PHANTOM FORCE, Goin' Ghost Retold

by DarkShadowGames451

DP AU! Mass X-over! It's been a year since the accident, and Daniel Fenton has found a balance between his teenage life and secret life as a superpowered ghost hunter with the help of his older sister. But he will face new challenges and greater threats with new friends and allies while discovering his destiny as a liminal halfa. But will it all be enough to save the world?

5. Vol 2, Issue 3

Food Court, Amity Park Mall, Amity Park

Danny felt much better after eating. In fact, he hadn't laughed and been more engaged in social activities since he went out to the movie theaters with Sam and Tucker to watch Sam Raimi's Spider-Man after a day of fun at the local arcade during the seventh grade.

After Danny, Mason, Pacifica, and Valerie finished eating their food, they went around the mall's stores to either buy games and/or clothes while going through various topics.

Now, they manage to find an Internet Cafe inside of the mall to relax and chat about school and other miscellaneous topics. The last thing that they were talking about was the idea that aliens exist.

"Look, all that I'm saying is that aliens may be among us."

"Oh boy…" Danny said, knowing that aliens were one of Mason's favorite topics, and that he was an avid believer of the weird and the unexplained.

"Here we go again with this." Valerie said, rolling her eyes as she heard this topic being brought up as of late since she's come to know Mason. "Piedmont, that's just a conspiracy."

"Says you, Gray! I have proof." Mason said, holding up his right index finger.

"Pines, random blurry pictures and the occasional home video caught on a shaky camera does not equate to viable sources." Val dryly stated.

"Neither does rumors, but I recently learned that ghosts are real. At this point, I'm more inclined to believe anything." Pacifica admitted. "Heck, I heard a long time ago, my hometown came to be when a UFO crashed into the area and formed a crater."

"It could have been a meteor, you know." Val suggested.

"Valerie, if it was simply a meteor, meteorologists would have come to check up on the town, not government dudes in black suits." Mason pointed out.

"Point is, we had experts show us that spirits officially exist, and the government was forced to admit it." Valerie exclaimed.

"To be fair, I was the first real ghost that my parents and Jazz seen." Danny said with a quirky smile.

Paz giggled, saying, "The irony of their careers taking off because of you will never be not funny."

Mason turned to Danny and asked, "What do you think about it, D?"

"Oh, the alien thing?" Danny commented. "Um…well…I'm not sure. I mean, ghosts exist. And I'm pretty sure magic does, given that I was hypnotized by a mystical artifact before…I think it's possible. Man, I hope they do!"

The group chuckled at the fanboy in Danny rearing its head for a moment before the Fenton teen blushing for a bit.

Mason, with his laptop on the tap, made a few clicks with his mouse and them pushed the screen to Danny's side and asked him, "Have you seen this image before, D?"

Danny was shown an image of a circle gray hourglass shape on the top and bottom with white areas on its sides.

"...No, I've never seen this a day in my life." Danny answered honestly.

Pacifica and Val were also at a loss, having never seen the symbol before.

"What even is this supposed to be? An hourglass?" Valerie questioned.

"Don't know." Mason shrugged. "It's one of the biggest mysteries in my alien conspiracy subforum of my website. Some of the biggest and oldest members can't figure this out. But, we all think the appearance of these creatures aren't isolated instances and share a commonality."

When Mason received his laptop back to pull up three images, Danny and the others were met with three low quality photos.

"Now, check these out."

One was black and white, but barely showed the appearance of a dog-like creature the size of two adult male tigers lurking in the woods of Virginia, holding a man as it dragged him out of a lake. The beast had dark fur, stripes on its back, and three tails. Its face was blurry, but it had a clear badge on the black-and-white brace it wore on the left shoulder.

Another had color, although it was still low quality compared to the present day. It appeared to be a large humanoid creature made up of indigo rock, with its lower body, torso, and the top of its sharp head covered in it while having black lines and dots over it. Its arms and face with a large chin, however, seem to possess a pale green/blue crystal substance reminiscent of diamond with four crystal shards on the back. And once again, like the first creature, it sported the same hourglass badge, only this time, it was lodged on to his chest. The being was busy jumping out of a burning building, rescuing a child and her dog while surrounded by the buildings of Seattle.

Lastly, there was a creature that was caught on the best quality a 90s camera could muster. It appeared to be more grotesque and monstrous, resembling that of a flying mutated insectoid. The creature seems to have worn a black sleeveless jumpsuit with white lining which covered most of its body including his head and tail. Its hands had a black coloration similar to fingerless gloves with white accents, and its eyes were yellowish-orange. The mouth had a tongue and gums that were green in coloration, and he had squarish teeth that interlocked when closed. On its forehead was the same badge as the other two. The being appeared to be evading some kind of military unit while in the state of Nevada.

Valerie wasn't inclined to agree given the many hoaxes in the world. Pacifica was caught in the middle since she heard rumors that before her hometown's formation, the area that would become Gravity Falls was struck by a UFO. Danny was also stuck in the middle, but was delighted at the idea of extraterrestrials existing. Mason brought up at least ten creatures never before seen to appear around the United States between the mid 60s to the late 90s.

'...Are they saving people?' Danny inquired while looking at the images.

"...What the hell?" Valerie uttered as Mason put away his laptop.

Mason smirked at her reaction, saying, "I know right? Freaky. And they aren't ghosts."

"I mean, they could be cryptids, Troll boy." Paz suggested. "Or runaway lab experiments."

"Uh uh uh! Cryptids are under a special scientific jurisdiction. But the latter could be possible, I'll admit." Mason nodded. "Let's back up a bit, though. Do you notice something about these pictures? Something that all of these creatures share?"

"...They all have the same emblem." Danny said, noticing the hourglass on each of the entities.

Mason snapped his fingers, saying, "Exactly! Now, nearly every member of that subforum, including me, could not find that symbol anywhere. It's not copyrighted, it has never been officially mentioned. For all intents and purposes, it doesn't exist."

"Again, they could be failed experiments from some secret underground government org." Pacifica had brought up again, "I mean, one looks like a big ass dog, and another looks like a big ass fly."

"Hence why I can buy the cryptid thing." Valerie spoke up.

"Val, Paz, if that was the case, Area 51 would have been defunct years ago." Mason countered. "Our government would never slip up when it comes to their pet projects. There would have been a nation-wide panic. But you know what governments are good at doing?"

"What?" Danny questioned.

"Cover-ups and unofficial and unsanctioned operations." Mason answered. "We may have people with mutations, but they are not so drastic that we become eight feet tall and become a crystal man. Nor do we mutate so drastically that we end up sharing messed animal DNA. Our government knows what these creatures are, just like they know what that symbol is and what it means."

"I don't know. Aliens seem to be a bit of a stretch." Valerie said, unconvinced.

"Don't give me that, Gray. You live in the most haunted place on Earth," Mason said, rolling his eyes.

"We've seen some weird stuff," Pacifica agreed. "And I grew up in Weird Capital, but Gravity Falls is nothing like Amity Park."

"Hey, I'm still wrapping my head around this crazy shit, too!" Valerie said in a defensive tone. "I never would have imagined I'd become a real life Ghostbuster, but here I am. Aliens are kind of setting the bar nonsense high for me, okay?"

"Okay, okay. Let's bring it back," Danny said, playing the mediator as usual. "I hear you guys. On one hand, I think it's possible. I mean, I should be dead, but I'm not, and became more. A gateway to the otherside could be made by man and my parents proved it. It's insane, though, that's our reality. But maybe the whole aliens-being-real conspiracy is too much for those who are down-to-Earth."

Turning to the dark skinned teen, Danny said, "Valerie, is like me. She's down-to-Earth,"

As he turned to Mason and Pacifica next, Danny suggested, "So, I don't we hold off on this topic and save it for another time?"

Mason, Valerie, and Pacifica looked at each other, then agreed.

"...Oh man!" Danny said, suddenly smacking his forehead.

"What's wrong?" Pacifica asked with the others looking concerned,

"I forgot to pick up the fudge mix on the way here!" Danny exclaimed. "Dad is gonna kill me!"

The other three teenages looked at Danny as if he grew a second head before a round of stifled laughter. This broke out into a round of wholehearted laugher, causing Danny to blink cluelessly.

"D-Dude! What?" Mason chuckled before.

"...U-Uh, was it something that I said?" Danny asked.

"Casper, you fight ghosts that can tear up the down on a regular basis, and all that you can worry about is fudge?" Pacifica questioned rhetorically in amusement.

"Gosh, you're such a goof!" Valerie giggled which caused Danny to blush out of embarrassment.

Danny eventually joined in the freeing sensation of laughter, understanding that his mindset had suddenly synced up with his father. Suddenly, the pain of Vlad's assault on him had fled, gardually being released with hours of normalcy and being surrounded by friends he could trust.

"...You're not wrong," Danny said as the laughed died down. "Thanks, guys. This felt much better-"

Before Danny could continue, his cellphone began to ring.

"Oh, hold up. Gotta take this real quick." Danny said as he answered the call. "Hello?"

"Daniel James!" A familiar voice spoke, loud enough for Valerie to instantly recognize. "There's trouble afoot."

"Daddy?/Mr. Gray?" Both Valerie and Danny spoke at the same time.

Pacifica glanced at her boyfriend and asked, "Her dad knows?"

"We can ask her later," Mason said as they focused back on the matter at hand.

"What's the matter, sir?" Danny asked. "What can I do for you?"

"There was an explosion that took place over five minutes ago at the Amity Park Museum. This triggered the museum's security alarms, which went off three minutes ago. But then we lost multiple visuals of the building from our security cams just a minute ago."

"What!? An explosion at the museum!?" Danny gasped, shocking his friends at the news. "Was it a ghost attack?"

"Our readings did not detect any traces of spectral activity, but we do not know if there were any casualties, as we lost sight of the museum. The authorities, your parents, and the news will be arriving shortly, but I have a gut feeling that they won't be able to figure out what the hell's going on." Damon spoke gravely. "I need someone to investigate the matter, personally."

"...Got it. I'm on my way." Danny accepted. "Thanks for the info."

"It's no trouble. Stay safe, give me the details, and keep Valerie Jo out of this. We don't know what we're up against."

"Yes, sir." Danny nodded before hanging up the phone and looking at his friends with a serious expression. "Sorry guys, there's trouble. Duty calls."

"Are you sure, Casper." Pacifica questioned. "You're still pretty banged up after…you know."

"I know, but if I don't, my ghost will go crazy," Danny expressed, opening up about his ghost half's anxiety.

"Right, your obsession." Valerie understood. "I'll head out with you."

"Wait, Val. I need someone on the outside to watch out for any other ghost attacks while I'm preoccupied in case something else is going on." Danny said, smoothly trying to fulfill her father's request without overstepping his boundaries with Valerie's character. "Could you stay here and patrol?"

Valerie would normally protest against this, but she got behind Danny's logic in the matter.

"Sure thing, but you better be careful. If not, I'm gonna hunt you down like in the old days." Valerie said with a small mischievous smirk.

Danny nodded nostalgically as he turned to the brunette and the blonde.

"We'll cover for you," Pacifica declared

Mason stated, "Now get going,"

Danny nodded and bolted out of the building, leaving the three teenagers at the internet cafe.

"...Are you sure that it was a good move to let him go out like that?" Pacifica asked her boyfriend. "You heard what he said, right? Masters almost…"

"I know, Paz. But it's like he said, his ghost half won't be able to handle sitting idly by when there's someone in need of saving. Danny needs this, and Phantom needs this," Mason clarified. "We have to let him get his groove back."

---

Pyramid of Madness (Amity Park Museum), Amity Park, IL

A part of Phantom felt eager for a fight. This was his ghost half, of course, given that's what suffered a beating from his archenemy to near death. But his human half, Danny Fenton, was trembling in uncertainty and anxiety. The halfa did not know whether or not people were dead or alive. And despite the fact that he did not know what was going on, the superpowered ghost hunter couldn't help but feel responsible for the occurrence,

After all, if it was ghost related, it all went back to the day he stepped inside the Fenton Portal. If he never turned it on, there wouldn't have been the ghost swarm that invested the town. Many lives would have been spared. And with the portal inactive, his life, and others, would have never been ruined.

But that was a fantasy, and this was reality. Phantom's reality.

While soaring through the streets of downtown Amity Park, the ghost boy passed by a large deco style skyscraper named "the Anson Building" and thought, 'I'm so glad Valerie's dad is officially on my side. Heck, I think he's seen both of my sides in a good light. but then again, Mr. Gray has always been a stand up guy with a good eye. Kinda wish he was Dad's best friend instead of Vlad.'

In two minutes, the invisible Phantom managed to approach the street where the museum was located, only to be met with a glowing blue force field covering a giant black pyramid while two purple bat wings kept it afloat.

Phantom was so flabbergasted what he was looking at, the ghost boy took out his phone from his utility belt and nearly dropped it while dialing Mr. Gray's phone number.

"Daniel James?" Damon questioned after picking up from the other line. "What's going on out there. What do you see?"

"S-Sir, I don't think the museum's gone… At least, not exactly." Phantom stated, still in shock at what he's looking at.

"What is it?"

"Call me crazy, but I'm staring at a giant dark Egyptian pyramid with black wings. And it's being protected by some kind of barrier." Phantom described. "And judging from the empty space where the museum is supposed to be standing, there's a good chance that the floating structure might be it."

"...Lord have mercy. I don't get paid enough for this nonsense." The man groaned. "Does the barrier have the same properties as a Ghost Shield?"

"...I was afraid you'd ask that," Phantom sighed. "Hold on, let me check."

Phantom swooped near the barrier, and tried to use his free hand as a test subject. Surprisingly, Phantom's hand passed through the blue barrier, unlike the police that failed to pierce through the force field as the bullets of their handguns ricocheted.

"Huh? Well, that's convenient." Phantom muttered with a smile. "Looks like I can pass through it after all."

"That's great, on one hand." Damon stated over the phone. "But the fact that you can pass through without trouble doesn't sit well with me. Try to tread lightly from here on out, okay?"

"I hear you loud and clear," Phantom said as he flew through the barrier and noticed the giant red eye at the front face of the pyramid following. "Now, let's see who's behind the second coming of the Illuminati."

'...Is that eye following me?' Phantom asked before spotting the entrance. 'Creepy.'

The ghost boy morphed his ghost tail back into legs as he walked inside of the building. He saw that torches were lit along the walls, eliminating the need for him to use an ecto-ray to illuminate the room.

Phantom looked around the room, which was covered in generic hieroglyphs. The ghost boy couldn't find anybody through sight, so he resorted to calling for folks.

"Hello? Is there anybody here?" Phantom called out. "Hello?"

Suddenly, a large draft spawned out of nowhere as puffs of purple clouds. From there, with the sound of laughter, a mystical image of Freakshow appeared to him as if he was a djinn.

"HAHAHAHA!" The image of Freakshow laughed. "We meet again, Ghost Boy!"

"Freakshow!" Phantom exclaimed. "I should have known you'd be behind this."

"Long time no see, old friend," Freakshow said, talking in faux politeness. "How's it been going? As for me, well, I've been dandy now that I'm out after I spent nearly a year ROTTING IN JAIL BECAUSE OF YOU AND YOUR SISTER!"

"Dude, you brainwashed me and several other ghosts to do your dirty work and trashed my already shaky rep." Phantom dryly stated, crossing his arms. "You totally had that one coming,"

"Grudges aside, I welcome you to my freakish house of fun!" Freakshow presented dramatically. "I call it the PYRAMID OF MADNESS!"

Phantom and Freakshow stared at each other awkwardly after the dramatic fanfare played in the background.

"...Ahem!" Freakshow stated, clearing his throat.

"...What?" Phantom said, raising an eyebrow.

Freakshow said, "You may applaud now."

"...No. And how are you playing music without any instruments around?" Phantom questioned.

"That's not important!" Freakshow exclaimed. "Now tremble at my Pyramid of Madness!"

"Again, no." Phantom simply replied. "I don't know what kind of fancy trinket you have now, but frankly, I don't care! Now turn the museum back to normal, release your captives, and I promise that your butt-kicking experience won't be nearly as humiliating or painful as the last time. Maybe."

Hearing this, Freakshow laughed, causing the building to tremble before he wiped a single tear from his left eye.

"What a foolish boy! You're in no position to make demands!" Freakshow stated as he revealed his giant right first. "BEHOLD!"

Being held within his fist were several people being held, making the ghost boy gasp in horror. One seemed to be a female school teacher, a majority looked like elementary school children, roughly ten or eleven years old, and some of them were the museum staff, including a blonde woman.

"Hostages!?" Phantom growled. "You're taking hostages now!?"

"Semantics, Phantom," Freakshow stated. "They will be my audience, but you know me. What can be better than an audience? Well, a captive audience!"

"What is wrong with you!?" Phantom screamed, flabbergasted. "Is this some kind of GAME to you!?"

"A game? Oh, no, no, no! A ringmaster is always dedicated to his craft." Freakshow explained. "And if I want to make an epic comeback to the world, I require the assistance of an old…colleague."

Phantom glared at the smirk Freakshow was giving him.

"You miserable freak! Why would I ever help you?" Phantom questioned.

Freakshow made the image of the people dissipate in a puff of smoke as he said, "Because I know what you are, Hero. You're too human for your own good, so you'll do what I say if you know what's good for you. Or else…"

Phantom knew that he was beaten there. He didn't know why Freakshow was so powerful compared to his first encounter, but it was as Damon said. He needed to tread lightly to figure out what was going on.

"...Fine. What do you want?" Phantom spat out.

"What I want is a show, Phantom," Freakshow answered simply. "While I'm the runner who shall be its star, you'll be the main attraction. If you wish to save these ignorant sheep, then I dare you to rise to my challenge! Conquer the trials and climb to the top chamber!"

"...I'm sensing a "but" somewhere," Phantom muttered.

"But I shall warn you, each trial will be more difficult than the last. And failure to do so may have…dire consequences." Freakshow ominously stated.

"Not like I'm gonna have a choice, anyway…." Phantom groaned. "Alright, Freakshow! I'll give you a show! And once I save everybody, I'm gonna beat the snot out of you, then haul you and your stupid nose back to the slammer where you belong!"

"You're welcome to try, but the first three trials impede your progression. Until then, I await your arrival at the top. Ta ta, for now! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

With that, Freakshow's image disappears in a puff of smoke.

Phantom sighed, and said, "...It's times like this where I miss hanging out with Tucker and Sam…"

The white haired halfa shook his head and quietly said, "Get your head in the game, Fenton. There's lives that need saving."

With that, Phantom continued his investigation within the base area of the Pyramid of Madness.

-Base Trial-

The ghost boy found a corridor that led him to another part of the base floor. On one side of the room, he found a mirror. When he leaned forward to peer into the mirror, Freakshow's visage appeared.

"I see you've arrived at the base trial." Freakshow stated. "That's to be expected for the town's oh-so beloved hero."

"How is this gonna work?" Phantom questioned.

"Egyptians were one of the earliest known civilizations to delve in games as one of their activities in daily life, so this fun house will have the same sentiment." Freakshow stated. "Several participants will be involved in the next three trials, but to make things interesting and more dramatic, there will be another crucial player who may accompany you throughout your adventure. That is, if you can save them."

With the snap of his fingers, Freakshow distorted the area, transforming it to a gladiator's arena.

In a flash of light, Phantom was placed in a chariot, being dragged along the track by two white stallions with flaming green manes and tails. The reins were bound to him by the green ropes on his wrists that kept him from flying away or turning intangible to free himself.

As Phantom screamed, he was slammed by another chariot being driven by his opponent closing on him. Said opponent was a warrior clad in Egyptian armour and carried with him a large green mace.

Phantom jumped over and ducked under the first two swings of his opponent's mace, but was struck in the face by the third. Phantom grunted and held his forehead while wincing.

"...I'll have to remember this if I ever do a report on the history of road rage," Phantom aggressively quipped.

The armored warrior used one of their scythe-mounted wheels to destroy one of Phantom's wheels, causing the horses to gallop away, destroying the reins, freeing the ghost boy in the process.

Phantom immediately rammed into the warrior like a football player, sending the warrior careening onto the ground and crashing into a wall while his steeds vanished. Phantom flew over to the area and noticed the warrior's helmet came off.

As the being rose back up, Phantom was met with a male jackal headed warrior with green eyes and the glowing body of a ten foot tall man with a dog's large and fluffy tail. The beast growled and ferally lunged at Phantom with the intent to maim him with his sharp claws.

While dodging the attacks of the jackal headed man-beast, Phantom thought aloud, "Woah! Hey! Watch it, Zuul Dog!"

Phantom leaned forward, bent backwards, and flipped backwards to evade his enemy's attacks. At a fit of rage, the jackal headed man-beast fired a blast of green energy from his eyes, causing Phantom to manipulate his body to create a hole for the beams to safely pass through him.

Getting sick of the encounter Phantom exclaimed "Okay, that does it!" while sinking through the floor. The jackal headed man-beast tried to sniff out his opponent, only for Phantom to re-emerge behind him and grab his opponent by the tail.

"Alight, Fido! Time for you to heel!" Phantom said, swinging the jackal headed man-beast in a circle five times before throwing him overhead with his superstrength.

The man-beast whined as it was slammed across the arena and landed on its back, leaving a crater. The beast surrendered, giving Phantom the victory. From there, the body spasmed and was enveloped in a blue light. When the flash died out, replacing the opponent was an unconscious Carl Tennyson.

Phantom flew to his side and placed two finger upon a vein on Carl's neck, then sighed in relief.

"...Thank goodness, there's still a pulse." Phantom sighed in relief as Carl's eyes began to open.

"...Ugh, what happened?" Carl uttered.

"U-Uh… Greetings, citizen!" Phantom awkwardly greeted, trying to sound heroic. "How are you feeling?"

As Carl got up, he stretched his back while rubbing it, nonchalantly saying, "I suppose I'm fine. My back's a bit on the stiff side, but,"

All of the memories from nearly an hour ago immediately came back to Carl like a rushing flood as he looked around the area.

"W-Wait! Where am I?" Carl questioned with a tone of urgency as he looked at Phantom. "Who are you? And where's Ben and the class!?"

"...Uh, Ben?" Phantom echoed in confusion.

"My son!" Carl clarified as he glared at the ghost boy. "What has the freak done to my boy!? Where has he taken him!?"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Phantom said, holding his hands out. "Hold up, John Doe! I'm not with that lunatic! I'm here to help!"

"He's not wrong, you know." Said a familiar voice from the heavens.

In the sky, the clouds gathered as thunder roared, getting the attention of both males. From the accumulation of clouds formed the face of Freakshow.

"YOU!" Carl screamed.

"YES! It is I, Freakshow!" The pale skinned human gloated. "Hello, by the way."

"You couldn't help but gloat over your new stunt, can't you?" Phantom rhetorically questioned.

"I see that you managed to find and rescue your co-star. Bravo!" Freakshow said while expressing sarcasm.

"HEY, CLOWN! TELL ME WHERE MY SON AND MY NIECE AND THEIR CLASS IS RIGHT NOW!" Carl screamed in fury.

"And spoil the fun? Oh no, that simply will not do." Freakshow said after laughing at Carl's outburst. "Fortunately, I am a fanatic for drama, so I am willing to give you a chance, Mr. Family Man. If you wish to see those kiddies alive, you will join forces with the infamous Phantom of Amity Park that stands beside you. With the Ghost Boy by your side, it certainly stacks the odds of survival in your favor."

Carl looked at Phantom oddly, thinking to himself, '...Ghost Boy? Is this kid part Ectonurite or something?'

"I hate to say it, but we gotta play by his rules." Phantom sighed.

Carl retorted, saying, "You'd listen to a terrorist? He's just using advanced tech!"

"Magic, not tech!" Phantom corrected. "And are you really going to pass up the only plausible lead that could help you rescue your family?"

Carl frowned and reluctantly conceded, causing Freakshow to smirk. Freakshow then erected a large shaft network with a door that opened.

"Three trials remain ahead of you, gentlemen. A random amount of participants may appear during two of them. Best not to keep them waiting." Freakshow snarked. "Allow me to give you an incentive!"

"...Incentive?" Carl said.

Out of nowhere, a sweeping tornado was spawned from the power of the Scarab Scepter and moved toward Phantom and Carl's directly rather quickly.

The two screamed in terror as Freakshow laughed before his visage disappeared.

Carl and Phantom started to run toward the door of the shaft, but saw that the tornado began to catch up to them.

"WE WON'T BE ABLE TO MAKE IT!" Carl said, looking back at the tornado.

"...YES WE ARE!" Phantom said, hardening his expression.

Phantom focused and lifted Carl by the shoulder's, catching the grown Tennyson man off guard. Flying as fast as he could, Phantom outsped the tornado and entered the door of the shaft before the door closed.

-First Chamber-

When the family man and the Ghost Boy entered the chamber shaft, the two collapsed and sighed in relief. The two panted, wanting to catch a break after nearly getting swallowed up by a natural disaster. The white haired halfa sat on one corner while Carl sat on one of the stairs leading to the first chamber.

Phantom rolled his head to Carl's direction and asked the brunette, "...You alright over there?"

Carl nodded while catching his breath, saying, "...Yeah, I think I will be."

Phantom was the first to recover, then extended a hand to help Carl up.

"Here," The ghost boy said, providing a smile.

Carl accepted his hand before he was pulled up with ease by the white haired ghost hunter.

"That's one strong grip you got there," Carl mused, flexing his hand. "Even for an Osmosian. It must be the Ectonurite genes, huh?"

"...Osmosian? And ecto-what?" Phantom parroted back.

Carl frowned and said, "...Ectonurite. Don't you know your own heritage?"

"What are you talking about? I'm a hu-" Phantom said before catching himself. "Was! I…was a human. But now I'm a spirit."

Carl blinked for a moment, realizing why the kid was referred to as "Ghost Boy". It was as his name entailed. He was literally a Phantom. He was amongst a true spirit.

"...Dear God," Carl whispered. "How did you-"

"-I'd rather not talk about it, Sir. My kind tends to get violently offended by the question."
Phantom said, trying to steer away from any thoughts of 8/4. "Let's focus on saving everybody and stopping Freakshow."

Phantom's words touched Carl, finding the apparently dead teenager to be altruistic and compassionate.

The two began to walk up, but Carl couldn't help but find his mind being flooded with more questions.

"Could you tell me your age before…" Carl tried to inquire. "You know,"

"...I would be fifteen if I was alive right now," Phantom said, twisting the truth to suit his ghostly persona. "It's only been a year for me since I got like this. I'm still getting used to it."

"I see…" Carl nodded. "Why go out of your way to help the living out?"

"Why not? Phantom quipped. "It's not like I have anything else to lose. But it seems like you do."

"But shouldn't you have passed on by now?" Carl questioned.

"What's this? Twenty questions?" Phantom quipped to deflect the topic. "I stick around because I want to. And I don't plan on moving on anytime soon."

Carl remained quiet, pitying the boy, but was intrigued by his lively and upbeat attitude.

"...I'm Tennyson, by the way." Carl greeted the ghost boy. "Carl Tennyson."

Phantom turned around and nodded, saying, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Tennyson."

With that, in a span of four minutes of walking, the pair managed to find themselves in the first chamber.

It was what appeared to be a courtyard covered in various African trees and plant life, with several Egyptian statues and decorum occupying its space.

"...Is this where the first real trial is being held?" Carl questioned.

"Seems like it." Phantom nodded, looking at his surroundings very carefully. "What is this, the runaway jungle from the Lion King?"

"I hope not. I do not want to run into a hungry Nala." Carl lightly joked, trying to vibe with the ghost boy while dealing with his stress.

"Or a Simba, for the matter." Phantom added, prompting the two to chuckle amongst each other.

The two wandered along the courtyard, calling out for anyone out in the area. They kept doing this for a solid three minutes while exploring the plant-filled courtyard. And much to the males' excitement and relief, they were met with responses.

"Hello? HELLO!?" A young female voice spoke to them.

Carl immediately recognized that voice.

"Gwen? Is that you, sweetheart?" Carl cried out.

"Uncle Carl!? HEY! WE'RE THIS WAY!" Gwen shouted nearby a few walls before more kids began to call out to the heroes.

Phantom and Carl smiled at each other before continuing their pursuit. They reached what looked to be a large ditch, as if the Earth had opened up to swallow them whole, with only a narrow bridge with several twists and turns that reached towards the other side of the chamber, where a large cage was hanging there by a statue of Set, the Egyptian god of the desert, storms, violence and foreigners. However, within the gaps of the ditch were several trees protruding out across the bridge, their branches serving as obstacles of sorts.

"Uncle Carl!/Mr. Tennyson!" Gwen and the rest of the captive kids said respectively.

"Are any of you hurt?" Phantom questioned.

N-No," Peterson said while shaking, clearly terrified.

"I wanna go home!" Madison said while sobbing out of fear.

"Kids! Don't worry, everything is going to be okay!" Carl exclaimed, trying to calm the kids down. "Gwen, where is Ben? Is he okay?"

Gwen, while trying to keep her own fear in check, said, "L-Last I check, he was okay. I think Mr. Showe-, Freakshow still has him in a hidden chamber with the rest of the group."

"Okay. Hang tight, kids. We're going to get you out! I promise!" Carl said, exuding his paternal instincts in full display.

Suddenly, blue lighting struck the statue of Set, causing the children to scream before its head morphed the Set-beast's head into that of Freakshow.

"...Ah, ah, ah! I wouldn't be making any promises that I cannot keep." Freakshow taunted before laughing.

"I can't wait to wipe that smirk off of your ugly face!" Phantom said, floating in the air with ectoplasmic energy generating from his hands.

"Lively as ever, eh Phantom?" Freakshow quipped, causing the caged children to gasp.

"T-That's the ghost boy?" Madison questioned.

"I think so." Arnold said, sniffling in the process.

"But Cash said that he was a bad guy." Peterson pointed out. "Why is he with Mr. Tennyson?"

Gwen said nothing as he watched her uncle and the infamous Phantom talk to their captor's visage.

"What do you want now, Clown?" Carl inquired, clearly peering at Freakshow in sheer disdain.

"What would a ringmaster like Freakshow possibly want…yes, quite the question. How about entertainment?" Freakshow said passive aggressively. "It's in the name, Genius!"

"What are the rules for this little game, this time?" Phantom questioned.

"Great, let's cut to the chase. As you can see, my lovely participants are being held in a cage. But, no human or ghostly power can simply destroy the cage. I should know, for I've willed it to be. No, like a tabletop game or your typical video game, there is a requirement that needs to be met for the desirable outcome to occur." Freakshow explained.

With the glow of the statue's eyes, several glowing mythical beasts that resembled a leopard with the elongated neck and head of a serpent appeared surrounded the two heroes, lurching on the different elevated surfaces of the courtyard with eyes gleaming with malice.

"...This isn't good." Phantom said after he swallowed hard on saliva.

Suddenly, Freakshow spawned a bow in Carl's hand and a quiver full of twenty four arrows hanging behind him.

" I hope you two like Serpopards, I made them with love and feistiness! You are to clear this yard off all of my creations. If you happen to fail, the cage will release toxic gas that will suffocate the children to death."

This made Phantom, Carl, and the captive children gasp in horror. Freakshow then summoned the visage of an hourglass to depict how much time the trial had.

"Oh, and to keep things dramatic, you have two minutes. HAHAHAHAHA!"

With the light leaving the statue disappearing, turning it back to normal, Phantom and Carl stood back to back, preparing to fight for their lives with the supernatural chimeras eyeing them with the intent to devour them.

"Hey, Phantom. These things don't happen to be spirits, aren't they?" Carl questioned.

Phantom looked around at the Serpopards and frowned, saying, "My Ghost Sense didn't go off, so I guess not. Ever used a bow before, Mr. Tennyson?"

"When I was a lad." The older Tennyson said as he took out an arrow and pulled the notch with the arrow perfectly aligned. "We'll move on my mark, understand?"

"You got it," Phantom said, lighting his hands in ectoplasmic energy as the two watched the Serpopards stalk them.

"Ready…3, 2, 1," The brunette counted down before springing into action. "GO!"

With the hourglass flipped, the caged kids watched the chaotic trial ensured.

One of the beasts lunged at Phantom with the intent to bite him, but the ghost boy ascended then stuck it with an ecto-ray, making the first Serpopard disappear.

"...Okay. They're fast, but not faster than light apparently." Phantom noted to himself.

Suddenly, Phantom had to dodge as acid was fired from afar, watching it burn a random bush. As it turned out, the beasts could shoot globs of venom as a projectile which was acidic.

"Yeah, I better take care of these things, and fast!" Phantom said before flying back into the fight.

Meanwhile, Carl was having more of a difficult time with the beasts. Despite wasting half of his quiver due to his rust and his opponents' agile bodies, Carl took out two of the Serpopards that were climbing on top of structures while running. However, the man had narrowly avoided getting burned by its acidic blasts. At one point, Carl had been scratched on his chest by one of the beasts, but narrowly evaded its wrath as he found safety.

When the man found a wall to hide, he heard one of Serpopards stalk in the area, sniffing the ground to find his scent. Carl immediately reached for another arrow from the quiver. The moment the beast poked its head, Carl jammed the arrowhead into its eye, causing it to scream in agony as it thrashed. Carl then jumped onto its neck as it thrashed, then grabbed its ears to move it at the direction of the incoming Serpopard, then made it fire an acidic blast, melting the head of its brethren before disappearing as well.

The kids watched in awe as Phantom and Carl took down each beast one by one, showing them their respective abilities and felt grateful for how far they were willing to go to save them.

Now it was down to two Serpopards with forty seconds to go. Phantom easily destroyed one of them by firing a pair of ecto-rays from his eyes.

When Carl took out one last arrow, Phantom approached him as the beast ran at them. He then imbued the arrowhead with his spectral energy.

Nodding, Carl pulled the notch, then nailed the Serpopards between the eyes before the entire beast was vaporized in a small blast. This made the remaining grains of sand cease from falling.

The cage lowered and the door opened, allowing the kids to be set free. The first one to approach Carl was Gwen, who embraced her uncle.

"Uncle Carl, I was so worried!" Gwen emotionally exclaimed. "Are you okay-AH!? Your chest!"

Gwen and Carl pulled apart when the girl saw that his collared shirt had a large claw mark that began to bleed as it seeped through his shirt.

Carl looking at his niece, Carl said, "Oh, this? It's just a scratch, Pumpkin. I'll be a-okay."

"Mr. Tennyson, that was so cool!" Jamie said as the other kids went up to him.

"You looked so cool back there!" Peterson said while Madison was next to him.

"Yeah! Where did you learn how to shoot a bow?" Cooper questioned.

Carl chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck, saying, "Heh, heh! Well, let's say that my old man kept me and my big brother busy growing up outside of school."

Meanwhile, Phantom floated toward the children and asked them, "Are any of you hurt by any chance?"

The other kids turned to Phantom and were frozen, slightly rooted in fear as they shook.

"N-No," Madison managed to stutter as Phantom's face became saddened at their reaction to him.

"Hey now, I'm not a bad guy-" Phantom tried to speak to them while descending to the ground and taking a step forward.

However, the kids, barring Gwen, took a step back, disheartening Phantom further.

Carl turned to Phantom and said, "Don't take it personally, son. They've just been held against their will and by that Freakshow character. And the last thing that they saw being trapped here was that green lady ghost he summoned."

"Green Lady ghost?" Phantom thought out loud.. "...You must mean Lydia!"

Carl nodded silently before Gwen turned to her classmates.

"Seriously, guys!?" Gwen shouted, pointing at Phantom. "He just saved our lives, you're acting like jerks! How can you be so ungrateful!"

"B-But didn't he attack the mayor last year?" Peterson pointed out, looking at Phantom.

Before Phantom could say anything, Gwen said, "Are you really going to trust a jerk like Cash, out of all people?"

"But Gwen, he's a ghost-" Arnold pointed out.

"He's a hero! If he was as bad as this crumby town made him out to be, he wouldn't care enough to save us or my uncle" Gwen curtly countered before turning to Phantom with a softer expression filled with gratitude. "Right?"

A wave of humility washed over Phantom, prompting him to nod lightly.

Suddenly all of the kids began to be covered in a glowing, causing the kids to panic.

"What's happening to them?" Carl said, now on high alert.

Phantom, who was concerned as well, said, "I-I don't know!"

One by one, Arnold, Madison, Cooper, and Peterson screamed as they were whisked away in a beam of light.

But once it came for Gwen, she felt a sensation that was trying to take her away. It felt like an order, telling her to leave. However, something innate within her refused to go. She was compelled to help her uncle find her cousin, and nothing was going to stop Gwen from doing so.

This impeccable willpower was made manifest as a light pink aura overlaying the blue light until they both canceled each other out. This made Gwen collapse, only for Phantom to quickly catch her.

"Gwen!" Carl called out to her. "Gwen, what happened?"

"I…I don't know." Gwen said while panting. "Something was trying to take me away, but I didn't let it. I wanted to stay. And help."

Suddenly, the statue of Set was struck by the blue light, making the head morph into Freakshow's visage once more. This made the three focus on it as Gwen was stood upright by Phantom.

"My, oh, my!" Freakshow faux gasped. "Things certainly became more interesting."

"What did you do to the kids, Freak?" Phantom interrogated.

"No need to worry, Little Hero. I've whisked those ungrateful brats back to the school bus they came in. Believe it or not, they're safe." Freakshow stated.

"I don't believe a single word you say, Clown!" Carl growled.

"Eh, not my problem. Speaking of which," Freakshow said with a devious smirk. "Congratulations, Mr. Family Man! You found one of your precious kiddies. As a little reward for you, and mostly myself, I've decided to make your duo a triad!"

"What?" Gwen questioned.

"Why bring my niece into this!?" Carl questioned.

"For drama, admittedly," Freakshow mused. "But more importantly, this little scholar shows great potential in a talent that was lost to my family long ago. I wish to see more of that talent unfold."

Carl looked at Gwen, who averted her eyes, wondering, '...Does she have The Spark like Mom? …I have to talk to Dad, and Frank.'

Suddenly, the next chamber shaft rises from the ground several feet away from them.

"Go on, people. The next trial awaits, but fair warning, they will only grow more difficult." Freakshow advised before his presence left the Set statue.

Carl turned to Phantom and said, "I don't like this. I don't like this at all."

"Tell me about it," Phantom muttered. "Freakshow's always been the the type to mess with people's heads. And that's coming from experience."

"...W-What do you mean?" Gwen asked in a shy manner, looking at her hero.

"Oh, right." Phantom said, turning to Gwen, who was joining the trials. "He had this magic staff that had the power to hypnotize ghosts, and I happened to be one of them. When he ran his Circus Gothica operation, I was forced to commit crimes. Fortunately, my sis-I mean, a friend snapped me out of it."

Carl caught what Phantom was going to say before, but said nothing of it.

Gwen said, "Oh. Was that why you attacked the mayor? Because of the staff?"

"No, that's another can of worms we can get to a little later." Phantom said while smiling at her. "But thanks for asking, and for what you said before. It really means a lot."

"Yeah, no problem." Gwen said, averting her eyes elsewhere to hide her blushing.

"Now, Gwen, I need you to stay with me at all times." Carl said, showing his fatherly side to the girl. "From here on out, anything could happen, and I can't afford you getting hurt."

"Okay," Gwen agreed.

"You don't have to worry about that, Sir." Phantom said with a determined expression. "As long as I'm still around, I will do everything in my power to protect both of you and save everybody in the class."

Carl nodded to Phantom and said, "Alright, then. We should get a move on. Lead the way, son."

"Gladly," Phantom agreed, walking toward the chamber shaft's door.

Gwen walked alongside her uncle, now determined to help save her class and her cousin. But as she approached the door, she couldn't help but sneak a few glances at the fifteen year old superhero and found her face light up.

When the trio made it inside, the door shut behind them.

-Second Chamber-

While walking up the stairs, Phantom and Carl were holding a conversation once more.

"Do you happen to know where one goes when they pass on?" Carl asked out of curiosity.

"Not personally," Phantom answered.

"There's another friend of mine that I help in his paranormal research studies. We theorize that those who pass away with unresolved emotions may have a strong enough will to manifest their spectral form within the Spirit World with an obsession."

Carl parroted, "An obsession?"

"It's the primary reason for a spirit to exist beyond the grave, and for deceased-humans-turned-spirits, it's tied to their deaths. Without it, the spirit disappears. But whether or not we ascend, descend, or simply fade is unclear." Phantom explained, "And between you and me, I don't want to find out anytime soon,"

"...So, is the Spirit World limbo?" Gwen asked, joining the question.

"That's a good way of putting it." Phantom said.

"Wait, if one can satisfy an obsession, that could spell the end for spirits." Carl assumed.

"That's not how that works." Phantom shook his head. "An obsession for spirits is no different from humanity."

While turning to Gwen, Phantom questioned, "Hey, can you define the word, Insanity?"

"Performing the same action repeatedly, expecting a different result. Why?" Gwen eloquently stated.

"In a lot of cases, a spirit will continue to try and fill the void in their spectral bodies to persist. But unlike humans, they cannot be ultimately dealt with. And because they can do it forever, their need to satisfy their obsession to exist will drive them insane. Their strong will to self indulge causes them to be more selfish, making them grow into something more violent and sinister overtime. Thus, the spirits themselves become corrupted. This is where we get Poltergeists from."

"But aren't you a Poltergeist?" Gwen questioned.

"No! I'm a Ghost." Phantom clarified. "There's a difference."

"There is?" Both Gwen and Carl questioned.

"...Look, it's a classification thing my friend and I decided on. All Poltergeists and Ghosts are Spirits, but not all Spirits are Poltergeists nor Ghosts. Some Spirits were once humans or animals, and some were born from the Spirit World and look like nightmare fuel. I didn't come up with the rules, that's just how things are." Phantom explained as he walked on the stairs.

"Would that make Ghosts the good spirits, then?" Gwen questioned.

"Ah, that's the thing. We don't judge Spirits based on right or wrong. We're treating this study as a science." Phantom stated, "What makes a Ghosts different from other s

Spirits is that they were once either human or animal, someone or something that died. They are mostly neutral, and in some sense, pure."

"...Ghosts are pure?" Gwen echoed.

Before the trio reached the top, Phantom stated, "Sure. Based on what we gathered, Ghosts have the greatest potential. We Ghosts can either choose to sort out our grievances from back when we're alive and move on, live in limbo and try overcome our ghostly obsession to form bonds with other spirits, or become the many subspecies of Poltergeists. In layman's terms, we can be anything."

After a total of six minutes of walking, Carl, Danny, and Gwen had finally made it to the second trial. The group found themselves in a labyrinth filled with funhouse mirrors everywhere. Overhead seemed to be a large gothic red and black tent with rafters keeping the place up.

"...You gotta be kidding me. A mirror funhouse?" Carl said, clearly displeased. "He really is a clown,"

"It could be worse. He could have gone a similar route as Joker," Phantom quipped.

Instead of appearing this time, Freakshow decided to project his voice from above.

"Young lady, and gentlemen! Welcome to the second trial of my Pyramid of Madness!" Freakshow announced. "I hope you're all in a mood for some carnival fun, for this time, I've provided a little kiddie hunt for you three!"

"Kiddie hunt?" Phantom stated, raising an eyebrow. "But I don't see anything-"

Suddenly, magic mirrors appeared by the will of Freakshow through the Scarab Scepter harnessing mana. These mirrors showed the reflections of JT, Cash, Jamie, and Julie, who were banging on the mirrors in terror, wanting to be free.

"Oh my God!" Gwen gasped.

"You trapped them in mirrors!? How is that possible!?" Carl questioned.

"It's called magic, Mr. Family Man." Freakshow sarcastically stated. "I thought you'd been paying attention!"

"I'm a city engineer! I don't deal with this stuff!" Carl complained.

"...How unfortunate," Freakshow said in a mocking tone. "But the divine spares no one. Not the sinners, nor the ignorant."

'...Is he starting to believe he's a god or something?' Phantom thought.

With his newfound power, Freakshow sent the four mirrors across the labyrinth.

"Here are the rules. There are four mirrors, each holding a real participant. But these mirrors will reflect among the rest of the mirrors. Your goal is simple. Find them and save them, if you can. But the trick is for every five mirrors you get wrong, a ghostly enemy will manifest and attack you."

"Ah, ghost fighting." Phantom uttered. "That's more up my alley."

"But what about us?" Gwen questioned the disembodied voice. "We can't fight ghosts!"

"Oh, but you can, Little Scholar. Do what you do best and search for the way," Freakshow spoke cryptically. "But I suppose that your uncle deserves some means to fight back. I will spawn a weapon that he can use on the condition that he'll have to find it. Good luck!"

With a laugh, the voice faded before typical carnival music began to play from nowhere, confusing the people.

"...Did he forget the Egyptian theme or something?" Gwen inquired, crossing her arms.

"It can't be Freakshow without some kind of circus or carnival trope thrown in." Phantom snorted.

"Focus, you two!" Carl said, clapping his hands. "That clown had spread the kids out, which is a problem."

"Yeah. There's four of them and three of us. Even if we covered more ground by splitting up, we'd still be at a disadvantage with the chance of ghosts attacking us." Gwen pointed out.

'...If Dad were here, he would probably turn into something that could duplicate.' Carl thought to himself.

"Uh, guys. I can solve the problem if you want." Phantom said with a small grin.

"You can?" Carl and Gwen replied.

In a matter of seconds, Phantom spawned two more copies of himself, rendering the two Tennysons speechless.

"...Tada!" All three Phantoms said.

"Woah!" Gwen said with stars and excitement in her eyes. "How'd you do that?"

"Ghost powers and lot's of practice!" The real Phantom said with pride as each clone chose a Tennyson to go with.

"Now, nobody has to worry about going alone." Phantom said with a satisfied smirk.

"But doesn't this half your power or something?" Carl stated.

"Does it look like I wear a headband or wear orange?" Phantom quipped. "Each duplicate can take a beating and is just as powerful as myself. Trust me, I won't let either of you get hurt as long as I'm around."

Carl nodded and said, "I don't like the idea of splitting up, but I trust you with my niece. Just keep her safe for me."

"Don't worry, Uncle Carl. I'll be alright." Gwen said, looking at Phantom as she subconsciously summoned her pocket sized spellbook to her right pant pocket.

Nodding, Everybody broke off into three groups, with Gwen taking one path with Phantom Clone #1, Carl took another path with Phantom Clone #2, and the original Phantom flying off by himself in a different way.

(Path One, Original Phantom)

The original Phantom took a gamble and looked around his path, searching at least ten mirrors, prompting ten mirrors to shoot green rays into one place above Phantom. A supernatural sensation caused the ghost boy's Ghost Sense to go off.

From there, two beasts-like Poltergeists the size of lions emerged. They were slender and canid looking in appearance, had black fur with red patches of fur on their underbellies, neck and jaw, a forked tail, square shaped ears and a face resembling either a donkey or giraffe. They also had green eyes and wore Egyptian jewelry around their ankles, tail and neck.

Phantom saw these beasts holding his hands up, saying, "...Uh, nice doggies?"

In a rage, the two Typhonic beast spirits lunged at him while the Phantom of Amity Park thought, '...Oh boy!'

Phantom began to fly away, only to be pursued by the Typhonic creature spirits. He tried firing ecto rays at them, but they managed to evade it by flying out of the way. The two ghosts took turns trying to either scratch or bite at Phantom, but, the ghost boy morphed his legs into a prehensile ghostly tail to overcome his disadvantage of having multiple limbs to be targeted.

"Crap! They can predict my every move from a mere glimpse and are quick for their size! I gotta get these things away from me, but how?" The original Phantom wondered out loud as he flipped away another lunge from the Typhonic beast spirit.

Phantom then noticed the reflective surfaces of the mirrors around him and gulped.

'...My ecto-rays are light, right? It's a gamble, but I got nothing else up my sleeves.' Phantom said before shooting a ray at a specific mirror for both beasts.

The two beams of spectral light ricocheted on a few other mirrors before both beasts were hit by the attack, injuring them while they sprawled on the floor.

Seeing this, Phantom took out the Fenton Themos and captured them with ease. The original Phantom sighed in relief, then went on to look for the missing children.

(Path Two, Gwen and Phantom Clone 1)

Meanwhile, Gwen found herself both nervous at her task and excited that she got to spend time alone with her hero, albeit a clone of him. Of course, she wouldn't admit that last part, but it still excited her.

For a ghost, the so-called troublesome menace of Amity Park felt more human than what people described him. He could joke, he laughed, and most importantly, he cared for others.

Like the concept of magic, Phantom was one of the many enigmas of the ever-expanding world that she wanted to explore. And this was her chance to learn about both.

While the two looked for Gwen's classmates, the first clone spoke to her.

"Hey," Phantom Clone #1 called. "Gwen, right?"

Gwen quickly snapped out of her whimsical thoughts and turned to the copy of the ghost boy, saying, "Oh! Uh, y-yeah! What's up?"

"Do you have any idea as to why Freakshow would be interested in you?" The first clone questioned.

Gwen suddenly remembered the grimoire and patted her right pant pocket.

"...If I tell you, could you not tell my uncle?" Gwen asked nervously. "He wouldn't understand if he knew, and if he told my dad, I don't know what would happen."

Seeing that the girl needed somebody to trust, the Phantom clone nodded, saying, "...Okay. Lips are sealed."

Gwen sighed in relief as she began to explain what happened in the Duul Aman exhibit.

"He approached me back at the exhibit as Mr. and told me magic was real," Gwen explained as she reached for her right pant pocket. "And since I was the only one who paid any mind with the idea, he gave me this."

Gwen then took out the spellbook and showed it to the Phantom clone, stating, "It's a grimoire, apparently belonging to his family."

"A grimoire…you mean like a spellbook?" The ghost boy's clone questioned. "Where was this during Circus Gothica?"

"He said his family no longer had use for it. Maybe he couldn't use it, but he thinks that I can." Gwen stated.

"So, he thinks you can use this?" The clone questioned.

"...I think that I can." Gwen said, embracing the book with her hands. "Or, I can try at least."

"Well, I guess there's no better time to practice than now," Phantom said, catching Gwen off guard.

"Wait, you're gonna actually let me do it?" Gwen asked.

"Well, what choice do we have?" The Phantom clone questioned. "It's what Freakshow wants right? And besides, we all have to start from somewhere, right?"

Gwen formed a warm smile and said, "...I'll do my best!"

"Good to hear. Just stay behind me while you figure something out." The Phantom clone stated. "Think you can try and find a location spell or something?"

"I'll see what I can do…" Gwen said.

Taking a look at the pocket-sized spellbook, Gwen began to officially delve into the pages while slowly following behind the Phantom clone. What the ginger noticed was the pages provided pictures of instructions that were written in an ancient text illegible for her to read. However, before she could complain, the spellbook translated the name of the spells and its description to English just for her convenience.

While they continued their search, the Phantom clone asked, "Did you find anything, Gwen?"

While flipping through pages, Gwen answered, "U-Uh, no! Not yet!"

"HEY!"

"SOMEBODY, HELP US!"

The Phantom clone and Gwen looked at each other, with Gwen said, "...That's JT and Cash!"

"Then I have a feeling that we're close!" The Phantom clone said before picking Gwen up by her torso and flying through their path. "Though, I wonder how we can find the real kids from their reflections?"

Gwen wanted to find something from her new book, but she decided to use her brain to solve the problem.

"...We do what we've been doing," Gwen said with certainty. "Following the sound of their voices."

The clone of the Ghost Boy nodded, then did as Gwen instructed. With that strategy in mind, the Phantom clone and the Tennyson girl eventually found the first two missing kids. Conveniently, they were right next to each other.

'...Of course, these jerks are next to each other.' Gwen thought to herself as Phantom gently placed her to the ground before floating beside the girl.

"Sup, Jerkfaces," Gwen said with a smirk.

"Tennyson!" Cash and JT exclaimed with the rarest form of relief and gratitude in their tone.

"Thank God, we're saved!" JT said while his eyes were red from bawling.

Cash followed up, saying, "You gotta get us outta here and-!"

The two boys paused and they saw the Phantom clone wave at them with a friendly smile, saying, "...Um, hi there."

The two boys trapped in the mirrors began to scream in terror, prompting Gwen and the ghost boy's first clone to cover their ears. Gwen, irritated, shouted back.

"STOP SCREAMING!" Gwen clamoured, swiftly ceasing Cash and JT's screaming.

"What the heck, Tennyson!? Why did you bring a ghost with you!?" Cash questioned.

"Yeah! And him of all people!?" JT added. "He's evil!"

'Here we go again with that.'Phantom thought, rolling his eyes.

"Phantom is NOT evil!" Gwen snapped. "If it wasn't for him, he wouldn't have saved my uncle, me, Arnold, Madison, and Peterson! And Uncle Carl and I wouldn't even be here saving your sorry butts!"

"B-But he robbed banks and attacked the city may-" Cash tried reiterating, only for the Phantom clone to interject.

"Actually, the city was overrun with ghosts with their leader holding a grudge against me from a previous encounter. So, he overshadowed the mayor to have the town turn against me as payback. That shot my reputation with Amity Park for a while." The first clone explained. "That's why I was considered public enemy number one."

"And the guy who made him do all of those crimes is the same guy who stuffed you in the mirrors in the first place!" Gwen huffed, causing the two bullies to pale.

Seeing how much they messed up, JT and Cash began to tear up and said, "PLEASe LET US OUT!"

The Phantom clone stared at the crying kids and an impassive looking Gwen Tennyson. He turned to the girl with a puzzled and a slightly concerned expression.

"...Aren't you being a little bit harsh? We are supposed to save them, ya know." The clone of the ghost kid pointed out.

Temporarily ignoring the hero, Gwen narrowed her eyes at the bullies.

"Why should I help you? Cash, you've been nothing but a complete jerk to every new person that comes to school since first grade and insulted my family every chance you had because you're jealous of us. The only thing you got going for you is that you're tall and you're a brute. And you, JT, are pathetic. You and Ben used to be friends since pre-k, but the moment a bully shows up, you jump ship like a scaredy cat because you're too weak to defend yourself when the real friend that you had could have stuck up for you." Gwen questioned in a cold tone.

Gwen's words cut the boy's on a scale they couldn't even fathom since they were at their lowest point. And Phantom's clone couldn't help but compare these two boys to Dash and Kwan subconsciously. Whoever this Ben kid was must have had it rough like himself.

"You're nothing but a bunch of stupid bullies, and I'm sick of both of you!" Gwen said, cranking her head toward the both of them. "...I'd ought to leave you in there with Freakshow. Maybe he could use some new sad clowns for his circus."

"NO!" JT wailed in sorrow.

"W-WE'RE SORRY!" Cash said, no longer holding his tears back. "W-WE'LL LEAVE YOU GUYS ALONE! HONEST!"

"PLEASE LET US OUT! W-WE DON'T WANT TO BE HIS CIRCUS CLOWNS!" JT cried.

"I WANT TO GO HOME!" Cash grieved.

JT blubbered loudly, "I WANT MY MOMMY!"

The clone of Phantom then placed a hand on Gwen's shoulder and gave her a look and said "That's enough,". This made her sigh in resignation, turning away from the schoolyard bullies in a huff as she walked aside. The clone of Phantom then floated between the two mirrors and glanced at the two bullies.

"Don't hurt us!" Cash begged, shaking like crazy.

They shivered at the Phantom clone's appearance. But he smiled at them and said, "Relax, you two. I'm not gonna hurt either of you. I'm getting you out of there."

"B-But how?" JT questioned.

With a smile, the ghost clone turned his hands intangible, then slipped it through both mirrors and pulled the boys back into their world by grabbing their wrists gently. Cash and JT were brought to the whole experience.

The sniveling boys looked up to see Gwen frowning at them and bowed their heads in shame. They were then met with the friendly smile of Phantom, which left them confused.

"W-Why did-" JT tried to ask.

"-I save you two?" The Phantom clone questioned. "Because I wanted to, so I did."

"But you're a ghost." Cash mentioned. "Shouldn't you be haunting a place or scaring people?"

"Dude, I'm not that type of ghost." The ghost boy clone casually explained. "I just help people. There's nothing else to me."

"W-What?" The two bullies uttered in confusion.

The Phantom clones offered to two boys his hands, and they reluctantly took them and was brought back on their feet.

Phantom's first clone then told the boys, "If you guys are truly sorry, you gotta stop picking on other kids, apologize to them, and mean it. Think you can do that?"

Cash and JT nodded as they wiped their faces off.

"Good, now we can regroup with Mr. Tenny-" Phantom spoke, only for his Ghost Sense to go off. "...Great! Now what?"

Gwen then spotted a flash of green light gathering from several mirrors, and said, "Guys!? Something's happening!"

In a matter of seconds, three Typhonic beast spirits emerged from the lights and were ready to attack.

JT and Cash ran behind the Phantom clone with Gwen in front of them, shivering in fear. Gwen was also fearful, but also had a sense of confusion.

"W-Why are the ghosts here!? We didn't even choose any mirrors besides the two real ones!" Gwen complained.

"Freakshow's play dirty, that's what's going on!" The Phantom clone growled.

The three lion-sized Typhonic spirits lunged at the kids. Gwen, JT, and Cash closed their eyes and prepared for the worst. However, they found themselves being protected by the dome-like ghost shield the Phantom clone constructed with his two hands.

"Woah!" JT and Cash uttered in awe.

The beast spirits noticed this and decided to change up tactics. The three ghosts positioned themselves in different spots, opened their mouths and fired ecto-rays at the shield, straining the clone with their combined pressure. This caused the ground to shake as the Phantom clone grunted and shouted out of the stress of maintaining the shield.

The kids watched as the clone slowly took on knee.

"W-What are they doing!?" JT asked in a panic.

Gwen recognized and said, "They are wearing him down! He can't attack them and defend us at once!"

Suddenly, the dome began to shrink, scaring the boys and making them hug each other for comfort.

"I-I can't hold on much longer!" Phantom grunted. "Gwen, if you got anything from that spellbook, use it now!"

Gwen, feeling the urgency to help her hero, grabbed her spellbook and flipped through the pages while thinking, 'Come on, you stupid book! Give me something to take these mutts out!'

As if the book read Gwen's mind and heart, it flipped to a page that showed a spell for a basic attack.

Holding out her hand, Gwen stretched out one of her hands and uttered the spell, "Mercuta Verditis!"

From her hand, Gwen summoned a blast of blue ionized mana energy that not only hit her target, but managed to reflect off of several mirrors and hit the second and third Typhonic beast spirits before it disappeared.

The Phantom clone and the other boys from Madison Elementary couldn't believe what they witnessed.

"...No way!" The former bullies whispered.

Even Gwen herself was dumbfounded in her own ability.

Looking at her hand and reflecting at the tingling sensation she felt, Gwen smiled brightly saying, "...Sweet! I'm magic now!"

(Path Three, Carl and Phantom Clone 2)

Currently, Carl was busy running for his life while the second Phantom clone was battling four Typhonic beast ghosts. Now one might wonder why someone as careful as Carl Tennyson or Phantom would be running from feral beasts. Well, being a worried parent had caused Carl to look at several mirrors to see if his son got trapped in them.

Their current situation had been the result of this rash decision-making.

Fortunately, unlike the first clone and their original, this clone of Phantom had a better time pushing them back by utilizing the mirrors to his advantage via firing his ecto-rays. While they moved along their path, Carl and Phantom decided to find the weapon that Freakshow spoke of for Carl to use.

This chase lasted for three minutes until the two ran into a dead end where there was a large wall void of mirrors and what seemed to be a treasure chest sitting beside it.

'Shit!' Both the Phantom clone and Carl growled.

Right as the Typhonic beasts try to close in on them, the second Phantom clone recalled Plasmius' ability to use spectral constructs and decided to give it a try by creating a large green wall that blocked the Typhonic beast spirits for a short time.

"I'll hold them off for now!" The second clone of the ghost boy grunted. "Get to the weapon and check how it works!"

Carl nodded before sprinting to the chest. When he opened it, the man was flabbergasted.

Carl ended up holding what seemed to be a rusted chrome Was-Scepter. At this point, Carl's frustration reached its breaking point.

"...Are you kidding!?" The city engineer for Bellwood ranted. "...That lying son of a-! What the hell am I supposed to do with this stupid thing!? This flimsy stick could pass off as a back scratcher more than it could a weapon! Is it too much to ask for a proper tool to-"

The eyes of the Was-Scepter began to glow and levitate, prompting the man to stop talking momentarily. The Was-Specter then began to change its form, shedding its ancient rusted scepter state for a mix of golden and white modern mystical blaster mode reminiscent of a Plumber's firearm.

The Was-Blaster then floated back to Carl's hand, with the man looking at it in awe.

"...This looks like the blaster mood of a Proto-Tool model Dad showed me one time," Carl whispered as he held the weapon the same way. "And it seems to be handled the same way, too."

He fired at the wall, inflicting damage to the wall from a bullet of magical light. Carl smirked at this in satisfaction.

"...Oh hell yeah!" Carl huffed. "Now we're talking!"

Carl then jogged to the clone of the ghost boy and said, "Hey!"

The Phantom clone looked over his shoulder as the ghost beasts slammed on his construct and said, "You ready?"

"I was born ready. Bring those walls down." Carl said, aiming the Was-Blaster at the green construct.

With the walls disappearing, the four Typhonic beasts racing inside to devour their prey. However, almost immediately, the first two ghosts were downed by two well placed shots from Carl's Was-Blaster, making the ghosts vanish as if they were illusions. The Phantom clone whistled due to him being impressed before kicking one of the beasts in the face, knocking it against a nearby wall. The other one tried to pounce on Carl, but he fired three shots at it and vanquished the ghost.

The last Typhonic beast got up and recognized that it was all alone. It suddenly was approached by both menacing combatants. They were cornering it like the ravenous beast it was.

The city engineer and the ghost boy held their weapon and hand respectively, and put the ghost out of its misery.

Both males looked at each other, and sighed in relief.

"Those were some fancy moves back there, Mr. Tennyson." The clone praised.

Carl smiled and said, "Thanks. It was a pain to learn, but it sure came in handy here."

'...I guess Dad was right. These skills he drilled in me did amount to something.' Carl said.

Suddenly, two lights beamed down to the wall while the chest dematerialized. From there, mirrors appeared, containing Jamie and Julie.

The two heroes immediately approached the children who were banging on the other side when they spotted Ben's father and the Phantom of Amity Park.

"MR. TENNYSON!" Julie and Jamie cried with joy.

"Thank goodness, you're alright!" The man sighed in relief.

"G-Ghost!" Jamie shivered, closing his eyes at the first side of Phantom. "Make it go away!"

"Jamie, relax." Carl said, speaking to the dark haired chubby boy. "He's with me and he's gonna help you and Julie get out of those mirrors."

"B-But what about what Cash said?" Jamie questioned. "Isn't he evil?"

"Jamie, stop listening to everything Cash says. He's a bully and a jerk." Julie plainly stated before getting Phantom's attention. "Care to get us out of here?"

"Sure thing," The Phantom clone nodded as he phased the kids out of the mirrors by grabbing their wrists gently.

Jamie fearfully ran behind Carl while Julie stayed near the Phantom clone. The clone of the ghost boy sighed at Jamie's behavior.

'...You can't win 'em all over, Fenton.' The ghost boy thought to himself.

He was interrupted by a small hug from Julie, catching the clone off guard.

"Thank you, Mr. Phantom." Julie kindly said. "I knew you were a good Yokai."

This made the ghost boy feel better about himself.

Carl then approached the halfa and said, "We better regroup with Gwen."

Nodding in agreement, Phantom and Carl led the kids back to the entrance.

(With Everybody)

With four kids found, Phantom's clones returned to him, gaining the knowledge and experience of each clone.

The first thing that Julie did was embrace Gwen, happy to see that she was safe and sound. Carl and Phantom gave a look to JT and Cash, and they ended up apologizing to jamie for making fun of him and pulling horrible pranks on him for fun.

This shocked Julie and Jamie, but Gwen couldn't help but feel prideful for making a breakthrough. The older Tennyson then walked up to the pigtailed girl with fatherly concern.

"Julie, is Ben okay?"

"Yeah, I think so, but-" Julie spoke before the found children were beamed elsewhere.

"Julie!" Carl and Gwen called out, but to no avail.

From above, Freakshow stated, "Congratulations, everyone! And I mean this especially towards you, Little Scholar. You'll be a great sorceress and an even greater exorcist one day."

Carl turned to the ginger haired girl in confusion, which she mouthed to her uncle, "Later".

"Haven't you had enough fun for one day?" Phantom questioned with irritation evident in his tone.

"Oh, no! This is only the beginning, Ghost Boy." Freakshow ominously uttered as the next chamber shaft was raised. "The third stage awaits, everybody. And just to add a little more incentive…"

A major earthquake occurred, making the Tennysons lose their balance as Gwen screamed out of panic. Phantom ascended to the air, grabbed the other two, then flew into the chamber's door before it closed on them.

---

With Freakshow in the Hidden Chamber-

Deep within the Pyramid of Madness rests a hidden chamber where the remaining captive audience was held. Those who were being held against their will were Tracey, the rest of the Amity Park Museum's staff, Ms. Carol, and the rest of the Madison Elementary School students, which include Benjamin Tennyson himself, who were all sitting in rows of three. The chairs had metallic bindings that kept them restrained. The entire group were sitting in front of a large mirror which projected the events of each trial.

They were all frightened, wondering what their captor had in store for them. But as it turned out, Freakshow told them that instead of a meaningless lecture, they were about to be privileged with a presentation filled with thrilling spectacles, interesting characters, and a heaping helping of revelations that would blow their mind.

And since the introduction of Phantom and the beginning of the trials, unbeknownst to the ghost boy and his new allies, the hostages were learning more about Spirits, the possibility of magic, Carl's apparent peak human feats, Gwen's discovery of her own magic powers, and Phantom's humanity and shared drive to save everyone.

These new elements sent ripples of shock amongst the civilians, but none more so than Ben Tennyson himself. He always felt like his life was mundane and that his family was boring. Sure, he had a responsible, but carefree father and a doting mother. Gwen was a snarky know-it-all dweeb, but still cared for him as a cousin. Yet, outside of his famous former Air Force pilot and former astronaut grandfather, there was nothing out of the ordinary about his family. And there was nothing remarkable about him. He was plain old Ben and he gets reminded about this constantly by everyone around him, including his bullies, JT and Cash.

But the brunette couldn't help but feel that something important in his life was missing. And it left him dissatisfied. Hollow. It may have something to do with him watching those being harrassed and failing to properly help others, but Ben wanted to be a part of a greater initiative to make a difference in the world.

To be a hero.

Alas, he was powerless, plain old Ben with a plain old family. And now, his plain old family was in jeopardy.

Despite this, he watched as a literal dead kid freed his father, and the first thing he did was ask about Ben. The next thing that he knew, boring old Carl Tennyson, a city engineer, teamed up with the ghost kid to save the class and the museum, showing amazing skills he never previously exhibited. Then, Gwen, of all people, managed to resist the vanishing act Freakshow managed to help rescue him. And because of Phantom's trust, Gwen unlocked a power she didn't know she had.

Now, his father and cousin stood by what essentially was a superhero.

This sight reminded Ben of what his friend Julie told him.

…Sometimes, there are things that you gotta believe in.

He may have learned about ghosts and magic, but that wasn't what was giving him hope to persist. If there was one thing that he started to believe more than anything, it was heroes. And right now, they were coming for them.

For him.

When the second trial wrapped up, Freakshow, with Lydia floating beside thought aloud, "What a rare sight. I had a feeling about her, but to see such promise in magic aptitude at a young age is quite the privilege,"

"But alas, a plebeian like her will have no chance to nurture that power," Freakshow said with a malicious smirk.

Hearing this threat made something snap inside of Ben.

"Hey! Ugly!" Ben screamed, feeling the adrenaline and rage running throughout Ben's body, "You keep your paws off my cousin or-!"

Freakshow burst out laughing at Ben before using the Scarab Scepter's power to levitate Ben's chair until Ben's face was close to Freakshow.

"Or you'll do what?" Freakshow said, shutting Ben up as waves of malice were sent to the boy, sending shivers down spine. "What will you do when the world will soon be in my grasp?"

"I-I'll…" Ben muttered, but couldn't say anything else out of fear.

"You're just a quivering and frighten mess, aren't you?" Freakshow sneered. "Honestly, you snot nosed brats and your little egos are bothersome. Take the wit and bravado away and all that's left is a powerless boy with nothing special going for you."

"Don't listen to him, Ben!" Ms. Carol called to the boy.

Ben lowered his head and said, "...He's right. I can't do anything to you."

Freakshow smirked at the boy's sudden surrender before he lifted his head with a determined expression.

"But they can." Ben stated. "That Phantom guy and my family will come for me. And when they do, you're gonna crash and burn big time!"

Freakshow raised a brow, then asked Ben, "Are you sure about that?"

Ben formed a smirk on his face and said, "Count on it!"

Freakshow's laughter grew from being bombastic to terrifying as it became more deranged as it gone on. Even Lydia grew concerned with her love's attitude.

"...You seem to forgotten one important thing here, boy! I am the ringmaster of this circus, So long as this is bent to my will, I decide what goes on in this show! I dictate the twist and turns of each course! Who participates in each act! And I decide the winner or the losers!" Freakshow proclaimed, holding the Scarab Scepter, which Ben's eyes followed.

'...That's what's giving him power.' Ben realized before he gets floated back to his spot.

Freakshow then told the his audience "And don't think that I have no use for your lot. When the final stage has been properly set, well… let's just say I have plans. BIG PLANS!"

The horror in the captive audience's faces reflected on the eyes of Freakshow as he laughed yet again.

---

-Third Chamber-

Phantom floated as Gwen and Carl leaned against the wall and on the first stair of the chamber shaft respectively.

"...T-That was scary," Gwen huffed.

Carl admitted "...Yeah, I'll say. Thanks for the save, Phantom."

"Don't mention it," Phantom said.

Gwen, once she caught her breath, looked at the ghost boy's chest and noticed his logo. While she noticed the "P" on the inside, the "D" mystified the girl to no end.

"Hey, Phantom?" Gwen called to the snow white haired boy.

"What's up?" The ghost boy said.

"What does the "D" stand for?" The ginger Tennyson questioned.

Carl raised an eyebrow at her seemingly random question, but then took a second look at the superhero's insignia.

"...Huh, that is a "D" right there." The middle aged man recognized.

Phantom glanced at his logo and blinked for a second.

"...I forgot that was there, to be honest," Phantom said sheepishly. "I didn't think too much about the meaning. I kinda chose the logo out of a whim."

As the trio began to ascend the stairs, Carl said, " You gotta find some use for it."

"How about The Daring Phantom?" Gwen suggested.

"Nope," The green eyed boy uttered.

"Dusk Phantom?" Carl advised.

"No."

Gwen suggested, "Danger Phantom?"

"That sounds like a cruddy live action show," Phantom dryly stated.

"Dragur Phantom," Carl tried his hand.

Phantom questioned, "What Phantom? What am I, a monster?"

"Never mind," Carl said dejectedly.

"Oooh!~ How about the Dark Phantom!" Gwen said.

"...I'm trying to save people, Gwen." Phantom with a deadpan expression. "Not scare them."

Gwen winced and wearily laughed as an apology.

"We're at a loss, but there is a saying that the suit makes the man," Carl mentioned. "Your name should reflect your uniform."

"I mean, I guess you're right. But I don't really have anything in-"

"-Say, what was your name when you were alive?" Gwen questioned.

Phantom stopped moving when the question registered. Carl immediately scolded his niece, believing that she made him uncomfortable.

"Gwendolyn, you shouldn't ask him such a personal question about his past!" Carl sternly stated, causing the ginger to become remorseful at the stiff ghost.

"Oh, gosh! I'm sorry if I offended-"

"-No, it's fine." Phantom stated, as he swallowed hard. "...Nobody has asked me that question before."

"If you're not feeling up to answer, we understand." Carl assured the ghost.

"Daniel," Phantom answered softly. "My mom named me Daniel, but my friends called me Danny."

Gwen and Carl stared at each other and said, "Danny Phantom?"

"...Danny…Phantom?" The ghost boy echoed in confusion.

"Yeah. I think it has a nice ring to it," Gwen expressed.

"Agreed," Carl nodded.

'...It does sound pretty cool, but that would defeat the whole purpose,' Phantom thought to himself. 'I'd have no secret identity.'

"...I like that a lot," Phantom smiled but didn't turn around. "But please keep that name to yourselves. I buried it when I became a Phantom, and I like to keep it that way."

"Okay." Gwen accepted with Carl agreeing.

After three minutes of stair climbing, the trio managed to make it to the third trial.

Unlike the first few areas, the place was a large corridor enclosed in walls painted with hieroglyphs. The ground was sand, on the other side of the area was the chamber shaft's door. But in front of that was a resting stone Egyptian sphinx with an indifferent expression on his face.

Gwen and Phantom looked at the sphinx in wonder, uttering, "...Woah!"

"Freak or not, he knows how to make a spectacle."

In a puff of smoke, a large visage of Freakshow appeared and said, "Why, thank you, Mr. Family Man!"

Phantom then gazed at the Scarab Scepter in Freakshow's grasp and narrowed his eyes.

'...So, that's his new toy!' The ghost boy realized.

The three participants stood on edge, with Gwen demanding, "What's your scummy trick this time?"

"No tricks, Dear Scholar!" Freakshow said genuinely. "You merely have to cross to the other side. But each one of you has to go through the trial's master."

"Master?" Phantom, Carl, and Gwen parroted.

With the Scarab Scepter in hand, the ringmaster used magic to raise the Sphinx, animating it.

"Your trial awaits, peasants. And since I am a fair ruler, you may take your time. I await your presence at the top." Freakshow taunted before dispersing in a puff of smoke.

The three challengers took a few steps back as the Great Sphinx slowly approached them. The stone beast leaned his head forward and spoke in a deep voice.

"GWENDOLYN CATHRYN TENNYSON." The Great Sphinx announced in a low but profound voice stated, causing the girl to nearly jump out of her skill. "STEP FORWARD."

Gwen hesitated for a moment out of fear, but Carl and Phantom took her hands to comfort the girl. With their support walked her to the Great Sphinx together and took several steps back to await the Greart Sphinx's next move.

"THIS THING ALL THINGS DEVOUR: BIRDS, BEASTS, TREES, FLOWERS; GNAWS IRON, BITES STEEL; GRINDS HARD STONES TO MEAL; SLAYS KINGS, RUINS TOWNS; AND HIGH MOUNTAINS DOWN." The Great Sphinx spoke.

"...What?" Phantom questioned, clearly confused. "The heck does that mean?"

"I think he's giving me a riddle." Gwen pointed out.

"...Of course!" Carl gasped before slapping one of his hands on his forehead. "It may look like an Egyptian Sphinx but it's acting like a Hellenistic Sphinx! We have to answer the riddles correctly to pass through its territory."

"...Aw crud," Phantom moaned quietly, being reminded that he was an average student who had only recently got his grades up.

"Do you have any ideas, Pumpkin?" Carl inquired of his niece.

Gwen crossed her arms and closed her eyes as she thought, 'What devours all things? Plants, minerals, people, lands, and people… Ugh! What's with old people giving us hard questions to kids our age! …Wait! Age…that's it!'

Turning back to the stone beast, Gwen confidently answered, "The answer is time!"

The Great Sphinx let out what sounded like a low growl as it pierced through the girl's figure with a passing glance.

"...CORRECT." The Great Sphinx said. "YOU MAY PROCEED, GWENDOYLN CATHERYN TENNYSON."

Gwen silently looked toward the others for approval. Carl and Phantom nodded, allowing Gwen to quickly sprint to the other side of the area.

Next, the Great Sphinx faced the two remaining challengers.

"STEP FORWARD, CARL JEDEDIAH TENNYSON." The Great Sphinx called the middle aged man.

Phantom appeared worried for the man as the anxiety of his approaching turn drew closer. But Carl gave the halfa a reassuring smile.

"Sit tight, I got this." Carl said before winking to the ghost boy and walking up to the stone beast.

When the brown haired man approached the Great Sphinx, the beast said, "WHAT IS ALWAYS OLD AND SOMETIMES NEW; NEVER SAD, SOMETIMES BLUE; NEVER EMPTY, BUT SOMETIMES FULL; NEVER PUSHES, ALWAYS PULLS?"

Carl turned to Phantom and said, "Do you have any ideas?"

Phantom thought about the riddle and said, "...I think I got an answer, but I'm not sure it would be a great idea if I answered for you."

"That's fair…" Carl said as he placed his right hand on his chin.

'...It's always old, but sometimes new? That's an oxymoron if I ever heard of one. Sometimes blue… is it water? Water can be blue at times, and it's old, but how can it be sometimes new and full?' Carl thought before shaking head. 'Focus Tennyson, focus! Maybe it's not water. I mean it's certainly not empty, and it always gets pulled by the…oh. Right.'

Getting the Great Sphinx's attention, Carl answered, "The answer is the moon!"

"...CORRECT." The Great Sphinx said. "YOU MAY PROCEED, CARL JEDEDIAH TENNYSON."

Carl and Phantom shared a small smile before the man said, "I'll see you on the other side."

Phantom gave him a weak nod before the man jogged to his niece and shared a hug with her, leaving Phantom on his own with the Sphinx.

Sweat began to excrete on the ghost boy's forehead as he gazed upon the towering beast.

"STEP FORWARD, GHOST CHILD." Commanded the Great Sphinx.

Phantom slowly floated to the stone beast, nervously awaiting his riddle.

"I NEVER WAS, AM ALWAYS TO BE. NO ONE EVER SAW ME, NOR EVER WILL, AND YET, I AM THE CONFIDENCE OF ALL WHO LIVE AND BREATHE. WHAT AM I?"

"U-Uh…" Phantom stuttered, turning his gaze to the Tennysons with the expression that asked for their help but to no avail as they were too far to help him.

Not their either of them knew the answer.

Unfortunately, this annoyed the Great Sphinx. The beast leered at the halfa with a dangerous edge.

"ANSWER." The Great Sphinx growled but spoke in the same tone.

The presence of the looming threat over him sent shivers down Phantom's spine. His mind was racing, trying to gather anything related to the riddle that could help him answer it correctly.

To the ghost child, the message was too abstract. Not to mention, the pressure of the need to be right had blinded him with clear thought. He couldn't come up with the answer to his riddle.

"...I don't know, okay!?" Phantom shouted out of pressure and frustration. "Can't you give me hint or something!?"

Out of anger, the Great Sphnix let out a loud roar that shook the area and sent a shockwave that blew the ghost boy flying over fifteen feet.

"PHANTOM!" Gwen and Carl shouted.

The superhero stood up to see a claw being brought down to crush him. Thankfully, the Phantom of Amity Park was swift enough to jump and fly out of the way. The snow white-haired boy replaced his two legs with his ghostly tail as he began to fly around the area.

Thus, the game of cat and ghost began.

Gwen and Carl began to run after the two with the adult shouting, "This isn't good! We can't get to the top without him!"

"Can't Danny just blast him with his ghost rays?" Gwen questioned

The Tennysons found the ghost boy firing a barrage of ecto rays at the Great Sphinx, but much to the astonishment of everybody, the stone beast was agile enough to dodge it. But when one ecto blast landed, it didn't leave a scratch on the beast. As a response, Phantom was knocked to a wall.

"I guess not!" Carl shouted while running as he took out his Was-Blaster. "Maybe this can do the job! But I'm going to need a clear shot at it!"

Gwen then took out her spellbook, and it flipped to a spell she desired.

"Maybe I can help with that!" Gwen said as she extended her right hand in the direction of the sphinx. "Statua!"

A wave of blue frequency struck the Great Sphinx, rendering it temporarily unable to move. This brought a smile to Gwen's uncle.

"Nice one, Pumpkin! Now's my turn!" Carl said.

Once the man managed to face the front of the Great Sphinx, he aimed the Was-Blaster and fired five shots square at its forehead. This created a large smokescreen that obscured the beast's head.

Within a few seconds, Phantom floated down to them.

"Man, that's some killer teamwork you guys got there." Phantom said.

"Well, we Tennysons try to stick together when it counts." Carl said with pride. "I wish I could say the same about Dad but…"

Phantom noticed Carl trailed off with a somewhat bitter expression.

He turned to Gwen and whispered, "...Am I missing something?"

"My dad and uncle don't get along with my grandpa. He's always been busy with work," Gwen briefly explained.

Phantom nodded, relating to the man's plight. Just then, Phantom spotted a bright light coming from the corner of his eyes and pushed Carl and Gwen out of the way. This saved them from being blasted by the Great Sphinx's eye lasers that struck Phantom in the chest and pushed him back ten feet.

Gwen and Carl got up to find the stone beast slowly approaching the fallen hero.

Carl growled, "Oh no!"

The two were about to intervene again, only for the beast to turn its head to them and said, "SINK."

Just then, the Tennysons felt their bodies slowly fall into the sand as if they were becoming victims of quicksand.

Gwen and Carl's screams for help immediately got the Phantom to jolt back up. However, he was not fast enough to dodge the Great Sphinx, and so pressed down by the heavy weight of it's right paw.

"Ugh! Too…h-heavy!" Phantom groaned in pain as he tried and failed to turn intangible. "M-My powers aren't working! Why aren't they working!?"

"FUTILE. I AM DIVINE, HERE." The Great Sphinx spoke in the same tone as he had been before turning to his comrades. "BUT THOSE TWO ARE NOT."

"FOR GOD SAKE, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT FROM ME!?" Phantom screamed, angry at his inability to protect Carl and Gwen.

"I NEVER WAS, AM ALWAYS TO BE. NO ONE EVER SAW ME, NOR EVER WILL, AND YET, I AM THE CONFIDENCE OF ALL WHO LIVE AND BREATHE. WHAT. AM. I?"

"I…I don't-"

"DANNY, YOU HAVE TO ANSWER THE RIDDLE!" Gwen screamed as her head began to sink into the sand.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS!" Phantom shouted.

"JUST THINK!" Carl shouted. "OR IT'LL BE TOO LATE!"

"HURRY, PLEASE!" Gwen cried.

Phantom closed his eyes and thought about the riddle.

'Come on, Fenton! It never was…but it's always to be. To be is future tense. All who will live talks about folks who will be born in the future. But why is that certain? What's a concept that is certain about the future? It's not like tomorrow is promised for every..one…'

"I GOT IT!" Phantom bellowed. "ITS TOMORROW!"

The Great Sphinx froze, then immediately took its paw off of Phantom's body.

The beast turned to the sinking Tennyson's and said, "RISE."

Gwen and Carl's bodies surfaced, allowing them to breathe, cough up sand particles, and clean themselves up. Phantom heaved on his hands and knees to catch his breath, clearly exhausted.

From there, the beast collapsed, crumbling to dust.

But as Phantom's Ghost Sense went off, from the cloud of dust was Lydia. But instead of her normal attire, she wore a typical Egyptian queen's headdress with a red headband, eye liner like that of an egyptian queen, a red and black gothic dress with kite wings, and an ankh pendant as a necklace.

Phantom began to shiver as he decided to stand up. Meanwhile, Gwen and Carl were bombarded with Lydia's tattooed animals, forcing them to fend for themselves as she approached the ghost boy.

Lydia went to strike him down with an ecto-ray, but Phantom stopped it with his right hand on her wrist as it was directed to a nearby wall. She noticed that she could not shake out of his hold due to being trapped within his iron grip. Suddenly, a freezing sensation washed over her spectral body and it pained her greatly. When she inspected her body, she noticed Phantom's hand began to emit a cooling frost.

Lydia eventually yanked her wrist away and cradled her wrist to comfort it. This would prove to be a big mistake, as when the female spirit went to retaliate, she was met with a determined, tired, and frustrated Phantom that glared at her with a shade of icy blue irises that overlaid his glowing green eyes.

And in a matter of moments, she was overpowered and swiftly beaten by the ghost boy before her tattoos and Lydia herself was captured in the Fenton Thermos.

This left Carl and Gwen speechless, as they watched him singlehandedly deal with a threat after getting beaten and crushed by the Great Sphinx. And now, he stood in place with a blank expression as he caught his breath.

While they approached him, Gwen tried to talk to the ghost boy.

"...Danny, are you okay?"

Phantom immediately snapped out of his morbid thoughts. He placed the Fenton Thermos on his utility belt and turned to the Tennysons.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot you guys were there for a sec." Phantom said with a sheepish smile. "Yeah, I'm a little tired, that's all."

"You can say that again," Carl said with a chuckle. "I just want everything to be over with so I can get everyone out and head home."

"Amen to that," Phantom nodded in understanding.

From there, Freakshow's voice echoed from the ceiling. However, it carried much more of an ominous rasp than before.

"The final stage has been set. Come and greet your king at the top, won't you?"

"King?" Carl scoffed. "What does this lunatic think he is? A Pharaoh?"

"Maybe its the Scarab Scepter making him go crazy...er." Gwen suggested. "

"It doesn't matter what he is." Phantom stated. "He's going down."

Gwen and Carl nodded, armed with the spellbook and the Was-Blaster in their hands respectively.

The three made their way through the door. They all took a deep breath, with Phantom saying, "This is it."

With that, they entered the final chamber shaft's door, making the door shut behind them.

To Be Continued…