Ghost King Danny: Book 1

A The Horseman's Commander Production

Author's Note: Hey guys. Let's go.

Last Time:

"If I may say one thing about Danny, it is that there is no real room for any hatred in his heart, at least not for you, or Maddie. You'd be surprised by him, if you only look." Here, Vlad yawned and looked at the time. "Oh! Is it that late? Surely you must be tired, Jack?" Silence prompted him to look over at his friend, who was just about to fall over, and Vlad smiled, called Sebastian to take him to his room, and retired to his room for the night.

Maybe Daniel's suggestion had merit.

It felt good to have people he could trust on his side again.

This Time:

Jack awoke slightly confused as to where he was, blinking the sleep from his eyes. Then he remembered last night, and a grin crossed his face. His friend was his friend again! And it was all thanks to his son. Somehow. He'd have to find a way to thank him somehow.

But that was later. Now, he just wanted to lay in bed with his wife.

And that's just what he did.

Meanwhile, underneath Vlad's lab

The crown, if it had emotions, would be both bored, and angry. Thankfully it did, and unfortunately it was. Where in the infinite realms was the King? Why wasn't the ring dragging him down here? Why was the crown stolen from the previous King? And most importantly:

WHY WON'T THIS CONTAINER BREAK?

There were so many cracks in this glass container that it should've broken long ago, but for some reason, the container was resisting breakage. The large white flames on the crown slowly tempered down as the crown calmed down.

No point in getting angry. The King would be down soon enough, and the crown would be free. At least he had the ring for company.

Meanwhile, with Danny and his friends

Dream

Danny woke up with a start, confused. Where was he? Wasn't he in Vlad's house last he remembered? He definitely was, that was clear.

So, why was he in Pariah's Keep? His Keep? Whatever, why was he here?

Suddenly, Danny felt a weight on his chest and looked down, noticing a golden gear medallion around his neck.

A time medallion? Why?

"All will be revealed in time, Daniel. Follow me."

Danny looked up and saw Clockwork's young adult form in front of him. He opened his mouth to ask a question, but then suddenly closed it. He knew he wouldnt be getting any answers yet anyway. He began following Clockwork towards the rather imposing tower, which looked significantly different than the last time, the green and purple accents of the castle largely missing from the castle's exterior, a calm blue and white color scheme in its place.

As they got closer, Danny could hear shouting in the castle, as clear as if the shouter was right in front of him.

"You can't take what was supposed to be mine away from me! If not me as king, who would prevent the Zone from falling into the Abyss?!" Another voice, much softer, spoke after the outburst. As they entered the castle, Danny actually recognized the voice. It sounded like...

Clockwork?

"I have seen many timelines, in 95% of them, having you as king will lead to a war between the humans and the ghosts that will cause both realms to sink into the Abyss at a 20% faster rate than it currently is. You, Dramascus, will not be king."

Danny looked on with wide eyes. Dramascus looked the same as his previous dream! So this was the 'Timeline Eater'? He didn't look so tough here, scrawny and fuming as he was.

Clockwork, standing next to him, looked at Danny with an unreadable expression.

And the scene shifted around the two slightly.

Dramascus looked much older now, broad shoulders and longer jet black hair looking imposing in front of the time master, however the time master didn't flinch.

"Have you found a more suitable timeline, Time Master?"

Clockwork sighed.

"I have." Dramascus smiled.

"Good. Tell me what I must do to prevent my kingdom from falling into the Abyss."

Clockwork was silent for a few minutes. Dramascus's smile slowly slid from his face.

"What? What is it, Clockwork? What did you see?"

Clockwork stared at Dramascus. The next words out of his mouth caused Dramascus' calm expression to turn into one of rage.

"You are not the rightful ruler of the Infinite Realms. The Zone is saved, but you are not ruling it."

Dramascus stared at Clockwork for one moment...and a scream erupted from him. He threw a punch towards Clockwork, who blocked it with ease. Waves of rage rolled off of Dramascus to the point where even Danny could feel them. It was crushing. Dramascus was yelling now.

"WHO IS THIS "KING" WHO DARES TAKE THE THRONE THAT IS RIGHTFULLY MINE?! TELL ME, TIME MASTER, SO THAT I MAY RIP HIS SKULL FROM HIS BODY!"

Clockwork, as though he had been doing this for many years previous (he had), calmly spoke to him.

"His existence shall be a combination of both human and ghost, in perfect, ultimate balance, unwavering loyalty to those considered his, and rage for his enemies, and enemies alone. He will be just and fair to all who come to him for aid. He shall be the rightful ruler."

Dramascus's jaw dropped.

"WHAT?! A human and a ghost?! in one body?! An...abomination?! An ABOMINATION is taking my throne?!" Here his power flared, nearly forcing Danny to his knees with its crushing aura. It was only by holding onto Clockwork's outstretched hand that he was able to continue standing. When he was able to stand on his own again, Dramascus's next words almost forced him back to his knees, the power behind them was so great.

"FINE! If I can't have the throne, then no one, in ANY timeline, human or ghost will!"

Here, Dramascus began shifting, his hair falling off and his body contorting in extremely painful ways, as a black sheer flowed over the ghost, his entire being covered in it, and an ear splitting roar exited his mouth, now replaced with horrifying sharp teeth like a monster out of a horror film. He then rushed out of the castle with a level of speed Danny had never seen before. The scene shifted to outside the castle, showing the now changed Dramascus as he seemed to be eating the air around him, a portal forming in the air above him, another howl relasing from his opening, before he jumped through the portal, and disappeared.

Suddenly, a scream from inside the castle caused the scene to shift again, showing Clockwork with his hands on his head, before he too, disappeared from the castle.

"C-Clockwork?! What happened to you?!" Danny exclaimed.

"Danny, listen to me. Be calm. Everything is as it should be." Clockwork intoned, staring into Danny's fearful eyes, and watching as (5,4,3,2,1) Danny's face relaxed slightly, enough to accept an explanation.

"You need to find the crown quickly. Find it and come to my tower with your friends and Vladimir. Ah, don't ask questions now, unfortunately, we are running out of time. A full explanation will be given once you arrive. It is time for you to wake up. I will see you soon." Here he lifted the time medallion from Danny's neck and, to Danny's surprise, hugged him, before whispering in his ear...

"Time In."

A/N: What's it been, a year? Yeah, it has. I'm here now. Clearly I still have it. It is 6:28 AM. Feels good to be back. Don't know if I'll have time to write. I'll try though, when inspiration strikes.

The Horseman Rides Again