Chapter 8- Getting Home

"What the hell just fucking happened," Zak asked freaked out.

Barry ran a hand through his hair,
"I don't really know."

They looked over to the still unconscious Danny- or what they thought was Danny anyway. It was hard to tell. The ghost that they once knew was now a living breathing boy. However, according to Nick, his temperature was still colder than a person's and his heart wasn't going as fast.

"Maybe it's something we have never heard of before," Scott suggested.
"What are the odds of that," Aaron scoffed.

"Dude," Scott said, "we're in the fucking otherworld. Anything is possible."
"Touché."

"Danny!"

The team turned to see the ghost from earlier- Gear. She looked at Danny concerned as she flew over.
"This isn't good," she muttered, "not good at all. You weren't supposed to know."
"Know what," Zak asked.

"Let's just say," she said nervously, "Danny isn't exactly a normal ghost."

Everyone looked at her and she shifted nervously.

"What do you mean," Barry asked, "is he alright?"
"He's okay. He just ran out of energy, poor thing. He's…he's not a full ghost."
Gear winced at saying that. They looked at her in disbelief,
"What do you mean," Zak asked, "Like, is his father or whatever a ghost and-"
"No," Gear said with a chuckle, "the accident that killed him didn't kill him all the way. He's a halfa- one of three in existence…actually, two I think. Plasimus ended I think and the other one I am not sure what happened to her. Either way, he's the most powerful ghost as well."
Danny shifted as he started waking up. Gear sighed,
"I better go before he wakes up- if he knows I told you, then yikes! Just…be careful and ask him about it."
"What about the ring," Kris asked.
"The ring…was the one he planned to give to the girl he loved- but he died….and…don't ask him about Samantha. It's a rough subject."
Gear waved and then disappeared, leaving the team to think. They didn't have long to digest the information as Danny woke up. He put a hand to his head and moaned.
"Are you alright," Kris asked carefully.

"Think so," Danny said then yawned, "But- oh no."
His eyes were wide open as he stood up,

"This wasn't supposed to happen. I wasn't supposed to switch back and now you know and now you're in danger. Now you'll tell people and I-"
"Whoa," Zak said, "Slow down there. What?"
"You aren't supposed to know what I am," Danny said.
"Gear told us you were half ghost."
"Damn it," Danny cursed, "Yes, I know that's impossible but trust me- it is possible, for me, unluckily. I mean, last I heard Vlad was ended but-"
"Vlad," Barry asked, "Vladimir Masters?"

Danny sighed,

"Look, I will explain once we are at my lair- it's safer there as no one ventures to my home. And no, it's not a long trip."

Danny popped his back and closed his eyes as the two rings appeared again. Right in front of their eyes, the ghost that turned human changed again. The once breathing, alive, boy was now dead and cold.

Danny made another platform and they stepped on it. In less than five minutes, he stopped again.
"Welcome to my home, Phantom's Keep." he said.

Their jaws dropped. They were impressed, frankly. It was a large castle. It was black but the door to it was white with a black symbol that was white P inside a black D. Around the castle was a large maze that seemed to be pitch black inside of the hedged walls. Danny looked at it, he never got tired of it. It used to be Pariah's Keep, but Danny was the king now. After all, he defeated Pariah. Therefore, the lair morphed to fit the personality of the new king. Danny led them over the maze,

"Normally, any ghosts that tried to get to my lair would get lost in the maze. It's specially made by a few friends of a friend," he said with a smirk thinking of Pandora's friend, Gaia* and Erebus*, "it makes it so that no ghost can enter without going through the maze- which never ends."
"What about your friends," Zak asked.
"It's made so that it allows me and whoever I would allow to cross over it."

Danny stopped and landed near the front door. He put his palm against it and it opened. He led them inside. As soon as everyone was inside, the door shut and he dropped the shield and platform that they were standing on.

"Wow," Kris muttered, looking around, "it's….amazing."

It was astonishing. The cool black marble walls and the white marble floors. There were a few pictures hanging here and there- some showed the black haired Danny they saw with a gothic girl and an African American boy. There was a large computer that was very futuristic looking, like nothing they had seen before.

What caught their attention the most was two things- a glass case holding a flaming green crown and a coffin-like thing. Near the case and the coffin was a large book on a stand. Zak and the others, out of curiosity, read the page it was turned on. The title of the book read 'History of the Undead by C.W., C.W.A., and G.W.' Few people knew that book even existed, and fewer knew who wrote it (Clockwork, Clockwork's Apprentice, and Ghost Writer).

'Long Live The King by C.W.A., as learned by C.W. and Zeus,

There is must history behind the ghost kings of the past. The original king used to rule with a soft heart, but he wanted to help more. Thus, he created the Crown of Flames and the Ring. Each item, separately, was meant to mark his place as king. The ring even would transform itself to fit the wearer and was meant to never come off of the finger of the rightful king and to never fit any other. However, the two items when worn together increased the wearer's power by tenfold. The knight of the original king grew jealous with envy and overthrew the original king. Thus, becoming the king that everyone feared as the memories of the original king faded. He wore the Crown of Flames (renamed by him as the Crown of Fire) and the Ring (renamed by him as the Ring of Rage).

Pariah Dark, worshipped as a dark god by mortals in the Dark Ages, ruled the Zone with a hard hand. He put the Zone into the Dark Ages, with Fright Knight (the ghost of Halloween) with his Soul Shredder sword as his right hand. Pariah planned on taking over the human world, but was put into his coffin of eternal sleep by the most powerful ghosts in Zone working together. They locked him up and took off the crown as they are not able to remove the ring from the king.

However, Pariah escaped in recent years. He was stopped by Daniel Jack Fenton, the most powerful halfa, also known as Phantom. Having over threw the previous king, Daniel not only became the king himself, but gained popularity and respect from all the ghosts, earning the names Great One, and Eternal Powered.

Daniel is named the most powerful ghost in the Zone, however, he has never used the Crown of Fire. However, he does wear the Ring as proof of his power in the Zone.'

The team finished reading and looked over at Danny. Danny fidgeted,
"You read the book, didn't you?"

They nodded numbly and in shock.
"And know I am the King?"
They nodded again.
"Why," Barry asked, "Didn't you say anything?"
"I didn't want to scare you," Danny said looking down, "Most people run when they know I am a ghost, nevertheless the King of the Otherworld. Besides, I have only gotten more powerful since I overthrew Pariah and that doesn't help."
"Maybe no one would be scared," Zak said, "if you didn't try to scare them and attack."
"I…I changed when they died…when my family died…when she died…"

Danny looked at them with tears in his eyes,
"But…I didn't want to turn dark…I didn't want to be like him."
"Who," Barry asked, "Pariah?"
"No…Dan."
They looked at him in shock. No wonder he didn't like being called Dan, Zak thought, if apparently there is a really bad history with that name.

"Who's Dan?"
"The ghost that destroyed the world in the future….me…but I stopped him…I locked him up…I..I didn't become that…that was supposed to happen ten years after I died, but it didn't."

"That's time travel," Kris pointed out.
"Anything is possible," Danny said with a lop-sided grin, "when you're half ghost. Besides, Clockwork time travels a lot. Most ghosts can accidently time travel since portals land you anywhere in the world, in space, in time."
Barry shook his head. Danny felt the power from his lair fill him. It refueled him. His white aura glowed brighter.

"Let's get you back."
Danny waved his hand, making a portal appear. He motioned for them to go through.

"Aren't you going," Kris asked.

"No…I think I will stay in my lair, and in the ghost zone….but-"

He gave Kris a hug and then fired a green ectoblast at the cameras, causing them all to malfunction.
"What the hell," Zak muttered.
"I can't have anyone else knowing about the Ghost Zone or about me or about the building. I can destroy the portal in the basement before they destroy the building. This way you can say the 'ghost' cause your cameras to malfunction."
"Are you sure you don't want to come up with us," Barry asked.
"I'm sure. My place is in the zone, but I might come out later. If I do…I'll find you."
His eyes glowed and they shivered. With one last goodbye, they walked through the portal. Danny closed it and sighed,
"Peace at last…"

*Gaia is in Greek mythology like Pandora, as the Mother of the Earth as Erebus is the goddess of the darkness. Therefore, Pandora helped Danny with the lair security by getting them to help make the maze never ending (Gaia) and securing it with so much darkness that people would get lost and would have to get through it (Erebus)