Chapter 1
Danny was floating in space.
He just needed to get away. It had been his death day after all, so...Danny ventured out into space, revelling in the comfort his stars brought.
He'd just finished up a mission Clockwork had sent him on but...it had taken place the same year he lost Ellie. He'd been sent to the other end of the world but still...he watched the clock anxiously as he went about his mission. Even if he could've saved her Danny knew...he couldn't.
He was the Ghost King, he knew better than most how inevitable death was and even though he let her go...he'd still felt it again. The moment his precious little sister ceased to exist. And then...his own scream echoed in his ears.
When he caught his target he was...much more agressive than usual with them. After delivering them to Clockwork he returned to the land of the living...and floated beyond the atmosphere, letting himself float aimlessly in space.
There was such a freedom in how he felt. Weightless, floating, unburdened, unpressured. Lacking wrath and grief and heartbreak.
As he floated through space he wasn't Danny. The boy who would do anything and had done everything for those he loved.
He wasn't Phantom. The hero who just couldn't stop.
He wasn't Daniel Fenton. The boy desperate for love and attention his parents were incapable of giving.
He wasn't Daniel Masters. The boy who loved his former enemy but who could not forgive and who could certainly not forget.
He wasn't Danny Phantom. The lone survivor. After all...there was no Danny Phantom without his fellow Phantoms. There was no Danny Phantom without Dan Phantom and Danielle Phantom.
He wasn't King Phantom. The ghost who would gladly shoulder the responsibilities of his people.
He could just...be.
★・・・★・・・★
One moment he was chilling in space the next he was getting grabbed. He came into space to be alone and yet even here he couldn't avoid the intricacies of social interaction.
"Can I help you?" Danny frowned at the figure who held him.
"You're-you're conscious!" The figure, engulfed in green gawked down at him.
"So are you," Danny pointed out.
"Well yeah but," They shook off their surprise, "Were you attacked? Hurt? Are you alright? What're you doing out here, kiddo?"
"I wanted to be alone," Danny blinked.
"Alone," The figure continued, "But...you're not in danger? You're not hurt?"
"No, sir," Danny pursed his lips.
"Oh, um, alright," The figure loosened their hold but Danny, who had not interacted with a Living in probably forever, was uncertain on how to act so...he stayed in his arms, he didn't want to offend the guy who was trying to help him, afterall, "You sure, kid?"
"I'm sure, sir."
"What, um, planet are you from?" The figure winced as they asked that.
"I live on Earth."
"Do you...want an escort back?" The man continued awkwardly.
"No thank you, sir. I can get back on my own just fine."
"Are you s..." The figure's voice died in their throat, eyes glued to Danny's hand, resting on his chest as he remained, awkwardly held in the figure's arms.
Danny followed the stranger's gaze. They were staring at his hand, his finger, his Ring of Rage. It looked unique and pretty, Danny knew, but was it really worth being so distracting in space?
Danny's own gaze fell to the man's right hand, under his legs. Or more accurately Danny's gaze landed on the glowing green ring on the man's middle finger.
Ah. Danny's gaze darted between their two rings. This man's green ring was not the same as Danny's Ring of Rage but he figured to Mortal eyes, unable to see the intricate designs of ectoplasm within the ring it did look much the same.
Danny knew then...this man wouldn't be letting him go anytime soon.