Notes: This is an idea that spun of an idea connected to Rorschach Blot's Make A Wish Verse and the Terminal Justice Spin off from his Yahoo Group.
This is a multi-crossover although the base is Danny Phantom. the scenes are not ordered in order of happening, rather in the order I wrote them.
Pairings: Danny/Sam, Elsa/Jack Frost. Clara/Mister Pink.
Summary: A fix it fic and an exploration of Ghost politics.
She found him still at the girl's bedside, lightly dozing.
"Danny," she gently shook him awake with one hand, "Danny, up and at 'em."
He started, blinking wide eyes and looking at the little girl before sagging and yawning.
"I thought—Nevermind," he scrubbed his face with his hands, looking far older than his fifteen years.
"Coffee?" she offered him the cup.
With a smile he took it, silently saying thanks, even as she pulled up a second chair and took a seat.
"Any change?" she asked hopefully but he shook his head.
"No, everything's working; she just won't wake up," he sighed, before asking, "How're you holding up, Sam?"
She absently rubbed the hip that the Doctor had bored into for bone-marrow, despite it being healed, and replied quietly, "Think I'm still in crisis mode," she admitted, "I'm a mom now, a teen mom to a preteen. How crazy's that? My daughter still might die in spite of having been given an extreme genetic makeover because of the bad cloning job she came from."
"You don't ha—" He began but the glare she pinned him with silenced him.
"I'm gonna be involved," she promised lowly, "whatever else happens I'm gonna be there for her."
Deciding not to question her on that, she still wore her boots and he was still a male, he instead told her, "Black Ink's already emancipated us, so I figure I can get one of the safe houses set up," he sighed again, "I've a nice nest egg already—"
"Nana's already set up a trust fund," Sam told him hurriedly, "to her care and keeping and education; until she's thirty one, anything she's saved up or has left over she'll get then."
She giggled at him, his stunned look as he sputtered, "B-but your parents!"
She stilled, growing somber, "They're not happy and I'm sure they probably think I was pregnant and the weird ghost bits of yours made that baby grow super-fast or something but Nana still has her name on everything and told them if they don't suck it up, everything will skip them and go straight to me." She gave a small smile, "I don't want it all, so I'd probably will it all to Dani. Speaking of which Nana wants to meet her as soon as possible."
It was at that very moment Dani decided it was time to wake up.
The Doctor stuck her head in, "Everything going okay in here?"
Dani was sitting up, eating her first real meal in a while.
Her parents were not hovering over her; in fact Danny was spread out over the couch in the room, deeply asleep, having finally crashed after a week without sleep.
Sam too was relaxing, semi reclined in a chair with her feet up on a stool with a Black Ink laptop open in her lap.
But she and Dani looked up and smiled as the Doctor entered; Danny merely snorted and turned over.
"So far," Sam replied, closing the computer, "so good."
The Doctor nodded, taking the chart from the end of the bed and starting to check the girl's vitals, while saying, "The genetic tests finally came back normal, so there won't be any more tinkering needed. Though we still need to worry about destabilization if exposed to certain energies…Hmm," her brows furrowed as she checked Dani's pulse, double-checking both the actual monitor and then the chart, "Heart-rate's a bit elevated still."
"Danny's heartbeat is always fast," Sam offered, "ever since the Accident, could it be her ghost parts acting up?"
"Could be," the Doctor agreed, "it's not dangerously fast and it could be just because she's still healing and adjusting." She made a note in the chart, "How are you feeling Dani?"
"Weak," Dani admitted, pausing her eating, "and I hurt, like I got into a fight with someone stronger."
"Could just be the body settling," the Doctor soothed, "we'll keep an eye on things, do you want anything for it?"
But Dani shook her head, "No, 'm good."
The Doctor gave her a look but nodded, before continuing, "It says here you are doing an inter- dimensional jump after you're released…"
"Back to our universe," Sam intercepted, "we're probably going to put her into a thermos for the move; it should protect her from all the energies."
The Doctor pursed her lips, "The…thermos…like the one you brought her in? It captures and contains spirits?"
"Yep, Fenton design," Sam nodded, "vacuums up ghosts until we release them."
"Can you purchase some for Black Ink?" the Doctor questioned, "or perhaps some blueprints. Henchgirl will possibly be able to improve on them."
"Uh," Sam shifted, "you'll have to ask Danny, his family invented them; but if he says okay we keep a dozen or so spares in our footlockers."
"Spares?"
"Yeah, no one really knows just how many ghosts a thermos can hold and they might be tough but they can break. We always have spares stashed anywhere we spend any amount of time at regularly. We keep them everywhere."
To prove her point, she reached into the bag she carried and pulled out three thermoses.
"Girl carries a bag and no one says a word," she spoke quietly, a wry smile on her face, "get creative and you can fit a lot into a bag. Have enough money, no one will go digging." She began tossing a thermos up and down absently.
"Do I hafta?" the girl near whined, "it's tiny in there!"
Sam sighed for what seemed like the twentieth time within the hour before saying, "Danielle Fenton," she didn't yell but she had that quiet voice of authority so Dani listened, "We are going home for a visit at least, we'll be jumping universes, you just got put back together and we're not going to risk you."
The goth softened, saying gently, "We may be new to this whole parenting thing but even before that we cared and worried about you. Danny, Tucker, and me were planning on hunting you down during the summer, dragging you back to Amity Park, kicking and screaming the whole way if needed, and getting you settled into some sort of normal life." Her eyes darkened, "Then you literally drop out of the sky, on top of us, with no warning and you were dying. Actually dying." She closed her eyes, trying to get the images from her mind, "Aside from all the clone problems and degeneration into goo; you were 50 pounds underweight for your age group, fifty pounds Dani, had so many bruises we could barely see your skin, and had severe pneumonia. The Doctor said that any longer and you would have died."
"Mom…"
Her eyes opened, she was still getting used to being a mother, but she didn't smile, "We nearly lost you, Dani; we won't risk you again. I know the thermos is tiny but it's the safest way for you right now."
She drew the girl to her, running a hand through her hair, "I don't think we'd be much good to anyone if we lost you. So we're probably gonna be a bit over protective. But I promise to try to stop Danny from putting a tracker in you at least, deal?"
"Oh Mom," Dani sighed into her chest, still getting used to having actual parents that actually cared for her, "Fine, I'll get into the stupid thermos." The girl pulled back, repeating insistently, "But it is tiny in there!"
Sam giggled, "Danny had the same complaint."
Eyes alight mischievously, Dani questioned. "Really, Dad got stuck too then?"
"Oh yeah, twice." Sam grinned, "In the same night, by his sister, your aunt Jasmine. She wasn't so good at aiming. He banned her from using them around him."
"Use mine," she said quickly.
"Sam—"
"Stuff it Danny, we don't have time, she doesn't have time; I'm healthy, human, female and here." she turned back to the Doctor, "Use mine."
"We'll need bone marrow," the Doctor warned, "and if you've eaten recently we won't be able to put you under. We don't have time for a purge potion."
"A salad two hours ago," Sam had gone pale, but she was determined, "strap me down if you need to." She was shaking, hands fisted at her sides, "I'll deal."
"Sam," Danny tried again, though half-heartedly. She was right, there was really no time, "Sam, if you do this you'll be—"
"Danielle's mom," she gave a curt nod, giving a small smile. "we'll figure it out when she's not melting."
He held her stare before nodding, "Yeah, okay."
The Doctor quickly shepherded her away, leaving the fifteen year old alone and extremely worried.
He wasn't allowed in either operating room and, as Tucker was home holding down the fort, he was all alone in the waiting area.
So he waited and paced and paced, and paced some more.
He didn't know how long the surgery could take, didn't know how long Dani had before it was too late.
Part of him wanted his own parents, but he didn't have any idea about how to tell them about Dani and the cloning attempts.
Part of him was afraid that they would take Dani away, make him put her up for adoption or leave her in the Ghost Zone because he was just a kid too.
There was no way he was giving up his daughter, his hands fisted at the very thought; he was all she had. Him and now Sam. He wouldn't abandon her.
He sat down and started working on some rough plans; they had three safe houses in the city, one having four bedrooms. He could take Dani and they could live there if push came to shove.
He would apply for full emancipation, through Black Ink, and then find a job while they could live off his funds gained through rewards and interviews until he was out of high school at least. If they were frugal.
He wasn't that good with budgeting but he could learn and if he needed to he could sell some of his stuff on the internet to give them extra time.
They could also probably sue the Masters estate; they could probably prove a few counts of child abuse, murder, attempted murder, and more.
He didn't know how long it had been before a nurse appeared; she was barely older than him but had a kind smile as she spoke, "Mister Fenton, Miss Manson is out and in recovery. You can sit with her if you want."
He was on his feet in an instant; the nurse took him by the arm and led him quickly as she explained, "Poor girl finally passed out, from the pain; she lasted a lot longer than she should've really. Was real worried about Miss Fenton, wanted to know if we could use the marrow."
"Can you?" he questioned, frightened by the thought that it would all be for nothing.
But the nurse nodded, "The Doctor thinks so, they're working on it right now."
"Dani? What's going on with her?" he demanded.
She sighed, "Mister Black's keeping her together; she's in his own stasis pod. We got her frozen in time; stuck between her two forms. It's the only way we've been able to keep both stable."
They arrived at a room and the nurse sighed, "I'm sorry, I don't know anything else. Just that Black Ink has every resource on the problem. Go on in, I'll be back when there's news…"
He reached out to stop her, "You didn't tell me your name."
"Oh, well, I'm called Impossible. Nurse Impossible; now go on, Mister Fenton, as soon as there's any news we'll tell you."
She left and he entered the room.
"No more kids until after college," she groaned even as he had his ghostly, thus freezing, hands over both hip wounds. She was face down in her bed and he was straddling her legs, careful of her IV lines and monitors.
"We'll try," he replied darkly, "but after what the fruit-loop did I wouldn't promise that."
"She'll pull through, Danny," Sam said quietly, "she'll pull through and then we can figure out where to go from there. She now has the DNA of two stubborn people; she will fight and she'll make it."
"What are we going to do?"
"We'll work as a team, like always. Might have to shuttle her back and forth between our houses but I'll be there for her."
"Sam—"
"No, listen to me. I'm gonna be there for her. I'm gonna be her mother. And if you try to stop me, for any reason, I will take you and your family to court and I'll win full custody. You know that. No matter what happens, even between us, I won't turn her away." Her voice, though muffled by her pillow somewhat, was steely before she softened, "She's gonna need all the support she can get and I won't repeat my mother's mistakes; don't make me fight for her. Please."
"Oh, Sam, never," he promised, "I'd never do that; it's just we're only teens and if you had wanted to—I wasn't expecting you to—I mean I hoped but—" he sighed, "I should've never doubted you."
"Forgiven."
"I'm planning on filing for emancipation, through Black Ink so it should get done fast, and then moving me and Dani into one of the safe houses," he explained his plans, "if we don't splurge on stuff we can live off the Phantom account until I'm out of high school. Thinking about suing Vlad for everything he's done and I'll be looking for a job."
"I'll file too; if we use the bigger one, we'll be able to raise her together. And we can tap into my emergency fund."
"Emergency fund?"
She nodded, "Back when your secret was, you know, a secret, I started an account in case you needed to disappear fast. It actually grew from my runaway fund. Anyway, I add to it every chance I get. Nana's been adding to it too. I always figured it was good to have an escape plan in case things go bad."
"Your parents?"
"Can't touch it, don't even know it exists. It's in Sweden and all the paperwork is under Nana's name; only you, Tucker, me, and Nana even have access to it."
"Wow, I don't know what to say."
"You always take care of everything; someone needs to have your back. Speaking of Nana, she knows a guy that can get Dani's paperwork in order."
"Paperwork?"
"Birth certificate, social security number, even passport. That sort of thing. And that guy knows a guy that can hush up all the weird bits about everything."
"The Guys in White—"
"If they come within ten miles of her I'll crush them legally; or I'll crush whatever's left after you Fentons get through with them."
"Enough!" she roared, slamming her fist down onto the table with an almost horrifying thud, "Enough, I can't do this anymore, I won't do this anymore," she continued quietly once sure she had their attention fully, "I'm tired of this—Bullshit!"
"Samantha Manson how dare y—"
"Shut up, Mother," she shouted again, "I'm not going to let you try to…gaslight me anymore. It was-not fine when it was just me but I dealt, the boys can handle themselves; but now I have Danielle to think about and I'm not letting you get your claws into her. So, here's the deal; you sign those papers, let me go free from here, and I'll pay lip service to you in the press, even show up at parties."
"I am your mother and you will—"
"Only in that you spawned me; Nana raised me, Dad raised me, I had so many nannies I can't remember all the names! You never wanted me, remember you told me that yourself; I was just a way to get you into money. Surely a good, sweet Jewish boy would marry a pretty good Jewish girl he 'got in trouble'. And Dad did, because he's a good man."
Jeremy's eyes widened in horror as he turned to his wife, asking roughly, "Pammy, is it true?"
"No, of course not darling, she's just—"
"What? What am I doing, Mother? Lying, acting out?" Sam laughed a bit crazily, "I don't have proof, Mother? Guess what, Nanny Marcy, you remember her right, the one you fired because she was letting me play videogames and football and wouldn't force me to wear dresses, tape recorded everything. She heard horror stories about you, so she had an active recorder on her and one on me at all times. I have the tapes, the original tapes, and all I have to do is place one phone call and we'll have copies in an hour."
"You told me Marcy was stealing Mother's jewelry!" Jeremy shouted at his wife as she was stammering, trying to explain.
"No, Dad, Nana put her jewelry in a safe deposit box as soon as you brought Mother home."
Jeremy looked ready to erupt, but he said quite calmly, "Sam, please bring me copies of those tapes; Pamela, sign those papers. Sam, if those tapes say what you claim then I'll finance you, Danielle, and Danny until you're twenty-five. I'll finance Danielle until she's thirty. If you're lying, you're all cut off completely. Pamela, if what she's saying is true I will file for a divorce and a restraining order; you will get nothing from me."
"I've already filed a restraining order, indefinite," Sam spoke up, "after I leave today, and I will be leaving today, Mother is not allowed within five hundred feet of Danny, Danielle or me. Our employer is very good at that sort of thing." Her mouth quirked up, "Danny wanted ten miles but that wasn't doable. And Dad, that goes for you too if you don't leave her. I won't allow her to treat my daughter like she treated me."
"You keep calling her your daughter, why?" Jeremy asked, shooting a look at his wife to keep her quiet.
"Oh, um, you know how Mayor Masters was a half-ghost?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, he was obsessed with Danny's mom and Danny. When he finally realized that Danny would never go dark side, and Missus Fenton would never leave Mister Fenton, he started to try to clone Danny so he could kill the original and insert the clone to kill the competition so to speak."
"Danielle—"
"Was one attempt, deemed a failure just because she's a girl. Long story short, we beat Vlad that time, she took off, and we were gonna hunt her down during the summer and bring her home." Sam rubbed her hip absently, "Turns out she was just as a genetic mess as the other attempts, but she held out for a bit longer. But she started failing like all the others, melting into goop. She fell out of the sky one day like a week ago, unconscious and starting to melt down. Lucky she landed on Tucker."
She sighed, "We panicked and took her to our employer and his people took a look at her genetic make-up. Thankfully they're on the cutting edge of everything. They figured that the reason every clone had failed with because Vlad had done them all in a very bad way. Near as they could tell, Vlad used Danny's ghost uh…well, DNA is closest term for it, to create a sort of fake egg and then used his human DNA to fertilize the fake egg."
"That would be like incest," Jeremy exclaimed, "multiple generations of severe incest."
"Exactly," she nodded, "then he decided to irradiate the embryos in order to boost the chances of ghost powers and then, because this was supposed to result in a Danny clone, he had to rapidly age this messed up Danny soup."
"That—That shouldn't've worked!"
"No it shouldn't have, and it mostly didn't. Danielle was the lucky one and we still don't know why she's a girl. Anyway, the only way they could think of to save her was to insert healthy female human DNA from a person not related to Danny."
"You volunteered." Jeremy realized.
"'Course I did Dad; I wasn't going to let her die and I'm a universal donor." Again she rubbed her hip, "They used my marrow, and because I had eaten a salad like two hours before, they couldn't knock me out. I finally passed out as they started on the second hip."
"Oh, Sam, why?"
"There wasn't time to wait, Dad. Every second counted. And even then she wasn't out of the woods; she had severe pneumonia and was terribly underweight."
Sam stared at her parents, "She's my daughter; I bled and screamed and risked my life for hers and I'm going to be her mother. I'm going to help Danny raise her. Even if we do get cut off by you, I'll still be raising her."
Dani hid shyly behind her father, peeking out carefully before making an "eep" sound and turning invisible.
Her parents chuckled.
"Oh Dani," Sam said, squatting down to be eye level, "it's alright. They just wanna meet you. We promise they won't hurt you."
Carefully, she reached out and blindly felt around for the girl and found her; gently, she pried the child's fingers from Danny's jeans, saying, "C'mon, at least let 'em see you. They took the time and effort to be here today."
She searched for and found Dani's hair and started carding her fingers through it soothingly.
"Go on, baby girl," Danny encouraged, dropping his hand to her shoulder, "we're right here, nobody's gonna touch you."
Slowly, hesitantly, Dani reappeared.
"Atta girl, think you're up to meeting your grandparents?"
Tentatively, the girl nodded.
Sam stood up, asking her boyfriend, "Your side first?"
He nodded, "let's get it over with, you know Dad's…enthusiastic." Keeping his hand on Dani, he steered her towards his family, saying, "This's the Fenton family, my mom and dad and sister. My Dad might look huge, he is, but he's a teddy-bear, my Mom is real nice too; even Jazz is cool, you've met her before."
They arrived in front of the waiting trio.
"Mom, Dad, Jazz, this's Danielle; Danielle, this's your Grandma Maddie, Grandpa Jack, and Aunt Jazz." He pointed each out to Dani who gave a small, nervous smile.
But before she could say a word, she was snatched up, a giant hand on each side, and held in the air as her…Grandpa Jack crowed, "Ha! Maddie! Look at her! Spitting image of Danny!"
She froze, mind going completely blank.
"Dad!" both Jazz and Danny exclaimed, "Put her down!" with Jazz adding, "She's terrified!"
"Huh? Oh, sorry kiddo."
Danielle only trembled, but she tried to smile.
Maddie knelt, smiling kindly, "Hi, Danielle, we're happy to meet you."
Danielle looked to Danny who gave a thumbs up; she asked, "Y-you know about me? I—I mean about how I was made?"
The girl looked terrified but Maddie nodded, "Yes, we know what Vlad did but we do not blame you, sweetheart. We'll never blame you for your birth and we'll never reject you because of it."
"A—and you're alright with Dad and Mom raising me, even though they're kids too?"
Maddie sighed, "Well, no parent wants their child to become a teen parent but no one but Vlad is really at fault so…they have to do what's best for you now. And we're going to help them."
Danielle relaxed, releasing a breath she hadn't known she was holding.
Danny stepped in, "Mom and Dad are going to help get you ready for school; hopefully you'll be caught up by next year. If you're not ready by the time me and Sam go back you'll be hanging with them during the day."
"All d-d-day?" she stuttered, eyes wide.
"Not yet, Dani," Danny reassured quickly, "not until we have to."
She was slammed against the lockers, cursing in a soft hiss under her breath as her hip made impact.
Instantly, the boys had dropped their things to help her.
"You should get it checked out," Danny spoke lowly as Tucker shifted most of her weight to him.
"I'm…ok-AY!" her voice pitched into a near scream as her hip finally refused to carry any weight at all; there was a violent cracking sound and then her leg collapsed completely. The only reason she wasn't on the ground was that there was suddenly a second Danny supporting her.
"You're going to the Doctor," one Danny decided while the other was telling Tucker, "Call Jazz, tell her to pick up Dani."
Working as one, the temporary twins lifted her by a creating a cradle with their arms under her.
"Remind Jazz, Dani might need help with her math homework," Sam told Tucker as both Dannys shifted into Phantom. Her voice was still rather high-pitched.
"Will do," the other boy gave a lazy salute, "don't worry."
She was unable to rebut, something along the lines that she always worried because this was Amity Park, as the Phantoms took off, turning the three of them intangible to go through several floors and then the roof.
Jeremy Manson took stock of his daughter's new home; the apartment was not small but because of the four bedrooms, the living room did seem a bit cramped and there was no true dining room but a simple table and a set of four chairs in the kitchen itself.
The furniture, though in very good condition, was obviously secondhand and slightly mismatched though not blatantly so.
The carpet was such a dull red it was almost brown and stained a by a greyish green substance in spots.
Fresh pools of ectoplasm mixed with human blood trailed into the fourth bedroom
The walls were covered in wallpaper that looked as if it was a refugee from the eighties, but it too was in a decent shape.
In fact, the only thing that looked brand new was the absolutely massive flat screen television that was mounted on the wall in the living room; it was currently on a twenty four hour news channel, though muted.
Sam finally appeared from the fourth bedroom, looking worried and tired but calm.
"How is he?" he questioned, remembering the state his almost son-in-law arrived in.
She moved to the kitchen, him following, to wash her hands as she replied, "Well, he still has his guts and once I got the darts out his healing factor kicked in, so all in all, pretty good."
Drying her hands, she went to a closet and pulled a steam clearer out along with a sponge, rag, and stiff bristle brush, continuing, "What's gonna suck is trying to get ecto-blood out of the carpet, again." From another closet she pulled a trowel and a bucket.
"So that was what the grey spots are then?" he took the sponge, rag, and brush from her.
She rolled her eyes, "Left them a little too long." She marched over to a cabinet to retrieve a canister of non-stick spray and liberally coated the bucket with it, "Stuff sticks to everything."
"Does he often get hurt?"
"He didn't used to," she admitted, "but with the disappearance of Plasmius and the news of Danielle hitting the Ghost Zone, things have…picked up. Doesn't help that Danny is the unofficial heir apparent to both Vlad and a ghost called Pariah. Whoever knocks him, and Danielle now, off becomes the big dog in the Ghost Zone."
They trooped out to the living room, to the biggest puddle of 'ecto-blood', and she went to her knees.
"Is he really that important?"
Sam snorted as she used the trowel to scoop up the excess ecto-blood and dumped it into the bucket, "He has a throne waiting for him if he ever wants it. Thing's been empty ever since Pariah got sealed away the first time. If he doesn't claim it, he could pass onto Danielle. Because she's the firstborn."
Jeremy suddenly choked.
"Relax Dad, only time me and Danny share a bed is when Danielle has a night terror. We haven't done anything."
"Really?"
"Yeah, we're not chancing it 'cause we're afraid his ghost bits might bypass any precaution we take. We're still in school and have Danielle to think about." Setting aside the trowel, she grabbed the sponge from her father and began soaking up what the little shovel had left behind.
"He doesn't want the throne?" that was a safe topic.
"Not really," she hummed, "apparently, taking it would give him all sorts of power he doesn't want. And because of how things are set up there, he couldn't even take it to force democracy or something like that."
"He's looked into it?"
Sam paused, looking up at the man, "We've looked into it; we thought that maybe if Danny took the throne things would get… easier for everyone. With Tucker being mayor, me with the Manson name, and Danny on the throne there would be…balance, I dunno. But it's too much for Danny to take on."
"What would happen?"
She sighed, a shuddering sound, "First, right now the most concerning for us all, he'd have to either have a wife or be engaged. If he takes the throne and doesn't have either, the ghost version of…parliament would be able to pick his wife. He could turn down thirteen options but after that they can force him."
"But he's just a child!"
"Ghosts don't age, Dad, and a child ghost is very unlikely to get the throne without something really bad happening first. So the rules were laid down for ghosts by ghosts. They can't even reproduce without some serious interventions. Usually, only the throne-holders will even go through the process needed because they need heirs. Only then does that ghost child age but that takes centuries too."
"But, Danny—"
"Is a half ghost, do you know how rare that is? Only three are known to exist, Vlad, Danny, and Danielle, and none of them were made that way naturally. We don't even know if the halfas can breed, they might all be sterile, and so far both Danny and Danielle are aging normally but who knows if that'll continue. Nobody knows anything about halfas because both Vlad and Danny keep that information on a need to know basis." She snorted, "I'm considered the world's foremost expert on halfas and I can't even drive yet. Nothing is on the law books, in either world, for or about them." She continued mopping, "If he's already engaged, he'd have a year to actually marry his fiancée and if he didn't then parliament can again force things. After he marries, he has to sire an heir as quickly as possible—"
Jeremy choked again but his daughter ignored him as she continued on, "If he doesn't marry Danielle's mother, i.e. me, then she's considered a bastard and not in line for the throne. Even if he does marry me, they'll want a back-up heir, and if we had a son then Danielle becomes the spare. In either situation, Danny would only have two years to have a kid and let's say for whatever his wife is barren, because it will always be the wife's fault under ghost law, the ghost parliament can force a divorce and remarriage to someone more…appropriate. If that happens and I have married him, Danielle is once again out of the running as a bastard." She dropped the sponge into the bucket, standing up to get the steam cleaner and plugging it in.
"After he marries, and has an heir and a spare," she continued the lecture, "hopefully within a seven year period, so if he took the throne today he'd be twenty-three when this next part happens, he'll be invested with the full throne-power. Which is why we thought about it before we found out about the stipulations."
She turned on the steam cleaner and for the next few minutes there was silence as she went over the spot before shutting the cleaner off and checking the spot.
It was pretty much gone and so Sam moved onto the smaller ones, using the rag to get up the excess while saying, "Danny's powerful already, you know; the only reason he does get hurt is because he's not a killer. The only reason Vlad gave him any problems was because Vlad had experience; Danny has more raw power than almost any ghost or half-ghost we've run across. He just doesn't have the experience to use it effectively." She closed her eyes, "And he's getting stronger all the time."
Jeremy felt slightly ill, "Are you afraid of him, Samantha?"
"No," she replied without hesitating a second, "never; but he's afraid. He's seen a future where he became utterly evil, one he…cancelled but it was still a possibility. There was nobody able to stand up to him."
That slightly ill feeling intensified.
"We…me, Tucker, Jazz, the Fentons," she inhaled roughly, shuddering, "there was an accident in that timeline, we…we all died and Danny blamed himself, blamed being a halfa. He turned to Vlad, he had no other option. Danielle didn't exist, thank god she didn't exist, I don't know what Dan Phantom would've done to her—"
"Dan Phantom?"
"That's what the evil adult version called himself," she nodded, "he wasn't Danny Fenton in any way; Danny had asked Vlad to rip out his ghost half, he just wanted to be done with everything ghost wise; Vlad finally agreed, mostly out of pity but…things went horribly wrong. Phantom went wild without his human half and ripped Plasmius, Vlad's ghost half, from Vlad and merged with it. This…monster then killed the human Danny and started rampaging through both worlds. Nobody could stop him, few could even slow him down."
She looked up at her father, "Dan accidently got sent back in time, Danny had started the timeline that would lead to him but Danny fought it…so badly. But Dan was smarter, more powerful, because of the time travel he looked just like Danny and he tried to set up the accident so that he would exist. Danny only won because Dan thought he knew how things would go, got cocky, and Danny developed a power earlier than Dan had. And it was only because Danny has an ally who could rewind time in certain cases that we all survived."
Jeremy fell to his knees and tugged her close; she went easily and he hugged her tight even as she said, "He doesn't want to become Dan, Dad, he's already so powerful so he doesn't want the throne."
"Why would that matter? The parliament…"
She shook her head, "Once the King, or Queen, gets invested with the full power of the throne they are only advisors. The ruler draws power from all their subjects, the more they rule over the more powerful they become. And they get a special power, the ability to order their subjects around and make them physically obey, like puppets. And, it extends to their families. Especially their families. And since a halfa has never been on the throne, nobody knows if that power will extend to the mortal side of things."
"You sure about this?" he asked one last time, lowly.
But she nodded, "Yeah, are you?"
He sighed, wincing with his new wounds, "I can't keep fighting like this; the power vacuum's gonna get us all killed. Clockwork's managed to get some compromises. You do know that we'll—"
"Yes, I kinda figured it'd happen someday," she shrugged with a small smile which he returned shyly.
"Mom!" was shouted at her even as she hit the ground running; she looked around and found a frightened looking Danielle in Phantom mode, "Mom, he's in here!"
She was pointing to an old, abandoned concert saloon, and Sam activated her Black Ink gear. It was an outfit much like a Fenton Hazmat suit but having several upgrades and magical immunity.
"Who's it, Dani?" she questioned quietly as they moved to take the door and she activated the cloaking ability of the suit and night vision ability of her goggles.
"I think it's a team up," Danielle whispered, "Skulker, Ember, maybe Technus and the Lunch Lady. They jumped us, we were practicing and suddenly there was a net. I don't think they saw me, but Dad made me get out."
"You did a good job," Sam reassured her, "Getting out means Danny doesn't have to worry about you, just himself." They were coming in on the main area; there was little lighting and the place had clearly seen better days. Still, the former glory was easily seen; the paint was peeling, along with torn and faded posters for featured acts from yesteryear, the ceiling was sagging alarmingly in some places, the carpet was water damaged, soiled, and chewed on.
The main set of doors were oaken monstrosities that may have had a reddish hue in their heyday and the hinges were clearly rusted.
"Ma'am." Her handmaiden spoke softly, breaking her from meditation, "It is time."
She nodded, pinching out the votive candles, not wincing even as her skin burned, before rising.
Two more ghostly servants came to her, carrying a coarsely woven garment which they dressed her in. It was a human duplicate of a traditional garment.
Then they led her to the next room where she had to kneel onto the cold, hard ground.
Before her sat a tribunal of ghostly priestesses.
"I, Samantha Manson, declare myself to be free and in good standing before the Old Spirits. I am not betrothed to any man besides my betrothed and I have remained pure in mind, body, and soul." She recited, eyes on the floor, "I have no ulterior motives and am entering this marriage upon my own free will, knowing that I am binding myself to my Husband for eternity."
It galled her to say most of that but the rituals demanded it.
She stayed silent, awaiting judgment.
"We have judged you adequate. Rise and go forth." Came the whispered proclamation and the human relaxed internally.
She kept her eyes down as she rose to her feet and was taken to the next room. There she stepped into a shallow pool, disrobing as she went, and stood stock still as servants poured jugs of freezing water over her.
Around them stood yet more attendants, these holding incense which wafted through the room to create a sickly, sweet mire in the air.
It was only the fact that the bride to be was human that made the incense attendants dampen the incense itself so as not to choke her.
Stepping from the shallow pool, she was carefully dried and redressed, this time in a garment of soft cotton.
In the next room, she was once again stripped bare in order to be anointed in fragrant oils. All but her most private of parts remained untouched by the servants.
She would be wearing no make-up on her wedding day nor any fancy dress and the only piece of jewelry she wore was a Black Ink bracelet built to keep her as solid in the Ghost Zone as in the mortal realm; instead, she was dressed in an almost shapeless silk gown that seemed closer related to a burial shroud than an actual dress. The hem brushed the ground with each step.
Her feet were bare.
His eyes were brighter than she had ever seen them and she could feel the raw power pouring off him as he sat on the ancient throne, a diadem already on his head.
But he smiled slightly at her, proving that so far he had not been overtaken by the power.
The hall was filled with ghosts, all silent and all waiting; she was the only human in the bunch and only because she was the bride. There was a live feed though, a dead cameraman holding the camera, being broadcasted to FentonWorks for their human families and Danielle.
She was to be escorted up the aisle by the spirit of her great grandfather from her father's side, Abraham Manson.
Danny had sent servants far and wide in the Ghost Zone to find some of her family; Abraham was the most willing to be involved.
The thin, wiry man wore a dapper suit and bowler hat, his burial clothes, and a kind look on his face. He loved his family dearly but had been torn from his wife and children by tuberculosis at barely thirty years of age. His ghost was pale, with a red tint around his mouth and nose, his eyes were a golden brown, and his black hair was slicked back and shone with a slight blue tone.
So when the new King had him fetched from his small apartment in the Edwardian New York section of the afterlife and brought him to meet his great-granddaughter and great-great-granddaughter, Abraham was overjoyed.
And due to his relation to both the soon-to-be Queen Consort and Crown Princess, he was gifted a small wing of the new palace and almost unlimited access to the mortal realm.
He smiled proudly at his granddaughter, "You look wonderful, Samantha." He spoke, voice weak due to how he died.
"Thanks Gramps," she replied as she took his arm, speaking with only the barest of sarcasm.
They waited for the signal.
Suddenly, an official boomed, "Present the Bride!"
"Thanks for this, Tuck," Sam sighed.
"Not a problem," he replied, "you were right; Dani needs friends."
Sam nodded, "Jack and Maddie wanted to take her to the park but…"
"She has almost no non-family social skills and you want her to find some human friends who like her for her and not Crown Princess Danielle Phantom, Daughter of Ghost King Danny Phantom and Queen Samantha Phantom." Tucker finished.
"Exactly. That's why I didn't wanna ask any of my cousins."
"Gold-diggers?"
"And social climbers and prissy; look, that's the family my Mother came from alright? And Dad's family is pretty much just Nana, him, and me." Sam frowned, "And Danny's family would totally understand the ghost thing but then again, there's the ghost thing."
"Don't worry, Hannah's been told about things. She's good."
As soon as he spoke, the two girls, Danielle and his younger cousin Hannah, came to them.
Danielle hung back, seemingly embarrassed by something, even as Hannah exclaimed, "Tucker! You didn't tell me Dani's never ever seen any Disney movies!"
Her dark eyes promised pain for such a grievous slip-up.
Tucker shied away, instead pointing at his friend, "Talk to her parents! Not my fault!"
Sam chuckled, "Hannah, go ask your folks if you can spend the night. I seem to remember a home theatre fully stocked with Disney movies and popcorn."
The girl tore off, dragging her new friend along the way.
"Marcus!" Sam called out for her ghostly bodyguard who appeared near instantly and saluted; rolling her eyes she spoke, "Send a message to Danny, I'm taking Danielle, Hannah, and Tucker to my Dad's place for a movie marathon. And grab Clara while you're at it."
The Praetorian Guard saluted once more before turning and leaving through a wall.
"Your bodyguard actually left you?" Tucker asked incredulously as they made their way up to his bedroom for him to pack, "Man, I can't even go to the bathroom alone and I'm just a mayor."
"No, he's just what we've come to call the gopher." She replied tiredly, "The errand boy, if I have a message I call him. I have at least three guards, plus Marcus, on me at any given time. Two ghosts, three with Marcus, and a human. And one of them is a woman so bathrooms aren't an issue. Usually there's more with me, but since I'm with you and Danielle, and you have bodyguards, I was able to cut my usual retinue by three-fourths."
"I take it back," Tucker decided as he opened his closet to grab his duffel, "I'm fine with my four. Who's Clara?"
"The ghost of a woman that travelled with an alternate version of Agent Storm; from a reality where he didn't have Agent Wolf with him anymore." She shrugged, "We don't ask many questions; we were looking for help for Danielle, went through Black Ink, and by luck her spirit didn't move on 'cause of something. She's from a bit further into the future, her reality is faster than ours, died about 2015. She's is—well, she was a British woman, taught English to secondary kids, middle and high school to us, has experience Nannying, and was a companion of an alternate version of Agent Storm." Again she shrugged, "Her boyfriend has also become a ghost, someone messed with their section of the afterlife, was a soldier and taught math around the same grade levels. With those credentials, plus Black Ink backing, we'd be crazy to turn them down. Officially, they're Danielle's teachers; unofficially, they're bodyguards and guardians for when something needs all hands-on-deck."
"And where's Mister Phantom?" Tucker asked, teasingly.
"Last I saw him? Figuring out what the hell happened to his army and how to force loyalty from the people without actually forcing loyalty."
"Army?!" The boy squeaked, paling.
She waved him down, "Stand down, Mayor Tuck. Just the King's supposed to have a standing army but Pariah massacred the one he had. The place's a mess."
She sat cross legged on his bed as he packed, explaining quietly, "There's a reason we've had so many ghosts popping up, and it isn't all because of the Portal. Apparently, there's a reason there's supposed to be a Ghost King. He's supposed to make sure everything stays pretty stable, organized, and to keep the ghosts from running wild. All the kingdoms and everything else are supposed to be vassals to the king; in turn he's supposed to keep all-out war from breaking out and everyone on a leash while also working to help as many people go on to the Great Beyond as possible. There's been no king for a thousand years, and before that they had Pariah, everything's gone south." She rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Like Walker, he's supposed to be the King's law enforcer, without a king he's gone nuts and the law books are now something that make the US Tax code look like first grade reading."
"Yikes."
"Yeah, then there's the ghosts that don't like that their new king is half human, his queen is human, and the crown princess is an artificial half-breed," she spoke the word 'half-breed' with venom, "there's ghosts that like their freedom to run amok and don't want to lose it. Then there's the usual brown-nosers. So far Frostbite's tribe, Princess Dorathea's kingdom, and a few independents have sworn fealty without problem; we've taken Walker's Prison back, put Walker on ice until we sort him out, managed to hire Technus to get the new palace wired, and contracted both Skulker and Wulf as bounty hunters. Clockwork is our strongest ally, and the Observers are just…Observing."
The boy was finally finished packing as he said, "Sounds…iffy…" he slung his bag over his shoulder, turning to face her and realizing how tired she looked.
She gave a humorless laugh, "That's not the half of it; and of course, we have school and Danielle and the Observers want another heir from us, we've managed to put that off for a few years, and if Vlad ever comes back for revenge and the army still isn't rebuilt…The only pluses right now is that Black Ink have taken Dan Phantom's thermos and Pariah's coffin and are containing them for us."
"That's good, means they're never getting out right?"
"Yeah, with so many magics at play in the warding and then the tech, it'd be a minor miracle. And if they do get free there's plans in place. If nothing else, Mister Black is there. He also says that if we can get a read on Vlad, Black Ink will capture and contain him for us."
"Awesome," Tucker grinned, "and I claim godfathership for all the Fenton-Phantom kids. Go find the girls while I call my people."
Sam nodded, getting up and starting to hunt down the preteens.
"Your majesties," their interviewer curtsied nervously, "I'm Sarah Linseed, it's an honor to meet you."
Danny and Sam smiled with Sam saying, "Forgive him, he blew out his voice. We're happy to meet you too."
"Oh, begging your pardon, ma'am, but how?"
"Lost his temper, accidentally used his Ghostly Wail power at a level he never has before." Sam said, shrugging, "He can talk but the doctor advised against it so we have him under a silencing spell for his health."
Danny nodded along before signing something.
"Yes Sir," Sarah agreed, stunning them, "we've been briefed by your lawyers and have agreed to abide by the rules you have set." She gave them a smile, "My grandmother's deaf, your Majesty, has been all her life. The entire family knows ASL. Will the princess be joining us?"
Danny shook his head while Sam explained, "We're trying to give her a somewhat normal childhood; if you follow me, we'll get your crew set up in the living room. Are you okay with ghosts hanging around?"
Sarah shook her head, "Yes, ma'am. As long as they don't interfere with the electronics."
"We've a ward, no worries."
She wandered absently out the balcony, sipping her coffee as she watched the guards go through formation after formation.
Her husband, such as he was, was once again occupied by politics.
She sighed quietly, barely sixteen and yet here she was a Queen.
It wasn't too bad, she thought, not as bad as they had feared.
With each new kingdom coming to heel the Ghost Zone healed a little more; war had yet to break out, the advisors were finally settling with a half-ghost King, and the new royal family was getting used to living in the Ghost Zone.
It was rather pretty once one became used to it; sure, it was still weird to look up and see swirling green and not blue and yellow.
And the new palace was complete, the old being far too ruined to salvage; most of the staff were ghosts but they had humans as the kitchen staff, several bodyguards, and Black Ink provided medical team.
"Penny for your thoughts, my Queen?" a familiar voice said as arms wrapped around her.
"Danny!" she gasped, turning around to find him in just his usual hazmat suit and not the royal regalia, "I thought you had meetings all day."
He grinned, "I put my foot down, declared that for the good of the throne I must keep my family close. So, we both have the day off; I was thinking we could take Dani to the zoo, maybe get ice cream." He twirled her, before dipping her fluidly, "Then after that, once Dani crashes, we can drop her off at FentonWorks and go on a real date. Just the two of us, plus a small platoon of guards. I've already set a good part of Special Ops to patrolling the town. We won't be bothered. I even managed a reservation at that vegan restaurant over in Louisburg."
"Oh little Badger," Vlad chuckled as the younger halfa appeared, "all this for me?"
Amity Park was abandoned; there was nothing living within the limits, no animals and no humans. The streets were cleared, vehicles having been stored in garages, warehouses, underground parking lots, or just plain driven out of town.
"Plasmius," Danny gave a short nod, "figured you'd be back," he pressed an ear piece that had been unseen, "Lock us down."
There was an affirmative before a humming sound filled the air; what seemed like nets arched over the town, multiple colors and glowing brightly before fading into nothing.
"We're both stuck now." Danny explained calmly, "nothing with any ghost in it can get in or out of town." Raising his hand, he sent off a blast. It went up and up and up before impacting. The dome briefly became visible again before disappearing as the blast fizzled into nothing.
"Just you and me," Danny repeated, "no tech or magic." He drew the sword that hung from his waist with a smooth practiced move.
"By the Magna Contrahant," the youth spoke, "I honor bound to inform you that I am Ghost King Danny of the Ghost Zone and you have started an honor duel. I am also required to give you three chances to surrender and should you decide not to, that if I win your life and afterlife is mine to do whatever I choose with. This is your first chance, surrender and I vow to turn you over to proper authorities without harm." He flicked his sword almost absently.
"Oh Daniel," Vlad hissed, "you took the throne. Let me offer my sincerest congratulations." He gave a mocking bow.
"You've declined your first chance Vlad Plasmius," Danny noted, "This is your second."
"You cannot defeat me, Little Badger," Vlad said, "you never have and never will."
"Last chance. Submit and live."
"No." it was such a simple word. Wise men knew even the simplest word could collapse empires; pity Vlad wasn't wise and he certainly wasn't an empire.
Danny again nodded, "So be it."
What happened next was not a fight, as fights or duels indicated both sides had a chance. Danny had exploded from his spot, moving faster than possible for a human to see; even Vlad barely saw him coming.
Plasmius had experience with his power, but had never been one for direct combat.
When they had fought previously, Vlad had simply stalled and Danny was still learning.
This time, Danny was hardened by battle and training, his natural power backed by his connection to the Ghost Zone.
Simply put, Vlad got the crap beat out of him.
Finished and holding his enemy to the ground, Danny sheathed his sword and slapped a pair of Black Ink Power Blockers onto the older halfa, locking him to half-ghost mode, then captured him in a thermos before closing that in an unbreakable cage.
He activated his ear piece again, "We're clear. Mister Pink, take the army and sweep the town for any…surprises, once everything's clear start helping everyone back into town, Agent Owl, meet me at Nasty Burger."
He switched it a different frequency, softening, "Hey Sam, how's everyone holding up?"
"Pretty good," came her reply, "think Dad's overwhelmed and I had to lock down Mother for her own safety. You okay?"
"Couple scratches, healing already. Once we get everyone back in, you can open the portals."
"Roger that.
"You can do this, Elsa," she soothed her foster daughter.
"And if it doesn't work out you can come back home," Danielle chirped as she finished the last of a line of very old fashioned dresses, "Dad would never turn you away."
"What—What if they do not accept me?" Elsa questioned fearfully; she had only the vaguest memories of her biological parents but she could never forget how they tried locking her away after—after The Accident.
Oh, but how she missed Anna!
"Then they're stupid," Danielle spoke seriously, "and if we have to, send the signal and I'll lead the army myself."
"Danielle," Sam said warningly, "for one you don't control the army, two that would be considered an act of war."
"Father, Mother?" she spoke softly, seeing the King and Queen of Arendelle for the first time in nearly a decade and a half, "It's me. Elsa, I'm home."
Time had not been kind to the monarchs.
"Prove it," the King demanded, the Queen looked torn.
Elsa recoiled at his tone, Papa had never demanded like that without good reasons, but composed herself, nodded, and gave a twirl of her hand to create a snowman.
Focusing a bit more, she made her power manipulate the snowman into movement as she said in a low voce, "Hello, I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!"
"Your Highness," a voice whispered and her head snapped up to find her old teacher.
"Mister Pink!" she whispered as the ghost phased into her room; she moved to her knees, being very careful not to make any noise, "Mister Pink, you must get Papa. They won't let me leave this room. I want to go home."
The ghost put a hand on her shoulder, "Calm down…Your Highness. The King already knows. He is gathering his army. He will come for you soon."
He looked her over critically. Becoming less a servant and more of a friend as he asked, "They haven't hurt you have they?"
"Physically, no," she admitted, eyes shining, "They—they tricked me in here; they said it was my proper chambers, as the crown princess. In the morning though, I wasn't allowed to leave. Servants bring me my meals and see to my needs and I am permitted books, cards, and pen and parchment from the library; however, no one will speak to me. Anna has tried, but the servants always brush her off, saying that I have a lot of training and learning to catch up on."
"Your parents?" he hissed.
"King Adgar and Queen Idunn," she spat, "see me as a danger; they want me to hide my power, suppress them."
Mister Pink exhaled, eyes flashing, "I am to stay with you until his Majesty retrieves you."
"How angry is he?" she questioned worriedly.
"I have never seen him angrier," Pink admitted, "The entire Realm felt his fury and it even leaked into the human side of things. His fury was such that he summoned Mister Black through sheer anger. The Queen was hardly better; they have put the paperwork in to formally adopt you. You'll have to renounce your crown here."
"Done." She almost spat, "I'll never return here while my…progenitors live. Damn the crown and my 'duties'." She stilled, "Perhaps, when Anna takes the throne I will return but I will not remain here to be treated like a freak!"
Portals opened and the ghostly army poured out, with their king in the lead.
Once they had assembled, in meadow not far from Arendelle herself, Danny spoke.
In the still of the moonless night, with a soft powdery snow falling, his voice echoed calmly even as he rode back and forth in front of his army on his Night-Mare.
The ethereal blue flame mane of his mount cast in his face in an eerie light, "Tonight we are to rescue Princess Elsa from unlawful imprisonment. She returned to these lands, the lands of her birth, in hopes of reconciling with her birth parents. In return, fearing her mastery of ice and snow, they have locked her away.
We are here to regain her; harm no human, non-lethal measures only as needed, but the King and Queen are mine. There is also a second Princess, Anna, Elsa's sister by blood. We don't have much Intel on her. Find her, keep her captive until I can meet with Elsa."
There was an almost soundless roar as the army, of soldiers from every age, eon, and nationality, pledged themselves to their mission.
Danny wheeled his mount around, declaring calmly, "Onwards."
His steed leapt into the air, gliding silently as the army shot up behind them in a hazy, indistinct mass that looked more like the smoke of a wildfire than an army of the dead.
In fact, the only one completely visible was Danny himself, astride his Night-Mare, wearing his war robes and brandishing his war scythe.
The horse herself was a sight to behold, even if one ignored her rider; she was the size of a draft horse, a large one, but skeletal with her pale hide stretched taut over her frame. Her mane was a swirling mass of blue fire, one that burnt only her enemy, while a tail of the same started high on her rump and flowed down in a waterfall like manner. Around her hooves were small blue fires and the same blue fire burned from her eyes when in battle. Capping off this hellish beast were the clearly visible, wickedly sharp, teeth that came from her maw.
Paradoxically, her name was Sweetie and she was usually a gentle creature.
The advancing army quickly came to the castle compound, the mass of soldiers becoming clearer as they touched down in the courtyard silently.
"Release Princess Elsa to us!" Danny demanded as Sweetie hovered, biting at her bit and pawing at the air, looking wild, "We mean the humans here no harm! Release Elsa to us and we'll leave!"
The human guards gaped but the commander made a unilateral decision, "Fetch the King," he told one of his underlings, "Tell him, tell him, tell him that there is an emergency visitor we cannot turn away."
The Lackey took one look at Death and nodded, scrambling while the commander called down, "Leave your army here, we're letting you in. To meet with the King, I'll be down to escort you myself!"
Danny agreed amicably, dismounting and giving his horse over to a servant and motioning his herald and a small detachment of guards to follow him.
"Introducing King Danny of the Ghost Zone, he who the Egyptians call Osiris, the Greeks Hades, the Romans Pluto, the Incans Supay, the Aztecs Mictlantecuhtli, Donn by the Celts, Death by all of mankind," the Herald drew a breath he didn't really need as Danny checked to see the enemy having become pale and shaky, "High King of Kings, Pharaoh of Pharaohs, Great Chief of both the Scottish and Irish Clans and the Native Americans, Overseer of the United States of America, and Emperor of Emperors. He Who Guards the Gates between the Mortal Realm and The Ghostly Realm, the Absolver of Sins. "
"Enough James," Danny told his herald quietly, looking at the pale humans, "I think they got the message, no need to list out Sam and Dani's titles."
"Of course, my lord," James agreed quickly, "Shall I fetch the Princess?"
"Not yet, I wanna talk with her folks. Mind stepping outside so we can talk?"
"Never, my lord," and James left quickly.
Danny got to his feet, moving to a nearby window and pulling his hood down as he watched the snow flurry outside.
He kept his back to the humans as he spoke, low and calmly, "When I was fifteen, my life was a mess. I was still in school, dealing with the aftermath of an enemy doing something very bad which resulted in a physically twelve year old clone of me, who was very liable to die at any given minute. On top of protecting my hometown from every ghost and their brother. By sixteen, I was a King, of the Spirit world, married to my best friend, and thankfully Danielle, the clone, our daughter, was healthy and happy. Of course, we had to deal with getting things back on track in our…kingdom. The previous king had been a monster and disposed of a thousand years prior so…" he shook his head, "and that was still on top of school, raising Danielle, and all that."
He turned to face them now, still calm, still collected, even as his eyes glowed in the dim candlelight, "So, imagine our surprise when our…employer brings us a little human girl with an ability very much like one of mine…."
With barely a thought, he stopped the snowstorm outside and instead created a detailed ice sculpture of a rearing horse inside.
Another movement of his hand, the sculpture melted and the water flowed into the air. A third twist of the hand sent the water into a nearby pitcher.
"Took a lot of practice to be able to handle water like that," he added, "Elsa can't do it. Where was I, oh yeah, the day we got Elsa."
He glowered at them, "Our employer told us all about what happened; about the accident, what happened with Anna. The boss may be one of the most powerful beings in existence but he has a soft spot for kids. So, imagine his shock when, while going about his job, he heard a little girl crying. So, he followed the sound to here and found the kid. He figured she had just gotten into trouble and left; but he felt…uneasy and came back to check in when he saw her room being covered in ice.
So he did the polite thing and introduced himself, after setting up a silencing ward so she couldn't call anyone."
The other King made to speak but a glare silenced him just as surely as any magic.
"This little girl was so afraid of herself, she begged him to leave so she wouldn't hurt him. Luckily, Mister Black, my boss, has similar abilities and proved it to her. She was so starved for social interaction, she told this stranger her entire life story and he listened! He listened to little Elsa like no one else had!"
The room chilled as the Ghost King's power lashed out before he wrested it back into his control and continued on, more forcibly calm than actually calm, "She told him she felt like a freak. That she was terrified, that she didn't mean to hurt her sister, she was only trying to keep her safe. Mister Black listened then went to take a look at Anna." He paused, "You ever wonder why she got better almost as soon as Elsa went missing? How she got her memories back? Mister Black took a look at her and contacted his people. Took a few days, Elsa's pretty powerful and her magic had sunk in pretty deep. The Trolls just made it worse. He came back to get some samples from all of you, hair, blood, skin, and asked Elsa come with him so they could have someone analyze her magic."
He smiled, "That's where me and my family came in; Mister Black needed to have her somewhere safe, and somewhere with someone that could teach her to control her power without too much worry about property damage and living causalities, while they worked with her magic, trying to find a cure for Anna. So he called us into his office so to speak, and told us her story…we couldn't say no, didn't have the heart to." He sighed again, "He went and got her, bringing her to us and made the introductions; she was…she was small, not just size but in personality. She was still so afraid of everything, even though she was given a power limiter. A device that locked away most of her power; she could still use them, just not at full power. On the highest setting, she could barely chill a beverage. It…helped her some, though she still wore those stupid gloves."
He smiled once more, "Danielle got to her first, literally flew, took her hand, and promised she'd never be alone again."
"It took a few weeks to figure out a cure for Anna, time can move differently on different planes, Black Ink had to call in some Japanese snow-spirits, alchemical masters, and a few metahumans, people with special powers, like Elsa, but they got it in the end. When it was done, Mister Black came to us and talked with me and Sam, my wife.
It was decided we would offer something to Elsa; she could stay with my family until she reached her majority, where we'd train her, or she could go back home and Mister Black would arrange a sort-of-tutor to visit her."
He chuckled, "She obviously declined the idea of returning home; so that night, when Mister Black returned here to cure Anna, she packed her things. Was back by sun up."
"So, years passed, as they always do; Elsa got a hold on her power, manages to one up me, was schooled like any child in our time, even entered a courtship, until the moment came that she had to return here. My eldest, Dani, likes tailoring so she rebuilt Elsa's wardrobe for here and we saw her off through the portal."
His face became pinched, "We got the signal she made it through alright, but she went incommunicado after that. At first we thought she was just busy and forgot, but as time stretched on and she missed more and more check-ins we figured something was wrong. Then we got Intel that you had her locked up; we sent ahead one of her bodyguards to see if you had hurt her while I gathered my troops. And so here we are. I'm taking Elsa home, and I might be taking Anna."
"Your Majesty," a female voice spoke, earning his attention.
A young woman, with red hair, stood brave.
"Princess Anna?" he questioned.
"Yes Your Majesty," she curtsied in her nightclothes, "is what you have said true? Did my parents really lock Elsa away because she has magic?"
Danny nodded shortly, "Unfortunately yes; Elsa wants to leave and give up her rights to the throne and crown."
"I want to join her," she replied with determination.
"Anna!" the Queen gasped in horror, "Darling, you cannot mean that!"
"Yes, I can and I do," she nodded fiercely, "you have treated me like a prisoner my entire life, convinced me my sister was kidnapped and the same would happen to me if I ever left the castle! And the moment she returns to us, you lock her away with even less freedom than I! You've allowed that—that—that monster Hans to court me!"
"Has he hurt you?" Danny questioned, already feeling protective of her.
She looked away, wrapping her arms around herself, but shook her head, "No, no, but the way he looks at me…the way he acts…something is not right. And he's the youngest of thirteen brothers, so unless he marries a princess he will not come to a throne." She looked at the Ghost King, "He tried to court my cousin, Princess Rapunzel of Corona. But she was already betrothed. He looks at me like a wolf looks at a hare. I don't like him, but Father won't hear a word against him because his kingdom is one of our chief allies." She took a deep, steadying breath, "I throw myself upon your mercy, Your Majesty."
"You barely know me." He told her, though he had already decided to take her home as well.
A smile quirked her lips, "But Elsa does, she trusts you, Sir, and I trust her."
"Okay, go out the door and ask for James; he's a ghost so don't panic. Tell him I told you to take the Delta guards with you as you go pack your things. They'll be ghosts too. Tonight's code phrase is Dragon-Purple-7. James will ask for it, it's authorization for him to act in my name in this matter. Got it?"
She nodded, "James, ghost, Dragon-Purple 7, ghost guards Delta. Thank you, Sir." She paused, "May I bring my horse?"
"Alright," he gave permission, "tell James to send one of my squires with you to collect the horse and the equipment."
She turned around and marched out without looking back.
"We will not let this stand!" the Arendelle King finally burst.
"You can't stop me," Danny replied coldly, "No more than you can hold smoke in your hands."
"My daughters are flesh and blood."
Danny laughed, "You think I'd bring my people this far into enemy land and not have an exit plan? Are you nuts?" Sobering he glared at the human king, "I will empty out the afterlives, I will call on all my allies, I will take everything you have, everything you own, everything you love, and destroy you. And when you die a broken old man, I will punish you on the other side. Let us go freely or have your world burned to ashes and beyond. And if, somehow, you defeat me, my family will avenge me, and I will be back."
The Power of the Ghost Throne gathered in him as his eyes flared like green flames, "There are more things out there than you could possibly imagine, mortal. Do not make me call every bit of it down onto your head. I am taking Elsa and Anna with me and you will allow it. Or else."
Then he smiled brightly, "Now, if you'll excuse me; I have to round up the girls, a horse, an army, and get home to the missus. Be seeing you around!"
And he left.
He was immediately met with one of his commanders.
"Sir!" the man, from a more recent war than most and being in charge of one of the more modern regiments of the army, saluted, "We have found Princess Elsa, Sir! Awaiting orders, Sir."
"Tell her to pack anything she wants to bring, she won't be coming back," Danny instructed, "and inform her that Princess Anna will be coming with her. Evacuate her through a portal as soon as possible. And send Mister Pink to me immediately."
"Yes, Sir!"
"Dismissed."
The commander disappeared.
Danny looked this way and that, finding he was alone, before sagging.
"Jack?" he caught her as she came through the portal.
"Elsa, I'm sorry I couldn't come get you." He murmured into her hair, blue eyes closed.
"Oh, Jack. Not your fault," she sighed and then turned away from him as a redhead came tumbling through the same portal, "Anna. Careful."
The redhead was splayed on the ground, a mess of skirts and a night robe, and blew her bangs from her eyes before allowing herself to be helped up.
"Anna, welcome to the King's Palace, in the Ghost Zone," Elsa told her younger sister as she steadied her, "This's Jack Frost."
Jack gave a grin, bowing playfully.
"Jack, this's my sister, Princess Anna, formerly of Arendelle."
Anna blinked, "Jack Frost, as in the Jack Frost? You're a ghost?"
"I'm complicated," he corrected, "but technically, I do fall under King Danny's charge. I've also been courting your sister."
"Elsa?"
"Later, Anna. Jack, where is the Queen?"
He smiled some more, "The Queen and the Princesses are waiting for you in the family room. Where's the king?"
"Papa's dealing with…matters…" Elsa began pulling Anna, "Come along Anna, Queen Samantha will want to meet you."
Anna stumbled, "The Queen? Else, I'm not dressed or—"
"Mama won't care, Anna." She was led through a dizzying maze of hallways, Jack floating along beside them, before they came to a door that was being guarded.
Elsa drew herself up, "I have returned home and I must speak with the Queen."
One of the guards smiled, "Princess, we are glad you are well. Who is this?
"This's Anna, my sister by blood from Arendelle, Michael, she has decided to forsake our blood parents for their treachery against me." She turned to her nervous sister, "Anna, this's Michael, he's in charge of the Royal Guard."
"He's a ghost?"
"Anna, almost everyone you meet here will be a ghost. Mama's still alive and fully human, as are we, but Papa, Danielle, and Aida are all half ghost, still count as alive though," Elsa smiled warmly, "You are safe here, I promise." She turned back to the guard, "If we may, Michael?"
The guards moved aside with deference, two opening the doors as they went.
Jack kissed Elsa on the cheek, "I'm out, gotta go check in with the others. Try to stay safe for awhile?"
Seeing the glare she was sending his way, he gave a merry laugh, saluted them, and sped off.
"When he gets back I'm going to—" the elder princess muttered before shooing Anna into the room and following after.
The doors closed behind them; Anna didn't get even a moment to prepare herself as a woman, followed by two girls, rushed Elsa and pulled her close, "'m so sorry, Ellie!" the woman said, "We should've sent someone with you. Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did they feed you? Do your powers still work right?"
"I'm fine, Mama, really." Elsa assured her, "I'm fine. Everything's fine." She drew back, motioning to Anna, "Mama, allow me to introduce Anna, formerly princess of Arendelle and heir to the throne. She decided to come with me. Anna, this's Queen Samantha Phantom, the Human, of the Ghost Zone and the two behind her are Crown Princess Danielle Phantom, The Lucky, and Princess Aida Phantom, The Unexpected."
Anna curtsied, "Your Majesty, please accept my apologies for my unanticipated arr—"
The Queen cut her off by pulling her into a hug, "Welcome home, Princess Anna. Call me Sam, or whatever you're comfortable with."
Sam pulled back, thinking, "Dani, have the guard find Borgny and tell the staff to prep the rooms next to Elsa's."
The older ghost princess nodded, flying off from the room as Sam led the girls to a sofa in front of a fire and asking, "Are you hungry?"
"A little, Mama," Elsa answered quietly, "I did not eat dinner last night."
Sam nodded and went to the doors, opening one and calling out, "Hey, Michael? Can you send someone to the kitchen to heat up some leftovers or make some sandwiches or something? Thank you."
She rejoined them with a tired smile. With a yawn, she flopped onto the sofa, closing her eyes.
"Mama?" Elsa spoke with concern.
Sam waved her off, "I'm fine, Ellie…just haven't slept decently since you left. Once Danny gets home and the entire family's under the same roof, I'll probably stay down for a few days. You guys can get Anna settled and when I get back up we'll go from there."
"Oh, Mama." Elsa sighed.
Anna had stayed quiet but couldn't anymore, "Sorry, but what's going on?! Where am I? Where is this? Who is the King?!"
Sam opened an eye, "Get comfortable, Anna, it's a long story." She snuggled more deeply into the cushions, "It all started when I was fifteen, Danny was fourteen and we did something stupid—"
Anna looked at the machine with unease, "Is it safe?"
Her new patron gave a chuckled, "Yeah, it's safe. It's like a horseless carriage. It moves off of electricity."
"Like the lights and tell-e-vision?" she questioned, sounding out the still foreign word.
"Yeah, c'mere," he motioned for her to join him in front of the machine as he lifted up the front lid.
Hesitantly, she did so, looking in to find a mass of parts.
"This's the engine," Danny explained, "and the short of it is that this thing produces the energy that makes the car, that is the horseless carriage, move. As long as it has fuel in the tank. Inside the car is a bunch of controls used to steer the entire car, safety features like belts, and seats for people to sit in." he closed the lid, finishing, "I'm a very good driver, it's perfectly safe."
She gathered up her courage and nodded, letting him help her get in and secured; "You always have to wear a seatbelt while the car's moving," he told her seriously as he taught her how to fasten and unfasten the seatbelt, "It's the law and it's meant to make sure you don't go flying if we do wreck. Even the chest belt. Keep your seat upright, your feet off the dashboard, and the door shut while the car moves unless it's an emergency. Understood?"
"Yes sir," she gulped as he closed the door and got in on his side.
"It's just a short trip," he assured her, starting the car, "three hours. The school's not too keen with a portal opening, so we're driving up."
"And Elsa is studying at this…college?" the rocking sensation of their movement was rather soothing.
"Yep. Biology and ecology, how the earth works and animals and all that," they pulled from their parking spot smoothly, "she has a theory that when she dies she might get pulled as a Guardian or some sort of nature spirit. Wants to have a good grounding just in case."
"Is that possible?"
"Anything's possible." They pulled onto a 'highway' which seemed to be a main road; he snuck a look at her, "You'll get caught up, Elsa's just had a decade or so head-start. You're coming from the nineteenth century. We're in the twenty-first. That's a big jump to make suddenly. Doesn't help that the Ghost Zone pretty much runs on Magitek and Black Ink has stuff way beyond the twenty-first."
She remained silent, still feeling rather uncomfortable in the trousers and blouse she wore and thinking about what was considered mandatory knowledge in this time period.
"Why don't I turn on the radio?" he worked the dials and knobs, finding a station that played classical music, "Relax."