Guess who's sleep schedule is absolutely garbage again! :D
Lets hurry this one up.
Reviews:
InvadorJohnny:Oh absolutely. One of the best things a person to have in their darkest moments is others around them. This story would be completely different without them.
Shinrin-Yosei-Jay: Me too! Seriously though, Danny haunts me too much for me to forget about it in any way.
Chapter XIX: This Can't Be All
"And if you feel like coming back," a male voice spoke. "Just let me know and we'll leave, okay?"
"Okay," a younger feminine voice whined out. "Can we go now?"
"Repeat the rules back to me."
"Danny," a tired voice spoke up. "Don't you think you're worrying too much?"
Danny's ghostly green eyes met Valerie's and bluntly answered, "No." and turned back to his newly acclaimed halfa daughter. "Well?"
Dani sighed. "Don't fly too far from you. Don't touch anything. No opening doors. And if I want to leave, tell you so we can come straight home." She repeated the rules the older halfa rehearsed with her until she pouted. "Now, can we go?"
Satisfied with everything, Danny nodded and looked at Valerie and Jazz. "We'll try to be back in an hour or two."
Jazz perked up after they nodded. "Oh, before you go," She spoke as she looked in her purse. She pulled out an object that made Danny blink.
"Wha-" The halfa went to pat his pockets, only to stop as he remembered he was in his ghost form. "Did you take my phone?" That he lost the day he was taken.
His sister shook her head. "Nope. This is a duplicate. It has all our numbers so you can actually text us when you're on the way back."
"Huh," Danny said smartly. "Good idea." He took his phone duplicate. With it in his hand, he could take a closer look. It really was his crappy flip phone. Minus the scratches and subtle cracks. It was almost like he just got it for the first time again. With a thin smile, he thanked his sister and walked through the portal with Dani. Once they were through, he let the other marvel at the sight for a moment.
"So that's what you meant by don't open any doors," Dani breathed out, looking at the multiple floating purple doors. "But.. why can't we open them?"
Danny motioned her to follow him as they began to fly to Clockwork's Tower. "With how big the Zone is, it's hard to travel through. So to help with that, these doors connect to different realms in the Ghost Zone," He explained. "Some lead to other ghosts' homes and lairs. We don't need you getting lost or worse; accidentally encountering one of my enemies. Especially with both of us here. Not that Val can't handle some of them, but she can't face all of them alone."
Going off the silence, Dani seemed to process all the information. Even nodding her head in agreement. Danny glanced over to see her thinking about something. When asked what was on her mind, she spoke. "Why don't we use one of the doors to Clockworth?"
"Clockwork," he corrected before answering. "Other than the fact I'd have to look through each door to find it, Clockwork's realm is different."
"Different?"
Danny nodded. "When we're in the Ghost Zone, we're everywhere and every-when because it exists all at once. Time, along with other things, are both existent and non-existent here. Clockwork's Realm follows that a little too well. It both does and does not exist outside of Time. So, there are sometimes the lair glitches out of sight to everyone else in the Zone. Doors included."
"So," Dani began once he stopped speaking. "What if it's out of our sight?"
"Simple. We go through the realm."
Dani's eyebrows scrunched up. The girl soon went silent as she went into deep thought. All the while Danny smirked, part of him wondering if this was a snippet of how Clockwork felt. The rest of him gladly reveled in the brief silence. Until Dani gave a defeated sigh. "I don't get it." She muttered, loud enough to reach Danny's ears. Danny admittedly let out a laugh before telling the other that she would one day. An answer that earned a pout from her.
The two continued to converse through the Ghost Zone. While it was mostly Dani asking questions, Danny had shared memories of his first few trips in the Zone. Luckily for both of them, they didn't encounter any enemies on the way to the Tower. Therefore they got there rather safely. Dani was audibly not too impressed with the realm itself, claiming because Danny made it seem "show-stopping". Even finding the gears and clocks "too cliché for a time ghost." (At that, Danny was glad his sister and Valerie declined to go with them. Mostly Valerie. She had more to say about ghosts than anyone.) Then there was the Lair. The Grandfather Clock Tower seemed to have piqued Dani's interest. When flying closer to it, Danny heard her mutter how cool it looked. Like always, Danny went straight to the top of the tower this time with his daughter in tow.
"Clockwork," Danny greeted as soon as he saw the Master of Time.
Clockwork wore his ever-present smile as he nodded his head. "Daniel." His red eyes traveled to the new addition. "And Danielle."
Dani was taken aback. "You know me?"
"Should I not?"
"Ooookay," Dani held up her hands, then pointed one of them at Clockwork. "You're creepy."
"Elle," Danny warned.
"In a cool way." Dani quickly added, her hands shooting back down at her sides. "This place is really cool. Very on the nose."
Danny briefly hid his face with his hand and then looked apologetically at his mentor. "Sorry about her."
Clockwork merely smiled, his form taking one of an older one. "You had questions?"
He nodded. "We've been thinking about what to do since you helped me get away from my— from the Fentons and GiW." Behind him, Dani perked up. "And the best we came up with was living here. The thing is we don't know how to get started."
"Live here?"
"Yeah," Danny answered. Something about the other's stare made him nervous. "I guess I should've asked if it was possible first, huh?"
Clockwork shook his head. "You'd find a way somehow. It was only a matter of when you'd do so."
The time ghost seemed to ponder for a moment. Something Danny saw him do a handful of times during their lessons. It took around the third time for Danny to finally understand why the ghost did this. Being the Master of Time, Clockwork naturally has a good memory. Too good of a memory. With how many timelines he's seen, sometimes he confuses another timeline with the current one. "We didn't go over Lairs in our lessons, did we?"
Danny shook his head. A nervous look on his face as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, I don't think so. If you did, then I most likely forgot.."
An odd look crossed Clockwork's face before it returned to his neutral look. "We do need to talk about that later on, among other things." Danny mentally cursed himself. "Let's get started."
Danny motioned Dani to follow him as Clockwork led them to the screen in the middle of the room.
"As we clarified before, a core is the cumulation of a ghost's being. A lair, on the other hand, is essentially an extension of a ghost's previous li. What have you noticed about the lairs you've seen so far?"
Danny raised an eyebrow at the question and thought back. Whose lairs has he seen? Walker, Skulker, Poindexter… Those three will do for now. But what did they all have in common? His eyes widened slightly as he came to a conclusion. "They're focused around the owner's obsession." Danny hummed to himself once Clockwork nodded.
"So," Dani spoke up as Danny thought to himself. "Only ghosts who have an obsession get a lair?"
"To put it simply, A lair is a manifestation of their obsession. A core without a host; or, a body, as one might say; needs a physical representation of these deep obsessions, or else it may put too much strain on the core and make the ghost unstable. Which is why it's possible for ghosts with a strong obsession and consciousness." At the ghost girl's confusion, Clockwork went to specify. Nothing wrong with going back to help others catch up. "There are ten types of ghosts living in the ghost zone. Their levels are based on how strong their conscience is and how deep their obsessions lie. The first level is the weakest because they're mindless with no obsession. Ghosts like, let's say, Ember McLain," Clockwork managed to stifle his smile from growing wider from how Dani perked up more. "Have a deep obsession. It's their primary focus, but they also have full personalities that reflect who they were before they passed. Because of this they also have the ability to gain a Lair. Daniel would also classify in that same category."
"Daddy?"
Danny, who had been frowning during the entire explanation, spoke at the same time. "Me?"
"Yes," Clockwork stated. "You."
"But I don't have an obsession," Danny argued. "Especially not one as strong as Ember's." There was a pregnant silence. "Right?"
Dani looked thoughtful before looking at Clockwork. "Obsessions are like ghosts, big desires, and stuff, right? Like how the Box Ghost has boxes and Ember sharing her music?"
"More or less."
Dani nodded and looked at Danny. "You definitely have one."
A glance was shared before Danny sighed. "Can we get back on track? You know, with the whole lair situation."
"And this is equally as important. Despite popular belief, Lairs don't randomly appear to the ghosts that are strong enough to get one. The lairs you've seen are built around obsessions. Remember ghostly obsessions are not like human ones."
"So in order to get a Lair I gotta, what? Find out my obsession?" Danny joked. Until he got nothing in reply. "…you have to be kidding me."
"No need to find out what you already know" Clockwork stated. "All that's left for you is to accept it."
Danny grew silent. "No way."
"Daniel."
"We went over this last time," Danny said, throwing his hands up. "I don't have an obsession!"
"The easier you accept it, the faster you'll get your lair."
He frowned, his arms crossed. Next to Danny, his kid was lost in the conversation. Dani looked back and forth between the two before she spoke quietly. "Is there really no other way?" Her voice made both the ghosts look at her.
Clockwork shook his head. "I'm afraid not, young Phantom. As I stated earlier; Lairs are manifestations of a ghost's obsession. That cannot be undone or changed."
Dani pouted on behalf of her father. Danny noticed this and put a hand on her head, ruffling her hair to get her attention. Once their green eyes met, he gave her a smile before turning his attention back to the time ghost. "Getting back on track, you mentioned a lair putting strain on the core. If it's the manifestation of an obsession, why is the core so important?"
Clockwork reverted to his adult form. The ghost put his empty hand behind him. "A ghost needs a core, and a core sometimes needs a Lair to help regulate an obsession. However, it's a two-way street. As the Lair helps keep stress off of the core, it also tends to be a constant reminder of the ghost's obsession, and can even cause it to get worse, in some cases."
Something seemed to have clicked as Danny's eyes widened. "That's why some Lair's are massive while others are smaller. The bigger the obsession, the bigger the Lair!"
"Correct," Clockwork nodded.
"And there's really no other way?" Danny asked this time, a hopeful tone in his voice. All hope faded once Clockwork shook his head.
Danny sighed and rested his pointer finger on his chin as he gathered the information into his noggin. He knew an uncomfortably large amount of information about his core, from both Frostbite and his parents, as well as its current state. Having any form of stress off of it would probably be a good thing. But an obsession? Danny was pretty sure he didn't have one. Nothing about him screamed 'Oh that ghost has an obsession!' with anything. Clockwork, however, claimed otherwise. Only telling him that he'd find out sooner or later. That was their first time talking about the topic. This time was different. This time Clockwork said he already knew. But did he?
He aggressively shook his head and turned his attention back to his mentor. "Anything else to know beforehand?" He asked in a desperate attempt to redirect his thoughts.
"Nothing important for now," Clockwork replied. "Though I do suggest you meet your neighbors soon."
He raised an eyebrow before his mouth formed an 'o' shape after it clicked. Going to Frostbite and Pandora was already on the list, but everyone else? The only other ghosts he would want to show himself to were Kitty and Johnny. Maybe even Dorathea. But those were ghosts he was on even grounds with. He couldn't imagine what would happen if he bumped into anyone like Skulker. The news of Phantom moving to the ghost zone, and out of Amity Park, being spread around? The thought made him shiver. Then another thought hit.
Danny put a pin in his thoughts and checked the time. Seeing it was time to go, he called out to Dani, who was talking to Clockwork. The two halfa's said their farewells before flying out of the tower and soon out of the realm. Danny watched the younger's awe-filled expression as the entire realm seemed to flicker out of existence the moment they left. He couldn't keep his laughter once she said, "So that's what you meant!" in a hushed tone.
Compared to their flight to Clockwork's, the one from was quieter. The younger Phantom was silently taking in everything, which left the older wondering.
"How do you like the Ghost Zone so far?" He ended up asking.
Dani looked over at Danny with a smile. "It's way different than I pictured," She admitted.
"Think you could live here?"
That made Dani think for a moment. Then a familiar sly smile appeared. "Maybe if I had a better look around." Danny gave her an unamused look. "Please?" Her eyes grew bigger and watery as she looked at him.
Danny promptly looked away from the attempt of puppy eyes. Not like it would've bothered him. There's no way he would've surrendered to that look with anyone. Danny glanced back and saw the same sight. "Fine," the words slipped out. "But only for a few minutes!"
The younger was delighted by the answer and hurried the older, who tried his best to calm her down before starting the miniature tour. Hopefully, his sister wouldn't mind them being a couple of minutes late. The small fly-around gave the halfa the distraction he desperately needed. Plus, seeing Dani's reaction to the small portion of the zone was worth it. It almost made him want to properly show the kid around. Almost. The moment they stopped was luckily when they were close to the portal. Dani was looking around the empty 'plots' to get the "where to live" part out of the way. She chose a relatively big one. The bare floating island was the size of two football fields, if not bigger. The amount of space was honestly great, though he didn't have any specific reason why it was great. It was just a good idea. A gut feeling. Nothing worthy to note, but he kept it in mind anyway as they left the Ghost Zone. Who knows, might be cool.
Hahaha…
I don't remember any commentary u had for this chapter. Just.. These next few chapters are my best efforts in worldbuilding for the Ghost Zone, so look out for information and whatever. It's very hard so..
Speaking of information, big thanks to my former beta/friend who puts up with me for helping me come up with a way to explain Lairs. Going back and forth between the wiki and Tumblr, it was fun to join a few things together. But I'm also bad at explaining my ideas and she really helped me with that. I just.. really hope what was said in this chapter makes sense.
What else.. Uh… new drinking game: drink everytime you read "Ghost Zone!" (don't do this actually, just give me a counter or something..)
Next Up: Guess the Obsession pt1; Jazz and Danny bonding
See you all later, my guys, gals, and non-binary pals! Have a good night /day!!