DarkFoxKit: *Looks to have a bit of bags under her eyes, but smiles widely* There, now that's a satisfying conclusion! *Types furiously some more* My paws might be a little sore tomorrow, but it's worth it to keep going!

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Reaches over and unplugs the keyboard* Nope. This is stopping right now. You've been writing and writing and writing, Fox. You need to take a break from writing, and not just a break from writing with me.

DarkFoxKit: Whaaaat? Come on! This is getting good and I'm so close to the conclusion! Plug that back in!

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Holds up a pile of papers in the other hand* Would you like to know what this is?

DarkFoxKit: *Blinks* Paper work?

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Puts down pile in front of Fox* It's messages from a bunch of different people who agree that you need to take a break, including at least one of your other cowriters.

DarkFoxKit: But-but I don't wanna stop! DX You can't make me! *Hugs the computer with her whole body*

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Fox, you have a problem… in fact, I think writing has become an addiction and a drug for you.

DarkFoxKit: It is not, I can stop at any time I want!

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Crosses arms* Fine then, that means you won't have an issue taking off from writing this week.

DarkFoxKit: WHAT!? But I'm about to write out a really epic conclusion! I don't want to wait an entire week for that!

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': I'll make a deal with you, you can write up to 3 hours a day, though I do have certain requirements for those 3 hours. *Goes over a list of conditions*

Andy: *Comes in* Hey, what's been going-

DarkFoxKit: *Has yellow stars in her eyes* ANDY! LET'S GO PLAAAAAAAAAAAY!

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Chuckles* Looks like you've already found what you're going to do when you aren't writing.

Andy: O.O WAAAAH! *Runs away while Fox chases after him* ONYX! HELP!

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Takes a sip of tea* I'll help after tea time.

Andy: Your priorities suck sometimes!

DarkFoxKit: *Jumps on Andy before she begins to drag him by the leg to her room and shuts the door*

Chapter 93: Grandfather Clock?

I was looking at these Will-O-the-Wisps, they were floating around me, making musical hums. I remember Scarlet and Juliette gave Danny and me a warning about we could be overfed due to the fact ghost children were unable to control the amount of energy they absorbed from Wisps. I still didn't know what it was like to eat energy, but I wasn't too keen on finding out. But I was still pretty surprised that these Wisps were outside of the Ghost Zone. It made me wonder if maybe things were different here then they were in my reality.

The Wisps got closer to me, I wasn't sure why, but they seemed curious about me. They sounded like they were trying to talk to me, but if they were, I had no idea what they were saying.

"Um… sorry, but I should be going now," I said to the Wisps and started to walk away.

The Wisps, I noticed, were following me. I frowned from within my fox mask, wondering why they were following me. Suddenly there were a bunch of Wisps in the path I was heading, causing me to change my course. After a minute of walking, more Wisps appeared in the new direction I was walking, making me turn again. When it happened the first time, I thought I had walked towards a group of invisible Wisps. But after the second, third, and fourth time I realized they were moving into my path.

As I realized this, I noticed I had been surrounded by the colorful floating balls of energy.

"What are you all doing?" I asked.

One of the Wisps floated to me, and it was making more musical hums, likely trying to talk to me, but I didn't speak Wisp.

"Look, I can't understand you," I told them. "But please, could you back away?"

The Wisps around me started to glow, and I felt weird. I felt a sudden warmth in my heart, or perhaps it was my core that felt it. I jumped at the sudden sensation, feeling alarmed by this. I quickly started to run through some of the Wisps to try to get away from them. I only remembered Scarlet and Juliette's warning about this, and I was scared as to what would happen if this went on.

The feeling didn't stop, however, the warmth was increasing in my chest. I could see that the Wisps were still following me. Then suddenly I was hit with a blast of energy that knocked me onto my hands and knees. While on my hands and knees, I was fully surrounded by the Wisps, all of them glowing brightly.

I quickly got on my feet, feeling the warmth was becoming hotter. "H-hey! All of you, please stop! I don't want anymore of your energy!"

The energy surprisingly stopped.

Chad gave a sense of relief. It was then I remembered that Juliette told me that I just had to tell the Wisps that I didn't want their energy to get them to stop.

I sighed in relief when the heat in my chest died down. "Thank you. Now please… leave me be, I have something important I need to do."

Do these Wisps know that I'm half ghost? I doubt they would try to feed a human. I wondered to myself. What a weird experience.

I was glad the Wisps didn't follow me anymore, so I was able to make my trip back to the opera house easier.

Of course, it hadn't been an hour yet when I got back, so I had to wait until Juliette came back. I could tell Chad was curious, though I wasn't sure about what exactly. He could just be curious about this reality in general like I was.

I perked up when I saw Juliette phasing into the opera house's door.

"Hey, there you are, Juliette. How did the scouting go?" I asked.

"It went well," Juliette answered, though for some reason I could tell there was more than what she told me. "How did it go with you?"

"Not so good," I sighed. "I managed to talk to Tucker and Sam, and from what they told me, Danny isn't here. He got attacked by a tough ghost, and had to go into the Ghost Zone to recover. Well, they didn't say he went into the Ghost Zone exactly, but I highly doubt he would be able to recover around here with all the ghost hunters after his head and all. Meaning there goes Plan A for getting into Fenton Works."

"I see… that is worrisome… but, there is another way. We could get Jazz's help," Juliette pointed out. "She seemed willing to help you before ran away from her in the library."

"I figured you were going to suggest Jazz," I grumbled.

"What's the problem?" Juliette asked.

"It's just… I did run away from her before. Would she even trust me anymore or be willing to help me?" I asked. "Or what if she tries to grab on to me to make sure I don't run off again?"

"Explain to her the rules that Freakshow set for us and explain that it is risky for us to even interact with her," Juliette answered. "Tell her that we wouldn't be asking her if we had any other choices that didn't put… us at risk."

I sighed again. "There's no guarantee she'll listen, or that I'll be able to tell her quick enough before she tries to grab me. Besides, I'll have to go back to Casper High to talk to her. Unless you're willing to wait until school lets out for the day."

"It… would be unwise to wait, but at the same time it's quite risky to rush…" Juliette frowned. "I… think for this scenario, we should wait until after school."

I nodded before rubbing my chest.

"Something the matter with your chest?" Juliette asked.

I sighed. "I've been feeling a bit tingly since I ran into some Wisps on my way back here. I think they were trying to feed me their energy."

Juliette's eyes widened. "You ran into some Wisps? In Amity Park?! How? They've never left the Ghost Zone before!"

"I know, it was weird for me too! But… I don't know, I guess something happened in this reality that made some of them move into Amity Park? I don't know if that will happen or not in our reality since this appears to be in the future," I theorized. "I mean… you and Scarlet pretty much live in Amity Park, who's to say Wisps can't come to Amity Park as well at some point, right?"

Juliette frowned as she walked over and put her hand on my chest. After a few seconds, there was a look of surprise and curiosity. "How… intriguing. Andy, it seems like they were… well I can only really call it one thing. It looks like they were restarting your core, or fixing it at least. Perhaps you can transform now? It isn't as strong as it normally is, but there might be enough energy there to 'go ghost' as you and Danny call it."

"I don't say 'going ghost', that's my brother's catchphrase," I chuckled, and I felt Chad pouting, somehow. "But I'll give it a try."

I focused on my core to see if I could transform. There was a spark of light that appeared on my torso for a second, but it fizzled out quickly.

"I still can't transform, but that's progress if I ever saw it," I remarked.

Juliette gave a nod. "Hopefully getting you to the Ghost Zone will help get you as close to 100% as possible."

"But… until school lets out, what are we going to do in the meantime?" I asked.

Juliette began thinking, trying to figure out what to do.

I then put a hand on my stomach, remembering the gems we were supposed to be protecting. "Maybe we should take the gems out for a bit? I don't know how digestion works for ghosts, but I rather not have the Gem of Life get sucked into my intestinal tracks, and have it come out later when I really don't want it to."

Juliette shook her head. "No, Andy, we can't take the gems out of us. If we do, Freakshow could possibly reach out and grab them. He has the Gem of Fantasy and he used it to bring us here and he can use it for whatever else he can fantasize."

"I get that, but if we don't take it, I can't guarantee that the Gem of Life won't get out some other way at some point." I frowned.

"Don't worry about it, Andy. The Gem of Life was bound to you, so it's not going to… you know, get digested so easily," Juliette assured me.

I sighed. "I hope you're right about that. Well, if we're not going to do anything for an hour or two, maybe we could take this time to figure out some things?"

"Like what?" Juliette asked.

"I've been trying to put together a few things about this world. There doesn't seem to be any changes other than the fact I don't exist in this reality," I said. "Danny is still a half ghost hero here. Since this is in the future, I can't say if the minor changes, like having Wisps here, won't ever happen in our reality. We also have to figure out where Danny would go if he got injured. Danny and I never got injured enough to have to seek out help after all."

"How do you suggest figure all that out without possibly getting caught?" Juliette inquired. "You can't use your ghost powers yet and none of that would be public information. Well… I can actually make a fair enough guess at the last one."

"I'm all ears since information is pretty scarce right now," I prompted.

"There are two options in regards to where you and Danny might go if you got injured," Juliette answered. "One is to Dora, who you befriended by helping her reclaim her kingdom from Aragon. Then there is… well, the other option, which is more likely, would be Clockwork. Clockwork seems to care a lot for the two of you from what I gathered."

"That's what I thought too," I admitted. "Those two are the most likely places Danny and I would go if we ever got injured enough to need help. Well, them or you and Scarlet, but considering you and Scarlet aren't here… yeah, Dora and Clockwork are definitely the most likely candidates. But… since this is the future, it's also possible that Danny might've allied with more than just those two ghosts. And I have no idea who those could be. I don't know if it's wise to try to look for Danny at Dora's kingdom or Clockwork's tower since we don't belong in this reality, we might even be seen as paradoxes to Clockwork here."

"Don't you and Danny keep… a Ghost Zone diary of some kind on the computer in your room?" Juliette inquired before frowning. "Wait… nevermind, you told me you were the one who started that routine to keep Jazz in the loop and up to date so she wouldn't worry."

Juliette let out a long sigh. "Then I guess we really have only one choice. We go to Clockwork. Clockwork keeps an eye on you and Danny in our world and likely this universe's Clockwork does the same with their Danny. Clockwork would be the only ghost that would know if Danny has other ghostly allies."

It was times like this I wish I had that watch with me that would help give me some visions of the future, but then again, I wouldn't know how well that would work out with a being like Clockwork, who existed outside of time, and is the Master of Time.

I sighed as I weighed my options. "Yeah… going to Clockwork is probably our best course of action… even though it may be the most dangerous as well. Let's hope he doesn't decide to stop time and pull us or something, or it's an instant game over for us."

After about two hours, I looked at Juliette. "Okay, Casper High should be letting students out by now. This would be a good time to go talk to Jazz."

"What is her normal routine?" Juliette questioned. "Because you should try to find her at some point where she won't be with anyone else."

"Well, I don't know about this Jazz. I don't know if she's changed her routine compared to my Jazz-"

"Let's say she hasn't changed her routine," Juliette interrupted, giving me a look of 'we shouldn't be wasting any more time'.

I rolled my eyes. "As I was saying, if we are going with my Jazz's routine, she would likely be in the principal's office for her extracurricular activity. She's usually alone in the school's library after that, so that would be the best opportunity to talk to her."

"Then head to the library," Juliette stated with a somewhat annoyed expression.

"No need to get testy," I said. "There's a good chance she won't be there. But I'll go check and see anyways. I take it you'll be waiting here or follow me invisibly?"

"I'll be here," Juliette answered. "If we both go out, there's more of a risk that we lose."

"Alright, then if all goes well, I'll be back with Jazz," I replied before I walked out of the opera house.

Juliette let out a loud sigh as I left, which made me wonder if she was annoyed about something more than just 'wasting time'.

I hurried back to Casper High, hoping Jazz was indeed in the school library. Nobody paid me any mind thankfully, and I didn't see Tucker or Sam anywhere. However, when I got to the school library, I was disappointed when I didn't see Jazz there. Oh great, she's not here. Now I have to go look for her.

Chad felt frustrated as well.

But where else would she go…? I wondered.

I knew searching for Jazz blindly would take me way too long, and Juliette was already starting to lose her patience. Not that I could blame her, the longer we're here, the more risk we're taking.

I noticed Valerie was down the hall, opening her locker. I knew it was risky, but I decided to walk over to Valerie and hope she knows where Jazz is and was willing to tell me.

"Hey, uh… Ms. Gray," I called out to Valerie with as much respect and politeness I could muster in my voice.

I heard Valerie muttering something under her breath. I couldn't make out what everything was, but I did at least hear something about a suckup.

"If you don't mind, could you tell me where Jazz Fenton is? I'm looking for her," I inquired.

"She's in the home economics room this day every week," Valerie answered in an uncaring tone. "Working on even more credits for college. That girl needs to get a life outside education…"

"Heh… that does sound like Jazz," I chuckled.

Valerie blinked suddenly before she looked at me. It was then I remembered my voice was apparently similar to Danny's, and I just said something Danny probably would have said in this situation. But how much does Valerie even know Danny in this reality?

"You know… you sound… kinda like that ghost kid." Valerie narrowed her eyes as she reached into her backpack. "What's underneath that mask of yours?"

Oh… well that's even worse. I paled. "Why would you assume I was a ghost?"

"Take off the mask," Valerie instructed as she began to pull something out of her bag. "Now."

Although I didn't think it was wise, I also didn't want Valerie to start shooting at me in school. I wasn't sure if her ecto weapons would affect me as I am now, but I really didn't want to take that chance. I could try to make a break for it, but that would only make things worse. This Valerie seems a lot more aggressive than my Valerie. Jumping to the conclusion I'm Phantom just because I sound a little like him. I don't even have an echo!

I reached up and took my mask off, and also pulled down my cloak so she would see that my hair was black, and not ghostly white.

Valerie gave a curious expression before frowning. "Did… he really restart that project…? After all of her assurances that he would."

"What… project? Who's 'he'? Who's… 'her'?" I asked, completely lost on what Valerie just said.

Valerie's expression turned to one of confusion then concern. "Where are you from? What do you know besides Jazz and me? Do you have a name?"

"I…" I didn't know how to answer. I didn't expect someone to see my face. But what surprised me was that Valerie didn't accuse me of being Danny, or Danny Phantom in disguise or something. "Why would you even ask me those questions?"

"I…" Valerie frowned and pulled her hand out of her backpack before she zipped it up and began walking away. "I need to go do something now."

I blinked as Valerie walked away. Huh… looks like I got off pretty easy there. Now I just gotta get to the home economics.

A part of me was worried that I might have set off a chain of events I didn't mean to set off, but there wasn't anything I could do about it now. I just hoped it wouldn't become anything too serious down the line. But with my mind focused on the mission, I made a beeline to the home economics room.

When I got there I found Jazz alone in the room. There were a couple dirty pots on the stove and some sweet scents coming from the ovens. Jazz herself was working on sewing up a giant teddy bear.

"Hopefully the children enjoy these sweets, treats, and gifts I got," Jazz said out loud as she finished sewing up the back of the giant teddy bear and added it to a pile next to her.

I sighed in relief as I walked into the room, glad that Jazz was alone, this made things easier. "Hey, Jazz?"

Jazz turned around and looked at me. "Oh, hey, it's you."

"Yeah, it's me," I sighed. "I… didn't introduce myself, have I? I'm not sure if I should, but… well, to make up for running away from you, I guess it's the courtesy thing to do."

"No, you didn't," Jazz chuckled. "You already know who I am, so go ahead and introduce yourself."

I couldn't help but give a small smile. "My name is Andrew Fenton, but I prefer to be called Andy."

Jazz gave a curious expression. "I assume Mom named you then, considering Dad likely would've named you Jack Jr. or something. I mean that's what he tried to do with Danny when Danny was born."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, Mom named both me and Danny. Admittedly, it does kind of sting to realize that I don't exist in this reality…"

"It might sting, but there are probably things that would've ended up significantly different if Danny had a brother," Jazz pointed out. "For instance, he wouldn't be in the Ghost Zone right now recovering from his injuries if he had someone to watch his back."

I felt Chad agreeing, yet was also a little annoyed.

"Heh, maybe. Danny and I haven't really been badly injured yet in our reality," I said.

"Oooh, so does that mean you're also a halfa?" Jazz asked as she looked at me.

"Yeah. Well, right now I can't access my ghost powers… and that's why I need your help," I admitted. "But first, I should warn you… Freakshow did give us rules for this game. One of them is that people who are important in this reality, our friends and family, can't catch us. I'm guessing that means we're not allowed to touch them, or it's instant game over for us. So if you have the urge to hug me, please don't."

Jazz gave an understanding nod at that. "I wouldn't want you to lose to Freakshow, so I'll resist the overwhelming urge I have to wrap my arms around you and squeeze you until you feel lightheaded."

I couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Why do you feel like that? You know I'm not actually Danny, or technically your brother at all, right?"

Admittedly I mostly asked because I wanted to know how Jazz meeting a brother she never had would affect her mentally. The Jazz in my world would also like to know.

"I was joking about that, Andy," Jazz informed with a chuckle. "I don't feel like I want to hug you to death."

"Oh," I blinked for a moment. "Okay then. Well… about that request… I'm trying to get into the Ghost Zone. We suspect that one of the important pieces we need to collect is somewhere in there. But we can't get into the Ghost Zone if we can't get into Fenton Works."

Jazz raised a brow at that. "We? Who is the other person in this 'we'?"

"Yeah… I have a partner with me. She's a ghost, a friendly ghost, her name is Juliette, and we're both trying to get through this game. I don't think you've met her in this reality, since I was the one who found and brought her here… well, in the Amity Park of my reality," I clarified.

"I see~" Jazz smirked. "Are you and her a thing?~"

It took me a moment to realize what Jazz was implying, before my face heated up. "What!? No! Why is that the first thing that comes into your mind? Just because I'm a boy and she's a girl? Honestly, nobody can just be friends anymore in this day and age!"

To make it worse, I could feel Chad was very amused by this.

"So are you telling me you aren't interested in her at all?" Jazz questioned.

"Not like that! If anyone is interested in Juliette, it's Tucker!" I quickly said in an attempt to defend myself. "Besides, Juliette is an anthropomorphic goat ghost, and she's thousands of years old."

"Ooooh? So that's the type of girl you're into?~" Jazz asked in a teasy tone.

"You know, if it weren't for the fact I can't touch you, I'd slap you upside the head right now," I grumbled.

Jazz chuckled. "Sorry, Andy, I just wanted to get your mind off the stressful game you're playing. Getting on a serious note, I can definitely help you, Andy. Both you and your girlfriend~"

"Stop calling her that!" I growled before taking a deep breath and letting it out. "Before that, is there anything about this Danny I should know about?"

"Well…" Jazz snickered. "Danny has a very interesting… new family member."

I blinked. "A new family member? Did Mom have another baby or something?"

"Nope." Jazz shook her head. "Think older."

"That's still very vague," I pointed out. "Is it a ghost or human?"

"Hmmm…" Jazz gave a thoughtful look. "I'll say they're like a fatherly figure."

I could feel Chad was intrigued by this. So was I for that matter. Who would Danny see as a fatherly figure besides Dad?

"And good lord, no, I do not mean Vlad," Jazz quickly added, a worried look on her face.

"Seems Vlad didn't change here either," I muttered.

"Is your Vlad a crazy rich maniac who has dedicated his life to marry Mom and adopt Danny?" Jazz questioned.

"Yep," I confirmed with a nod.

"Then yes, my Vlad is the same," Jazz responded.

I sighed and shook my head. "Okay, well… the only person I could think of that Danny might see as fatherly or grandfatherly is Clockwork."

Jazz snickered at that. "You may or may not be right."

"Again with the tease?" I grumbled.

"Yup." Jazz smiled.

"Why even tell me this if you weren't really going to tell me?" I asked.

"Because you'll likely find out soon enough," Jazz explained. "Now, let's go over a plan to get you and your girlfriend to the Ghost Zone."

I gave Jazz an annoyed glare. "Her name is JULIETTE!"

"Oh? So you're not denying she's your girlfriend?~" Jazz smirked.

"You… what… she… Jazz, let's just go," I groaned, deciding it wasn't worth arguing.

"Not just yet," Jazz answered. "I have to drop all this stuff off at different places."

Juliette was tapping her foot by the time Jazz and I finally came into the opera house. We had spent over an hour dropping off all those toys and treats Jazz made.

"You sure took your time," Juliette scolded as I walked inside before she looked at Jazz. "Hello there, Jazz. Or should I say greetings?"

"Hi, you must be Juliette, Andy's partner in the game." Jazz smiled.

"I am indeed Juliette," Juliette confirmed. "And yes, I am working alongside Andy in this game of Freakshow's. Hopefully we won't be here for too long."

"It's a shame that I never got to meet you in this world," Jazz said. "You look like you'd be a great conversationalist. Danny could use more friendly ghosts in Amity Park."

"Your me is likely somewhere in the Ghost Zone, possibly still running from Clockwork and Skulker," Juliette informed. "Long story short as I know you will ask, Clockwork wants me to work for him and I don't want to. And Skulker is interested in me because I'm unique prey. At least that's how it is in our world. I'm not 100% sure that's what the Juliette of this world has to contend with."

"Well, I may ask Danny to be on the lookout for this world's you then," Jazz remarked. "For now, it would seem you two need my help to get into the Ghost Zone, right?"

"That is correct," Juliette answered.

"From what I could tell, I think it might be best I keep my identity a secret. Mom and Dad might think I'm either Danny or I'm a ghost masquerading as Danny," I stated. "I rather not have them try to hold me down or shoot at me or something. But admittedly, wearing a mask and a cloak would just scream 'ghost' to them as well, so that's not much better either…"

"Then how about I capture you two?" Jazz suggested.

Juliette and I looked at Jazz, both of us did tense up with the way she worded it.

"I mean how about I get you two in a Fenton Thermos and then get you in the Ghost Zone that way?" Jazz explained. "There is a port on the Ghost Portal that allows one to slot in a Fenton Thermos to send a ghost to the Ghost Zone."

"As good an idea as that is, it's too risky," I said softly.

"Why?" Jazz asked.

"Because if you put us in a Fenton Thermos, that could be counted as you capturing us in the game, Freakshow didn't say 'touch us' and we lose, he said 'capture us'," I explained. "Without any clarification, or the ability to experiment, we have to assume that would be within the rules or risk losing the game."

Juliette gave a nod of agreement. "It would be best if you could turn off the defenses in the house and get your parents to leave so we could sneak in and get through the Ghost Portal."

Jazz sighed before nodding. "I usually turn off the defenses in the house anyways for Danny's sake. But sometimes my parents turn it back on without me knowing, and Danny… has gotten hurt a few times before because of it…"

I winced at that. It had never been a problem for us in our reality, then again, I was also a lot more careful about it.

"Then could you do that for us? Turn off all the defenses and then get them out of the house?" Juliette requested.

Jazz nodded. "I can get them out of the house and turn off the defenses, but you two will have to be on your own from there."

"That's fine," Juliette assured.

I smiled at my not-sister. "Thanks, Jazz. We really appreciate this." I hope my Jazz is okay…

Chad felt worried and agreed with me.

Jazz smiled at me. "Alright, if you two are ready, then let's get to Fenton Works."

"Before we go, I should change," Juliette stated as she walked towards the stage. "Give me just a moment."

Jazz and I waited for the goat girl to change herself.

"So, how are you and Danny in your reality?" Jazz asked me while we were waiting.

"Eh, well, can't complain. There were a lot of hardships of course, but Danny and I have been able to pull through each time," I shrugged.

"So you were with Danny during the accident since you're also half ghost?" Jazz questioned.

I didn't mean to, but I did wince a little bit at that. "No… not exactly…"

"What happened then?" Jazz inquired. "I mean, depending on how the universe reacts, anything you tell me could be forgotten when you leave."

"Well isn't that just a lovely thought?" I sighed.

"By that I mean me forgetting what you tell me," Jazz clarified. "There are theorized ways to get around this, which I will be doing because I do want Danny to be on the lookout for our Juliette."

I nodded to that, Juliette deserved to have a better way to live out her afterlife than on the run all the time. "Well… was there a second accident in this reality? Like did Danny go into the ghost portal again to recreate the accident at some point?"

"Yeah," Jazz replied. "There was a wish that was foolishly made that caused Danny to lose his powers and all that. So in order to get his powers back, he needed to recreate the accident."

"Yeah, that happened, that was how I got my ghost powers," I informed. "But before that, I was only human during those times before the recreated accident. It wasn't fun, not at all. Danny didn't actually tell me he was half ghost, I found out myself, you and I both did actually, but I didn't take it very well. I… I thought Danny was dead."

Chad winced at this, and guilt started to radiate from him, which made me wonder why Chad would feel guilty about this.

"Yeesh…" Jazz frowned. "No offense meant by this, but you seem to be the type whose mind is their worst enemy."

"So I've been told," I chuckled sheepishly. "We did work things out in the end though."

"Sorry about the wait," Juliette's voice interjected before a human girl, the same form Juliette had been using during the trip, walked out from where Juliette had gone.

"What the… Juliette? Is that Juliette!? How do you look so human? Are you half ghost too?" Jazz questioned as she was staring at the now human looking Juliette.

Juliette shook her head. "No, this was what I looked like as a human. I simply am able to disguise myself like this in order to blend in. I can also turn invisible and minimize my energy so ghosts have a harder time sensing me."

"Wow, that's so cool! Then again, I mean I have seen some ghosts use a human disguise before, like Spectra… but still, it's cool to see how you'd look as a human. I can't even tell you're a ghost, there's no echo in your voice, and your ghostly aura isn't anywhere," Jazz remarked.

"Alright, Jazz, that's enough fangirling," I chuckled. "We should get to Fenton Works now before we waste too much time."

"There are three stages to this game and we're still in the first one," Juliette added. "There's also the fact that Andy's family and friends have been captured by the Guys in White and who knows what could be happening to them right now. Hopefully not much time is passing in our world."

"Wait, really? Why didn't you tell me that before, Andy?" Jazz demanded from me.

"Because he likely deemed it as unnecessary information," Juliette guessed with a shrug.

"Look, I didn't want to cause worry if I didn't have to," I said. "Now can we please go?"

"Well with that new piece of information, let's go!" Jazz hurriedly replied as she rushed out the door, Juliette and I hurried after her.

I found myself standing in front of Fenton Works with Jazz and Juliette. It definitely hadn't changed at all between realities. I suppose just because I was never born here didn't mean that Fenton Works would change. I could only guess the biggest changes would be that none of my own stuff would be in there.

"You guys hide across the street," Jazz stated. "I'll head in, make sure the security is off, then get Mom and Dad out of the house."

"How do you plan on getting them out of the house?" Juliette inquired.

"I'll tell them I saw Danny Phantom flying around Central Park and they'll jump at the chance to capture him," Jazz explained with a chuckle.

"Ahhh, that's a good idea considering Danny isn't actually nearby," Juliette commented. "Hopefully they'll be looking around for hours."

"Unless they get wise," I mumbled.

"Don't worry, this usually always works on them," Jazz reassured. "Because Danny would disappear from their radar a lot whenever he turned human, so it'll take them a while to realize he's not actually here."

I never thought about that, how the ghost radars would suddenly not be able to pick up our ecto signature whenever we turned back to human. It made me wonder how much one side took over which when we were in one form.

"Alright, you two hide, and wait until Mom and Dad are out of the house before you come out of hiding. I'll let you know when it's safe to come in," Jazz instructed.

Juliette gave a nod and grabbed my hand before she pulled us to an alleyway across the street from Fenton Works.

Juliette and I waited as Jazz went into the house. Juliette seemed to have noticed something interesting, because I heard her letting out a soft gasp. I looked over at what she was looking at to see it was one of those Wisps floating around. I did tell Juliette about running into them, but I guess it was one thing to hear about it, and another to actually see it with her own eyes.

"I… still can't believe it…" Juliette softly muttered.

"Yeah… I do wonder what caused them to start living out in Amity Park…" I mumbled. "Did Danny have something to do with it?"

"Did you two plan to do something that would let Wisps live in Amity Park?" Juliette asked me.

"No, not that I know of. If Danny was interested, he certainly never told me anything," I answered. "Then again, we don't know how far into the future we are here in comparison to where we are in our reality."

Chad gave a feeling of agreement.

"Well, if you do come up with plans to have Wisps move into Amity Park, please let me know," Juliette requested.

"Heh, you and Scarlet are like the first people we think of going to whenever we have something ghost related planned anyways," I chuckled.

Suddenly, we heard shouting. We snapped our attention back towards Fenton Works to see Mom and Dad rushing out, and going into the Fenton Assault Vehicle. At least I know Mom and Dad here were still the same. It made me wonder what the Guys in White were going to do with our Fenton RV, I highly doubt they wouldn't take it with them considering the technology it has. But then I remembered that I had hit the activation for some of the defenses, so it wouldn't be easy for the Guys in White.

Once the Fenton Assault Vehicle had driven off, Juliette and I waited a little longer until Jazz opened the door and gestured us to come inside.

"Surprised your parents of this world didn't drag Jazz with them," Juliette remarked as she started to walk towards Fenton Works at a quick pace.

I hurried after Juliette. "My parents don't usually drag Jazz with them, because they know she isn't interested in ghost hunting. They usually prefer dragging me and Danny though."

Once we were inside Fenton Works, I was hit by nostalgia, it had felt like a long time since I step foot in my house, even if this wasn't my house exactly.

"Andy, we don't have time to stand around with expressions of awe," Juliette remarked when she saw my expression.

I blushed a little, realizing that I got a little too taken in by the familiar sight of home. I think Chad felt that way too for some reason, which doubled my nostalgic feeling. "R-right… let's head to the lab."

I didn't want to see Danny's room, because I didn't want to be reminded that Danny didn't have a twin in this reality. I felt Chad feeling bitter about that thought himself.

"The lab is down through the kitchen, in case our lab is differently placed," Jazz informed. "Oh and I double checked that the defenses are off. Ummm… before you go though… If this is the last I'll be seeing you, then I wish you good luck against Freakshow. Beat him and rescue your friends and family. And maybe in the future, if you find your hands on the Reality Gauntlet and the different Gems, you can come back here and visit. After all, with all the Gems and the Gauntlet, you should be able to freely travel through realities."

"Thanks, Jazz…" I hesitated. "But it might be for the best if we don't see each other again. I don't belong here…"

"Don't think like that." Jazz frowned. "I don't care if you were technically never born in this reality. You may be from a different dimension, but you're also still one of my brothers. I expect to learn more about you under better circumstances one day."

I looked at Jazz, a little surprised at her declaration, but I couldn't help but smile. "Heh, you really are just like my Jazz. I'm glad this Danny has you looking out for him at the very least."

Jazz smirked at that. "It'd have to take a seriously big change for me to be any different than the strong, loving sister that I am."

Chad felt nostalgic and happy.

"Then… I guess, I won't say goodbye, but… see you later," I said before Juliette and I started to head into the kitchen. "Tell Danny that I said 'hi'!"

"Who knows, you might run into him in the Ghost Zone," Jazz chuckled.

Juliette and I walked down into the lab. I looked around, seeing how nothing about it has changed, except maybe there wasn't as much gadgets, or Mom managed to convince Dad to get rid of the ones they didn't use much. The Ghost Portal was still there, thankfully. I lifted up the hood of my cloak over my head, and pulled out my fox mask from my pocket and slipped it on.

"Let's head through," Juliette said as she walked towards the Ghost Portal.

With my disguise on, Juliette and I walked through the portal, and were now floating in the Ghost Zone. It would seem the Ghost Zone itself hadn't changed either. Of course, as soon as I walked into the Ghost Zone, I felt my core buzzing a little. My core usually felt energized when I was in the Ghost Zone, but this was the first time I was noticing it. But I still couldn't transform.

"Okay, now that we're here… you'll probably have to carry me until I can transform," I said to Juliette as she dropped her human illusion.

Juliette shook her head. "I want you to close your eyes and try to follow my instructions."

I blinked. "I thought you were in a hurry to get to that page?"

"Trust me, Andy, it won't take long if it doesn't work," Juliette assured. "And if it does work, then we won't be moving slowly. Now, close your eyes."

"Alright…" I sighed, deciding to go along with it. I closed my eyes. "My eyes are closed since you likely can't see it behind my mask."

"You know how your core feels when you activate it, right?" Juliette asked.

"Uh… yeah, it's become second nature to me by now," I answered.

"Can you feel it right now? Without grabbing onto it?" Juliette questioned.

"A little bit, it's pretty weak, like a little ember or a spark," I described.

"Good. Tell me, can you feel the energy around you? The energy of the Ghost Zone?" Juliette inquired.

It was an odd question, not something I usually think of. I never had to try to feel the energy in the Ghost Zone before.

"If you can't feel it right now, try to," Juliette instructed when I hadn't answered.

It wasn't difficult to do, the Ghost Zone was teeming with ectoplasm and other ghostly energies that I didn't recognize. "I can… feel a lot of different types of energy."

"Try to grab onto the standard energy around you with your mind, the most common one," Juliette ordered.

I wasn't sure how one would mentally grab onto energy, but if it was anything like telekinesis, I should have a base on how that would work. I just had to grab energy instead of something solid. I mentally reached out to what felt most familiar to me since I didn't want to mess with unfamiliar energy.

"Once you are grabbing onto that energy, slowly pull it towards your ghost core," Juliette guided.

It was then that I understood what Juliette was trying to do. She wanted me to absorb the Ghost Zone's natural energy to try to re-energize my core. It was clever for sure, though it wasn't something I had ever done before. I didn't know how it would affect a half ghost like me. Probably as good a time as any to experiment, right?

I, very carefully, and slowly, started to pull the energy into my core. It was a very weird feeling. It was like I was eating, yet not eating.

"Once your core feels like it's back to its normal level of energy, stop," Juliette stated. "Going a little over is fine, but try your hardest to stop absorbing energy when your core feels like it's back to normal."

I only managed to get a little bit of the energy in when I suddenly heard a voice in my head. "Who are you?"

I stopped and opened my eyes. "What the…?"

"Something the matter?" Juliette inquired in a concerned tone.

"You're not Danny."

"I… I'm hearing a voice…" I hesitantly informed. "They apparently know Danny. But they're asking who I am. They sound… feminine, and I can hear the authority in their voice."

"That's… strange," Juliette remarked, looking confused.

"You are not Danny yet you are a halfa… you also have a strange energy about you. Tell me, where is it that you hail from? Are you even from this reality? There are no other possible explanations to your existence."

"Uh…" I guess I should answer the voice. "Yeah, I'm from another reality… uh… who… and where are you?"

Chad was feeling nervous and confused.

"Those are questions I cannot answer, child. Also… how curious, there are two energies within you. One of which belongs to… hmmm. I see. You must be after the anomalous artifact that appeared here earlier."

Two energies? Is she… talking about Chad? I wondered. What is Chad anyways?

Chad gave what I could only assume to be a 'shrug' kind of emotion.

"If by anomalous artifact, you mean a page that shouldn't be here, then yes, we are. Could you tell us where one is? It would make things a lot easier for us," I requested.

"I cannot tell you the exact location as that would be too easy. However, I can give you a riddle. The artifact you seek is in a place that exists and doesn't exist, it's as old as time, but is brand new."

I furrowed my eyebrows before I relayed the riddle to Juliette.

"That… describes a lot of places." Juliette frowned.

"But… there's only one place I know that fits it perfectly. I'm not saying it's the only place, but it might be the most fitting for Freakshow to place it there," I stated.

"What would that be?" The goat girl asked.

"Clockwork's tower," I answered.

"Well… that's marvellous…" Juliette grumbled before looking back at me. "Go back to what you were doing before and then we will head to Clockwork's tower."

I nodded and was about to do just that, before I noticed a few shadows towering over us. My eyes widened before I turned around, seeing these people wearing some kind of robe-like outfit, and their face was one giant eyeball.

"I knew we would find the anomalies here," One of them said with venom.

Juliette looked at me with wide eyes and grabbed onto my arm, looking like she was ready to bolt at a moment's notice. "Hold on tight, Andy… these guys are serious trouble."

I gulped. What have I gotten myself into?

Jewel moonstone: DarkFoxKit: I'm glad we could make your day a little better then. Hope you're doing better… maybe avoid listening to Linkin Park music for a bit too.

Luna Lilyth: DarkFoxKit: Yeah, the AUs had always been the original intent when we got to Reality Trip. I wasn't planning on making the same plot as the movie did, not when there was a much better and a more fun opportunity to use something else.

Dp-Marvel94: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Jazz is a smart girl, no matter which reality you're in. If anyone in the family is going to figure out what's going on, it's her. While yes, she acts… pretty rashly some times, she still has a brain behind it all… she just sometimes forgets to use said brain.

DarkFoxKit: Yeah, it's pretty fun doing Chad's reaction, and the fact that he's also experiencing what Andy is. Not that Andy has an idea who 'Chad' really is.

Mana: DarkFoxKit: Freakshow has a bad habit of not being very specific. He's hoping he could get away with being as vague as possible with the rules so Andy and Juliette would have more of a chance to fail the game. Which will be more apparent in the last AU world. As for Danny and friends… I won't say much about how long they'll be held or what's happening there. The story is told in Andy's point of view, with the occasional switch to Danny, and maybe Juliette, but since none of them are currently at or conscious at the GIW's HQ, we can't really write what's going on there. Nor do we really have any idea on what to write without it becoming a torture porn for Danny like in most DP Danny captured by the GIW stories I've read, which I'm not a big fan of. Them getting captured is more of a goal for our characters than something we're really going to go in depth with. But we do have an idea for how they'll escape.

So why were you coughing Kindred Spirits. I'm not sure where in that statement was a reference to Kindred Spirits, you might have to point it out. I tend to miss the obvious. ^^'

Reality Trip was… an interesting special. Though most of it felt rushed, especially the ending. I feel like Butch forgot about the Observants honestly, up until he decided to use them again for Vortex later, and they were never seen again. As for the Reality Gauntlet itself… there's going to be an interesting thing about it in this story, involving the… gems. But I won't say what it is.

Oh my gosh, I want that to be a real episode! Heck, I want any new official new episode of Danny Phantom at this point! And… be careful when wishing to Desiree… she might make Covid-19 'go away' by mutating it into something else and more dangerous. ^^'