DarkFoxKit: Oh look, we actually updated this week. XD

Darkzdragon: And more importantly, on time.

DarkFoxKit: Um… so do we have anything we want to share with the readers?

Darkzdragon: I'm no longer 'speaking' like Link cause I just beat the main story of Tears of the Kingdom.

DarkFoxKit: Congratulations on that. Meanwhile, I might start talking like Lucas, because I'm about to start on Mother 3 again.

Darkzdragon: Does that mean you're just gonna be constantly yelling 'PK Fire'?

DarkFoxKit: … Not Super Smash Bros Lucas. Though thankfully I'm not doing Earthbound because Ness's accent is so thick I can barely understand him.

Darkzdragon: At least Lucas isn't a silent protagonist then.

DarkFoxKit: Yeah! I just have to talk like I'm shy, docile, yet determined and kind. … So, is that… uh… any different from how I usually talk?

Darkzdragon: You'd be talking a little more like Fluttershy?

DarkFoxKit: … Maybe? But let's go ahead and get into the chapter.


Chapter 14: Training Boot Camp

Juliette led everyone outside the opera house, but not before she stepped into the Void herself. She needed to teach them as a fellow Void Walker after all.

Everyone was lined up, though Echo knew he stood out with how short he was compared to all the young adults.

"This training will NOT be easy, it will NOT be simple, and it WILL take a lot of time, effort, and dedication," Juliette informed. "Anyone who doesn't think they're up for the training can go to the top of the opera house and keep an eye out for any Void Creatures."

Nobody moved, though a few of them did glance at Echo to see if he would back down. Echo didn't move either.

"I don't know why you are all looking at Echo, he's the least likeliest of you lot to not want the training," Juliette remarked before she closed her eyes quickly and imagined a coin. Once she had imagined it, she then used her energy to create it in her hand. "I will leave it up to fate to decide which topic we start training on. Heads is Void Create, Tails is Void Barrier."

Juliette flipped the coin into the air before she caught it and slapped it against the backside of her left hand. She removed her right hand before she gave a nod and dispelled the coin. "Looks like the universe wants you all to have the harder training first as it decided I would teach you Void Create first."

"How hard could that be?" A woman spoke up.

"For you lot, quite hard," Juliette answered. "This is a test. I want all of you to try and picture… an apple in your head. After a few minutes, I will ask those of you who can actually imagine an apple to raise your hands. I will then one by one go through each of those that raise their hands and have them describe to me the apple they imagined. Simply saying 'a red apple' or 'a green apple' does not count."

Everyone raised their hands, evidently they all knew what an apple looked like, so imagining one shouldn't be hard.

"I said I would give you all a few minutes," Juliette pointed out. "Take the time to imagine the perfect apple. One that you would just love to take a bite of or make into an apple pie."

Echo blinked at the concept, as flavor, taste, and eating was foriegn to him, but the others immediately started to drool at the idea.

"Echo, I want you to imagine something else," Juliette stated as she walked over to Echo. "I want you to imagine Danny Phantom in as much detail as you can and then tell me it when you are done. The reason I want you to imagine something different is because your case is different from theirs, they know what things taste and smell like. You unfortunately don't have that knowledge."

"Alright." Echo nodded.

After a few minutes went by, everyone looked at Juliette.

"Okay, now those who have actually imagined the perfect apple, raise your hands," Juliette instructed.

A lot of them raised their hands, but a few of them didn't. Echo didn't raise his hand either, likely not sure if he was imagining the perfect Danny Phantom yet.

"Those of you who haven't raised your hand can have a few more minutes to think about it," Juliette said before she pointed at the first person in line, which was Cobra. "Alright, Cobra, go ahead and describe the perfect apple you imagined in as much detail as possible."

"I imagine a big, red, juicy apple, one that would be very crunchy once you bit into it, and can taste the juice as well," Cobra described.

Juliette raised a brow. "Not bad. I will say, you didn't get all the basic details you would need. You said big, yes, but you should have an actual size in mind. Something you could definitively show me by holding out your hands."

"I would say about…" Cobra made a fist. "This big, the size of my fist."

"About? Or was it the size of your fist?" Juliette question. "Also, was the apple firm or soft? Was it old? Fresh? Moldy? For Void Create, you will need to be able to imagine things in nearly perfect detail."

The other Guys in White all nodded to Juliette's explanation.

"Those of you who still have your hands up, I will give you a few more minutes, if you'd like, to add more details to your perfect apple," Juliette offered. "The people whose hands stay up will be called upon."

Juliette looked around before pointing to one of the females. "You, what's your name?"

"I'm Ag-" The female started.

"I asked for your name, not your designation or your codename," Juliette interrupted. "Now, I will ask again, what is your name?"

"My name is Kimberly," The female answered.

"Alright, Kimberly, what is the perfect apple you imagined?" Juliette inquired.

"The apple in question is as big as the palm of my hand, its skin is thick and red. It is a fresh, crunchy apple. It has a stem on the top of it. Inside is juicy, and bright white-yellow. It was just freshly plucked from a tree," Kimberly described. "Am I missing anything?"

"If it was freshly plucked from a tree, are there any leaves on the stem?" Juliette questioned.

"No, no leaves," Kimberly answered in a confident tone.

Juliette gave a curious expression, a feeling forming in her gut. "Hold out your hand with your palm facing upward."

Kimberly held out her hand, with the palm facing upward.

"Now, keep the image and details of the apple inside your head," Juliette instructed. "Then, at the same time, imagine your body is a battery filled with energy. When you have imagined that, I want you to make the energy flow to your hand and close your eyes. Then imagine that apple you had in mind was a see through object in your hand. With the energy, start filling it in, making the apple have detail."

Kimberly did as instructed, and something started to form in Kimberly's hand.

"Now, with your eyes closed, bring that apple up to your mouth and take a bite," Juliette instructed with a small smirk.

Kimberly raised an eyebrow at that, but kept closed her eyes and began to bring the object on her hand close to her mouth and took a bite.

Juliette watched as some juice splashed onto Kim's face, Kim's eyes opening wide at the same time.

"Seems we have a bit of a natural," Juliette commented.

The others began to try to form their own apples. Juliette watched as their apples turned out less than perfect. Some of the apples melted, or decomposed, other apples exploded, and some simply didn't form.

Juliette gave a small frown. While she was proud the others had tried, she hadn't told them she could. "I'm sorry… did I black out at the part where I told you all to try it? I specifically remember instructing Kimberly and nobody else."

The others all looked down, and some sighed. Echo gave them a look of both pity and amusement.

"I appreciate the energy and desire to learn, but you need to do as instructed," Juliette calmly added. "Now, those of you who had their hands raised and didn't try to make an apple, keep your hands up. Those that did have their hands raised and tried to make the apple they imagined and failed, go back and put more detail into your imagination."

Juliette spent most of the morning and afternoon going through each member of the Guys in White to make their apple. It took a while for each of them to make the perfect apple without the form of it suddenly doing something unexpectedly. Soon, it was just Echo who was left.

"Alright, Echo, your turn," Juliette walked over. "I want you to take what you imagined and now alter it so Phantom is made of plastic and only 6 inches tall, like he was an action figure. I'd rather you didn't end up making a life sized Void version of Danny Phantom, after all."

"Heh… that would be awkward," Echo chuckled sheepishly. "But I'm ready to give it a shot."

"You reimagined him as only a couple inches tall and made of plastic?" Juliette raised a brow.

"Yeah," Echo answered.

"Then go ahead and hold out your hand or hands and do what I told everyone else to do," Juliette commanded.

Echo nodded before he held out his hand and close his eyes. Something began to appear in Echo's hand. Juliette was a bit surprised when a black glob appeared, and Echo formed it into the shape of Danny Phantom. Danny Phantom was the perfect size in Echo's hand. Danny Phantom was black, white, and gray, everything was in perfect detail, right down to Danny's hairstyle, and the DP on his chest.

"Wow, Echo, nice job," Juliette commented. "Go ahead and open your eyes."

Echo opened his eyes and gave a smile at the little action figure he created.

"I'm honestly surprised by how well you did," Juliette stated. "Considering your creation was a lot more complex and detailed than a simple apple, I was expecting you to fail for at least a couple of days, or at least a couple of tries."

"Really?" Echo blinked.

"Yup," Juliette confirmed. "You, Kim, and Cobra did excellent jobs today and tomorrow I will be having you work on more detailed things while I keep working with the others on the apple."

"Wow, cool." Echo smiled.

"I will say, since training has begun, I would like for you to stay in the opera house until all training is done," Juliette remarked. "I don't want you separated from the group until the training is complete as you will be more… of a target for Void Creatures."

"Alright… I just hope Danny will be fine without me for a couple of weeks," Echo said in a bit of concern, looking at the perfect Danny Phantom replica mini-statue in his hand.

He should be, Anise put goddess barriers around Danny's house and slipped a charm into his backpack which will push away any Void Creatures for the next month. Juliette mentally said before she looked at the statue. "Sadly, I'll have to ask you to imagine the mini statue to disappear. If you don't make it disappear, it will constantly drain energy from you."

Echo sighed, but nodded in understanding. He gave the little statue one more look before it dissipated into black mist. Juliette nodded before turning away. It was then Echo noticed that there were some hostile eyes on him behind those sunglasses.

Echo frowned and gulped. Why do I get the sudden feeling I just made things worse between me and these people?

"Okay, everyone!" Juliette called out. "Those of you who still have the energy and will to give it one last try, form a line. Those of you who are tired or I gave passes for the day, you can head back inside or simply watch."

Almost half of the group went back into the opera house to rest. Not that they needed rest, but even in the Void, they could run out of energy that needed to be recharged/recovered. Echo was one of the ones who stayed. Echo found himself in the middle of two others, who weren't looking at him, but they did squish him between the two of them. Echo frowned, starting to wish he formed at the back of the line.

"No pushing!" Juliette called out, seeing that someone was getting pushed around, but not specifically seeing it was Echo. Gods… is this what kindergarten teachers feel like?

The two reluctantly let up on Echo, but Echo could still feel their animosity. The group all waited for Juliette's next instructions.

"Okay, those of you who are still here, start imagining… your favorite childhood toy," Juliette instructed, feeling that apples might not be the best thing for everyone.

Echo could already tell they had a long way to go. The remaining Guys in White seemed to lack creative skills, that was why they had trouble with Void Create. Echo himself practiced more, to make sure he could actually do it and that the first time wasn't just a fluke, though it seemed that Echo really was a natural, he was able to form just about anything he could imagine in the palm of his hand.

When Echo made his third object, one of the Guys in White had created a stick, and used it to trip Echo when he moved, making him fall forward, and caused the object in his hand to go flying, which slammed into another Guy in White's teddy bear. The Guy in White that had the teddy bear glared at Echo, who gave a sheepish grin. The Guy in White grabbed Echo's chest part of his shirt, and brought him up to his face.

"What what you're doing, kid! I may have to tolerate you, but that doesn't mean I have to be merciful," The Guy in White hissed.

There was a sudden loud knuckle cracking behind the Guy in White. He slowly put Echo down.

"What is your name?" The kitsune calmly questioned, though it was the creepy type of calm, the one that held a silent rage behind it.

"It's Jacob," The Guy in White answered.

"Tell me, Jacob, why were you lifting up Echo by his shirt?" Juliette questioned, keeping her calm tone.

"He threw his object at mine and made me lose my concentration," Jacob growled.

"He made you lose concentration?" Juliette asked, looking down at the ground before picking up a white teddy bear. "Perhaps next time, before you get violent you should take a better look at your surroundings. I doubt Echo actually threw his object at you on purpose. And you didn't lose your concentration as your teddy bear is right here."

Jacob begrudgingly took the teddy bear from Juliette, before walking away.

"Thanks, Juliette," Echo said gratefully.

"What happened?" Juliette softly questioned with a concerned expression.

"Someone tripped me up and made me drop my snowglobe at Jacob's teddy bear," Echo answered. "Although… I'm not sure why, but the teddy bear makes me uneasy."

Juliette frowned. "I see…"

For the rest of the day, Juliette caught more Guys in White giving Echo a hard time. She caught a female Guy in White pushing Echo, and she said her name was Cindy. Another guy threw a rock at Echo's object, his name was Pete.

"Okay, that's a wrap everyone!" Juliette called out, noting the sun was down. "Let's head back inside!"

The Guys in White started heading back into the opera house, though a few of them did push Echo slightly whenever he tried to approach them and the door. One of the younger Guys in White did give Echo a concerned look, however, but didn't say anything as he went inside.

Juliette frowned before she started to head back inside. Time for the drill sergeant routine…

When Juliette got inside she made a beeline for the stage, when she got up there, she cleared her throat.

"Listen up, everybody!" Juliette shouted, making everyone stop and look towards her. "I don't know if you all either forgot or simply don't respect me enough to listen to my warnings, but I will not tolerate ANY bullying! The next time I see bullying of any kind, I will deal with the bully one on one! By the end of it, the bully will be begging me to feed them to Void Creatures!"

"Juliette, please stop," A voice spoke up, who was surprisingly Echo.

Juliette raised a brow. "Explain."

"I'll never earn their respect if I have you constantly sticking up for me," Echo stated.

"I'm not sticking up for just you, Echo," Juliette sighed. "You weren't the only one being pushed around. Since this is my lessons, I want to make it absolutely FUCKING clear, that any sort of bullying WILL be punished! That applies to you too, Echo, you bully anyone and I will punish you."

Everyone just gave a nod. Echo didn't mind the warning, it wasn't like he was planning on bullying anyone anyways.

"Now, while I have all of your attentions, I want to make one thing absolutely crystal clear!" Juliette continued. "None of you are to try any of what we were training with today outside of training sessions. No after hours training, no trying to get a little bit better so you have an edge on the others the next day. When the training session ends, that's it for the day. Your bodies need to recharge, and if you push yourselves, you will cease to exist! That is why training will only occur DURING the training sessions!"

They all nodded again.

"Tomorrow you will learn how to create objects at a distance from you instead of in your hands," Juliette went on. "On Wednesday, if we are on track, you shall learn how to make basic weapons. I will make this absolutely clear right now, you are not, under any circumstances, to use those weapons against each other! If I see any of you even joking around with weapons, you will be punished and instantly removed from the rest of the training sessions! Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Several of them answered, while the rest nodded.

Juliette looked around. "Kimberly, Ronald, and Echo. I want you to all come to the kitchen to talk with me when I step off the stage."

Echo looked around to see two others nodding to Juliette. They must be Kimberly and Ronald.

"Are there any questions, comments, or concerns that do not relate to Echo being a child or not being a good fit for this training or whatever other bullshit you have against him?!" Juliette asked in a no-nonsense tone.

"Will we be having the same training schedule every day for the next two weeks or will it vary?" Pete asked.

"Unless something happens, it will be the exact same schedule every day," Juliette answered. "After the two weeks, there will be less frequent training, but there will still be training."

"When will we start learning how to use the Void Barrier?" Cindy questioned.

"Next week," Juliette answered. "Void Create is week 1 of training, Void Barrier is week 2."

Nobody else had anything to say, at least not anything that wasn't related to Echo.

"Alrighty, if there is nothing else, the training is officially done for day 1!" Juliette declared before she turned and began to walk towards the side of the stage that connected to the hallway that lead to the kitchen.

Echo, Kimberly, and Ronald all made their way into the kitchen as well. When they reached the kitchen, Ronald gave a worried look.

"Um… are we in trouble?" Ronald asked a little nervously.

"Nope, in fact, the opposite." Juliette smiled. "You three did spectacularly well today and I wanted to congratulate you all in private."

"Oh, it was no big, really," Kimberly stated. "It's always nice to learn new things."

Echo was a bit surprised at how easy going Kimberly was acting, all the Guys in White he knew were always so stiff and formal, when they weren't picking on him like school bullies of course.

"I just wish I could have my cheese and eat it too…" Ronald grumbled.

"So…" Juliette began before she looked at Kimberly and Ronald. "Who are you two really and why did you 'join up' with the Guys in White?"

"What? Why would you think we weren't a part of the Guys in White?" Ronald asked, chuckling nervously.

"Yeah… why?" Kimberly added.

"Because I've snuck into an organization and gone undercover before," Juliette informed. "I can easily tell when someone doesn't belong."

Echo noticed that their thoughts were going a bit frantic from that. Kimberly's thoughts were more focused and suspicious, while Ronald's thoughts were more chaotic and panicky.

Echo rubbed his head a little from their thoughts being so loud and fast.

"So…~" Juliette smirked. "Who are you two really?~" Juliette stopped smirking a moment after she asked the question. For fucks sake, I'm turning into Anise…

"You two might as well come out and say it. Your thoughts are really loud," Echo finally spoke up, which caused Kimberly and Ronald to look at him. "What? Didn't you know that Void Walkers can hear each other's thoughts too?"

"No, I did not know that," Ronald grumbled.

Kimberly sighed. "Fine, we'll tell, but please promise you don't tell anyone else about this."

"I give you my word that I won't tell anyone who isn't currently in this room," Juliette promised.

"Same here," Echo added. Heh, so this is what it's like to keep secrets. It's kind of weird, yet thrilling at the same time.

"Well… as you could already tell, we're not actually a part of the Guys in White," Kimberly sighed. "Though my real name is Kimberly, I prefer to be called Kim."

"Yeah, and I like Ron better, thanks," Ronald spoke up.

"See, I have this website called 'Kim Possible', specifically , the slogan is 'she can do anything'. I often get called in for missions anywhere in the world, to save someone, or protect something top secret or precious, and whatever else people can come up with," Kim began to explain. "It was supposed to just be me doing various chores, or doing minor things like rescuing someone's cat, or babysitting for a few hours, but I got a call from a rich man who got stuck in his own security system laser. That's a long story though, the point is, Ron and I, are close, really close. We do and go everywhere together. And one day, I got a message from someone. They wanted Ron and I to go undercover to investigate the government's organization the Guys in White. They were tipped off that the Guys in White were working on something big, illegal, and possibly world destroying."

"Yeah, so we joined them, or at least pretended to be a part of their members, and… then that whole getting stuck in the Void thing happened when we followed them into that big machine that was supposed to take us to the world of the ghosts or something," Ron informed. "I knew it was a bad idea, and now we're stuck here. I can't even have any nacos! I haven't had any nacos in over a week! This is torture!"

Kim sighed at Ron's complaints.

Juliette gave a curious expression at that before she stood up. "Give me a moment. I won't be leaving the room."

Everyone blinked as Juliette started to walk away.

Juliette walked over to a corner of the kitchen before she left the Void. When she was out of the Void, Juliette pulled out her smartphone and opened up the web browser on it. She then tapped on the search bar and typed in before she pressed enter.

The results were immediate, she clicked on a link that lead to Kim's website. Juliette then walked back over to the table, putting away the smartphone.

"Your story checks out," Juliette commented as she sat back down.

"Yeesh, does this guy think of anything besides nacos and kissing you?" Echo grumbled, looking at Kim.

"You don't know nacos until you've tried it!" Ron all but yelled. "And Kim is my girlfriend, I love kissing her."

"Nac...os?" Juliette raised a brow. "You mean nachos?"

"I wish," Kim sighed.

"You've never heard of the nacos?" Ron asked as if Juliette just committed blasphemy.

"No, I have not," Juliette responded, bracing herself for what she felt was about to be an onslaught.

Before Ron could speak, however, Kim beat him to it. "It's nachos plus tacos mixed in together. Can we please talk about something else now?"

Ron deflated from that, but seemed to know better than to argue with Kim on the matter.

"Yes," Juliette answered. "First things first, you both need to put up mental barriers, or at least turn down the volume of your thoughts as it looks like you are actively giving Echo a migraine."

"Never thought I would feel one either…" Echo groaned.

"Right, we apologize for that. Unlike the other Guys in White, we don't normally have to cover our thoughts or anything like that," Kim sighed.

"So uh…" Ron looked at Echo. "How old are you actually? You say we can't actually age in the Void, right? Have you been here for hundreds of years or something?"

"No, I'm only three years old," Echo admitted.

"He's only been in the Void for three years," Juliette clarified. "Though he is mentally and physically a teenager like you two."

"We're 20…" Kim corrected. "If we weren't, we wouldn't have been able to infiltrate the Guys in White."

"You're 20?" Juliette raised a brow. "You don't look like you're over 17."

"We tend to look younger than we actually are, but we can confirm we are 20 years old… well, we could if I could touch my wallet and my driver's license…" Kim grumbled.

"You can touch anything you brought with you into the Void," Juliette chuckled.

"That's just it, I didn't bring it with me, it was in my other coat when we went into the machine," Kim answered.

"Where is your other coat?" Juliette asked. "Back at the Guys in White headquarters?"

"Yeah," Kim sighed. "It was last in the room I stayed in over there."

"Well, I still have mine," Ron remarked before pulling out his driver's license. "Boo-yah!"

Juliette leaned forward to look at the license, not going for it with her hand as she didn't want to reveal she was no longer in the Void. Ron's date of birth showed that he should definitely be 20 years of age now.

"You know, you said you've been here for three years," Kim spoke up, looking at Echo, wanting to continue their conversation. "But why did you say it like you really thought you were three years old?"

"What can I say? I was first aware three years ago," Echo answered, wincing a little at their loud thoughts. "Anything that might've happened to me before then is just… nothing. Though I say I'm probably three years old, I feel like I've lived a few lifetimes already. It happens when you listen and study the lives of other people around you."

"Okay, I know there are questions for both sides, but I really need to insist on teaching you two how to either wall off your thoughts or turn down the volume," Juliette insisted, seeing Echo was hurting a little. "I want you to both simply imagine a house built around your mind. The walls of said house will be soundproof and the house will permanently be there. The only way sound can get out is if you open the door, but the sound coming through the door is softer as it can only get out through that one hole."

Kim and Ron, despite their teenage-like attitude, especially with Ron, both focused on Juliette quickly when she gave her instructions. Juliette looked at Echo to see he was relaxing more.

"Good." Juliette smiled, seeing Echo was no longer on edge. "Now, any questions for me? Or do you just want to keep talking to Echo?"

"We would like to hear your story, like how you two met, and how you both got here," Kim answered. "If it's not too much trouble that is."

"Yeah, I mean… we don't have anywhere else to go. Can't even eat…" Ron pouted.

Then something in Ron's pocket moved, and a white feral-looking rodent popped out, giving a yawn and stretched out.

"Oh, you're finally awake, Rufus?" Ron asked the rodent. "Honestly, buddy, I don't know how you do it. I haven't been able to sleep at all ever since we entered the Void."

Juliette gave a curious expression before she turned back to Ron's comment. "Kim, tell me, when you bit into that apple earlier, were you able to taste it? Did it fill you up at all? Because if so, that might solve Ron's problem."

"Well, I wouldn't say it filled me. I can't get hungry, and I don't think I can get full either," Kim admitted unsurely.

"Could you taste it and did you feel like you had more energy afterwards?" Juliette questioned.

"Yeah, because I imagined the flavor too when I made it. But I don't think I felt more energy, it just felt like my own energy coming back from making it in the first place," Kim answered.

"Then~" Juliette smirked. "Ron, imagine a naco in all it's details. And then make it. You made the toy perfectly fine earlier, but you didn't succeed with the apple. So consider this your apple~"

Echo was looking at the rodent Ron had called Rufus curiously, while Rufus was looking at Echo. The two of them didn't seem to notice anyone else.

"Oh, oh!" Ron's eyes sparkled before he held up his hands. "Nacos! I want to make my nacos now!"

It didn't take long for Ron to create a gray taco-like food with nacho chips and cheese inside it. Ron began to gorge on the naco, enjoying every bite.

"Create another, but this time twice the size," Juliette instructed. "If you feel like you're running out of energy, stop immediately."

Ron happily obliged, making an even bigger naco. Kim sighed, rolling her eyes a bit.

"Now, before you dig in, tell me, if you were a battery, how much charge do you currently have left?" Juliette asked, wanting to test something.

"Ummm… I'd say about a little less then half?" Ron replied.

"Do you remember how much energy you had before making this big naco?" Juliette inquired.

"More than half, I think," Ron guessed.

"Can you guess a percentage?" Juliette requested.

"Ummm… I'd say I was at about 62%, now I'm at 42%," Ron stated.

"Okay… now eat the naco," Juliette instructed.

Ron didn't hesitate to gobble up the bigger naco. It didn't take him long to finish it.

"Now, how much energy do you have?" Juliette asked. Is it the same amount he had before he made the big naco? More? Or less?

"Ummm… I'd say about 60%," Ron guessed.

"Okay… so there is a bit of an energy drop off…" Juliette frowned. And here I was thinking I was starting to develop a way to have essentially infinite energy in the Void… Actually… I should check with more before I give up, because nacos don't look all that healthy. "Kim. You started off at 100% earlier before you made the apple. How much would you say you were at after you made the apple and how much were you at after you ate it?"

"I was at 95% after making the apple, and after eating it, I was around 98 or 99%," Kim guessed.

Juliette frowned even more. Dangit… "Just to test something… can one of you make an energy drink or coffee or something? Tell me what you're at before you make it, what you're at after making it, and what you're at after consuming it? I know it's a strange request, but I need to test it."

While they were doing that, Echo was looking at Rufus. "Uh… hello there."

"Hi?" Rufus greeted back, sounding unsure.

"You… can talk?" Echo blinked. "Are you an anthro?"

"Uh… no, I don't think so," Rufus answered. "Are you a magical creature like me?"

"Um… what?" Echo questioned, confused.

"He's never left Amity Park," Juliette informed, seemingly unphased by Rufus's ability to talk.

"There aren't any magical creatures here?" Rufus questioned.

"If there were, they were probably all hunted by Skulker…" Echo commented softly.

"I doubt there are due to the high ghost activity in the area," Juliette answered. "Ghost and magical creatures don't tend to coexist all that well."

"Ghosts? Oh… I remember seeing a few ghosts in Amity Park, but since they can't seem to see me, I didn't focus too much on them," Rufus noted. "I'm Ron's brother, or well, we're practically brothers, even though others see me as a pet."

Juliette turned her attention to Rufus, studying him for a few seconds as she felt something off about him.

"You know, I wonder if we're getting actual energy from these energy drinks?" Ron questioned after he drank.

Juliette turned back to Ron at that comment. "Really?!"

"This coffee certainly feels like it's giving me energy," Kim spoke up.

Juliette beamed at that. "That's awesome! Then my theory of there possibly being a form of Void Created food giving more energy than put in may just be accurate."

"I wouldn't advise relying on it unless you have to," Echo warned. "Like real life energy drinks and coffee, you'll eventually crash and burn."

So pop an energy drink only if I'm in serious need of energy to defeat a powerful Void Creature kind of use? Juliette questioned silently.

Echo gave a nod as his answer.

"How do you know it would be like real coffee and energy drinks?" Kim asked Echo. "Have you made those before?"

Echo shook his head. "I just… know."

Rufus looked at Echo suspiciously.


Later that night, Juliette was glad that Echo found some friends among the Guys in White. Kim and Ron agreed to let Echo stay with them for the rest of the night. They wanted to talk to him anyways. Echo asked them what they thought about Danny Phantom, and he was pleasantly surprised when he heard they both really admired Danny Phantom. Like him, they could hear Danny's thoughts, so they know about him being half ghost. They also know about the pressures Danny put himself. While Kim and Ron could relate to some of that pressure, they weren't ambassadors between two worlds, and they always had connections and help. Danny only had a few people helping him.

"Okay, everyone!" Juliette called out as she sat down on the edge of the stage. "I'm going to my room in 10! If you want to come talk to me before I go upstairs, now is the time to do so."

After waiting 10 minutes, nobody said anything to Juliette.

"See you tomorrow morning, everyone," Juliette said before she headed towards her stairs. "The rule for no bullying applies even after I go to bed."

Juliette heard Ron's curious question to Echo as she was heading upstairs. "Do you think it's actually possible for us to sleep? I mean Rufus seem to do it all the time."

"I don't know. I think I might've gotten knocked out once, but I don't think that counts as sleeping," Echo answered. "And Rufus… maybe he's meditating."

"It might not hurt to try," Kim remarked. "I actually might try myself tonight so I don't have to pass the hours by sitting around."

"It's not so bad to just sit around and observe," Echo shrugged. "But then again, I am more used to it than you guys are."

"Oh yeah, you said you've been in the Void for two years. What's it like to not eat or sleep for so long? Do you even remember how anything tasted?" Ron questioned.

"I… really can't say that I do remember what anything tasted like," Echo awkwardly stated.

Juliette was out of earshot when she came up to her bedroom. She walked over to her bed and sat down, thinking about Echo's backpack, notepads, and pens. He still had those, so it was clear they were permanent. Though by his request, they were now sitting in Juliette's room for safekeeping.

Juliette headed towards the bathroom to brush her teeth. How can I make permanent items that don't drain my energy…?

As Juliette was thinking this, she finished brushing her teeth, and walked out of her bedroom. To her surprise, however, she saw a familiar ghost girl floating in her room.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I was looking for Echo. I thought I saw him come into this building," Andrea quickly apologized.

"He's downstairs," Juliette informed before she thought of something. "You made those items for Echo the other week, right?"

"Hmm?" Andrea blinked, before Juliette pointed at the backpack. "Ooh! Yeah, Echo was talking to himself again. And he kept saying how much he wished he could write stuff down. So I made some things for him to be able to do that."

"Umm… is there any chance you could teach me how to make permanent items…?" Juliette requested. "I can currently make items in the Void, but they drain a lot of energy from me and have a constant drain afterwards until I get rid of them."

Andrea gave Juliette a curious expression. "Hmmm… well… I suppose I probably could teach you, but the way I make the items are different than just using the Void to create them. I don't use the Void, I used my own powers."

"Well perhaps you can teach me the principles and they might be transferable," Juliette pointed out.

"Okay, well, I don't have an exact confirmation about this, but I do have a theory," Andrea said before she landed onto the floor.

Andrea held out her gloved hand, and it glowed gray. She molded the glow into a gray pen before Juliette's eyes.

"So here's a pen I made with my own power, and…" Andrea created another gray pen in her other hand, but this one wasn't made with the glow. "This one I made using the Void's powers. Can you see or feel any differences between the two of them?"

Andrea held up both pens for Juliette to look. The pen Andrea made herself just looked like an ordinary pen. But the other pen, the one Andrea made with the Void, had a certain feeling, a familiar feeling that she always felt whenever she created something with Void Create.

"Yes, the one in your right hand has the energy of the Void," Juliette answered. "But… it's not exactly the same as when I create an item. The energy… is a lot less."

"Yeah, so… here's my theory," Andrea started. "If I make something with Void Create, the Void itself is making this thing become real with your own energy. You have to constantly sustain it to keep it in existence in the Void, otherwise it goes back to the Void as just energy. However, when I use my own powers to create something, it becomes real, because it wasn't made by the Void itself. But because I'm in the Void when I made it, it also can't exist in the world of the living, so as a result, it's a pen that is… 'born' in the Void."

Juliette sighed. "So I guess I won't be making any permanent items considering I don't have ghost powers…"

"I'm sorry, if I knew another way, I would tell you. But… well, maybe you can't make permanent items, but Echo can, or he has the potential to," Andrea informed. "Maybe he could make whatever it is you might need as permanent items."

Juliette shook her head. "I won't always be around Echo though. I was hoping I could make permanent items myself in case I was ever on my own or separated from Echo. But… I guess there's no chance." Juliette took a deep breath before letting it out, keeping her emotions calm despite the disappointment she wanted to feel.

"You don't have to have ghost powers to make stuff, you know," Andrea spoke up. "You might just need a way to create something without using the Void's powers."

"Void Create is the only thing I know how to use," Juliette informed. "Despite being a kitsune, I don't actually have any magic."

"I sense a lot of magic in you though… and some ghostly properties," Andrea pointed out.

"Yeah, so have plenty of other people," Juliette responded. "But I haven't been able to learn magic despite my 'ton of magic energy' and I don't have any ghostly powers. I can simply do things that ghosts can like consume energy from Wisps, but I attribute that to kitsunes being close to spirits in both history and legend."

"I think you can do more than what you think you can, but I suppose you know yourself better than anyone else," Andrea sighed. "Anyways, I'll go talk to Echo now, there's something I need to tell him. I hope you have a good night."

Strangely enough, Andrea sounded tired. Void Beings didn't usually get tired unless they were either low on energy or had enough mental strain.

Juliette frowned. "Stop."

"What is it now?" Andrea asked.

"What's going on with you?" Juliette questioned. "Why do you look exhausted? Have you been fighting a lot of Void Creatures? Also, why are you back in town again? What's going on? Has Danielle not left yet or is she back so soon for some reason?"

"I haven't been fighting a lot of Void Creatures, no," Andrea answered. "But… something is happening to Danielle. Something… strange."

"Strange…?" Juliette raised a brow. "Can you explain in what ways she has been acting strange?"

"Well… she was hit by one of the Fenton's gadgets earlier, but she managed to get away, and nothing seemed to have happened… until recently," Andrea hesitated.

"What's going on?" Juliette worriedly asked, her mind thinking about the Fenton Mortifier.

"I'm still not really sure, but Danielle looked like she was getting a bit sick. So she went to Danny. Danny's trying to take care of her right now," Andrea replied.

"Give me a second," Juliette instructed as she walked towards her door. "And cover your ears."

Andrea frowned before she covered her ears, wondering what Juliette was about to do.

Juliette opened her door and leaned out. "Echo! Come on up here! I need to talk to you!"

Juliette walked back over to Andrea. Andrea blinked for a moment. Both of them waited, then they heard footsteps coming up, before they heard what sounded like someone tripping on the stairs, and muttered a very irritated curse under their breath before they finally came through the door.

"I swear, you're going to shatter my ear drums one of these days," Echo grumbled.

"Yeah, yeah, chew me out later, Andrea needs you," Juliette stated. "I need to get ready for bed."

Echo looked at Andrea. "What's wrong?"

"It's Danielle, she was hit by one of the Fenton gadgets, and she's become sick. Danny's trying to take care of her right now," Andrea answered as Juliette walked into the bathroom and began brushing her teeth. "Do you know what she was hit by?"

Echo blinked, frowning. "Is there anything else strange going on with Danielle?"

"Well… I don't know for sure about this part, but for a second, when I was looking at Danielle, it looked like she was looking right at me, not through me, but at me. But it happened so fast that I wasn't sure if I was imagining that or not," Andrea admitted.

Echo furrowed his eyebrows. "She saw you for a split second?"

"I don't know, maybe?" Andrea shrugged as Juliette came out of the bathroom and walked into her closet.

"Hmmm… well, since we're not sure about her seeing you…" Echo began. "We'll ignore it for now. Is she getting any fevers? Is she talking delirious? She acting any different?"

"Not from what I can tell," Andrea replied. "It only happened earlier today. She just started getting weaker, and I was worried she might've become unstable again."

"Then…" Echo paused for a moment. "We'll leave her in Danny's hands for now. He knows what to do better than us, and… well… we're Void Beings, we can't really do much to help anyways. The best you can do is make sure no Void Creatures try to take advantage of her in her weakened state."

"You should try to rest though," Juliette said as she came out of the closet wearing black footed dragon PJs. "You may not be able to sleep, but you can still meditate to regain your energy."

"Cute pajamas," Andrea giggled a little.

"Thanks," Juliette responded, hoping Andrea didn't notice the diaper bulge underneath the PJs.

"I'll go back to Danielle now, and try to rest up," Andrea sighed, her worry coming back. "I just hope she'll be okay."

"Yeah, you do that," Echo said.

"Keep us updated," Juliette requested before Andrea flew out through the ceiling.

"Echo, have you seen any bad futures with Danielle?" Juliette carefully asked.

"Um…" Echo hesitated. "Well… she… there's a chance that she might… lose her mind."

"In… what definition of the phrase?" Juliette questioned. "Physically lose her mind? Go insane? Or lose control of herself?"

Echo paused for a moment. "... Yes."

"Echo… why are you being vague?" Juliette asked. "Are there variables that can change the future if you aren't vague?"

"Well, I'm not being vague exactly, cause all three scenarios are possible," Echo sighed.

"Which is the likeliest then?" Juliette raised a brow.

"I… think losing control of herself is the most likely one," Echo answered after some inner debate.

Juliette frowned. "Just what kind of gadget would the Fentons make that causes a ghost to lose control? And… is it lose control like going wild, or simply having no control over one's action…? I… get the feeling that's a necessary question."

Echo had to look into the future for a bit on that one. "It looks like she has no control over her actions. It seems she was hit by the Fenton Controller. It's a relatively new invention, made to tame… or I guess, enslave ghosts? It's supposed to scramble their minds to the point that they have trouble doing anything on their own."

"Fenton Controller…" Juliette frowned. "Does it only affect ghosts?"

"As far as I, and the Fentons know, yeah. They haven't tried it on any other species, so it's hard to say," Echo answered.

Juliette got a bad feeling at Echo's response. "Great…"

"But there are futures where Danny and Jazz figure out how to cure her before it gets that way, that's why I told Andrea not to worry right now," Echo added.

"What happens if I become a variable in finding the cure?" Juliette questioned as she walked over and collapsed onto her bed, her bad gut feeling still being there.

"Heh… it seems that if you get involved, Andrea and I will get involved, and we end up having our own mind adventure again, since that is where the gadget affected Danielle," Echo replied with a chuckle.

"Any possibility where I 'accidentally' get the Fentons to use it on me so they have to make a cure that will help Danielle?" Juliette chuckled.

"If you're actually thinking that, then stop, please, I do NOT want to go through that, ever," Echo groaned.

"Oh?~" Juliette looked over at Echo. "What'd you see?~"

"Not that you should be interested in this morbid future of yours, but if something does happen to you mentally, then chances are, I'm going to have to overshadow you, and go into your mind to fix it. And that isn't a journey I want to take. No offense, but I'm scared out of my wits when it comes to going into someone's mind," Echo grumbled. "Specifically yours though… Whenever I look into a possible future where I enter your mind, all I see is darkness."

"Darkness?" Juliette questioningly repeated. "Evil darkness? Or… 'there is nothing there' darkness? Or just indecipherable darkness?"

"It's… kind of both 'there is nothing there' and the indecipherable darkness," Echo said, sounding unsure. "Like… there's something missing in your mind, I guess? And… the last one scares me even more, as it kind of implies that I… no longer exist, period."

Perhaps it's because of that. Juliette thought to herself, closing off her mind from Echo. "If that's the case, then let's change topics so you don't have nightmares when you go to sleep~"

Juliette's face paled before she growled. "DAMN IT! I really am starting to become Anise…"

"I think you've been hanging out with Anise way too long," Echo chuckled. "And I don't sleep, I can't even dream. Or were you just teasing for the sake of teasing?"

"I… was teasing you to tease you… hence my outburst," Juliette responded with a sigh. "Anise, you really need to stop influencing me…"

"That's not my faaaaaaault~" Anise sang.

Echo rolled his eyes. "Well, anyways, you go ahead and sleep. We still have a long day of training ahead of us. If things get worse with Danielle, Andrea will let us know. Then, and only then, will we get involved. And not using your ideas."

"Night." Juliette waved before she flipped a switch next to her bed turning of the lights. "Yes, it is your fault as you are the one influencing me."

"Not on purpose, you're the one who's being influenced by spending time with me. Oh, and by the way, hope you have good dreams tonight~" Anise said in a teasing tone as Echo left Juliette's room.

"What are you planning you demon cat…?" Juliette questioned.

"I beg your pardon? I am not a lowly demon cat, I am a goddess cat, thank you very much! And I was just telling you to have good dreams. Sheesh, you try to be polite and you get insulted, how rude," Anise responded.

"You said it in a way that makes me think you have a mischievous plan," Juliette pointed out before smirking a little. "Besides, you look like a non-chibi version of that demon cat character that was all over Tokyo~"

"Go to sleep, Juliette. We will talk more later," Anise said firmly.

"Awww, not enjoying being the one who gets teased?~" Juliette giggled.

Juliette didn't get a response from that.

"Nightie night…" Juliette said with a yawn. "Darknyan~"

Juliette could hear a hissing noises in the background, making her grin as she fell asleep.


"Let's get down to business!" Juliette called out.

It was the start of the third day of training. The day before, Juliette had taught everyone how to summon objects at a distance from them. Today's lesson was how to create weapons, and Juliette had just finished her explanation on how to do so.

Everyone began to create different types of weapons. Echo managed to make a staff, and a pistol later. Pete, Cindy, and Jacob made smaller weapons. Cindy then made a bug, and put it down Echo's shirt. Echo's eyes widened before he started to accidentally hit the other Guys in White around him with his staff while the bug was tickling his back.

"Echo!" Juliette raised her voice as she walked over and grabbed Echo's staff. "What are you doing?! There a reason you're smacking everyone with your staff?!"

"Something was tickling my back!" Echo quickly explained, though the bug was dissipated when Juliette came to him.

"Uh huh…" Juliette remarked, knowing Echo was probably telling the truth. "Well if you're going to make a weapon with a range to it, step away from the group next time!"

"Yes, ma'am," Echo sighed.

The next day, Juliette was trying to get everyone to use their basic weapons effectively, shooting at trees or buildings as targets. Normally the weapons would go through the buildings. but Juliette made Void Barriers that could get hit by the weapons. Someone put a bucket on top of Echo's head while he was trying to shoot his pistol at the Void Barrier, this caused Echo to panic a little, firing the bullet in the sky before the bucket flipped over and covered his entire face.

"Who created this bucket?!" Echo heard Juliette yelling. "A bucket is not a weapon! So whoever it was, own up to it or everyone gets to do 100 laps around the block!"

In the end, everyone had to do 100 laps as nobody would own up to it.

Day 5 of training, they were to go through an obstacle-like course with their weapons. Juliette made certain Void Barriers for them to use as targets. As she had a lot of practice with Void Barrier, she was able to create different colored Void Barriers, which actually showed up as different colors in the Void.

Echo was pretty shocked when he noticed the colored Void Barriers. Juliette explained to him, privately, that she believed the reason she could make colored Void Barriers was because she was half of the living world.

They were to run through a maze while dodging Void Creatures in the area, though Pete fell down and his butt was bitten by one of the smaller Void Creatures, causing him to cry out. The next course had them climbing up a tree, while trying to stay composed. Some of the Void Creatures were trying to tackle them, while they were to use their weapons to get them off. Cindy got her nose bitten in the process. The last obstacle course was to hop on thin platform barriers without falling into the water, as Juliette had set up the course over the lake in the center of Amity Park. Like the ground, Void Beings could interact with water in its liquid state. Jacob was hesitant, looking scared of the water, and stopped in the middle of the platform, which caused everyone behind him to bunch up.

Day 6 had everyone sparring in hand-to-hand combat. They were allowed to use melee weapons, but no range weapons. Echo was sparring against Cobra with his own staff. Since Echo had been used to fighting as Foxfire, or occasionally as a ghost, he was easily unarmed by Cobra, and kicked back into a tree. Echo shook his head, but went back into the spar. Juliette was having her own training with Anise during this, who had introduced herself to the group as a cat fairy from a different realm.

Day 7, now it was time to teach everyone how to use ranged weapons.

"Some Void Creatures will be out of range, and can fly. Void Creatures also tended to travel in great numbers, so a standard pistol will not be able to take them all out," Juliette explained. "I understand that not all of you may be familiar with all the different types of guns used in the military. So this is where you'll have to get creative. If you can imagine it, you can create it. That includes weapons from movies, video games, TV shows, and comics. You want a laser cannon that can disintegrate anything? Well, if you can imagine it in perfect detail, you can create it. Just bear in mind that the stronger it is, the more of your energy it will consume to make it."

Anise created a few living creatures with her own Void Create, having them fly high into the sky.

"These will be your targets. You don't have to be fancy or create something super powerful. Make something that you can easily carry around with you, is easy to use, and has the range to reach your targets," Anise stated. "It would not be practical to make something big and hard to use, so no tanks or flak platforms or anything like that."

"And, begin!" Juliette commanded.

Everyone began running after the targets. They started to create their weapons while on the move instead of having to stand still and concentrate. Echo created a small but effective bomb, which once it exploded, would release a projectile that would blow up the target. Echo was about to throw it, when Cindy, who acted oh so innocent, tripped him as she was passing him by. Echo fell face forward onto the ground, and gasped as he looked at the bomb before it exploded, covering him in soot as the projectile flew up into the air, then started coming back down.

Anise saw the projectile coming towards her and Juliette, she quickly pushed Juliette out of harm's way just before the projectile hit the ground and exploded.

Juliette stood back up and turned to the group, her eyes filled with fury.

"All of you stop and line up shoulder to shoulder this instant!" Juliette ordered.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and hurried to line up in front of Juliette.

Juliette looked at everyone a few times before she narrowed her eyes. "Is my training some kind of joke to you all? Is there are reason none of you are able to take it seriously and choose to dick about instead of actually work on improving your skills?!"

They all remained quiet, not sure if they should say anything to the angry kitsune.

"Well?!" Juliette raised her voice. "That was an actual question I expect answered!"

"No ma'am!" They finally said.

"Really?" Juliette questioned. "Then tell me, do you think I'm blind or stupid? Or both? Did you think I wouldn't notice some of you screwing about while the others were taking the training seriously?"

Many of them looked down in shame.

"If that's going to continue, then I'm ending this training right now," Juliette stated. "Because I'm not going to train CHILDREN who aren't going to take my training seriously."

"We understand, ma'am…" They said.

"Ma'am, I want to continue training," Cobra spoke up. "I believe everyone else wants the same."

"Oh really? Does that mean everyone is going to start actually taking my training seriously?" Juliette asked, glad that Cobra said what he said.

"Yes, ma'am!"

"We promise we will, ma'am!"

"Please give us one more chance, ma'am!"

"Please don't end the training, ma'am!"

Juliette gave a thoughtful look. "Let me be absolutely fucking clear about this. This is your last chance. I see any of you screwing around again, and training is over, for good!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Day 8 of training, they were all to train their endurance. They created some kind of weights they could wear or carry, and they were to walk around Amity Park with the weights. Juliette decided to join in on this training herself, as she knew she could use more endurance. This time, nobody sabotaged Echo, but Echo wasn't doing too good himself. Echo had been so used to using Foxfire or his ghost form to fight, that his own energy levels were low. He had to sit down before they even got half way across Amity Park.

Echo looked up to see the others were leaving him behind. Echo frowned at himself, wishing he could do more than he was currently doing.

That night of the same day, Juliette put a hand on Echo's shoulder as her way of encouraging him.

"You're doing good, Echo," Juliette commented. "I mean, yeah, everyone was running ahead of you. But that's because they have had training and physical experience that you haven't had. The fact you're able to somewhat keep up with them is amazing."

"I know… but while I was sitting there, I couldn't help but feel like I just wasn't needed or wanted…" Echo sighed.

"Oh?" Juliette raised a brow. "Why do you think you felt that way?"

"I've always felt that way, since I woke up in the Void. I just ignored it while I watched Danny. I mean… this was the first time that people can actually see and interact with me, and the fact that a lot of them seem to hate me just… I don't know, it discourages me," Echo admitted. "Do you really think that I would be able to truly help people? To make a difference like Danny has been doing?"

"Yes, Echo," Juliette chuckled. "Have you already forgotten everything you've done? If it weren't for you and your ability to take out Void Creatures, Danny most likely would be dead and Amity Park wouldn't have a hero. That alone means that you matter. Your actions might not have an instant effect on the real world, but it does have an eventual effect."

Echo gave a small smile at those words. "Thanks, Juliette."

"I'm just telling you what's obvious, Echo," Juliette chuckled. "Because of you, the suicide rate in Amity Park has dropped to nearly 0. Before, it was… honestly a bit unsettling. I did some research a couple weeks ago. And two years ago, when you first came to be, there were a few hundred deaths by suicide a year. It was only because of your actions, clearing out a ton of the Void Creatures, that people stopped taking their lives."

"Heh… I never really thought about that before," Echo chuckled sheepishly. "Hopefully it'll stay that way, whether I'm here or not."

"You planning on going somewhere?" Juliette questioned.

Echo shrugged. "Well, if you succeed in getting me out, I doubt I'd be able to hunt down Void Creatures anymore."

"You never know, you might still have the ability to interact with the Void, kinda like me," Juliette chuckled. "But even if you aren't, I get the feeling that these guys here might take your role as Void Creature Hunter."

"Hey, that's a good name to call it; Void Creature Hunter," Echo remarked.

Juliette gave it a thoughtful look before she shook her head. "Nah, that's too long. If it was going to be an actual title, it'd be Void Hunter or Void Hunters for more than one."

"I like that. Void Hunter or Void Hunters is the new name," Echo declared.


"Okay, everyone! Day 9 of training!" Juliette declared. "Today is a free day. You are to practice whatever you want. You can go run the obstacle course, go work on endurance, practice creating objects, or practice with different weapons. Tomorrow will be a test to see how much you all have learned."

This got everyone to start their own training. Several of them formed groups to train with each other. Even Kim, Ron, and Cobra got swept up in all the training. Echo looked around, trying to see if he could get anyone to train with him. Though they didn't bully him anymore, they still didn't want him around. Echo did try to ask Kim and Ron if he could join, but since they were considered lower ranks, the other Guys in White in their group shooed Echo away.

Echo sighed as he walked down the streets of Amity Park, wondering what he could do.

"Where you going, Echo?" Juliette asked from up ahead, sitting on a tree branch. "You not going to train?"

"I'm training," Echo replied. "Just not sure with what yet…"

"If you'd like, you can train with me," Juliette offered. "I'm working on using Void Create without draining as much energy."

"With all due respect, I don't want to be seen training with you right now. I'm still walking on thin ice with the rest of these guys. And I want to work more on my speed and endurance, those areas aren't so great unless I use Foxfire or my imitation of Danny's ghost form." Echo frowned.

"Hmm… then perhaps what you need is the proper motivation," Juliette decided.

"What do you mean? Aren't I motivated enough?" Echo questioned.

"Maybe the proper term is inspiration," Juliette corrected.

As if on cue, Danny Phantom was flying by. He looked a little beat up and tired, and he was holding the Fenton Thermos, which indicated that he had been fighting against a tough ghost recently. Danny looked down at the park, and decided to land. Echo jumped at how close Danny landed to him.

Juliette stayed quiet, wanting to see if Danny noticed her as she wasn't in the Void. Danny did look up at her for a moment, giving a small wave of acknowledgement.

"Hello, Danny Phantom," Juliette greeted before giving a concerned frown. "May I ask why you look like you just went 10 rounds with a tornado?"

"Because in a way, I did have rounds with a tornado," Danny sighed tiredly. "Some idiot let a powerful weather ghost go free in the Ghost Zone. I had to go get him before he came back out into this world and plunge everything into chaotic weather. I just got him back in prison."

"Ahhh, that would explain why your hair looks like you got hit by lightning," Juliette remarked.

Danny frowned before he rubbed his hair. "I thought I smoothed it out already…"

"Maybe there is some static charge still in your body that is making it go up." Juliette shrugged.

Danny just gave a tired sigh before he flew up to the tree, and decided to sit on the branch next to Juliette. Danny looked tired as hell, wanting nothing more than to nap.

"Sometimes I wonder… is it always going to be like this?" Danny softly questioned.

"Be like what?" Juliette asked, an idea starting to form in her head.

Echo was watching with interest, but also concern with how tired Danny looked.

"Ghosts attacking, ghosts trying to rip my head off or capture me, and then calling me to help them when they can't handle a criminal they're supposed to be watching, and then getting in trouble, taking the blame for releasing the ghost…" Danny grumbled.

Juliette put an arm around Danny's shoulder. "I'm not sure. Perhaps you could try and recruit some backup? I mean you have a couple of my classmates that run around and help you. But what if you tried to recruit some ghosts that like you and would be willing and able to help? I'm sure there are some ghosts in the Ghost Zone that would be willing to help you out."

"I don't want to ask for their help," Danny answered, not pushing Juliette's arm away.

"Why not?" Juliette asked as she lightly pulled to make Danny lean into her for comfort.

"Because… I don't want to put them in danger. It's not just ghosts coming after me, it's also ghost hunters, like the Fentons, and the Guys in White, and any other ghost hunters that could be out there. They could get seriously hurt, or captured and be experimented on. I would never want to put any of my ghost friends in danger like that," Danny explained quietly.

Juliette gave a thoughtful look. "That doesn't mean you shouldn't talk to them. Perhaps there is something they can teach you that will make your job easier. You could also try to find some other people in this world who would be willing to help. Perhaps get together your own ghost fighting team. Not ghost hunters necessarily, just people who can help take some of the strain off you. I mean… if I had magic and was able to help, I'd definitely want to help you if you allowed me. I'm sure there are others who actually have magic or skills that do want to help you but are… simply too nervous or unsure to ask."

"Maybe… I sometimes… sometimes like to imagine… having someone there with me… helping me… staying with me… go through the same things I am… even though that's pretty selfish of me…" Danny tiredly admitted as he leaned his head onto Juliette's shoulder.

"That's not selfish," Juliette responded kindly. "Everyone feels that way at some point in their life. Everyone has, does, or will want someone who can understand what they're going through and shares the same experiences that they have. Trust me, I've had a desire to have a friend or a sibling, usually a twin, that has gone through everything I've been through and is there to support me."

"Heh… my friends are close… but sadly they can't understand everything I go through… I still appreciate them though, they always try hard to help me when they can. My sister… yeah, she does her best too. She's been great at home… patching me up… talking to me when I need it… she's an awesome sister…" Danny sleepily replied, starting to close his eyes. "Your fur is… really soft…"

"Heh, thanks, I use a really nice shampoo and conditioner," Juliette responded. "And it sounds like you do have a support group, but you sound like you could still use more help."

Echo had climbed up the tree, sitting near Danny and Juliette, watching them.

"Yeah… sometimes I wonder… if it's… worth keeping… this secret…" Danny mumbled.

Juliette raised a brow, having an idea on what Danny meant but deciding to act like she was thinking it was something else. "I don't think it is worth keeping your stress and strain a secret."

Danny didn't seem to have heard her, his eyes were closed, and his body relaxed against Juliette. Danny tried to mumble something, but it came out as gibberish. Juliette and Echo waited a minute before a ring of light suddenly appeared on Danny's torso. Juliette almost flinched, but didn't move. The ring of light split horizontally, changing Danny Phantom into Danny Fenton.

I assume you didn't see this future? Juliette silently chuckled. That I would 'find out Danny's secret' this way?

Echo looked at Juliette, Juliette could see that he had a knowing look in his eyes, though there was also something else.

Juliette frowned. What timeline have we entered? That look in your eyes tells me that you know something, that isn't going to go all that well, is coming our way.

"I've had many different visions on how you'll find out about Danny's secret. One was my favorite, where he just straight up told you himself. There were a few where you 'accidentally' discovered his secret while he was transforming. And a few more where he lost or ran out of his ghost powers and reverted back in front of you, whether it was through the Plasmius Maximus, or the Ghost Catcher. But this…" Echo frowned, looking troubled. "I did see this, but it was on a very unlikely path."

Why was it unlikely? Juliette raised a brow as Danny continued to sleep.

"Because it leads into a timeline where Danny can see beings in the Void," Echo answered. "And I have no idea how the heck that's going to happen."

Juliette frowned. There is only one possibility from what I remember… but we already took care of it.

"That's why I'm surprised…" Echo frowned.

Perhaps… look forward and see if the Fentons rebuilt the Mortifier? Juliette suggested as she reached up and began to stroke Danny's head a little.

Echo looked at Juliette stroking Danny's head, a strange emotion started to overcome him. Echo looked away and tried to look into the future for the Mortifier. Echo saw what looked like the Mortifier, but it looked different, more sleek, and advanced than the last one. However, when Echo attempted to see if the Fentons would use it in another assembly or on Danny at all, the visions got blurry, fuzzy, and dark. Echo frowned as he strained to try to clear up the vision, but it remained the same.

"That's odd… I can't see a future where they use it…" Echo frowned in concern. "This had never happened before…"

But did they rebuild it? Juliette worriedly inquired.

"Yes, they did. It looks like it's more advanced than the last model too. It might even be waterproof…" Echo informed.

Juliette frowned. Can I smash it or destroy it? Or do they keep it locked up better?

"I'm not sure. It seems pretty sturdy this time. But I can't see this Mortifier's future all that well, it's too fuzzy," Echo explained. "I'm not sure why."

Hmmm… then perhaps we can find a way to warn Danny? Juliette suggested.

"You can try, but he won't be able to do anything about it for a while. His mind is more focused on Danielle, she's still sick, and getting worse. If he and Jazz can't find a cure by next week, we'll have to get involved after all," Echo sighed. "In two weeks from now, Danielle will essentially be a servant to the Fentons if they don't succeed."

Juliette frowned more as she continued to stroke Danny's hair. Echo watched for a moment, before closing his eyes, leisurely letting himself look into the future for Danny. Danny would be getting more support from Juliette now that he knows that she knows, but he'll still be quite stressed. Danny will be talking to Tom in school. Danny will be going to the Ghost Zone to ask Clockwork for help with Danielle. Clockwork will tell Danny that Danielle will be okay. Echo will wake up in Danny's mind, and meeting with Phantom.

Echo stopped at that last vision, and opened his eyes, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. "What the…?"

Juliette looked at him when he gave his confused statement. Echo tried to look into that future again, but he didn't see it anymore. Echo decided that he must've avoided that future because he saw it.

See something interesting? Juliette asked in her mind as she kept stroking Danny's hair.

"I thought I saw myself in Danny's mind, talking to his ghost form for a moment," Echo answered. "But I don't see it anymore."

Interesting… Juliette responded. Perhaps it's so unlikely that it won't pop back up until it's closer to happening. Or maybe seeing it stopped it from happening.

Echo went back to looking into Danny's future. There were several more paths once he got past the more immediate futures, but many of them had Danny fighting alone in the Ghost Zone, a place that his friends couldn't easily follow him in. There were a few futures where they did follow him in the Specter Speeder, but Danny had gotten fast over two years of ghost fighting, so he sometimes flew ahead of them and disappeared.

Echo did see more futures where Juliette was able to keep up with Danny, using her gravitational pull trick to follow him. Though she had gotten a lot stronger and faster with training, she was still not strong enough to take on a lot of the tougher ghosts, and Danny had to protect her from the bigger ones.

No matter what future it was, Danny was usually fighting alone, his stress levels getting higher, especially when he had to protect people. But when Echo tried to look further, the visions started to get blurry and fuzzy. The further on Echo looked, the blurrier and fuzzier it got, until he saw nothing but darkness.

Echo frowned, he tried looking into other futures around that same time frame, but he still got nothing but darkness. Echo, worried now, opened his eyes.

"Is… is the universe going to end in a few months…?" Echo questioned in worry.

I don't think so. Juliette responded. I very much doubt that ALL of the gods and goddesses would let that happen. And I very much doubt Anise would be with us if the universe was going to end.

"If it's not the universe, then it's…" Echo frowned, starting to shake. "Me… I'm probably going to just stop existing in a few months. It's the only other explanation!"

Calm down, Echo. There is one other logical option. Juliette pointed out, worried about Echo. It could be that in a few months, I bring you back to the living world. It's possible that you're unable to see past a few months because I bring you back in a way that makes you no longer Echo.

Echo shook his head. "I don't know why bringing me out of the Void would make it so I can't see what's to come after that."

I don't know why either, Echo, but it might be a possibility other than you just not existing at all. Juliette said, trying to reassure Echo.

Echo sighed before looking at the sleeping Danny. "Whatever the case may be, I should prepare for it. Danny's going to be fighting a lot on his own for the next few months, and even though I can't help him directly, he's going to be a prime target for the Void Creatures soon."

Looks like you found your motivation then. Juliette smiled.

Echo gave a small smile back. "Danny looks so peaceful when he's sleeping. Take care of him, alright? I've got some training to do."

I'll take care of him. Juliette promised. I'll also be doing some training of my own with my free hand.

Echo nodded to Juliette before he jumped down from the tree. As soon as he touched the ground, Echo summoned a blue fire, which turned into a small Foxfire kit.

"Okay, Foxfire, start moving," Echo instructed before he summoned some weights on him, and put a few weights on Foxfire's back.

Foxfire ran ahead, while Echo ran after her.

As they were getting halfway across Amity Park, Echo panted, almost stopping. Foxfire looked at him in concern. Echo shook his head.

"Keep going, I can do this," Echo ordered.

Foxfire nodded and kept going.

As Echo and Foxfire were running past the other Guys in White, they stopped what they were doing and looked at the boy running with the mysterious blue fox. Void Spirits started to run or fly along with Echo, seeing his dedication caused the other Void Spirits in the area to go with him. Kim and Ron were the first to join with Echo in his running. Cobra gave a smile before he too joined them. Jacob, Cindy, and Pete decided to join in as well. Soon, all the other Guys in White joined in.

Juliette was training with her free hand, trying to make something permanent or without wasting as much energy while Danny was still sleeping on her. Then she heard what sounded like a mob running. She looked down from the tree, and was shocked to see Echo leading the rest of the Guys in White, as well as other Void Spirits, on his endurance run.

Heh, seems like you've become one of the group~ Juliette chuckled.

As the day went on, Juliette watched with pride as they began to go through the obstacle course Anise set up for them. They easily ran through the maze without the Void Creatures touching them. They easily went up the tall tree without getting knocked down, and those who did got help from someone else who was nearby. Jacob was no longer scared of water, and was doing flips on the thin platforms of the Void Barriers while the others just laughed as they ran behind him.

Echo managed to disarm Cobra's staff during their spar, and kicked him down. Cobra gave a smile of his own when Echo managed to do that.

Then they all started working on creating better weapons, for both close and long range. They fired guns, launched bombs, and shot RPGs with precision at the moving targets that Anise created. What was unexpected, however, was that some of them were working with Void Spirits. A few of them started to ride on the bigger ones, and on the ones that could fly to reach their flying targets easier. The Guys in White had thought Echo tamed an unusual Void Spirit with the fiery blue fox, so they did the same with the other Void Spirits.

During all that, however, the sun was starting to go down in the horizon. Danny finally stirred beside Juliette.

"Rest well?" Juliette asked softly as she took her hand off Danny's head.

Danny blinked open his eyes, trying to get the grogginess out. "Huh…? Where am I…?"

"Central Park," Juliette answered. "Sitting on a tree branch with me."

"Wha-" Danny's eyes widened as he just remembered what happened. "Oh Clockwork! Did I actually fall asleep on you!?"

"Yep," Juliette confirmed, not wanting to bring up Danny's transformation herself.

"Why didn't you wake me?" Danny questioned, not seeming to realize he had turned back to human yet.

"Because you looked like you needed the rest and I didn't have anything planned today," Juliette responded. "I honestly didn't mind letting you take a nap on me. After all, you do so much for this city, the least I could do is let you take a little nap."

Danny blushed. "I still can't believe that I…"

Danny stopped when he noticed he was wearing his classic white t-shirt and blue pants. Danny frowned as he looked at his gloveless hands before he glanced up to see the tip of his hair was black instead of snow white. Danny's blue eyes widened in horror as he realized what had happened.

"Oh… no… I changed back…" Danny hissed.

"You don't need to worry, Danny," Juliette assured. "I'm not going to tell anyone."

Danny groaned. "I still can't believe I fell asleep on you, and changed back right in front of you. This has got to be a record on my secret getting discovered by someone…"

"Remember, I already had a theory that you were Danny Phantom," Juliette reminded. "In fact, I had already figured it out myself. Every time you disappeared during the school day, I would hear you saying 'I'm going ghost' and not long after, Danny Phantom showed up."

"You… heard that?" Danny blinked.

Juliette gave a nod. "I have extremely sensitive hearing. It's a blessing and a curse."

Danny gave a sigh at that. "I guess I should've known that I wouldn't be able to keep this from you for long. You are a lot more observant than most people in Amity Park. … Nobody else saw me change, did they?"

"Nope," Juliette responded. "The park has been devoid of life all day… well, minus wild animals and us two. Sadly not many people go out to parks these days."

Danny looked relieved at that. "I'm glad then. Um… you don't mind that I can turn into a ghost?"

"Why would I mind?" Juliette chuckled. "I'm a kitsune that can consume energy from Wisps and I apparently have a feral form that I've never accessed before. Honestly, the fact you can turn into a ghost is really cool. It's nice to know there is someone else in the city besides me that isn't normal."

"It feels more than just not being normal. I mean… I'm not all ghost either. I'm not just in a human disguise like this. I'm literally half ghost, half human. Half dead, half alive. What sense does that even make?" Danny questioned.

Juliette gave a thoughtful look before she gave a nod. "It makes more sense than being someone that half exists and half doesn't exist."

"What does that even mean?" Danny raised an eyebrow.

"As you hopefully know, there are an infinite number of realms," Juliette stated. "One of those realms is a place where everything that should have existed, or did exist at one point and disappeared, ends up. It's not easy to get there, and it's nearly impossible to get out. It's known as the Void, and with me… well I'm half of the Void, which means half of me doesn't technically exist."

Danny looked at Juliette before his blue eyes lit up. "I know about the Void."

Juliette stared at Danny. "What…?"

"Well, I've never been to it or seen it, but I've been told about it by Clockwork," Danny explained. "He told me about a place where beings end up when they somehow cease to exist, or at least don't exist in the technical term. He told me that people that simply disappear instead of dying or whatever end up in the Void. Apparently all those planes and ships and people that mysteriously vanish that don't go to the Ghost Zone would end up in the Void."

Juliette raised a brow at that. "Who is Clockwork?" Why would Clockwork tell Danny about the Void?

"He's this powerful ghost who can control time," Danny informed. "He's someone who's helped me before. Though I often go to him when I need advice on something. I've sort of gone to him so often now that I'm starting to see him as a grandfather. Kind of funny, huh?"

"It's kind of sweet." Juliette smiled.

"Clockwork teaches me a little bit about ghost culture. I even managed to get to learn more from another powerful ghost named Pandora. Ever since I helped her get her box back from the Box Ghost, she's allowed me to visit her in her lair to train for a bit, get stronger, and learn more about ghost culture." Danny smiled as he reminisced.

"Heh, that sounds really nice," Juliette commented. "But… yeah, getting back onto topic. I'm technically half in the Void, I don't fully exist. I can travel back and forth between the Void and the living world."

Danny nodded to Juliette. "That actually sounds really cool. But I wouldn't say that you don't fully exist. I mean, I don't know too much about the Void, but you said you can go between here and the Void. Does that mean you don't fully exist?"

"Well it's not that I don't fully exist," Juliette remarked. "I simply have a lot of Void energy in me which is keeping me attached to the Void."

Danny gave a small, curious nod. "What is the Void like? Is it just a blank space? Are there actually people and animals there?"

"There are spirits and creatures that exist in the Void, as well as other beings," Juliette answered. "And not exactly. The Void coincides with all realms. If I were to go into the Void here, I would see everything around us as I do now. However, I can't interact with everything. I can walk on the ground, I can climb trees and stairs and swim in water, but walls and all that are not solid. I will say, everything that exists in the Void is black, white, or some shade of gray."

Danny gave a look of intrigue at that. "That almost sounds like living as a ghost- err, in movies. Where the ghost can't be seen or interact with anyone. That's… gotta be frustrating though, to live in the same realm as everyone else, but not being able to interact at all."

"It… can be," Juliette responded, her mind going to Echo. I… kinda want to tell Danny about Void Creatures and the dangers they face, but he doesn't need to worry more.

"Is there anyone I know who might be in the Void?" Danny asked curiously, nearly catching Juliette off guard.

"Yes," Juliette answered honestly, not wanting to lie to Danny and feeling it would be a good opportunity to start easing him into the whole 'Andy' thing. "Well, you don't exactly know them, as that is kinda the point of the Void. But there is someone in the Void that you most likely would know if they were out in the living world."

"Oh?" Danny gave a look of interest. "Who are they? Do you know?"

Should I tell him now…? Juliette questioned herself as she created a coin. Heads I drop Andy's name, tails I don't. Juliette flipped the coin and it landed on heads. Welp, the universe decided.

"Andy Fenton," Juliette said.

Juliette waited for a reaction. Danny blinked at Juliette.

"Or Andrew Fenton," Juliette added.

Danny scratched his head, trying to think if he knew that name. Paulina and Dash reacted like this at first too, so Juliette waited to see what else would happen.

"I… don't think I know that name…" Danny finally said. "Were they a cousin who visited me sometimes?"

Juliette shook her head. "No, they were closer. I… don't want to say exactly for my own reasons, but I can say you and them were probably close."

Danny gave it some more thought, before he suddenly had a troubled look in his eyes. "Okay… I think I should head back home. Someone's waiting for me."

"Oh?" Juliette raised a brow. "Go ahead. If you want to talk at all, I'll be at my home… which I just realized you, Sam, and Tucker have never visited. I've been over to all your houses, but you guys haven't come over to my home."

"Yeah, we'll have to visit your house some time," Danny chuckled, seeming to be distracted. "I'll see you later, Juliette."

Danny stood up on the branch before he summoned the rings of light on his torso, changing him into his ghost form. Now as Danny Phantom, he flew away. Juliette wasn't sure if Danny was troubled about Danielle or if he remembered something about Andy.

If Echo finds out I told Danny about the Void and him… Juliette stopped, knowing that Echo would both be panicking and be absolutely livid. For now, I should go wrap up the training so I can go on my shift tonight.


ZoeTheKitsune: DarkFoxKit: Thank you, but it would be nice if you said something about the story you seem to love so much, so we know what it is you like about it.

Darkzdragon: Or where we might improve for the new sto- *Has mouth covered by DarkFoxKit*

DarkFoxKit: We're not promising anything.