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When time is on the line, people become desperate. When people are desperate, they can make reckless and rash decisions. Which lands Danny in his current situation.
Danny thought over this all wondering where it started going downhill. A very rough battle between him and Pariah Dark. He was finally able to get the sleeping tyrant back into his catacomb. He finally came crashing down from his adrenaline high that he eventually passed out in-between getting home and checking on everyone in town. Once Danny was able to get back to school, Sam and Tucker unloaded so many questions but he couldn't answer any of them because again a ghost decided to attack amity. Danny was cursing himself, it hadn't even been 3 days and here he was fighting another ghost after Pariah. He couldn't catch a break from then on, it was almost every day and in-between the fights, Plasmius fruitloop self upped his un-endless nagging and bribing to get Danny to join him. Even going as far to insult his sister which Danny drew the line. He needed to get his parents on board and block Vlad from their lives.
That was easier said than done. "Danny-o, I hear what you are saying but Vladdie isn't that kind of guy." Danny should have gone to his mom first. "Yeah he has his moments but is plotting to kill me? Kiddo that is a stretch, he is my best friend since we've" Danny wasn't going to be able to get through to his dad. "I know, since you two have been in school, but Dad please believe me, he isn't all sunshine and rainbows!" Crap he didn't mean to yell.
"Daniel James Fenton, yelling at your Father?! We have raised you better than that." Oh this was not going his way, now his mom is involved and she only heard him yelling. "It's not like you raised me-" Danny didn't mean for that to slip but his mom slapped him. She looked offended and then the screaming match began. Danny was tired, the screaming didn't stop until Jazz came home from his college interview. Danny ran off to his room not looking back even when his sister and mom called his name.
The weeks following that Danny would have on and off arguments with his parents, they said he was grounded but Danny knew that they didn't actually pay attention enough to him for them to notice when he left the house for days on end. He would have sleepovers at tuckers almost 4 times a week, the days he went home he made sure to go when his parents weren't in the dinning room with their inventions. When he got around the 2nd week of doing this he noticed that the security around the house was being changed and he had to spend more time going around and tampering with them. His dad caught him in the middle of tampering with one of the sensors and his first instinct was to lie. He was lying even more to his parents now but he lost his remorse when he did. He didn't care anymore about them or having to deal with them. He hated that he almost considered joining Vlad. But he really thought back to it and he was petty, he wasn't going to join Vlad even if their ideals started to align a little. The only people he had faith in now were his sister and friends.
"Hey ghost boy, whoa you look like.... Shit." Red huntress pulling up behind him. Danny really didn't have the energy to fight her, he just souped Ember and Skulker. "I don't know how a ghost can look more dead than y'all already do but look at that. A dead deader ghost boy." She chuckled at him but Danny didn't bother to respond. He was so tired he pushed past her and just left. He was mildly relieved that Val didn't chase after him. Danny detranformed and grabbed the mail, his report fell out and he just burned it. He knew his grades were worse than the start of the year.
So here is Danny, 14 and desperately on the run. The whole town, his parents and the G.I.W. all saw Dan. Dan almost killed everyone and he revealed his identity to the world. His parents started to scream at him, telling him that he took their son. Danny was frantic and tried his best to explain to them he wasn't overshadowed, that he was really their son. They shouted at him saying that this is why Danny hadn't been himself, how he was trying to break their family. They had even disowned him which hurt his core so much.
"YOU WERE NEVER MY SON. MY SON WAS NEVER A MONSTROUS CREATURE LIKE YOU. RUN ECTO SCUM BECAUSE I WILL MAKE SURE TO HUNT YOU DOWN AND RIP YOU APART FOR TAKING MY SON." His mom screamed at him. She was grabbing her gun and aimed it directly at Danny. So Danny ran. He couldn't go find Sam and Tucker, his parents were high on his tail, he kept running. Running straight into a natural portal. He was so distressed that he kept flying into the doors of the ghost zone. He kept going, crying and his vision so blurred he crash landed on something hard. He wasn't sure what to do then but he just stayed there and sobbed. He cried for his sister, he cried for his parents even if they didn't love him anymore. He just didn't just wanted to be heard but seen. He wanted his parents to love him as much as they hated the ghosts. He wished for the burning passion of someone loving him enough. Danny had his sister sure but she was going off to college. Leaving him with them, their parents.
When he eventually looked up he realized what he was on top of, he wasn't sure if you should have done it he really considered his options. His family didn't want him, he wasn't sure where his sister or friends were. He lost everything and if he went by he didn't know what he was going to do. He cursed everything that happened to him. He cursed the ghost, the realms and even himself for letting himself be stupid enough to inside one of his parents dangerous projects. He didn't want to go to Vlad, it was clear that Vlad was the worst option. That was how Dan came to be after all. But he wasn't sure he could keep going. He was alone and on top of one of the worst options you could possibly choose. But honestly he wasn't sure it was actually the worst option, at least this way he would actually be the first one to go and he wouldn't have to witness anything else afterwards. It doesn't remember when he started thinking so dark but honestly he didn't care anymore he was going to open this and he was going to get this over with.
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Pariah Dark was a tyrant. A man who was hungry for power and bloodshed. It didn't seem to be long, the little whelp that locked him away again had released him again. Which was slightly odd but the little ghostling started to throw punches. He guessed the boy was hungry for a fight. "You think you can beat me boy?" He could only scoff at the boy. The boy was skinny, too skinny. When Pariah looked down at him all he could picture was a small unless puppy. He knew the boy could bite, if he couldn't Pariah would consider him a bug at best.
"I've done it before I can do it again. You caused all my issues, and I'll beat you again." The boy was just yelling, but Pariah was amused. He let the boy try and flail, he let the boy keep going. At some point the boy started to get sloppy, he knew the boy could do better but something was off. His instincts were screaming that he was falling, failing on purpose. The whelp kept screaming his issues, his parental connections have abandoned him. Wait why does he care for this whelp. He decided messing with the boy would most likely get him the fight he desire. He knew this boy could fight, he could care less on the boy's dramatic storytelling.
"I have done nothing to you boy. Your issues seemingly stem from that vampire Ghost." That just seemed to draw the boy's attention back into the fight, finally getting his strength and fighting at full force again. He was pleased, rebuking all the boy's statements just to keep him fighting himself. Had this boy been one of the denizens before his imprisonment, he would have had more fun during his reign. Had they lived in similar eras perhaps he would have not went mad.. Pariah scoffed at the thought.
The fight lasted for hours, the banter from Pariah and the adrenaline induced boy kept it going, eventually the responses from the king stopped giving the boy energy. Pariah was amused that the boy lasted for so long but he was ready to end this. Slamming the boy against the many floating isles in the infinite realms, the boy stopped moving. He was still conscious but it seemed his willingness to fight was finally depleted. Pariah has taken this opportunity to question the boy. "You, you may have no energy now but you were holding off for a long time. Why boy?" The whelp mumbled something that had confirmed his suspensions.
"Just keep your attention on me, you were always stronger than me, actually I can go ou-" That annoyed him to no end. He was not going to let a good fight be a death match. This boy was a good fighter. Had he found him soon he would have Fright Knight guide the boy.
"Enough. You are stubborn, whelp." Pariah boomed. The child slowly blinked before relentless passing out. He disregarded his life and opened his coffin to just fight and die by his hands. Suicidal and he was a baby. Far too young of a ghost to craving permanent erasure. Pariah had decided, he would not let this continue further. He collected the boy's body. "Fright Knight, come to me." The dark knight appeared on his nightmare horse next to the king.
"You called my liege?" Fright Knight looked at his king's arm, confused to see the young hero in the arms of his king. "Would you like me to get rid of him my liege?" Pariah growled at him, he backed away from him, dipping. Pariah looked down at his arms, the boy was far lighter then he should be. His instincts were making his head hurt however. He needed to get this boy medical attention.
"This boy is now mine. You will not disrespect him because he will be my heir. Less you wish to cease to exist." Pariah growled at Fright Knight. He will not stand for someone lesser talking down to his boy. Wait his. Pariah really thought he was officially losing his mind.
"Yes my liege, forgive my rudeness." Fright Knight was confused but went along with his king's wishes.
"You will assemble the court, it will be mandatory. I don't care if you have to drag them and call that Yeti. He is reported to my chambers with no delay." Fright Knight bowed and silently dismissed himself. Pariah had a lot of things to consider and for once he believed he would demand the assistance of Hera and her sister Hestia along with Lilith and Eve.
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Danny felt like he was floating, he wasn't sure where he was. Was this the after-afterlife for the dead? He felt like he was both floating and being held down by something fluffy. All around him was too dark to understand what was happening, he tried moving but something that felt like a large hand held him down. A warm purr that felt like it was telling him to go back to sleep, he couldn't help but drift back into the dark. Eventually Danny came to, on a bed he did not recognize. He was staring at a ceiling and a tall bedframe. The bed was very oversized compared to him. He sat up too quickly and was met with a headache. He flinched when he felt a large hand checking him over. Danny's vision was too blurry but he could hear a huff and slightly rough voice talking to him.
"My young prince, please lay back down. You were injured in multiple places and you have not eaten in a long while." Danny's vision slowly focused to notice the figure speaking to him. He tried to speak but nothing came out. "According to his Majesty, you stranded your voice a lot, young prince. Your vocals are that of a baby ghost, you can reach high volumes but any longer and your voice would be gone for a lot longer." This guy kept calling him 'young prince', what is that supposed to mean? He was so confused, Pariah was trying to kill him. Why was he alive? Where was he? Who was this guy? "I sense your confusion young prince. My name is Frostbite, I am the chief yeti of Far Frozen and the royal doctor." A yeti, he was very large compared to him. Danny looked at him in a plea to keep going.
"As for your location, this is one of the royal suites, specifically his Majesty King Pariah chambers." What, why was he here? Danny started to panic further and spiral. Not until he felt a cool touch and a panicked tug at his core. "My young prince, forgive me I did not mean to cause a panic. Did you feel a tug perhaps?" Danny went to nod but the door bust opened. He looked up to see Pariah Dark of all people march up to Frostbite with a more then angry expression. It was downright murderous.
"Yeti, you should have sent a servant that he was awake. Why is he distressed?" Pariah started to sound super weird, this wasn't the tyrant that he was told and fought with. Danny was questioning this weird dream while the tyrant berated the doctor. He started to panic again which caused both Frostbite and Pariah to look over at him. He kept flickering in and out and he started to sink into the bed. He felt a tug on his core of panic again. Danny looked around the floor until he saw someone in the corner of his eye leave. He couldn't tell who left causing him to sink further.
"Young prince, can you hear me? Could you please follow my voice and my instructions?" Frostbite wakes him through his panic, he was finally tangible after a while. He scooted away from the doctor. The doctor sighed before sitting on the chair at the rear of the bed. "I see you have many questions, his Majesty has tasked me to answer all questions you may have but I wish you don't speak, here are papers and ink, please don't hesitate to ask." Danny seemed hesitant before taking the paper and scribbling away the multiple questions he had before handing it back to the yeti.
"'Why am I here?' Well young prince, his Majesty brought your unconscious body to his keep. 'Why do you keep calling me young prince?' Well, that is because you are. There had been vague rumors floating in the realms of a young ghost that defeated his Majesty. Since you are so young you don't exactly qualify for the crown however his Majesty has decided to take you as his heir." Danny snatched the paper and scribbled down more questions. "Why? Why didn't he just- Young prince, do you really believe you deserved that?" Danny looked ready to cry and looked away. "Denizen culture prides themselves are strength. For the powerful shall rule, fighting is a form of communication for us, you. You are a strong ghost baby, for your death age you are considered insanely powerful. His Majesty recognized that in you. To go toe to toe twice with the King, that is an honor and a pleasure. I have been in service for a long time, I have not seen his Majesty this careful with another being alive or not." Danny wasn't sure how to feel about that, on one hand it was an information overload and another he was concerned for what that meant for him. He didn't want this, he wanted- "As for the last question, the connection you feel with your core was the one you made with his Majesty. Your core craves some sort of connection and has connected you to the king." Wait what. Danny made the connection? Frostbite ended up explaining more things, Danny added more questions and he answered it simply. Danny calmed down further, once he had gotten through most of his questions, he felt something soothing calm from his core. He still thought it was a bit weird having a connection with the tyrant but he now ran out of energy.
Danny had spent the next month in bed, asking Frostbite questions. Despite him being worried about Pariah getting ideas he rarely visited. He felt him more on the connection than he saw him in person. He didn't mind that he didn't drop by so often but he could feel every interaction leaving Pariah slightly more? Anxious? Danny couldn't tell even if he tried and he really didn't want to test his luck. When he was finally given the clear to fly, he thought it would be better to sneak out of the current room he was in. From what Frostbite told him, he could roam with no worries, once he is ready he leaves the room. Once he made it to the hall he really hadn't realized how big the place was, the keep was dark and gave him the vibes Sam would enjoy. That sank his mood a bit before he saw some ghost ladies running around with sheets and blankets.
"Uh, hi?" Danny asked the nearest lady, she looked a bit panicked before looking at him. She did a quick dip before running away. Danny was confused about her leaving but he just continued to wander the halls, most of the ghost ladies and eventually guys seemingly avoided him even when he just briefly looked at them. It wasn't until he bumped into Fright Knight, he backed away slowly and worried that the knight was going to send him to the nightmare realm. Frostbite told him he shouldn't fight so soon.
"Oh, hello my young prince, are you looking for his Majesty?" Danny weighed his options, since he finally got someone to speak to him he might as well just get this over with. Danny nodded and let Fright Knight guide him to Pariah's office. "My liege, the young prince is here to see you." A slight growl but an excited like pain vibrated in danny core. Danny was a little off put but Pariah looked like an actual king in a suit instead of the usual armor. He was filling out paperwork which Danny really didn't expect to see.
"It seems you have finally recovered boy." Pariah sounded annoyed but something gave Danny a different feeling. He gestured to the seat nearest to his desk, Danny sat quickly and watched as Fright Knight was dismissed and now it was the first time in weeks since he was alone with the guy. "Are you sure you are not about to hurl, child?" Danny shocked his head, he couldn't help but steal glances and wanted to curl up and explode. He felt a concerned tag on his core. He finally looked up at Pariah but couldn't read his face at all. "If you wish to ask something then speak."
"Why did you take me? Why didn't you just let me die like your original plan? You kept me alive and had someone both guard and watch my health. You are the sleeping tyrant this doesn't make any sense." Pariah stopped looking down at his paperwork and looked back up to Danny for the first time since he walked in. His eyes screamed anger and a tug of disappointment, well this is where Danny was going to die.
"Those humans have failed in duties in their parental roles. However you are correct, I am a tyrant. I have no shame and I know that I am one. I take what I want and have no remorse. I took you, made you my heir and don't care for others opinions. But boy I want you to be aware, just because I am a tyrant does not mean I will be a terrible father. I am many things but a monster of that scales I am not." Danny looked directly at him and he seemed genuine. Pariah seemed terrible at expressing emotions but being empathetic and with the connection. Danny stayed quiet and stared at the table in front of him, he decided to send a soft acknowledgement and a bit of upbeat emotions through the connection. He could tell that Pariah stilled at the message but he sent positive responses back. Danny was going to wave small graces.
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"Phantom, child, you should just sleep in your room if you are tired. You always insist on sleeping on this couch." Danny could feel the gentle nudge from Pariah. After almost 3 years, Danny got comfortable enough to bother Pariah on an almost daily basis especially once he started calling him Phantom more instead of boy. He could tell Pariah didn't mind and actually enjoyed him doing this.
"Don't wanna, observers being annoying, they won't find or force their way in here." Well crap Danny was way too drowsy, that was one of his few secrets and he didn't mean to let that drop. He could hear a low growl and feel suspicion creeping up on him. "Ugh, no. Ignore what I said, I'll go nap in the library or something." Danny tired getting up but he was pulling up from the couch. Pariah held Danny up like a cat while faced directly at him.
"Phantom, what exactly are you hiding from me? Those humans can't reopen the portal since you closed them. However you never spoke of any realm issues. So what is it?" Danny hated that he couldn't exactly lie to him, he tried but he always managed to figure it out, like the time someone tried to poison him and Pariah went on a rampage, he really tried avoiding this kind of stuff. "Phantom."
"It's nothing major, just the floating eyes keep trying to ask for things. I don't know, records or whatnot. Sometimes they try to get myself to sign things but I could never read them so when I tell them I will ask Pandora or Dora to read them to me but they just retract it." Danny couldn't help but groan a bit at the end, he hated how often they came to him. When he looked back up from his dangling prison he could see a very familiar facel expression. Someone was about to be erased from existence. "Please don't, the last time you did something like this the greek pantheon had to send replacement soldiers for the annual fighting festival."
"Child, you do not know what they wish for you to sign. They have receded their offers multiple times. If they don't even let you read those articles properly then do you not believe that is, as you say, 'sketchy'?" Pariah had a point, it was kinda weird but even if it was he didn't want people dying every time some weird happened to him. "Attempting harm on royalty is a death sentence. No harm may have come to you now but I will not let this go on for longer. Fright Knight, order the council of watchers to meet. I will be having a chat with them." Danny sighed, Pariah was going to drag him to this meeting. Normally Pariah would let him sit out of them since they were either boring or just straight nonsense and sometimes Pariah would skip with him, saying that it was dribble and a waste of time. Which he found funny because the master of time also spent as little as possible in those meetings if he did show up.
Once they made it to the meeting room, all the observers looked at him. He really hated that they didn't have any proper faces so he couldn't read them but he could tell they were slightly nervous, more than usual. Aside from the floating body parts, closer to the head of the meeting table were a few of his instructors, Pandora, his fighting instructor, Clockwork, his history teacher, Dorathea, his etiquette instructor and Frostbite, who also taught medical things since apparently he was considered very unhealthy. The others did the normal greeting to Pariah then a greeting to Danny which he hated, he didn't like feeling special but had to get used to people being slightly scared of him.
"My liege forgive me but why exactly are we here? There were no meetings scheduled per your requests." Dorathea spoke up, only her and Pandora could ever start a conversation going, they were nervous yes but they were strong too. Which is why Danny suspected Pariah let them be both his instructors and aide for when he needs them. They were both powerful and dependable, and nice in a not 'your dad paid me to spend time with you' kind of way.
"It has come to my attention that, some court members are trying to overthrow me through my son." Danny almost choked on air, when Pariah got possessive he didn't really hold back on words. What Danny slowly came to realize was that ghosts were blunt and Pariah was definitely always blunt. He never had a reason to lie. Just vague phrasing. However he himself hasn't come around to calling Pariah his Dad. "If you come clean now perhaps I will let you live." Danny knew this play and hated when Pariah used it, especially when he was in the room. Soon enough Pariah had manhandled all the observers, giving a royal decree that anyone with shameless plans to harm and use Danny would be stripped of their powers and statues no matter what why try using Danny for.
Royal Decree made it so that no one no matter who could disobey the king and suffer the consequences instantly and indefinitely. As much as he disliked it, it was an alternative he could get behind. Danny lost a bit of morals the more he stayed in the infinite realm but from what his teachers say, apparently Pariah has been getting better even if it is slow, better as a king. He still had his tyranny moments but they were mostly in defense of someone being stupid enough to harm or even speak rudely about Danny. He felt more at ease however and he assumed Pariah took notice. He motioned for Danny to follow him and they ended up back in his office. Pariah took a book off the shelves to read, instead of making his way to his usual chair or desk, he moved towards the couches. With Pariah taking up his favorite spot on the couch he favored, he decided to be a little gremlin. So Danny pushed Pariah's book upwards and laid himself over Pariah's legs like a cat disrupting work. If it had been 3 years ago Danny would have been screaming at his current self but now Danny was too comfortable and passed out then and there. Pariah was huge compared to his ghost form but he still acted gentle when handling him. When Danny started doing this Pariah would avoid doing anything as if he was worried Danny would break but now, he would continue his read and pet Danny head to soothe him to sleep. For the teen hero and the universal hated tyrant, this would have been the oddest site to anyone not in the know.
"Phantom," Danny hummed in response. "I do understand you do enjoy taking many naps, but they are starting to get excessive." Danny purred thoughtfully but wasn't sure what Pariah was getting at. "I've called for Frostbite to do your annual checkup early." He just hummed since he knows Pariah did the same 2 years ago. Danny continued to lay there until Frostbite arrived. He pouted when he had to get up, he was going to have a longer nap, this was the second time it was interrupted today. Normally Danny would go to his room for the checkup but Pariah insisted them to stay. Once Frostbite did a one over he mentioned everything was fine, except for one thing.
"My what is what?" Danny stared at his teacher in disbelief.
"Well my young prince, since you are half human you can only go so long without feeding it. I know this is not ideal but he would need to visit the human realm, your Majesty. For a very long stay, he hasn't given his other half energy in 3 years and it seems to start taking a toll on his ghostly half. Since halfa natures aren't as well known, we should get your treatment started early, less the symptoms get worse." Frostbite explained but Danny just spaced out after the mention of the human realm. He didn't want to go back home, that world wasn't exactly his home anymore. He couldn't go back there, it was already dangerous enough when he closed the portals. He was only there for brief moments and he could already tell how insane the people who raised him had gotten. Danny grabbed ahold of Pariah's sleeve with a shaky grip. His mind was racing.
"Dad please, I don't want to go back there." He was too stressed to tell what he was saying, Pariah sent soothing waves to him and went to pat his head. Danny lost force but he assumed he passed out because when he reawakened he was laying in his comfy spot on the couch with a big jacket over him. He could hear whispers in the room, he looked over to where they were going from to see his instructor Pandora and Clockwork. Pandora took notice that he was awake and gave him a slight wave.
"Phantom, you are awake. Son do you feel well?" Oh that was new, Pariah calling him son unironically. Danny moved slowly to get up, he didn't feel like speaking so he just shrugged. "I see, well in turn your instructors have informed me of an alternative." Always down to business with this guy, Danny silently giggled to himself. Once he fully sat up he waited for an explanation.
Apparently Miss Pandora came from an alternate dimensional version of Earth. One where paranormal and supernatural were normally, even had aliens now. They have laws to protect them from the government and even then they had systems in place on an almost galactic scale for protection. He would go to that dimension on vacation until he was better, they had a city picked out and everything, according to Frostbite and Clockwork the city had ambient ectoplasm to keep his ghostly half satisfied during his stay. Danny looked over at Pariah, there was no way he would leave him alone. Despite his much earlier reserves against the man he didn't want to go alone but he couldn't exactly ask the king of all the realms to ditch the crown for a bit to go with him. So he just looked away and asked what else he would be needing.
"Young prince, it would be for the best to ask your question now instead of holding out." Clockwork chuckled. Danny hated when he vaguely called him out. During his month of recovery, Frostbite and an assistant of his taught essentially the dead version of sign language and he really didn't feel like talking so he signed to Clockwork first saying 'you are mean' then silently giggled. He faced Pariah and slowly signed asking him to go with Danny. Only if he wanted to of course. Pariah didn't respond, he just stared. For the first time in a while Danny didn't feel anything in the connection so he was slightly worried. He was about to sign to tell Pariah to forget it but he felt a very hard tug on his core. Holy crap he was extremely happy, Danny tiled his head a bit at Pariah.
"Very well, however this form will not do. The last thing my son needs is stress in his recovery." Danny could tell he was trying so hard not to smile which made Danny smile. Clockwork chuckled and set a plan in motion for the king to receive a body of his own but it would make him a halfa, Pariah looked slightly indifferent before accepting anyway. Danny squinted over to his desk and signed asking Pariah about his work. "Child, I am a tyrant. I can do whatever that pleases me. This had no obligation to be done now or ever, I chose when to work." So his Pariah translator is just that he really doesn't want to do that paperwork. He looked at Pariah smugly and the king just looked away.
It took a while for preparations, both for Danny and Pariah. Pariah adjusted to the new form rather quickly, even though his was still human he was rather tall. Danny pouted, since he was a young ghost and died at 14 his form didn't change at all and since his human form was the equivalent of malnourished he was still short as he was when he was 14. He was 17 now almost 18 and he was a small 5'4 next to a 6'5 giant. Technus, the tech ghost had to both set up identities and bank accounts for both of them. Danny was going to stick with Danny, honestly happy that he could finally have his nickname as his actual name. Pariah however was annoyed, Danny signed to him that he couldn't use his actual name. What if they were to be caught for some reason, he shouldn't just go around saying he was Pariah Dark. Pariah in turn told Danny to pick his name. Danny stared at Pariah for a good long minute before grabbing a piece of paper and giving the note to Technus. Once they got their IDs and money handled they were ready to set off. Pariah couldn't stop staring at his ID and Danny could feel a wave of pride and rejoice. At least he knew the king liked his choice. Now their new life awaits them.
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Danny didn't exactly realize how insanely hungry he was until they actually ordered and paid for the food. Human food. They weren't sure how much Danny would need but Pariah let him pick whatever he wanted. He also made sure Pariah had some, he was human now too.
"This food tastes, odd. Child careful I do not wish for you to choke. Drink water." Looking at him properly now, Pariah kinda looked like a supermodel. How is this supposed to be lowkey exactly? He didn't know. They were living in a mansion in a rich part of town. Honestly they were not going to last on the no drawing attention card and he could feel it. For such a big house Pariah only asked for 2 maids and a butler, Danny was never going to live a normal life again was he? Eventually after eating so much food he was stuffed, the pre-furnished manor had everything slightly smaller in the rooms already. Danny's room still stuck with the space theme and he was more than happy to have another star map as a weighted blanket. Resting on his bed he grabbed a device that according to Technus was this world technology. He loved tinkering with new gadgets, his old photo was a flip phone he only ever saw phones like this in the hands of A-listers. Danny decided to set up what he knew to make but wasn't sure about the apps on the device. It dawned on him, he would have to teach Pariah how to use a phone. He laughed at the thought. He heard a knock on the door and he looked up to said man standing in the doorway. "Bath. Now. I can't believe you sat on your freshly made bed when you look like a homeless rat. Come."
Granted he had a point. He hadn't taken a human shower in years, he spent the next 3 hours getting scrubbed head to toe. Even though his closet has some clothes (mostly suits.) he had managed to find an oversized sweater and some shorts. He didn't like to be overly dressed and he found it comfortable. Once Pariah had stopped nagging he was finally able to walk around the manor. He made it back to the front entrance when he heard a knock. They weren't expecting anyone and his ghost sense didn't go off. He went invisible and intangible to take a peek, 2 guys. They looked rich-like, must have been neighbors. Danny phased back to open the door.
"Can?" The words were failing to come out and Danny felt like just shutting the door there but that would have been rude. The older man looked slightly shocked to see him, the young man looked almost unnerved. He wasn't sure why they reacted like that but they quickly changed their facel expression. Their body language didn't help them though.
"Oh hello, my name is Dick Grayson, this is my younger brother Tim. We live on the property next to you guys." So he was right, neighbors. He heard steps behind him to see Pariah looking mildly annoyed at the door, he was free, he couldn't speak but Pariah could. He signed to Pariah that they were neighbors and to be nice, he heard a low gasp behind him.
"Hm, who are you two?" Dick seemed to stumble a bit and Tim just completely reeled back. He wasn't sure if it was because of his overwhelming height or just because Pariah was just intimidating. Dick reintroduced himself to Pariah and he just scowled. He could see Tim choke on air but hide it well. He had no clue what was going on. Danny tugged on Pariah, then signed to introduce themselves to them as good manners. Dick looked very intensely at him and it kinda made him uncomfortable but he bared with it for his sanity. "My name is Vesper Nightingale and this is my son, Danny." Pariah sounded so proud of his name, Danny couldn't help but snort. Dick (how unfortunate of a name) grabbed his brother and excused themselves to not intrude any further. Danny was concerned but didn't think much of it. He needed to do more reach though.
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Dick was reeling, more like a mild spiral but it was close enough. Bruce has sent Tim and Dick to "kindly" introduce themselves to their new neighbors and possibly get it but they failed so hard. They didn't even make it past the door. They sped up the pace until they were back in Wayne manor. Dick grabbed Tim who looked ready to just explode and dragged themselves to the library where the other siblings and bruce were.
"We come bearing news!" Dick sounded chirper but the fact they were back so soon made the other tense a bit.
"Fuck it being news, i feel like I was just sent through time." A slight Language from Alfred and a quick apology from Tim. Dick didn't really need to focus on that right now.
"Ok for one, yeah we are back sooner than originally planned but that's more because of how absolutely unnerving our new neighbors are." Dick started off.
"Unnerving in what sense?" Steph said while stealing popcorn from Duke he swatted her hands away.
"Firstly, the mansion looks like it had a whole new remodel. It has that dark Gotham aesthetic still but it's darker. It almost feels like an evil lair when dude why? Secondly when we got to the front door, get this, a young B stepped out. Like literally a carbon copy of Bruce but small. He looked 15 at best." Slight shock face with a bit of annoyance from Damian. "And before we jump on B for having another love child, the kid's Dad came out. And that's when we really started to panic. The guy looked almost exactly like gramps. Like exactly Thomas Wayne. Down to the Wayne scowl it was so unnerving I decided we should come back." Once he finished he looked over to Bruce who looked almost too still. He was tempted not to give him the footage from the body cam but Babs already sent it to the group chat. Once she did all the siblings pulled up the video and were met with the mild horror that Dick wasn't joking. Cass who was perched on Bruce's armrest bent down slightly to show Bruce the video and his breathing hitched.
"That isn't ASL or even BSL actually that doesn't look like any sign language we know." Duke pointed out and he would be correct. The bats studied multiple forms of sign language one for their sister Cass and two for missions abroad and in non euro places. Dick was trying to figure out what sign the kid was using but he couldn't figure it out before they left.
"We really didn't get much from that, even their file is a bit odd. Old money moving to Gotham from overseas. Poland specifically. There's no mother listed on the kid certificate. Plus Vesper and Danny, not exactly Polish names yea? Not a Polish accent either and the file says they were born and raised there " The siblings agreed, they all looked at Bruce who looked like he was going to have a break down. His very dead parent just appeared from thin air living right next door with essentially a younger version of himself anyone would be mildly disturbed by that. Bruce was disturbed.
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4 days since they rejoined the land of the living and Danny was having a conundrum. They haven't left the house since they got here. They ordered in and nothing more. The weird neighbors stopped by once more 2 days ago with different kids, Stephanie Damian and Duke (which Danny later found out was because there were about 7 kids from that neighbor alone.) They all seem to stutter and look at him bazaar as if he was an alien. It honestly annoyed him so if they were to stop by he wasn't going to bother saying anything to them and just let Pariah handle them. Usually when Pariah appeared they would scram from he noticed. Perks for being intimidating he guessed. As of today he was again in the front hall reading a book on the stairs. He never understood why he liked sitting here but he did. They finally had the doorbell set up, and then it rang. Danny just stared at the door as the Butler (Michael as he recently learned) answered the door.
"Good evening, I don't mean to show up unannounced but I was wondering if we could speak with the owner of the home?" Danny tried looking past Micheal, the voice was too old to be any of the weird kids. That's when Danny noticed Michael was staring in his direction, a plea? Danny wasn't sure if they should let the guy in, he signed to Michael to make him wait outside and Michael nodded. As those two continued their conversation he tugged on his connection with Pariah. In two minutes he was standing at the top of the steps.
"Michael who is it?" Pariah sounded tired, Danny wonders if he was sleeping properly. Pariah made his way down the stairs before stopping next to Michael, Danny couldn't see anything with both men in the doorway. Danny could hear mild gasps and apologizes and a few whispers. Whatever was said made the next few movements weird, Pariah had let the guy in. Danny is very confused, and closes his book. The man was slightly shorter than Pariah but he kinda looked like him. It was uncanny in a sense. Bruce Wayne, their neighbor with a billion kids was in their home. Behind him was a girl with short black hair. He didn't recognize her instantly but she was Cassandra from what he read. The silent ballerina and the only daughter of Bruce Wayne. Danny didn't really see it before in the pictures he searched but he could see a weird resemblance between Bruce and Pariah. He didn't like that. Pariah signaled him to come over. Danny followed far behind until they made it to the sitting room for guests.
"You've said you had a lot to speak of, this is our first encounter but your children are as unpleasant as they are, showed up unannounced seemingly getting it from you." Danny tried so hard not to laugh at Pariah's bluntness and Bruce's shocked face. The girl, Cass stared at him with a blank expression. He couldn't read her at all. She started signing to him in English. It was probably good that Frostbite taught him ASL as well.
He greeted her and she smiled. The first real expression he got from her. She asked him how old he was, he told her 17. She frowned and signed too tiny. He laughed and signed to her that his Dad would agree with her. She asked him what he meant and he told her that Pariah has been saying that for the last 3 years about him and basically babying him. She looked over at the adults who were in their own world before signing safe to him. He was confused, were his neighbors coming by so much because they thought he wasn't safe? Pariah was at worse overprotective as hell but he was better to Danny than his bio parents have ever been. He looked at her seriously before signing safe. She nodded.
"Will your son be attending the academy?" Danny finally tuned into the adult conversation and was instantly stunned. Danny hadn't really thought about going back to school, he looked over to Pariah who looked back at him. Pariah signed to him in their SL if he wanted to. Danny asked if he had to and Pariah told him no, it was his vacation after all so he was to decide what to do with it. Danny quickly thought of a pro and con list before asking Pariah if they would be able to cater to his nonverbal moments. Pariah asked Bruce and Bruce explained how that school worked. Of course not all teachers are the perfect model of perfection but he didn't exactly dislike school. He was going to take his chances and nodded to Pariah.
The rest of the conversation drifted between Danny and Cass getting to know each other, Danny learning more about his neighbors and the notion that he would most likely be starting his senior year with Duke Thomas the only other Wayne in highschool at the moment. He wasn't exactly disappointed to be spending his first year on this earth in school. Lucky for them, it wasn't for another 2 months until it started, summer break just started. After the Wayne's left Pariah seemed off.
"What's wrong?" Danny asked him and he looked at him like he was looking for something. Pariah reached out to give him a pat most likely to tell him it was nothing but that wasn't like him, he was blunt and honest. "No, tell me what's wrong, something is bothering you." Danny batted away his hand.
"The girl, she asked you if you were safe with me didn't she?" Oh so he did notice that. Was Pariah having doubts about being a good parent? Danny was going to explode that dumb question with his mind if he could help it.
"So? Her question was based on baseless assumptions. After all you're a tyrant not a monster, right?" Danny grinned and Pariah just scoffed and ruffled his hair. That was much better, sulking didn't suit his dad at all. Huh, Dad. Danny started referencing him more as dad lately. He likes that title on him more. "Since you said this is my vacation, can we travel? At least until school starts. Being stuck in the house isn't much fun." Pariah looked at him, considering it before dragging Danny to his new office.
"Yes we can, I see you don't like our neighbors much son." Danny scoffed looking at Pariah offended and Pariah just deadpanned him in response. "I felt that possessive tug when the father walked in, child. There is no fooling me." Danny flopped on the couch and laid on his stomach while Pariah continued. "They are a nosy bunch. If you wish to travel to another state however, we will need to contain the energy here and bring it with us." That Danny could do.
"When was the last time you slept?"
"What?" Pariah was thrown off by the question.
"When was the last time you went to sleep, on a bed? Under covers and blankets." What Danny realized, Pariah didn't sleep often. Not even as a ghost. Ghosts don't really need to sleep but as humans they do. Danny looked up to see Pariah looking away from him. He hadn't slept at all since they got here. "I knew it. Forget plans, that can wait. You are going to bed. It's time to take a nap." Pariah looked like he was going to protest but Danny dragged him anyway. Seeing a short kid drag an adult he was very much double his size across the manor would have been the weirdest sight but the staff were used to their little prince dragging their king around.
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First stop on the Danny vacation was a city called Metropolis. According to his research, the city hero was an alien. That got him all sorts of excited, so much so that Pariah was getting slightly annoyed every second. The fact that Metropolis was Illinois of all places made Danny smile. He misses his home state even though Amity Park didn't exist in this world. Along their tour of the city they stopped at a tall building called the daily planet. From what Cass told him they have a friend there that could shop them around the city. Ever since their first week on earth, Danny made friends with Cass and Duke. Cass because they were super similar and Duke to know someone at school. Cass felt like a cool older sister and Duke was just as interested in technology as he was. In the realms Danny didn't really have anyone around his age so they were a good change of pace.
"HELLO- Oh wow I thought he was joking when he told me." A super tall man came out of the daily planet. Clark Kent and behind him, his wife Lois. From what Danny learned Lois was ruthless when it came to people she disliked and a very heavy truth seeker. When Lois looked over at him and shifted to be behind Pariah. Pariah looked at Clark unamusing, who instantly went to apologize. "Bruce kinda told us you guys have an uncanny vibe to you. It feels like we've met before but that couldn't be right?" He laughed but Danny can definitely hear the nerves.
Lois walked over and bent down a bit while waving at Danny. She signed at him and was slightly caught off guard. She asked him if he would like some food. They had already eaten so he declined, he asked her why she was signing back and she chuckled, she responded by saying she wanted him to be comfortable. She didn't like leaving people out and wanted him to feel included. Danny felt a bit appreciated by that. Lois pinched Clark and they started the news reporter tour. Pariah and Danny kept their distance but stayed along the line. Until they came across a tv shop playing clips from the last battle of Superman verse that week's villain. Danny stopped and stayed watching gaining the attention of the adults.
"He's a fan?" Danny nodded aggressively but didn't stray from the tv.
"He has an odd fascination with the extraterrestrial." Pariah said with a bit of snark, Danny looked away from the tv to glare at him. He started to aggressively sign to him about enjoying space and why he was extremely happy about aliens and how he wanted to meet one. Pariah scoffed signing back that he has literally met deities and being from other realms and Danny just blew a raspberry at him. Going back to watch the clips. "As you can see, he is aggressively passionate for them." Clark chuckled and Lois elbowed him.
"How about this, we set up a meeting? You can meet one of the supers!" Danny's attention snapped back to Clark. Clark was worried the kid snapped his neck turning that fast but he could see the stars in Danny's eyes. Danny was basically on cloud nine now. "I don't think we could get in contact with Superman right now but one of the Superboys?" Clark looked over to Lois who just rolled her eyes before pulling her phone and walking off a bit. Clark guided them to a park picnic table. Danny kept bouncing up and down and Pariah held him down a bit before he started to float. When Lois finally joined them a few minutes passed and a strong gust of wind landed near the table. A guy in a leather jacket was floating and crossed arm. His crooked grin and sunglasses made him look like a stereotypical bad boy.
"Yo, oh wow that is trippy." He looked at Danny and Pariah. Danny wanted to get up but he felt overbearing possessiveness pretty much pouring out his dad. He patted Pariah on the arm making him look down at Danny before letting go. He kept mumbling curses and Danny couldn't help but giggle. Danny walked to Superboy and he waved. Superboy bent down to pick Danny up a bit to give the kid a hug and Danny could have sworn he heard Pariah growl. When Danny was set back down he unloaded many signs before Lous cut him off and told him to go slow. The rest of his evening was his questions getting answered by Superboy. When they finally arrived at the hotel they were staying at, away from the Kents and the supers. Pariah snatched Danny and kept him by his side for the rest of the trip. Danny kept teasing him about being possessive but he couldn't deny he loved that his dad cared about him. Worried someone was going to snatch him away when even his own parents didn't even notice when he went missing.
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A few more stops, a trip cross country and back they finally landed in their final destination, the capital Washington D.C. Danny dragged Pariah through the National Air and Space Museum explaining everything in great detail, Pariah chipped in here and there but he rather listened to his son's rambles. Eventually he asked Pariah if there were any museums he was interested in and he looked over to the National Museum of Natural History. They wander through the museum and overheard multiple guides. They reached the greek and Roman gallery and Danny gushed over the paintings of Pandora. They were going to leave without issue until.
"Everyone gets down on the ground." Danny looked at the men in black that were holding weapons. Pariah growled and mumbled about killing the people that dare intrude on their vacation but Danny waved him down to stop him from performing mass murder. Danny and Pariah sat next to a mother and her daughter. The little girl looked scared out of her mind but Danny distracted her by making origami out of the pamphlets they received. Honestly why people robbed museums always annoyed Danny. So many of the dead were more than happy that people were able to learn their stories and that they didn't die in vain. It was actually the largest reason so many ghosts were able to move on. They were avenged or their stories were told and mortals only wanted it for selfish reasons.
"That will be enough." A woman's voice boomed throughout the room. When Danny looked up to see where it was coming from the little girl next to him gasped. Gushing and holding on to her mom saying Wonder Woman has come to save them. On Danny and Pariah's travels they really didn't come across the heroes. At least not get into situations that made them play damsel. The mother tried calming down her daughter, but it was too late one of the robbers noticed. In a fit of panic of being caught by one of the major heroes the robber grabbed the little girl and used her as a hostage. Fatal mistake doing that in front of Danny.
"Young man you do not want to do that." Wonder woman approached cautiously. Danny didn't really care however, Danny elbowed the man in the face, he dropped unconscious and dropped his hold on the little girl. The other robbers didn't realize he snuck up on them. They tried aiming at the guns at him but Pariah and Wonder woman were quicker. The hostages started running for the exit while Danny handed the little crying girl back to her mother. The police came in and took the robbers, the police wanted statements from Danny and Pariah but Wonder Woman talked them out of it.
"Apologies but may I speak with both of you for a moment?" Danny was about to get scolded so hard. He looked over to Pariah who solely nodded before walking to the courtyard. Wonder Woman really reminded him a lot of Pandora. A warrior of ancient Greece. The strong and most formidable opponent. Damnit Danny wanted to spar with her. He shook off his ghost instincts and shoved them into the back of his mind. "Normally I would be giving you both a long and lengthy talk about getting involved in such a dangerous situation." Oh there is a but. "But, i see you young warrior, your technique. That was Pankration wasn't it? I haven't seen anyone outside of my home fight like that for ages. Do tell, where did you learn your method?" She was curious about his fighting abilities? He was so ready to get in trouble that he caught him off guard.
"Danny you are bleeding." Pariah lifted his arm sleeves to reveal a stab wound. He didn't remember getting stabbed and he didn't even feel it. He was very confused, he turned back to Wonder Woman who told him to nevermind her questions and escorted him and his dad to the nearest ambulance. Pariah kept fussing over him but at the moment he just noted that his favorite hero was definitely Wonder Woman.
Danny and Pariah had finally made it home from their 2 month trip across the country. He wondered what his school year was about to be like. He finally grew a bit too. Filled out more during his trip that Duke was caught so off guard when he came back, cass said he looked good and gave him double thumps. Danny couldn't help but laugh at Duke. He was definitely about to have the best school year.