Haha… you all know how I said this shouldn't take more than five parts? Yeah. It's going to take six. I could have kept it at five but honestly, this part and the next one are much better off when they're separate. And I actually finished the other part earlier today, so it'll be up whenever I edit it. Which could be anywhere from a day to a month.

*Shrugs intensify* We just don't know.

So here's part 4; in which Elijah explains a few of the technicalities of this world and Danny makes yet another bad decision.


Part 4;

Elijah had had done something which he referred to as 'turning intangible' and Danny had plummeted off the balcony. Despite the fact that he'd floated gently to the ground, Danny was strongly starting to reconsider this plan. Yelling for Vlad was quickly becoming more appealing.

"Enter that forest," Elijah ordered. "There should be a small clearing about seven minute walk away, which will do well for our needs. And avoid Blood Blossoms this time, please."

Danny nodded, "Right, uh, those are flowers." He yawned, "…Those things are flowers, right?"

Elijah confirmed it, and Danny nearly walked into a tree branch. In hindsight, wandering off into the forest in the middle of the night was probably not his best plan. He was exhausted.

The ground was uneven, and every other minute Danny nearly tripped over some root he hadn't seen. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered what Vlad was doing. The man definitely knew something about Danny's current situation. How had he reacted when he noticed that Danny was missing?

For a moment, Danny had a mental image of the billionaire running around and shouting his name. He winced and whispered an apology. I never meant for any of this to happen.

"What in Ghost Zone are you muttering about now?"

"Uh…" Danny cleared his throat, "Just… what sort of portal we'll be using to get there. Because like, if it's as big as my parents' one-"

"Don't be absurd," Elijah scoffed, "That was a fluke, and is highly unstable. No, the natural portals are much, oddly enough, safer than that horrifying creation your parents made."

"Horrifying?" Danny barely avoided being whacked in the face with an evergreen branch. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You didn't think a portal of that size and lack of stability was natural, did you?"

Danny resisted the urge to point out that none of this was natural to him. "What do you mean, lack of stability?"

"I mean it's unstable. Do I need to spell this out for you? It's been draining the Ghost Zone of energy since its creation." He seemed to speak quieter for a moment, which was odd considering that Danny was the only one who could hear him. "And though our wonderful King and Time Master won't admit it, they know just as well as I do who is behind it."

"Who?" Danny found himself whispering as well, not even bothering to question what Elijah had meant by ghosts having a monarch and whatever a Time Master was. "Is… is it Phantom?"

"Hm. That would not surprise me; that brat has a tendency to ruin everything he touches." Elijah hesitated before continuing, "No, the being who caused that portal to reach such a level- and stole your parents away from you, my friend- is named Clockwork."

"Clockwork," Danny repeated, stopping for a moment. "That portal is Clockwork's fault?"

"Yes. Few other beings would be powerful enough to do such a thing, and it would explain the lack of information surrounding it. The King is attached to him since they formed together, and our current Time Master is a coward."

"Time Master?" Danny continued walking, in a different direction now to avoid crossing a stream. "Um, what's that?"

"It was once a noble and honourable position that only those truly worthy could obtain. Not only was it required that you be the most intelligent and skilled being among the possible candidates, but you must also be able to handle the power contained in the staff. Few ghosts could do it, though many of us tried. I was one of the three who worked under the previous Master of Time who could. The other four- including that disgrace- were too weak, and not allowed to try for fear of seriously damaging their cores." For a moment his tone changed, not remotely close to the careful tone he'd been using before. He sounded almost like someone talking about a fond memory. "Another of them was Gwen."

"Gwen?" Danny took a running start and jumped across the stream, slipping on the opposite bank and throwing his arms out to support him. As the laid there in the mud, Danny strongly considered closing his eyes and just going to sleep.

Elijah meanwhile didn't seem to care about the exhausted teen he inhabited, and continued his story. "Yes, Gwen. She was… extraordinary, we shall say. Highly intelligent and incredibly skilled with a sword, she truly was one of a kind. Her only flaw was that she was much too kind to inform Clockwork of how much she hated him. We all did, of course; he was unstable, and I don't just mean his core."

Danny made the executive decision that he was too tired to protest or care. If Elijah wanted to tell him his life story and all about his weird crush, then he could do that.

"It was many years before I was able to rescue her from that monster. I had, after all, made my dislike of him rather obvious early on. She took quite well to being part of my group, of course, as anyone would." He sounded smug for a second. Danny had a brief, mental vision of getting his fist stuck in the ghost when he tried to punch him. He wrinkled his nose and stood up, stumbling slightly as he continued forwards. "We had a few wonderful years together before he stole them away from us. He attacked her in a fit of rage, and when I tried to defend my lovely he damaged my core. It's taken me perhaps two thousand years to reform myself into this disgusting thing, and it is all the fault of that waste of ectoplasm!"

"Yikes," Danny yawned, "That sounds… fun."

"Are you mocking me, my friend?"

"No, no," A branch whacked him in the face and Danny hissed in pain. A sharp part had caught his lip and he could taste blood. "I just… portal, right? Portal, go home-"

"If you are truly exhausted, I could resume control."

"No," Danny said as firmly as he could. "It's my body. I'm in control." He moved into a large clearing, crossing from one side to the other.

"Then I would appreciate if you listened to my words. Clockwork is dangerous, and as soon as we enter the Ghost Zone you will be at risk. If he has reason to believe I'm still in existence he will attack ruthlessly and show no mercy. You will not be spared for helping me."

Gee, thanks for telling me ahead of time. "Great," Danny wiped the blood off his lip, trying to ignore the feeling which prickled at his skin. Nobody's standing behind me. That's ridiculous. It's probably like, an owl or something.

"Daniel."

Danny yelped and spun on his heel, turning to face Vlad Masters. "I- um, I- I can-"

"Explain yourself?" Vlad asked, seeming to raise an eyebrow. It was hard to tell in the dim light. "Don't bother, Daniel, did you honestly believe I wasn't aware you'd run away?"

"Abomination," Elijah hissed.

"How…" Danny stepped back, closer to the trees. "How did you know I would be here?"

"It's common sense, dear boy. You plan on entering the Ghost Zone," Vlad moved forwards, attempting to cross the clearing and reach Danny's side. "Am I wrong?"

"I- I need to save my parents!" Danny burst out, "They're still there, they're still in the Ghost Zone, they're just stuck or something but they're okay! I know because I've seen them!" His hands ran through his hair, almost pulling out fistfuls at a time before they dropped back to his side. "I have to help them. I'm the only one who can."

"Daniel," His tone was much softer now, and he barely moved as he spoke. "Was it the same being who threatened your sister that told you this?"

"No, no he showed me-" He sucked in a breath, "I can't explain it. But they're there. I saw them."

"They are not," Vlad said, "I have searched the entire Ghost Zone for any trace of them. I have eyes and ears all around it. Your parents are gone, Daniel, and the sooner you accept it-"

"Shut up," Danny cut him off. "Shut up shut up shut up shut up! They're not gone! I saw them! I saw them!" His eyes stung with tears that he was trying desperately to hold in. "You- you're just human! You don't know what that place is like! You- you can't have gone in there and even if you did, then you missed a spot! You missed a spot and they're there! They're there! They're alive! Elijah wouldn't lie to me about them!"

The older man stopped, "Elijah? That's his name, then?"

Danny could feel the ghost pulling at the corners of his mind and his eyes starting to sting. Danny fought back, clenching his fists as if that would somehow help him hold on. "No. It's my body, you don't get to use it, you don't get to-"

"You truly don't care about your sister's welfare, do you?"

"Shut- shut up- we had a deal so just shut up-"

Vlad took several steps forward, but his attempt to reach Danny was cut off as the clearing twisted around them. Sparks flew through the air and a circle of twisting green sprung out from around them. Danny stared at it for a few moments, reaching out a hand.

"A portal," He whispered. It was nothing like the one back in Amity; it was smaller, and the edges shivered. It seemed to move closer to him. Mom, Dad… I'm coming.

"Daniel," Vlad said, moving forwards once again. He was nearly at Danny's side now. "Get away from that thing. Natural portals are unstable, don't touch it-"

"Sorry," Danny whispered and took a running leap in.

For a moment, he was suspended in a tunnel of green. And then it fell apart, bits of white eating away at the edges. Danny ran forwards, through the other end, and fell. Several moments later, he became aware of the fact he was lying face down on a large purple patch of ground.

Danny pushed himself up, trying to make sense of the world around him. It wasn't like Elijah had shown him, not exactly, but it was close enough and it was real.

His chest twisted and heaved, and Danny screamed as Elijah forced them apart. It was strange to see the ghost in person again, and the fact that he seemed much more solid than before did little to calm Danny's hammering heart.

"Ah, my friend," Elijah held out a hand, helping Danny to his feet. "I must apologize for the events that occurred over the last two days. Self-preservation is a very powerful instinct, and you were the only thing keeping me from destabilizing. You understand, of course?"

"Yeah," Danny said, his voice barely more than a whisper. He did, in some twisted way. It made a lot more sense than it should.

"You look exhausted," His too-sweet tone, once the bane of Danny's existence, was now oddly comforting. "It will take much too long to reach your home. I have a place that is much closer; would you like to rest there?"

Danny nodded. Sleep… sleep would be good. He yawned, stumbling a bit.

"Look at you," Elijah said, "Hm, I suppose that we'll be resting for a lot longer than a day. But before we do that, I think we should prevent any other portals from forming. We don't want that abomination to follow us, do we? Use your blood, draw the symbol I'm thinking of on the ground. Come on, chop chop."

Nodding again, Danny raised his right hand to his mouth and bit down on the tip of his right middle finger.

He couldn't remember the rest.


Thoughts?