It started with a discussion about Clockwork having “jewelry” (his medallions) and somehow it turned to a “Mean Girls” parody.
Ember: The Old Ones.
Danny: Who are the Old Ones?
Skulker: They’re Ghost Zone royalty.
And evil takes a human form in Gaea, Master of Form. :p
lunasaturngirl and phantomtype decided Gaea’s colors this time.
Prologue-Page11
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Oh look, we came back to them and Gaea’s hair is still the same. What a nice guy! And now we’re learning about Obsessions! Is Walker’s Obsession connected to the golden Sheriff’s Badge that is the only non-shadowy thing in his flashback?
Wait, registered? Oh, this is a thing now! Yes, we should go to do that!
Prologue-Page10
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And now a basic run-down on cores! And Clockwork and Gaea are butting heads.
No, I didn’t make reference to Danny and Vlad, what’re you talking about?
Shiny cores are shiny.
Prologue - Page9
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Alright, a lesson on ghosts! And a basic run-down on the “special cases”‘ powers.
Clockwork, you look entirely too excited in that last panel, what the heck? XD AAAAND GAEA COMES IN WITH INTERRUPT! IT’S SUPER EFFECTIVE!
I was in a stream with neasfordays and Pariah Dark was brought up and somehow between talking about how sexy he is and different people that we could see with him, they ended up requesting me to do some PariahxDanny. And so you get this story. Chapter 3 is nsfw, I’ll tag it as such when I get to it.
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"I don't know if I can do this..." Danny mumbled as he looked at the crown that was made for him by The Observants. He'd been dressed in some black and white tunic ensemble that honestly made him think of Vlad inverted. His back-length white hair was tied back in a ponytail and he was wearing some awkwardly heavy ceremonial cape that he had to wear for his coronation - which took place the day after his 18th birthday. Which would've been nice to know BEFORE he was suddenly being abducted from school and brought into the Ghost Zone. Clockwork had been kind enough to explain that he'd actually been the new Ghost King ever since he beat Pariah Dark, but they were only NOW making it official because blahblahblah something about underage.
"Of course you can. You've shown that you can do diplomacy and lead us in the right direction with your choices." Clockwork walked over to him and gently placed his hands on the teen's shoulders. "Believe in yourself, Danny."
"I'd feel more confident about it if I had, y'know, had TIME to mentally prepare for it." Danny shot him a pointed look and set down the crown, sighing. "And it would've been good to let me know ahead of time so my parents and friends weren't freaking out when I told them about it."
Clockwork chuckled a bit, nodding. "Yes, I suppose that was bad judgement on our part."
"Besides, it doesn't feel right." Danny looked at the wall ahead of him. "Pariah Dark is only sealed, right? What if he's set free again? I didn't really 'defeat' him, I just beat him up and sealed him away - with a lot of help, I might add."
"The fact that they all rallied to your aid is a sign that you are the next King." Clockwork said calmly. "I understand that you have misgivings, but we have gone too long without a king."
"Can't I just be, I dunno, President or something? And we could elect the next person?" Danny suggested.
"Elect?" Clockwork shook his head. "The Ghost Zone is not run by diplomacy to choose a ruler. The most powerful is the ruler, that's how it has always been."
"Well, maybe I'll change that when I'm King." Danny said firmly.
"So you will be King, then?" Clockwork nodded. "Thank you for finally making up your mind." He stepped away, heading for the door.
"Wait, I never said--"
"The Observants are the only ones who can change that rule, Danny. " Clockwork said calmly.
"But, tell me, don't you see any possiblity of him coming back? ANY at all?" Danny turned to him.
Clockwork paused and sighed, looking at him. "There is the possibility, yes. But there is also the possibility that Dan Phantom may break free. We can't live our lives in fear of what could happen, Danny."
Danny was about to speak, but Clockwork walked out and closed the door, leaving Danny with the crown. He sighed and walked over to sit on a chair, staring at himself in the mirror. There was just no getting out of this, was there?
Despite his protests and his insistence on waiting, he was taken to the large throne and the crown placed upon his head, giving him the official title of Ghost King.
.
Commuting back and forth between the human world and the Ghost Zone wasn't as difficult as he thought, but he did end up getting lost on the way back to his castle every so often. He'd had to ask for directions, which was embarrassing enough, but then the ghost he asked would insist on escorting him. By the time he got back to his throne he wanted to hide in his room and just curl up.
The heavy cape had been replaced by a lighter one, which was white on the outside and black on the inside - that made him shiver, recalling who ELSE had a cape with such colors. He had flipped it around after making sure it COULD be reversible and no one questioned his choice.
Luckily, no one was bombarding him with questions or suggestions or random visits, which gave him some time to drag a table over to his throne and study at it. After he did this a couple times, Clockwork had suggested he go to his study, to which Danny replied "I have a study?" and allowed the Master of Time to lead him.
He was in his study three months after his coronation when he suddenly got a chill down his spine. It wasn't the usual "there's a ghost in the area" chill, either. It was the feeling that something really, REALLY bad was going to happen.
"Your Majesty!" A guard ran into the study. "We have to move you from the castle!"
"What's going on?" He asked, setting down his pencil and turning to the guard.
"No time, you must go!" The guard said frantically.
"I said 'what's going on'!" Danny got up, looking at the guard with a frown.
"We're doing what we can, but you must escape!" The guard walked over and quickly ushered Danny out of the study, looking around frantically before he pulled him down the hallway. "There's a secret pathway here..."
They stopped short when they heard footsteps and the guard quickly turned them both invisible, watching as glowing, green skeletons came marching into the hall, brandishing their weapons.
The guard gripped his arm tightly, murmuring "Don't breathe." to Danny as they waited for the mob to pass by. Once they'd passed, then the guard led Danny down the hall in the direction they'd come from.
"Those were from Pariah Dark's army..." Danny frowned. "Why were they here?"
The guard didn't respond, just led him to a blank wall. He touched the wall and it slid open, allowing them to enter. "Go in, go down the staircase, and fly out to Clockwork's Tower. Do NOT look back."
"Wait, why can't I stay and fight?" Danny turned to him, frowning.
"Because you're King now. You can't be putting yourself at risk fighting battles. We fight for you, not the other way around. Now go, hurry!" The guard pushed him in and closed the wall, shutting Danny in the secret passageway.
"Hey, wait! I never said--open this wall!" Danny banged on it, growling. "Open it, now! That's an order!"
There was no answer. Frustrated, he slammed against the wall with his body five times before he finally gave up and headed for the stairs the guard mentioned. He got to the top of them and then paused, looking at the wall. "What am I doing?" He murmured. "I can go fight. They can't stop me." He changed into his human form and ran at the wall, phasing through it as planned. Once back on this side, he changed back into his ghost form and turned invisible as he flew through the hallway.
How many times had he battled Vlad in his own home? This was Pariah Dark in HIS home, he didn't just take over Pariah Dark's castle! HE knew all the twists and turns, HE had the advantage here!
He followed the sounds of fighting and came out into the throne room, gasping when he saw the ghosts that littered the floor. And there, standing among the unconscious specters, was Pariah Dark in all his three-stories-tall glory.
He felt the ex-King's gaze fall on him, sensing he knew he was there despite him being invisible, and he formed a sword out of ice, solidifying it with ectoplasm as he turned visible. "Pariah Dark." He said, stepping out to face him.
"If it isn't 'King' Phantom." Pariah Dark said mockingly. "Why did you not flee when they told you to?"
"Have I EVER been one to run away from a fight?" Danny took an offensive stance with the sword. "Even if there's a high chance I could lose?"
Pariah Dark let out a hearty laugh and pulled out his mace. "Very well, then! Let's see how well you have improved in four years, boy!" He swung it at him, ghost rays heading his way.
Danny gasped and formed a shield around himself, expanding it to protect the ghosts that had already been beaten. "Let's take this somewhere where the only ones to get hurt will be you and I!" He said firmly, lowering the shield. "We'll take this outside!" He flew out one of the smashed windows.
"Very well, then!" Pariah Dark changed into a smaller size and flew out after him, changing back to his large size as soon as they were outside. Sharp icicles flew at him and he swiped out a hand, smashing them with ease. "Is this the best the new 'King of the Ghosts' can do?" He taunted.
"Phantom! We will--" A group of ghosts were flying over.
"NO! This is MY fight!" Danny glared at them, his green eyes flaring. "I don't want anyone else to get hurt protecting me!" He faced Pariah Dark again. "A King leads, protects, and fights for his people! Not the other way around!"
They stopped short, knowing that to attempt to argue the matter would only anger and distract the young King. "As...as you wish." They said, moving back to give them space.
"Well said." Pariah Dark smirked, looking at Phantom. "But that courage may be your undoing. You really need all the help you can get, little King."
"I don't need help." Danny said firmly. "I've faced things far worse than you and beaten them all! I don't NEED their help!" He fired off more glowing icicles from his sword and fired ghost rays at the larger ghost.
To Danny's dismay, the number of ghosts that were watching the fight had increased as it went on and he finally formed a shield around himself before yelling, "GET LOST! I DON'T WANT ANY OF YOU BEING HURT DURING THIS FIGHT!"
Pariah Dark fired at the shield, chuckling at the boy's distraction. At least he'd learned to protect himself while chasing away his "adoring fans" now. That was an improvement. He knew already the outcome of this battle, though, and it wasn't going to be good for the boy.
The other ghosts fled at Danny's order, and then Danny turned back to Pariah Dark, wincing as the shield was struck again, this time by the mace. The shield went down and Danny flew backwards to avoid another swing.
"Is this all you can do?" Pariah Dark said tauntingly. "Surely the ‘Great One’ can do more!"
There was ONE trick Danny hadn't used yet...but he didn't think that Pariah Dark was weak enough to use it yet. Heck, the guy didn't even seem winded! But Danny was growing weaker the longer the fight went on, and maybe this would work...
"No...I can still....do....THIIIIIIIIIS!" He let out his Ghostly Wail at the larger ghost. It struck Pariah Dark and pushed him back, Pariah actually looking like this was doing some decent damage. The problem with this attack, though, was that he could only do it for so long and it was rapidly draining him of his ghostly energy and much of his human energy. He kept it up as long as he could, and then it fizzled out as the white rings moved over his body and he started to fall to the abyss below.
Something caught him mid-fall and he let out a groan of pain, feeling close to unconscious. He vaguely heard a voice as he passed out, but he couldn't understand what was said or whose voice it was.
My headcanon is that when Plasmius and Phantom merged, Dan Phantom was created with a split-personality and every time that Phantom attempts to change his ways like Clockwork keeps begging him to, Plasmius whispers in his ear and takes over him and kills everyone. Clockwork can’t see or hear Plasmius, and so he doesn’t understand how Dan can give up on trying to be good so easily.
