*The camera leans over behind DarkFoxKit, showing her playing Pokemon Unite on the Nintendo Switch*
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Is holding the camera* Hey, Fox! How's Pokemon Unite treating ya?!
DarkFoxKit: *Not taking her eyes off the screen* It's fun. I can't seem to stop. I think I might be addicted.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': I definitely don't doubt that… considering today is Tuesday.
DarkFoxKit: So?
Andy: Give her a minute.
DarkFoxKit: ….. Wait… did we miss on the update yesterday!?
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Yes, yes we did. It was so late when I noticed that I figured it would just be better for us to update it today.
DarkFoxKit: How did we forget!?
Andy: Gee, I wonder. *Looks at the Switch*
DarkFoxKit: You could've at least said something, Andy!
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Well no, no he couldn't have. As he was playing that game just as much as you. He was just doing it secretly, or at least attempting to do it secretly.
Andy: N-no, I wasn't! I don't even have my own Switch!
Danny: *Looks through a door, holding out a different Switch* Bro! Why was your Switch in the closet!?
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Chuckles as Andy's face goes red* Anyways, we can talk more about this later. Let's get the update going. I recorded this convo and plan on using it as the AN so people understand why we missed yesterday.
DarkFoxKit: You are? Then let me say this… sorry for the late update, folks, we got a little distracted. ^^' But we hope you enjoy the chapter!
*Andy went over to Danny, telling him to not show off his Switch like that, pushing him back into the room*
Chapter 113: A Learning Curve
"That's a lot of information to take in," Jazz remarked.
Danny, Tucker, Jazz, even Sam, and I were in the library. Since Jazz came here so often, she was able to request a private study room for us to talk in, this way we'd be away from prying ears. This was far better than being cramped in a janitor's closet. I noticed Danny and Sam were sitting a bit away from each other, and I could just feel the awkwardness between them. But I, and the others, tried to ignore it as I informed them of what I learned from the book the other day. I not only wrote down the important parts in my journal, but I also typed it into my laptop to help keep track of what we needed to know, especially the Taboos and Core Taboos. Though I haven't quite gotten to telling everyone about the Core Taboos yet.
"Yeah, it is, but it's very fascinating," I said. "It may also help to have this information in case something were to happen to me or Danny, or both of us."
"Agreed." Tucker nodded. "But you should probably hide that information on a locked folder on your hard drive, that way it'll be hard to find and only those with the password would be able to access it."
"Already thought of it," I chuckled. "This is all in our top secret folders, of course. We're always careful with this kind of information, especially in our house with our ghost hunting parents. We just wanted to make sure you guys have this information."
"I stored what you and Danny told us in my PDA." Tucker nodded.
"I've memorized it," Jazz pointed to her head. "Though I will write it down in my own diary later."
"I'll keep the information safe too," Sam replied.
I nodded. "Good. Now, there's one more crucial bit of information Danny and I need to share with you guys before we finish up here, and these are important to remember, especially when it comes to ghosts."
"Mainly Andy," Danny admitted with a chuckle. "I was admittedly daydreaming towards the end of the conversation when Andy was first telling me about this."
"You really need to pay more attention to this stuff, Danny, you're as involved as I am with this stuff," I grumbled.
Danny just gave me a sheepish grin.
I rolled my eyes. "Anyways… the ghosts actually have laws that they are to obey to a strict degree."
"Like the laws Walker makes?" Sam asked.
I shook my head.
"No, from what I do remember of the conversation, these laws are much much more important," Danny answered. "I believe Andy said that these laws were made by the… give me a second… I'll remember it…"
Danny rubbed his temples a bit before beaming. "Right! The Council of Ancients. They were the ones who created these laws that are enforced not just in the Ghost Zone but also in the living world."
"Yes, and Walker's laws only really affect his area, not the entire Ghost Zone," I added. "These other laws go out throughout the Ghost Zone and the living world. They have these things called the Taboos, laws that you should never break or you will be punished. However, according to the book, there are three Core Taboos that ghosts and the living must never break, or the punishment would be severe even for a ghost."
Jazz, Sam, and Tucker all looked a little pale when I mentioned that. They should know that a ghost could take quite a bit of punishment.
"From what I was reading in the book, there have been times where a living being has unintentionally broken one of the Core Taboos and ended up being found guilty and tortured until he died and then tortured more after he became a ghost," I informed, wanting to show just how serious these Core Taboos were.
"... So what are the Core Taboos?" Tucker asked.
"And more importantly, have we unintentionally broken any?" Jazz questioned in worry.
"No, you would know if you did, because the Ancients would've come and brought you to their court as soon as the Core Taboo was broken," I answered. "As for what the Core Taboos are… the 1st Core Taboo is that you must never leave a ghost's core alone to rot, nor should you shatter it. If you take a ghost's core out of their bodies, you are to consume it as soon as possible. Because if you don't use the core as food, then you just cruelly tortured that ghost until the Ghost Zone could claim them and give them rest. Some ghosts… literally eat the cores of ghosts that they hunt, while others absorb their cores through some strange means."
"Why can't you shatter it though? You're not leaving the core to rot then, right?" Sam asked. "This is hypothetical, I wouldn't want you to actually shatter a ghost's core."
"Because you'd be murdering them," Danny responded with a serious look.
"Besides the ethics of murdering a ghost, it's also because when you shatter a core, it doesn't destroy them. It turns their core into particles. You've essentially ripped their soul apart into millions of particles," I added.
"There are times where ghosts do lose their outer forms or shells or bodies or whatever you want to call them, but so long as the core remains and is capable of drawing in energy, the ghost could regenerate," Danny stated. "I'm guessing that the specifics of the taboo is that one can't destroy a ghost's form and then proceed to torture them by not letting them gain energy or retake their forms."
"Glad that was never a problem with us…" Jazz shivered.
"But what about Scarlet then? Didn't she used to destroy ghosts in order to 'cleanse' them?" Sam asked.
"We don't really know what she does to the cores of the ghosts she hunts," Danny pointed out. " For all we know, Scarlet literally cleanses the core of any darkness and allows them to reform as a pure ghost, one that won't be tempted to sin. Or she might absorb the cores of the ghosts she hunts in order to cleanse them, which is actually one of my working theories. It would explain why she's as strong as she is."
"We could always ask her, couldn't we?" Tucker questioned.
"Unlikely," Jazz answered. "Most old sects of knights kept their methods secret. The only way to find out would possibly be to join whatever order Scarlet is a part of, even if she's the only current member."
"So we know not to torture a ghost's core," Sam said. "That's something we don't do anyways. So what's the next Core Taboo?"
"The 2nd Core Taboo is to never mess with a ghost's mind to the point of destabilization," I stated. "Now this one is a bit complicated. It's a bit similar to the first Taboo, since messing with a ghost's mind is also messing with their core, but their bodies are usually still intact. Things like mind control and hypnosis are exceptions to this Taboo as long as it doesn't harm the ghost or their core. That's why Freakshow wasn't taken to ghost court despite using his crystal ball mind control thing. Although I would say Desiree came dangerously close to that, since she not only wiped Danny's memories and even changed it by taking Sam out, but she also made his core go dormant enough that he was essentially just a human again until the second accident woke his core back up."
"Wait… I thought Desiree took away my ghost powers that time," Danny spoke up, looking confused.
"Not likely. After reading about how ghost cores work, one can't just 'take away' the core once it exists. Not even Ancients have that power. They can wipe you from existence, sure, but they can't take away the core without killing you," I explained. "So my theory is that Desiree made your core go dormant when she tampered with your memories after Sam made that wish. And instead of becoming half ghost again when the portal shocked you, it just woke your core back up, and maybe even recharged you since you didn't pass out after the second accident like I did."
"That's definitely a good theory," Jazz chimed in. "Though it's possible it did more than simply recharge him as his powers started getting notably stronger at a quicker rate after that event. From the data I have been collecting, your growth curve as Danny Phantom has gone up from where it was before."
Danny started to blush. "R-really? It has? I haven't noticed. I mean I just thought it was because of my training with Scarlet."
"I am aware," Jazz responded. "You may not have realized it, but you have improved your stamina and energy to the point where you've been able to train for longer and longer without needing to take a break. Your constitution and strength, or your dexterity and reaction times, have also increased as you were coming home with less and less bruises and bumps."
I noticed Sam was looking at Danny and seemed to blush a little. It made me wonder if she started thinking about how strong Danny was becoming, and it made her blush. I grinned a little, seeing that Sam's feelings for Danny hadn't changed even with Elliot.
"Dang, dude, no wonder you were able to overpower so many ghosts in my- at the gladiator arena," Tucker complimented, frowning a bit at his little slip up.
Although Jazz did have a good point about Danny's increased strength, stamina, and dexterity, it could also be that accursed mist inside him. But it could be a combination of both instead of one or the other. It would explain why Danny was always so much stronger and faster than I was despite my own training. In a way, my wish for Danny to get stronger, faster, and smarter was still coming true.
"We should get back on topic before we get too distracted," I spoke up, getting everyone's attention again. "While Desiree's example was perhaps the closest thing we have to compare to what breaking the 2nd Core Taboo is like, we don't really know exactly what would violate the 2nd Core Taboo. The best I can say is that we shouldn't screw with a ghost's core."
"That's a reason to support my working theory of Scarlet absorbing the cores of ghosts she hunts," Danny remarked. "If Scarlet was cleansing the sins or darkness from a ghost's core, then she would have to be incredibly careful about it. And… no offense to her, but she doesn't seem like the type to be incredibly careful."
"Yeah, she'd rather take the most direct route," Tucker chuckled.
"So what's the 3rd Core Taboo?" Sam asked.
"The third one is perhaps the most interesting one, as it only applies to Dead type ghosts," I said. "It's to never force a Dead-type ghost to relive their death, at least vividly. If they're fine with talking to you about it, then that won't break the Taboo. But if you make them relieve it, or you antagonise them during their Deathday, then you would be breaking the 3rd Core Taboo."
Jazz frowned. "Then some of Mom and Dad's invention ideas… might need to be absolutely destroyed in their entirety. As some of the ideas they have had could result in a Dead-type ghost relive their death or remind them of their death."
"Yes, well, Mom and Dad's inventions, the majority of them, already break a ton of Taboos," I sighed. "We're just lucky the ghosts seem to be lenient on the living about minor Taboos, or nobody's reported them yet. I get the feeling the ghosts won't be so lenient if they do end up breaking one of the Core Taboos though."
"So… you and Danny won't tell your parents about you being half ghosts why again?" Sam frowned. "If this could get them convicted with a punishment worse than death, maybe you should at least try to tell them?"
"I mean… we kinda can't…" Danny sighed. "If we tried, they'd likely try to ask us about where we found this out. If we tried telling them we found books from the Ghost Zone, they might run tests on us thinking we might've been infected with ghostly energies or unknowingly overshadowed or something. Alternatively, if we just told them we got the books from… let's say the library, they'd probably want to see the books and run tests on them as they've undoubtedly read almost every book there is on ghosts. In fact, they've written a few."
I frowned at that. The issues with Mom and Dad were… very complicated. There was something I hadn't yet told Danny, because I didn't want him to worry. But if I didn't tell him, it could get so much worse.
"So what? You still think it's best that you don't tell them?" Jazz asked with a frown.
"Not until we can find a way to get them to be more accepting of ghosts. First thing is we need to get them to acknowledge that ghosts are intelligent beings with their own laws and civilizations. As it is now, they see ghosts as nothing more than vile beasts, and have no issues with breaking whatever laws the ghosts have just to find something out, especially if it involves their children." Danny frowned.
"Well… maybe Juliette could help then?" Sam stated.
"That would be… difficult," I said. "We could show them that Juliette means well all we want, but in their minds, she would be nothing more than a deceiver. The way I see it, the best thing we can do at this point is to have them strap a camera on a ghost and have the ghost go into the Ghost Zone to show them the civilizations the ghosts have. Because even they can't deny an entire Ghost Zone would be 'lying' about a civilization."
"I'm surprised they haven't done that yet," Tucker muttered.
"They're more interested in dissecting ghosts than doing any documented research on them right now," I explained. "Although Danny and I could potentially plant the seeds of the idea to them. We'd just have to be very careful on how we worded our idea to make it seem casual and not directed."
"You've just thought of that now?" Jazz asked, blinking.
"It never came up before," I replied.
"And what ghost would they stick the camera to?" Tucker asked. "Wouldn't the ghost notice it and try to rip it off at some point?"
"Not to mention there's no guarantee the ghost would go to any civilizations," Sam added.
I looked at Danny for a moment. "... Well…" I looked back at the others. "That'll be something we'll… figure out later."
"What if you guys… strapped a camera to yourself and flew around that way?" Tucker suggested. "One of you could 'sneakily' attach the camera to the other. Once you get the footage back, you could explain to your parents that you thought it'd be a good idea to learn more about the world that exists just beyond the door in the lab."
I looked at Tucker. It was an idea I had already considered. "That's brilliant Tucker, but there's just one little snag with that. Other than a few bazaars and a holiday we went to, Danny and I don't know any civilizations to show Mom and Dad. Dora's kingdom is still cleaning up, and Dora herself wouldn't appreciate being documented for a couple of ghost hunters."
"Then go ask Juliette for places you guys could go to," Sam recommended. "Places that would show off the culture, civilization, and sentience of ghostkind."
"It's a good idea, isn't it?" Jazz asked.
"It might be," Danny answered. "Though that means we would have to be careful with what we say with the camera. Especially since the other ghosts know who we are."
"It'll be something we do later, because we still need to plant the seeds of the idea for Mom and Dad first," I spoke up. "But hopefully this will help prevent them from breaking any Core Taboos. That would not be something we would want to have to face."
"Agreed." Tucker nodded.
"So… other than all of that… is there anything omre we need to talk about?" Jazz asked. "If not, we should get back to class soon."
I looked at Danny, and signaled him to try to talk to Sam by darting my eyes to her when he looked at me. "Maybe nothing ghost related… but… is there anything some of us has to say to the other while we're here?"
"I'm… gonna go get ready for class," Jazz said as she stood up. By my guess, she had a feeling about what conversation was going to happen.
"Yeah, uh, same here," Tucker agreed, standing up himself.
I stood up as well. "I better get going too."
I gave Danny a wink before Tucker and Jazz began walking to the door. I began walking too.
Sam raised a brow before glancing at Danny, noticing he hadn't gotten up yet.
I closed the door behind me, waiting for a moment before I heard Danny clear his throat. He then started to nervously mutter, which was my cue to leave the two of them be.
"So, Andy, what did you want to talk about?" Juliette asked as she looked at me.
"Better be important enough to delay training," Scarlet remarked in a slightly annoyed tone as she was messing around with one of her blue ghostly spears.
It was the end of another school day when I decided to come to the opera house to talk to Juliette about something. I was currently in my human form. Danny was with me, also in human form. I needed to talk to him about something I had been holding off for a while. I didn't want the others to know about it yet until I had a better understanding of it myself. But I knew I needed to tell someone eventually, it wouldn't be wise to keep it all to myself.
"I apologize for holding up the training for today," I said. "But there have been a few things on my mind lately that I needed to ask… Juliette, have you… do you remember that piece of land you woke up on?"
"Uhhh… sort of," Juliette answered in an unsure tone. "I didn't quite have the luxury of going to look for it as I was on the run for most of my time in the Ghost Zone. I could potentially find it if I went back, as I remember a number of landmarks, but it would take me some time. Why do you ask?"
"That piece of land… did you know that might've been your domain?" I asked. "I don't know all the details of how a domain works, but… maybe you could've stayed on it and it could've kept you safe from Skulker?"
Juliette tilted her head and stared off into space for a few moments. "At the time, I definitely did not. My mind was preoccupied with trying to find my parents, or waking up from the nightmare I thought I was having. And since I hadn't really thought back to that piece of land after going on the run, I kinda forgot about it. After I learned about domains I did think that it would be interesting to have one, but it never really clicked in my mind. I guess it is possible that it is my domain, but at this point I would have to hope no other ghost has tried to lay claim to it."
"Can a ghost do that?" I asked.
"Why do you ask?" Scarlet questioned.
"According to the book I read, it said the only way a ghost could claim another ghost's domain is to beat the owner in a duel," I answered.
"There are certain loopholes, like if the ghost that it belongs to… never actually claimed it. I mean, yes, I woke up there. But I never laid claim there, and I never stayed for long enough for it to possibly count as me claiming it," Juliette explained. "Additionally, if a ghost's domain goes unchanged for around… 750 years, then it can be claimed by others as that ghost might no longer be alive."
"Or at least existing," Scarlet added. "Since 'alive' a bit of a relative term for ghosts."
"I am sure the boys knew what I meant, Scarlet," Juliette replied with a small roll of her eyes. "It's not hard to figure out from the context."
"That would be a shame though, if you still had your domain, you could have a safe haven for yourself in the Ghost Zone," Danny remarked. "With these Guys and White out and about, it's been difficult going ghost without the risk of getting caught or chased by those annoying agents."
"At least they don't seem to be picking up on Juliette or, surprisingly, Scarlet," I noted. "Are you able to suppress your ghost energy and aura, Scarlet?"
"I know some basics, but Princess Juliette is the one who does most of the work for me," Scarlet answered.
"It's not much work, just a basic magic enchantment modified with ghostly energy to absorb the excess energy that your body releases in order to rend you less detectable," Juliette casually responded.
"You used some kind of magic enchantment modifier?" Danny blinked.
"Modified, not modifier," Juliette clarified. "I took what was a basic magic enchantment circle and altered it with ghostly energy in order to have the desired effect on Scarlet. Because she wears her armor almost all the time, I etched the enchantment into it. The enchantment absorbs energy her body releases that would normally allow other ghosts to track her. Additionally, it converts that ghostly energy and then channels it to strengthen the enchantment and the armor that Scarlet is wearing. Since nobody these days knows anything about magic, I felt it would be safe to convert the ghostly energy into magical energy."
"That's brilliant, a good way to keep your knight in shining armor hidden." I grinned.
"So you've been reading that book Juliette and I ordered for you two a while back?" Scarlet noted. "I'm glad you finally are. It'd be troublesome if you kept going into the Ghost Zone while ignorant of the ghost culture. I'd say you two got really lucky so far."
"Another question I wanted to ask was if either of you ever claimed any domains, or if you've maybe found your own lair at one point," I replied. "Well, the lair question is more for you, Scarlet, since I already know Juliette hasn't found hers, if she even has one."
Scarlet shook her head. "No, I have never found the door that leads to my own lair. Nor have I ever claimed a domain. As I was almost always travelling, it would've done me no good to lay claim to a piece of land that I had no intentions of revisiting. Any domains I gained during conflicts were subsequently abandoned. That is something that you may not know, a ghost that has claimed a domain or has gained a domain can abandon it at any time they so choose."
"I see… that's interesting," I noted. "One more question in regards to claiming territories. Have either of you made Amity Park your haunts?"
"I would never do such a thing," Scarlet scoffed.
"I have somewhat claimed this building as my haunt, but nothing outside. That claim would belong to Danny and yourself as you are the two who are essentially the dominant ghosts of this area." Juliette pointed at us.
"But that's impossible," Danny spoke up, looking confused. "I mean, yeah, we protect this town from invading ghosts, but neither Andy nor I had ever laid claim to Amity Park as our haunt! Besides, Andy said that a ghost has to be really powerful to even claim an entire city, like the King of Ghost powerful!"
"Although that's probably not outside of the realm of possibility for you," I stated.
"What do you mean?" Danny raised a brow at me.
"You defeated Pariah Dark, remember?" I pointed out.
"With a freaking super battle suit!" Danny argued. "And I didn't really beat him, I just shoved him into the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep."
"You may not have actually laid claim to it yet," Juliette chimed in. "However by right, the area does belong to you. You have defended it against many a ghost, protected it from outside threats, and kept the beings inside safe. That is all it takes to gain the right to a haunt. While you might not have the strength necessary to claim it, or claim it fully, you may still have enough strength between the two of you to keep the right to lay claim. And I'm sure you've already subconsciously claimed Casper High, that fast food restaurant, Sam and Tucker's homes, as well as your own as your haunts. As those are places you visit regularly."
Danny looked like he was about to argue when what Scarlet said just now struck me with a realization. "Oh my gosh! The Guys in White are looking for Danny!"
"What? What makes you say that all of a sudden?" Juliette asked, a little startled from my sudden outburst.
"Think about it! Those times when we saw those agents, they were at the places Danny and I always go to! First the Nasty Burger, then Casper High! Unless there's another powerful ghost in hiding that we're not aware of who goes to the same places we go to for as long as we have, it's very likely they're looking for Danny Phantom," I explained.
"That's a very solid theory," Juliette noted. "If they have been showing up at what would be considered your haunts, then it is likely that you are being targeted. Especially as Scarlet and I haven't discovered any ghosts in the area."
Danny let out a groan. "Great, what am I supposed to do about that? Are they not going to leave until they catch me or something?"
"No… not unless we can get a good lawyer. I'm sure all the stuff they've been doing had broken quite a few laws by now, maybe even enough to get them kicked out of Amity Park..." I noted. "Maybe I can ask Sam about that, she seems to be good with politics due to her parents taking her to a lot of fancy places."
"Speaking of Sam, have you been able to talk to her yet, Danny?" Scarlet asked my brother.
"I… talked to her a little bit, earlier today," Danny hesitantly answered. "Though I… admittedly didn't quite fully… tell her how I feel."
I saw Juliette patting Danny on the back, before she looked at me. "So… are there any more questions?"
"For right now, no, but I do have something else I need to discuss with Danny," I answered. "Just… with Danny…"
"Would you like to discuss it now or after training?" Juliette inquired.
"Better do it after," I replied. "I've held us up long enough." Also want some time to think how I want to tell Danny… "So what are we working on today?"
"We will be working on honing what you've already been taught and going back over some of the basics to ensure you understand it all," Juliette answered. "Scarlet and I have already decided we would both be training you two today and have split up our time accordingly."
It was 6 PM by the time we finished up training for the day. Juliette was able to cover the opera house with a magic barrier that would keep the Guys in White from finding us while we were using our ghost powers. While Juliette may not be a powerful ghost, she was amazingly good with magic and enchantments, though she kept saying she was still an amateur.
While training, I had also taken notes on Danny's agility, stamina, and strength to see if what Jazz said earlier had some merits. However, I didn't get as much of the information as I would've wanted because Scarlet kept whacking me on the head whenever I stopped practicing.
"You likely won't need it, but if your head is still hurting when you get home, use some ice," Juliette said to me with a smile while Danny and I were making sure we had everything to head home for the day.
"Did she have to use her armored hand to whack me on the head?" I grumbled. "I really hope this doesn't give me brain damage…"
"Just be glad she held back and didn't use a weapon like a mace," Juliette chuckled.
"Is that what she used when she trained soldiers?" Danny blinked, looking as horrified as I felt.
"I've never trained any soldiers, Danny," Scarlet informed. "And Princess Juliette is exaggerating. I held back with whacking you on the head, Andy. Had I used full force, you likely would've lost consciousness and definitely would've sustained some form of brain injury."
"Duly noted," I replied in a bit of annoyance before bringing my backpack around my shoulders. "We'll see you two tomorrow."
Danny brought his backpack on his shoulders as well before waving to Juliette and Scarlet before he followed me out of the opera house.
Since we were no longer protected by the magic barrier Juliette set up, Danny and I had to stay in our human forms and walk back home on foot. It wasn't so bad, but once one got used to flying, it was a little difficult to just walk everywhere again. While we were walking, I could practically feel Danny's anxiety. He was waiting for me to talk to him, since I did say I needed to talk to him about something. Although I was pretty anxious myself about it, it was pretty funny to make him wait.
"You're… doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Danny spoke up as we were getting closer to home. "Being silent and making me wait."
"Maybe a little." I grinned. "But I also can't tell you here, I'd rather tell you in our room."
Danny rolled his eyes a bit when I grinned. "Then how about we chat about something else for now?"
I gave it some thought. "Alright, let's chat then. What do you think of that girl, Anna? She's quite the perfect student, getting straight A Pluses in just about every subject. She's been creative with her projects, very supportive with us, and she doesn't like the limelight of popularity. I'd say she's kind of like Jazz, but even Jazz doesn't have grades as perfect as her's. Then there's Ella, her younger sister, who we haven't really seen since we went to Vlad's little party."
"Anna is definitely interesting," Danny remarked. "Though something feels a bit off about her, mainly just how perfect she actually is. I don't fully buy the story that she's been sent to Casper High in order to educate her on the 'needs of the common people' or whatever it was."
"That's smart," I complimented. "I find it quite fishy myself. She feels… too good to be true."
"I mean… while I hate saying this, as I want to give her a chance to be different from Vlad, I can't help but wonder if the fruitloop apple dropped right down from the fruitloop tree and didn't fall away or roll away," Danny replied. "What if there's something she's up to that we don't even realize?"
Danny took a deep breath and let it out. "No… I'm not going to condemn Anna for Vlad's actions. I'm gonna try and have faith in her and believe that she's not as twisted and vile as Vlad."
"While I commend you for not wanting to judge her for what Vlad did, it would be foolish of us to not be wary," I said. "I'm not saying she could be as vile and twisted as Vlad, but… this is Vlad we're talking about here. The man is capable of a lot of things, he seems to be really good with science too if his lab is anything to go by, and how he was able to tweak the Ecto-Skeleton suit. While Anna and Ella themselves may be innocent… there's a chance Vlad could've done something to them. Now, what I'm about to say is just a theory, nothing solid or accusing to Anna. But looking at her track records so far, she's… been perfect… too perfect. What if Vlad gave her some kind of chemical? Something that could've tampered with her brain to be as intelligent as she is? He could be testing some things out for all we know, and he needed a human guinea pig. Or guinea pigs in this case."
Danny frowned. "It might be a good idea to not go down the rabbithole of crazy that is all of the things Vlad could've done to those two. Perhaps she really is just that good at school. For all we know, she could be a certified genius, in which case all of our theorizing about her and what she is truly up to would be… kinda… wrong of us."
"Well, like I said, it's nothing solid. Sometimes to understand the crazy, you have to think like one," I shrugged. "I just want you to be careful, and keep an eye on her. I doubt Vlad would've taken two gifted people like Anna and Ella to Amity Park's Casper High of all places without an ulterior motive for himself. It doesn't make much sense from a businessman or a father's perspective. Why come all the way to Amity Park to enroll them in a public school when he could easily do that from Wisconsin? Just some food for thought, bro."
"Perhaps his ulterior motive is to confuse us and throw us off his trail," Danny offered. "He might want us to focus on Ella and Anna while he is able to work without us checking in on him."
"And with the Guys in White running around, it makes it harder to try to see what Vlad's up to," I sighed.
"Then perhaps it's time we stopped playing the waiting game and went after the Guys in White," Danny stated in response. "We need to get them out of Amity Park before they set up a base or something. Cause at this rate, I do feel like they may move into one of the abandoned buildings in Amity Park City. I mean the place is a hotbed of low level ghostly activity and nobody wants to move back there because of it."
"You're telling me…" I sighed, remembering our few trips into the city. "We ended up filling up what… 2 or 3 Fenton Thermoses with ghosts that were inhabiting the city? Before going there, I didn't even think that a Fenton Thermos could be filled."
"I still want to find out how all those low level ghosts are getting there," Danny muttered. "It's not like there's a Ghost Portal or anything there… at least not that we know of. Perhaps there's a natural rift that opens up into the Ghost Zone or there were some clandestine projects taking place in the city that created a rift or a Ghost Portal that only weak ghosts could enter."
I frowned a little. "Although, now that I think about it, those empty buildings could've been their haunts. We just essentially dragged them out of their homes."
"If you'll remember, many of them found their way out of the Ghost Zone and went back to the city but went to different parts and not the same buildings," Danny pointed out. "Also they're all pretty weak ghosts, so I'm not sure if they would be capable of claiming a building as a haunt. Especially with how big many of the buildings are."
It made me wonder why those ghosts kept coming back to those empty buildings if they weren't strong enough to make a haunt.
"Well, a question for another day. As for the Guys in White, other than talking to Sam about if we could kick them out of Amity Park legally, what did you plan to do?" I asked, before a worried thought came to my head. Really hope that the mist isn't active again. He wanted to kill the Guys in White the last time that happened, and I don't have the Reality Gauntlet to stop it this time.
"Perhaps disable their equipment, make it so they can't stay here," Danny offered. "Or possibly destroy whatever base they may be using while they're out on patrol."
"Hmm…" I paused for a moment and considered something.
"Do you have any suggestions?" Danny asked as he glanced over at me, noticing I was thinking.
I opened my mouth to say something, but stopped myself. "I think we'll talk about it more after… I've had my discussion with you."
"Really? Why?" Danny asked.
"It's… just important that you should know about it first," I answered.
"Then we'll head straight for our bedroom when we get home," Danny responded before smiling a tiny bit. "I want to try out one of those magic circles enchantments that Juliette demonstrated earlier, specifically the one to capture sound."
"How exactly would you use it?" I raised a brow. "I mean Juliette demonstrated it on Scarlet's armor to show that her gear could be silenced without layers of padding."
"Putting the enchantments on our walls should make them soundproof," Danny explained. "This way we could have conversations in our room without worrying about Mom or Dad hearing through our walls or our door. I am considering putting a tweak on it so it only stops our sound from getting out of the room but allows sound in like normal, that way we can know when the rest of the family are in the hall or coming upstairs."
"Have you ever used magic before? Or used an enchantment like that?" I asked as we were getting close to home. "I've only tried using some basic fire magic, and I keep failing at that. I can only seem to make flashy flares."
"I mean…" Danny sheepishly chuckled. "I may have used a tiny bit of some magic that Scarlet taught me to enhance my abilities from time to time. But otherwise, I haven't actually used magic outside our practice. As for fire… perhaps that's not the element you should be using. Juliette did say how each person in her time had elements that they were able to learn quickly and elements that they struggled at. Perhaps fire is your struggle."
I tilted my head for a moment. "Well, let's see how well you can use the soundproof enchantment magic when we get to our room then."
"I'll probably work on it while we have the conversation, just so we can test it," Danny responded. "So don't get mad if I'm not sitting down and staring straight at you. I promise I will be paying attention."
That reminded me, Hope would be in our room. Though I guess it was fine if she heard, she likely heard me mumbling in my sleep about it a few times and was just being polite by not saying anything.
It felt like it took forever to just get into our bedroom this evening. Mom and Dad were home, and wanted us to have a family dinner together. Jazz was complaining about the way they cooked, as usual, because they still liked using their own inventions to cook faster than the good old fashion microwave or oven or stovetop. I could swear my chicken was still moving on my plate, and it creeped me out.
"Phew… that meal was a bit of a rodeo…" Danny commented as he rubbed his stomach a bit. "That ham came to life halfway through the meal and practically tried to shove itself down Dad's throat."
"Thankfully Mom and Jazz beat it into submission with a couple of brooms," I half chuckled, and half groaned.
"Perhaps we should start having dinner before we come home," Danny suggested as he went over to his desk and grabbed a small exacto-knife that we both used for some of the school assignments.
"I heard a lot of noises going on downstairs, everything alright?" Hope asked.
"We had a bit of trouble with dinner," I answered.
"The entree tried to feed itself to us," Danny elaborated as he walked over to one of the walls and started to carve a magic circle into it.
I knew that normal parents would probably flip if they found out their child carved up their walls, but Mom and Dad had always encouraged us to make our rooms our own, even if we had to do a little bit of demolition. Dad was the only supporter of the last part though. Mom permitted it so long as we didn't damage the structure of the house or break something we couldn't fix.
"Maybe your parents need to stop trying to use ecto inventions to cook your meals," Hope sweatdropped.
"We've all tried getting them to stop before, but they're quite stubborn and stuck in their ways," Danny informed as he continued to carve the magic circle into the wall.
A part of me wanted to laugh at the irony of the situation. Here I was sitting in my bed holding a talking teddy bear, with my brother trying to make a magic circle on the wall with what was pretty much a utility scalpel. I could almost imagine how completely horrified the past me would be if he saw this, the me that had yet to learn that Danny was a half ghost.
"Now, what did you want to talk about, bro?" Danny inquired.
"Before I tell you, I need to make something clear," I said in a serious tone as I looked at my brother, who glanced back at me with his blue eyes. "What I'm about to tell you should stay a secret between us, and Hope. I don't want anyone else knowing about this, not even Tucker, Sam, or Jazz. At least for the time being. I was hesitant to even tell you about it. Do you understand, Danny? Will you promise to keep it a secret, bro?"
Danny looked a bit hesitant at my request, which was understandable, but I needed him to promise. This topic I had to share could fundamentally alter our family's relationships and put a lot of people in danger, and I didn't want to take any risks.
Dp-Marvel94: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': We've been wanting to do a lore dump for a little bit, and yeah… we may be taking some ideas from FiveRivers, though we do have their permission to do so. And while we are taking some ideas from FiveRivers, we are trying to put our own unique twist on most of it so it comes across as our own.
Andy freaking out about things is something we enjoy doing, mainly Fox.
DarkFoxKit: H-hey! You don't need to tell them that.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Don't need to, but I want to~ Anyways, yeah, it was enjoyable having him tackle his unique biology as a halfa by having that debate about his core and brain working together. Hopefully he remembers that just because he reads facts about ghosts in a book doesn't mean those facts necessarily apply to him.
DarkFoxKit: And I like using Andy as an outlet character, using him as my own reaction if I were in the story in a similar, if not the same, position as Danny. Him freaking out was incredibly fun to do, and overthinking something was definitely something I would do in his situation. As for the possibility of losing his childhood memories, that also came from FiveRivers, in chapter 57 of Ghosts in Shorts. I liked the idea, at least for Andy to freak out about.
Mana16: DarkFoxKit: The ghosts that Danny had to face were definitely challenging him for territory, Hope was only suggesting other possibilities. The ghosts likely didn't see Danny and Andy as ghost children at first, due to their unusual, halfa nature, and just saw them as abominations trying to keep them from having something in the real world. Some ghosts want to hunt them down to show them off, like Skulker. Others usually only show up just to challenge Danny and Andy for one reason or another. The ghosts have their own reasons for why they fight the boys, not all of them the same.
Yeah, we found it interesting to add in different types of ghosts into the story, and why season 3's ghosts appeared to be different from the first 2 seasons of Danny Phantom. Butch may have meant for season 3 to have ghosts just be monsters from another dimension, but I like to see it as both. Ghosts can be the spirits of the dead, while also being their own beings. Using that idea, we made different types of ghosts, so one could identify them if they were alive at one point and died, or if they had been in the Ghost Zone all their lives. The mythical creatures were a strange one, since we know the unicorn exists due to the Box Ghost releasing one in Pandora's Box, but we never see one born in the Ghost Zone, so we decided they're Deathless types rather than Born types.
Yeah, the ghost children were mostly inspired by another writer called FiveRivers, they come up with a lot of interesting ideas for ghost children and how other ghosts react to them. We decided to use some of the ideas as inspiration to add into our own lore, but also try to make it our own as well so it's not just a copy and paste idea. And since ghosts can mold their own bodies, we figured it would be natural if the ghost children would take to copying their parents to a literal sense. As for ghost parents rarely having children, it's more on how their biology works. Since ghosts are technically immortal, they don't need children as much as the living do, so their bodies don't produce children as easily, if that makes sense. The children are more of something the ghosts create out of sheer desire rather than a need.
Skulker was likely sneaky, since Technus, when he came out of his lair yelling, was asking who took his electric staff. Skulker probably knew how to get into a ghost's lair without getting spotted, and since Technus was busy taking a bath, that was probably the perfect time. Just because the ghost's lair is connected to the ghost doesn't mean the ghost is omnipresent. After all, you aren't always aware of everything that happens in a dream. And, of course, Technus being blasted back was due to him being outside of the protection of his lair.
The Faceless sounds interesting, might be something we may or may not use in the future ourselves. I think it could've been interesting to show these Faceless in the series, especially since Danny met Amorpho before, and the two seem to be on okay terms with each other. I'll admit that Butch has some interseting ideas, but he should also learn when to let other writers, especially ones who made the show as good as it was, do their own thing rather than changing what was originally there drastically.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Huh… only two reviews this time. Well then, I guess we'll see you all in 13 days, hopefully we won't miss the next update's day.
DarkFoxKit: I guess not many people had much to say about the lore dump, which is kinda depressing, but oh well.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Maybe we'll get more reviews next time.