DarkFoxKit: So this new castle is fire and explosion proof? How did you manage that?

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Lots of hard labor and bargaining with some dwarves. They can make structures built to last millenia. Please… don't try and stress test this new castle, okay? I don't think I have enough in my savings to build another new castle for some time.

Andy: Wow, this looks like an awesome castle! Vlad's got nothing on this!

DarkFoxKit: Well, I can't make any promises, but I'll try my best to help keep this castle intact. Anyways, we should probably update soon, shouldn't we? Or is my calendar off?

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Yep, we got an update today, then you gotta do your stream. We gotta write some We Are Phantoms. Oh don't forget this Wednesday we have a scheduled game for DnD. Additionally I will be going out tomorrow for some time to see a doctor for a followup to my physical.

DarkFoxKit: H-hey! We have that much to do!? Awww, come oooooon, I want to relax a little!

Andy: Do you want to call in sick?

DarkFoxKit: How is calling in sick going to help?

Andy: It… usually works for school?

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': The only things we could move around are either the stream to Friday, which you've been adamantly against, or rework our writing schedule a little.

DarkFoxKit: *Grumbles* I'll think about it. For now, let's get this updated, so I can laze around a bit.

Andy: Wasn't she a workaholic before or something?

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': We've both been a workaholic for the past few years, we're starting to get burnt out more and more often and we figured that it's easier to just regularly relax more often than work ourselves to our breaking point and then not write for like… 2 weeks.

Andy: Well, I'm sure our readers don't really care about that stuff. So let's just get to the chapter.

Chapter 116: The Agent's Folly

I was using a small tool that resembled a highly altered version of the Fenton Lipstick to try to use my piercing ghost ray. But instead of using a bullet this time, I planned on using a concentrated stream of energy to try to cut through the weaker corner of the cube I was in. I only hoped that breaking through the corner would disrupt the stability of the cube and set me free.

I glanced around quickly to see if the two agents were nearby. I didn't want them seeing me trying to get out. Once I was sure the coast was clear for the time being, I started to concentrate and channel my ghostly energy to form a directed beam of energy out the end of the tool I was holding. I was glad when I saw the beam only hitting the corner, but I also noticed it wasn't directly impacting the center of the weak point. Using my ecto-manipulation, I made the ghost ray even more narrow.

After making sure the ghost ray from the tool was directly impacting the corner, I saw small cracks beginning to form in the energy. However my attention was quickly taken away from my task when I heard Danny yelp again.

"It's gonna take more than those weak ghost rays to slow me down enough to get hit!" Danny shouted as he continued to keep away from the giant ecto ball that was still chasing him.

I quickly refocused my attention on the task at hand. As much as I wanted to watch what was going on with Danny, I knew I had to get out of the cube as quick as I could. When I looked back to the corner, I mentally slapped myself as I was no longer pointing the tool at the weak point. Thankfully the cracks that had formed were taking a bit of time to fix themselves. This allowed me to focus the tool back on the corner.

I had to really try to ignore Danny's cries of pain in order to stay focused on the concentrated stream of energy. I hated hearing my brother in pain, but I wouldn't be of any help to him if I didn't get out of this accursed trap. From what I could tell, the Guys in White had taken into account my brother's powers, his ghost ray, his intangibility, his strength and speed in his ghost form, as well as his other ghostly attributes. Though while they had made all these preparations for Danny, I could tell that they hadn't made any preparations that were designed for me.

Because I was still relatively new and unknown, almost nobody knew I was capable of making precision ghost rays. From what Juliette and Scarlet had told Danny and I during past training, it was rare to see a ghost who could make precise ghost rays.

I shook my head, pulling myself out of my thoughts and focusing back on the task at hand. Looking back to the cracks, I smiled as I saw the cracks spreading more and more. Come on, come on, just a little more… One final precise burst and I think I'll be free.

I took a deep breath in and as I let it out, I released a surge of ecto energy into the tool. This surge strengthened the beam of energy, resulting in a loud cracking noise being heard, like glass slowly breaking. There was a sudden shattering noise as the cube broke into pieces.

I heard some shouting from the Guys in White, they were frantically talking to each other, and for once, they weren't sounding professional.

"What the hell!? How did the unknown entity break out!? I thought you said it was strong enough to contain even a dragon ghost!" One of the agents shouted.

"It was! It should! This… this other ghost boy shouldn't be that powerful! Only one other known entity would've been able to break out of the cube, the former ghost lord!" The other agent shouted.

I rolled my eyes. They didn't know I didn't use strength to bust out. But I wasn't going to tell them that, it was good for them to think I was as powerful as Pariah Dark himself. Such a scary idea would make them panic, keeping them from being able to use proper strategies against us. Besides, my goal right now was to help Danny with that giant ball of ectoplasmic energy.

"Can you create a barrier, Danny!?" I shouted over to my brother as I was flying towards him as fast as I could. What I wouldn't give for actual twin telepathy right now.

"Somewhat!" Danny loudly answered back as he continued to do his best to dodge the giant ecto ball and ghost rays flying at him. "I still need to work on it!"

I frowned a little, but that was better than nothing. "Can you make a barrier around that ecto ball chasing you!? I can help with my own barrier, but I need to know if you can make one yourself!"

"Uhhh no." Danny answered. "I've never tried putting a barrier around something or someone else before."

"What about telekinesis? Can you use that?" I asked.

"Not much!" Danny called back.

I need to get him to work on the barrier and telekinesis later… I sighed to myself. "Then I'll make the barrier and you try to help keep it stable!"

I didn't have time to hear an answer back, because the ecto ball was closing in on Danny as he was trying to answer back to me. I got in as close as I could before holding out my hands at the ecto ball, and created a barrier around it. My barrier wasn't the strongest around, but out of the two of us, I worked on it more. I had to because I needed it to protect myself and the people around me, especially after Technus broke through my barrier when I was trying to protect Valerie.

Danny saw what I was doing, and I was relieved when I felt some of his ecto energy going into the barrier I made to reinforce it. The ecto ball hit the barrier, unable to get to Danny. I was really glad Danny was lending the barrier his energy because as soon as the ecto ball hit the barrier, there was a giant explosion of ecto energy that made me feel nauseous to be near. I was surprised by how nauseous I felt, and decided to research this later.

Danny and I backed away from the barrier as it contained the explosion. However, once the explosion ended, there was nothing left but green goop inside the barrier, which was strange as usually there isn't any residue left over from a ghost's attack.

"Okay… whatever they're using is nasty," Danny remarked as he wobbled a bit. "Best we take them out as quickly as possible and-"

"What's wrong with you!?" One of the agents yelled.

I kept the barrier in existence since I didn't want the green goo splashing on anyone in case it was deadly. However, I did turn to the agents when I heard one of them yelling, and so did Danny.

"I…" The second agent groaned as he clutched his head. "I feel like I'm burning up!"

"Get a hold of yourself!" The first agent shouted.

The second agent began coughing… no, it looked more like he was choking on something. My eyes went wide in surprise and horror when I saw the second agent begin coughing out green glowing goo, which I think was ectoplasm.

"What's happening to him?" Danny frowned.

"I don't know…" I answered back.

The green energy flowing on his suit suddenly went dim and the agent started to descend. Though that descent quickly turned into falling as he plummeted towards the deck of the observatory. The glow around him returned for a moment, just long enough for him to not impact the stone as fast as he was. However, as soon as he hit the ground he let out a scream of pain. Normally, Danny or I would've caught the falling agent, but our minds were a little scrambled at that moment in time. I wasn't sure why at first, but after the fact I developed a theory that Danny and I were in shock at what was happening to the agent. And the explosion of that ecto ball may have messed with our cores a little, which also messed with our minds.

Danny and I watched in fascination and horror, though mostly the latter, as the black of the agent's suit seemed to burn away. At the same time the green tubes seemed to have one final surge of light before they faded. When it was over, the agent was laying on the ground, breathing heavily from the pain he endured.

I felt worried, and wondered why I or Danny didn't try to catch him when he was falling. The other agent was staring as well, likely in shock at what just happened to his partner. However, I couldn't help but notice that this agent floating in front of us began to have an aura around them, and it was glowing brighter. I felt something warm in my chest, and at the same time I opened my mouth, I saw Danny opening his mouth, and both of us released our ghost sense mist.

The ghost sense usually indicated to us a ghost, or at least an unfamiliar ghost, was nearby. However, we didn't sense any ghost nearby… except for the agent floating in front of us. He wasn't quite a ghost himself, but he was gaining more ghostly features. His skin was starting to turn blue. It was possible that a core was forming inside him as we watched.

"Turn off your E-class equipment!" I quickly said. "I don't know what those are, but whatever they are, they're likely causing whatever's happening to you!"

The first agent grinned as his skin shifted color again, this time becoming red. Then it quickly shifted to green, and then to white, and then back to a human tan.

"You think I'm giving up my humanity, don't you?" The agent questioned as he floated there. "No. I'm not becoming a beast like you, and never will. This E-class gear has deemed me worthy and will now serve me and my desires. For instance, my blue eyes? I've always wanted bright icy blue eyes~"

"What are you talking about? What's happening to you? Why are you looking more like a ghost?" Danny demanded.

"This E-class equipment, it uses what the techies call pure ectoplasm," The agent explained. "Apparently due to its purity, it has a strange intelligence to it, but not a will of its own. The techies in the lab theorized that an agent with a strong willpower could force their own willpower onto the pure ectoplasm and it would allow them to make changes to themselves that would elevate them above humans and you paranormal beasts."

No… no effing way… I paled as I began to realize what this agent was becoming. Is he… did he… just essentially make himself into a halfa? … Or… maybe… he reminds me of one of those imperfect halfas from that 'utopia' dimension. But he's also different from them. I can't really tell what it is, but he's not quite like me, Danny, or even Vlad.

"What about your partner down there?" Danny demanded, starting to sound angry.

"The E-class gear rejected him, but he likely will still have some traits left over," The agent answered. "I can sense some energy still flowing through him, but nowhere near the level that I'm at. Now, would you like to try and… what did you say? 'Take me out as quickly as possible'?"

I narrowed my eyebrows. What has he become? Is becoming? Could his body maintain itself after what he did?

It was a genuinely worried question because every halfa Corrupted Danny created eventually ended up melting or became feral ghosts. But if this agent was stable, then he may have become the first human to be both human and ghost at the same time. He was like a halfa, but he was also different.

I looked over at Danny, and Danny looked at me. Somehow, without even saying anything, we seemed to know what the other wanted. It was one of the few times we were truly connected without words. Danny took my gloved hand and both of us flew at the agent. The agent tried to fire a ghost ray at us, but I made a barrier around us that kept us safe from his attacks. Then we flew into the agent's body.

I normally despised the overshadowing ability, but I decided to use it this time because not only was this the easiest way to knock the agent out, but it may give us some answers to what was going on with his body. There were some resistances, but that was also why Danny came in with me, he had more experience with overshadowing others. With both of us in here, the agent couldn't fight us off for long.

Danny led me to where the agent's heart should be. Overshadowing someone's body wasn't like being inside a body, it was like being in a different world. Both of us stopped when we saw a ball of light forming around an organic heart. Danny and I looked at it, before looking up at each other. I could see an expression of shock and horror on Danny's face, and I likely had the same expression on mine. It looked like the core was trying to eat the heart away.

We suddenly heard shouting from all around us. "You really think I'd be so easily defeated?! Get out, you pests! I won't let you defile my body!"

The core let out a buzzing pulse, and it gave out some kind of icy cold blast. I gasped, feeling my wound from shooting myself earlier starting to freeze over. It didn't just feel like I was hit by something cold, it felt like I was dumped into a sub-zero lake and was plunged under to drown. I let out a cough like I was drowning. I felt someone quickly grabbing my arm and pulled. In the state I was in, I couldn't tell who or what just grabbed me, and I began to flail around in a panic. However, I soon felt a different kind of coldness. It wasn't harsh like the one that just swept me a few seconds ago, this one felt reassuring, like I could trust it. I calmed down and gripped onto whoever grabbed my arm earlier.

"Let's get out of here," A familiar voice said to me.

I let out a small whimper in agreement. I felt the trusted being pulling me away from that horrid coldness. The further away we were, the more I was coming back to my senses. I soon remembered that I was with Danny, and he was the one pulling me away from that unnatural core. I had never been more relieved to have my brother with me at this moment. We finally came out of the agent's body. I let out a few breaths, calming down from my weird experience.

"Okay… we'll have to do something else…" Danny shivered. "I don't think he could be contained in a Fenton Thermos, and we don't exactly have any gadgets with us that could help us take out the agent."

I put a hand on my side where my wound was. My suit had regenerated itself, but my wound was still there. Even though ghosts could heal a heck of a lot faster than humans could from a wound, being shot by my own piercing ghost ray was like being shot by a real gun. It was a ghostly wound, so it would take a while for it to heal. The coldness that swept me earlier did cause my wound to freeze, and I didn't think that was a good thing. I felt weaker.

"Do you have any ideas, Andy?" Danny asked.

I was still feeling cold, and I was shivering. "Y-you could… t-try to knock h-him out… m-maybe try the s-stealth i-invisibility… h-he hasn't… g-gotten used to… h-his ghost p-powers y-yet… h-he wouldn't b-be able t-to s-sense you…"

Danny looked over at me in concern. "I think I might actually get you away from here first. You look like you might fall over if he so much as looks at you."

The agent began firing ghost rays at us, likely trying to take advantage of our 'distraction'. I managed to form an ecto shield in front of us to cancel out the ghost ray, but I couldn't stay focused on the shield for long. The shield vanished and the ghost rays flew at us. Danny and I yelped as the ghost rays hit us in the chest. My back ended up hitting something solid. I looked back to see the barrier that was holding onto the goopy liquid was starting to flicker.

"You seem to have something wrong!" Danny shouted. "We're not beasts. You're the one who is acting most like a beast, worrying more about attacking us than your own injured ally."

"He is collateral damage. My mission is to eliminate or capture you," The agent replied back. "And now I will-"

"Yes, this is Agent L," The agent, Agent L, stated suddenly as he put a finger up against his ear. "Affirmative. I am in combat with the target right now. Yes, I am using the E-class gear… It successfully bonded with me but rejected Agent S. It appears that he has retained some features from the transformation but his energy is lower than the theorized minimum upon rejection. Yes, I could bring him in once I am- Right now? But I am just about to defe- No, sir. No, sir. Yes, sir. Understood, sir. I will report back at once…"

Agent L said that last bit through gritted teeth. He then shot us a glare. "It seems that you've been allowed to retain your existence for longer. Count yourselves lucky."

Agent L descended for the other agent and grabbed onto him before shooting us one more glare. "Next time we meet, you will be dealt with."

It looked like we got lucky this time. Agent L's superior likely called him to come back. After Agent L picked up his partner, and flew away. I began to descend. I was having trouble staying in the air. And I was beginning to feel colder. It was also getting hard to think.

I hadn't realized it, but Danny kept me aloft and flew me away from the observatory. I only knew we had left the observatory because when we landed on the ground, I saw we were in Central Park. I wrapped my arms around myself, unable to stop shaking from how cold I was. I wanted to shift back to human for some warmth, but something in me was telling me not to change back. It could be an instinctual thing, but since my body knew better than I did at this point, I was inclined to listen to it.

"Maybe we should get you to Juliette or Clockwork." Danny frowned as he looked at me before he leaned over and put a hand on my forehead. "You're freezing, bro! You're usually a lot warmer than I am in ghost form. And normally I am not bothered that much by the cold. So if I'm able to actually feel how cold you are, then that's worrying."

Danny then picked me up again and we began flying. I clung to Danny, wanting something to warm me up. Danny was normally cold in his ghost form, but I still clung onto him anyways. I didn't like feeling like this, it was awful. I felt like I was buried in snow right now. I likely blacked out for a moment, because the next thing I knew, Danny was leading me into the opera house.

"Juliette!" Danny called out. "Juliette! I really need your help! Something's going on with Andy! He's freezing!"

I blinked and the next thing I knew I was laying on a table looking up at the ceiling with Juliette and Danny leaning over me.

"It was good you got him to me," Juliette stated as she glanced down at me. "Oh, it looks like he's awake now. That means that I've stopped the progression for the time being, but it may take a while for the damage to be undone."

"What's… happening… to me?" I managed to ask, trying to cling onto consciousness.

"From what I can tell, some ghost ice got inside you through your open wound," Juliette explained. "I have placed some of my fire in you to stop it from spreading any further. The fire will also slowly work on melting the ghost ice."

Had I been in a more conscious state, I would've likely freaked out. Being told I had both ghost ice and ghost fire inside me was not what I liked being told. In fact, despite my half conscious state, I did actually wake a little more from the information.

"What?" I frowned, trying to sit up from my position.

"Bro, take it easy," Danny quickly said in a worried tone.

Juliette put her hand on my right shoulder and pushed me back down. "It is very important that you don't move right now. If you do, the fire may move inside and that could let the ghost ice past. Now that I am directly combatting the ice, the ice will be fighting at full force to break free and achieve its task of turning you into solid ghost ice."

I really didn't like the position I was in, but I did as instructed and remained still on the table. I recalled going into Agent L's body with Danny to see what was happening to him, then his… strange forming core suddenly shot out some kind of icy energy at both of us. From what I was hearing, apparently some of that ice energy went into my open wound and was slowly freezing me from the inside. At the very least, I was slowly warming up now, and not feeling as unbearably cold as I was earlier.

Though I still didn't like the idea I had literal fire going through my insides, or the creeping ghost ice for that matter. I really should have been less careless after I accidentally shot myself.

"Do you know how long this would take?" I heard Danny asking Juliette. "If it might take all night, I'll have to call our parents and Jazz."

"No, I'm not sure," Juliette answered. "I'm not using ghostly fire, just magical fire. If I was using ghost fire, it would take… maybe up to a half hour? But with magic, I'm not sure."

Danny sighed. "Too bad we don't know any actual friendly fire ghosts who could help us. But I'll take what I can get…"

"That's the issue," Juliette chuckled. "Even if you did know of a fire ghost who could try to help, they might not actually be able to help. There is a difference between physical attributes and the element of the ghost's core. For instance you have Ember McLain, who has fiery aspects to her. But from what I know of her, she doesn't actually have a true fire element ghost core."

I gave Juliette a curious look. I remembered reading up on elemental cores before when I was at Vlad's mansion with Jazz, but I had only studied up on what different elements a ghost core could have. I hadn't learned much about the elements themselves or how they would affect a ghost.

"If I had to guess what her core's element was, I'd say perhaps a sound core," Juliette continued. "Her ability to play music and hypnotize people is something that not many can do. Sound can influence the mind, but also can be used in other ways. For instance, sound waves create friction on the air. That friction generates heat, which could explain her fiery hair. Alternatively, her fiery hair could also be a trait she received due to how she died. Many ghosts often retain something that killed them. For instance, you both have your hazmat suits which could be attributed to the fact that you were in a lab accident while wearing those suits."

"Huh…" Danny gave a thoughtful look. "I'm going to ask this because I already hear the gears ticking in Andy's brain right now. But do all ghosts have an elemental core or is it just certain ones?"

I smiled at Danny's comment. He knew me so well.

"Well…" Juliette hesitated. "There are a lot of different theories; some are that every ghost has an element but their element might not be strong enough to be noticeable or of a noticeable element, others are that only a certain number of ghosts will ever discover they have elements and that a large percentage of ghosts will go their entire afterlives without awakening an element within them, and some say that ghosts don't always start off with elements but can gain them. Though the most commonly believed theory is that not all ghosts have elemental cores, and those that do don't always have their element, or elements, right away. Added onto that, some believe that ghosts that don't have elemental cores can be granted an element by another ghost or learn how to alter their core to a certain element."

"So it's one of those 'you have to find out for yourself' kind of things," Danny sighed. "Do you have an elemental core? I would say it was fire, but considering you said you were using magical fire and not ghostly fire leads me to believe you don't actually have a fire core."

"I…" Juliette frowned before shaking her head. "Throughout my time on the run, I never seemed to awaken any element. It could be that my element isn't ready to awaken, or it could be that I don't have one. And… I'm honestly a bit glad I haven't had my Awakening yet as it would've given Skulker yet one more reason to hunt me down."

"Awakening?" I asked, though it was a little hard to speak right now, my throat felt a bit cold.

"I guess that's what you call it when your element wakes up?" Danny guessed.

"It is indeed what it is called when a ghost awakens their element, but there is also a bit of a celebration behind it," Juliette answered. "At least… in most safe zones there would be a celebration. Out in the Ghost Zone without anyone around, nobody would really care if a ghost had their Awakening. It's… in a way, it's like the human's celebrations of coming of age that exist within different religions. Like the bar and bat mitzvah for Judaism, the quinceanera for Spanish cultures, and events like that. In most safe zones, when an Awakening occurs, there is a large party that is celebrated by all."

The more I learned about ghosts, their biology and their culture, the more fascinated I was by it. But I realized something important, and I couldn't afford to get too distracted right now.

"Danny… mention that… agent… what he did… to himself…" I managed to say.

"He… already told me…" Juliette frowned before glancing away. "It's… honestly a bit… disgusting if I may be blunt. Unlike the two of you, who are halfas that switch between one form and the other… that agent essentially became a hybrid."

A hybrid? Is that different from a halfa? I asked myself as I remembered what I saw in that agent's body. It looked like… his core was trying to form over his heart rather than beside it. It was like his core was trying to eat his heart. It was horrifying to see.

"A hybrid is a… was a theoretical being that existed simultaneously as both living and dead, a perfect fusion of the two states of life," Juliette shivered, looking back at Danny and myself. "The fact that a hybrid now exists… if this spreads to the Ghost Zone, chaos may ensue and there may be a call to arms from different groups to come to the living world to destroy the hybrid."

So there could be a possible war due to this hybrid? I frowned.

"I get that the hybrid is… a little different from halfas, being a perfect fused state between ghost and human," Danny spoke up. "But why would this cause such chaos among ghosts? It's not like Andy, Vlad, or I aren't abominations of nature ourselves after all. We just have different forms, doesn't make us any less of a hybrid than… well… a hybrid."

"Because you two cannot exist in both states at once," Juliette explained. "You are half and half in the sense that you have one form which is ghost, and one form which is living. Those two forms exist separately and likely will always exist separately. Besides, you gained those states by essentially fusing some of the energy of the Ghost Zone into yourselves during the accident. But that… agent… he had a single type of ectoplasm running through him, pure ectoplasm. Pure ectoplasm is something that is actually toxic to ghosts, and probably why you felt the way you did when you were near the goo that Danny contained within the Fenton Thermos."

I blinked at that comment, and realized that Danny likely sucked that goop I had in my barrier into the Fenton Thermos while I was blacking out earlier.

"Ghosts survive on a combination of different types of ectoplasm all combined into one," Juliette informed. "It's… in a way, it's kind of like the air that living people breathe. Air isn't just pure oxygen, but a combination of different elements in a certain balance that allows you to survive. Trying to take in just one of the elements, or ectoplasms, you will make yourself extremely sick. But apparently this hybrid has pure ectoplasm flowing through him… which in itself is a concern. If he went into the Ghost Zone, just flying through an area could cause it to become uninhabitable for ghosts for years or even decades. Pure ectoplasm… in a sense, is like a very potent radiation that can mutate, injure, or kill regular ghosts."

I felt my blood running cold from that, and it wasn't because of the ghost ice. I could see Danny was starting to pale as well.

"... The Guys in White have these things called the E-class equipment. They seemed to be wanting to turn into hybrids." Danny frowned.

"That's another reason why they would be hunted down while you wouldn't…" Juliette sighed. "They're turning themselves into ghosts, essentially spitting in the face of the order of life and how it works. I hope that the one agent is the only hybrid that will exist… but if not… then the Ancients may declare war on the Guys in White… or…"

"Or…?" Danny and I both prompted with dread.

Juliette hesitated for a few moments, looking back and forth between Danny and I. "Or they may declare war on the living as a whole…"

I almost sat up from hearing that, but Danny's reaction was enough for both of us. "WHAT!? Oh, this is bad! This is really bad! We can't have the ghosts declaring war on every living thing! I should've knocked those two idiots out! I should've done more than just dodging their attacks!"

Judging from the ghost ice that was creeping inside my body, Agent L's core was either ice or some kind of cold core. I didn't seem to do so well with ice, though my only experience was with Klemper, a weak ghost, on par with the Box Ghost. Being hit by a core's pure cold energy really hurt, so much so that I actually lost my sense of self for a bit, and felt like a wild animal that had been dumped in the waters of Antartica. It was definitely not an experience I wanted to go through again. But why? Why am I so intolerant to ice?

I realized my mind was wandering again, because Danny was still freaking out.

"Would've… happened anyways… Danny… they made… or stole… ghost equipment…" I spoke up. "Not… our fault…"

"If you want to stop the worst case scenario from happening, you will either have to stop the Guys in White and destroy all their special gear and capture or eliminate the hybrid. Or you will have to be the ones to report it to the Ancients," Juliette informed. "If you report it to the Ancients instead of having rumors spread and be blown out of proportion, you may be able to convince the Ancients to help you in taking down the Guys in White and stop them from creating any new hybrids or break any more Taboos than they already have."

"Report it? We can barely talk to anyone in the Ghost Zone!" Danny groaned. "We don't know any Ancients! They're likely to stomp on us first rather than listen to anything we have to say. We're probably just as bad as hybrids in their eyes!"

"You do know one Ancient," Juliette argued. "The Master of Time, one of the oldest Ancients still around."

Danny looked like he was about to argue, but then he stopped, then he tried to say something again, but then he stopped again.

I furrowed my own eyebrows. Although I acknowledge that Clockwork was indeed a very powerful ghost, and likely an ageless one due to possibly being there since the beginning of time, it never really crossed my, or Danny's, mind that he was an Ancient. When I heard or read about the Ancients, I imagined these unseeable, incomprehensible, all powerful, grim reaper-like entities that would laugh at a mortal's suggestion. Clockwork definitely didn't come to mind. But the ironic thing was that when someone else pointed it out, we couldn't argue because, in all rights, Clockwork was also the definition of an Ancient.

"If you find him and speak with him, he can confer with some of the other Ancients on this matter," Juliette stated. "As much as I loathe to say it, he is likely the best bet for the two of you as I don't see you two taking on the entire Guys in White organization on your own. He likely would pick out Ancients he could trust not to spread the information about the hybrids."

Danny sputtered for a moment, and sighed. "I… guess that is our best course of action to try to prevent a war…"

It was weird to think of Clockwork as an Ancient. I saw him more as a mentor or a grandfather after everything he had done for us.

"Danny…" I spoke up as I remembered something. "Could you go… see if Sam and… Elliot are okay?"

Danny looked at me with a look of concern.

"I assure you that I will take care of him while you're away," Juliette promised.

"A-alright," Danny hesitantly answered. "I'll go check on them. You just relax and let Juliette get that ghost ice out of you, bro. Can you do that for me?"

I gave Danny a reassuring smile. "I don't think… I want to… move much… anyways… might just… nap for a bit."

"Okay, good." Danny nodded before he turned away, before quickly turning back. "I'll be back after I've check in on them.".

Danny turned intangible and flew up through the ceiling of the opera house.

"Oh… forgot to ask… where's Scarlet? And… Lydia? I don't sense… either of them nearby," I asked Juliette. Then again, maybe I just can't sense ghosts with how I am right now...

"Lydia is in my shadow at the moment, resting," Juliette answered. "Scarlet went to go check out the area around the observatory to make sure the Guys in White agents actually have left."

"Heh… sometimes I feel like… Scarlet is our… clean up ghost now…" I chuckled lightly. "But I'm glad… having her around… helps keep invading… ghosts away…"

I was starting to feel warming now, to the point that I was starting to get pretty drowsy.

"Hey, Andy, I know you feel comfy but you gotta stay with me," Juliette urged as she reached over and grabbed my arm, squeezing it a bit. "You gotta stay conscious for as long as you can, that way you can alert me if anything suddenly feels off."

"I'll… try," I answered back.

I decided to try to focus on visions or memories that would sometimes keep me up late at night with worry. Like Danny possibly becoming corrupted again, and what that would entail if it were to happen. Or what would happen to Mom and Dad if we didn't try to change their mindset about ghosts. I also focused on certain things that would make me ask questions, keeping my mind active and awake. Learning about ghosts, their biology, and culture was one good way to keep myself mentally active too. I felt Juliette squeezing my arm a few times, which was a good physical way to keep me awake.

"How… am I doing?" I asked Juliette after a while.

"From what I can tell from my flames, the ice is being slowly pushed back," Juliette answered. "The ice had already spread to your arms and legs before Danny got you to me, but the ice is now solely in your torso. It will take some time, but the flames will slowly push the ice towards your injury before pushing it completely out. Once it's out, I may need to fight the energy and completely melt the ice. But I am prepared for it."

"I'm sorry about this," I apologized softly, feeling my throat warming up enough to be able to speak easier again. "Because of my carelessness, I ended up in this situation in the first place."

"You shouldn't apologize to me, but to yourself," Juliette chuckled. "Though I can't blame you. When trapped like you were, it's easy to jump to decisions on how to try and escape. There are many times where I ended up burning or singeing myself because I tried to use my flames to escape a trap that Skulker had set for me."

I chuckled a little myself. "We seem to be coming to you a lot lately whenever something happens to us. At this rate, you might become a ghost doctor, or at least a ghost nurse."

Juliette shook her head. "Hopefully this doesn't happen too often where I will need to learn actual healing or medicine. Though… I could possibly have Scarlet go out and see if there is a ghost doctor willing to do a checkup on you two. You should have a checkup of your ghost halves, just to make sure you are healthy."

Then Juliette gave a small frown. "Of course it may not be easy finding the right doctor, considering your halfa biologies… and not to mention the possibility of your elemental cores. That could affect how a doctor could help you too…"

Juliette shook her head. "Though a standard checkup from a trustworthy doctor isn't as serious as being treated. Scarlet would just have to find someone competent and trustworthy."

I closed my eyes for a moment.

"You need to stay awake, Andy," Juliette quickly said when my eyes closed.

I opened my eyes. "Sorry… I just… remembered a vision I saw not that long ago regarding a doctor. It's not very clear, but I think Danny will find a doctor that would be right for him not too long in the future now. Not sure about me though."

"If Danny finds a doctor that's right for him, then that doctor would likely be able to point you in the right direction," Juliette assured. "Now, to keep you from falling back asleep… how about we chat? Just casually without any real topic in mind, unless there is something besides Ghost Zone culture and information that you wish to talk about."

I thought about what to say, there were a lot of things I wanted to ask, wanted to learn. But my tired mind drifted to a certain topic that had been on my mind since I saw it in a vision.

"What… kind of ghost do you think… Danny would be in the Ghost Zone eventually? Being the savior of the Ghost Zone and the living world, going toe to toe with a powerful ghost himself… not to mention making a name for himself in both worlds while people are still asking if I'm a duplicate or not," I asked. "Do you think if Danny starts to explore the Ghost Zone more, he would become… someone really important?"

"I think you both would," Juliette answered. "Being halfas, you could become heroes of the Ghost Zone, or maybe even nobles with domains and people of your own."

"I'd never be as good as my brother. Not only was he a halfa first, but he's always ahead of me, no matter how hard I try. He'll always be faster, stronger, and quicker to adapt than I ever would be," I sighed. "I haven't really done much compared to him."

"Technically only you two and Desiree really remembered that he was a halfa first," Juliette pointed out. "I only know because you told me about the first and second accident. As for never being as good as your brother… well you may never be as physically strong as him, or find it as easy to pick up skills as he does, but you have your own traits that he could never be quite as good at. You have your highly advanced skills, like your ecto-manipulation which you can use to make complex weapons, you have your telekinesis which has been growing stronger, and you have your future sight, something that Danny likely will never have."

"I guess…" I replied. "It's just Danny has done a lot since the first accident, and I don't think I could ever live up to that. Besides, he likely deserves his… um… future."

"... You never saw yourself in those futures?" Juliette asked.

"No," I answered.

"Have you tried looking for yourself in those futures?" Juliette inquired.

"Not really," I replied. "I've been looking for possible futures that had to do with ghosts, Mom and Dad, and Danny. It's not like I was anything special."

"Well then those are two problems right there," Juliette stated. "Firstly, you are something special. You just said that you've been looking for possible futures via your desires, which is something that I've only really ever heard of Clockwork and a select few other ghosts being capable of. Most ghosts with some kind of vision powers just suddenly get a vision that may have absolutely nothing to do with them or what they care about. And maybe instead of focusing on everyone else with your future sight, you should try and take a look into your own future. And keep an open mind! Because if you tried to look into your future with this pessimistic 'I don't matter' mindset, I very much doubt you'll find anything that will lift your spirits."

Did I just tell her I can see into the future by will? I frowned at myself. I think this stupid ghost ice messed with my brain. Isn't my core also my brain? Maybe it messed with that? Since I'm in ghost form, does that mean I'm only using my core to actually think now instead of my brain? Oh gosh, I'm going down the rabbit hole.

"Do you think I've done anything worthwhile?" I asked.

"From what I've heard of you, yes." Juliette nodded. "For one, you were the one who rescued me from Skulker's trap when any other ghost just flew by. You brought me here and gave me a safe haven. You also helped reunite me with Scarlet, one of my oldest friends. Let's see… it was you who was me with during that summer trip that never happened. And after we completed those challenges to defeat Freakshow, you were the one to use the Reality Gauntlet. You had the ability to reshape the universe into anything you wanted, and you didn't use it for your own gain. Also, between you and Danny, you're the one who tries to end fights with ghosts with your words instead of your strength."

As Juliette was listing this off, I started to remember what kind of stuff I accomplished. Between comparing myself to Danny's skills as a ghost, people's acknowledgement to Danny's existence and accomplishments, seeing a world going on without me, and Vesper's stinging words, it was easy to see why I began to feel like I wasn't really helping much at all lately. But as I remembered what I had done since the first accident, before I even became a halfa myself, the heavy weight that was on my chest started to lift.

"You see, Andy? You've done a lot more than you realized," Juliette pointed out. "I also believe you've helped your brother be as strong and fast and skilled as he is today. Scarlet has been helping him train, but she's only here in the first place because of you. It was you who found me, and it was you who led her to me. So stop saying you're not worth much. You're just as much a hero as your brother is."

I looked at Juliette before giving a smile. "Thank you… I… had no idea how much I needed to hear that."

"I'm always glad to help you, Andy. After all, you've helped me out so much." Juliette smiled back.

Unfortunately, our little happy moment was cut short when I felt a stinging coldness in my gut. I hissed, feeling like something harsh and cold was trying to pierce through my stomach.

Juliette leaned over and looked at my torso. "Oh no you don't, you're not escaping me. Burn and melt, you vile ice."

I felt Juliette put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Just relax, Andy, I've got you."

I nodded to Juliette, and closed my eyes, feeling the coldness disappearing.

Joel Shaji: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': So… just gonna say this now. This is the We Are Phantoms reviews, not Child of Mew. This is the only time this will be answered and any future times will just be ignored. Child of Mew is a work in progress story and it will be ready when it's ready. Additionally, it's been less than 5 years since the last chapter of Child of Mew: The Great War was posted.

DarkFoxKit: It's kind of an insult to ask about one story when commenting on a completely unrelated story.

GhostHex: DarkFoxKit: The ghost suits were actually in the canon episode, we just utilized them a lot more. And as for them making halfas of their own… heh, well, I'll let the chapter speak for itself.

DP-Marvel94: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Yeah, Danny definitely got screwed by timing there. What the Guys in White in the episode did was… honestly idiotic and barely worked for the episode. The only reason it worked is because we were previously shown how inept the GiW can be and how idiotic they can be sometimes despite being a 'well trained' government agency.

The actual fight was pretty fun to write out and it was definitely nice to have Andy take the lead in a fight instead of just following Danny's lead. Danny did unfortunately create an issue by showing up as the Guys in White definitely know there are two ghost boys now. This likely will come back to bite them in the butt down the road.

Them capturing Andy was both for necessity of plot and also wanting to show that the Guys in White, at least our Guys in White, are making steps to improve their technology and tactics. However, they still highly underestimate Andy and Danny, which is no doubt going to happen again in the future.

Andy, thankfully, is pretty familiar with ghost catching tech and he had seen a cube like the one he got trapped in before when he rescued Juliette. And while it's not often shown on screen, the boys do study their parents' technology and try to figure out how things work so they know how to escape from whatever that piece of tech does.

And finally… the ghost suits. My gosh was it fun to come up with these. They're not going to be a one off, and they're very much going to present a problem to the boys later down the road. Our Guys in White are only getting stronger, and at some point the boys will have to deal with what will be a Pariah Dark level threat.

DarkFoxKit: *Laughs* Calm down, Onyx. I know you're excited, but don't start giving away our game plan for the GIW.

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': A few teasers won't hurt~

Mana16: DarkFoxKit: Getting screwed by timing seems to happen a lot in Butch Hartman's shows. XD Well, while the GIW now know Andy and Danny are separate beings, it's more of an inconvenience than anything hugely detrimental. Realistically speaking, the GIW would've found out eventually that Danny and Andy are not one in the same. As for the ghost suits, I think you saw what happened in the chapter.

I do wonder how Jack and Maddie would react if they knew not all ghosts were evil, and that they're just as sentient as humans. Even more so, I wonder how they truly would've reacted in the long term had they realized Danny and Andy were the ghost boys they've been trying to hunt for a while now. As well as insulting them to their faces without realizing it. Phantom Planet doesn't count, and Reality Trip didn't really show us their reaction much other than solemnness and confusion.