Chapter Forty-Three: Training

Dan stood in front of Vlad's Ghost Portal, Vlad standing by the door watching. He held up his arm and unfastened the bracelet, releasing his ghost powers from their shackle and changing into his hazmat suit and snowy hair. Grinning, he set it down on a desk in the lab and nodded to Vlad. "I'll be back."

"Plasmius will be supervising at a distance. If he thinks you're having trouble against the weaker ghosts, he'll pull you back." Vlad replied. "Be careful, little badger."

Dan nodded and then flew into the activated portal. Plasmius waited a few minutes before following.

It wasn't hard to find the young half-ghost. Aside from Walker, he was the only white and black ghost in here. He flew around, looking in one door and another.

"C'mon, where are you?" He murmured. "Don't tell me he's out haunting Amity Park right now."

"So, you DO live!" He heard a voice say. Smiling a bit, Dan turned to see Skulker behind him. "We were starting to wonder if you had been killed, whelp." Skulker continued.

"No, not really." Dan looked at his glove thoughtfully. "Well, kind of." He scowled a bit, clenching his fist. "My human form, Danny, was ripped from me and murdered."

"Really?" Skulker raised an eyebrow. "And yet, you don't seem to have lost your humanity."

"Well, I have as much human in me as he had ghost in him." Dan replied, then looked at him fully. "You haven't seen the Box Ghost around, have you?"

"No, and I hope to not encounter him again for some time." Skulker scowled.

"Oh. Well, you'll do." Dan clapped his hands together and blasted him with an ecto-blast, knocking him backwards.

"And what will I 'do' for?" Skulker asked, recovering quickly and coming towards Dan again.

Dan grinned. "Misplaced aggression." He fired at him again, then flew after him when he flew back, slamming a kick and then a punch into him. "You see, ever since Danny died, I've been PISSED OFF!" He spun around and hit him with a stronger kick. "And I need to vent on someone."

Skulker fired back, forcing Dan to dodge out of the way before blasting at him again. Skulker dodged and counter-attacked, knocking Dan against a door.

"Oh…my head." Dan groaned, holding his head. He gasped as Skulker pinned him and then a large knife was in front of him. "Oh, great."

"Skulker!" Plasmius flew over and halted behind him. "That one is MINE." He growled, forming ecto-blasts in his hands.

"…Right, of course he is." Looking dejected, Skulker pulled away and flew off to his lair.

Dan watching Skulker go, then looked at his savior. "Thanks, Pla—" He cried out sharply as a harsh backhand sent him flying to the side. "W-What was that for?!"

"What if I wasn't here?!" Plasmius demanded. "You don't have the added benefit of Daniel's human strength to add to your own strength, so you're weaker! You lost to that hunter FAR too easy!" He grabbed Dan's wrist and pulled him along. "We're going back."

"Hey, no!" Dan tried to pull free. "I'm not ready to go home yet!"

"Then you'll start your meditation early." Plasmius smirked at him. "Your choice, Phantom."

Dan cringed. As boring as meditation sounded, he didn't want to go home yet. He just knew that Plasmius would have his way with him again as punishment for losing against Skulker. "I'll…I'll meditate."

"Good boy." Plasmius spun around and pulled him a different direction, taking him past all the places that Dan recognized.

"Uh, where are we going?" Dan asked.

"When I first got my powers and discovered this place, I avoided all of the other ghosts and made my own little lair." Plasmius explained. "We're going there, and until you're strong enough to create your own, you will be doing your meditation there."

"But I don't need to—"

"You are distracted and weak with the loss of Daniel." Plasmius interrupted sharply. "I will not have you wandering loose and unsupervised in the Ghost Zone until I know you can survive without me!"

"…Okay." Dan glanced to the side, letting him tug him along. He saw gears as they flew by and looked around. "Clockwork. I could ask him—"

"Remember, I already ask him if things could be changed for you." Plasmius replied. "He said things were as they should be."

"No, not that!" Dan shook his head, then sighed. "Nevermind. Stupid idea, anyway…"

Plasmius was silent for a bit before he nodded. "Yes. Stupid idea."

"Were you reading my mind again?!" Dan demanded.

"Yes." They passed the gears and reached a fancy-looking door. "We're here."

"Of course this one is yours." Dan muttered. Plasmius apparently didn't appreciate his comment, since he threw him in and watched him land on his head before falling on his back.

"Owww!" Dan groaned in pain, then righted himself as Plasmius entered and shut the door. "What was that for?"

"Walk up the path and go to the castle there." Plasmius pointed up to a looming dark castle and Dan cringed.

"Do I have to?"

"Go." Plasmius said firmly.

Dan sighed and turned, starting to lift into the air. A blast knocked him to the ground again. "Oww!"

"I said WALK up the path!" Plasmius scolded. "Just because we are in the Ghost Zone, it doesn't mean my rules are obsolete!"

"Sorry." Dan slowly got up and walked up the winding path, Plasmius walking right behind him.

As he walked, he realized he wasn't getting any closer to the castle. Grunting, he started to run for the castle, but it STILL seemed just as far away! Stopping to rest, he glared up at Plasmius over his shoulder. "Okay. What's the trick?"

"Trick?" Plasmius asked calmly.

"Why is the castle still so far away? It feels like I've been walking for hours, I should be there by now!" Dan looked back at the castle.

"Do you really feel that way?" Plasmius asked.

"Uh, yeah!" Dan turned to him.

Plasmius looked amused. "You've only been walking ten minutes. I wonder if all the time in my bed has made your body weak? It seems even a short walk has you exhausted – no wonder Skulker defeated you so easily."

Dan blushed green and turned away. "Ten minutes? But…"

"Keep walking. You'll reach it if you keep walking." Plasmius assured him.

Dan nodded, walking on. He heard Plasmius walking only a few feet behind him and looked behind him to see the older half-ghost's hands clasped behind his back. When Dan turned to him, he made a "turn around" motion and pointed at the castle again.

"Can't I take a break?" Dan asked, glancing over his shoulder at Plasmius as he walked on.

"When you have reached the castle, you may." Plasmius replied. "Then you will meditate for five hours before we walk back out."

"You've got this all planned out." Dan groaned. "I'd rather fight a dozen of you than do all this walking!"

"Phantom," Plasmius used that scolding tone again. "by having a stronger body you will have a stronger mind and stronger powers. At the moment, you can't fight for long without nearly passing out. Losing Daniel has taken away much of your physical strength and the grief is tearing at your mental power. By doing 'all this walking', you are simultaneously strengthening your body and your body is absorbing ecto-energy the longer you stay in here."

"So, how can I fix the 'mental power'?" Dan asked.

"For one, you can release the grief. You are more than just a ghost, Phantom. You are human enough to move on." Plasmius stopped and so Dan stopped and turned to him. "It will be difficult, but it can be done."

"…Right." Dan glanced to the side. "I'll remember that, Plasmius." He turned to go and walked on, Plasmius walking on behind him.

"You must. As Skulker said, you still have your humanity." Plasmius replied. "Look forward; is the castle not closer than before?"

Dan blinked and looked up. It was true, he was a lot closer now. "I don't get it, why am I moving so fast now?"

"It's not that you're moving fast, it's that you've stopped thinking about how much time has been spent. Dread can make you feel slow and sluggish, and doubt can make it impossible to reach your goal. When you let go of both, or get distracted, things go much smoother." Plasmius replied.

"Oh." Dan nodded. "So, if I stop doubting myself, I can use my abilities properly?" He asked.

"You dread being unable to defeat your ultimate foe when the time comes, and doubt that you can ever be powerful enough to defeat him." Plasmius nodded. "If you stop doubting your own abilities and especially stop thinking 'Danny would' or 'Danny wouldn't' about everything, then you can move on and be yourself and grow stronger!"

Dan bowed his head, thinking deeply as he continued to walk up the path.