DANNY PHANTOM: THIS TIME AROUND

DIAMOND GRYPHON

DATE: 7/4/08

DISCLAIMER: I never owned, do not currently own, and will not own Danny Phantom or any of its characters. Really.

Chapter 7

Sonadora had quickly ushered Danny into a room deeper in her lair. "Now it is time that I told you, and I don't wish for him to overhear."

Danny sighed, but let the vague statement pass. She had promised to explain, after all.

Sonadora hovered in the middle of the room, her ghostly tail flickering back and forth nervously. Danny sat down on the ever-present cushions and waited for her to start.

"You know that one of the Ancients, Claustro, has passed on." She began. "What I have not yet told you is who is responsible. It takes a very powerful ghost to destroy an Ancient. In fact, it is almost impossible for them to be destroyed by anything other than another Ancient."

Sonadora shuddered involuntarily.

"Mortan's job was to destroy the ghosts that the Council decided were too violent even to be locked up. We rarely called on him, we felt it was too cruel to destroy ghosts entirely. He eventually declared that we had become too merciful and decided to take matters into his own hands.

"Claustro tried to stop him, but you saw how well he fared with that."

Danny nodded, nearly retching at the thought of what was left of the Ancient.

"After he killed Claustro, Mortan stole his ectoplasm to power up himself. Around that time, Clockwork sent you to gather the Ancients. You went to Mortan first, and he saw it as his great opportunity."

Knowing that she was talking about the visit that caused him to lose his memory, Danny paid rapt attention.

"Do you know what ectoplasm is made from?"

He shook his head.

"It is made from two things. One is the memories of humans; the other is fellings and thoughts. The reason, young Halfa, that you are so powerful is that your human form is constantly experiencing and feeling new sensations and creating new memories. The rest of the ghosts must rely on the energy of the Ghost Zone or the fear of humans, they cannot generate their own."

Danny thought that over for a minute. "You said memories . . ."

"Yes, Mortan decided to use you as a battery. He drained you of your memories and feelings. Feelings you can recreate, memories you cannot. He decided to keep you for a while, 15 years, in order to bleed as much as he could out of you."

15 years as a living battery? Danny winced. He was glad he didn't remember that. "So why did he let me go?"

Sonadora blinked in surprise at the question. "I do not know. It could be because he felt that he had gained all he could from you or he might have found it inconvenient to keep you in storage for so long. I do not presume to understand how his twisted mind works."

Danny merely shrugged. The answer wouldn't have helped that much anyway. "How did you learn about what happened to me? Clockwork didn't even know and he claims to know everything."

A smile formed at the corner of her mouth. "I commend you for your excellent questions. I have acquired this information from a very reliable source.

"Mortan was not merely in charge of destroying evil ghosts, but also supervised the deaths of those in the human realm."

"So he's the Grim Reaper?" Danny cocked his head. "The myths had to come from somewhere I guess."

"Not quite. While he does carry a scythe, he could more aptly be described as the ruler of all Reapers. He did not participate in the releasing of human souls. He just supervised the many who did."

"You're using the past tense."

"Indeed. The Reapers, or more accurately Collectors, under his command were not happy with Mortan's murder of his fellow Ancient. They continue to do their job, but no longer report to him. Collectors are elusive creatures at the best of times, but I managed to contact one of them to gather the information I have since relayed to you."

"I see." He processed the information for couple of minutes. The Ancient waited, but started to twirl her scepter impatiently. After scanning his brain for more questions, Danny realized he was only delaying the inevitable. "What's my role in this?"

"You must travel back to Clockwork and inform him of Mortan's betrayal. He has gained too much power to be defeated by any one of us alone. We must gather what remains of the Council to stop him. I will gather Faberan and meet you at the Clockwork's tower. Together, the three of us should be able to formulate a plan."

"So all I have to do is play messenger boy again?"

Sonadora smiled, showing off her long canines. "We will take care of Mortan on our own. After that you may go back to defending your precious city."

Danny stood up from the cushions and stretched. "When should I leave?"

Happy Independence Day! I'm really sorry that you guys had to wait almost a whole year for me to get my butt in gear and actually finish this chapter. I've got the whole summer ahead of me and plan to be taking advantage of that. Expect more frequent updates and some more interesting scenes as the story works towards the climax. I'm sorry about how short this is, but I really had to stretch to even get it this long. I'll try harder next time.

As always, I really love reviews.

-Gryph