn't know, but felt kind of familiar, approached her. For a moment she tensed and grabbed her morningstar, ready to defend Danny, but it became clear that the ghost was after her. She widened her stance.

The ghost wasn't stupid, though, as he stopped at a respectable distance and bowed to Danny. Then he glanced at Sam before looking back at the King.

"I request the hand of Lady Samantha in marriage."

The room fell into silence as the music stopped with a scratch for the second time in one night. Danny straightened his posture and tilted his head.

"Why?"

Why indeed. It was known of the High King's intent of making Tucker and Sam his official Consorts after their deaths. Challenging a claim on another ghost like that, be in a romantic, platonic, mentorly or fatherly kind of relationship, was highly frowned upon. To challenge the King's claim was plain suicide.

"My Lady has proved a worthy warrior and news of her accomplishments has come to my humble pricedom in the Lands of Perpetual Spring."

"She's alive."

"So she is," some ghosts gasped. Living people weren't exactly welcomed by everyone in the Zone. "It matters little to me."

Danny lifted an eyebrow, his hair disrupted by an invisible burst of air. He looked at Sam, who made a face at the situation. The King wouldn't accept the challenge, because he was Danny, but he couldn't simply ignore the ghost.

Sam straightened her back and hit the floor with her weapon.

"Beat me in single combat and we'll talk."

The ghost looked at her over his shoulder, like she had just said something crazy. He turned at the king, but he was shrugging.

"Whatever she says, man. Try and win against her before making any rash declarations."

More whispers from the ghost crowd. By this time everyone should have gotten used to how unorthodox Danny was about almost everything. And how he didn't care about protocol. And etiquette.

"Very well," the ghost said, clearing his throat. "Dueling rules?" He smiled down at her in a condescending way.

She snorted. She knew the dueling rules. "Until forfeit, or five seconds knocked out or unable to keep fighting." It wasn't her first duel, but it was the first time she didn't duel against Danny, a yeti warrior, one of Pandora's captains or any other of her trainers. "Tell me your name, since you already know mine."

"I'll tell you after I win my new bride," he winked at her, and her skin crawled. Okay, now it was personal.

She swallowed some words she wanted to say and looked at Danny for confirmation. He nodded and stepped back, letting the duel begin.

Sam didn't waste any second, letting go of her morningstar to hit her forearms together. The plating of her armor there sparkled for a moment, activating the magical-technological properties of her suit, runes written with light all over the previously dull plating of her armor. She couldn't even pretend to understand how Tucker and the elder Fentons did it, but her suit let her absorb ambient ectoplasm over time and store it in the metal, to be released in similar fashion as any other ghost. So far she had managed enhanced physical abilities and low-to-medium power ectoblasts, but she was working with Danny to get into the really cool stuff soon.

Anyway, she could win this. She had trained like crazy for a year. She had to win this.

Taking advantage of the distraction, she took a breath and grabbed the morningstar, swinging it with her enhanced strength at the ghost frozen in place. The hit got him on the side full force, launching him to the other wall with an undignified scream.

She blinked. Did she win already?

No, the jerk came back flying at her with fury in his red eyes. One hand on his bleeding side and another combed back long platinum locks, revealing his elvish ears flattened against his skull. He hissed.

Sam was waiting for him when he launched himself, claws first, and prepared her shoulder to take the hit. Her armor purring with power, feeding her and fanning the flames of the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

The ghost hit her, but she stood her ground. Her feet dragged for a moment over the polished stone floor, and for a moment she lost her footing. Gritting her teeth, she let go of her weapon to free her hands to push back at the ghost, sneaking a punch to the jaw to make him stop trying to crush her under his natural ghost strength.

He let her go, and she took a few seconds to regain her breathing. She also checked that the armor was still functioning. Everything was okay, of course. Fenton weaponry was quite sturdy.

The Jerk, as she was calling him in her head, lunged at her again, but she sidestepped him. In the last moment, the goth grabbed his tail and pulled back, forcing him to fly back in front of her. She charged her left arm and punched him downwards. The other ghost hit the stone so hard he made a crater.

"What-" The Jerk started to say as he stood again on two reformed legs, the hand still drenched with ectoplasm on his head.

She didn't let him finish. Sam charged her knee guards and jumped, floating for a moment in the air in the way that gravity worked funny in the Ghost Zone, and plummeted back down, legs first to where Jerk was looking up at her with horror.

He moved away at the last second.

"Hey, hey. This is just a duel! No killing!" he tried to plead, eyes bulging out of his head at the even bigger crater she was looking at him from, just where he stood a moment ago.

"Oh yeah, I'm not at the maximum power setting," she clicked her arm guards together again, and the armor started purring louder, the metal glowing in a softer white than most ghosts.

"But-"

"Why? Do you want to surrender?" she rose her voice over his, her stance tense and ready to attack again.

Jerk eyed the bright armor for a second. Then looked into her eyes. Sam smiled, hoping he got the message that she intended to humiliate him for his insult at her person.

Instead of doing the intelligent thing and giving up, he squared himself, his hands charging with his own ectoblasts. A delicate flower crown appeared on his head, showing how he was channeling the power of his land.

She narrowed her eyes. The hard way it is.

The warrior (in training) leaped forward with a charged kick to the floor, trying to get in close quarters before he could shoot her. Hand to hand combat was her best strategy, and ghosts never expected it because everyone could shoot ectoblasts. Up close and personal? They didn't know what to do with her.

She guided away one of his charged fists in a flowing motion and did an uppercut with her other hand. She jumped and kicked him down, following him down to do a series of combo punches before kicking him in the chest with all the energy she could gather in her knee guards.

Jerk flew up and away, crashing through the stained glass window behind the throne, which depicted an abstract picture of the King triumphant after battle.

Sam stood back up, panting at the effort. When five seconds seconds passed and Jerk didn't come back, she relaxed and clicked her forearms to deactivate the armor and stop wasting ectoplasm.

"What a workout, huh?"

She bit her lips, not knowing if she should laugh or hit Danny at the comment.

The ghosts decided to laugh. Duels were the purest form of entertainment in the Zone. Bread and circus and all that.

"Someone check if homeboy over there is still breathing, please?" he continued, turning to grab her hand and lift it like she was a boxer at the ring. "Sam wins!"

People cheered, and even if she shouldn't care about anyone's recognition, she looked around to find people from her school clapping along with the ghosts.

Her mother… Pamela was frowning. Her father was pale, his hands trembling.

She decided she would care about that later.

"Sorry about the destruction, Danny."

"No problemo. I know more than anyone how rowdy these ghost fights can get." He made a motion with his hands and without even looking at it, everything that was broken during the fight repaired itself in seconds. On the back of her mind she registered the 'ohhhh's and 'ahhh's of the humans and ghosts alike.

Sam smiled at the show of power, glad that Danny seemed more comfortable with it. That was the whole point of this party, anyway.

She kissed him softly on the lips.

"Thanks for letting me take care of it."

He snorted. "You are kidding, right? Thank you for kicking his butt. What a jerk," he rolled his eyes.

"While I agree with Danny, Sam, not to objectify you or anything, but hot damn!" Tucker joined them, fanning his blushing face. "Those were some sexy moves. I don't think I can stop thinking about it now."

"I can sit on your face later, if that helps."

Her boyfriends blushed and looked at each other, clearly picturing it in their heads. They looked back at her, nodding enthusiastically.

She smirked and grabbed Tucker's face to kiss him deeply.

"Later." He squeaked, breathless against her lips.

Danny

Danny closed his eyes and smiled, enjoying the noise and the gathering of different entities in his castle. Since he took the throne, silence became his enemy - it left him alone with his thoughts and his extended conscience of the Zone and-

No. Focus, Danny. He had to focus on what he had close. The shades nibbling at his emotions and his energy, his partners' presence close by, Fright shadowing him. The former A-listers of his school. His sister, who was watching him.

He opened his eyes, finding Jazz beside Dorathea, apparently mid conversation, looking at him with concern. He smiled, hoping it was reassuring. He was fine. Finally, no more secrets.

"So…," Wes continued their conversation as if Sam hadn't just fought a ghost with her bare hands. "How does it feel knowing that the guys you bullied during highschool are now ghost royalty?"

The question was aimed at the popular kids, of course.

Dash turned at him with a frown on his face.

"Royalty?" he said. "I know how these things are, Fentonio. You are not a real ghost, you can't be king. Maybe a figurehead or something, but I can't believe that ghosts would simply roll over and obey a wimpy human."

Danny laughed. Of course, he expected something like this. "It surprises me that you know such big words, Dash. But you are mistaken, though. Ghost society is dictated by power. The most powerful is at the top. Aren't you familiar with the concept?"

He tilted his head, daring him to agree.

"Also," he continued. "Do you forget how I got this crown?" He pointed at his hair, feeling the Crown of Fire materialize, ignoring the boost of power and awareness that came from summoning his relics.

"Prissy Dark."

Danny snorted. "Yeah. I defeated him. And now, if someone wants my crown, well," he smiled and kindly let a bit of his power show. The room became darker, and he knew ghosts could feel the pressure of his presence. Humans, though, would have to go by what Tucker had called his 'crazy eyes'. "They'd have to defeat me."

Sam elbowed his side.

"And defeat Sam first, yeah yeah, that too." He rolled his eyes, letting go of his control of the place. As usual, his keep, his lair in the Ghost Zone, obeyed.

(If he wanted, he could make everything, including its residents, obey. He could do so many things-)

Dash took a step back, but recuperated quickly from the scare.

"I still won't believe it. You had help!"

"I did. I do!" he nodded. "I'm proud to say that I got here with a mix of bad luck, the power of friendship and stubbornness."

"You are selling yourself short, my King," Ember suddenly jumped in, pushing him playfully. "You still passed those tests and trials and some shit," she knocked back her glass of ghost wine, missing her mouth completely. "And now you are the King of the Underworld! Woohoo!"

"Ember, I think you need to cut a bit with-"

"Remember when we used to fight?" she threw her arms around his neck. "You were so cute, defending the town."

Fright did a quick step to remove the singer, but Dann shook his head. On the back of his mind he registered the humans freaking out at the famous singer Ember McLain.

"Hey, do you wanna dance for a bit? It would burn the alcohol."

"Burn?" the ghost smiled, she wanted it to be a smirk, but it was lopsided and weak. What had happened to Ember? Did she argue with Skulker again?

"Yeah."

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun blended into the room, a careful move to reign back the party mood from the previous fight. It worked, because a lot of cheers echoed in the room, including a drunk Ember.

"That's what I'm talking about, yeah!" she turned to look at him before she jumped into the dancing crowd. "For a grown-up you are still pretty cool, dipstick."

"Not a grown up, yet," he arched an eyebrow.

"Grown-up-to-be then," Ember struck her tongue, her guitar appearing in her hands, and she started to float backwards as she did her own rendition of Cyndi Lauper's classic.

He breathed in relief.

"King of the Underworld?" Dash squeaked. "Like… Hades or some shit?"

"Still caught up on that?"

"Will you, uh, damn my soul or anything when I die?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "First, rude. Hades never decides who dies. He's not even the God of Death, that is Thanatos-"

"And he is actually pretty nice!" Tucker said around the big cake slice he somehow found and was in the process of devouring.

"- And second, I'm not some god of the afterlife."

"You kind of are, though," Jazz and Dora had decided to join them, probably taking pity on him at being interrogated.

"Your Highness," Dora did a courtesy. Danny had given up on telling her not to, so he nodded in acknowledgement.

"I'm not a god." His tone was final. He didn't want to discuss his actual status as… whatever he was now. After bonding with the Core in his coronation ceremony, he knew... He just knew he had become something else. Not human, not ghost. Still halfa. But what he found in the Core, it wasn't -

(He was Undying now. He was Eternal. And he was only one step away from the creature he was bonded with now.)

But he was not a god.

"You should totally cosplay Hades, though." He glared at Tucker. "You already rock the 'dead but sexy' aesthetic."

An explosion took his attention away. Of course. Gather a bunch of drunk ghosts in one room and leave them unsupervised for five minutes and someone was going to explode something.

After reassuring everyone that it was okay and he was just going to check what happened, he followed his instincts and found one of the DP banners adorning the walls on fire. Blue fire.

He looked at Ember, who was cheering among a group of fire core ghosts that joined her. Surprisingly, some humans he recognized from his school, but were younger than him, were cheering too.

He waved his hand and fixed the banner.

"Careful with the fire." Was everything he said, but it fell on deaf ears.

Danny walked back to where he was to continue the conversation and maybe talk to his sister, acknowledging people that greeted him with a nod and a smile, when he froze at what he found.

Huh. It seemed like drunk ghosts weren't the only thing he had left unsupervised. Apparently, parents-in-law were also dangerous to leave alone.

"... and you must stop this… behaviour!" Pamela made a gesture with her hand. Sam arched an eyebrow.

"But you just gestured all of me."

"Yes! It is unbecoming of a lady!" the woman pinched the bridge of her nose. "So this is what you were doing behind my back? Behind our backs?" Jeremy stood silently behind his wife. "Running around hunting ghosts? With a ghost?"

"I thought you were okay with it?" Sam crossed her arms, but Danny could see how the argument was affecting her. She didn't like fighting with her mother.

"Yeah, but I never allowed you to canoodle with it!"

Oh. So it was this argument.

Danny took a breath to control his emotions and stood into the fray, positioning himself behind Sam and besides Tucker, one hand on her shoulder.

"You!" Pamela redirected her glare at him. "You dragged her to this path!"

Sam stepped into her line of vision. "He never dragged me anywhere. I followed him willingly and knowingly."

"And look what it made of you," Pamela scoffed, looking at Sam up and down with her mouth turned down. "I didn't raise a tomboy," she looked at Danny and then at Tucker, who were biting their lips to stay silent. "And I didn't raise a promiscuous daughter either."

It was also this argument, too, huh? They've been avoiding that confrontation for years.

"You didn't raise me, the nanny did," Sam's shoulders were tense. "You don't know me."

Pamela took a step back, as if the teenager had just slapped her in the face. But Sam wasn't done, it seems.

"Mother, this is who I am. Being here, helping Danny? It is where I do the most good. The stuff we are changing around here… it is worth it."

The King let his hand slide to her's, and squeezed it softly. Jeremy's eyes followed every movement.

"Things are changing for the better. Don't you see? After tonight nothing will be the same. When I get back I can show you-"

"Don't."

Sam's voice broke a little bit. "What?"

"Don't go back home." The woman closed her eyes. A tear went down her cheek. "I can't… I can't deal with this anymore. This… rebellion of yours. I thought working with Phantom would help get you used to some practice experience and then you would go back to the real world and work on real causes. But this?" She looked around the hall. "This is a fairytale, Sammykins. Ghosts aren't real people. You aren't helping anyone."

This time it was Sam who looked like she had been slapped.

"You really don't know anything," her tone was of disbelief. She narrowed her eyes. "You think you do because you have money to throw at your problems, to hide things you are insecure about. But you know nothing."

"I am your mother. I know what I need to know."

"No you don't. You just choose what you want to believe and stick with it. Did you know we've been dating for two years? No, you don't. Never asked. Did you notice all the times I wasn't home, when I was out there saving the goddam town from real threats? No, you don't. Because you only care about yourself and things that directly affect you. You think you are my mother, but you never cared about me, ever."

"I do care-"

"No! Just… shut up. Leave. Just leave," the hand in Danny's was clutching it with a death grip. "I will decide if I want to go back to that house after tonight. For now… Danny?"

He cleared his throat, summoning the Crown to make a portal. "Please, step into the portal. Thanks for attending today."

Pamela seemed like she wanted to scream at him too, but when their eyes met she closed her mouth and blinked rapidly, as if confused. Crazy eyes indeed.

"This isn't over, young lady," she turned to look at Sam.

"Oh yeah, it is." Her smile was weak, but her eyes were stormy.

When the Mansons crossed the portal, Pamela made a point to glare at everyone who was looking at them (which was by this time practically the whole room). Music had stopped again and Danny didn't have the energy to kick back into the party mood anymore.

"Sam?" Tucker whispered, making a move to hug their girlfriend, but the girl stepped back and away from them.

"I… I think I need a moment," she took their hands and squeezed twice, to signal she was not okay but couldn't deal with physical contact for now. "Be right back."

The crowds parted for her. Those that didn't know her or her situation still got the gist from the argument, and didn't want to poke the bear, especially after knowing what she could do to a ghost.

Danny's heart broke in pieces as he watched her go. The sight of her back as she left via a side door triggered a nightmarish vision he often had since he accepted his title - no, since forever. Since the accident. He always feared the moment she got enough and left him, the moment she would regret involving herself with him, with how messed up he was.

He loved her. He really did. But he would rather just die again in the portal than force her to leave everything behind for him.

"It's going to be okay, Danny," his boyfriend's hand on his own snapped him from his thoughts. "Sam is stubborn but smart."

He didn't answer. What could he say? Nothing was going to be okay, nothing was going to be the same after tonight. He knew this. His partners knew this. But they didn't expect-

Danny took a breath and reigned back his emotions, noticing the flames of the torches grow back to their usual height. The little shades stirred inside of him, too, sensing his discomfort. He sent a calm wave from his core and they resettled back into their sleeping places.

A lot of people depended on him now. He couldn't crumble down like this in public.

The King turned and nodded at Fright before starting walking back to the throne, dragging Tucker with him by their joined hands. All the joy and party mood was gone from his expression, being echoed by the ghosts that moved away from him (in respect? in fear? he didn't know the difference anymore), letting him take his time walking to the raised dais. He didn't bother figuring out how to get up there with the armor - he floated instead. He was the Ghost King. Might as well make a show of it. Just to be a little shit, he made a flourish with his cape as he sat down on the gigantic throne.

An ornate chair appeared next to his throne and Tucker sat down with a sigh, the sound kind of loud in the silent room.

"Now," Danny swallowed the knot in his throat. "We have things to do. Let's get started." He projected his voice, but with how quiet everyone was, he didn't need to raise the volume much.

Ghosts knew what was going on, but since the humans weren't aware of the double purpose of the party, the few groups that remained scrambled back to make space for whatever was going to happen.

Danny smiled softly. No one would get hurt in his lair, they should know that by now.

He looked back at the front, trying not to show favor towards any of the ghosts in front of him. Coronation balls weren't just party and alcohol - protocol dictated that it would also be the moment where subjects (ugh, he didn't like that word) could pledge allegiance officially, and make a show of supporting him in front of everyone.

Not all the ghosts played the games of politics in the Zone, but those who did were a little… over the top.

Danny groaned, watching the first brave ones approach the dais, some ghosts from a cousin kingdom of Dora's, big and jeweled boxes in their hands. Right behind him, he noticed part of New Egypt court drag literal slaves and carriages full of gold behind them.

Tucker groaned as well. He didn't get involved with his future kingdom yet, but he knew they were pretty hardcore about keeping the king happy to keep Tucker as his Consort.

This was going to be a long night.

Sometime in between a pledge from the Guild of Writers and the Knights of Eternal Dawn (how he knew the names, it was part Dora's rather intensive drilling and his connection to the Zone) Sam slipped back at his other side, another chair appearing for her. Her expression was collected, but he could feel she was done with the party, more than he was.

But he couldn't just ask everyone to stop and go home. There were many things he could do now, that was true; but he was as limited as well. He had to watch what he said, what he did outside the palace. He was more than a hero - he was someone the ghosts looked up to, feared and/or respected. He served a new purpose.

But there was no going back now. Sometimes he wondered if he did the right thing after all. He was new at this, so he still needed more time to get used to the changes; but sometimes he saw the look in people's faces, ghosts and humans, his parents, and he wondered… Was he really the person for the job?

Yes.

(The Whisper. Since the coronation he could hear it better. Sense it better.)

...My favorite….

(It said he was the one it wanted.)

But how could he? He was only a child.

"Daniel."

Clockwork was standing between his throne and Sam's chair, as if he had been there for a while. He knew he hadn't - he had been paying attention to the parade of riches and ghosts in front of him.

"He's here."

He didn't have to look up to know that with Clockwork, Pandora was also here on the dais. Both ghosts had been busy and told him they wouldn't come before the pledge part of the ball. As part of his Council, they were needed for official business.

But this was not what Clockwork was talking about.

Ah.

Of course.

"I see," Danny straightened his spine and tried to relax on his throne, feeling it grow and grow into a more threatening chair fit for a menacing king. "I should have seen this coming."

The doors to the main hall opened with a bang, and there he was, Plasmius in all his glory. Danny tried his best not to show anger. The last time they crossed paths he almost crushed the other's core in rage.

In his defense, he said some pretty awful things.

The crowds, alive and dead, parted to let the infamous archnemesis pass through. Not even Maddie and Jack tried to approach him, not after what they had to witness, not after what they learned about their college friend.

Vlad stopped a few steps in front of the dais, arms straight at his sides, his face contorted as if he had swallowed something disgusting.

Danny stood and crossed his arms, trying to make himself look bigger.

"Vladdie. What a sight for sore eyes."

"Daniel, I didn't come here for the usual banter." No 'little badger', no smiles, no pleasantries.

"Another challenge, then?" He summoned the Crown, just in case. His core flared with the power, and Danny caught a few ghosts flinching under the weight.

To his relief, Plasmius was shaking his head. "No. It isn't that, either."

As he looked up at him, Danny was surprised to find genuine sorrow. Pity. Without breaking eye contact, the ghost dropped to his knees in front of everyone, enticing a few gasps and yelps of surprise.

"I have learned that…" he started, a faraway look in his eyes. "I didn't know. I didn't know, Daniel."

The King floated down the raised platform and stood right in front of Vlad. "Didn't know what?" Plasmius looked away.

"I thought it was just power. Just something to own. I didn't know what it truly-"

He was stopped by a hand on his head. Vlad looked up to find Danny's eyes and he understood what was going on. He had his suspicions, but somehow his archnemesis had been shown what it really meant to be King. The horror. How it was not a position of power, but a living sacrifice-

"It's okay."

Danny tried to smile, but the pain was still fresh.

"I forgive you."

His (former?) enemy leaned in and hugged the halfa around his waist. Danny heard a sniffle, but didn't move to look.

"I pledge my allegiance to the High King of the Ghosts. From this moment until I fade, I may serve you as you see fit." He recited the words mechanically against his chest. Danny was hit with the force of the new bond entangling itself around his core, a new ghost to command, a new soul belonging to him.

(Belonging to the Whisper. To the Zone. To the Realms. Who could see the difference anymore? Where was the line?)

(Sometimes he couldn't get out of bed. The heavy feeling in his chest, all that people, all those souls)

He took a deep breath. "I accept."

And he would. He would forgive and accept everyone.

Because it was the right thing to do. Because he wouldn't let them know what it really meant to be a ghost. Because he would rather feel the weight and feel their presence, hear the Whispers and dream of horrors beyond the imaginable, than let everyone experience what he did.

Because even if there was a way to undo everything, he would still go into the portal that day when he was fourteen. He would accept the crown again. He would go through the ceremony again.

He was Daniel James Phantom/Fenton and he was the High King of the Ghosts. He had two amazing best friends that loved him and a family that supported him.

He wouldn't change a thing.