A/N: how has it been 4 years since this was updated?! I kept going back to this story and trying to figure out how to write it but my muse died. It's back now!
The laughter that accompanied my screaming irritated me and I jerked my head up as I continued to skydive through the void. Sam floated above me, not even trying to hide her grin.
Wait….
"WHY….You.. no fall?" I shouted as she swooped down to me. I continued to panic, especially as I headed towards land. Just before I hit the ground, Phantom grabbed my shoulder and stopped me. As we leveled out and I tried to remember how to breathe, Danny glared at Sam.
"Not funny, Sam. Come on, he's trying here." Looking my way, Danny's eyes softened and he nodded to my feet which were still above the ground. "Think heavy. In here, humans are the ghosts, and gravity only works if we ask it to."
As my feet hit the ground my eyes widened. This… was pretty cool. "If gravity only works on command, how did I fall?"
Danny fidgeted and sighed. "The Zone runs on three things: ectoplasm, power, and fear. If someone is unaware of how the Zone works and how to control yourself and the things around you, you will fall and you can get injured.
"If you want to float, which you'll have to do to fly while here, just stop thinking heavy."
I did as suggested and as I floated in place, Danny cocked a grin. "Brings a whole new meaning to light on your feet, eh, Quarterback?" He chortled and Sam smacked the back of his head.
"If I have to listen to your shit puns the entire time we journey, I'll kill you all the way."
Danny looked properly terrified and swung his arm around my shoulder. "Alright, why don't we just go? We've A long ways to go and a short time to get there."
As I lifted from the ground, I shuddered. "God, Danny, your girlfriend is terrifying."
He chuckled, his reply barely reaching my ears. "Trust me, I know."
I didn't know how long we had journeyed but it was long enough for my stomach to begin growling. I lagged behind as we passed what seemed to be several open markets, and when Danny stopped at one of them I sighed with relief as he and the others seemed to barter for something.
The smell of something good caught my attention, and I couldn't help but reach for some small fruit. It looked like a lemon but had a soft skin. Curiously biting into it, I grinned at the sweet juices that flowed to my stomach. It was unlike anything I'd ever had before. I was on my fourth one when the merchant turned to me. His face curled into a snarl and I flinched as the shop owner's glow brightened. He went to grab me and then roared when his hands went through me.
"Thief! Walker, arrest him!"
"Stealing is against the RULES!" a white ghost barked out and I trembled, stepping back.
"I.. I have some money. Here, take it!" grabbing a few dollars from my pocket, I winced as it went straight through the merchant's hand, through the land and floated into the abyss.
Should've seen that coming.
"You better have some energetiko, boy. Or it's five hundred years in jail for you!"
"Pretty sure a lack for personal space is against the rules too, Walker!" screamed a white haired ghost boy as he landed in front of me.
"You need to go. We don't have time for this." Danny gave one warning as he lit up his fist.
The ghost barked a laugh and Danny's body radiated a strong green glow. The laughter stopped immediately, the merchant ghost growing nervous.
"Look punks, I don't want more trouble. Just pay what I gets and you can go."
The white ghost furrowed his brow and Danny blasted him with an ecto disk, the heat making my arm hair sizzle.
"Beat it Walker. Right now I've got bigger fish to fry. You can arrest me later." The ghost growled but before he could do anything in retaliation, Phantom flicked a small bolt of ectoplasm from his fingers. The ghost yelped and his red eyes set on my hero.
Completely dismissing him, Danny turned to the merchant and gave a nod, beginning to create an energy sphere. He made the echoey sound again, this time his entire body vibrating as he spoke.
"What are you owed?"
"Ten Ruuds and one Zyn worth. The boy took my good stock of ectoligin."
Danny poured more energy into the sphere, some of it turning purple and blue, and finally he handed it to the ghost.
"Fifteen and two for your trouble. I apologize, Dakien does not know his power yet."
The merchant seemed pleased and as we floated away, Danny stayed silent until we got out of earshot. Once with Sam and Tucker, he turned and spoke.
"Part of that was my fault, I didn't explain how things work here. The ghosts have a payment system which runs on ectoplasmic energy instead of currency. You might not have any powers, and so you might never be able to buy or trade within the Zone."
I nodded, feeling bad for the mess I caused. "Who was the white guy?"
"Walker. Evil son of a gun who acts as sheriff around most parts. He generally isn't as easy to subdue, but news of one of my new powers has gotten around and most don't wish to trifle with it."
I thought back to how quickly things had quieted after Danny's glowing and decided to not ask.
"Why did you misspeak my name?"
Danny grinned, and in this his reply reached his eyes as his mirth grew greater.
"It is unwise to reveal oneself to the Zone before one knows their powers. Enemies are made quicker than friends in this world. Now come on Dash. If we're going to find your dad we need to get a move on!"
As we traveled on, Danny explained the rules and etiquette of the Zone.
"Think of ghosts' deaths and powers as puberty. It's incredibly personal and private, and we wouldn't want anybody at Casper asking us how we matured…"
I winced and nodded as he continued, his green eyes trailing to a small floating door covered in childish drawings. "Children ghosts do exist, but they're products of failed childhoods. They are eternally stuck in childhood form and in power, unlike spirituals. Spirituals are the formed offspring of ghosts already in the Zone… they're incredibly powerful. Now their powers…while they can be inherited from both or only one set of parents, the Spirituals tend to be developed and can continually gather power through their existence, although they cannot gain powers outside of the original set they are formed with. Natural ghost children, which are those failed childhoods, cannot gain more power than they already have at their creation, though they can refine their existing powers..."
He paused for a moment and I ventured quietly, "And Halfas?"
Danny tossed a wry grin my way, punching Tucker as his friend snorted. "They never stop developing powers. Halfas can develop completely new powers apart from the ones considered ghost basics, and our strength and power grow with training."
"Ghost basics?"
Here, the goth answered, ticking items off her fingers. "Flight, invisibility, intangibility, ghost speak, and a form of willful ecto contamination."
Danny chuckled when I gulped. "For me, it was ecto blasts. For your dad, it was apparently ecto disks."
"Do you think I'll ever get powers?" My mind was spinning, and I pumped my arms. "It would definitely help with playing the field!"
Sam snarled and I flinched, yelping as I hid behind Tucker. "I meant football! I meant football!"
Danny snorted and then shrugged, eyes downcast. "I have no idea. With you a born Halfa, instead of a created one by the mistakes of science, there's no telling. You might never be capable of more than speed and ghost speak…"
At my look of disappointment, he paused and sent an encouraging smile my way. "Or you might develop powers. I just don't know."
"Clockwork! Clockwork, are you home? We have a situation…"
I stood in awe at the giant cogs and wheels everywhere in what I could call a mansion of clocks and parts.
I reached out to touch a large Grandfather clock on the wall when Danny yelled out my name and lunged for me, throwing me to the floor with his ghostly powers. "Don't!"
I threw him off me. I had been fairly patient thus far with everything he had thrown at me, but now I curled my lip at how very undignified he had made me.
"Ex-Cuuuuuuse me?"
Danny stood tall and gestured to the clocks, shooting me a glare of annoyance. "This ally is the ghost of time. That means he is the ghost of all that is, has been, and will be. Every clock in here represents a timeline in which he has or is monitoring. Some of them are eons ago and some are millenia into the future. Because he acts as a Guardian to the World, both the living and immortal realm, he sees things that you and I could never imagine. Timelines that fracture in a million different ways due to our choices and decisions become in stone as we act on our thoughts, feelings, and mannerisms. Because of how the timelines work and the amount of power he exerts over each, they are like live wires… each of these are active portals. Touching one would send us hurtling through time and space into that reality."
"You've been studying lore, Daniel."
The deep, crackling voice startled me, and I leapt behind the ghost boy, ignoring the amused smirk he sent my way. Danny straightened and walked towards the tiny blue ghost, and the two of them embraced in a tight hug.
"Clockwork. Good to see you."
The ghost nodded slowly, his eyes taking count of our group. "You said there was an issue?"
Danny cocked his head, moving stark-white hair out of his eyes. "Do you not already know? I must ask your forgiveness before I ask for your help."
Clockwork materialized a series of chairs around us, sitting calmly and arching a brow. "Pretend I do not. What has happened, Daniel?"
Danny swallowed, and then knelt, bowing his head. "I have dishonored our bond and put both earth and the Ghost Zone at risk. I made a trade with a man who has been known to deal dishonorably, and gifted to him a map that told the location of something most precious and sacred- the Reality Gauntlet." He paused in his confession, glancing up to the old ghost and then continuing, swallowing heavily. "The subject of his intent has since passed into either this world or the unknown world, and it is my firm belief that when this man learns of her death, he will ignore what reason would tell him and attempt to alter the fates and reality itself; doing so would cause an extreme disturbance of our world and possibly implode it. Vlad is…" Danny stopped, sending me an apologetic look before licking his lips and continuing, bowing his head even more. "Vlad is known to be ruthless and without common sense when emotions overload his ghostly powers. His attempt to bring Janet back to life and alter the paternity of Janet's two children is a fruitless cause at best, and a death sentence to us all at worst. I intend to reclaim the map, and to hide away the Gauntlet somewhere else for the time being until I can ensure he is no longer a threat."
Clockwork stood, hands behind his back as he faced one of the clocks. "So what do you want from me, precisely? Do you expect me to give you the Gauntlet when you have failed to keep hold of the map I trusted you to protect?" His dissatisfied voice made Danny flinch, and my old rival looked up to Clockwork, the weight of his guilt making him look pitiful instead of like the cocky and confident ghost he was known to be.
"I truly do ask your forgiveness, Clockwork. If I could go back in time, I-" A sharp glare from Clockwork made Danny gasp, and he quickly backtracked. "I- well, not that I have great success with that in the past, but I only meant-"
"You meant that you've learned very little each time you meddled with my timestream, and each time I've saved you it was never enough to teach you the dangers of the timeline. Despite your knowledge of this man, you have broken my trust and I do not believe I can trust you with the Gauntlets anymore. No, I cannot help you."
Despite the angry words, I thought I sensed regret as the old ghost looked at us, and he sighed heavily, putting his hand on Danny's shoulder. "You are only a boy. I should not have expected so much of you, and yet I did. The world already rests on your shoulders, do not be upset that the thing I added was too heavy for you to bear. You are not perfect, but you only make deals like that when in the best interest of others. As you said, I know all. So I indeed know what was in your heart."
"...but?" Danny whispered, his voice cracking.
"But, your heart should not dictate what decisions you make. Especially with the artifacts of the Ghost Zone. You know this to be one of the most sacred laws of this world."
He turned, seeming to dismiss us, and Danny reached out, his eyebrows knitting together. "Please, Clockwork. Just… just help us this one time, and then-"
"Then what, Daniel?" The spirit's voice sharpened, his eyes glowing as he turned and the cloaks he wore billowed out despite the lack of breeze. "Then you get free from this mess and cause more mayhem for our world? Do you think that would be wise of me, knowing your track record?"
"My…"
Before Danny could finish, Clockwork continued, his aura pulsing as his anger increased. "How many times have you gone back in the past? How many times have I had to restore the time-line to its originality before you meddled? How many times, Phantom, have I had to presumably rescue you, thereby exposing others to the Ghost Zone? And how many times have you come to me, saying it would 'only be just this once' yet have had to crawl on your knees back to me once more?"
Danny bowed his head again, green eyes bright with unshed tears as his aura fluctuated. "Ten times, Clockwork. I hear and understand why you don't want to extend more hospitality my way. But please, then tell me what to do! Guide us in some way."
Clockwork stared off into the distance, the air directly in front of him shimmering.
"A- is that a heat mirage?'
Danny shook his head to my question, and Tucker answered, "No, it's his powers. He's looking into a timestream. He can either choose to display it for all to see, or keep it contained to his eyes only- apparently what he's choosing."
After a few moments, the ghost faced us, his red scleras narrowing as he caught my eye. "I will not reset time, nor allow you to rift the timestream and go back to before he left, nor before you gave him the map. What I will do is gift to you his future of course, it isn't going to be simple."
"When the hell has it ever been simple?!" Danny and Tucker snorted, as Clockwork's voice reverberated across the room.
"They say what makes a house a home is the heart within, but within this heart did lie Vlad's home.
Within the home you'll find the stones, if you can get past the one who called the half breed his own.
Yet if the stones are laid within the cast,
Your next breath might be your last.
Pay careful heed to what comes your way,
Else there will be a judgement day."
Glances to the others who accompanied me made me sigh in relief that I wasn't the only one totally lost.
"Clockwork, that was nutty even for you. Could you just-"
"I've said all I can, Daniel. Be gone, and good luck." The ghost thrust his hands out toward us and in the blink of an eye we were surrounded by the swirling green abyss of the ghost zone.
After several minutes of stunned silence, Phantom spoke.
"...I hate when he does that."