The Infinite Realms

by DarkFoxKit

Based off of the ending to My Brother's a Ghost. What if Danny wasn't able to save Andy from falling into the Void? What if the world had been changed due to the Reality Gauntlet? What if a different kind of threat arrives in Amity Park? Read on to find out. WARNING: Rated M.

1. Chapter 1: Echo and Juliette

DarkFoxKit: *Is eating some cake* Hey, Onyx! The camera's rolling! It's time to do the AN! *Licks some frosting off her paws*

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': AN…? *Flips through a calender* But… it's Friday, not Monday. We're not set to update WAP just yet. Oh, happy birthday, by the way.

DarkFoxKit: Yes, it is my birthday, thank you for remembering. This is really good cake by the way. But this isn't just a special day for me, it's a special day for another thing. We're uploading a new story, but it's… a different kind of story. You know the one I'm talking about, don't you?

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Uhhhh…? *Looks through a few different piles of papers* Ummm… Is it Sister-

DarkFoxKit: No! For Clockwork's sake, we are on the Danny Phantom fanfiction site!

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Gives it some thought*

DarkFoxKit: *Deadpans* It's the story where your characters gets stuffed in a certain kinky suit.

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Her eyes went wide* Oh… OOOOOOOOOOOH! We're uploading TIR? I… weren't we planning to do that on my birthday?

DarkFoxKit: Your birthday isn't until February 23rd, and when it was your birthday, we kinda… gave excuses for why we didn't post it. Dear readers, there's a reason why we were so hesitant to post this story. For starters, the story and plot itself are made up as we go, it's mostly 'if it pops in our head and we like it, we'll do it', so don't expect a lot of plot relevant things going on, it's mostly a self serving story. But we wrote so much of it, and we had so much fun with it, we thought we should at least share it with the readers who are interested. But there's also another warning… Onyx, would you like to warn them?

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Yes. I will be posting a secondary disclaimer underneath the AN for those that skip the ANs. This story is marked as the highest level of Mature as there are adult themes and content within this story. We want to be safe rather than sorry. If some things don't aren't up your alleys, then that's fine. Don't complain because we're 'not doing something you want'. We already have over 6,000 pages in this story, so any suggestions or ideas will likely be put in much later. This story, while not marked as a crossover, does have combinations of many different fandoms. The main fandom and world is Danny Phantom, hence why it is here. There are characters and elements from other stories of ours and fandoms we are into. I… don't think I have anything else to add.

DarkFoxKit: Oh, there is another thing. You need to be familiar with some of my Danny Phantom stories to understand what's going on, and who Andy is, who is one of the main characters in this story. You will need to have at least finished My Brother's a Ghost. The story does its best to try to explain what happened to Andy though. And again, this is a self serving story, we didn't plan on uploading it originally. We know this kind of thing would likely disgust a lot of people. So we are warning you all right now, check the rating before you skip our AN or disclaimer and find yourself reading an unexpected type of story. We're not looking for advice or criticism on 'how to correctly write a good story', this story was purely for fun, and we're only uploading to show you our efforts.

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': This story actually has allowed us to test things we are considering putting into other stories. Of course, not the kinky or fetish stuff.

DarkFoxKit: One last warning. If we get too many reviews that are just complaining about what we're doing in this story, we'll end up deleting it. We only uploaded it to share what we enjoyed with the readers, but if the readers make it clear they hate it and are so disgusted with it that they feel they must constantly tell us, then we'll get rid of it. We're not trying to be pigs and upload something inappropriate online just because, we only want to entertain people, and this story I feel is good enough to draw people in at the very least. *Bites into her cake* Okay, I think we've said just about everything we needed to say. Let's have the readers dive on in and see if they can sink or swim on their own from here.

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Like I said, there is a disclaimer below. If you've taken the time to read the AN, you should be good. But you can take a look at it anyways. It'll also be up in the description just to make sure we cover our bases.

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Disclaimer: This story is marked as Mature for a reason. There are adult elements in this story. If you are not interested in that, this story may not be for you. This story is based off of multiple stories that Fox and Onyx have written. While mainly set in a Danny Phantom world, there are going to be elements of other fandoms. It is not going to be a large enough element for us to consider marking this as a crossover.

The Infinite Realms

Chapter 1: Echo and Juliette

His earliest memory was of him waking up on the streets. He sat up, looking around in confusion and curiosity. He realized where he was, it looked like a city of some kind. He had no idea how he knew what a city was. He knew he could walk, and he knew the people in the city were humans. He tried to interact with them, but nobody seemed to be able to see or hear him. If he tried to touch them, he ended up going through them, as if he wasn't really there. Looking down, he saw that he wore clothes, and a hoodie. His clothes had three large tears in them, though he didn't know why. His color was also different from the other humans. He appeared to be gray instead of colorful. Even the humans with the darkest skin tones were more colorful than he was. He didn't understand why at first, he didn't need to, as he was simply terrified.

But then, he ran into a strange being. The being was a skeleton that wore a black cloak that seemed to permanently be flowing towards the ground, like a piece of ice continuously melting. The skeleton had eyes that could glow red in one socket, and blue in the other. The being was able to see him, unlike the humans he had tried to communicate with in the city. He approached the skeleton, feeling fearful, yet curious. The skeleton looked down at him, intrigued.

"It has been a long time since I've seen another in the Void Realm," The being spoke. "At least one who has a mind behind their eyes."

He knew the being spoke in a language that was unfamiliar to him, and yet he could understand the being perfectly.

"I… don't understand…" He spoke back.

The skeleton analyzed him; either trying to make some kind of sense as to what he was, or maybe the being was thinking of what to say to him.

"Strange, you are more than just in this Realm, you seem to be a part of it and it a part of you," The being noted.

"What do you mean? A part of what?" He questioned, sounding frightened.

"The Void, child, the endless abyss," The being answered. "The place where everything that shouldn't belong or ceases to exist ends up."

"The… Void? … Does that mean that I don't exist?" He frowned.

"Yes and no," The being replied. "You are indeed a creature that exists here and used to exist elsewhere, but you are only here now."

"But isn't this a city? It doesn't look like some kind of… void," He pointed out.

"The Void isn't just an empty space that many think it to be. It's a realm that exists in the world of the living, as well as the world of the dead. It is an in-between world, a world where nothing and nobody exists. A creature or being that exists here doesn't truly exist at all," The being answered.

He felt even more lost than before. "But how could we exist here if we don't exist at all?"

"The Void does not exist, and yet it does. We do not exist, and yet we do. It is not a simple logic that an inexperienced and mundane being could comprehend, it just is. The world of the living, and the world of the dead, none can interact with us, nor can we interact with them, at least not directly. They don't know us, they cannot perceive us, and yet, we can perceive them easily. We can hear their thoughts, feelings, emotions, and watch their lives as they go on. It is a rather interesting yet cruel state we are in," The skeleton explained. "We have no color other than shades of gray, indicating that we do not belong here, or anywhere. We are just here. With time, you might find ways to influence the living."

He looked down at his gray body and clothes. "Could we… leave the Void?"

"No," The being shook their head. "Once something falls into the Void… there is simply no way out."

"How does one… fall into the Void?" He asked.

"There aren't many ways one could fall into the Void, unless they did something that erases them from reality. But the most common way is to never be born. Many creatures end up here, because they were supposed to be born, yet they weren't. The Void absorbs them, and they are one with the Void, just as you and I are." The skeleton chuckled. "Don't worry, you are new. But you will learn."

He looked down, not knowing what to do about this situation. He didn't know anyone or anything about himself. He looked up at the being again, but the being was gone.

He was left to wander in the city, the city that was full of life, a life that he didn't belong to. He didn't know what to do. Then he saw someone that made him feel something, though he wasn't sure what. This person was a boy, a teenager from the looks of him. The teenager was talking to two others, one boy, and one girl. He approached them, but they did not acknowledge him. He couldn't take his eyes off the boy, there was something comforting and familiar about him. That was when he decided he would keep an eye on the boy, and learn more about him.

Close to three years went by since then. The boy named Danny Fenton, who was half ghost. Danny used his ghostly powers to protect the city from other ghosts. However, something strange happened when Danny took the Reality Gauntlet away from a madman called Freakshow. Danny did his best to bring the world back to normal using the power of the Reality Gauntlet before he destroyed it, however the destruction of the Reality Gauntlet had drastic effects on the world.

When the Reality Gauntlet was shattered, a wave of powerful energy shot out from where Danny was and spread throughout the universe at a rapid pace. This energy, which was absorbed into people, plants, animals, and even the entire planet, started to show itself as what humans called magic. While magic had been simply part of fantasy worlds and stories up until that point, the destruction of the Reality Gauntlet brought said magic to the world. This magic had all sorts of different effects, but most notable was the transformation of the world.

Well, transformed is what some people would call it. The truth is that two worlds, completely separate from each other, were fused. He knew this due to his existence in the Void Realm, but many others didn't. While, yes, the destruction of the Reality Gauntlet had brought about magic, it has also somehow snagged two instances of Earth and pulled them together, fusing the planets into one, slightly larger, Earth. However, that was not the only change.

When the worlds were fused, new species began showing up all over. There were now animal people walking among the world, they were anthropomorphic animals, or anthros for short. There were also humans with animal features on them, like a cat's ears or a dog's tail, and their species was called chienthropes. Many humans inherited magic from the world. But even with this drastic change, people adapted, and life went on.

Danny continued to be a hero after defeating Freakshow and destroying the Reality Gauntlet. However, despite the fact that he had changed the world, what he was best known for, and was actually famous for, was the defeat of Pariah Dark. Due to that fame and standing, he managed to help make peace with a lot of ghosts, though many of them still attacked the city. He figured that some of these ghosts only attacked as part of some rivalry with Danny Phantom.

The people of Amity Park, which was the name of the city he was residing in, were still very skittish with ghosts, but Danny Phantom managed to get most of them to get along with the more peaceful ghosts. Though Danny Phantom's parents were ghost hunters, and saw ghosts as vile, evil creatures. As well as a student in Casper High named Valerie Gray, she hated ghosts and was a ghost hunter herself. None of them knew that Danny was half ghost, and often targeted his ghost form.

But Danny was very forgiving. Not only was he a hero, but he was a kind hero who always tried his best to help people, even if they didn't want his help. Danny grew stronger as time went on. He had grown to respect, care, and love Danny, even if Danny didn't know he existed, because he didn't.

He did, however, do more than just watch. There were times where he had to protect Danny, his friends and family, from the Void Creatures. These creatures had become corrupted from being in the Void too long. They sought to influence the living as their own vengeance for leaving them to rot in the Void for eternity. If a Void Creature managed to influence a living, they would die. However, ghosts were a Void Creature's biggest weakness, so Void Creatures usually left ghosts alone. Since this wasn't a threat Danny Phantom could handle, he took it upon himself to fight back against these creatures. He had powers he never knew he had until he used them.

Nobody would thank him, nobody would care what he did, but that was fine by him. As long as he could watch what Danny did, he didn't need anyone else. Danny's life was never boring, but Danny's life was full of stress and surprises. He wished he could be there to help Danny in the world of the living, but it was rather silly, because he didn't exist, he didn't have feelings like real people did. Danny didn't seem to be aging as fast as most humans did these days, it could be because of his half ghost nature. Though it wasn't like he minded, because he didn't age at all. He didn't mind it if things went on like this forever, he was content.

---

I have to get away! I can't be caught by these creatures! They will corrupt me and I… will become a monster, no doubt about that. A silver and black furred being thought to herself as she continued running at full sprint away from a pack of large Void-tainted creatures that were after her.

One of the Void Creatures was towering over her, it wanted her, just as every Void Creature wanted her. It was rare for a non-corrupted soul to exist in the Void Realm, and the Void Creatures would do whatever it took to corrupt a non-tainted soul.

The silver and black being soon ran to the edge of a cliff, with nothing but the ocean below her.

No! NO! How can there be no more ground?! The maps said I was running to a city! The silver and black being mentally shouted as she spun around to look if she had any chance of escape.

The Void Creatures were crowding towards her. Many of them filled the skies as well as the ground, giving her little to no room to escape.

"Damnit! Damnit…" The silver and black being muttered before she looked back, down the cliff. It's either I let myself be corrupted… or I take my life… there's no chance I'll survive the fall… I can't even see the bottom…

The silver and black being kept looking back and forth between the cliff and the Void Creatures that were approaching her. She shut her eyes, deciding death was better than becoming corrupted. She let herself fall down the cliff. After falling for what felt like ages, the silver and black being splashed into cold water that began to wash her away. She quickly swam up to the surface, gasping for air. The ocean was dragging her into the open water, and she was struggling just to keep her head above it. The Void Creatures jumped into the ocean as well, though some of them stayed behind. However, the silver and black being had no control over where the ocean was taking her.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire… The silver and black being mentally grumbled, trying her best to keep herself together. At least I survived that fall… I wasn't sure how long I was falling back there. I felt like I was just going to be falling in an endless abyss for the rest of eternity.

The silver and black being struggled to stay afloat, but eventually she blacked out. She was exhausted and in pain.

---

The next thing the black and silver being knew, she felt a pleasant breeze, she could hear what she thought were the ocean's gentle waves. It took her a few moments to realize that she wasn't drowning. She wasn't in the water anymore, that much she could tell.

"Hey… are you going to wake up now or maybe do I have to splash you?" A male voice asked.

"Splash me… and I'll claw your eyes out…" The silver and black being groaned as she slowly opened her eyes.

To her surprise, she saw a boy who appeared to be 14 years old. The boy himself, however, is what surprised her.

"You're… oh no…" The silver and black being gasped before she quickly rocked back a little before jumping to her feet. "Stay back!"

The boy blinked at her before standing up, as he was bending down to her earlier. "Wow, someone sure is lively."

The silver and black being visually scanned the boy from head to toe. "You are definitely a creature of the Void… but you seem… uncorrupted. How is that possible? There are very rarely any uncorrupted Void beings with sentience."

"The Void Creatures? They're a nuisance, for sure," The boy rolled his eyes. "But they don't bother me too much. It's the other people I often have to worry about. I'm just surprised to see another creature of the Void who isn't a Void Creature. I thought you were at first, but you didn't have the same corrupted aura as they did."

"Yeah… I'm a creature of the Void…" The silver and black being agreed. I have no reason to tell him the truth…

"So what brings you to Amity Park? Decided to see if you could breathe under the ocean and went deep sea diving?" The boy asked, though she couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"Amity… Park…?" The silver and black being repeated before their eyes went wide. "In America?!" Jeez… how did I not drown…? I was last in Europe… and how long was I out?

"Yup, that's where you are," The boy answered nonchalantly.

Good lord… America… Wait… from what I know… isn't Amity Park only connected to water by a large lake? How did I get here via the ocean?! The silver and black being thought in alarm. "Uh… so did I just wash up onto shore or something? Or did you pull me out of the water?"

"You washed up," The boy replied. "I didn't have a reason to pull you out of the water."

"I see…" The silver and black being acknowledged in an emotionless tone. "I should probably get going…" Not sure where I'll go… but I'll go somewhere.

She started walking, looking around. The boy looked at her before he started to follow her.

"You know, you're interesting," The boy suddenly said, surprising her. "The last being I talked to was some weird skeleton man. Everyone else just kinda… well, can't see something that doesn't exist, right? It can get kind of boring pretending that I'm talking to people who would never respond back."

"There are no other Void beings around here that you can socialize with?" The silver and black being questioned. I would think there would be quite a few Void beings near Amity Park. Wait… "Why are you following me?"

"Because Danny is in the Ghost Zone right now. I've never gone to the world of the dead myself yet, so I'm not that confident to follow him there, especially since that place isn't exactly… welcoming to Void beings like me," The boy shrugged like this was common knowledge. "So why wouldn't I follow the only person who can talk to me? I don't know about you, but Void Creatures aren't much for conversations."

"So you're telling me that a place like Amity Park has no other Void beings besides Void Creatures?" The silver and black being raised a brow.

"Unless I count that skeleton guy who never showed up again, then no," The boy remarked. "I don't know why you would expect there to be a lot of Void 'beings' here. I'd say most of the Void 'beings' are either animals or babies that were never born, and… well, they get corrupted way too easily, they can't even make it past the first month before they just become mindless Void Creatures."

Skeleton guy…? Why does that description sound familiar…? The silver and black being pondered. "I've seen other creatures, beings who are like you. In fact, there is a small civilization of them near Japan."

"Oh, how lovely, I guess. But I'm not going all the way to Japan," The boy stated.

"I have heard of Void beings elsewhere in the world though," The silver and black being continued. "Usually there are a few sentient Void beings in every city. Perhaps you've just been unlucky to not run into another sentient Void being… or as I like to call them, Void Walkers."

"Huh… so there is a name for that," The boy noted.

"I personally came up with it, so it's nothing official," The silver and black being responded with a small shrug.

The boy looked at her curiously. "You name things? So then, what do you call yourself?"

"Juliette," The silver and black being answered. "Juliette Rosescale."

"Heh, you almost sound like a real person with a name," The boy chuckled. "Seems a little odd to me. But I suppose it's your choice, even if it doesn't really matter."

"A name does matter," Juliette remarked. "You may be a Void Walker, but you still are a living being that deserves to have a name."

The boy laughed. "You must be new. Hi, I'm a being who doesn't exist. Nice to meet you, Juliette. Then we shake hands. That's how living beings like to do when they meet each other for the first time."

"I know how living beings greet each other," Juliette informed. "And no, I'm not new. In fact, I'm most likely older than you."

"Older than me, huh? I suppose if you've been around longer, you could technically say you're older, but age is nonexistent to us," The boy shrugged.

Juliette chuckled to herself. I could blow this kid's entire world to bits… but I won't. "You know… you look remarkably similar to Danny Phantom."

"Ah, so you do know about Danny Phantom." The boy smiled, looking a little more genuine, albeit silly. He wasn't entirely sure how to properly smile as he had only learned how to do it through watching people. "He's awesome, he always does his best to take care of this city and the people in it. But they don't always make it easy for him. I hope Jazz is able to help with his mental issues that I'm sure is cropping up from all the stress his parents are giving him. Their latest invention almost made him scream loud enough to unleash the Ghostly Wail… that wouldn't have been pretty. Did you know that he-"

"I get it, you're a Danny Phantom fan," Juliette interrupted. "But you look… nearly identical to him. In fact, if I put you two next to each other, I doubt I'd have an easy time telling apart one from the other. Except the fact that you look younger than him."

"Ah, that's probably because my body was modeled after his human form from nearly three years ago," The boy informed. "I don't think I've always looked like him, but I have stuck close to him since I came to be in the Void, so I'm guessing that this non-existent body of mine shifted to look exactly like his human form at the time I first started following him since it didn't have a form of its own."

Juliette frowned, not sure that was the case. "Or, according to the logic of beings of the Void, you could've been a version of him that didn't exist or perhaps something akin to a twin?"

"There could be reasons like that. But they don't matter to me, because they don't matter," The boy stated nonchalantly. "The point is I look like him just because, and that's just that."

"And what exactly do you mean by 'his human form'?" Juliette questioned.

"Oh, right, not many know of his secret," The boy remembered. "Danny Phantom is special in more ways than one. He's half human and half ghost. He got it from a lab accident in his parents lab. He half died basically."

"Half human and half ghost, eh?" Juliette repeated, inwardly chuckling. Sounds somewhat similar to my situation… "You said you don't have a name, right?"

"That's right. I never bothered to give myself one like you did," The boy shrugged.

"Then perhaps I should give you a name." Juliette grinned.

"Why?" The boy blinked, both surprised at the decision of the silver and black being as well as a little fearful of how sharp the being's teeth looked.

"Because I'd like to be able to call you by a name to actually get your attention if I need to," Juliette explained. "Let's see… I shouldn't come up with anything stupid like Danny 2 or anything like that…"

The boy cringed a little. "Don't even joke, I wouldn't be worthy of such an honor to be named after the greatest ghost boy in the world."

I could come up with an actual name for him… but it might not be the name he was supposed to have, so giving him a proper name would be wrong. Juliette thought to herself. Perhaps something about the fact he looks like a reflection of Danny Phantom? Hmm…

After giving it a few moments thought while walking, Juliette gave a nod. "What do you think about the name 'Mirror'?"

The boy looked at her. "I may not exist, but I don't want to be called something akin to an inanimate object."

"Fair enough… my first idea usually isn't the best, but the one afterwards is golden," Juliette responded before giving it some more thought. If not 'Mirror' or 'Reflection' perhaps… "Echo."

"Eccho?" The boy repeated. "Like the dolphin?"

"What? Are you talking about echolocation?" Juliette raised a brow.

"Oh, no, there was a video game that Tucker played, the dolphin was the main character, and his name was Eccho," The boy explained.

"No." Juliette shook her head. "I meant Echo in the sense of a voice echoing in a cave. You seem to be… essentially like an echo of Danny Phantom, or at least his apparent human form."

"Heh, that's… actually pretty cool. It'd be like I came from his Ghostly Wail or something." The boy smiled.

"Who knows, maybe you did." Juliette shrugged, not really understanding what the boy was talking about.

"While I still think it's pointless, I guess I don't mind having you refer to me as 'Echo'," The boy stated. "So, now that we've got that out of the way, what do you plan on doing now that you're here? Go sightseeing? Cause that's really all we can do anyways."

"Hmmm, perhaps…" Juliette answered in a noncommittal tone. I actually should get away from you and go somewhere private…

"Great, I can show you all the best places here." Echo smiled, still looking awkward while doing so.

"Are there any abandoned places that one could use as a temporary home?" Juliette asked, inwardly sweatdropping at Echo's cluelessness and awkward smile. I guess since he knows the area, I can use him until I can lose him. Also… he really doesn't know how to smile. He looks like a non-anthro dog trying to smile for the first time.

"You want a house…?" Echo blinked. "I don't know why you would, it's not like we can sleep or eat. And if you wanted a house, why not just go to any of them? It's not like anyone can kick you out."

"It's… personal preference," Juliette replied.

"You're kind of weird," Echo bluntly said. "You just act too… I don't know… real?"

Juliette frowned a little from the comment.

Echo shrugged. "Well, whatever, if that's what you want… then follow me."

"Can't you just tell me where they are?" Juliette inquired.

Echo turned to Juliette and gave a playful smile. "Oh? Why? Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"Honestly…?" Juliette raised a brow. "Yes, yes I am."

"That's fine. I'd want to get rid of me too," Echo remarked, not seeming offended or hurt by her answer.

"Why… do you say that?" Juliette asked. "Do you not want to exist?"

Echo looked around the city, trying to look for something. "I don't exist. And it's not like I hate myself, if that's what you're worried about. I just know I'm not the type people would want to be with."

"Echo, you do exist…" Juliette sighed in exasperation. "You simply don't exist in the living world or the world of the dead. You exist here, in the Void, meaning you do technically exist."

"Sure, you keep saying that," Echo nonchalantly replied.

"If you didn't exist, then tell me, how would you be able to speak?" Juliette questioned. "How would you be able to walk, to think, to view the living world?"

Echo turned back to her with another awkward smile, though Juliette could tell it was a fake smile. "There's an empty opera house on the east side of the city's largest park. It should be cozy enough to serve as a nice, temporary home."

"Thank you, but tell me what you truly are thinking," Juliette responded in a commanding tone. "Why are you forcing such an ingenuine smile at my words?"

Echo walked up to her, and whispered in her left ear. "I would watch what you say if I were you. You never know what kind of attention you'll attract."

Juliette didn't move as Echo walked past her. "Is… is that a threat?!"

"Not at all, just consider that a warning," Echo answered as he kept walking.

I should be wary of Echo… Juliette frowned as she began heading up the street she was on, looking for the largest park in the city. Thankfully she had a natural sense of direction, so once she found the park, she would be able to easily find the opera house.

---

To Juliette's relief, the park didn't take long to find. She saw a lot of children playing there, and some teenagers talking to each other without seeming to have a care in the world.

I feel… envious of the innocence that the people of the world of the living have… Juliette inwardly sighed. They are blissfully unaware of the Void or the Void Creatures that exist within it.

Juliette sometimes wondered what her life would've been like if she didn't know about the Void or the Void Creatures either. She watched the people going through life without noticing her as she headed in the direction Echo told her. Juliette came to a stop in front of a large empty building, it looked like nobody had been there for years. The paint on the outside walls were chipping, there were broken lightbulbs in the marquee, the doors had large pieces of plywood covering the broken glass, and what glass remained was either extremely dirty, broken, or had some kind of spray paint on it.

Juliette walked in through the doors, as they weren't physical in the Void. When Juliette got inside, she saw the decrepit shell of an opera house. There were a few rows of seats that hadn't been ripped out, hanging lighting rigs, tattered curtains, and quite a bit of graffiti. After doing a quick look around, Juliette deemed the building would be safe to stay in.

Juliette closed her eyes and let out a deep breath before mentally reaching into her. Juliette reached out and grabbed onto a beating heart inside of her, once she had grasped onto it, she stepped forward. As she stepped forward, the air around her warped and shifted. There was a soft sound of an explosion before Juliette reopened her eyes.

Juliette looked down at herself and around before she reached out to touch one of the remaining rows of seats.

Juliette let out a sigh of relief when her hand touched the seat. "Good, I didn't mess it up this time…"

Now that she was a part of the living world again, Juliette walked over to the stage, grabbing some of the torn curtains that had fallen to the ground. Juliette then climbed up onto the stage and put the torn curtains into a pile before laying down.

I'm going to take a rest… and then perhaps go out and get some food… Juliette mentally planned before she glanced down at herself, causing her to deeply blush, which showed up on his silver cheek fur as pink. After I get some clothes… Oh god… I can't believe I talked to Echo while I was nude…

---

By the time Juliette woke up, it was dark. The sun had likely gone down while she slept. Her body must've been more exhausted than she realized when she jumped into the ocean.

Juliette sat up from the pile, shivering a tiny bit. Thankfully I have fur… But going out in just my fur isn't appropriate. Perhaps there are some costume pieces left here in the theater that I can use.

Juliette stood up and blinked her eyes a few times, her red and pink eyes fully adjusting to the darkness, allowing her to see. To anyone looking at her, they would see Juliette's one red and one pink eyes as slits, as she was using a form of night vision that was a part of her race.

Kitsune nightvision… definitely don't know how I would've survived this long without it. Juliette chuckled as she walked towards the back of the stage, following the signs to the dressing rooms. Please let one of the gods of luck be smiling down upon me… or at least let me have one of their blessings.

When Juliette made it to the dressing rooms, she walked over to one of the closets and opened it. There were quite a few dusty looking costumes inside.

"Jeezus, most of these costumes have been eaten away by moths!" Juliette verbally exclaimed in disgust as she started pulling out and tossing the costumes with holes or tears in it onto the ground. "There has to be something intact that I can wear… I know the world is becoming more accepting with kinks, but streaking is still something I can be arrested for… especially in the USA which is a bit behind the rest of the world when it comes to accepting kinks."

Juliette stopped when she found something that was just her size and didn't have any holes.

"Really…?" Juliette asked as she looked up at the ceiling. "You mischief gods can go screw yourselves!"

Juliette thought she heard someone laughing, but when she looked, there was nobody there. She looked back into the closet and noticed the outfit was gone.

"H… huh?" Juliette asked before she was pushed forward to the ground by something behind her. "H-hey! Who's there?! Stop i-"

Juliette was silenced when a rubber gag forced itself into her mouth before a leather muzzle quickly wrapped around her maw, keeping it closed.

Oh, you son of a bitch! Juliette growled. Fucking mischief gods!

When Juliette managed to sit up, she felt something was on her. Looking down, she saw the leather outfit she was looking at moments before was now on her, fitting her perfectly.

You absolute ass…! Juliette seethed as she looked herself over, seeing no way for her to take the outfit off, especially as she was wearing huge, cartoon sized leather paw mittens. You can't keep this on me forever! If you try, I will force you to reincarnate! If you don't want me to hunt you down, you better show yourself and take this stupid outfit off of me!

To answer her demands, a diminutive anthro black cat showed up in front of her, giggling.

"My, Juliette, don't you look nice?" The anthro cat chuckled.

Fuck you, Anise. Juliette silently growled.

"Come now, Juliette, is that any way to greet an old friend?" The anthro cat, Juliette called 'Anise', questioned with a smirk.

You are not a friend of mine. Juliette glared, resisting the multiple different urges she had to try and pounce the cat.

"Ouch, I'm hurt. And after all the trouble I've gone through to get that outfit on you." Anise gave a phony frown.

You've done nothing but cause me trouble since our first encounter! Juliette snapped. I'm not a subject of yours, 'oh great goddess of mischief and kinks'. So you can take this stupid outfit off me and give it to one of your worshipers.

"I'm trying to get you to lighten up a little more. It's clear that you have a certain taste for bondage after all, and you're also the most fun to mess with~" Anise smiled.

I do not have a taste for bondage! Juliette growled. And I am not your toy! Also, you know why I don't 'lighten up'? Because of my specific existence. I live in both the Void and the world of the living. I'm constantly hunted by Void Creatures because of both that and the fact that I'm a species that is quite powerful magically in most cases. Void Creatures want to taint me and turn me into a Corruption Goddess.

"You know, if you were one of my subjects, I could keep you safe from the Void Creatures," Anise remarked.

Yeah, but for what price? I'm sure you would want me to do more than just praise you. Juliette hissed.

"But of course, I'd want your undying loyalty as well," Anise stated with a giggle, her tail swishing behind her. "Your life would be so much easier if you'd just let me, or at least one of us, protect you. But no, you want to remain stubborn. You don't let others get close to you, and you're always on the move. Surely that's not the kind of life you'd want to have."

You know why I can't stay in one place for too long. Juliette responded with a sigh. And I honestly doubt there is any god or goddess out there, besides a god or goddess of war, that could truly promise to protect me for the rest of my life.

Anise gave a sigh of her own before shrugging. "You can remain stuck in that suit along with that muzzle until someone gets you out. Cause I like to keep you in that outfit~"

Anise chuckled at Juliette's livid expression before she disappeared.

"I'll be keeping a close eye on you, hun~" Anise telepathically whispered to Juliette.

Great… just fucking great… Juliette groaned before she started walking towards the front of the building. At least I can walk in this, unlike the last outfit Anise trapped me in for a few days… I absolutely hated walking on my elbows and knees…

Juliette managed to get outside of the building, it was a little hard with the cartoon sized paw mittens she was wearing, thankfully the doors to exits were simple push bar doors.

I really hope nobody who would be out walking at this time has a 'hunter' license and a desire to capture pets… Juliette thought to herself, silently praying to any other god besides Anise to keep her safe.

Juliette was worried about people with 'hunter' licenses because it was a common practice in some places around the world for people to 'hunt' those that weren't claimed to make into pets. Of course, one had to be willing to become a pet in most cases, but with what she was wearing, most places would consider that consent.

Juliette walked down the streets of Amity Park. There were still people out and about at this time. Some of them were looking at her. Juliette could hear them whispering to each other, however she couldn't make out what they were saying other than the fact they were talking about her outfit. Juliette felt her cheeks flush as she tried to keep her head down, half wishing she was in the Void just to avoid being seen.

I'll need to find a way to communicate. After all, it looks like I need someone to remove these mittens as well as the gag and muzzle… Juliette noted.

As Juliette was walking, she suddenly got that dark feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Oh come on… I can't even get food without being hunted…? Juliette groaned as she recognized the feeling of a Void Creature nearby.

Juliette looked around, trying to find the Void Creature.

Juliette saw a woman sitting on a bench, looking depressed about something. Next to her was a Void Creature, seeming to be influencing the woman's thoughts.

Juliette sighed before she began to walk over towards the woman. I can help this woman… the Void Creature isn't too strong, so they won't be able to corrupt me… I just need to play this right.

The Void Creature appeared to be small, likely from a small animal or a baby.

Juliette stopped in front of the lady and gave her best begging whine before glancing and pointing at the bench in an asking manner.

The lady looked at Juliette. "Oh… please, go home to your master or whoever it is that cares for you. I don't think they would want me to taint you with my uselessness…"

Juliette gave another whine before she pointed at her feet and then the bench.

The lady frowned. "I'm not stopping you from doing what you want…"

Juliette gave a happy nod before she sat down on the bench next to the woman. Alright… so how am I going to do this? I could put one of the big paw mittens in her lap, rest my head or body against her, or I can guide her to rest her head on my shoulder.

The lady looked at Juliette curiously. "I've… never seen your species before. Are you a fox…?"

Juliette shook her head a little before she flexed her three separate tails.

The lady gave a shocked look when she saw the three separate tails. "H-how…? I thought they only existed in folklore… Then again… everyone thought that about ghosts too…"

Juliette leaned over a little and rested a little of her weight on the woman's right arm.

"Aww, aren't you a sweet one?" The lady cooed.

Juliette then leaned her head over to rest on the woman's shoulder. The woman began to pet Juliette's head. The Void Creature let out a noise of annoyance at this.

You aren't claiming this soul. Juliette mentally replied to the Void Creature before she put her left cartoon sized paw mitten onto the woman's lap.

"You know… I lost someone today…" The woman spoke up, sounding somber. "I should've saved them… but I couldn't… I felt so useless… would they ever forgive me? Would they… come back as a ghost to haunt me for failing to save them?"

Juliette gave as curious an expression with her eyes and face as she could.

The lady shook her head a little. "I'm sorry, little one, I shouldn't be putting this on you. This might be something I should talk to my husband about…"

Juliette then nuzzled the woman a little before she pointed at her muzzle.

"You truly are sweet, little one, but I shouldn't remove your muzzle. I wouldn't want your master or whoever put that on you to get angry," The lady remarked.

Juliette pointed to her neck, where she hoped there wasn't any collar.

Juliette had been so distracted that she didn't notice a much bigger Void Creature was approaching her. The woman suddenly burst into tears, like the sadness was suddenly crushing her heart.

Juliette's fur stood up on end. Oh… shit…

Slowly turning her head, she saw a tiger-like creature approaching her and the crying woman, looking ready to pounce. Juliette knew if she let that Void Creature pounce the lady, her vulnerable soul would be tainted.

Juliette looked at the woman and tried as hard as she could with her two mittens to grasp one of the woman's hands to try and pull her away from the area or at least calm her down a little, which would hopefully create a small barrier around the woman. Any Void Creature hunting gods in the area, now would be a good time to help! There has to be an American version of Yato and Bishamon and all the other Void Creature hunters!

The woman made a confused sound when Juliette pulled her off the bench. The black and white tiger roared, and started to charge towards Juliette and the lady.

Juliette's eyes widened in horror. I don't have any energy to put up even the weakest of barriers right now! I'm a sitting duck!

But before the Void Creature could reach them, something jumped at the tiger and pushed it away. Juliette was shocked as she followed where the Void Creature was pushed to. A fox creature was slashing and biting at the tiger until the tiger managed to push it off. When the fox creature landed near Juliette, she could see the fox appeared to be made of blue flames with purple glowing eyes, which was a little confusing to her as the woman didn't seem to be reacting to the fiery fox at all. She deduced that the fiery fox must've been a part of the Void despite its blue and purple colors. The fiery fox gave a roar at the tiger, before it zipped around, avoiding the Void Creature's black energy slashes.

Juliette, not wanting to seem awkward to the woman by simply standing there after pulling her off the bench, pulled the woman into a comforting hug.

"Oh…" The woman had stopped crying and returned the hug back. "Thank you… really… thank you."

Unknown to the lady, however, the fiery blue fox summoned three fox skulls around it that shot out deadly beams at the tiger. It was a good thing that the power in the Void couldn't affect anything in the living world.

Juliette nuzzled the woman, making sure to keep an eye on the fiery blue fox in case it turned out to be a threat to her.

The tiger fell onto its back, looking wounded. The fire fox pinned it down with its flaming claws before it opened its mouth and bit down into the tiger's chest, pulling out what Juliette saw was a black sphere, instantly recognizing it as the equivalent to the Void Creature's heart. As soon as the black sphere was crushed by the fox's teeth, the tiger turned into a black mist and faded away.

Never seen two animalistic Void Creatures fight… Juliette mentally remarked. Though one may just be an animalistic god due to the color. Though why is a god in the Void? From what I know, it's nearly impossible for them to enter the Void. Or at least it takes a lot of effort.

The fiery blue fox then turned its attention to Juliette, who was still in the lady's hug. The fox began to approach Juliette and the lady.

Stay back! Juliette inwardly ordered, sadly not able to speak due to her muzzle and gag.

The fox either didn't hear her or ignored her as it continued to approach them.

Guess you aren't a god or goddess then… Juliette sighed. Let's just hope this fox is friendly, otherwise I'm dead…

When the fox was just right on them, it suddenly opened its mouth and snatched something. Juliette nearly squeaked, until she saw what was in the fox's mouth; it was the smaller Void Creature that was influencing the lady.

When did that thing latch onto the woman…? Juliette questioned herself. It was simply sitting beside her before.

The fox crushed the small Void Creature's body with ease. Then it looked at Juliette specifically. Juliette waited to see what it would do. After a minute, the fox creature turned and ran off somewhere, out of sight.

Hopefully it won't come back… Juliette mentally said before she broke off the hug with the woman. Now, let's make sure you're feeling better.

"Thank you, little one, I feel a lot better now," The lady remarked, looking more at ease.

Juliette pointed up at her muzzle again before she pointed at her throat.

The woman looked at Juliette's throat. "That's a cute collar you have there. Your master must really like pink and black though considering that's your entire outfit."

Juliette pointed at her throat again, hoping above all else that there wasn't a name on the collar.

"Hmmm… well, since I don't know where you live… I should at least remove your muzzle so you could tell me. I'm sure your master or whoever put you in the outfit would understand," The woman decided. "I'm surprised there is a master and a pet in the United States though, as that is something I've only ever really experienced overseas."

Juliette gave a slightly excited nod at the part where the woman mentioned taking off the muzzle.

The woman removed the muzzle from around Juliette's mouth before taking out the gag.

"Thank you," Juliette gratefully said as she stretched out her jaw.

"Could you tell me where you live, little one?" The woman asked. "I should get you home, it's late, and my husband is going to worry about me."

"I don't have a master or mistress, and I…" Juliette started before hesitating, glancing at the abandoned opera house.

"Hmm?" The woman frowned a little, looking at the opera house. "You… live there?"

"Yeah…" Juliette confirmed. "At least for now."

"By yourself? Do you have a family?" The woman inquired.

Juliette shook her head. "No, I have no mother or father… in fact, if I may be honest, I don't exactly know how I came to be. I should say that I'm 22." Or at least that's what I go by as I prefer not to say my actual age.

"Oh… that's… quite troubling…" The woman frowned more. "Perhaps I should help find you a better place to live in at least. But I'll have to talk to my husband first."

"You don't need to trouble yourself," Juliette chuckled. "And, if I may say, I think whoever you lost today would forgive you. It sounds like you loved them and truly cared for them. The only way I can see you not being forgiven is if you were awful to them and cruel, and I don't feel that you're capable of being either cruel or awful."

The woman gave a small smile. "Thank you for your words of comfort. I will still grieve for him a little longer with my husband, but you should return home for the time being. It's a bit dangerous to be out here too late."

"I… was actually going to go looking for food…" Juliette informed. "I'm a bit… starving…"

"Oh… do you have any money?" The woman asked in concern.

Juliette shook her head. "I lost all of my belongings recently. In fact, I was clothesless up until about an hour ago, when a mischievous goddess decided to put me in this outfit…"

The woman blinked at the 'goddess' part, before she sighed. She walked over to the bench and grabbed something before returning to Juliette. Juliette saw that it was a big pumpkin bread in a plastic bag. "Here, you take this. It's the least I could do for you."

Juliette chuckled sheepishly a little. "If you wouldn't mind doing a little more, can you possibly remove these mittens from me? It might be a little hard to carry the bag and open doors with giant bappy paws."

The woman tried to remove the big cartoony mittens, but the mittens refused to come off of Juliette's hands. "I'm sorry, I don't think I can remove them."

"Great… that means the goddess of mischief must still be around…" Juliette softly grumbled before she looked at the bag. "I can't slip that over these paws… but I could carry the handles of the bag in my mouth." How will I open the door to the opera house though…?

"Do you… need some help?" The woman asked in concern as Juliette grabbed the bag with her mouth.

"A little…" Juliette admitted, muttering around the bag handles in her mouth.

The woman chuckled as she followed Juliette to the opera house. The woman helped open the door for Juliette, which was a bit of a struggle as the doors were somewhat jammed, but surprisingly not locked.

"You sure you'll be okay by yourself?" The goat woman asked in concern.

"I should be," Juliette answered. "I've taken care of myself in much more dire situations."

"Alright… well, if you ever need any help, ask for Toriel Dreemurr, that's my name by the way," The anthro goat woman, who called herself Toriel, said. "Perhaps I can check up on you in the morning now that I know where you live and now that I know you are ownerless~"

Juliette pouted a little. "Thank you for the help, Toriel."

Toriel gave a giggle at that before she closed the door, leaving Juliette alone.

When Juliette was alone, she struggled a bit to get the plastic bag open, but as soon as she did, she wolfed down the pumpkin bread with her mouth.

"Well, I wouldn't have believed it until I saw it," A familiar male voice spoke up, almost causing Juliette to choke.

Juliette coughed a little before she pulled her mouth out of the bag and looked around.

"I mean last I saw you, you were just like me. And now you're stuffing your face, and interacting with someone from the living world," The voice continued.

Juliette's ears twitched as she tried to find the source of the voice. "Echo?"

"Oh? So the princess does remember me, how flattering, not that you needed to," Echo's voice remarked before he came walking out from the shadowy corner of the house. "How is living in the world of the living treating you?"

Juliette frowned. "First off, I'm not a princess and if you call me that again, I'll break your nose. Secondly, what kind of tone is that? Are you jealous? Resentful? Or are you trying to make a joke? Because your nearly monotone voice isn't giving me much of a clue."

"I'm not any of those," Echo answered with a shrug. "I don't have real emotions or feelings. But I suppose this does explain why you acted so real earlier. Though it doesn't explain the how or why."

Juliette sighed. "Go ahead and ask the questions that are surely on your mind…"

"Okay," Echo sat down beside Juliette. "What is it like eating? Does it feel weird to have to taste and chew something in your mouth, and then swallow it? Putting the thing in your body? Isn't that at all uncomfortable?"

"Really? Those are the questions on your mind?" Juliette questioned with a chuckle. "If you think about it while eating, then it becomes weird, but if you don't think about it much, it's actually really nice. As for putting food in my body, it's not uncomfortable at all. Though because I can eat, I do also have to remember to have a place nearby that I can go to the bathroom. Technically I don't need to eat, but I won't be at full strength if I go without food." In fact, I wouldn't even be at a quarter strength without food.

"Of course those are the questions on my mind. I've never been able to directly ask a living about what it's like to do certain things," Echo explained as if it was obvious. "Although I won't deny that I am curious as to how you were able to leave the Void yourself. That skeleton guy made it clear that once you're in the Void, there's no leaving it. That and the fact you're still able to talk to me is another thing I'm curious about."

"I'm… not entirely a part of the Void," Juliette replied. "In fact, I used to be a living breathing being up until a few years ago. Then… the worlds collided and I was caught at the border…"

"You were the only being at the border when the worlds collided?" Echo questioned.

Juliette gave a nod. "I was in the exact place where the two worlds collided. There were others near me… but they… well they're no longer around. I don't exactly know what happened to them and something happened pretty much right after the fusion of the worlds that… let's just say I had other priorities."

"Did they die or just, like me, no longer exist?" Echo inquired.

"Worse," Juliette informed. "They were completely erased from existence… I'm the only one who remembers them, and they no longer exist anywhere, even in the Void."

"I wonder what that would be like…" Echo said with morbid curiosity. "I probably wouldn't mind a complete erasure of existence. At least I wouldn't be around to watch people go on about their lives."

"Trust me, you don't want to know what it's like." Juliette shivered. "In my opinion, it's better to exist in one form or another than not exist at all."

"Of course you would think that," Echo remarked. "But that's not important. So because you were at the exact right spot when the worlds collided, you can now enter the Void and the world of living at any time?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much spot on," Juliette confirmed with a small nod. "It takes a bit of concentration, as well as energy, to step back and forth though. And sometimes, if I make mistakes like not concentrating enough, I might leave a part of me behind in the Void. Thankfully that part of me stays attached and I don't bleed out or anything."

"So because you're still partially a part of the Void, that's why you're still able to see me and other Void Creatures?" Echo summed up.

"Yeah." Juliette nodded. "It's also one of the major reasons that Void Creatures tend to target me."

"Heh, well you do certainly sparkle with life, even in the Void. I almost found it hard to believe you were… what did you call it? A Void Walker like me when I met you. Your life energy is quite a beacon for Void Creatures," Echo chuckled. "It's why I found you lying on the beach. Tell me, how much do you know about Void Creatures and how they work?"

"Simply put, Void Creatures were beings that should have existed or were about to exist. They somehow ended up not existing or stopped existing," Juliette said informatively. "Those beings were then corrupted by other Void Creatures, or they had mental breakdowns, or simply couldn't survive and became Void Creatures themselves."

"That is usually the origin of Void Creatures, yes, though some of them come to be from the negativity of emotions from both the living and the dead," Echo confirmed. "Now do you know how Void Creatures work?"

Juliette frowned but nodded a little, knowing how they worked all too well. "They hunt down uncorrupted beings in the Void or beings of the living world and try to influence or corrupt them."

"That's about the most basic of what they do," Echo stated. "There's a little more to it than that. When a Void Creature comes into being, their instinct is to seek out life. They cling to it, like… I suppose the best analogy to use is a starving baby looking for a mother's love. But they realize they can never get it, because nobody would ever react to them, interact with them, show they even acknowledge their being at all. Eventually, the Void Creature starts to become desperate, still wanting life energy, but it becomes more twisted. They end up doing the only thing they could do, influence the living. They give all their sorrow, hatred, vengeance, and whatever else they feel to the life they were clinging to, until it reaches the person's soul, tainting it. A Void Creature doesn't have a malicious reasoning, they're doing what they're doing as a 'self-preservation' kind of thing, even though they fail to realize they didn't need to do that to preserve themselves. It's all psychological."

Juliette remained silent as she listened to Echo explain more about Void Creatures despite knowing all this due to her prior experience with Void Creatures.

"Once a Void Creature starts, they can't stop. They become addicted to life energy, they want more, they gather around, looking for company, but it's never enough to satisfy them. They don't just want company, they want life, they want acknowledgement, they want out of the Void. The only way to stop them is to 'kill' them, in a sense, Void Creatures cannot truly die, but their forms get remade somewhere else. To 'kill' a Void Creature, you have to crush their entire being, or, an easier way of doing it, is to destroy their soul. Or heart. Or core. However you want to call it. It looks like a black sphere. Once you destroy that, their forms will turn into mist and fade away for a time. Reforming takes time, and each Void Creature is different, so it varies, some takes months or years to reform, others could take less than a day," Echo continued. "The want to exist again is what truly corrupts the soul in the Void."

"How do you know all this?" Juliette questioned, silently surprised at the amount of knowledge that Echo knew. "Do you have those instincts as well? And what about denizens of the Ghost Realm, the realm of the dead? Do Void Creatures try to latch onto them as well?"

"I couldn't tell you if I did have those instincts, because I never felt the need to cling to life," Echo shrugged. "I do like how observant you are though. Most wouldn't have asked about what Void Creatures would do to ghosts, at least I assume so, you're the only other person I ever spoke to directly. I know all this through observations. I've seen some Void Creatures form and how they act. You could say I was like one of those documentaries who watch what animals do in their own habitat. Which is pretty much what I do with the living as well."

Juliette noticed that Echo hadn't explained what the Void Creatures did to the dead yet.

"You're getting off track, Echo," Juliette pointed out. "What do Void Creatures do to ghosts?"

"Oh, right, I haven't answered that question yet," Echo realized. "Well, I don't know as much about what the Void Creatures do with the dead since I haven't gone to the realm of the dead yet myself. But from what I've seen what Void Creatures do to the ghosts that come to Amity Park, the Void Creatures appear to be more curious about the dead, rather than have any instinctual need. They don't bother ghosts as much as they do with the living, but there are quite a few Void Creatures that try to go after ghosts. I think, to the Void Creatures, ghosts are seen more of a threat. Ghosts are more instinctual than humans, they have more power, they have certain abilities, and a strong core inside them that makes Void Creatures antsy. The stronger Void Creatures go after the ghosts, and since ghosts are already dead, they are more… vulnerable to corruption than the living are. If a Void Creature manages to influence a ghost, the ghost becomes more aggressive, more prone to attacking. It might also be because a ghost feeds on emotions, and a Void Creature is made of negative emotions."

"Yeesh," Juliette commented. "I don't think all ghosts feed on emotions though. Some definitely do, but not all of them. I mean Danny Phantom doesn't seem to feed off emotions… then again, he is apparently only half ghost."

Echo seemed to be thoughtful. "I think I may have made a mistake when I said that ghosts feed on emotions. Most ghosts can, but many often don't. They can feed on other things as well, including human food. But subconsciously, a ghost can usually sense an emotion of someone, especially when it's strong, or familiar. Does that make any sense?"

"Yes, it does, but I don't think you made a mistake in saying what you said, you simply didn't give me all the proper information, which would be more of an error than a mistake," Juliette responded informatively. "A mistake would be telling me something that I probably shouldn't know, like telling me about Danny Phantom's human half."

"Ah… oh, right. Well, I didn't think it mattered since I thought you were like me, it's not like we could've gone around telling anyone about Danny's human half," Echo pointed out. "But please, don't tell anyone, especially the Guys in White, they tend to be extremely callous, and wouldn't hesitate to hurt Danny, and do painful experiments on him."

Echo looked genuinely angry at the thought, which Juliette noticed. Whenever it came to Danny Phantom, Echo's emotions looked more defined and genuine.

"You don't need to worry about me revealing any secrets," Juliette assured with a chuckle. "After all, I have secrets of my own."

"That you do," Echo agreed, calming down. "By the way, do you also sleep?"

"Yes, I do…" Juliette sighed. "I usually try to put up a few barriers or alarms that will wake me or alert me if any Void Creatures come close."

"Understandable. What is it like to sleep? From what I could see in the minds of the living, they can dream while they sleep," Echo remarked curiously.

"People don't always dream when they fall asleep, or other times they don't remember the dreams when they wake up," Juliette answered. "The reason living beings need to sleep is because during the waking day, toxins begin to build up in the mind from regular activity. When one goes to sleep, it allows the body to cleanse and purge the toxins from the mind."

Echo chuckled as Juliette explained why the living slept. "I know why they sleep, I observe more than just the people themselves. I can see what's in their minds, doctors included. I asked what it is like, not why you sleep."

"I can't give a solid answer on what it's like," Juliette stated. "When one falls asleep, they are unaware of most sensations."

"Hmm, I suppose that makes sense. Sleep is another way for the living to lose consciousness," Echo noted. "I would hate that though, as sleep would make me vulnerable to the Void Creatures."

Echo looked at Juliette. "You planning to sleep tonight then?"

"Probably not for a bit," Juliette replied. "After all, I slept for a few hours earlier and I just ate something that has a good bit of sugar in it."

"Then perhaps you could explore Amity Park a little bit? It's depressing to stay in one place too long," Echo suggested. "You might see something exciting outside of this musty building."

"There isn't much to see during the middle of the night," Juliette pointed out.

"Then you really don't know Amity Park," Echo chuckled. "Why don't you allow me to show you?"

Juliette looked down at the bag that still had some pumpkin bread in it. "After I finish eating."

"Go ahead. Though… how well can you get around in that weird outfit you have on?" Echo asked, gesturing to her big, comedic, cartoon paw mittens, and not as comically large booties.

"Not… very well…" Juliette sighed. "It's hard to open doors with these mittens…"

"Why do you even have that on?" Echo questioned. "The entire outfit I mean."

"A specific goddess of mischief and kinks likes to mess with me quite often." Juliette admitted. "This is just her latest… 'prank'."

"Huh… usually gods and goddesses don't mess with the living that much, let alone show themselves to them," Echo observed. "Then again, you are quite… special. Well, if you have trouble moving around, you should tell me. I'll find a way to help you move quicker."

"I simply have trouble with doors and grasping things," Juliette informed.

"Ah, then it shouldn't be a problem. As long as you can run, you... should be fine," Echo hesitated a little. "... Yeah, I'm sure."

"Run? Why would I need to run?" Juliette raised a brow.

Echo looked at Juliette as she continued eating the pumpkin bread. "Maybe you should be in the Void for this."

"I'd rather not," Juliette said after she swallowed the mouthful of pumpkin bread. "When I'm in the Void, I am much more of a beacon than when I am in the living world."

Echo sighed. "It's just, I can't guarantee your safety otherwise. I can't touch you or help you if you're in the world of the living."

"I should be able to handle myself in regards to certain things," Juliette firmly replied. "You don't need to worry about me getting attacked or anything by real world beings."

Echo thought about something before shrugging. "If you're sure, then alright."

Juliette stuck her face back into the bag before eating the last of the pumpkin bread, a bit embarrassed that someone was watching her eat like a non-anthro creature.

Said person also got up close to her when she chewed, making her give a hesitant swallow, and he watched the lump of the pumpkin bread slid down her throat before disappearing underneath the collar.

"No matter how many times I watch it, it just fascinates me to no end," Echo commented. "How the food, a thing that exists separately from you, can be slide down into your body, while your body works to assimilate it into its system, while the rest comes out as-"

"Okay, stop," Juliette interrupted. "If you're going to dissect and analyze every regular living being thing I do, then you can forget showing me around the town. Having someone be right in your face, observing every action and commenting on how your body works is really disturbing and unsettling."

Echo stood back, giving Juliette a… Juliette wasn't sure what to call it, Echo looked a little surprised, but also intrigued, yet also happy. It was difficult to describe.

"I apologize. I'm not used to someone seeing me when I observe them. I always get as close as possible without going through D- someone I watch while they're eating, it's become a habit now," Echo explained. "I understand explaining how one's body works would be considered gross, but it's just fascinating to me."

"Perhaps it would be better if you thought about it in your mind instead of out loud," Juliette suggested. "At least then it wouldn't disturb me as much. Though that isn't a pass to get right up in my face and watch intently as I do stuff. Also, I want to make sure there is absolutely no way you can make this mistake. If I go to the bathroom to use it, you are not to follow me in there. When I go into the bathroom, imagine there is a barrier around the room that you are not to pass or peek through."

"Think it in my mind?" Echo blinked, looking surprised at such a suggestion rather than the bathroom comment. "And don't worry, I have no interest in watching you release your drinks and food into the toilet."

"You've never thought to yourself before?" Juliette inquired, seeing the look of surprise on Echo's face. Huh, looks like he does feel some emotions when he isn't thinking of Danny Phantom.

"I never needed to," Echo admitted. "Nobody could ever hear me speak my thoughts, and I wanted to speak so I wouldn't forget I had a voice, like the humans do."

"Perhaps you should start doing that, at least until I leave," Juliette recommended.

"It's a little difficult sometimes. I can hear many different thoughts in my head on a daily basis. I've learned to block out the ones I don't want to hear though," Echo informed. "Sometimes I have trouble telling which are my own thoughts and which thoughts are someone else's. It's another reason why I often speak out loud, so I don't get them mixed up."

"Then maybe you can at least speak quietly so I don't hear you when you are thinking?" Juliette requested.

"Yeah, okay, I can try. For your sake. I do try to make sure the living is kept safe and… relatively sane, at least from Void Creatures anyways. I can't do anything about a person's mental illness, which makes me wonder why or how they end up that way? Was it something they were born with or-" Echo noticed Juliette giving him an annoyed look. "... Sorry. You probably notice I get distracted easily and often go off on tangents."

Juliette nodded. "Yes, it is quite apparent."

"Hey, that's just how I am, so you'll have to deal with it while you're in Amity Park," Echo shrugged. "Now that you've finished your bread, are you ready to see something exciting?"

"Yeah, I guess," Juliette shrugged as she stood up and began to walk towards the doors of the opera house.

Echo went through the door himself, waiting for Juliette to open the door. Juliette frowned, remembering how hard it was to grasp something with the mittens she was wearing. Thankfully, she just had to push against the bars on the doors to open them once again.

"I would ask what it's like to have to touch things, but that's not very interesting," Echo commented.

"It'd probably be more interesting to know how a ghost feels when they phase through objects," Juliette pointedly replied. "Do they still feel the material they are passing through, or do they not feel anything?"

Echo gave an annoyed scowl, though it wasn't aimed directly at Juliette. "That's, more or less, a stereotypical media ghost. In movies, ghosts are often depicted as phantoms you can't see or interact with, and the ghosts themselves can't touch anything. Which is way too similar to my position. Ghosts are often seen as vicious, bloodthirsty, vengeful monsters in the media. That isn't true at all though, ghosts, the people of the dead, are very tangible and solid in both this world and the realm of the dead. But because the dead come from a different plane of existence, they have abilities and powers that the living doesn't have. Materials like ectoplasm exist only in the world of the dead, but some of it has tainted this world due to the ghost's constant appearances. Ectoplasm is deadly to the living, but if the living could somehow co-exist with ectoplasm, they too could gain unusual powers. Not as natural or as much as a ghost would, but they could learn to do things like telekinesis, mind control, things like that."

"Echo… I meant what do ghosts feel when they turn intangible…" Juliette explained as she looked at the boy.

"How should I know? I'm not part of the dead," Echo answered.

Juliette groaned and slapped her face with one of the cartoon paw mittens. "Nevermind…" He's obviously too in his own world to remember my original query.

"Speaking of ghosts, Amity Park has a few of them 'living' here," Echo continued as they walked down the streets of Amity Park. "Do you want to know why?"

"There's two theories I have on the topic," Juliette responded informatively. "Well three. The first one is that the first proper portal to the Ghost Realm was built here in Amity Park, which allowed the ghosts to have a much easier route to the living world. Theory two is that ghosts come here specifically because Danny Phantom is around and they either idolize him or want to take him down. Theory three is that there is a naturally weaker barrier between the Living Realm and the Ghost Realm."

"Wow, you got it on the dot," Echo said with awe. "Is there some kind of news about this outside of Amity Park that I don't know about?"

"Nope," Juliette shook her head. "I simply travel a lot. Danny Phantom is known around the world, and by extension, so is Amity Park. So people come up with theories and ideas of why things are happening. After all, a lot of people simply like to gossip."

"You are so right on that. People gossip all day long," Echo remarked, though Juliette couldn't tell if he was annoyed or not.

The two of them stopped, however, when something shifted in the air. It didn't feel like a Void Creature, but Juliette couldn't tell what it was.

"Something… is coming… I'm just not sure what…" Juliette muttered softly.

"How observant," Echo stated before he smirked at her. "Maybe you should look up."

Juliette frowned a little before looking up, sensing that whatever strangeness she was feeling was indeed coming from above.

"Now focus a little," Echo instructed. "It might be a little difficult for newcomers to see it clearly."

Juliette squinted her eyes, before a figure began to appear in the sky, floating above them. It appeared to be a teenage girl, her skin was deathly white, she wore some leather attire, had a purple and blue guitar on her. Her eyes were glowing a strange, eerie green, and her hair was blue, though her pony tail looked as if it was on fire. It was then Juliette realized it was a ghost.

Which ghost is that…? Juliette asked herself. I think it's one of Danny Phantom's enemies…?

The ghost girl looked down at Juliette, blinking in surprise.

"Since you're not in the Void, Ember can see you," Echo pointed out. "Which means you probably shouldn't stand there, staring at her for too long."

"Right…" Juliette agreed quietly as she quickly looked around for somewhere she could possibly run and hide. I can't do anything while I'm wearing these stupid mittens… so no doors or anything like that.

Suddenly, the ghost Echo had called 'Ember', landed in front of Juliette.

"Who are you? I've never seen you in Amity Park before. You look like some sort of furry fox-like creature," Ember commented. "Do you already belong to someone? … Actually, I don't care. You look like the perfect pet material."

"I don't care what you want, I'm not going to be anyone's pet," Juliette replied in an adamant tone. If I remember, Ember has some kind of mind controlling guitar… Juliette began putting up as many mental barriers as she quickly could in hopes she could make herself immune to Ember's powers.

"Even better, a pet with a bite to her." Ember smirked. "I'm not asking you to come with me, I'm telling you."

"And I'm telling you, I'm not coming with you!" Juliette hissed.

"Do you enjoy antagonizing people? Or just those you don't like?" Echo asked as he put his hands on the back of his head.

Ember strummed her guitar, Juliette's ears folded back from the loud music.

"Mind controlling music isn't her only weapon," Echo commented. "Her music can be used as an actual attack, she can make her music physical if she wants to. She also has pyrokinesis, so watch out for potential fire."

Juliette gave a small nod as she took a step back from Ember, her ears still flat against her head.

Ember looked at Juliette with an annoyed expression. "So you can resist my mind control. How annoying, I'd like to take you back before Phantom knows I'm here and messes up my night."

"I'm not going with you, no matter how hard you try," Juliette informed. "And I'm sure Phantom is already on his way here, so how about you save yourself the trouble and just go back to the Ghost Realm?"

"Oh, so you're one of those people who call it the Ghost Realm," Ember rolled her eyes. "Whatever, I have other ways to take you back."

"Oh no," Echo said in such a monotone remark that Juliette couldn't tell if he was actually being sarcastic.

"What do you call it?" Juliette asked, trying to distract Ember from whatever she was planning.

Ember turned a dial on her guitar. "Just watch."

The distraction didn't work, Ember likely knew time was running out before Phantom got there, so she wanted to be quick. Ember strummed her guitar causing a purple-pink ecto soundwave came at Juliette. Juliette suddenly found herself trapped in a purple-pink bubble.

Juliette growled. "This won't help you!" Damnit! Why do I have to be wearing these mittens right now?! I could easily save myself with my claws! Sure she's a ghost, but I can still hit her as long as she doesn't turn intangible!

Echo walked through the bubble and sat down beside Juliette. "This will be fun. I hope you don't have a weak stomach."

"Why would having a weak stomach matter…?" Juliette softly asked as she glanced at Echo. "And is there a reason you're still here besides you wanting to show me around?"

"I'm curious to see how this turns out. It's like an interactive game," Echo informed.

"Be lucky that you aren't a cat," Juliette grumbled quietly.

"Also, Ember is thinking about teleporting to get away quickly," Echo remarked.

"Wha-"

Fire suddenly surrounded the bubble they were in, wrapping around them and Ember. Juliette suddenly felt like her insides were coming out, and she had trouble breathing. Echo didn't seem bothered at all with what was going on. It lasted for about three seconds before Juliette could breathe again, and she didn't feel like her insides were out. The fire surrounding them dissipated, and they found themselves in a teenage-like bedroom, with more guitars, pictures of rock stars hanging on the wall, a big stage, and a big screen TV.

Did we just… teleport…? Juliette raised a brow. If so… FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!

Echo, surprisingly, looked uneasy himself. "Huh… didn't think Ember would take you here."

"Where is this…?" Juliette whispered.

"Welcome, my new pet," Ember spoke up before Echo could respond. "This is my lair, my home, nobody can bother us here. So now, I can take my time breaking you."

"You will find that I'm unbreakable," Juliette informed. Seriously, you won't be the first to try and break me. Anise has tried her best quite a few times.

"That's okay, I'm fine with having an untamable pet. It makes me feel more dangerous among my peers." Ember smirked. "Now then… you're looking too skinny. Since you're not a ghost, like me, I suppose that means I should feed you."

"I'm not supposed to be big like some anthros," Juliette stated. "And I'm not feeling hungry."

"Too bad, I don't want my pet to starve as soon as I brought her in," Ember remarked.

"If you force feed me, I'm only going to end up puking," Juliette responded matter of factly. "I ate not too long ago, so there isn't that much room in my stomach."

Echo kept looking around, still looking uneasy about something.

"Fine then, I'll let you starve for the night since you insist on doing so," Ember grumbled. "I have to go out and prepare a few things anyways."

Juliette saw Ember's hair wrapping around herself before she disappeared, leaving Juliette 'alone' in the bubble. Echo stood up and walked out of the bubble, and began to walk around the room.

"Starting to regret coming with me?" Juliette questioned as she saw Echo look around.

"I'm regretting not waiting until you went into the Void before taking you with me!" Echo suddenly exploded, surprising Juliette that he could even yell or snap. "Do you know where you are?"

"No, I don't," Juliette answered honestly. "And I had no plan to go into the Void for the remainder of the night."

"You're in the Ghost Zone, and inside a ghost's lair," Echo pointed out. "A GHOST'S LAIR! That is the epitome of being in a very bad place!"

"I'm sure there is a way I can get out," Juliette responded calmly. "I doubt someone like Ember would have only one way to get into her lair."

"I don't think you understand," Echo sighed, rubbing his head. "A ghost's lair isn't just a simple place that you can walk in and out of. It is connected to a ghost's subconsciousness. It will do whatever it can to appeal to the ghost's needs and desires. Meaning if Ember doesn't want you to leave, you're not going anywhere. Doesn't matter if you have the magic to get yourself out, you're stuck here. Unless Ember allows you to leave."

"Okay, so I have to make her want to get rid of me," Juliette surmised with a sigh.

"Do you know how to do that?" Echo asked. "Because you've been doing a poor job of it."

"Annoy her," Juliette guessed. "Not give her what she wants and all that."

"No," Echo said. "She expects you to do that. She wants you to do that. The more you fight against her, the more she wants you. Ghosts love a challenge, especially a feisty one. You're only going to bury yourself in a deeper hole if you keep up with what you're doing."

"So… you want me to give her the perfect pet…?" Juliette hesitantly questioned.

"I'm saying instead of fighting back, talk to her-" Echo stopped himself, and gave a small frown. "Wait a minute, what am I even doing? I shouldn't even be talking to you in the first place. I shouldn't be influencing your choice."

"Giving advice is different from influencing my choice, especially if the advice is being asked for," Juliette pointed out. "You influencing me would simply be you trying to help me without me knowing."

"I'm talking to you. I'm interacting with you. With a living," Echo stated. "This goes against everything I've known."

"Echo, calm down," Juliette instructed. "I need advice on what to do to get out of here. Instead of thinking of yourself as a Void Walker, you should think of yourself as my temporary… guardian angel."

"That would be too good for me," Echo grumbled. "Well, the way I see it, there are two ways you can get out. You can try to talk to Ember in a civil manner, acting the opposite of a 'wild pet she captured'. Or you can go into the Void and leave from there. Once you're in the Void, memories of you will fade, the lair and Ember would have no reason to keep you here. But you will want to leave as soon as possible… it's… dangerous to be in the Ghost Zone for too long while in the Void..."

"I… can't currently go into the Void… I need to be able to physically step forward, and I can't do that trapped inside a bubble," Juliette informed. "And sadly that's not how it works with me… beings still remember me, even if I do go into the Void."

"Seems you're more living than Void Walker…" Echo sighed. "Then go with the first plan; talk to Ember in a civil manner."

"I guess that would work… but this outfit definitely isn't helping," Juliette grumbled.

"I can't help you with the outfit, as I am unable to touch you and the outfit," Echo shrugged. "Maybe you can request a change of clothes to Ember later. Just… be careful what you say. If you make the ghost angry… well… let's just say the lair is likely either going to burn you or eat you alive. I really don't like being in a ghost's lair, even though it can't actually hurt me. The idea of being in an area that is controlled by one's subconsciousness is just… disturbing."

Then suddenly, 'Ember' came back, but there was something off about her. This Ember's hair was green instead of blue, and she wore a maid outfit instead of the leather, rock and roll one. She didn't have any tattoos on her eyes either. Echo stared at the Ember, shivering a little.

"That's just not right," Echo grumbled.

"Hey there, Ember, can we talk?" Juliette requested. Though by the looks of it, this is just a part of Ember's mind.

"Oh, I'm not Ember," The maid Ember stated. "I am Maid. I'm a part of Ember's lair, and it's my job to serve her every want and need."

Echo shivered. "Uuugh. They're shadows, things the lair creates when it thinks it's needed for the ghost who owns it."

"Could you get Ember for me then?" Juliette asked in response. "I would like to talk to her."

"Mistress Ember is currently getting something right now. She does not wish to be disturbed," Maid answered. "But I could send her a message if that is what you want."

"That would be fine for now," Juliette accepted. "If you could send her a message that I wish to talk with her, I would be appreciative."

"Very well then," Maid responded. "I will pass on this message to Mistress Ember after I finish cleaning her guitars. Mistress Ember disapproves of her guitars getting dirty."

Maid floated over to the guitars and started to clean them. Echo looked at Maid before looking at Juliette.

"The Ghost Zone and ghost lairs often play with your mind. Its sense of logic is very different from the world of the living," Echo stated. "It's why I don't ever make the trip to the Ghost Zone myself. I can't stand it here."

Juliette sighed. "Look, if you don't want to stay here and you don't like it here, then how about you just leave? I mean Ember doesn't know about you, so there wouldn't be a reason that you couldn't leave."

"Do you want me to leave?" Echo questioned, not sounding hurt, but just curious.

"I don't want you to leave, but it seems like you'd rather get the heck out of here as quickly as possible," Juliette explained. "I'm not going to request you to stay or try to guilt trip or force you into staying. If you want to go, then you can go."

"I wouldn't know where to go…" Echo softly admitted. "I've never been in the Ghost Zone before, I just know a lot about it due to Danny Phantom's research. I would get lost in the infinite realm of the dead."

"Ghost Zone…? Is that what the ghosts call it?" Juliette inquired. "It's been said a number of times, so I figured it must be some kind of official title."

"Yes, at least the ones we know," Echo answered. "The Ghost Zone goes by many different names."

"It may be none of my business, but who are you talking to?" Maid asked when she noticed Juliette had been talking to Echo, or in her point of view, nobody.

"I'm… talking to myself to try and keep myself sane in an unknown environment," Juliette answered after a few moments of thinking up a lie.

"Oh, I see. Carry on then," Maid remarked before going back to cleaning.

"If Ember allows you to leave, perhaps request her to either take you to the portal, or teleport you back to Amity Park," Echo suggested. "It would be very easy to get lost on our own, especially since we wouldn't know where we were going."

Juliette gave a small nod of acknowledgement.

"Of course, this wouldn't be a problem if one of us was a ghost. Ghosts seem to be able to navigate through the Ghost Zone pretty well, it might be hardwired into their instincts, or they might have some kind of ability that allows them to know where to go," Echo theorized. "Danny would've gotten lost a long time ago if he wasn't half ghost."

"If Ember does let me go and doesn't teleport me back, then I guess I can try and see if there are any other ghosts who might be willing to assist me," Juliette softly pondered.

"You could ask Danny," Echo suggested. "He would be more than happy to help you."

"There's no guarantee he'll be in the Ghost Realm or Ghost Zone or whatever it's called," Juliette pointed out. "So if I try to rely on Danny, it may take quite some time."

"Danny's not the only friendly ghost, but it might be difficult to find one willing to help a non-ghost," Echo remarked. "Especially someone they're not familiar with. But maybe that's something we'll worry about when we get there, if we get there."

Echo thought about what he just said. "I mean you, if you get there."

"So you are going to leave?" Juliette raised a brow.

"No, I just mean…" Echo shook his head. "Do you know how hard it is not to talk like I'm being included with you and your life problems? I didn't think it'd be that difficult! Honestly, since my whole life was being in the Void, I thought I'd have a little more self control than that."

"How do you know if your whole life has been in the Void?" Juliette questioned. "Maybe you had a life before, something happened, and you forgot. I mean, you seem to have some level of emotions."

"I probably did," Echo shrugged, going back to being nonchalant. "But it's been erased, so remembering it would do nothing but corrupt me easier. So whatever life I may have had, it's best remained forgotten."

Juliette shook her head. "I don't think you would be easier to corrupt."

"Okay," Maid spoke up, floating towards the door. "I will go deliver Mistress Ember your message now."

Maid opened the door and floated out, closing the door behind her. Echo, out of curiosity, peeked through the door.

"There's a whole auditorium outside of this room," Echo commented as he pulled his head back.

"Make sense, this seems a bit small for someone's mind," Juliette observed before she looked at Echo. I don't know why, but I… feel like I can help him. Maybe I can finally put the fact that I'm half of a Void Walker to use. And maybe I can make up for my… mistake.

"It's a ghost lair, not a mind," Echo pointed out. "It's connected to Ember's subconsciousness, sure, but it exists outside of her mind. Now if this was her mind, it'd probably look more complicated. From what I've heard from Danny's research, not all ghosts get a lair. It's unknown how a ghost lair is made or why. At first, he thought that a ghost finds a place to settle down in and make a lair. But no, it turns out a lair comes into being once the ghost is formed, and then the ghost has to find their lair. Many ghosts never leave their lair once they find them, because the lair caters to their every need and desire. That kind of place would be a paradise for the ghost who would probably never want to leave. It's also a safe haven for the ghost but a dangerous trap for any other ghost that enters without permission. That includes the living."

"Noted," Juliette acknowledged. "You… really have an obsession with Danny, don't you?"

"He's fun to observe. And I guess after a while, you can't help but want to root for the person you've been watching, like the protagonist in a TV series, or an ongoing story," Echo informed. "In my case, I can also hear his thoughts, and those around him. I can tell he's always so stressed out, but is trying to do the right thing. He has an obsession with helping people, and more often than not, that makes him hurt himself. He doesn't always take care of himself, so that worries the people who know his secret, his friends and his sister. I can only watch, but I… if I had a true desire, I would wish to help him. But I can't, I can only watch. The best thing I could do to help him is to drive away any Void Creatures that try to latch onto him. He's also a magnet for Void Creatures due to how stressful his life is."

Juliette frowned. Huh… the more I hear from Echo, the more I think I might be able to help him… I mean he has true desires and he can sometimes express certain emotions… Perhaps… I'll have to do a little more planning and critical thinking, I'll also have to run it through my mind a few times before I try it, but maybe I can bring him out of the Void with me the next time I step out of it.

"I would tell you more, but you should prepare yourself," Echo warned before he looked back at the door.

Before Juliette could ask, Ember came through the door. Echo somehow knew she was coming before she got there.

"Hello, Ember," Juliette greeted with a smile. "Thank you for coming so quickly despite the fact that Maid said you were busy."

"I was busy looking for certain… items for you," Ember remarked. "But since you seemed to want to talk, then let's talk. What did you want to say? That I could never hope to tame you? That you'll try to annoy me until I let you go? Skulker's got many pets in his lair that he shows me from time to time. I know how you work. Now I can show him my own stubborn pet~"

"Actually, I was hoping to simply ask you to let me go," Juliette explained calmly. "I'm really not all that interested in becoming someone's pet, and I really would like to go back to the living world."

The room was silent. Ember was staring at Juliette, looking like she wanted to say something, but changed her mind, making her look like a gaping fish. Echo was laughing at Ember's shocked expression.

"... You… but…" Ember finally said, trying to get over the shock of having Juliette speak calmly to her. "But surely you'd want to threaten me, to say I couldn't hope to break you, something!"

"Oh, I'm sure that you'd be able to break me, after all, ghosts are essentially immortal if they take care of themselves," Juliette responded, though inwardly she was telling herself that she was unbreakable. "After thinking about it, I really have only two choices. Ask for you to let me go and put me back where you took me from, or become your pet. No matter how much of a fight I could put up, in the end you would still be able to win and break me."

Ember frowned as she looked at Juliette. "I didn't take you to be a spineless pet. You showed so much fire and promise when I first took you. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Because I figured you wanted a pet that would fight," Juliette explained. "Meaning that me, someone who actually doesn't want to be a pet, should calmly approach the situation instead of fighting in hopes to try and convince you to let me go."

Ember looked at Juliette again. Juliette noticed her room suddenly got hot, and burst into flames. Echo yelped, but he didn't appear to be harmed. Then, the flames died down and the room was back to a bearable temperature.

"You're no fun. I guess that's what I get for taking a smart pet," Ember grumbled. "I should ask Skulker where he gets his."

Ember snapped her fingers, and the bubble Juliette was in suddenly popped.

"Would you like tea and cookies to go with that?" Ember hissed in annoyance.

Juliette gave a kind smile. "That would be delightful, but I wouldn't want you going out of your way."

"Stop it with the politeness, it's annoying!" Ember snapped. "Just get out of my lair."

"Could you teleport me back to the living world?" Juliette requested. "Or at least show me the way out?"

"Hmm, let me think…" Ember gave a friendly smile before she scowled. "No! Find your own way out of here!"

Juliette suddenly felt the lair moving around, she yelped as something grabbed her and she was flung out of a purple door. Juliette found herself floating in a strange green and black place.

Juliette looked at the door then back around the strange place she was floating. "Bitch…"