All things considered, the Realms being infinite and all, it took less time than Danny thought it would for the icy plains of the Far Frozen to appear.
Either Rae and her friends were very fast, (true), or Danny was tired enough and feeling so weird and off kilter that he zoned out the entire flight, (also true). He was vaguely aware of the fact that despite passing close to some large island lairs and other more recognizable areas that more sociable ghosts liked to congregate, the Realms were empty and weirdly quiet. They hadn't come across another ghost the entire flight. He was also aware of a feeling of... anticipation. Like the the entirety of the Infinite Realms was holding its collective breath, waiting for something...
He should be confused, if not downright worried about that, but he was waaaaayyy too tired to care at the moment. The aching burn of the grazing shot to his shoulder kept him awake and aware though, and he sighed with relief at the sight of the icy wastes growing larger.
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco all glanced at him, before following his gaze to the large island they were approaching. Ellie just looked equal parts confused and worried, shooting him sideways looks whenever she thought he wasn't looking. She had stayed quiet the entire journey, her gaze boring a hole into the side of his head the entire way here. He knew she hadn't forgotten his avoidance and deflections when she asked about what had happened to him after she went through the portal. He would tell her... He would tell her everything...
It's just... he needed to rest. They all did.
Harry was quiet; well they all were, no one had said a word after they'd made it out of Ancient Avalon's Realm space, but Danny could tell his friend was worrying himself into further exhaustion. On a positive note, Danny could sense the influence of Voldy's soul piece was next to nothing at the moment, so... at least there's that.
Ron's wrist was sprained, but he was still sitting tall and keeping an eye on all of them as they flew. Hermione was clearly exhausted, but she was still determinedly taking in as much of her surroundings as she could, gazing at all the islands and doors they passed. Draco... Draco seemed to have gone into some sort of shock, staring blankly ahead with his hands tightly entwined in his thestral's mane. Danny couldn't blame him, a lot had happened. And with the stories he, Harry, Ron and Hermione needed to tell Draco and Ellie... they all needed to rest and recover a bit before dumping even more trauma into their friend's laps.
Danny sighed again as the thestrals alighted on the edge of the ice-core kingdom, the freezing winds and swirling snow had him breathing deeply, his core humming with a new wave of energy. Predictably, the cold was not appreciated by anyone else.
The wizards were already beginning to shiver, their breaths curling before them and Ellie moved bit slower, her movements brittle, but she still helped Danny get his living friends off their steeds and away towards the nearest shelter. Danny gave Rae a last fond pet before she and the thestrals rose up and disappeared into the green, swirling expanse of the Realms.
He could think about how the herd got here later. Just another mystery that he didn't have the energy to deal with right now.
"C'mon, this way." Danny urged as he led the group behind a large jutting ice shelf that protected them from a sudden gust of wind that had his core singing and his friends shivering. "We're not far from-"
"Halt!" A growling voice cut him off and he snapped around to face it. Two perimeter guards on their hovercraft loomed behind them, pinning them against their temporary shelter with ice capped spears.
Danny and Ellie jumped forward between the enormous yetis and their shivering friends. Danny spread his arms out protectively and craned his neck up to take in the curled horns of ghost-ice glinting, royal guard insignias pinned proudly on tan colored sashes. The yeti ghost's protective white fur was bristling, hackles raised and fangs bared. Ellie growled and Danny bared his fangs right back in warning.
While not as threatening as it would have been in his ghost form, it seemed to do the trick, since it only took a moment before the ghosts expressions morphed into sudden surprise and awe.
"Great One!?"
"And Lady Phantom!"
Both large ghosts knelt immediately with their fists to their chests and heads bowed with respect. Danny and Ellie dropped their defensive stances, breathing soft sighs of relief. Danny glanced back to gauge his magical friend's reactions and wasn't too surprised to find shivering expressions of both shock and fear.
"We are both surprised and overjoyed to find you back in the Infinite Realms, Great One! Lady Phantom, we are happy to see you here again as well! We must alert Chief Frostbite of this at once!"
"Than- Thanks guys, but before we go see Frostbite-" Danny stepped back closer to his friends, "My friends here need somewhere warm to rest."
The yeti's eyes landed on his living friends, and Danny stiffened when the ghost's eyes widened and their nostrils flared with surprise.
"Great One... they are magic users!"
"Here in the Realms? They couldn't have come across a natural portal-"
"Yo!" Ellie shouted as she jerkily rose up to float eye level with the guards. "Questions later! It's freezing and our friends are tired!" Angry green eyes left no room for argument.
"Of- Of course Lady Phantom. Please allow us to escort you to the chieftain's guest quarters."
"And stop calling me that!" Ellie huffed as she settled back on the ground between Hermione and Ron. Danny noticed her stumble as she landed but she hid it well as she grabbed onto Ron and Hermione's shaking hands and pulled them past the now bowing yeti ghosts onto the large silver hovercraft that would take them all to Frostbite's human-safe guest home, made for when Sam and Tucker used to visit with him.
Danny huffed a bit but carefully grabbed hold of Harry and Draco's sleeves, and they stumbled closer to him as he led them past the yetis and up onto the hovercraft beside Ellie, Ron and Hermione.
It was a short ride, but Ron and Hermione held tight to Ellie as the hovercraft rocketed over the barren snowy landscape. Harry and Draco were no different, both holding tight to the sleeves of Danny's sweatshirt after discovering that his hands were too cold to hold onto if they wanted to avoid losing their fingers to actual frostbite. He may be in human form, but his body took to the cold like Vlad took to thunderstorms.
The perimeter guards dropped them off in front of the human-safe guest hut, and then quickly left to tell Frostbite they were here. Ellie took the lead and ducked in, Hermione, Ron, Harry and Draco following quickly with Danny bringing up the rear.
Once inside, his friends gave a collective sigh of relief at the warmth of the interior, their shivers subsiding to nothing as they took in the roaring green fire lighting the cozy looking armchairs and carpets; no fur in sight, since they'd brought most of the interior from the physical world, per Sam's request and her parent's unwitting credit card usage.
Hermione breathed deeply and sunk into on of the waiting armchairs, her eyes closed and her hand held against her chest. Danny's other living friends were quick to follow her example, sinking onto the floor before the fire, or into the remaining two armchairs themselves. Ellie hissed as she shook out her arms and legs causing weird popping and snapping sounds, before she rubbed her chest for a moment before sighing.
Giving the others a moment to warm themselves up relax for a moment, Danny tilted his head and gave Ellie a questioning look.
"Hey, what's wrong? Your core okay?"
She looked up at him with wide eyes, before grinning at him, her baby fangs beginning to show.
"Yep! My core's great! In fact, my core's affinity developed while you were off doing whatever you were doing in the physical world!" She laughed excitedly as she flew up and wound her way around him to rest on his uninjured shoulder.
"Really! No way! What's your affinity?!"
"Nu-uh, no way! You have to guess!"
"Aww, Elliiiiiie-"
"Core affinity?" Hermione's curious question brought Danny's (very-grown-up-thank-you) whine to an end and Ellie giggled as her ghostly tail wrapped loosely around Danny's torso.
"Yeah! Danny's affinity is ice, as you can probably tell. Mine's way cooler, though!"
"Cooler than ice?"
"You know what I mean you dork."
Danny rolled his eyes with a tired smile, and turned to actually answer Hermione. "Core affinities are basically exactly what it sounds like; different core affinities produce different energy types, which allow for different powers developing. My ghost sense and ghost ice are specific to my core, which has an ice affinity."
"Do all ghosts have core affinities?" Harry asked, sitting up a bit with his back still pressed against Ron's legs.
"No, friend of the Great One!" The booming growl thundered loudly making all of them jump. "Core affinities are actually quite rare in Living-born ghosts, as only exceptionally powerful ghosts develop cores strong enough to sustain an affinity. The Great One being a rare exception, as his core affinity had been present from the moment of his core's creation!"
"Frostbite!" Danny exclaimed. The ghost looked the same as he remembered, enormous and covered in protective fur and golden armor. Royal blue sash worn proudly, and ghostly bones glowed within Frostbite's ice-made arm. Frostbite bared his sharp fangs in a delighted grin as he scooped both him and Ellie up in a ferocious bear hug, chuckling deeply and clearly just as happy. Danny bit back a hiss of pain as his shoulder was jostled, but he was laughing along with his dear friend and ally.
"Great One! What a joyous day it is to see you within the Realms again! We were all worried for you and yours after young Lad-"
"Frostbite!"
"Alright, alright, Ellie then-" Frostbite chuckled as he set them back down.
"Wha- how? I've been trying to get you guys to stop calling me Great One since I first met you!" Danny's accusing look pivoted between Frostbite and Ellie.
"What can I say, Great One, she can be very convincing." Ellie crossed her arms with a proud look. Frostbite turned back to Danny, his expression sobering as he examined Danny's hurt shoulder. "Regardless, after Ellie came to us and told us of her relation to you, Great One, and why she'd needed to escape to the Realms, we waited patiently for you to show up... but you never did."
Danny's eyes dropped to the ground, but he felt Frostbite and Ellie's gaze boring into him, questions left unasked as they waited for him to explain on his own.
But he couldn't. Not yet.
"It's- It's a long story. Too long to tell you right now after everything that's happened. My friends and I could use your help though, Frostbite, and then- then I'll tell you everything."
Frostbite gazed down at him for one long, silent moment. He then turned to gaze down at Danny's living friends, who'd been silently watching in front of the flickering green fire. They shrank back a bit under the large ghost's scrutinizing gaze.
"Alright, Great One." Frostbite said at last. "Please allow me to take a look at your shoulder and your friend's wrist. I will have human-safe food delivered here shortly afterwards. Please, take all the time you need to rest and recover. But, Great One-" Frostbite pinned Danny with a hard stare. "the Realms have gone through a few changes while you've been away. Changes that are equal parts reassuring and... unsettling. After you tell your tale- including how you came to bring magic users into the Infinite Realms- I believe the Realms could use your help once more."
With that final, incredibly worrying, statement, frostbite led Danny and a reluctant but resigned looking Ron away to the infirmary to get treated. Once they had both returned, they all fell onto the food Frostbite had delivered. Danny couldn't have said what he ate, but it was the best food he'd ever tasted. With injuries now treated, and delicious food devoured, they all collapsed into an enormous pile before the fire, Ellie taking a moment to cover them in warm blankets before cuddling up under Danny's arm.
They were all asleep in seconds, so exhausted that they were allowed a peaceful, dreamless rest.
.
When he felt himself rising back to consciousness, Danny felt as if hundreds of years had passed and yet he could have slept for a thousand more.
Danny groaned as woke, Ellie's small form shifted beneath his arm. Danny looked back over his friends and watched as Draco, who's back was pressed against Danny's, shifted and stretched, accidentally throwing a tired arm over Ron's softly snoring chest. Hermione sighed softly as she slowly woke up, too, Harry tucked between her and Ron, still sleeping soundly.
Ah. If only a single moment could last forever. Maybe Clockwork would take pity on him and stop time for a bit.
Huh.
Clockwork...
Danny groaned again. He was such an idiot. Clockwork could help them get back to the physical world if he couldn't get his powers back under control. He'd have to tell the others about the old time master though, he'd left out Clockwork's involvement in his retelling of his adventures. He hadn't been sure if Clockwork would want more people knowing about him back then, but now it was unavoidable.
Danny sighed as he pushed himself up out of the pile of his slowly waking friends.
"Ugh. Danny noooo..." Ellie moaned sleepily, to which he only chuckled in response. He noticed vaguely that she was still in ghost form.
As he stood up and stumbled away from the still roaring fire, he gave himself a quick once-over. His shoulder was now completely healed except for it being a little sore. His core... was feeling much better. It still felt weird, but it was less noticeable. Maybe he was getting used to it?
Ah, who knows. He'd ask Frostbite about it.
"Danny, you alright?" Hermione asked around a yawn.
"Yeah, much better actually. You?"
"Mmm. Same." She smiled as she got to her feet. "Ready for all the surprises this fascinating dimension will give us."
"Don't jinx it Hermione." Harry groaned, now sitting up and gently prodding Ron and Draco awake. Danny snickered as both Draco and Ron curled deeper into the blankets, scowling at the audacity of the morning coming so soon. He made his way over to Ellie, still lightly snoozing and prodded her with a toe.
"You alive Ellie?"
"Ha, only halfway." Ellie smiled. She raised one hand without opening her eyes, and Danny obligingly grabbed it and lifted her up. She floated for a moment before promptly settling onto his back, her arms around his shoulders, blearily opening her eyes at last.
Danny chuckled again, since apparently Ellie had decided she was going to be a little ghostly limpet, and went to stand beside Hermione as Harry pulled a grumbling Ron and Draco to their feet.
"C'mon guys, bathrooms are this way, and then we can go see Frostbite. It's about time we all compare notes and get everyone on the same page."
Ellie's arms tightened a bit around his neck, but she relaxed after a second and rose up off his back and gave him a toothy grin before leading Hermione down a short hallway so they could freshen up.
Some cold water splashed in his face, a hand roughly pulled through his hair, and Danny was ready for the day.
With everyone now marginally more awake and ready for whatever else they had to deal with, Danny led his friends through the underground tunnels lined with depictions of his battle with Pariah Dark, avoiding the frigid conditions of the Far Frozen as they made their way to Frostbite's main court. Ellie was once again slung over his back and shoulders, apparently reluctant to let him out of arms reach now that they were all rested and ready to talk. Harry and Ron were right behind him, with Hermione beside Draco bringing up the rear.
"Danny... is this you?" Draco's voice echoed a bit in the stone tunnel. Danny was glad he was talking again, seems he'd recovered a bit from the overwhelming events that'd led to them accidentally falling into the dimension of the dead.
"Ah. Unfortunately yes. This is me fighting Pariah Dark, the previous so-called King. But, even if he was self appointed, when I defeated him and sealed him away, I was then appointed as the heir apparent to the throne or whatever, but I only found that out after I was summoned to Hogwarts. Over a year after I defeated the dude. Go figure."
"That- I have so many more questions."
Danny chuckled. "Don't worry, we're about to have a big 'ole story session, but if you have more questions after I'll try my best to answer them."
"You're not going to leave anything out, right Danny?" Ellie accused, poking his cheek.
"Me? Never."
"We should probably have a sit down and tell you about the whole horcrux situation as well, Draco." Hermione mentioned absently.
Draco was silent for a bit before he sighed in resignation.
"Making friends with you lot was a mistake."
"Oh, a terrible decision on your part, mate." Ron nodded sagely.
"Yeah, we really should start give warnings to potential friends. Just a little card about what they'll be getting into when they decide to stick with all of us." Harry agreed.
Hermione snorted. "You're both idiots."
"Absolutely."
"Thank you."
They all descended into laughter at that, and it echoed around them as they finally made it to Frostbite's main court.
"Ah! Great One! Lady Ellie! Great One's guests! Welcome!" Frostbite's voice boomed against the icy walls, and Danny grinned at the sight of a fully prepared human-safe breakfast laid out for them. Mainly fruit and packaged foods that he remembered Sam and Tucker had told Frostbite to keep here for them.
His smile faltered at the thought as he sat down with his friends to eat. Now that he was back among the Realms, so close to the life he'd lived before... Memories of his friends and family seemed to cut a little deeper than when he'd thought of them at Hogwarts.
Danny took a deep breath. He'd told the story to Harry, Ron and Hermione already. Now he just had to do it again. Ellie especially deserved to know what happened.
Once they'd finished eating, Frostbite had the table cleared away, and he sat proudly on Danny's right side, looking down at him expectantly.
"Now, Great One, I believe you have a story to tell us."
Ellie was silent, expectant. Draco, still wary around Frostbite, had his full attention trained on Danny as well. With a brief glance at Harry, Ron and Hermione, who gave him soft and encouraging smiles, Danny took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"Alright. Well- After the GIW attacked us, chased my family and friends and I into the basement where Ellie escaped through the portal... they-"
The recounting of his family's death was halting and painful. Ellie dissolved into heaving sobs the moment Danny revealed his family's fate, and Danny had to pull her into his lap to calm her down enough so that he could continue. It helped to calm himself down too, tears now falling freely. He told them briefly of his months on the run, some of the harrowing close calls, which led to him constantly looking over his shoulder as the GIW relentlessly hunted him to the point of near exhaustion. When he finally got to the when he was summoned away, Harry and Ron joined in the retelling.
They talked about Professor Trelawney and how Danny got sorted and settled into the magic school. Frostbite gasped in surprise when he told them of his time with the Hogwarts ghosts, finding out about his station as the Prince of the Infinite Realms. Apparently, Frostbite had thought Danny'd always known he was the Prince.
Danny, largely for Ellie's sake, spent some time telling them of the happier times he'd spent in Hogwarts classes; talking for hours with Professor Sinistra about Astronomy, flying with Ron and Harry after quidditch practice, tea with Hagrid, meeting the thestrals and helping with the DA.
Eventually though, they had to explain Voldemort's act of splitting his own soul, with one of the mangled pieces locked in Harry's own head. Draco looked like he was going to puke. Frostbite was equally appalled.
"A soul piece bound to a living vessel! Never has there been a more loathsome or disgusting act-"
"Frostbite! Wait- I know, it's bad but- well- you wouldn't happen to know how to remove the soul piece without hurting Harry, would you?"
"I'm afraid, Great One, that knowledge dealing with the removal of souls, or soul pieces in this case, is nigh impossible to find here in the Realms. If it is to be removed safely, you will have to find method yet unknown to do it."
It took a while before they'd all calmed down enough for the rest of the troubling tale.
After a brief retelling of Hogwarts descent into Ministry regulation, he got to tell them of how he'd been captured and brought to the Ministry itself. Voldemort's subsequent attempt to claim him, his friends fight and flight after finding and freeing him, then the description of the corrupted dimensional portal, which Danny couldn't help a disgusted shiver at the very memory of it.
"This portal... it was all kinds of wrong. It was originally made with magic, all the shadowy echoes of the wizards who'd initially opened it, tampered with it or tried to open it further were still in the room with it. It- Frostbite, this portal was so corrupted it made my skin crawl and my core ache. But it was so much worse when I was inside it."
"You went inside! And you still exist!" Frostbite thundered, standing at his full height in an instant.
"Um, well I'm still here, so... yeah? Why? Did... did you know about the corrupted portal, Frostbite?"
Frostbite looked incredulous at the question, but his eyes turned calculating as he looked down at Danny. Ellie huddled closer to Danny's chest as the silence dragged out uncomfortably. Eventually, Frostbite broke it.
"Great One... It is so easy to forget at times that you are still such a newly made ghost." Frostbite's tone was gentle but serious. "The corrupted portal, as you called it, was created by magic users thousands of years ago. A foolish attempt by the living to gain power over the dead. Their hubris led to a rift forming... and growing." Danny's magical friends shrank in their seats as Frostbite growled menacingly. "A pocket dimension that was more a festering tumor grows between the physical realm and the Infinite Realms. Magic and ectoplasm locked in an everlasting stalemate that bred the corruption you felt. It's a miracle you weren't unmade, Great One."
Danny was staring, wide eyed and breathless. Faint memories flitting through his mind and then solidifying. He finally remembered what he'd experienced within the portal... and what happened just after.
"But... I... was."
Ellie's head snapped up to stare at him. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco not far behind.
"What? Danny, what do you mean?!"
"I... In the corrupted portal... I was unmade. Pulled apart. I... faded. But then something... something pulled me back together." Danny put a hand over his face, eyes distant as he remembered. "Then I... I wailed. I destroyed the space created by the portal, the pocket dimension-"
"Destroyed it!" Frostbite exclaimed. "But that's-" The great yeti chief froze, jaw hanging open as he came to a sudden realization. "That's- That explains it."
"What? Explains what?"
"The strange happenings across the Realms." Frostbite sighed deeply and sat back down. "Great One, that portal and the corrupted space beyond it was created long before even I came into existence, before even Pariah Dark claimed the crown. It has long since been believed that the creation of that corruption is what led to several ancient ghosts to losing themselves. Their cores darkening and twisting until nothing but negative emotions were left. They became black holes for positive energy, and they disappeared from the Realms shortly after losing themselves completely."
Frostbite paused as Hermione gasped, but when no further interruption came he continued. "No one ever knew where they went, and no one wished to look, for fear of the same fate befalling them too. It is why Ancient Avalon is a forbidden space, no one enters that Realm space and makes it out whole again. It is believed that Pariah Dark attempted to find the source of the corruption and stop it, before he lost himself to the corruption and became the tyrannical ruler you later sealed away, Great One."
"Uh." Danny coughed, pointedly avoiding the shocked looks his magical friends were pinning him with. "I just- I just thought Avalon was abandoned and... boring, which is why no one ever went there. We, uh, we actually just came from Avalon."
Frostbite just stared at him at this revelation, completely speechless, before sighing with resignation.
"As I said, strange happenings. Not long before you arrived here, Great One, there a ripple that passed through entire Realm. A massive shift in the very nature of the Realm space near Avalon. That must have been you destroying the corrupted portal space." Frostbite nodded at him in acknowledgment. "I tried to contact young Ellie here, as she was still out looking for you, Great One, but before I could there was another shift. One far more recognizable and far more distressing to the vast majority of the Infinite Realms."
"What? I didn't feel- wait you mean that weird pulse thing?" Ellie asked confused.
"Yes. You would not recognize it young one, but the shift felt by the Realms was one signifying a ghost coming into their full power. But this ghost, their power... it scared the entire Infinite Realms into hiding. For the harsh truth of the matter is this, this ghost's power was tens of thousands of times more powerful than what was felt when Pariah Dark manifested his power and lay claim to the crown."
Frostbite shook his head, arm of ice glinting as he clenched his fist upon the table. "The Realms felt something similar when you defeated Pariah Dark, Great One; it is how we knew you to be the 'Great One' in the first place, but this new shift, it is on a much larger scale that we can barely comprehend."
As the chieftain's court fell into silence, Danny clutched Ellie close. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco had been worryingly silent for the entirety of Frostbite's explanation, and Danny couldn't blame them.
Danny thought over Frostbite's words, and their significance to what he now remembered. What he'd felt within the corrupted portal space, what he'd done afterwards in the Ministry. And suddenly, Clockwork's words came back to him-
.
"While it is exceedingly rare for the current High King to be dethroned and a new Prince chosen, it is even rarer an occurrence for the Realms to accept the Prince as the new King."
"Wait… the Realms accepts? You mean the Realms, as in the Infinite Realms? It's sentient?"
"Not within the scope of our understanding. All I, or any other ancient knows is that the Realms is responsible for the choice of accepting a High King."
.
Danny eyes widened as he remembered the feeling of being pulled back into existence within the space of the corrupted portal. The presence of thoughts not his own wrapping almost lovingly around his mind and core as he was filled with transcendent power the likes of which he hadn't thought possible.
Hαιʅ Ⴆҽ ƚԋҽҽ, ɱყ Kιɳɠ
Danny gasped harshly, making the others jump. His wide eyes found Frostbite's and all he could think of was the soft words of the Infinite Realms itself.
Words that proclaimed him the Realm's King.
"Frostbite..." Danny whispered, standing slowly, Ellie clinging tightly to him in worry. "Frostbite, the ghost who came into their full power... it was me."
The great yeti's jaw dropped open in surprise, but he soon shook his head and chuckled weakly. "Great One, you are well known for your jokes, but this isn't a matter to make light-"
"I'm serious Frostbite." Danny's tone was sober and... scared. He'd never wanted the title nor the power that he knew would come with it. But there was nothing he could do about it now. So, he'd have to just make the best of it. "I can show you."
Danny made to set Ellie back into her own chair, but she clung to him even tighter, refusing to let go.
"Trust me Ellie, it's just for a minute." Ellie held his gaze for a moment, before nodding and letting go. Danny now stood alone, his friend's gazes were trained on him, expressions riddled with confusion. That is, before Hermione gave a soft gasp of understanding that made Danny smile. Smartest witch of her age, indeed.
Danny closed his eyes, and pulled on his now permanently supercharged core. Now that he was rested and knew the true implications of what he'd done within the Ministry, he prepared himself for the influx of power he now pulled from his core.
And oh... the power he now held within him. The sheer magnitude of it took the breath he no longer needed right out of his lungs. It reminded him of how his old textbooks defined as the birth of a star. The gravity and pressure surrounding his core sparked to life and his rings burst into being.
.
.
Hermione watched in awe as Danny's humanity was swept away, morphing into a being both familiar and strange. His form looked just like it did in the Ministry Atrium, save for the glittering green mist that had revealed pitch black bones. Now he stood whole and bright, armor glistening, hair misty and curling around the dark metal circlet floating above his head.
When his eyes opened, they were pure lurid green and astonishingly bright. The enormous yeti ghost, Chief Frostbite, had fallen to his knees, and Harry's jaw had fallen open in wide-eyed shock. Hermione, Ron and Draco, even though they'd seen Danny in this form before, were frozen in place by the sheer intensity that was Danny's kingly form.
For it was the only thing it could be. A surge felt throughout an Infinite dimension of a corrupted portal space collapsing, and then another surge of a ghost coming into their full power mere moments later? It was too much of a coincidence.
And now here he stood.
Danny Phantom, King of the Infinite Realms.
"Ellie?" Hermione couldn't help but flinch at the unexpected intensity of the echo layering Danny's voice. Ellie hovered just in front of Danny, eyes trained unerringly on Danny's solid green eyes. She didn't back back away or show any sign of apprehension or fear.
After a moment, Ellie flew a few circles around Danny, taking in every inch of his starbright armor capped in ice, running a hand through his misty hair and marveling at the dark crystalline circlet that cast rainbow colored aurora across his hair and face. Once Ellie had finished her inspection, she met Danny's eyes once more and smiled.
"Wow, Danny, way to show me up. I'll have to find some armor too so we can match! This is so cool!" She grinned at him brightly, and Danny's surprise morphed into soft laughter that soon filled the entire room, the outrageous echo just making Danny and Ellie laugh even harder.
Soon enough, Hermione, Ron, Harry and even Draco had joined in, the infectious laughter catching and releasing the tense atmosphere in an instant. Hermione could sense more than see Danny's immense relief at their reaction. They all got up and and gathered closer to their friend, getting a closer look at his new form.
Frostbite slowly rose as well, shaking his head in disbelief. Hermione was both relieved and amused as she saw Frostbite catch Danny's eye, Danny immediately giving the Chief a two figure salute with his tongue sticking out between his fangs. The image must have been just as ridiculous to Frostbite as it was to her, since Frostbite chuckled despite himself.
"To think, the first true King to be chosen in eons, and he's a half human child ghost. A half human child ghost with the power of a god." Frostbite chuckled lowly. "How strange fate can be."
"Nah, it's not fate or anything like that, Frostbite. I'm just a dumb kid who doesn't know when to quit. ...Plus a raging hero complex..."
Hermione snorted loudly, choking back laughter.
"You should get that printed on a shirt Danny. Give one to Harry too, you two can start a club."
"Wha- Hey!"
As they all devolved into more laughter, Danny transforming into his human form once more. The power Hermione had felt radiating from Danny in palpable waves ceased in an instant, and she noticed Chief Frostbite try to hide a sigh of relief.
"Man, that power will take some getting used to." Danny said rubbing his chest.
"Is there not a way for you to morph into your old form?" Draco asked.
"Yeah! Using that kind of power has to be exhausting! You won't be punching out magic portals anymore, so maybe try to make your kingly form less likely to scare the fruit off of Vlad's loop."
"Ellie... What does that even mean?"
"It means tone it down, you overpowered idiot."
Ron and Harry snorted as Danny sputtered, Draco simply looking on with the look of one resigned to the impending chaos, but she could still see a smile hidden behind the mask of indifference.
Hermione could only roll her eyes. Of course her friends would take Danny's ascension to ruler of an entire Infinite Realms as lightly as if he'd just won a quidditch match. Danny looked so utterly relieved though, so she smiled and joined them in their contemplation of whether or not Danny could still transform into his non-kingly form.
After a while, Hermione began to wonder where Chief Frostbite had gone. Looking for the the large ghost, she spotted him near the doorway leading to the underground tunnels they had taken earlier that morning, speaking lowly with two more yeti guards. Danny must have noticed where her attention was directed, because he was calling out for the Chief a second later.
"Frostbite! What's up, something wrong?"
"No, my Liege! In fact this is cause for celebration!"
Danny balked and Ellie giggled with glee.
"Frostbite... please... never call me that again." Danny groaned, face flushed and hidden behind his hands. Hermione could already see the teasing glint shining in Ron, Harry and Ellie's eyes. Draco looked to be fighting back either disbelief at Danny's embarrassment or laughter at the other's antics.
Frostbite chuckled deeply, and rolled his eyes fondly.
"Alright then, Great one."
"Ugh."
"No point in denying your claim, Great One, not after that display of power. I've just finished sending envoys to other kingdoms that you are friendly with; Queen Dorothea and Empress Pandora will be thrilled with the news of you coming into your rightfully earned crown!"
"Mama Pan! Great! I've been meaning to head back the the Acropolis for months!" Ellie curled comfortably around Danny once more, arms circling his shoulders and spectral tail wrapped around his waist. Danny turned incredulous eyes onto the young ghost girl.
"Mama Pan? What have you been getting up to, Ellie?"
"Hey, I told you already that my core affinity manifested! It wasn't ice though, so I couldn't stay here unless I stayed inside the whole time."
"It's true Great One, we escorted young Ellie to Empress Pandora's kingdom once it was clear that she would do better away from the Far Frozen's harsh environment. But, she is always welcome here, as are you and your friends."
"Which I will forever be thankful for, Frostbite. I don't think I'll ever be able to pay you back for everything you've done for me."
Chief Frostbite rumbled out a laugh before kneeling respectfully before a startled Danny.
"You can thank me, Great One, by accepting my formal oath of allegiance to the High King. The Far Frozen will forever be your allies; our resources yours to utilize, our wisdom yours to accept. You and yours will always be welcomed and provided for."
Danny simply stood in silent shock, Ellie in a similar state. Draco looked impressed, and Harry and Ron seemed caught between laughter and awe. Hermione smiled and gently placed a hand on Danny's arm, jolting him out of his shock.
"Danny, I believe the polite thing to do here would be to accept Chief Frostbite's oath?"
"Rig- Right. Um. Thank you Frostbite. I- I humbly accept your allegiance. I will work to be worthy of it."
As Frostbite stood up with a knowing smile and pride gleaming from ghostly glowing eyes, Hermione was sure that Danny had long ago proven to be worthy. The moment was unfortunately interrupted when Ron sneezed. Loudly.
"S'rry" Ron sniffed. Frostbite merely chuckled.
"No need to apologize, young magic user. I'm surprised you have lasted this long within the Realms without any side-effects showing."
Worry gripped Hermione's heart in an instant at those words, and she and her friends whipped around to face the Chief.
"Side-effects? What side-effects?" Draco asked quickly.
Frostbite only looked confused. "You didn't know?"
"Know what?" Harry and Ron asked in tandem.
"Well- This is the Infinite Realms. Those of the physical realm can't stay here for long without fading. Just as ghosts will fade if they stay within the physical realm for too long, humans fade if they remain here. But magic users like yourselves..." Frostbite shook his head, "Realm's energy and your intrinsic magic are at odds here. You will fade much faster than ordinary humans, who can sustain themselves here for weeks. It would be wise for you to return to the physical realm soon."
"But-" Danny paused, giving Ellie a confused look over his shoulder, "If that's true then how're you okay? You've been here a whole year!"
"Pfft- And I haven't transformed into my human half since my form stabilized. We figured that since I'm just a bit more ghost than human, it's why my form kept destabilizing in the physical word when I was far away from latent ectoplasm. If Vlad were here, he might've faded by now since he's more human than ghost, but no one's seen or heard from him, so we figured he's still in the physical world. If Frosty is right, and he always is, then we should get your friends back to the physical world soon. You opened a portal here right? Can you open another one?"
"You developed the ability to open stable portals between realms, Great One?"
"Yeah, it-"
"Whoa, whoa!" Ron exclaimed, still looking appropriately freaked out over the information that their ghostly friends seemed only slightly concerned about. "Let's go back to the whole issue of us fading if we stay here too long!"
"And the fact that Danny's been in the physical world, and surrounded by latent magic, for nearly a year and hasn't destabilized or gotten weak or-"
"That is because of the Great One's unique status as a true balance of living and dead within one single being." Frostbite gently cuts Draco off. "His core is a stable source of ectoplasm that allows the Great One to reside within whatever Realm he chooses for as long he wishes."
"Yeah, and that's great and all for me, but I'm not sure I'll be able to control my new portal making power before you guys... um..." Danny turns back to Chief Frostbite. "What will happen if my friends stay here too long?"
Ellie answered for him while simultaneously flicking Danny's ear. "They'll get sick, dummy. Like Vlad with ecto-acne kinda sick."
"Okay... and you're only mentioning this now because?"
"I didn't know that being magical would make them get sick faster. I didn't think we'd be here long enough for the Realms to affect them." Ellie shrugged, but turned worried eyes to Harry as he began coughing roughly. Hermione was grateful to see Danny fully grasp the urgency of the situation then, his expression hardening with determination.
"Alright, it's time to go. Let's see if I can open a portal." Danny squared his shoulders, Ellie flying off him to give him space. He transformed once more into his kingly form, and he raised his hand and closed his eyes in concentration. Hermione held her breath in anticipation, as a spark glinted in Danny's extended palm.
In an instant of astonishing light and terrible power, they were all flattened by a shockwave ripping from Danny's extended hand. As the frozen walls of Chief Frostbite's court trembled, Hermione chanced a glance up only to find a human Danny panting as he lay on his back, wincing lightly with a hand on his chest.
"Ow."
"Perhaps, Great One, you should let your core recover and acclimate to it's new power fully before attempting any strenuous activity?" Frostbite said lightly, lumbering back to his feet. It made Hermione wonder how often Danny must have come here to train that him nearly destroying the Chief's home with a new power was simply brushed off.
Then again, knowing Danny, it probably happened quite often.
Hermione was broken out of her thoughts as she felt a terrible chill crawl up her throat and she began coughing harshly to try and get rid of the horrible feeling.
Draco helped steady her as she stumbled to her feet, and Ron and Harry huddled close, all of them sharing concerned looks.
"Okay then, on to plan B. Frostbite, would you be willing to let us borrow the Infimap to find a natural portal back?" Danny's voice was tinged with worry.
"I'm afraid, Great One, that no natural portals have formed within the Realms since shortly before you went missing. Even with the corrupted portal destroyed, and the High Crown rightfully claimed, the Realms still seem to be drifting apart."
That caught Hermione's attention.
"But I thought it was the veiled portal space that was pushing the physical realm and Infinite Realms apart in the first place? What could be pushing them apart now?" She asked, ever eager and possibly unable to leave a mystery unsolved for long.
"I don't think right now is the time to puzzle that out, Hermione." Draco said pointedly. "We need to find a way out of this place first, then we can try to solve the mysteries of dimensional drifting."
She sighed avoiding Ron's and Harry's gaze. Right. Priorities.
"So, since the Infimap is off the table, and you can't control your new power yet... any ideas Danny? A plan C, maybe?" Ellie asked.
And to Hermione's relief and slight surprise, Danny smiled.
"As a matter of fact-"
.
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Hey guys, sorry for the wait, It took me many headaches and a lot of editing before I was happy with this chapter.
So, hope you enjoyed my attempt at fluff and lots'a lore!
You are welcome to try and guess what Ellie's core affinity is and where the kids are headed next! I'm very excited for the coming arc!