Y'all finally get to know what's in the box. :)

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Chapter 203: Important Boxes

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To his great annoyance, Vlad had lost telemetry from Amity Park.

He gave the computer one last slap, then sighed. His equipment had been top of the line. If even that was being blocked… Short of physically going there, he had no way of telling what was going on.

For some reason, Vlad felt a little guilty about how things had turned out. It made sense, in a way. He was supposed to be their mayor, with all the responsibilities that entailed. But he had done everything he could. He'd acquired supplies for the resistance, distracted the GIW, dropped hints to various news outlets about what was going on, and even leaned on several politicians.

Perhaps he could have stayed and fought, he was much stronger than any other ghost currently residing in Amity Park, but all that would have resulted in was his capture, and he'd had enough of being poked and prodded by the GIW after his accident in college- and that was with them still thinking he was human.

No, he couldn't risk being caught.

It was a pity what would happen to Amity Park, however. Daniel would be crushed. At least his friends were safely tucked away in the Ghost Zone.

He did have other things to work on, however. There was no time to spend moping about something he couldn't change.

His computer binged as a notification came up. Vlad raised an eyebrow.

"Well, well," he said, out loud, a predatory smile playing over his lips. "Wes Weston. I would have never thought he'd do anything useful."

Now, wouldn't it just be terrible for the GIW if someone went ahead and corroborated dear little Wes's story?

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Azalea and Wolfsbane entered in the midst of a conversation.

"… don't like it, it's not fair," said Azalea.

"I thought you would have been excited at the opportunity for chaos and the loss of mental control," said Wolfsbane.

Azalea scoffed. "It isn't the right kind of madness. Even if it was, it would be cheating, wouldn't it, to legally require someone to go insane? As something other than a punishment, I mean."

"What's going on?" asked Maddie, half-rising. She and Jack had taken a break from legal things to play a game of cards. Well, to try to play a game of cards. The deck they had been given was significantly different from the ones they were used to and had a different number of cards each time they counted it. "Have they decided on how to put together the jury?"

"Yes," said Wolfsbane. "There will be twelve jurists. Four will be residents of the Realms at large, four are to be residents of Daniel's lair, and four will be residents of Daniel's haunt. The decision was made to let chance decide the proportion of humans to ghosts, but I suspect, simply from the nature of those places, that most jurors will be ghosts."

"Also," said Azalea, "they decided not to limit selection to people without direct personal contact with Mr. Phantom." She paused. "Daniel, I mean. The students' advocates argued that would be unrealistic, considering his status."

"However, all the jurors will be adults," said Wolfsbane, "and they will all be at least formerly human, so as to align with the concept that you be judged by your peers. That idea is almost as old as the idea of a fair trial, so it was easily accepted."

This was, admittedly, better than Maddie had hoped for.

"But what were you talking about when you came in?" asked Jack, shuffling the cards.

Azalea puckered her lips, the buzzing from her hair momentarily growing louder. Wolfsbane did not visually react. Maddie sat back down. She had a feeling this wasn't going to be good news.

"It isn't bad news, exactly," said Azalea, as if she'd read Maddie's mind. "But we're pretty sure it's something you won't want."

"What is it?" asked Jack, worry quite evident in his voice.

"Well," said Azalea, "we're debating… How should I explain this…?"

"When children are called as witnesses in your courts," said Wolfsbane, "there are measures to protect them from harm and unnecessary stress, correct?"

"Yes," said Maddie.

"Libra has taken such measures in the past. The current debate concerns whether or not any should be put in place, and, if so, which ones."

"Alright," said Jack, "I don't see why you think that would upset us."

Wolfsbane sighed. "It is the nature of some of the suggested measures that may, as you put it, upset you. Certain members of the committee believe-"

"They say they believe," interjected Azalea.

"-that the combination of Daniel's Obsessions, your place in them, his status as a Stygian, who must therefore keep all given oaths, and the nature of the trial will prove unduly distressing to Daniel."

"What he means is that his Obsession and frailty might come into conflict, and that hurts," said Azalea. "Also, people tend to get violent when that kind of thing happens, and Phantom is strong, in case you didn't notice."

"The current proposal is to temporarily alter Daniel's perception."

"You mean drug him," said Maddie.

"You could think of it that way, yes," said Wolfsbane. "Lord Clockwork, as Daniel's legal guardian, has the greatest standing in this matter, but his advocate is not the most skilled, and she is being swayed. Hemlock, as Daniel's advocate, is also opposing, but things being what they are…"

"What do you mean?" asked Jack.

"There are a great many who do not want Daniel to be in full possession of his faculties during this trial."

Maddie fell back into her chair. "You've been doing a pretty good job of making us feel like the barbarians here, but we don't drug children to make them act the way we want them to."

"Yes, you do," said Azalea. "At least, your culture does it all the time."

"For medical reasons," protested Maddie. "Not things like this! Not just to keep them from acting out during a trial!"

Wolfsbane shook his head. "While we do not want this outcome, nor, I expect, would Daniel, the circumstances are very different from what they would be in your world," he said, quietly, and with the excruciating calmness that was his trademark. "Human children must, if they do not die, grow up and become adults. They must learn to cope, sooner or later, with the harsh truths of your world. That is not so for those children among the Dead. They may stay innocent forever."

"But-"

"I am not saying that Daniel hasn't has more than his fair share of difficult experiences, but in such a light, even I find it hard to blame those who would like to spare him another."

"Not that that's what all of them are trying to do," said Azalea. "A lot of them just see it as another advantage, if he's not at the top of his game. He's got a pretty formidable reputation, you know. On top of the whole king thing, I mean."

"Right," said Maddie. "Just wonderful. How could I forget that?" Except, she had almost managed to forget the news that Danny was a candidate for being the king of ghosts.

Honestly, she was becoming more and more convinced that this was some sort of elaborate joke or trick on the ghosts' part. If Jazz hadn't kept up her visits… But she had.

"If they do decide to… do something to Danny," said Jack, rushing through the last few words, "what do you think they're likely to do?"

"Well, there are a number of possibilities, and we had hoped to go over some other items today, but I think we can cover the most likely outcomes."

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"Um, hi?" said Danny, blinking up at the four new ghosts. They looked vaguely familiar, but Danny couldn't place them. "Did you guys just come through the portal, because this really isn't a good time for a fight."

"Really? 'Cause it looks like that's what all've you've been doin.'"

"Alex, come on. We weren't really introduced last time we met. I'm Addy, these are Alex, Meg, and Tess-"

"Don't say it like I'm the youngest! I'm not!"

"You are!"

"-we're actually the ones who brought you to Duat Hospital. These aren't the same idiots that fought you there, are they?"

"Same group, anyway. And thank you," said Danny. "I probably would have," he scrambled mentally for a word that wasn't 'died,' because the human population of Amity Park was far too interested in that conversation, "not done very well, without that."

"It's nothing. Now, we were here to recruit jurors for that trial, but what do you say, guys?"

"A little vengeance never went amiss," said one of the other women.

"I'm game."

"Count me in."

"Think you can open the shield for us, just for a second?" asked Addy.

Danny assessed the strength of his shield, and his level of control. "No. I think it'd collapse if I tried. I'm sorry. If you can wait until they let off a bit, though, I think we could do that. We've got some reinforcements coming." Really, even this conversation was using up a lot of his focus.

"What're you even doing here, anyway?" asked Alex, suddenly. "I thought you were back with the ol' time man."

"Don't call him that! Jeez, Alex," said Meg, scandalized. "She means Lord Clockwork."

"Okay, goodie-goodie."

"Well, I was with Grandfather, but then I saw what was happening here, and, well. Once I had an idea of how bad it was, I had to come." If he'd any idea that things were getting bad enough that his people had decided lethal combat with the GIW was the best option, he'd have come long before the box had been found and its contents put in danger.

"Of course."

"He's probably mad at me. I kind of ran off." As long as he wasn't just mad, which was, sadly, also an option.

"I'm sure he won't blame you."

"Mhm," said Danny. This was getting harder. The GIW had brought in some monster gun from Ancients-knew-where, and he was shaking.

He needed to dismiss his duplicate.

But he couldn't. Not until the box was safe.

His duplicate had to be close, right?

And where were those reinforcements?

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Danny had either vastly overestimated his sense of direction, or vastly underestimated the distances involved. He could still sense his lair, could feel the connection that tethered it to his core, but he just wasn't there yet. The door wasn't in sight.

His other self, back in Amity, needed the power he could supply, but he couldn't abandon the box. He couldn't. He hugged it tighter to himself, as if proximity to it would solve all his problems.

"GHOST CHILD!" came a cursedly familiar shout from a bank of purple-touched ectoplasmic clouds. A similarly familiar ghost emerged dramatically, shedding vapor from stubby blue limbs.

Oh, Ancients, no. Why? Why now?

He hissed, aura flaring defensively. He was not going to let this box be taken!

"WHY ARE YOU CARRYING A RECTANGULAR PACKAGING RECEPTACLE THROUGH MY DOMAIN?!"

"Back off!"

The Box Ghost looked much like he always did, although he was, for some reason, lugging around an anachronistic and extremely boxy telephone. He also looked almost concerned. Well, as concerned as the boisterous ghost could be, anyway.

(Deep down, Danny knew he was being unfair, but he was stressed beyond the ability to be fair, and a fight with the Box Ghost was the very last thing he wanted.)

"DO YOU BRING ME, THE GREAT BOX GHOST, TRIBUTE?! DO YOU FINALLY ACKNOWLEDGE MY VICTORY OVER YOUR CYLLINDRICAL CONTAINER?"

"No!" said Danny, curling his lips in offense.

"HAVE YOU FINALLY UNDERSTOOD THE GREATNESS OF BOXES?!"

"No!"

"THEN WHY DO YOU CARRY THE BOX?"

"Why do people usually carry boxes?" asked Danny as he pushed past the Box Ghost. "It's about what's in them."

"IT HAS SOMETHING IMPORTANT IN IT?"

"Yes, and you can't have it!"

"FOOL. ALL BOXES ARE MINE!"

But the Box Ghost didn't exert his powers over the small container. Danny would have beaten him up, even though the duplicate back in Amity Park currently had the majority of his power, but he probably would have gotten hold of the box at least once before Danny did. The Box Ghost's telekinetic powers would have been impressive instead of laughable if he used them a bit more intelligently.

"I used to have a special box, once," said the Box Ghost, at a surprisingly normal volume. "There was something in it…" He described the outline of a rectangle with his hands. "I don't remember what it was. What's in your box, ghost child?"

Again, Danny squished the box protectively to his chest.

But he answered.

"My siblings," he said.

The Box Ghost's eyes grew comically wide. "THE FEMALE PHANTOM AND THE RED-HAIRED HUMAN?!" he shrieked. "HOW HAVE THEY BECOME SO SMALL? THE BOX GHOST DID NOT KNOW THAT HUMANS COULD BE DIMENSIONALLY COMPRESSED WITHOUT BEING GRAVELY INJURED!"

"What? No, not those siblings," said Danny. "I-" he winced as his duplicate back in Amity Park tried to draw more energy. The edges of his form flickered.

"Ghost child?" asked the Box Ghost, his voice oddly small again. "Are you alright?"

"I- I'm fine. I," he hesitated, and in that moment made up his mind, "I need your help."

"YOU SEEK THE AID OF THE GREAT BOX GHOST?"

"Yes," said Danny, already regretting it. The Box Ghost had seemed like a decent father, over in the other timeline. He'd at least try to keep them safe. Right?

Ancients, Danny couldn't believe he was stooping to this.

(Again, that was rather unfair to the Box Ghost.)

"They're- They're my siblings-by-theft, and they were hurt a while ago, and I just- I need them to be safe. Please." He had to go. He had to go now. So many more people in Amity Park might die if he didn't. "I'll- I'll bring you a hundred boxes," he promised, recklessly, "if you just…" he trailed off.

"I'll help you, ghost child," said the Box Ghost, clearly alarmed. "Don't cry."

"I'm not. Just, please, make sure they're safe. I'll be able to take care of them when I come back." As slowly and painfully as if he were cutting off one of his own limbs, Danny offered the box, and the cores of his melted clones inside, to the Box Ghost. "I have to go."

The Box Ghost took it carefully.

"Go where?" he asked, as the box settled in his pale blue hands.

But Danny was already gone.

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Alone in the Wastes, the Box Ghost stared at the empty, shifting mists and jagged, wavering staircases. A lone violet door made its way across the Box Ghost's field of view.

"DID THE GHOST CHILD JUST FADE?!" he shrieked.

He got no answer.