The King that Stole Space
Danny couldn’t help the faint shake to his limbs. Pariah Dark was nothing like he… she…was the first time they met. The Pariah Dark he’d faced before as an objectively evil looking man who looked like he was stuffed into his armor. There was nothing to him but a one track mind to conquer and destroy. He’d dragged Amity Park into the Infinite Realm and had felt stagnant and angry.
Danny had been afraid during their first meeting, but the need to defend his haunt was like a driving force. He didn’t have time to think and plan, he had to work with what he had. This time was nothing like that.
Panya was, well, she was a gigantic, pretty ghost lady who was potentially terrifying. Danny could feel that in his core, the call of the King and the need to obey. That hadn’t been an issue before. This time she felt calm and over protective and he didn’t know what to do with that knowledge.
He could feel the weight of her words and the care she put into each one. She was disgusted by his parents and had meant every word about needing to get him out of there before something terrible happened. The worst part about that was that he could all too easily imagine exactly what those terrible things were.
He’d had enough nightmares to fuel a lifetime and as painful as leaving alone would have been, he’d been considering it for some time. Danny thought he might move to the same city as Jazz, not to squat in her dorm room but to see her on weekends or when she had time. She could be the one to make room for him in her own plans for once.
It really didn’t matter where he ended up as long as he was out of his parents house. Panya’s offer.. to be a part of her own fraid? He’d known almost immediately he couldn’t pass that up. He ached for… something. He didn’t know what it was he wanted, but his core did. He was afraid, but reassured at the same time.
Confused, that’s what he was.
“This place is unreal,” Danny whispered as he set his bags down and looked around Panya’s lair. Pariah’s Keep was huge, but it probably had to be if it was supposed to comfortably house her. She must have been something well over twelve feet tall when they fought the first time, which means she had shrunk down… for what? His comfort? To fit through the portal more easily?
That was one more thought that made him hunch in on himself. The Fenton’s portal was just gone, ripped out of existence which Danny didn’t even know was possible. Its removal made him feel flighty and jumpy but everything that had happened that day had.
Would Jazz be mad he hadn’t done more for their parents? He should have fought for them and protected them from a ghost as dangerous as Panya but as far as he could tell, his parents had jumped the gun like they usually did. To them, ghosts were all the same and one as powerful as Panya didn’t register in their minds. They’d been subdued so easily and Danny… was feeling guilty over not feeling more.
Maybe they deserved it. Maybe he was more afraid of them than he’d realized but when it came time for him to make his decision about leaving, he hadn’t felt much of anything for his parents. Not everything he should have. All that talk about ripping him apart molecule by molecule must have gotten to him.
“You’re fretting,” Panya observed as the doors to her Keep shut behind them. “I suppose it has been a long day for you. So many changes. Would you like to see the part of the Keep that will be yours?”
“Of course. I offered you a space in my lair and in my fraid.” Panya turned her attention back to him and her eerie stare was getting easier to look at somehow even if maintaining eye contact put a crick in his neck. “Ghostling, you have been terribly neglected.”
“I’m alright,” Danny muttered, drawing his legs up as he hovered beside her. “I manage,”
“You shouldn’t have to scrape by. Growing into your core takes time. It can be dangerous if you are not prepared.”
Danny bobbed his head into a nod. “Yeah. I know. Frostbite helped me understand my ice powers.”
Panya made a noise that was all approval. “Good. An ice core? How fitting. Who assisted you for your other powers? It is instinct for the Neverborn, but those souls that travel here on their own have a bit of a learning curve.”
“The others? I figured them out on my own after a while. I still mess up sometimes,” He admitted quietly.
That approval slipped away, but Panya reached out to pat his head as if completely unaware of how to offer comfort. “Messing up is part of learning. I will assist you with your abilities, if you’d like.”
That was a hell of an offer. It was kind and not something Danny ever would have expected from the Tyrant King. It might have been nice to use his wail without draining himself completely. Maybe help making more than one duplicate successfully. No one had ever offered before. The ghosts he knew around Amity probably just assumed he was getting on well enough on his own.
“I did not expect you to be so shy,” Panya mused. “Not after having the nerve to brawl with me.”
“I’m not shy,” Danny grumbled. “I’m adjusting or something.”
“My mistake,” She said with the quirk of her lips, but Danny got the feeling she could feel his emotions better than he could hers.
Doors down a corridor opened, a mist flowing out only seconds before a familiar suit of armor stepped forward. Danny had hoped not to see Fright Knight again any time soon but that thought probably went out the window when he followed the Ghost King to her lair.
“Panya…” Fright Knight muttered, voice almost reverent. He stood frozen for only a moment before nearly charging towards them. Danny backpeddled several steps but Panya didn’t move an inch. She stood as the sentient suit of armor wrapped her into a hug.
“Hello Deimos,” Panya greeted, her voice a touch quieter. “Have you been waiting?”
“Only since you roused,” he muttered, pulling away from the embrace but his hands remained on her shoulders. “And then I heard about the Observants. You should have called us to assist you. Instead you hoarded the fun for yourself.”
“Ha,” She smirked. “It was my right, do you not agree?”
Fright Knight chuckled, “If I must.”
Danny watched but he was at a loss. This wasn’t at all like the dynamic he saw the first time. Fright Knight wasn’t worried about angering Panya or showing off with his menace and waves of fear. He wasn’t even speaking in annoying rhymes. Panya greeted him by name which he hadn’t heard her do before, but the name tugged at something in his mind. It was something familiar.
“I trust you can,” Panya snickered and that was equally daunting. He hadn’t heard Panya laugh before, but then again, had he even known her for two hours?
Deimos turned, stiff in the black shining armor. “Who is the ghostling?”
“This is Phantom. We call him Danny. He is mine now.” Danny hardly had time to react to belonging to Panya when Deimos seemed to… brighten?
“Ah! This child is the Phantom I've heard so much about.”
“Glad I made an impression,” Danny said dryly. “You don’t even remember meeting me?”
“Sadly, I do not. I was not the Fright Knight you have crossed paths with,” Deimos said, sounding amused.
“Ah, yes. I’d forgotten you weren't both there,” Panya mused. “No wonder there is confusion.”
Danny just blinked, looking between them. “Both? There’s more than one Fright Knight?”
“There is, ghostling,” Danny whipped around to find a second Fright Knight standing behind him. Two huge ghosts in identical black armor that felt like the same sort of amusement that could teeter into terror between one blink and another. Danny would have thought it was a simple case of duplication but they weren't entirely the same. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling but with the ghost in front of him, he could confirm that this second Fright Knight was the one he’d met before. If one was fear, were two of them a lot of fear?
Danny jerked back from him too, floating backwards until he accidentally bumped into Panya.
“You’ve nothing to fear from them, child,” Panya said. “This is Deimos’ twin, Phobos.”
“Phobos…” Danny repeated.
“An honor to meet you again, Phantom.” Phobos greeted, and then surprised Danny further by pulling off his heavy black armor. Danny hadn’t even realized there was a person under there. There had never been a hint of a face under that helmet.
Unlike Panya, Phobos didn’t shrink after taking the armor off. He was still a huge man which made Danny think of all the Spartan movies he watched as a kid. His eyes were a glowing green, his skin was tinged gray, and his hair was black and floating in wisps around his face. Somehow, he was scarier without the armor and then it was double trouble when Deimos tossed aside his own armor and revealed that the twins were in fact identical.
“And an honor to meet you for the first time,” Deimos continued.
Danny looked between them, wondering why the hell he was suddenly surrounded by huge ass ghosts and why were they all being so friendly? Friendly was not what he associated most ghosts with. They were usually troublemaking pains.
“Wait,” Danny paused, something in his brain knocking loose. “Deimos and Phobos are the moons of Mars! That’s why I know those names.”
All three stared at him in surprise but it was Panya who started laughing quietly. “You are correct. They are the sons of Mars. Ares.”
“Oh. Cool. Not my area, but cool. It’s definitely cool to have a moon named after you!”
Deimos snickered, “Most people are more intimidated with us being the gods of dread and fear.”
“I just kinda followed the Ghost King here. Dread and fear are kind of a given,” Danny said, wondering if he was running his mouth but the others just looked entertained.
“Yes, let’s talk about that,” Phobos said, drifting into a room that Danny hadn’t noticed before but it was clearly some kind of sitting room. Could spooky castles have livingrooms? For some reason he thought it would be gloomy and dusty since Panya had been sleeping for so long but it was well kept. “I’m not opposed to the ghostling joining our fraid, but I find myself needing to know how it happened.”
“Every time one of you calls me a ghostling, I feel like you’re calling me a little kid. Cut it out.” Danny said.
Deimos smirked at him while dropping down onto a sofa that looked like it was taken out of a dracula movie. “We are, because you are. Only a handful of years dead. Only a handful of years alive if your halfa status is true. You are a little kid.”
“I am a halfa, I’m not a kid.” Danny huffed.
“Are you sure?” Deimos asked with a teasing lilt Danny hadn’t been expecting at all.
“He did defeat Panya,” Phobos said, tossing her an amused look. “Technically.”
“Technically,” Panya agreed good-naturedly as she nudged Danny towards the seat. Catching so many hints of their emotions was strange. “But I will also defend Phantom from the brunt of your teasing. Considering his ghostling status is part of the reason he is being adopted.”
She sat and crossed her legs while Danny just floated in a seated position. “Danny, you are a child. You are young. You should still be swimming in mentors. Instead you have had to deal with far more than any other your age. Maturity and responsibility were forced on you. You have been hunted for sport and mortal science.”
Danny tried to focus on her, but he saw the way Deimos and Phobos’ frowns grew the more she spoke.
“You have been tossed around by Time. You have been targeted by the Observants and your mortal government.” Panya continued without giving him a moment to respond. “You were neglected in the home you were born into and your halfa nature put you in severe danger. You are strong, and you are meant for the stars, but you are young. Do you understand? I offer you a place in my fraid to protect you and allow you time to mature at your own pace where you are not constantly defending your haunt.”
Danny shifted uncomfortably, “I still dunno what’s going on. Did the Observants do something to you? Is that why you were a tyrant? You’re not the same as before.”
“Essencially, yes,” Panya agreed.
“I was worried about her too,” Phobos said, looking directly at Danny. “I thought staying close would be the best way to keep an eye on her when she was last woken but before the rest of the fraid had arrived, you had taken care of things. I owe you for that. That and perhaps an apology for frightening you.”
“You’re the Fright Knight,” Danny mumbled and managed to shrug as if he hadn’t been so bothered by their first meeting. A lie, and they all knew it.
“You carry worries,” Deimos said. “Would you share them with us?”
Danny fought back a shiver, not sure what to do with so much attention on him. He could feel so much from them. /Concern/Understanding/Patience/. There were even undertones of fury from the Fright Knights on his behalf. When had someone last been angry for him? When was the last time he had such a focused audience. His parents only ever cared about ghosts. Jazz had been in college for a while now.
The silence grew as they waited, none of them rushing him but that only flustered him more. He felt the phantom sensation of his heart beating faster and faster despite it not beating at all.
“Worries…” He cleared his throat. “Besides the Ghost King that tried to take over my town being something closer to sane and trying to adopt me?”
“Yes, besides that,” Panya said, though she smiled.
Okay, so deflecting didn’t work and he could almost feel their patience being directed at him. Was that something they learned with age or did they just care? How could they care after only knowing him for five minutes?
“Leaving means I gave up my haunt,” Danny started, feeling the itch under his skin already. What was he supposed to protect now?
Phobos made a noise of sympathy. “In desperate times, haunts do occasionally need to move. It must be jarring for someone so young but we will find you another one. You need ties to mortal spaces after all.”
“I don’t have any mortal spaces left. I can’t go home. My parents…”
“We,” Phobos began, gesturing to his brother and himself. “Know a thing or two about absent parents who only look for you when they need your assistance. You are not responsible for your parents' choices, ghostling. You are not at fault for seeking to protect yourself.”
“I just left them…” He said quietly. It had only just happened and already he was filled with regrets.
“I sense you have put them before yourself for some time,” Deimos said. “That should be the burden of the parents, not the child. Don’t tie yourself into knots for seeking safety.”
Safety? Was that what his core was after?
“My fraid fell apart,” He finally muttered. “I’m not good at having one.”
“No, Phantom,” Panya cut in this time, using the same gentle timbre she had in the lab. “Your fraid is alive, that’s all. They care about you a great deal and from what Chronos has told me, they have proven it before. The problem lies with the fact that they are still living. It is difficult to be a part of a fraid that way. They’re unable to give you what you need. It is not a failing.”
“Not anymore,” Panya said. “You are a part of this fraid now as well. Your parents can’t hurt you now.”
Danny fidgeted and floated in a small circle. That part was true since Panya had ripped their portal apart. He wasn’t sure if they could recreate it. “What about Vlad’s portal?”
“Plasmius?” Danny tried again. “He has a portal too. He’s also a halfa.” Vlad also hadn’t been the same since Ellie had destabilized. They talked sometimes but it had been weeks. The man had stopped trying to woo his mother when he was faced with the loss of a daughter he’d been trying to get to know.
“Does he now…” Panya mused.
“My parents don’t know about it,” Danny said. “But he has one.”
A new voice cut in, “That won’t be a problem. He’s not eager to share it with them.”
Danny turned with an unnecessary gasp caught in his throat, “Clockwork!”
“Hello Danny,” he greeted, the familiarity making the twins pout. The ghost of Time allowed Danny to crash into him in greeting, the pair spinning once before stopping.
“I should have known you’d show up. I figured I’d have gotten a post-it while packing if this was a bad idea.”
The comment pulled a deep laugh out of Clockwork. “I would have needed to show up and coax you if you hadn’t come. I know you were reluctant to leave, but it was for the best.”
“Timeline?” Danny asked wearily
“No. The best for you,” Clockwork said, and Danny didn’t have a comeback for that one. He wouldn’t usually describe Clockwork’s warnings as tender but he could feel it. Clockwork had been /Worried/.
“There is no way Chronos is the favorite,” Deimos muttered. “We have to fix this.”
Phobos shared a look with his brother. “Perhaps not his favorite but he has had a head start.”
Danny turned back to them, sure he looked as confused as he felt. “Favorite?”
Clockwork hummed, “I am also a part of this fraid, Danny. Though not many realize it.”
“Really?” Danny perked up.
Panya made a face. “I love him as much as I can't stand him.”
“That tracks,” Danny said immediately, pulling a smile from the Ghost King. Danny turned back to Clockwork, his worries worn on his sleeve. “You don’t think Vlad will be a problem?”
“No. He will seek me out in a few days to make sure you’re alright but that is all. He will also offer to pay Jazz’s tuition so she doesn’t have to return home herself. She’ll think about it for a week or two before taking him up on the offer.”
“Well at least that’s one thing I won’t have to worry about,” Danny said, more to himself than anyone else. “What about the ghosts? Will they be able to get through?”
Clockwork shrugged, “Perhaps through Vlad’s portal, and there are natural portals here and there. Your man-made portals weren’t always there after all. Things will work as they should in the end.”
“Vague,” Danny nodded though the tension hadn’t left his body.
“I think it’s time we show you around, ghostling,” Panya said, rising again. “This is your home now, even if we will need to find a mortal dimension for your health and wellbeing.”
“I have just the one in mind,” Clockwork said.
Panya gave him a look and Danny thought she’d be heaving a long suffering sigh right now if she needed to breathe
