It's time for lore y'all, who's excited? No one? Well, that's unfortunate!

Onwards!

Part 7:

Two months ago, Dani had gotten word that her only real family was dead. Danny had died in a tragic accident, the rumours said, caught up in the spew of misfortune several pessimistic scholars - Ghostwriter, mainly - had predicted would once again follow Pariah Dark's defeat. Skulker had fallen victim to it, and taken Danny along with him. They were the first of many. Pockets of madness had been popping up all around the Ghost Zone, and those who survived them came back with obsessions twisted to violence.

Most didn't survive, though.

Despite all that, somehow, Danny had come back human.

She'd taken Sam and Tucker - and unfortunately, since he wouldn't leave, Vlad - back to the Far Frozen's village to get the full story. Frostbite had shown up early on, and hoisted Dani onto his shoulders so they could listen together.

"If you had let me speak to you instead of kicking me to the side, you would know this already." Vlad said, like anyone cared about what he had to say.

"If you had never angered the Ghost King, this would not be happening." Frostbite replied. "I know the ghost who is harassing your friend. Come, I will tell you a story. His name is Infinite Hour; this is not the first time he has appeared, and will not be the last."

"But who is he?" Sam pressed.

"One of the Ancients," Dani said, "but it gets more complicated than that."

.-.

Danny was in the Ghost Zone.

Huh, he looked at his hand, and then raised it to the gag still on his mouth. It was still stuck on - and trying to pull it off hurt. He lowered his hand and poked the bite wound that his advanced healing had already almost taken care of. Okay. Guess I won't be meeting Candice this time. He pulled out his phone and added another point to the list.

7) I stay in the same world when I teleport. (Human world to human world, ghost zone to ghost zone).

He'd ended up on an island, decorated with several now-fallen purple trees. To his left, there was a small gap of empty space before a sheer and jagged cliff face, which had its top obscured by green fog. To his right, there was a giant, untouched, dark red castle. The grounds were huge, and the architecture was fantastic - it looked so much cooler than Clockwork's weird secret towers. It also looked familiar.

Danny narrowed his eyes and limped over the fallen trees. He knew that castle. He held up a thumb, and tried to obscure some of the outer buildings. It didn't really help, but beside that, there was a group of skeletons standing on each other's shoulders trying to wash a window.

Danny jumped, tripping over a tree and landing harshly on his back. He scrambled away from Pariah's Keep, reaching the edge of the island before he remembered that he was human and couldn't fly. The Keep was maybe a hundred yards away, a bit further up than his island was, and intact and populated. Pariah Dark was probably there. Them meeting would definitely be some sort of paradox - also, Pariah would probably just straight up murder him.

Danny scratched at the gag on his mouth, shoved a few fallen trees over, and started building himself a fort to wait this out in.

It was weird, though. Pariah Dark was old. Like, Clockwork-old. Well, maybe not that old, but still. Had his time travel powers actually taken him back over two thousand years?

.-.

There were many caves in the Far Frozen. Most of their interiors were decorated with paintings and carvings; Sam and Tucker had seen a couple before, in the cavern that documented Danny's fight against Pariah and the walls that protected the Infi Map. The one Frostbite led them to was older than both.

Five outlines were painted on the wall, existing as faceless figures with a few distinguishing traits. One was shorter and rounder than the others, with black hair that went just past her shoulders. Her skin was blue, and her clothes were a mix of navy and black. She looked like she was in shorts and a t-shirt.

"The common name for this woman is Raine, due to her resemblance to a much younger ghost with the same name whom Pariah would later slaughter that she showed an attachment to. She was careful never to provide her real one where others could hear." Frostbite said, "She excelled with telekinesis, and once reportedly paralyzed a battalion of Pariah Dark's skeletons with a simple snap of her fingers."

Beside her was an apparent man with pale skin and clothing in various shades of brown. He was thin and stringy, with his stick-like stature standing out among the other figures.

"For this man, his given name is based from a fragment of an overheard conversation. He is known as Turn, and was a medic. He saved many ghosts from a second death."

Another man, a bit taller and stockier than the previous one. He was blue-skinned as well, with white hair. His colour scheme was more blues and purples.

"Clockwork?" Tucker asked.

"No," Frostbite said, "although you are not the first to assume a connection. The Master of Time enters this tale later, but this man was given the name Stop. He was skilled in many fighting styles, including the fabled Time Power of Reality Manipulation. He could create an illusion that would fool any human or ghostly sense he chose."

Sam and Tucker nodded like they understood. Vlad wisely chose not to interrupt.

Beside him was a smaller woman in a white robe and dark red boots. Her skin was bronze, and her smoky hair was painted into a wispy braid over one shoulder that nearly reached her waist.

"This is Hourglass," Frostbite said, "she was the only one to willingly give her name. She was their leader, and the face of their actions. She spoke often to anyone who would listen about her companions, and her enemies."

Vlad nodded, gesturing for him to continue. "Yes, so I suppose you've saved the one we came here for for last?"

Frostbite and Dani glared at him for several uncomfortable seconds.

It was clear that the last figure was Infinite. He was taller than all the others, and more broad shouldered. The drawing showed his hair, and had his cloak wrapped around his body. His shirt and pants were barely visible under it. He was the most detailed out of all of them.

"Wait," Sam said, "You said their leader was the only one who gave her name. Is Infinite another nickname?"

"No," Frostbite said, "unfortunately, it is not. Most leaders in the Ghost Zone have encountered this man; I am no exception. In our first meeting he told me I'd be cool, and to 'break an arm, or leg, whichever was more convenient.' He also told me to 'enjoy all the two-handed things the world had to offer' before he left." He scowled at his right arm, which was made of ice. "Those confusing predictions are commonplace when dealing with him."

"But," Dani took over, "these are the five people usually mean when they're talking about the Ancients! They're the ones who stopped the war."

"But just the war," Vlad explained, looking down to Sam and Tucker. "They did nothing to stop the aftermath."

"Hey, shut up." Dani scowled, "You came here to hear our story. If you want to stay, then I don't want to hear a word from you."

Vlad opened his mouth, closed it, and blessed the cavern with the beautiful absence of his voice.

Dani huffed, and turned to Danny's friends. "They didn't start the war either. That part is credited to Warrior Boy and Dark." She pointed to the other side of the cavern, where two familiar figures stood out among a faceless crowd.

One, who looked far too much like Danny Fenton. And another, who was far too much like Danny Phantom.

.-.

The gag was still on his mouth, and Danny still hid under several fallen trees. He'd started playing on his phone after waiting for twenty minutes, and now had less than fifteen percent of his battery power.

He nearly missed when part of the Keep exploded.

.-.

The cave paintings called the one who looked like Fenton Warrior Boy, and Phantom Dark. Allegedly, Dark had protested the names, but Warrior Boy had silenced him. He'd had some sort of control over the ghost that no one could understand - and there were doubts that Warrior Boy himself was a ghost at all. They didn't believe he was human, either. No one knew what he was.

The first series of paintings showed them among a faceless crowd, Warrior Boy always at the lead. Frostbite told his tale.

"Warrior Boy and Dark are a mysterious couple. Some reports claim they started the rebels, other that they were merely taken in to their ranks. Regardless of their origin, the two were tasked with something deemed impossible to most ghosts: breaching Pariah Dark's shields, and stealing his family away before the true revolution could begin."

Sam's breath caught in her throat. "His family?"

Frostbite gave a small, slow nod. "Yes. Pariah Dark had a wife, and she had two young children. The rebels that formed had no issues with them, and many thought the Queen would make a better leader. Nearly all remaining records of their plans state that the pair were to get the three of them out so that others could be dispatched to deal with the King." He continued on, gesturing towards another painting; Warrior Boy had a knife aimed at chest of an elegantly painted smoky-haired woman in red and black, with red energy circling her hands. Two small forms lied in lumps at their feet. "While Dark led the king away, Warrior Boy had his own agenda. None of the family survived the night."

.-.

A hooded figure launched themself away from the Keep and landed on Danny's island, far too close to his hiding place. Danny caught a brief look at his face, and nearly screamed - the gag was the only thing that stopped him. It was like looking in a mirror; a shorter, stockier mirror, with a nose that had obviously been broken several times, but it was still his face.

He was in a black hoodie - modern - and ectoplasm-stained jeans. He had converse, also stained. It was also over a thousand years before any of those would exist.

But to make matters worse, he held a toddler and a small boy in his arms, both of which scream-sobbed in old ghost - the earpieces Danny had nearly forgotten about buzzed, and Danny caught a few of their words: Dad. Mom. Home. Please.

"Oh God," okay, that was just English. Why did this dude know English two thousand years in the past? "Okay. Okay. It's gonna be okay, everything's okay, just fine, hunky-dory, oh darn that is the worst saying. Nobody wants to think about buff fish." He shifted the children, the toddler - a little girl, with ribbons tying her smoky hair in place and bright red eyes - broke a hand free and did her best to punch him. Repeatedly. "Hafia please don't murder me I know know you're only three but I promised your brother I wouldn't so you owe me the same." Her brother, who was older by maybe two years, was also stained with patches of ectoplasm and was just staring at her in horror. Curly white hair hung in his face, and tears slipped from wide eyes. The little boy's eyes drifted towards Danny, and he reached a pinned arm towards him.

Danny swallowed and tried to call out, but once again, was stopped by the gag. He started trying to struggle out of his fort.

"Everything is awful and I hate it. Oh jeez, alrighty, two for three - I'm a good person. It was an accident. I'm okay. Castalia can fight me no one else is dying." His lookalike took a deep breath in, and let a deeper breath out. The little girl kept screaming, and begging for her mother.

There was a furious scream in the distance.

"Ahahaha I'm gonna die," his lookalike whined, and closed his eyes. "Why did we put the box up there? Screw you history, I should've brought a jetpack. Fudge the system." When he opened his eyes again, and they were glowing red. He went back to running.

Danny finally pushed the logs off of himself and struggled to his feet. He shoved his phone back in his pocket and scrambled after his lookalike. The smaller man took a flying leap off the edge of the island, shifting the children as he grabbed onto the cliff face. He struggled to keep his grip as he started to climb, and the little girl fought the whole way.

.-.

The paintings showed Warrior Boy kneeling in front of Pariah Dark, his black fabrics stained green. "When the King found him, Warrior Boy confessed to his sins and begged for forgiveness. However, before Pariah could take revenge," Frostbite gestured to the next painting. Hourglass stood between the two, blocking Pariah Dark's mace with a battle axe. Four of the five other figures were there as well, orbiting the piece. Infinite was not one of them. "Hourglass stepped in, and said a phrase that has since been recorded hundreds of times." It was written underneath the painting. Dani read it aloud.

"'His mistake isn't as bad as you think. Please, listen to me, I just want to help.'" She said, "Kind of a weird and mean thing to say to someone who just had his entire family murdered by your friend, right? But what's actually weird is that Pariah hadn't killed anyone yet."

Frostbite picked up where she'd left off, "He had made some undesirable policies, never followed through on his promise to overthrow the Observants, and was more focused on the Master of Time and treasure hunting than the ghosts he should have been representing, but he was not violent." He gestured to the paintings, "as you can see, Infinite Hour is missing from these scenes. This is because, apparently, some time between when the Ancients 'left' - whatever that truly means - and when they reached this scene, he disappeared. And Hourglass in particular was very vocal about how they needed to find him." He led them deeper in, through a tunnel covered in more paintings.

The Ancients faced off against the skeletons, and placed themselves between them and the faceless populace. Turn was shown behind the front lines as he patched up injured ghosts and sent them away. The other three were always in the middle of the fight, while Warrior Boy and Dark never appeared again. Other unexplained but detailed shapes joined them. Frostbite and Dani didn't bother to explain those.

Vlad opened his mouth, ready to take the initiative, but Dani was faster. And louder. "Pariah went crazy after that, though," she said, and pointed to a painting where Hourglass once again stood between him and the populace. Raine and Stop were right behind her, their hands haloed in blue. "He saw conspiracy everywhere, and destroyed a whole bunch of villages because he thought they weren't sad enough. The rebels Warrior Boy and Dark had been part of disappeared. The Ancients tried to stop as many of these raids as they could, and Hourglass apparently kept trying to talk him down."

"Pariah Dark's insanity continued to build," Frostbite said, and they came to a bend in the hall. A scene was wrapped around a corner; six towers orbited a much larger one, surrounded by several more faceless forms. A few were detailed - the Ancients weren't there, but Clockwork was, surrounded by other grey skinned or white skinned ghosts who appeared in previous paintings alongside the Ancients. "So despite the Observants' protests, the Master of Time opened his towers to those who had lost their homes. Pariah Dark, naturally, didn't appreciate this meddling."

They turned the corner to see a wall stained green. And beyond that, there was a scene - Pariah Dark stood with his skeletons, the ground in front of them stained. The only person left was Clockwork, his scar now painted on his face. Behind him however, was some sort of grotesque blob, its edges smeared and frozen in drops.

"What the hell is that?" Sam asked, and her disgust leaked into her voice. The monster looked like it was painted with ectoplasmic blood.

"We call it the Bringer of Death," Vlad would not be silenced this time. "It's some sort of beast that the Observants and Master of Time had been hiding for thousands of years. Any ectoplasmic creature who catches sight of it melts." He stepped forward, halfway through making a gesture to the painting of Clockwork. "He only survived because the Fright Knight had dragged a sword through his eye, and Pariah fled after the damage was caused. The Master of Time and King of Ghosts' army were the only survivors."

"Don't touch that," Frostbite said.

.-.

The little girl, Hafia, bit his lookalike's shoulder hard enough to draw blood. Danny stalled, stumbled over his feet, nearly tripped as his lookalike screamed. He pulled back from the wall, and his grip slipped.

And Hafia, too, slipped.

She tumbled out of his slack grip, and his lookalike sucked in a breath as he tried to snatch her back up. His fist closed around a hair ribbon, clenching it in a white-knuckle grip. Only a hair ribbon.

Danny vaulted himself over a trunk, scrambling towards the empty space between them with arms outstretched. Hafia pitched past him, and Danny flung himself off the edge after her. Sharp, pointed rocks hovered below them.

I'm not gonna make it.

Some sort of explosion launched him to the right, smashing into the cliff face and sending him spinning. A flowing white form dove past him, thick scarred arms wrapping up the screaming child and flipping around, protecting her from the fall.

Danny saw a face that seemed impossible to focus on and wrong, with white hair that turned to black halfway down tied back but escaping its hold, and one of Clockwork's medallions around his neck. Black sparks shot off his hands - wait.

Danny stole a glance at his own hand and saw his own black sparks. He looked back, and the other man was gone.

His own sparks ripped him from this time and sent him tumbling through the air, a portal, and - crack.

Danny hit the porcelain of a bathroom floor, halfway draped across a toilet and one shoelace caught on the stall's door. The background sound of running water stopped as the portal closed above him.

A few footsteps turned to an awkward pause. "Danny?"

Danny groaned through his gag and stuck his hand under the door to give Candice a limp wave.

.-.

Further down the halls of the Far Frozen's cavern, there were other scenes. Infinite Hour stood between Hourglass and the Bringer of Death, trapping the beast as he stared it down. Infinite stood between Pariah and Clockwork, keeping the King away from the injured but furious Master of Time. There were many scenes where he stood by Clockwork, or between the others and danger.

Pariah and Clockwork faced off, one versus the other in the Keep. On the grounds outside, the Ancients faced hundreds of duplicates of the King. Clockwork, armed with his staff and a sword, backed Pariah into the Sarcophagus. Infinite stood in the middle of hundreds of the king's duplicates, his hands haloed in something black.

Clockwork sealed up Pariah Dark on his own. Infinite Hour annihilated the duplicates with an action that shattered the paintings with thick, black lines.

Even past that, Warrior Boy and Dark would return. Clockwork would isolate himself from everyone, and the cracks in the world would grow. Destruction and death would drain the Ghost Zone, as Warrior Boy and Dark took their revenge on anyone who had made the mistake to ever say that they pitied the King. Hundreds would die in the years that followed. The Ancients and the Master of Time would do nothing to stop it, too busy hiding, and the Observants would be useless for nearly a decade.

Sam, Tucker, and Vlad never got to this part of the tour. Instead, Vlad and Frostbite argued until they were told to leave. Plasmius was still not welcome in the Far Frozen.

Rewrite notes!

This chapter took so long to get up because after having one of the minor OCs for five years, my brain came up with the cool concept of changing her hair colour. And then I suffered for a month on whether or not I was going to do it. This is how you write, y'all. You trip yourself up over a minor, irrelevant detail and suffer.

I was on the fence about exactly how much I wanted to reveal about Pariah's Fall for a while. While the full truth will come out eventually, I thought this was a fun way to show the whole 'history is biased and often wrong' thing. Also, kudos to anyone who can figure out Warrior Boy's deal. It's not really a difficult mystery, but kudos nonetheless.

I don't think Warrior Boy ever officially appeared in the old version! Here he is now, taking part in some good ol' baby murder. What a fun hobby. What a good dude.

I'm not going to make any comment on the next update, because we all know by now that I suck. What I will say is Sam, Tucker, and Vlad are going to try the same thing Danny and Valerie did last chapter.

So... thoughts?