Chapter Text
"Honestly Skulker are you even trying?" The toxic green sky of the Ghost Zone whipped by as Danny flew past, expertly dodging floating lairs and rocks as he laughed in the wind.
"Don't underestimate me Whelp!" cried Skulker, as he frantically aimed some comically huge heat-seeking missiles at him, "I'll get you yet, you'll make a lovely rug at the foot of my fireplace. Or perhaps a tapestry on a wall?" he fired. Nasty, Danny thought, could he not talk about his weird 'skinning him' fantasies in front of him? Creepy!
"Sure, like that will happen," he dodged the incoming projectiles and made a sharp turn towards Skulker. "Want these back?" He quipped, turning intangible and flying through the hunter. He laughed, facing back at where Skulkers smoking metal body had crashed on a nearby floating piece of land. Smoke wisped upwards from the crevasses and cracks in the suit like little snakes slithering out, he had face-planted right into a rather large boulder and looked dazed enough to have cartoon birds and stars circling his head. Giggling, he shot of in the direction of the Fenton Portal. He was far overdue for a study session for English class, he sighed-his essay was due in a few days and he'd only gotten a few paragraphs in so far, and Sam was pushing for him to complete it before the due date so he wasn't scrambling to finish it in the heat of a host fight like last time (he got a B, he thought that was fine but she was disappointed in him).
He loved the Ghost Zone, it was a place where he could really let go and embrace being a ghost without having to worry about being shot down by his parents or the Guys in White, he also love visiting his ghostly friends and hanging out with them. His personal favorite pastime in the Zone by far was seeing Clockwork though, he loved to annoy him and challenged himself to finally surprise him, and make him lose his cool. He was so uptight! He also just liked hearing cool ghost stories from him, not scary ghost ones more like a retelling of funny things he's seen in time.
He reached up to his ear and called Sam on his Fenton Phones, and waited for a few seconds before she picked up. "Hey Sam," he said cheerily, a smile growing on his face. "I'm heading back from the Zone now, I'll be back in about 20 minutes." Maybe longer if he was waylaid by some ghost looking for trouble, hopefully not one of his regulars, he shivered at the thought.
"Hey Danny, I hear you loud and clear. I was able to delay your parents for only a little bit, so you may want to be sneaky getting back to your room - and don't forget to do your essay you massive procrastinator." They laughed, however Danny's was more of a nervous chuckle after she said that last part. "Tuck and I are going to the Nasty Burger later if you want to come after you're done?"
"Sure, I need the motivation to actually finish the thing anyways. I'll call you as soon as I make it back to the portal okay? Zone's looking a little crowded today so I might be late." he said looking around, in his very professional opinion, there were to may low level ghosts floating about - which is very suspicious. They usually flow to places with higher ectoplasmic energy, feeding off of it and looking for naturally occurring portals.
Though the fact there was so many meant that either there also meant the they were either hanging out because there wasn't any high level ghosts around to get them or that they were flocking here as a last ditch 'strength in numbers' tactic. Not good.
"Be safe Danny," said Sam "don't do anything stupid."
"I wont!" he laughed, "I'll be fine." It's not like he hasn't made this same flight a hundred times by now, you could blindfold him and he'd... End up in generally in the right place. Probably. "See you later Sam." She said the same and he shut off the Fenton Phones, exhaled and focused on where he was going. He really appreciated Sam looking out for him, it was nice, having someone that was worried about him. It's not like his parents have been doing that job, too busy chasing 'that dastardly ghost boy!' and working on new and more terrifying ghost weapons to fling at him when he's doing his nightly patrols.
On the bright side, he could get away with a lot more than other kids that didn't have parents that hyper-focused on ghosts. Though he wished his mom would stop cooking with ectoplasm, it had gotten to the point that he would purposefully miss breakfast to avoid mutated undead sausages and bacon with a penchant for biting fingers and any nearby body parts. He knew could rely on Sam to have some sort of snack for him in the mornings (recyclo-vegetarian of course not that he's complaining).
He missed them, sometimes, his parents that is. They spent all their time in the lab nowadays, ghost attacks had spiked recently and that certainly hadn't helped their habit of spending days down there at a time working on their newest brand new project that was supposed to help the ghost problem. And when they came up they'd immediately show off their project and test it right in the living room-the ghost seeking kind were his least favorite. They would be too tired and hungry to really do anything after they were done and often crashed for a while afterwards.
He didn't appreciated the anti-ghost talks they would give him either, constantly preaching on how they were 'echoes of emotions imitated by ectoplasmic energy' and 'not really people, just imprints' to justify themselves, moreover; they hated his ghost half, it was hard to spend time with them when deep down he knew that they would react horribly to his secret. Jazz was helping, she knew and was helping him out with alibies, support and using her psychology studies to give him advice. Including telling him that sharing the secret with their parents was not a good idea in her professional opinion.
Green swirled in the sky differently than before, where before it spiraled lazily like a babbling stream, it now seemed like an opressive torrent or rapids. It had darkened and seemed to be originating from a place towards his left, like a huge surge of energy had just erupted from there. Natural portals started flickering in an out of existence around him as a wave of energy came rushing towards him from the darkest part of the sky like a sound wave. He started towards to direction of the Fenton Portal, trying to get as far away from the danger as he could, the low level ghosts that had been there before had fled and were rushing away from the energy at top speeds. They had felt what was coming earlier than he did.
Portal shuttered in and out around him, he dodged each of them, turning on a dime every time. He raised his hand to his ear and frantically called Sam, his heart raced and adrenaline coursed through him. One ring, two rings, dodge, don't fall in, three rings. She picked up.
"SAM! Somethings wrong in the zone," he cried he could barely hear her answer, he didn't know if she could hear him. "There's a massive energy surge in the direction of Skulkers lair, portals are popping in and out!" He could hear that she had raised her voice, it sounded choppy, there was too much energy in the air confusing the signal. "I don't have the Infi, Map, there are too many-," he cut himself, off a portal opened dead in front of him practically a foot away and he was going to fast to stop in time. He let out a short scream as he fell in.
When Danny opened his eyes it was to the same toxic green sky he disappeared under, if lighter. His head pounded like he had taken of of Embers boots to the back of his head like he was a soccer ball. He groaned and swayed as he lifted his head up to stare dizzily at his surroundings, his leg hurt and when he looked down he saw it had landed on a rather large rock and was thankfully, not broken, probably.
Around him was small stretch of land encompassed by large intimidating sharp rocks that served as a wall of sorts. He must be in someone's lair. The small valley was partially flooded and had no grass, there were a few skeletons laid against rocks or in a fetal position closer to the walls. He shivered, whoever lived here was probably not very friendly if they had skeletons on their lawn. He floated himself up and felt his tail wisp fade in, there were ghosts here-frantic and only partially there, just wisps themselves. It was as if all of them in the area had decided to clump together in one big mob around a large anomaly in the sky, It looked like staring into a room full of warped mirrors in a fun house, except it didn't reflect him or the mob. He neared one.
"Hey, where is this place?" He asked, his voice was scratchy like he'd not taken a sip of water for days or if he had been a smoker for 40 years. The ghost turned to him, it was ectoplasmic green and only its upper body was visible to him, it looked absent, like it wasn't really there mentally, it made a sound like an angry grunt and Danny backed off putting his hands up in a show of good will. It became louder and Danny left it alone quickly, he was too injured to fight it, and definitely too hurt to fight a crowd of them.
He roamed the surrounding area looking for clues on where he might be when he saw another spectre, this one was more corporeal and had more defined features. He approached slowly, once again lifting his hands up in surrender, showing that he wasn't carrying any weapons. "Hello," he called to it, makin it lift its head and stare at him. It was in an area resembling an office, it had no walls but the tall rock walls that surrounded the place, though there were large stocked bookshelves propped against them and there was an old desk and chair placed atop a rug. The spirit sat there and looked at him, not betraying any emotion on its face. "Do you know which part of the Infinite Realms this is?" Danny asked, keeping his distance this time. He winced as a sharp pain shot at his head.
"This is the Fade, as it always has been," The ghost said, with a distinctly male voice. He spoke with a sophisticated tone and eyed Danny. "Whom are you?" He asked, his barely there eyes noticeably narrowed.
"My name is Phantom," He began. " I've never heard of the 'Fade', is that a part of the Ghost Zone?" He hoped it was, there was no map to save his hide if it wasn't.
"I have never encountered any 'Phantom' spirits while walking the fade," The ghost stated. " Nor have I heard of this place you call the 'Ghost Zone'." He stood, showing off his trim coat and fine wears. "Is that from where you were formed? Or perhaps someplace entirely different?" He walked closer to Danny. "I am Wisdom, ask of me what knowledge you seek."
Wisdom? Funky name but he's heard funkier, seriously, Box Ghost, Lunch Lady, Undergrowth, the list goes on. He wonders what is is with ghosts and weird names... Okay, that was a bit hypocritical he must admit. His name is Phantom. Names can tell you a lot about a person, he knows this fact to be especially true in ghosts, most of them being extremely literal so it was safe to assume that Wisdom was a wisdom ghost, fairly simple. And where he was formed? That would be a bit of a hassle to answer, not that he wanted to.
"Nice to meet you, Wisdom... Do you know how I got here? I remember falling through a portal and waking up in this place." His face became pinched with worry, brows furrowing as he began to fidget. This was NOT good, Sam was going to kill him, and his parents would definitely notice if he was gone for more than a day. The last time he went gallivanting though strange portals was when he had the Infi-Map and he ended up in not only different places but times as well; more so, he didn't even know if time flowed the same here than at home. A day here like be a week there, and that would be a catastrophe!
"I saw your arrival, through an opening in the Fade you fell. You slept on the ground for a time, it was so curious - a sleeping spirit." he let out a short laugh or perhaps a loud huff, his mouth opening just enough for light to spill through, just like his eyes. "I let you rest, I wanted to see what you would do when you awoke. I am glad you sought me." He give a small smile for just a moment before it left his face as empty as before.
"How long was I asleep? I need to go back home!" He cried, lowering himself towards the desk and the other ghost.
"Time is subjective, as all other things are in the Fade. For it is the place of Dreams, of memory, of reflection." He says, like explaining the blue in the sky to child. "How much time the Waking world has passed, I could not tell you." Oh no, no no no.
"This is horrible! I-I need to go back! Do you know how I could get home?" He said, imploring Wisdom for his namesake.
"For all that I am Wisdom, my knowledge comes from reflections of the Waking World as well as mine own existence in the Fade. I can not offer answers that I do not know the problems to." He looked Danny in the eyes, the bright green that filled the socket felt as if it saw through him. "Perhaps your answer lies not in the Fade, but on the other side of the Veil." He rose from his chair and drifted in the direction of the mob of green, clamoring. half see-through ghosts. He stopped before he became too close. "Before you arrived here the Veil tore, as if a knife was taken to cloth. The demons are called to it, the need to get to the other side. There they will attack the living, those who are awake." He turned to Danny, his demeanor was hard like stone. "At the moment, it is shut, not sealed. But should it open again, you may travel through the doorway. Though I can't guarantee that it wont be sealed after that, you would be stuck in the waking world," He got closer to him leaning his face towards him. "and you will not be welcomed, they shall call you a demon and they will kill you." He leaned back, having made his point.
"Well that might not be a huge problem, I can fight really wall, and I can blend in!... Hopefully." His smile turned concerned for a moment before returning to him.
"Blend in and fight? These are traits of a demon," He sneered, nose scrunching. "Or are they the traits of a 'phantom' as you claim you are?" Uh oh, not good, demons=bad.
"Me? a DEMON? No way!" He exclaimed, affronted. "And Phantom is just my name, the other ghosts call me a 'halfa'." Wisdom turned to him, curiosity peaked.
"Halfa?" He questioned. "Half what?"
"Ghost, duh," Danny said like it was obvious. "I died in a really weird way and came back half-way, so... Halfa." Wisdom looked at him for a moment, silent as a mouse.
"Never in my existence have I encountered a being such as that," He said surprisingly softly. "but I have heard your words and believe them true. Your eyes betray no lies." Danny smiled at him. It was nice to have people believe him when he says things.
"We're super rare, as far as I know only two that exist right now were formed naturally, the other was artificially made. So it's not really surprising you haven't heard of us."
The tear in the Fade began to tremble, crescendoing quickly. The green 'demons' became more excited, pushing at the shut tear. Wisdom raced back to his office and urged Danny to him, when they got there a huge demon lumbered its way to the tear.
"What is THAT?" Danny whisper-yelled to Wisdom, dreading the attention of such demon should it turn to them.
"That is a Pride Demon," Wisdom said, worry noting his calm voice. "It will also try to get through, it will kill any who stand against it doing so."
"This is so not good..." Danny whined, he really was not well enough to kill that thing and make it out with minimal injuries. Not to mention the smaller green demons.
"The door to the Waking world will soon open, that is your way out," Wisdom hurried in the direction opposite the large tear. "I cannot be there when it does, I might be dragged in, my purpose shall be skewed and I shall become a demon like them."
"That's not good, I don't understand but ill help you get away faster." He said and grabbed hold of Wisdom and rocketed off to a plateau far enough away.
"What the-," Wisdom began, his eyes were wide at the speed Danny flew at.
"Sorry Wisdom! I gotta go, my way out is about to open! And no way am I allowing that ugly demon kill innocent people!" Danny set Wisdom down gently and patted him on the head. "I'll try to visit!" Danny said giving him a bright Danny smile, and whizzed off to go through the now opening tear.
The green, person-like demons were already entering the tear in waves of 5-6, then the tear would stabilize slightly, making the rest wait their turn. The large Pride Demon had already made its way through, by the time Danny got back he saw the back end of it disappearing into it. He would have to wait, so he might as well get a head start on the green ones so that the people opening the tear wouldn't have to deal with them. Zipping up into the air be began his assault, sending volley's of ectoblasts at the demons. They responded much the same with energy blasts of their own, Danny quickly realized that that was the extent of their fighting capabilities and started attacking them more physically.
Thea Trevelyan stood shaking before the behemoth of Pride that emerged from the Breach, she steeled nerves, reminding herself of why she was doing this. Why was she doing this? She didn't belong here, nothing in the Circles of Ostwick could have prepared her to stand here in this moment and know what to to. Damn it, this is not the time to have a crisis. Get a grip. She thrust her staff forwards and released an energy barrage with a yell. The smell of ozone and static permeated the air around the demon.
Cassandra and Varric stood close to her, she could see blood trickling down Cassandra's and Varric's nose was bleeding. Solas on the other side of the demon had a large gash on his forearm, luckily not his dominant one. She needed to hurry, people were getting hurt.
"Solas! Freeze it!" She cried, letting her own freezing spell fly. Their combined efforts managed to stick its feet to the ground, giving Thea the chance to disrupt the Breach again. Throwing her hand up into the air the flexed her arm muscles and a beam of bright green light connected her palm to the center of the rift. She gritted her teeth and grunted, digging her feet into the ground for stability. She held it for a few seconds before the beam of light flickered and the rift pulsed, sending the Pride Demon to its knees. Cassandra and some of the soldiers gave a battle cry and rushed to meet the demon in its moment of weakness, aiming for its neck, joints, tendons, and less armored parts.
But the brief reprieve only lasted about 30 seconds, before the next wave was set to fall on them. But, there was a pause. One or two Wraiths showed up but they were already half dead, picking themselves up first and then beginning to fight.
"Something is wrong," Solas said, "something is happening on the other side of the breach. Attacking the Wraiths." He began sending a lightning chain to finish off the weakened Wraiths.
"Is it another demon?" Cassandra asked. Slashing upwards with her sword near the demons inner knee. She let out another battle cry.
"I can't tell!" Solas called back, summoning a barrier for her. "We will have to wait until it shows itself to us."
"Whatever it is let's hope it keeps killing these Wraiths!" Varric exclaimed, "They're a real pain in the ass!" He laughed as he threw caltrops under the Pride Demons feet.
They hurled as many attacks as they could against the mountain that was Pride, before it became guarded again and harder to hit. Arrows, though few in numbers hit true in the neck of the beast. Weakening it further. A few more disruption of the breach and it would be dead. They could hear the commotion beyond the Breach now, the sound of fighting, energy blasts sounding off as they fired at some unknown target. Inter-fighting was unlikely, so why would another demon attack the Wraiths? Was it perhaps a type demon she has never studied before. or another enraged Pride Demon getting fed up with the wait?
"Do you think whatever is inside the Breach will attack us when it's out?" Thea called out to the others, or rather anybody who would answer her. The current demons where enough for her, she didn't have enough potions to keep her party alive and strong enough for another onslaught of powerful demons. Shit.
"I don't- look out!" Solas cried. The Rift trembled, and it's sides quivered. A few tendrils of light wisped out of the tear, before it shot open and light spilled out like a small sun was coming out. A shadowed outline faded into view in the centre of the Breach, at became larger fast as whatever was on the other side came closer to them. Suddenly, a figure burst from the Rift, all eyes focused on it. It certainly wasn't a Pride Demon, nor was it large enough for any other demon Thea had studied. And while parts of it did glow green, it certainly was not a Wraith. It took the form of a boy, snow white hair and Fade green eyes, it wore strange clothes that covered his whole body except his head. That reminded her of the underclothes one would wear when going out in the cold. On top of those strange skin tight clothes, it wore a short sleeved grey shirt and short pants that only reached the knee.
"woah! So that's where Ugly went," It said. Grinning wildly its hands began to glow a bright green, as it powered up its next attack. Thea readied her staff to attack it if it fired at them but before she could it shot powerful blasts at the Pride Demon. It whooped and dived down towards it, stopping behind its head. Grabbing onto its horns he yanked the demon back by them with incredible strength and toppled it backwards. It landed on its back with a loud thump, and no one missed the opportunity to hit it while it was down. Thea quickly made to disrupt the rift again and was this time uninterrupted. When she was done Pride was on its last dredges of strength, and couldn't summon enough power to lift itself. The demon child flew itself far above the Pride Demon, its wispy tail propelling it, it brought its hands together and charged up a far more powerful blast, sustaining it in its hands as it grew larger. "Incoming!" It cried as it released the blast directly into the demons chest, killing it. The soldiers quickly picked off the last of the Wraiths while Cassandra and Solas ran towards the child.
"Halt demon!" Cassandra yelled, holding her shield in front of her in ready position.
"State your purpose! Solas question followed. He looked at the child with suspicion, but also with fascination.
"There's no time for that right now, close the opening!" It said pointing to the Rift as it prepared to send another wave through. Thea, though thoroughly suspicious herself, wasted no time lifting her hand and attempting to close it. Everyone stared in rapt attention to the Rift, suddenly it exploded and a shockwave of green energy shot across the sky. A bright white light that could be seen from miles away erupted from the Rift and forced everyone to cover their eyes. Thea's world darkened as the one around her brightened. And she lost consciousness.