Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or Bleach.

Legend:

"Someone is talking."

'Someone is thinking.'

"A technique is being used."

Chapter Seven:

(Amity Park—Casper High—Hallway)

As Danny, Sam, and Tucker exited their shared Sixth Period class—American History—nearby doors opened before students began to pour out of classrooms. Meeting with their friends in the halls on the way outside to the buses, the students began to talk about what they would be doing this weekend.

Unfortunately, Danny wasn't feeling as excited as the rest of the school was, if the cloud of depression that hung over his head was anything to go by. Today he had realized that, being a Ghost Hunter, he didn't have that much time to study for school.

The long hours of training, and the occasional Ghost coming to raise havoc, his on-going Karate classes, and his recent detentions had taken up most of—if not all of—his free time. As a result of this, his grades had slowly dropped in quality. In fact, if he didn't get an A on his next History project, he would probably flunk American History.

"What are we going to do about him Danny?" Tucker whispered, snapping Danny out of his momentary funk. "We can't just leave him there… what if somebody finds him?"

Danny sighed. He and his friends knew that they couldn't leave that Ghost there, especially with his hatred of bullies.

XXXXXX

(Earlier—Casper High—Hallway near Locker #724)

"It's all groovy."

Danny's eyes narrowed at the sight of the Ghost, numerous cracks quickly racing over his skin, before his skin peeled off and turned into silver ash. The Ghost took a step back in confusion as the ash converged on and consumed Danny in a silver cyclone.

However, seconds later, something shot out of the cyclone and towards the Ghost. Danny's hand slammed against the Ghost's throat as the impact threw them back, where Danny proceeded to slam the Ghost against a locker.

"Gah!"

"Now tell me…" Danny began with a dangerous glint in his eyes. "What is your reason for being here?" He increased his pressure slightly. "Did you come to cause havoc like the others?"

"N-No! I h-hate bullies! I didn't d-do anything!" The Ghost choked out fearfully, hands clawing at the one that threatened to crush his windpipe. "Let… go! I-I can't… breathe!"

Sam stepped forward, right eyebrow raised dubiously. "Why should he? Ever since you Ghosts have started to show up, it's caused us—Danny especially." She crossed her arms. "So why should we just let you go?"

"I-I…" Tears pooled in the edges of the Ghost's eyes as he struggled to breathe. "I can't…" At the end of his rope, the Ghost finally lost his temper. "Document de maître (Master Document)!"

Paper literally exploded out from the Ghost's body, the shockwave being enough to send Danny tumbling back a few feet. He barely got the chance to look out before a giant fist, made out of paper, punched him into a nearby wall.

"Danny!"

The Ghost rubbed his teary eyes, "I asked you to leave me alone but no…" He glared up with glowing eyes. "You had to be a bully!"

Seconds later, Danny appeared above the Ghost with his sword drawn. Swinging it downwards, he managed to cut through a few of the paper sheets that protected the Ghost, only to stop when it was one-fourth the way through them.

Danny didn't have any time to wonder why his sword hadn't gone all the way through, however, as he was punched away by another fist of paper.

"I was picked on my entire life and afterlife because of bullies like you! Document de armes (Paper Weapons)!"

Danny got up from the ground again, wiping the blood that had trickled from the end of his mouth, and looked up. His eyes widened when he saw a dozen 10 foot-long spears made out of paper rocketing towards him.

While he knew that he could avoid those spears—even more so with Chōkasoku—but, when he tried to move, found himself unable. He looked down to see that there was paper encircling his feet and legs, binding them to the floor.

"I've learned a thing or two since I've died…" The Ghost stated with a sad look in his eyes before they narrowed. "Piège papier (Paper Trap) was designed to hold down bullies like you."

"NO!"

From Danny's perspective, Sam seemed to vanish from where she had been standing only to reappear five feet in front of him. He didn't have the time to question how she moved so fast, or why, before Sam reacted.

Sometime during the brief seconds when Sam had disappeared, she had removed her wooden sword from her backpack. She was now using it to block the Ghost paper spears.

Time seemed to slow down as the spears Sam couldn't block moved closer and closer to her body. If Sam had thought about what happened, she would've thought about how odd it was that her wooden sword stood a chance at all. She would've realized that what she was doing was insane and suicidal.

The problem was that all Sam could think about was protecting Danny.

In a blur of movement, Sam took a step backward before she swung her sword towards the spears. The bladeless weapon somehow cut through the paper, cutting them in half, before the spears unraveled into hundreds of paper sheets. Stunned at what she had just done, Sam lowered her weapon, never noticing that her weapon was glowing a faint, teal-like color.

"That is enough!"

Danny, Sam, and the Ghost paused in their impromptu battle before they turned towards the source of the voice; Tucker Foley. Seeing the emotions on their friend's face, Sam and Danny flinched. This wasn't going to go down well.

Having calmed down, the Ghost allowed his paper to dissipate into thin air before he turned to look at the Human teenager.

"I know that we haven't the best track record with Ghosts so far, but that doesn't mean that we should attack and threaten any Ghost that happens to appear Danny! He just wanted to talk to us!" Tucker shouted angrily.

There came a moment of silence before Tucker took in a deep breath, schooled his features, and turned back to the Ghost. "I'm sorry for my friends' reactions to you. It's just that… every time a Ghost shows up, they've tried to cause as much damage as they could."

"… I understand." The Ghost sighed. "From what you say, Ghosts have bullied you cats and caused a lot of trouble…" He looked up. "But, could you at least give us a chance to talk before attacking us?"

Tucker nodded, which caused the Ghost to relax somewhat. Seeing this, Danny felt ashamed and embarrassed over his actions. He could have avoided all of this if he had given the Ghost a benefit of a doubt and actually talked to him—like he had talked to the Lunch Lady.

"I'm really, really sorry about that…" Danny said, looking down as he rubbed the back of his head. "But, it's like you said; Ghosts have 'bullied' us in all our previous encounters." He paused. "Do you think we can try and pretend this never happened?"

The Ghost looked at Danny for a moment, considering it, before he nodded slightly. Danny tried to smile before he extended his hand towards the Ghost somewhat awkwardly.

"My name is Danny Fenton and these are my friends; Sam Manson—" Sam looked up. "—and Tucker Foley." Tucker nodded.

The Ghost looked at them all for a moment before he grasped Danny's hand, "I'm Sidney Poindexter. It's nice to meet you."

"The Sidney Poindexter?" Tucker asked.

"Yes."

Before Tucker could react to the knowledge that the Ghost was indeed Sidney Poindexter, the warning bell rang over the intercom. Startled, Danny, Sam, and Tucker looked at each other for a couple of moments and then paled.

"That was the five minute warning bell… If we don't hurry, we'll be late and then Lancer will be on our cases again." Tucker stated grimly.

Danny grimaced before he turned to Sidney, "Sorry, but we need to get to class. Can we talk to you after class?"

"No problem sweet cats…" Sidney said before he forced a smile on his face. "I'll be here."

Then, before any of the three teenagers could respond, Sidney turned back towards the mirror in Locker #724. Gripping the edges of the locker, he lowered his head and pushed his head against the glass. He soon began to sink into the glass as if it was water.

XXXXXX

(Presently—Amity Park—Near the Main Building)

"Come on." Tucker whispered as he peaked his head past a wall, looking in to the parking lot. "Lancer just left in his car... how can he afford that thing anyway? I thought that teachers didn't—"

Danny and Sam each grabbed one of Tucker's shoulders before they pulled him back, hissing for him to be quiet. Tucker looked at them both for a minute, confused, before he smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry…"

"Let's just get this done, okay?" Danny asked. He looked at his watch. "I have to be home by 4:30..."

Sam and Tucker both nodded. Danny gave them a strained smile before, waiting for the right moment, he leapt out of his hiding spot with his friends hot at his heels. They ran towards the front entrance to their school as stealthily as they could before they silently opened the door. Once the door was opened the trio entered their school and swiftly shut the door behind them.

'I never thought that I would sneak into school.' Danny thought with a small hint of humor.

The three teenagers quickly made their way towards Danny's locker, stopping only when they thought one of the custodial staff was near. There was a couple of close calls here and there, but, otherwise, they didn't run into any trouble.

When they made it to the locker, Danny quickly opened it and looked at the mirror. "Sidney? Are you there?"

The surface of Locker #724's mirror rippled, a green glow encasing it, before one of Sidney's hands shot out of it. His hands grasped the edge of the locker as Danny backed away, before Sidney began to pull himself out of his mirror. When Sidney was out of the mirror, he smiled at them, only for Tucker to frown.

"How did you get so many bruises?" Tucker questioned Sydney.

Tucker's question caused Danny and Sam to look at Sidney. Hours ago, when they had first seen him, he had appeared perfectly healthy, well-groomed, and ready to learn. Now Sidney possessed numerous, dark-gray bruises that ran up and down his arms while his taped-up glasses appeared to have been broken. His clothes were untidy, as if someone had messed with them, while water dripped from his short black hair.

"N-Nowhere! I-I just t-tripped down the stairs…" Sidney lied, looking down. "That's h-how I got them…"

"Then why is your hair wet?" Tucker countered, before his tone softened. "You can tell us if anything happened to you Sidney…"

Sidney froze, but not in fright. He looked at all three teenagers a couple of moments, as if searching for something. After a minute, Sidney averted his gaze from the three and turned towards the mirror. He then looked towards the ground before he took a deep, shuddering breath.

"I wasn't lying when I said I've been bullied in both my life and my afterlife..." Sidney said. "After I d-died... I woke up back in my high school... I didn't know how I had gotten there but... I wanted out... Sometimes, I managed to get o-out... But something always pulled me back. Back to them..."

Sidney then began to explain the stories about him were true; he was bullied throughout his entire high school career. He also explained how, after his death, the bullying continued and grew worse and worse as time progressed. It didn't matter how he tried to run, where he hid, or if he told a teacher; nothing changed.

Sidney wiped his eyes, "... 'Jessica wouldn't do that Sidney.'' He said in a mockery of his former teacher's voice. "'You must be mistaken'..."

"Why didn't you use your powers?" Sam weakly asked.

Sidney laughed at the question. However, this wasn't any ordinary laugh; this laugh was composed of Sidney's bitterness, his pain, and his sorrow. The very sound of it made the Amity Trio's hearts clench, even as fresh tears started to form in Sidney's eyes.

"I can't use my powers in there! It's just like when I was H-Human—I was powerless in life and now I'm powerless in death!".

The full weight of Sidney's statement hit Danny, Sam, and Tucker right then. Sidney had been bullied in both life and death, but today's bullying appeared to be the "straw that broke the camel's back". Sidney attempted to control himself, only to freeze when he heard footsteps. He looked up to see Tucker, Sam, and Danny approaching him, before he felt a pair of slim arms wrap around his shoulders.

"It's okay Sidney." Sam whispered, rubbing his back.

Sidney cryed. Tears flowed from his eyes like twin rivers, only to dissipate before they hit the floor. He cried about the injustices of his life—and his afterlife—holding Sam close to himself as he finally vented. He didn't even notice when Tucker and Danny joined in on the hug, attempting to comfort him.

XXXXXX

(Later—Amity Park—Fenton residence)

After Sidney had finished crying, Tucker offered him a chance to stay at his house for a little while. Sidney had agreed, not wanting to go back into his mirror, before they left the school.

On his way home, Danny contemplated the events of the day. While he may not have experienced the same level of pain as Sidney had, his own experiences with Dash and the football team came to his mind. All the years of abuse and anguish continued to play over and over again in his head, and the pain of his memories were sapping his emotions away. Danny never noticed the slightest bit of ice forming over the tips of his fingers, growing ever colder as more painful memories played behind his eyes.

Then, like the rising sun warming the Earth, memories of Sam and Tucker flew through his mind. Memories of Sam and Tucker standing by his side, helping him up when Dash pushed him down, and all the times they hung out with each other. He remembered his parents holding him close when he was little, comforting him after a nightmare he had. He remembered laughing with his sister, playing with her, and reading with her as their parents were in the lab.

Danny was so lost in his memories that he was surprised to find himself standing on the steps of his home. He looked at the door for a moment before he reached into his pocket for his key and, after opening the door, he walked inside.

He made his way towards the living room, where he could hear his parents chattering. He barely noticed his backpack sliding off of his shoulders, hitting the ground with a 'thump', as he walked into the living room and saw his family. His father was making some exaggerated hand signs to his mother while Jazz tried to ignore him with the help of her book. Danny merely stood there for a while, simply watching like his family, before his father finally took notice of him.

"Hey Dan-O, why are you just standing there?" Jack asked, waving his son forward. "Come join us."

Danny stood there for a few seconds longer, his hair obscuring his eyes, before he started walking forward. Jack's confusion about his son's odd behavior showed on his face before it morphed into surprise. His son had wrapped his arms around him, squeezing him as hard as he could. After a moment, Jack hugged back, just holding his son.

"Dad, Mom, Jazz… I just wanted you guys to know that… I love you." Danny murmured.

Jack's surprise melted away, being replaced by a soft, caring visage. He hugged his son tighter, feeling that his wife and daughter joined into the family hug.

"We know son, we know."

XXXXXX

(Meanwhile—Fenton residence—The lab)

Skulker watched his prey hug his family through one of his many security cameras that he had placed throughout the house. The touching family scene was starting to unearth his memories of his human life.

The strongest of all of his memories was of a small, dark-haired boy wearing an over-sized safari hat and an impossibly wide grin. The boy had a few missing teeth, but that only seemed to make him look more adorable. 'Daddy, one day I'm going to be a great Hunter! I'm going to be the bestest one ever, just like you Daddy!'

Skulker shook his head, dispelling the wayward memory, but he didn't stop watching his prey's interaction with his family. Once it was finished, he sighed before speaking up.

"Computer… erase all footage collected from Cameras 1-A through 1-D today."

Silver, sand-like particles flew from Skulker's body and into the house. They travelled up the stairs of the basement, through the hallways, before attaching itself to the well-hidden security cameras that Skulker had mentioned. Once the sand-like particles had erased the footage, they flew back towards the lab before they merged back with Skulker's body armor.

"Recordings… deleted."

Skulker didn't bother to respond. Instead he turned intangible before he flew out of his prey's residence, towards a nearby roof, before he just stared at the setting sun.

XXXXXX

(Later—Amity Park—The junkyard)

Bright and early the next morning, Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Sidney met in near their 'training grounds' in the junkyard. Speaking of Sidney, he looked much better than he had the night before; his clothes had been fixes, his hair was combed, and he had been given a new pair of glasses by Tucker.

Since it was saturday, none of them had to worry about being late for school, which gave them plenty of time to question Sidney. It was Tucker, who was on the best terms with Sidney, that decided to broach the topic with him. "Hey, Sidney... there are a few things we would like to ask you, if that's okay with you."

Sidney's formerly glum expression brightened slightly. In the past, he had been sought out by his classmates for information or 'help' on their homework when they weren't bullying him. Tucker and his friends, however, were asking him for information instead of demanding it.

"No problemo."

Sam spoke up first with the first of the questions she, Tucker, and Danny had come up with after they had met Sidney. "Sidney, what exactly is a Ghost?"

Sidney's face took on a brief, contemplentive look before he snapped his fingers. He then floate over towards the white boards that Tucker had bought last week and grabbed one of the dry erase markers. Uncapping it, he then sketched a few pictures, which he would be using in his explanation. A couple of minutes passed before Sidney floated off to the side, capping the marker in his hand, and revealed the pictures he had just finished.

The level of detail in Sidney's work was simply amazing, looking as if a professional artist had drawn them. Danny, Sam, and Tucker turned towards Sidney, each wondering the same did he learn to draw so well?

Sidney pointed at the drawing of a man with the wings of an angel, baring no face. Around this faceless angel were four different colored circles, each with a detailed landscape inside of them.

One circle was colored blue and had what looked like an old-fashioned town with shadowy people inside of it. The next circle was a dark red color, with a hellish looking landscape made out of towers of fire and rivers of molten lava. The third was circled an almost neon-green, its landscape an odd mix of black and green, with a few floating islands doting the horizon. The fourth and final circle was colored black with a desert of endless, white-colored sand and a full moon in the sky.

For some reason, that final circle drew Danny's attention. He felt a sense of familiarity, and felt as if he should have known what that final circle represented.

"The first thing you guys have got to understand is what happens to a person's soul when he or she dies." Sidney said before he gestured towards the green circle. "As the soul 'passes on', the memories of the soul flow into the Ghost Zone. There, it merges with Ectoplasm." Seeing their confused looks, Sidney decided to elaborate a bit more. "Ectoplasm is a substance unique to the Ghost Zone, which is made out of Ectoplasm. It is attracted to emotions such as anger, joy, happiness, sadness, and jealousy—which the memories of the soul creates."

Sam was confused. While she could understandd that there were four different "after lives", she couldn't really understand how memories could form emotions. Didn't a part of the human brain do that? "Wait... how can memories form emotions?"

"The memories have a copy of the soul that created them and, in the Ghost Zone, those memories are enfused with enough Reiatsu—Spiritual Energy—to give the memories 'life'. Now 'alive' the memories will begin to produce emotions which will then draw nearby Ectoplasm towards them... kinda like gravity, in a way."

Sidney then gestured to a picture of a tall, humanoid Ghost with blood-red eyes. This Ghost was wearing black shirt, black pants, and wore a blood-red cape. He also wore what looked to be a flaming crown, silver boots, and a belt with a skull-and-crossbones buckle. Behind this Ghost was a large, rounded doorway that appeared to be made out of marble. It had a series of intricate designs on it, depicting different regions of the Earth, and a scribble of foreign language at the top of it.

"Once a Ghost has been formed, it subconsciously uses its control over Ectoplasm to create its own 'Lair'. This Lair is unique to each and every Ghost and will have a special signifigance to it and be as large as the Ghost wishes it to be..." Sidney explained before he pointed to the drawing of the red-eyed Ghost and the marble archway. "That is what the Ghost King, Pariah Dark, and the entrance to his Lair are supposed to look like."

This tidbit of information both startled and intrigued the three teenagers. "The Ghost Zone has a ruler?"

"No, it doesn't. Well, it did... a long time ago." Sidney answered. "When I got out of the school and before I was d-dragged back, I only heard a few mentions of him. Something happened to him and then he disappeared, leaving the Ghost Zone without a ruler. I mean, I've heard that Ghosts have tried to take over as King but... they were never able to take his throne."

"Do you know what happened to the Ghost King, Sidney?" Sam asked, curious.

Sidney looked away, "Well... I don't know the specifics about what happened... but I do know what Ghosts now-a-days think what happened..." He frowned. "But, to understand what happened, you cats need to know about the other three realms first." He took a breath. "Each realm is host to a different 'breed, if you will, of spiritual beings and are ruled by beings with a vast amount of power that dwarfs even the strongest of that realm's 'breed'."

"The blue realm is host to beings who help facilitate the flow of souls into the separate realms, and they are ruled by a being known as 'The Soul King'." Sidney explained informatively. "The black realm is for souls that have lost themselves to their sadness or anger, and have some sort of 'mask' covering their faces. They have three rulers; the Three Hollow Lords; Baraggan Louisenbairn the 'Time Lord', Gilgamesh Dissidia the 'Master of Dimensions', and Alexander Fantasma the 'Energy Sage'. Then there's the green realm, the Ghost Zone."

Sidney pointed at the red circle. "The red realm is where Hell is located. This is where the souls of the damned go. Here the souls of people who commit sins in their life go to be punished for their actions. No one knows the leader's name but everyone refers to him as The First." He paused. "The Ghost Zone, as I have said, is where the forgotten memories go to and become Ghosts. It used to be ruled by the Ghost King, Pariah Dark."

"Many years ago the fours realms used to live in balance with each other, no one realm had the power to fight the others. That is until the Realm War; The First desired the other realms for himself so he released the forces of hell onto the Human World. The other three realms formed a truce and fought against the forces of Hell. Eventually the Soul King and Alexander fought The First and defeated him in battle. For a while after that it seemed as though a lasting was formed between the three other realms but this was a lie."

Sidney drew a picture of three different armies fighting against each other. "Then not even a year later the three realms declared war on each other for some unknown reason. The three realms went to battle with each other with all of their forces. The war was said to have lasted for decades until the unthinkable had occurred. All of the masters of the realms were defeated; two of the Three Hollow Lords were slain while the third was crippled by his own power and arrogance. The Soul King retreated to his own dimension. Finally, King Pariah disappeard. Like I said, because I wasn't around during therule, I'm not sure of many of the details."

Danny, Sam, and Tucker sat there in silence for a few minutes, each of them trying to absorb the large amount of information Sidney had given them. Their preconceptions of the afterlife had been shattered by what they just learned, and frankly the idea of a war between three separate realms of the afterlife sounded like it came from some biblical nightmare.

Unfortunately it wasn't over yet; Danny had one more question for Poindexter that had been plaguing him ever since he had come out of the Ghost Portal. "Sidney I have another question for you." Sidney turned. "What am I?"

"You're an Arrancar." Sidney said. Then, seeing the eager expressions on their faces, he continued. "Arrancar are what the Spiritual Beings in the black realm can become after they have torn off their 'mask'. I know this becuase... I m-met one before..." Sidney looked down. "It was the most frightening experience in my afterlife and the r-reason I believed Arrancar were a bunch of bullies..."

Danny looked up at Sidney, not sure if he wanted the Ghost to continue or not. He remembered back to fight, how Sidney's eyes had widened at the sight of his Arrancar form. Sidney must've remembered the other Arrancar he had fought when he saw him. "Sidney—"

"It happened one of the times I had managed to get out of the school... I put too much energy into the mirror and it propelled me far away from Casper High... I woke up in a park and the air twisted and h-he appeared..." Sidney took a shuddering breath. "I tried to fight him off but he... he was too powerful for me. He started... started to hurt me...!"

At this point, pearly white tears had begun to fall from Sidney's eyes. He was caught up in his memory over what had happened and now unable to stop, even if had wanted to. Seeing this, Tucker got up and rushed over to help Sidney out. Not a moment later, Danny and Sam got up and went to help as well.

"After a while, he g-got bored and suddenly t-transformed into this t-thing! I couldn't keep up at all and he kept hurting me! No matter what I did, he somehow got past it and swung his scythes at me..." He palmed his face with his hands, holding back a wail. "There was b-blood everywhere!"

Sam wrapped her arms around Sidney while Danny and Tucker patted his back.

"I-I finally got away after he stopped and ran... H-He followed, yelling at me... I turned int-intangible and kept running u-until I couldn't run anymore." Sidney recanted. "When I next w-woke up, I was back in my school... they were waiting for me..."

At that point, Sidney stopped talking as his repressed emotions overwhelmed him. He clung to the comfort the three teenagers were providing him, feeling that, if he let go, he would be lost forever.

"P-please…! Please don't send me back t-there! I… I can't…! I w-won't!"

Danny let go of Sidney, ignoring the Ghost's whimper, before he walked over to his forgotten backpack. He bent down, opened it, and rummaged in it for a moment. He then stood up, the pilfered mirror of Locker #724 under his arm, and walked out of the shed.

When he was outside , Danny transformed into his Arrancar form. He then proceeded to throw the mirror as high as he could, already charging his only offensive attack. As the mirror began to fall towards the earth, Danny released his technique. His sphere of ice-blue energy transformed into a large, blue beam that flew towards the mirror.

'Cero.'

When the ice-blue energy beam hit the mirror of Locker 724, time seemed to slow down. Faint cracks appeared on the mirror, the frame around the mirror vaporized, before the mirror exploded into millions of tiny pieces.

Omake #1: Why it is taking Tier so long to Find Danny;

(California—Anaheim—Disneyland)

"AAAAARRRGGGHHHH!" Apacci yelled. "What are we doing here?"

Apparently, all of the family fun and togetherness were beginning to grate on the dark blue-haired Arrancar. This was supported by the fact her eyes were twitching, and she was gripping her Zanpakuto tightly.

It had been one week since they had entered the Human World, and the first place they had travelled to was the sugary-sweet theme park known as Disneyland. Everything here seemed to get Apache angry, and want to kill something.

"Well, if you bothered to remember, then you would recall that we are on a mission to find an unknown Arrancar." Mila Rose answered in a chiding tone, eating some cotton candy.

"Shut up Mila Rose." Apacci responded.

Sung-Sun came up behind her two comrades, holding a Goofy doll close to her chest. "My, my… I would've thought that you would enjoy this place… since you act like a child all the time."

"Dama Harribel, shouldn't we go…" Apacci asked, ignoring Sung-Sun's jibe. "I mean, it's obvious that we're the… only… Arrancar… here...?"

Apacci trailed off when she saw her commanding officer standing there, with a pair of Mickey Mouse ears on top of her head. She was also wearing a Mickey Mouse T-shirt, gloves, and blue shorts.

"We need to be through Apacci. So… I think we need to spend another six hours here…" Tier put a finger onto her chin. "Or until the fireworks parade ends…"

Apacci dropped to the ground, crying anime tears as her beloved commander went off to go get her picture taken with Tinkerbelle and Peter Pan.

"CURSE YOU WALT DISNEY!"

Poindexter's Encyclopedia:

Sidney Poindexter walked into the room, followed by a middle-aged Ghost wearing a long purple cloak.

"Hello everyone and welcome to today's episode of 'Poindexter's Encyclopedia'! I'm here with my very special guest Clockwork, the fabled 'Ghost of Time'." Sidney said as cheers erupted from the audience. "He is going to help me as we talk about our current subject; the Rulers of the Realms."

The blue-skinned Ghost, Clockwork, smiled at Sidney before he turned back towards the audience. As he did this, he shifted into his child form.

"Thank you Sidney, it's an honor to be here. Anyways, these are the Rulers of the Realms." Clockwork said, gesturing towards the projectors.

An image of Pariah Dark, the Ghost King, appeared on one projector. He was sitting on an elegant, white throne made from the purest marble. A hundred different, ancient-looking Ghosts were standing nearby to their king, looking at him with warm expressions on their faces

On another projector were three figures each wearing a raggedy cloak of some kind; one was wearing the cloak like royal garments and what looked like a crown upon his head. Next to that one was a massive being easily fifteen feet tall with multiple arms that were gripping it's cloak to itself. The final figure on the screen was much smaller than the other two, only the size of a full grown man. This figure was sitting in a relaxed position with his legs crossed and his chin leaning on his hand with it's cloak draped over it's shoulders.

The next screen showed a person that was engulfed in flames but didn't seem to be in any pain. The figure wore a deep crimson red jacket that obscured his entire body from view. He wore a white crown slash mask that resembled the flame of a roaring inferno. The mask had no mouth but in the place of eyes were two Jets that were as black as the starless sky. The figure wore a pair of wicked looking clawed gauntlets that were dripping with blood. Looped around the man's neck and down his attached to his claws was a brilliant golden chain that had ancient etchings drawn onto them. The ends of the chains were shattered and hung uselessly on the figure's body. Finally the man had a black and red medieval padlock attached to the chains that were just below his neck.

The fourth and final screen showed the outline of a man. Looking closer, one could tell that he was wearing a black cloak with a red interior while he held a nodachi in his hands. The only other noticeable thing about him was the scowl on the man's face.

"These are the six Rulers of the Realms. Each of them were the rulers of their own worlds, with Pariah Dark being the Ghost King." Clockwork said as he stood looking at the image of Pariah Dark.

"Pariah was the light in a time of darkness… He was kind to everyone he met, a brilliant strategist, and knew how to win people over…" Clockwork said, before he changed into his adult form. "He used these skills to establish a government in the Ghost Zone, and he was chosen by the Observants to become king…" Clockwork then turned his attention to the projection with the tree figures.

"Baraggan Louisenbairn, Gilgamesh Dissidia, and Alexander Fantasma were the three Hollow Lords. Each of them ruled over a third of Hueco Mundo; Baraggan ruled the earth, Gilgamesh ruled over the skies, and Alexander ruled over the oceans. Together they created an empire where the souls of the lost could live together in happiness and peace." Then clockwork looked at the figure bathed in fire with a scowl on his face.

"The First, as his name had been lost to time, was the ruler of the Hell Dimension. Once upon a time The First was one of the closest companions of the Soul King, until his greed got the better of him. He tried to kill the Soul King and take his kingdom for himself but he was swiftly defeated in battle. Unable to kill his former friend the Soul King could not deliver the final strike so he did the next best thing. He sealed The First away into an alternate dimension. Eventually though, The First broke the chains that bound him and recreated the dimension into his own image. It became a place where all sinners go to be punished." Then Clockwork turned his attention to the final screen.

"The Soul King was the man who created a system to help keep the balance, and make sure that souls got to the afterlife. He taught other souls how to use spiritual energy so that the balance could be maintained and they could protect what was important to them."

At this point, Clockwork paused. His features became sad and he looked away from the audience, shifting into an old man as the anger in his voice was easily heard.

"Eventually The First made his return to the World of the Living with his armies to seize control of all the realms. The other three realms banded together and defeated The First, sealing him away into his own dimension." It was here that Clockworks tone became heavy with sorrow. "Then for reasons unknown, the Rulers of the Realm went to war against each other. This war eventually led to the fall of Pariah Dark, the slaying of two Hollow Lords while the third became insane, and the retreat of the Soul King…"

"LOOK MADDIE! ANOTHER GHOST!

'Wha—' Clockwork thought, before he was wacked in the back of the head.

"Thanks for distracting him honey." Maddie said, standing behind Clockwork with a frying pan. "It really helped." She pulled out a cookie. "Now, have a cookie."

Techniques:

1. Document de maître (Master Document): Sidney Poindexter's power. It allows him to control all forms of paper as well as create paper out of his own Reaitsu.

2. Document de armes (Paper Weapons): Using his Document de maître, Sidney is able to shape paper into a variety of different weapons. If coated with his Reiatsu, these weapons are capable of cutting through steel.

3. Piège papier (Paper Trap): Using his Document de maître, Sidney can create paper that will 'crawl' over to an opponent before it will wrap around his/her legs and feet. As more time passes, the paper will travel upwards, further restraining the target.

A/N: Author's Note: This chapter was updated as of 6/16/2012.