Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Danny Phantom, I'm a big fan and was feeling nostalgic.

~Chapter 4~

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Owen tried several different methods of 'waking up' but nothing was working because aside from the tiny memory fragments floating around him there was LITERALLY nothing here to work with! No matter how far he ran, all Owen found was an unbroken darkness besides the glow of his flames and the light that radiated from inside of him. There might be one sure fire way to wake up but Owen wasn't willing to risk it...

Usually, if you were moments away from death in your dreams, such as falling from a cliff for example and you're about to hit rock bottom, that was enough to scare you awake. But this dream felt so vivid, so REAL that Owen was afraid he was going to be one of the rare few who actually died from being killed in their dreams because of their body going into shock.

That left only one other option that was probably as much if not far more risky, and that was to Astral Project himself out of his still sleeping body. He had a feeling that ever since his anatomy changed it might be a little safer now to leave his body behind without it reducing his vitals to near nonexistent but there was no way to know for sure unless he tried it. From what Owen understood, he'd essentially be going full ghost only while outside of his body because unlike Vlad and Danny he didn't have an ounce of ghost DNA in him. Only his soul and other naturally born necromancy powers made what he could do possible. Not to mention Owen was a Living Ghost meaning he has previously died before and part of him still classified as a ghost.

Hopefully Nocturne wouldn't catch on until he tried absorbing more dream energy from him because without his soul, Owen wouldn't be able to dream, he'd be nothing but a useless empty shell. The only question now was how far Owen could travel outside of his body before he was automatically pulled back to prevent his body from withering without the life force his soul provided. Owen was confident that he wouldn't die from attempting this but it would still leave him vulnerable and there was nothing to stop Nocturne from taking his body hostage and forcing him to return to his sleep by threatening to do him bodily harm if he refused. Besides Owen would have to return at some point anyway to avoid the repercussions of staying separate for too long...

Either way this was going to be a challenge to pull off.

Thankfully, Owen knew enough about ghost powers that he wouldn't be completely defenseless while in a pure ghost state but this would be his first time trying to consciously Astral Project. The last time this happened Owen didn't notice he'd left his body until he came back to Vlad's room to see Vlad trying to shake his empty body awake. That time he only went into a mild shock from the experience and was better prepared to deal with it now that his powers weren't going out of control as his awakening drew near. They'd settled down pretty well and Owen was constantly training to work on his control while building up some endurance so hopefully this wouldn't be too bad.

Owen just had to make sure no one caught him. Other then that all that was left to worry about was how this world would effect him. Because yes, Owen knew he was in the Ghost Zone now and that didn't bode well for him. Vlad and Danny knew their way around but he didn't. Heck, Owen was surprised he was even able to enter the Ghost Zone in the first place because of his anti-ghost powers. At first he thought that the ectoenergy here would put too much strain on him because he'd be unconsciously trying to repel it but to Owen's surprise he felt just fine under the circumstances. Being here almost felt...nostalgic and if not for his current situation, as if it was eager to welcome him and it made Owen feel strangely at home. Although this might only be the effects of Nocturne's spell trying to keep him docile and submissive.

"Ok..." Owen began, taking a deep breath then making another mental list of what he needed to do if he managed to pull this off. "Since I don't know how long I'll be able to last before I'm pulled back here I need to find some help. If I can find a non-hostile ghost to pass along a message to Vlad or Danny then I should be ok. Perks of sensing the intentions of others huh?" He laughed humorlessly because that obviously didn't work all the time if the owner of the presence believed what they were doing was justified then continued, "Assuming I do manage to get out of here I hope I can figure out how to turn invisible otherwise it's going to be interesting trying to sneak out of here since this guy probably has goons everywhere. Well, no point delaying the inevitable, lets do this."

Trying to remember what he read about this power and the way he felt the first time he did this, Owen pictured himself stepping out of a doorway or taking off his shirt. His body was the shirt which he could always put back on at any time or the house he could return to so long as he had the key. An involuntary shiver ran up his spine at the idea of leaving his body behind like a puppet without strings at the mercy of his captor but Owen tried not to worry about it. Nocturne wanted his dreams, he didn't want him dead, so harming him would only be a last resort to get Owen to obey him...

Owen was rewarded for his efforts when a familiar floaty feeling slowly enveloped him and Owen felt that same sensation of detachment. Before long, the real world started to fade back into focus and Owen found himself in what looked like the bedroom of some Gothic princess hovering over his body. The sudden appearance of the presence of another 'ghost' alerted the Sleepwalker's standing guard who looked around for it's source but Owen was ready for them and before they could turn around, he willed himself to disappear from sight. And judging from their confused grunts, it worked.

This feeling was still unsettling, as was looking at himself somewhere other then a mirror but Owen had to move past that and get going before Nocturne caught on to his little trick. It was obvious that he knew about the existence of necromancers and their powers but Owen couldn't say for sure if he knew from experience or from reading his thoughts back in Vlad's castle. Thinking about Vlad only made him that much more determined to fix this so Owen took off as soon as it looked like he was in the clear since he didn't know how long he would be able to stay invisible either due to his inexperience and the fact that unlike the other two wouldn't be able to change back human without his body.

Right now, Owen was a denizen of this realm and bound to it's rules more or less. Without the protection of his anti-ghost blood Owen would have to rely solely on the protection of, well, his soul. Not even five minutes had passed and already Owen began to feel the tug of his body trying to reunite their two halves. But not yet, Owen had to find help or at least figure out a way to wake himself up from the outside. His flight was unsteady and Owen kept losing his balance a lot but he had some idea of how to fly if only from watching Vlad and Danny do it. That would have to do until Owen reached an area with more ghosts he could try making contact with.

Glancing back at Nocturne's domain, Owen tried to memorize what it looked like before moving on, hugging himself and shivering as the sheer vastness of the Ghost Zone before him really struck home. It looked so hopeless and bizarre. But Owen knew that things were only hopeless if he gave up again, like he'd nearly done a few hours ago...

That wasn't like him at all, but he'd let all the pressure about their uncertain future get the better of him. Vlad wasn't going to let him fall after everything they've been through though, of that Owen was dead certain. No, as a family, they'd get through this somehow and he'd make sure it never happened again. Owen already knew he made a huge mistake. But, now that he understood his true feelings thanks to Vlad's advice Owen was going to do everything within his power to get home.

As usual, Clockwork was there to welcome Danny like he'd been expecting him all along. Dani was a little nervous at first with the idea of staying with a stranger, ghost or otherwise, but if Danny trusted him she saw no reason to suspect him of anything bad. And besides, Clockwork didn't treat her like some child he'd been asked to babysit but rather an old friend as if they were already acquainted. In fact Clockwork decided to show her that this meeting was one of many futures he'd been hoping for and was happy to see it come to pass.

When both of them asked why, Clockwork simply told them, "The fact that she is here means that another detrimental future has been averted. Everything is going according to plan and this stands as but more proof that Vladimir is changing for the better. I'd show you the events of that future but I don't want to alarm young Danielle since she is already wary of his intentions for her. I can assure you both that this could not have gone any better for either of them. If all goes well, you may yet convince Vlad to further correct his previous misdeeds and answer for the heartache he has caused you both."

"Really?" Dani said, her eyes sparkling with renewed hope. "Do you really think Vlad's going to help me after all?"

Clockwork settled back into his neutral posture before replying, knowing better then to make promises he possibly couldn't keep since it wasn't his choice to make. While Clockwork hoped people would make the right choice, as had been the case when Danny almost went ahead with the cheating on his test that would have resulted in the birth of his evil self, he knew better then to overplay his hand in the events to come because there could be disastrous consequences. After his last excursion in aiding the young necromancer more directly, the Observers had of course seen fit to remind him of his other duties. Namely in watching over Danny so the same future wouldn't result through alternate events which was always a remote possibility. Still, the future of this remaining clone that was born as a result of that terrible future being avoided seemed to fall under the same category so Clockwork couldn't see the harm in watching over her too.

"Dani, if there's one thing you need to know about Clockwork it's that if he doesn't tell you something it's for a reason. Trust me. I think we both know that Vlad has other things on his mind right now anyway. But he did go out of his way to suggest that the ectoenergy here might help you and it did so I'd say that's a good sign. Wouldn't you Clockwork?" Danny smirked, giving his young clone a sly wink.

Clockwork didn't respond and 'distracted' himself with adjusting the dials on his staff but Danny didn't miss the small smile Clockwork allowed to break his formerly neutral expression. When he did respond, Clockwork was addressing Dani and said, "You're welcome to stay in my tower as long as you need to Danielle. And as long as we're only observing current events I don't see the harm in monitoring their progress as young Daniel and Vladimir make their way to Nocturne's keep. It shouldn't be too far from here since like me, Nocturne's prefers the less lively -no pun intended- corners of the Ghost Zone. A number of the more ancient ghosts tend to live out here though I'd advise against disturbing them. Oh, and before I forget," turning to Danny, Clockwork asked, "Daniel, would you like for me to make you a short cut to where Vladimir is or do you think you can manage on your own?"

Waving him off, Danny shook his head. "I'll be fine from here. As long as I know Dani is safe I'll be able to focus better on the battle."

"If I may," Clockwork began, thinking of the best course of action if only for Vlad's sake since he was the one who needed to learn what it truly meant to fight for someone else's behalf rather then his own self interest, then after summoning an image of Nocturne's keep, suggested. "While your heroics are appreciated I believe the best thing you can do for Vladimir and Owen is make sure Nocturne doesn't find out his dreamer has escaped. Look."

Pointing out Owen's small frame unsteadily flying away from the keep, Danny was about to ask what Clockwork meant by that since it seemed pretty obvious that Owen was doing fine when he noticed him flickering in and out of existence as if struggling to retain his form. But that couldn't be right. Owen was human so why would his body-!

"Wait a minute, you're not telling me he just-!" A new sense of urgency filled his heart and Danny shot up into the air. "Well that's just great. Owen just threw away the only advantage we have here as humans! I'd better get him out of there like you said before Vlad freaks out finding him like that. Take good care of Dani and I'll be back!"

Pausing only to give them both a small wave, Danny took off like a bullet straight for Nocturne's keep. Meanwhile, Owen continued to struggle against the strain of keeping is soul and body separate the further along he went. So far none of those oogie boogie wannabe's had come after him but similar to the situation with Azrael that time in the woods, the more distance Owen put between them the better. And as hard as it was, Owen was proud of himself for finding a way out of the situation he'd brought down upon himself. After this, Owen could leave the rest to Vlad and prove that despite his recent breakdown, Owen trusted Vlad with his life.