Darkzdragon 'Onyx': I have to say, Fox, the CoM Discord server's tournament is going pretty well so far. I hear you've been participating in tournaments of your own in Pokemon Stadium. How are those going?~

DarkFoxKit: Incredibly INFURIATING! RNG is just not on my side!

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Sheepishly and nervously chuckles* Then maybe it's a sign you should take a break from Pokemon Stadium? Rebalance your luck with something else?

DarkFoxKit: Yeah… That bullcrap Double Team… I only lost because I literally couldn't hit that super annoying Kingler!

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Well… uh… Maybe play something relaxing? Like Animal Crossing? Or the Sims 4?

DarkFoxKit: Yeah, that sounds nice. Oh, I think someone will be coming to the AN soon, just a heads up.

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Really really hope it'll just be Echo… really hoping.

DarkFoxKit: *Giggles* We'll see. For now, let's get the readers to the chapter.

Darkzdragon 'Onyx; *Gulps* O-okay… Uh, enjoy the chapter. Feel free to leave a review… feel free to send help… I feel I'll need it.

Chapter 4: A Guided Tour

For five days, Juliette went to Casper High. She enjoyed talking to Danny, Tucker, and Sam, but she wasn't always sticking with the group. Because of Danny's secret, he was often always taking off to deal with a ghost or two. Tucker and Sam would sometimes go to help Danny with some of the stronger ghosts, though Danny seemed to prefer to keep them somewhere safe during the battle, the two only having supporting roles at best. Echo would be there, watching, observing, and getting uncomfortably close to Danny whenever he ate during lunch. Juliette wondered if Echo's kink had anything to do with vore or absorption with the way he acted around people eating.

Juliette got a few visits from the anthro goat woman, Toriel, at her opera house. Toriel would often bring food for Juliette, so she wouldn't starve. Toriel would also talk about how she was a teacher at Casper High herself, but was taking time off due to what had happened with her child, whom Juliette learned was named Asriel. Juliette was told, by Toriel herself, that Toriel taught magic at Casper High.

Surprisingly, there hadn't been any Void Creatures trying to attack her over the five days of school, which was a record for her. However, not wanting to jinx herself, Juliette decided not to complain. After Friday's school day was over, Juliette was glad to be back in the opera house, having a few days to relax without worrying about school or Anise's kink class.

Juliette heard a knocking coming from the front of the nicely refurbished opera house. Anise hadn't been kidding when she said she had spruced it up. Someone's here…? Is it Toriel? I didn't think Toriel would be coming until the end of the weekend.

Curious, Juliette got up and walked over to the front doors of the opera house, opening it. While Anise had refurbished and renovated the opera house, the front of the building still had the two layers of multiple glass doors as the entrance.

"You… knocked…?" Juliette asked, a bit surprised at who she saw standing there.

The black cat, known as Anise, smiled. "Hey, even I have the courtesy to knock, Juliette. Besides, I didn't come to visit for mischievous pleasantries. This is all business. Do you remember when I said I would talk to Clockwork about our Void boy Echo?"

"Yeah…?" Juliette raised a brow.

"I've decided to go now, but I figured you'd appreciate coming with me, since this is mainly your goal," Anise explained.

"Come on in," Juliette responded as she stepped out of the doorway. "I'd rather not talk in the open like this."

Anise walked into the opera house, looking around. "Are you liking what I did with the place?"

"It's… nice," Juliette responded. "But it was fine as it was before."

"Show a little gratitude, jeez," Anise grumbled. "Anyways, I think it's best if we go talk to Clockwork without Echo's knowledge. It's clear he doesn't think very highly of himself, and he hates getting others involved, especially if they have a close relationship with Danny."

"Yeah, I was thinking of keeping Echo out of the loop on this as well," Juliette agreed. "But why do you want to go now? You just suddenly feel like going? Or do you have some ulterior motive?"

"It's the start of the weekend today, Juliette, meaning I don't have to do all that paperwork at school for a while," Anise responded. "Now is the perfect time to go visit the Master of Time himself. Either we can go see him, or you can explain why you haven't logged into KinkQuest at all and perhaps make up for it with extra credit."

"I'm not logging into that game because I frankly have no interest in it," Juliette informed. "But instead of 'extra credit work', I'd rather go see Clockwork."

"I figured you'd say that…" Anise sighed. "One day, Juliette… one of these days…"

Anise stretched herself out. "Well, better get yourself ready for teleportation."

"What should I do? Sit down? Stay standing? Relax my body?" Juliette questioned.

"Nah, just brace yourself," Anise smirked before she took Juliette's arm.

Juliette suddenly felt like her entire being was being pulled through something invisible, her stomach dropped, and she felt incredibly queasy. Then it was suddenly over, Juliette found herself standing in the middle of a large tower, with gears and clocks ticking away around her. There was a mystical vibe to it.

"Ugh… that… was…" Juliette trailed off, shaking out her whole body.

"Clockwork told me that his dragon assistant is at her kingdom right now, so it's just him today," Anise assured as Juliette tried to recover from the teleportation.

"That's good," Juliette mumbled. "I'd rather not be on the menu for a hungry dragon…"

"Greetings," An unfamiliar voice said.

An older looking, blue skinned ghost who was wearing a purple cloak appeared in front of the two of them. The ghost had a long, white beard, he had one eye that glowed red, he had watches on his gloved hands, and a clock in his torso. He didn't appear to have feet, and instead had a ghostly tail. The old looking ghost also held onto a staff with a clock at the tip of it, and two prongs on the side of the clock.

"I am Clockwork, Master of Time. But you already knew that, Juliette Rosescale," Clockwork greeted with a small small. "What brings you and one of the goddesses of kink to my humble abode?"

"It's the goddess of bondage and mischief," Anise corrected. "Not just kink."

"You don't know what brings us here?" Juliette raised a brow.

"I do, but I want you to tell me anyways, it's only common courtesy," Clockwork answered.

Juliette gave a nod of understanding. "We've come here because there is a being in the Void that I've named Echo. I have reasons to believe that he was once the brother, most likely the twin, of Danny Fenton, who is also Danny Phantom. I'm trying to find a possible way to bring him back with the least amount of risk involved."

Clockwork gave a look of intrigue when Juliette mentioned Echo. "I see."

Clockwork suddenly shifted to the age of a child, which surprised Juliette.

"Your body can change?" Juliette inquired, amazed by what she was looking at.

Clockwork gave Juliette an amused smile. "Of course. Time changes for me constantly. Now, regarding the boy you've called Echo, what is it that you want me to do about him? He is a being who no longer exists in this timeline after all. Even with my power, I cannot bring him out of the Void myself."

"I'll ask the most straightforward question first," Juliette stated. "Do you know his name? His real name."

"Ah, the million dollar question," Clockwork chuckled. "It is unfortunate though, his name has been lost, even to time. So I'm afraid I cannot tell you."

"Do you have any leads that I could follow to find it?" Juliette inquired.

"Perhaps, though Echo would not be happy if you did that," Clockwork warned. "Echo feels he needs to stay in the Void, because he's already lost his existence. He believes there would be no point in returning, even if he could. He fears becoming part of the living again, he fears becoming the brother of the one he admires the most, he fears being important. These feelings are illogical in your eyes, but he truly fears this, because he is used to being nobody important, that is his life. If you take that away suddenly, he'll be overwhelmed."

"Being overwhelmed is honestly an outcome I can deal with," Juliette responded confidently. "I don't plan on getting Echo back from the Void and simply leaving him be. I know I'm going to have to work to get him readjusted to life."

"Be warned, however, if he gets too overwhelmed, there's a chance he could go into shock, and die as a result," Clockwork warned again. "So when the time comes, I would suggest you help ease him into it without making him take a dive into the deep end before he's ready."

"That makes sense," Juliette acknowledged. "Is there anything else I should know while I'm here? Anything you would like to tell me?"

"You would like to have a lead on how to bring Echo out of the Void, yes?" Clockwork reminded.

"Yes," Juliette chuckled. "Sorry, been a bit tired lately. Late nights with homework, early mornings with school. I'm surprised teens don't just overthrow the adults…"

Clockwork chuckled before he turned into a young adult. "The key to bringing the boy out of the Void is Echo himself, believe it or not."

"Any chance you could elaborate a little?" Juliette requested.

"I should say Echo and Danny will be the keys to Echo's freedom," Clockwork reiterated. "Echo will have to be pushed to his limit, he will have to want to get out. But what would drive Echo, someone who's very adamant to stay in the Void, to get out of the Void? What does Echo care about the most in the world of the living? It's Danny. However, I won't ask you to put Danny in danger or have him in a dangerous state, that is something I wouldn't want for the boy. The next lead, however, does lead into Danny's mind. You've been in there before, but you missed crucial information on Echo's previous existence. The clues are broken and vague, but they are there. Echo himself has these memories in his own mind, buried and lost. Though going into the mind of a Void being would be much more difficult than going into the mind of a living being."

"So the best plan would be to go into Danny's mind again?" Juliette questioned. "By myself, or with Echo?"

"You would have to go in with Echo. Danny's mind will not register his existence or familiarity unless Echo is there," Clockwork answered.

Juliette gave a nod. "The only question is… how? How do I get Echo into Danny's mind. He most likely will be against going back in there."

"Yes, that is quite the predicament. It's only too bad that there's no way to convince Echo that something dangerous could be attacking young Danny's mind. If you could convince Echo of that, he'd want to do just about anything for Danny." Clockwork grinned.

"I can see what Anise meant when she said you were a bit of a troll," Juliette chuckled.

"I try," Clockwork remarked. "You have to learn about loopholes when you work for the Observants."

"Observants?" Juliette questioned.

"You will find out about them in due time, unfortunately…" Clockwork sighed as he aged into an old ghost again.

"They're beings that think they're essentially the time-space police," Anise explained. "Though it's technically none of their damn business what gods and goddesses of time do. In fact, the Observants should actually be working for Clockwork."

"There is a story behind that, which will be saved for another time," Clockwork said. "Now, Juliette, I could have not told you any of this. It goes against the law of time to bring back something or someone who's lost their existence. However, even though Echo doesn't know or remember it himself, I care for him as much as I care for Danny."

Juliette gave a thoughtful look. "You do know Echo's real name, don't you? You just don't want to tell me."

"I meant what I said; I can't tell you even if I wanted to. That would cause the time stream to invert on itself," Clockwork warned.

"But you do know," Juliette replied.

"I cannot confirm nor deny that," Clockwork answered with the slightest of nods.

"Noted." Juliette smiled. "Now, is there anything you can or can't tell me that doesn't relate to Echo? Or anything else about Echo? Perhaps a hint at something Danny might face in the future as well."

"I can tell you that Danny will be facing some tough times ahead, very tough times. As for Echo, I believe he's in good hands for the time being." Clockwork grinned, turning into a child.

"Speaking about 'time being'," Juliette replied, remembering something. "On Monday… Anise and I witnessed Echo… channeling your powers…? Do you know anything about that?"

Clockwork gave a neutral expression. "I do. Unfortunately it's something I cannot speak on as it involves Echo's current situation. I will say one thing about it however; it was ultimately Echo's choice."

Juliette gave a small nod, understanding that Clockwork wouldn't say anymore. "Hopefully I can figure out what you mean in due time. Anything you have for me personally?"

"Hmmm… just a warning for the future," Clockwork replied, looking at Anise. "You might want to watch out for the black knight and the black cat. Even you can eventually be broken if pushed too far."

"So Anise and the black knight may work together to break me?" Juliette surmised.

"I wouldn't say they'd be working together exactly," Clockwork stated. "Just be wary. Perhaps you may not walk into that timeline for a while, or at all if you're lucky. Now, unless you have any more direct questions, I believe that's all I have for you."

"I… can't think of any other questions," Juliette replied after thinking about it for a few seconds. "Besides asking who the black knight is."

"Hopefully you won't have to find out," Clockwork answered vaguely.

Anise walked over to Juliette. "Ready to go back to your opera house?"

"I guess." Juliette shrugged before she waved at Clockwork. "Thank you for your help, Clockwork."

After getting back home from her visit, Juliette took it easy for the day. While she did relax, she also began making plans on what to do with Echo. Clockwork's best lead was to go back into Danny's mind with Echo, the next best thing was to find clues in Echo's mind, which, as Clockwork told her, wouldn't be easy to get into.

After Juliette made her plans, she set out to put them into action the next day. She stepped into the Void Realm, since she would need to be in the Void to do either plan. Then she went to Danny's house, which she learned was called Fenton Works. Wherever Danny was, Echo wouldn't be too far behind.

Juliette, however, was surprised to see Echo was in the kitchen rather than in Danny's room. Echo was watching Maddie and Jack putting together something.

"Heya, Echo," Juliette greeted suddenly as she walked up behind the boy.

Echo jumped, not expecting Juliette to come up to him.

"Well, look who finally decided to come back into the Void," Echo remarked. "Got tired of being in the world of the living?"

"Nah, it's nice to be able to sit down on actual objects without creating Void Barriers," Juliette responded with a smile. "Just felt like doing something this weekend. I don't have money, and I definitely don't want to spend any free time with Anise, so I came to find the guy who offered to show me around my first night here."

"I feel so loved," Echo stated sarcastically before turning his attention back on the device the two full grown Fentons were making.

Echo hissed a little. "I wish I could destroy this thing, or at least tell Jazz to do it."

"What is it?" Juliette asked as she walked closer to the two adults, stopping by Echo's side.

It looked like another hand held device, but this one looked like a big taser with the two prongs sticking out of it.

"Jack called it the Fenton Mortifier, it's not the modern definition of mortified either. This… thing is meant to force a ghost to relive how they die. If they use this on Danny… he'll be forced to relive the time of his accident, which, let me tell you, was NOT a pleasant experience," Echo growled.

Juliette raised a brow. "Did Danny become a ghost in the past two years?"

"No," Echo answered. "I believe it was three years ago now."

"Then how do you know what his accident was like?" Juliette pointedly asked.

"Oh…" Echo paused for a second. "I didn't see the first accident, but Sam recreated it, which was during my early days in the Void. I got to witness that, and… the screaming still haunts me…"

Damn… I thought I had possibly found a trail of Echo's remaining memories… Juliette inwardly frowned. Eh, I should've known it wouldn't be that easy.

Echo turned his attention back to the Fenton Mortifier. "I've seen what would happen if they use this. None of the end results are pretty, everyone would be put in danger, because Danny will let loose a scream strong enough to shoot out the Ghostly Wail."

"If you'd like, I could destroy it or hide it," Juliette offered. "I could ask Danny if I could go over to his house after school under the guise that I needed some help in the classes he excels at."

Echo looked at Juliette, seeming surprised. "You'd… destroy it?"

"Yeah," Juliette answered without hesitation. "If that device is only going to lead to people getting hurt, then it shouldn't be allowed to stay around."

"You'd destroy it… huh…" Echo repeated, more to himself than to Juliette. "... Honestly, it's the first time ever I would be able to get someone to do something in the world of the living."

"I mean, if you want me to," Juliette offered. "It wouldn't be you influencing me or anything. It'd be you making a request and me accepting said request of my own volition."

"If you're willing to do that, then please do destroy it. I don't want that thing affecting Danny," Echo requested.

Juliette nodded with a smile.

"So… did you want me to show you around Amity Park some more?" Echo asked.

"Hmmm, not just yet," Juliette nonchalantly replied, shrugging her shoulders a little. "I actually came over because I wanted to go back into Danny's mind."

Echo just stared at Juliette.

"I want to make sure that Danny's doing better since we helped him out the other day," Juliette explained. "Make sure that older, evil version of himself is gone."

"Danny's not sleeping right now though, last I saw, he was chatting with Sam on the computer," Echo replied. "And if you want to go into Danny's mind, be my guest. I'm staying out here."

Juliette shrugged and started heading for the stairs. "Okay. I don't need him to be asleep to go into his mind."

Echo blinked, looking surprised. "'Okay'? That's it? Just 'okay'?"

"Yeah, if you want to stay out here and stare at a gadget instead of going into Danny's mind, I don't care," Juliette said in an uncaring tone as she began walking up the stairs.

Juliette walked slow, hoping to bait Echo enough to get him to follow her. Echo looked up at her, seeming hesitant, but he did eventually follow her up the stairs.

"You're just going to waltz into Danny's mind like it's no big deal, and you're just going to say 'I don't care'!? What's wrong with you!?" Echo snapped.

"Oh, I plan to be delicate when entering Danny's mind," Juliette assured. "I simply don't have much interest if you decide to join me or not."

They entered Danny's room. Danny was still on the computer, typing on his keyboard, completely oblivious to the two beings that just entered his room.

Echo crossed his arms as Juliette started to approach Danny. Juliette noticed Echo didn't approach Danny himself, at a distance that was too far away for her to bring them both into Danny's mind at once.

"You gonna stand there and stare at the back of Danny's head the entire time I'm inside?" Juliette raised a brow.

"I'll be watching Danny while you're inside, to see if you mess anything up," Echo replied.

Juliette chuckled. "Alright, Mr. Stalker." Juliette then turned her attention to Danny, holding out her hands. "I mean, technically if you stay there, you won't be able to know if I mess anything up. And even if you could somehow know that I'm messing things up, you wouldn't be able to do anything about it."

Echo glared before he rushed over and took Juliette's arm. "That's it, you're not going into Danny's mind. Come on, let's go!"

However, before Echo could pull Juliette away from Danny, she quickly put her free hand near the back of Danny's hand and began to tap into her energy.

"Nah, we're going inside~" Juliette smirked before a bright white light appeared from the spot between Danny's head and her hand, quickly expanding to consume them.

When the bright white light faded, Juliette found herself standing back in the hallway with the doors again.

"Juliette! What the f**k!? Why did you bring us in here!? F**k! Sh*t! F**K!" Echo cried out, and Juliette was surprised to hear actual beeps censoring his curse words.

"It would seem Danny's mind has a profanity filter," Juliette chuckled. "How interesting."

"F**k you!" Echo snapped, still very angry.

"Tsk tsk." Juliette shook her head. "You should be grateful. You're now in the mind of the person you love to follow around. Here you can find out things you didn't know about him. And since we're not on a mission this time, we can spend as long as we want in here."

"I don't want to spend ANY time in here!" Echo growled. "I want to get out now!"

"Well I want to spend time in here, and I'm the only one who can get us out," Juliette pointly replied.

"What could you possibly want in Danny's mind?" Echo inquired, still growling.

"I'm curious about him," Juliette answered. "Now calm down."

"If you're curious about him, then just watch him, or interact with him. Don't freaking go into his mind!" Echo hissed.

Juliette shook her head and began to walk away, knowing that she wasn't going to get the last word in of the conversation.

Though Juliette didn't really know where to start looking for the answers she wanted. There were hundreds of doors in Danny's mind, at least in the area they were in.

Perhaps I can see if Danny has any servants in his mind like Ember had Maid. Juliette pondered as she kept walking in the direction she remembered was the more recent memories. Hopefully Danny's mind hasn't reorganized itself since I was last in here.

The hallway turned into a frozen tundra field once again. One of the floating doors landed in front of Juliette, almost as if it was beckoning her to open it.

Echo was, surprisingly, still following her. He wrapped his jacket around himself, shivering from the cold.

"S-stop s-s-shaking, i-it's all psyc-c-c-hological…" Juliette heard Echo whispering to himself.

"Actually, when you're in the mind of someone, you feel what their mind wants you to feel. It doesn't matter if you're in the Void or not," Juliette informed.

Echo glared at her. "Thank you for the information. You going to open that door or what?"

"Why would I open this door?" Juliette asked, wondering if Echo felt the same pull that she did.

"It looked like you wanted to," Echo replied, effectively avoiding the answer Juliette was hoping to hear.

Juliette shrugged before she reached open and grabbed the door handle before turning it and opening it.

When Juliette opened the door, they saw a classroom from Casper High. The desks were all empty though. Juliette stepped into the classroom, and Echo, very hesitantly, went in after her. The door closed behind them.

"Hello!" Danny's voice suddenly said, spooking Echo enough to make him dive under a desk like a scared cat.

Juliette saw a Danny in front of the classroom, he wore a professor coat, and glasses, his eyes were green instead of blue though, but his hair was black.

"Hello…?" Juliette hesitantly greeted back.

"You may call me Intelligence. I represent Danny's… well, intelligence," Intelligence chuckled. "I understand that you came here looking for some answers?"

"How…?" Juliette inquired.

"The mind can subconsciously sense what you're looking for," Intelligence answered with a shrug. "If you're not hostile, it usually responds however it can."

"Oh, well that's good." Juliette smiled. "I was hoping that's how it would work. Tell me, is there a place in Danny's mind where he stores memories?"

"Ahh, you're looking for the Memory Museum," Intelligence acknowledged.

"I… guess?" Juliette shrugged a little. "I'm not sure what it's called."

"That's, of course, the place where Danny stores his memories, mostly the ones he keeps close to heart, both good and bad," Intelligence clarified.

"Could you tell me how to get there?" Juliette requested. "Would I even be allowed there?"

"Only someone Danny trusts completely is allowed there," Intelligence stated. "Although, there is a loophole to that. If someone who Danny trusts takes you there, then you are allowed there. If you're friends with the person that Danny trusts, then Danny is likely to trust you too."

"I… doubt I have Danny's complete trust," Juliette remarked. "I've known him for all of 5 days."

"You'd be right. Not to say that he distrusts you, but you aren't exactly close to him," Intelligence confirmed.

Juliette chuckled and waved her hand a little. "You don't need to worry about me getting those things confused. I am well aware of the differences between being distrusted by someone and not being completely trusted."

"That's good. So, is that all you wanted to know?" Intelligence questioned.

"Can you see my companion who is currently trying his best to hide?" Juliette inquired.

"I can," Intelligence replied, looking down at the desk Echo was under.

"Do you recognize him at all?" Juliette asked, not having much hope that Intelligence would know about Echo as he was Intelligence and not Memories or whatever Danny had it called.

"Sorry, I do not," Intelligence answered. "Though I get the feeling he's important to Danny."

Echo cringed at that before he got out from under the desk.

"Hmmm… let's say I did have someone Danny completely trusted with me," Juliette started. "What would be the fastest way to the Memory Museum?"

"It's simple, all you have to do is want to find it, and you'll be there," Intelligence explained. "The doors you see in Danny's mind are doors that will lead to his various emotions and intellectual beings. It's best to leave most of them alone though. Some of them, such as Stress or Sanity, can attack at the snap of a finger, because of how much stress Danny puts on himself, straining his sanity."

Echo looked down from that.

"But don't worry, Danny's still mentally healthy enough to keep his mind from deteriorating," Intelligence reassured.

"So…" Juliette looked at Echo. "To get to the Memory Museum, the one Danny trusts completely has to want to go there? Or can it be the friend of the one Danny completely trusts?"

Echo frowned, not seeming to want to look at Juliette in the eye.

"Well, it would have to be the one Danny trusts completely, the friend would have to go with the person Danny trusts. Not just anyone can get access to the Memory Museum after all," Intelligence replied to Juliette's question.

Juliette gave a curious expression. "You hiding something, Echo?"

"W-why would I be hiding something?" Echo nervously asked before frowning to himself. "That's a dumb question to ask."

"You're a terrible liar," Intelligence commented.

"I agree." Juliette concurred.

"As someone who always speaks his mind, of course I would be a terrible liar," Echo grumbled.

"How about you make it easier on yourself and just tell me?" Juliette suggested.

"Nope," Echo responded before he walked to the door, opened it, and headed out into the frozen wasteland.

Juliette sighed. "Guess he's gonna be difficult."

"He's a teenager," Intelligence chuckled. "They're the definition of stubbornness. And, if he is a Fenton, like Danny, you should multiply that stubbornness by 10."

Juliette gave a nod before she headed out after Echo.

The two of them were out in the frozen wasteland, and began walking. Walking to where, Juliette had no idea. If she didn't get Echo to want to find the Memory Museum, then they would never find it.

"Look, the reason I want to go into the Memory Museum is because I really want to know all about Danny's enemies and that strange older, evil version of him," Juliette explained, which wasn't completely a lie.

"Is that really the only reason, Juliette?" Echo asked. "Just because I'm a terrible liar, doesn't mean I can't tell when someone's lying, even if they're good at it. Two years of observing people does have its benefits after all, even if I can't hear your thoughts."

"That's one of the main reasons," Juliette responded. "The other is… well, honestly I want to see if there are any traces of you in Danny's memory. Perhaps I can find your name in Danny's mind. If I can, I could possibly help you return to the living world."

"I knew you had to have more of a reason than because you were worried about Danny's nightmare to come back in here…" Echo sighed. "What makes you think I could find the Memory Museum? Danny doesn't know me, I don't exist to him, why would he trust someone he's never met? Or remember?"

"Because I think a part of Danny does remember," Juliette answered. "Would you please at least try to help get me to the Memory Museum?"

Echo looked away, gritting his teeth. Juliette knew Echo was hiding something, and he didn't want to tell her.

"Am I important to Danny?" Echo questioned softly. "That's what's scaring me right now. I could take it if the answer was no, it made sense after all. But if the answer was yes…"

"Why are you so worried if the answer is yes?" Juliette asked, her tone more of concern than curiosity.

"I've watched him… for the past two years. I've watched him grow, I've watched him at his happiest moments and at his most vulnerable moments, I've watched how he's handled the ghosts, how he's enjoyed the company of his friends, I've watched him get stronger, yet he still remained the loving person that he is, always trying to protect others, even those he didn't know or didn't like. I've watched him worry about others, rarely ever thinking about himself. I can't… I can't just suddenly appear one day, and be a part of that. I've always been the outcast, the loner, the one who doesn't exist. I would only add to Danny's growing pile of stress," Echo explained, seeming both passionate and troubled. "You can't just invite yourself, you can't just add yourself into the picture, and expect anything to work out just fine. You might become the catalyst to something awful."

"You know, Echo," Juliette said with a soft tone. "If you really are his twin brother, then you won't add to his ever growing pile of stress. In fact, you would be the one person who could truly help him bear the weight and help take some, if not all, of that stress off of Danny. You'd be able to help him out in ways you might not even be able to imagine. While yes, you wouldn't simply be able to reinsert yourself back into his life, it would still be better to work back to being in his life instead of being a complete nobody to him."

"There's more," Echo responded, sitting down in the snow, suddenly feeling weak. "While I haven't followed Danny into the Ghost Zone, I have heard him talk about some things that disturb me, yet also helped grow my respect for him even more. Danny's pretty much become Clockwork's grandson, a powerful Ancient Spirit. Though that's kept pretty tight lipped in the Ghost Zone, cause Danny would be a big target. And he's formed a lot of peace treaties with the ghosts. The ghosts who come to attack Amity Park mostly do it out of rivalry rather than malicious intent, with a few exceptions like Skulker. Danny's become pretty much a hero and an ambassador to both the world of the living and the world of the dead. He's well liked, and very important to the Ghost Zone. And that's not even scratching the surface of what he's been doing..."

Juliette gave a thoughtful look before she sat down in the snow beside Echo. "So basically… you feel inadequate around him. You feel that you can't possibly be the brother of someone so great. Am I right?"

"Yeah… more like I'm a tiny, tiny speck of space dust compared to Danny's planet…" Echo sighed.

"Well…" Juliette began, scratching the back of her head a little. "While I know I can't magically fix your fears just by talking to you, I can try to help lessen them. If you truly are someone Danny cared about before you ended up in the Void, it's a good possibility that you helped contribute to the person that he is now. Your fears are sadly based on the fact that you don't remember your life before the Void. For all you know, when you were Danny's brother, you made Danny a much better hero. It's also possible that both you and Danny were like Clockwork's grandchildren. It… it might explain your ability to see potential futures."

"To tell you the truth, Juliette, that's already crossed my mind before," Echo admitted. "It was why I needed some time away after we came back from Danny's mind the first time. I was… terrified of the truth, I was scared to ask who I was."

"Echo… I know it scares you to not know who you are and I understand why you're worried to ask, but I don't think you can avoid those questions forever," Juliette remarked. "It's possible that you might corrupt yourself by trying your hardest to avoid those questions and finding out. It's also possible that you could completely erase yourself. But guess what? Those are all just possibilities. Also, fear isn't something that is magically going to go away at any point, Echo. Fear is something prevalent in everyday life. It isn't always the same level of fear as what you're dealing with, but fear is still there."

"I would laugh that I was able to feel fear, but after what we've been seeing, it's not that hard to imagine," Echo quietly mumbled.

"Look, Echo, despite there being fear in everyday life, people continue to live a regular day to day life," Juliette continued. "Danny doesn't let any of his fears stop him, and I'm sure he's had some pretty big fears before. Even you have overcome some fears since we met. You were afraid of finding out about yourself and asking questions, yet you still came back to observe Danny, the most likely person to have answers. That in itself is conquering a fear."

Echo chuckled slightly. "I just… couldn't leave Danny forever… I couldn't imagine leaving Danny at all. I don't… I don't…"

"You don't want to leave Danny alone," Juliette finished, noting the hesitance in Echo's voice. "It's okay to have desires of your own, Echo. These aren't unhealthy desires at all, in fact, not wanting to leave someone, who is probably your brother, alone is something that I would expect."

"I still don't feel like I could possibly be his brother, or someone worthy of being his brother…" Echo sighed. "And… what if I am stuck in the Void forever? Wouldn't all this just come back and bite me later?"

"You aren't stuck in the Void forever, genius," Juliette chuckled. "You disproved that possibility yourself."

"What do you mean? You mean the future visions? Those are just possibilities, not guarantees," Echo pointed out.

"But that means there is no possibility in which you can't leave the Void," Juliette pointed out. "The fact that you have a chance to leave the Void means that there is no 100% guarantee you're trapped."

"Well… I don't know what will happen if I… or I guess in your case, when I get out of the Void, I don't even think I can face Danny if he can see me, heck, I couldn't even face him in his own mind without freaking out," Echo grumbled.

"It's all about baby steps, Echo," Juliette informed. "When I get you out of the Void, I will stay by your side until A, we return all of your memories to you and by extension return them to everyone else. Or B, I can help you build up the confidence to try and reenter Danny's life, even if it is just in small bits at a time."

Echo looked a little hesitant, but gave a small nod. "You're never going to stop until you succeed it seems, or at least until you die. I still find it strange you want to help me of all people."

Echo stood up, taking a deep breath and letting it out. "There's one more confession I have to make."

"If you'd like to share it, I'm not stopping you," Juliette chuckled as she stood up as well.

Echo took Juliette's furry hand, willingly. Echo did look a little tense, but he relaxed a little. "This… wouldn't be my first time going to the Memory Museum."

Juliette raised a brow. "Really? The only other time we've been in Danny's mind together was when he was having that nightmare. Did you go then? Or have you been in his mind before?"

"That time when I, uh… ran off when you called out to dream Danny, I ended up stumbling into a museum. I was confused, I didn't know what it was," Echo explained as he walked forward with Juliette's hand still in his own. "But as I looked around, I realized that the museum showed Danny's memories, at least the ones closest to his heart."

They suddenly stepped out of the snow, and onto a marble floor. Juliette looked up, seeing they were in the hallway of a museum.

"Looks like that confirms that Danny trusts you completely," Juliette said, squeezing his hand a little to comfort him.

"That is… really weird," Echo muttered before they both walked forward. "I'm not sure if I should let your hand go or not. It might be okay to let it go now that you're here, right?"

"You could try," Juliette replied.

Echo slowly let go of Juliette's hand. Both of them waited to see what would happen. After about a minute, nothing happened, so Juliette decided to walk forward. Echo followed Juliette down the hallway.

Juliette began to see the tapestries, but they were a little hard to see due to the dim lighting. As a kitsune, Juliette could normally see in the dark, but the mind wouldn't let her unless it wanted her to.

"Can you see anything?" Juliette questioned, looking around at the walls and noting the extinguished torches.

"Hmm? Oh, right, these torches were lit when I went through here," Echo remembered. "Can you not see in the dark though?"

"If Danny's mind doesn't want me to see the museum, I won't be able to see anything in here," Juliette informed before she came up with an idea. "Sorry for this in advance."

Echo suddenly felt Juliette taking his hand, holding it in her own.

"I want to see if the torches will light up while we're holding hands," Juliette explained as Echo gave a slightly uncomfortable look.

"Great…" Echo groaned.

The torches still didn't do anything. Echo sighed as he used his free hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, likely knowing what he had to do.

"I want to know what's going on," Echo finally said.

The torches then all lit up at once, into the same frosty blue flame, lighting up the artworks clearly.

"Ahh, thank you." Juliette smiled as she continued to hold Echo's hand.

"It's still so weird, how Danny's mind is acknowledging me like this," Echo admitted. "Should I just give you the tour? I'm apparently the guide right now."

"Yeah, that'd be helpful," Juliette answered with a small smile. "After all, I can get more information from you than I can from looking at a tapestry."

"Right… okay, come on then…" Echo sighed, leading Juliette down the now lit hallway.

Juliette looked at each tapestry, showing what Danny feared, what Danny hoped, and those closest to Danny. Since Echo knew Danny so well, he was able to tell her what he thought each of the tapestries meant. Then, they got to the tapestry that had the not-Danny on it. The one that was torn, and the tablet with the strange wording and scratches.

Juliette leaned forward towards the tablet. 'Ululncl' hmmm… it looks like the tablet is broken off on the top… so perhaps that word is just half the word it is supposed to be. I can't figure it out here… but hopefully I can figure it out back in the living world. Juliette's gaze then went down where she saw 'An' and a bunch of scribbles. Hm… it could be a name, or it could be the relation of Echo to Danny. Perhaps a nickname, or perhaps what Echo meant to Danny.

"Uh-oh," Echo spoke up, catching Juliette's attention. "I can see the gears turning rapidly in your head already."

"I've got nothing concrete, but I do have some more questions that I'm going to need to do a bit of work to answer," Juliette explained. "Like that whole 'Ululncl' thing."

"Yeah, that word was weird," Echo agreed. "I suppose there's one more picture here I can show you that might lead to another clue, though I'm not sure if it would be much help at this point."

Juliette gave a nod as she stepped back away from the tablet. "Anything would be helpful."

"Okay…" Echo sighed before he led Juliette through the hallway once more.

Juliette did notice a black picture on the wall when they were passing by Danny's fears, though she figured it might've meant something that Danny couldn't remember, or it was related to Echo.

"Here," Echo stated, showing Juliette a picture of Danny standing beside the not-Danny, though the not-Danny was a bit torn and hard to see. Then there were the words 'Danny and dy'.

Juliette glanced at the tablet that had the word 'Danny and dy'. dy… An. Dylan? Maybe… but what are the other possibilities?

While Juliette had been thinking, Echo had been rubbing his head, feeling the headache getting worse.

Juliette stopped her train of thought when she heard a small groan from Echo. "You alright?"

"I… think so… it's just… something about this place causes my head to hurt, and I can't will it away," Echo explained.

Juliette raised a brow at that. "Being inside of Danny's memories gives you a headache? How strange… If that's the case, we can leave if you'd like, unless there is more to show me."

Echo shook his head. "Not that I know of. Though there might be a ravine up ahead."

"A ravine? In a museum?" Juliette questioned. "Is there more of the museum on the other side?"

"Ah… I think so, but I didn't stick around to find out since I almost fell into the ravine," Echo shivered. "I know I can't die, but considering where we are, there would've been a good chance I would've been trapped in Danny's mind if I had fallen."

Juliette gave a nod. "It's better to be safe than sorry in someone's mind." But why would there be a ravine in the middle of a museum…? Could it… hmmm, it could possibly be the memories of Echo that were essentially torn out when Echo entered the Void.

"So, is there anymore you want to see?" Echo asked.

Juliette shook her head. "No, we can leave now if you'd like."

Echo nodded. "Yes, let's go. Before my head implodes."

Juliette chuckled. "Your head won't implode or explode."

Echo rolled his eyes at that.

Juliette closed her eyes before she began concentrating. Echo watched as they were enveloped in a bright white light.

"Hopefully Danny is still in his room…" Juliette muttered before they left Danny's mind.

However, much to Juliette's shock and chagrin, they were both high in the sky. Danny was in his ghost form, chasing down a ghost. Juliette's eyes widened as she and Echo looked down to see how high they were.

"Oh fuck! OH FUCK OH FUCK OH FUCK!" Juliette yelled as they began to fall. "Echo! Do something!"

Echo frowned as he looked at Juliette. "O-okay, okay, don't panic, you just have to uh… angle yourself!"

Juliette growled at Echo before she 'angled' herself, causing one of her tails to smack Echo in the face. "Yeah, angling won't help. I'm half living, this fall is probably going to kill me if you don't do something!"

Echo spun around a bit in the air, rubbing the cheek Juliette's tail had slapped. "Jeez… okay, just… don't panic, I've got this."

Juliette positioned herself in the air to look like she was sitting comfortably, giving an 'I'm waiting' expression.

They were coming up to the ground quickly while Echo was trying to figure out how to save Juliette from this fall.

If he can't figure out a way to save us… I may have to beg Anise to help me… Juliette inwardly frowned.

"I've got it!" Echo quickly summoned a blue flame in the middle of his hands before the blue flame quickly expanded, turning into a familiar fiery blue fox.

The blue fox caught Juliette on its back before it caught Echo, and it easily hovered in the sky, gently levitating itself down onto the all-too-close ground.

"Thank you, Foxfire," Juliette gratefully said as she let out a sigh of relief. "And it's nice to see you can think under pressure, Echo."

"Don't do it again," Echo grumbled as Foxfire dissipated, allowing Juliette and Echo to land safely on the ground.

"Put you under pressure? Or unintentionally make us fall from 100 feet up?" Juliette questioned.

"Ideally, both," Echo answered before looking up to see Phantom was almost a speck in the sky, firing ghost rays at the ghost he was chasing, who was Skulker. "We fell from that far? Even though I can't die, that still would've hurt like hell if I had hit the pavement that hard."

"I thought you couldn't feel actual pain?" Juliette raised an eyebrow.

"That doesn't mean I wouldn't feel pain at all. As you've probably figured out, the mind is a powerful thing, Juliette…" Echo sighed.

Juliette chuckled. "I definitely know that… Now… if you're still up to it, I'd like to take you up on your offer to tour the city."

"Great, I'll show you all the best places, and the places to avoid." Echo smiled. "Oh, and Juliette, no more pulling your surprise stunts. I've had enough of those for a lifetime."

"I do have a few more surprises, but no surprise plans," Juliette informed. "Perhaps you can possibly show me a place I can get a part time job so I can earn some money. Preferably non-kinky jobs."

"Heh, I might have the place for you. How are you at cooking food? Or greeting customers?" Echo asked.

"I'm not working at a fast food joint…" Juliette grumbled, figuring that could be what Echo was talking about. "I can't. Most places like that have strict rules about furred creatures."

"Oh, I guess that's understandable," Echo realized. "Then how about we look around and see if you find a place you think you can work at?"

"Yeah, job first, then places where I can spend any money I might earn," Juliette agreed with a chuckle.

Echo nodded before he began leading Juliette around Amity Park. There were a few Void Spirits along the way, as well as Void Creatures. The Void Creatures hissed, but weren't currently bothering anyone, so Echo and Juliette left them alone. But what caught Juliette's attention was a strange floating wisp, there were actually multiple wisps, shining in different colors, almost singing.

"What…? Are those?" Juliette asked as she looked at the wisps. "They… couldn't be… could they…?"

"They are Will O' the Wisps," Echo chuckled. "Though I often just call them Wisps for short."

Juliette gave a curious look. "Is there a reason there are Wisps in Amity Park? And… do these follow the same lore of the basic Will O' the Wisps from European legend?"

"Hmm… those are some good questions you're asking," Echo sighed. "Let's see, in order; the Wisps often go where there are a lot of ghosts, that includes Amity Park. They make… I guess you could say colonies in areas like this. They are… more from the world of the dead, but can be in the world of the living. I wouldn't know the lore of the Wisps from European since my 'life' is all in Amity Park."

Juliette gave a nod of acknowledgement. "Well, European Will O' the Wisps are thought to be spirits of the people who have passed on that don't become ghosts. They can either be mischievous or helpful depending on the story you read. In most cases, they are helpful, helping the protagonist of the story find their way to their goal or to home or somewhere safe. Those that are mischievous don't aim to hurt or kill anyone they target, simply mislead and trick a little. Though there are a few stories of Wisps leading a protagonist to their untimely demise…"

Echo nodded as Juliette finished explaining. "Well, these Wisps are a bit similar to the stories. I can't say I know a whole lot about them, but from what I've picked up during my observations, it seems that they have their own language. They often sing and change color to communicate. They also use their… um… energy…? Emotions…? Ghostly powers? They use something that ghosts can feed off of."

"I understand so far," Juliette stated as she processed the information Echo had shared, comparing the information to what she knew about Will O' the Wisps.

Echo nodded and decided to continue. "I've heard the Wisps are often found setting up colonies in a ghost's lair, since they can't survive the harshness of the Ghost Zone for very long. If the ghost in the ghost lair isn't hostile and doesn't try to shoo them away, then they return the favor by feeding the ghost. It's a beneficial relationship. I have seen Danny able to feed off them, but more often than not, it's because they're feeding him rather than the other way around. Apparently there's a whole lot of… differences…? Information…? Between adult ghosts and child ghosts, and Danny is, of course, a child ghost. A child ghost apparently has a harder time stopping themselves from feeding. So there's a chance Danny might get overfed, and becomes drunk and high. It's quite amusing actually."

Juliette blinked, making Echo rub the back of his head.

"I might've gone off on a little rant there," Echo sheepishly admitted.

"It's fine… but… Danny acting drunk and high? I… kinda want to see that," Juliette chuckled.

"Oh you should, it was so amusing that I couldn't stop laughing for an hour, it's a good thing I don't need to breathe," Echo chuckled. "But these Wisps know that Phantom is a halfa, meaning it doesn't take much to make him high, so they're careful with overfeeding him. I kind of wonder how they could've affected Vlad though…"

"Vlad? Like… Vlad Masters?" Juliette questioned. "He's an inventor I believe… or a philanthropist or something."

"Well… yeah, he's Vlad Masters. He's a billionaire, and he used to live in Wisconsin, but after a prank war gone wrong between him and Danny… well… Vlad decided to move into Amity Park, and become the mayor of the city," Echo explained. "I suppose it can't hurt to tell you this, but Vlad is also half human, and half ghost, just like Danny."

"Oh?" Juliette raised a brow. "Two half ghost half humans… how… honestly it's a bit hard to process. They must be extremely lucky."

"Apparently Vlad was hit in the face with a prototype Ghost Portal, and that's what made him half ghost. But his situation is a little more different than Danny's. Vlad got his ghost powers gradually, while Danny got his pretty much all at once, with the exception of his ice powers. I also think that Danny might be getting stronger than Vlad," Echo informed. "But that's only a theory, I can't confirm if that's true or not. And anyways, due to this, Vlad has been trying to adopt Danny for three years now, ever since he found out that Danny was half ghost like he is. This often leads to a lot of fights, insults, pranks gone wrong, and a lot of hostilities. Sadly though, Vlad is the only one who could really help Danny and understand him, since they are the only known half ghosts-half humans in existence."

"Echo, calm down, you're doing what living creatures call 'nerding out'," Juliette informed.

"Hey, I was just trying to explain, in detail, about how Vlad became a halfa, which is what we call half human-half ghost," Echo pouted. "And his relationship with Danny."

"It's fine," Juliette assured with a smile. "I was simply saying that you were getting a little bit excited, which could add to the 'beacon' even more."

"I blame you," Echo grumbled. "Ever since you came to Amity Park, I've been acting more and more like a living."

Juliette stopped. "Do you mind that you're acting more like 'a living'?"

Echo stopped and turned to her. "I… don't know…? I mean I've always just watched how the living go about their day to day lives. I never really thought about myself being one of them, so… it's honestly hard to grasp. I don't really think about it when I do act like a living. Most of the time I just do it, then think about it later, and find it… weird that it was me. Does that make sense?"

"A little," Juliette responded with a small smile. "I personally think it's nice to see you acting more lifelike."

Echo gave a small smirk. "Really? I don't know if I should be happy or mortified then."

"You should be happy," Juliette replied. "It hopefully means you're increasing your chance to return to the living world."

"Right…" Echo sighed at that. "Well, I've told you what I knew about Wisps, so let's get going."

Echo had taken Juliette to the mall. It was a big place, filled with people. Echo liked coming here, especially whenever Danny and his friends decided to come, it was always so lively, a great opportunity to observe many different types of people. Of course, Void Creatures love coming here too. The mall was also a place for drama, which attracted Void Creatures. Most of the Void Creatures were small and manageable, so Echo usually ignored them unless a big one came.

Echo stopped at a huge fountain in the middle of the mall, smiling a little as he sat on the floor, since he would go through the edges of the fountain or the benches. "Welcome to Amity Mall, a place of opportunities and social gatherings."

"Wow. this is pretty big," Juliette commented. "Not on the top 10, but still decently big."

"Yup, so where do you want to go first?" Echo asked. "There's a map over by the wall over there."

Juliette walked over to the map and looked at the different options. "Perhaps the movie theater? Or one of the clothing stores?"

"Ah, the movie theater is awesome. I can get in for free and watch as many movies as I want," Echo chuckled. "It's a great place to go when Danny's asleep or in the Ghost Zone. I personally don't mind this one, but I prefer the one closer to the school."

"Heh, technically you're stealing but I guess since there is no 'Void Police', you're in the clear," Juliette joked.

Echo shrugged. "Can't arrest what doesn't exist."

Juliette made a face of annoyance at that.

"Technically speaking," Echo added. "So want to head for the movie theater first?"

"Yeah, that looks like it's a central location in the mall," Juliette answered.

Echo got back on his feet and walked to the movie theater with Juliette. There was a bit of a long line of people, many wanting to see some movies that were showing. Echo and Juliette easily walked by the crowd and went inside.

Echo smiled when they entered the concession stand. This was another reason why Echo liked coming to movie theaters, not only did he get to watch the movie, but he got to observe people eating. Echo wasn't sure why he found that so fascinating, and he knew it would be disturbing to the living, but he just couldn't help himself. He could never eat himself due to the lack of the ability to touch food, so that might be one of the reasons why. Echo also found sleep to be interesting, but also dangerous. He would often stay beside Danny whenever he slept in order to protect him from Void Creatures.

Echo looked over at Juliette, to see her mouth watering a little as she sniffed the air. "Oh god… I wish I had money… everything smells sooooo good."

Echo blinked, and looked at Juliette. "You… can smell?"

Juliette nodded. "Being half living, I can smell things, even in the Void. Though the smells are a lot duller. After all, they're the smells that are ceasing to exist or what should've been there."

"Wow… what is it like then?" Echo asked. "Actually, maybe don't bother. I've read people's mind on how something smells, but without any experience myself, I can never really truly understand it."

Juliette gave a small frown. "Hey, at least that means when we get you out of here, you will have a lot to experience… well, reexperience."

Echo looked at Juliette's mouth and chuckled. "You're drooling. Must be a really yummy smell here. I'm kind of jealous now."

Juliette looked away and wiped up her saliva, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I've only had some basic food this past week as well as the 'food' they serve at school… so these smells are making me really hungry."

"Huh, okay. Hunger would be uncomfortable for a living, it makes their stomach make those loud growling noises. You'd think there was a tiger or lion in their bellies or something," Echo chuckled.

Juliette chuckled a little before her stomach let out a growl. "We should… get out of this area."

"Right, let's go see how the non-food handling employees work around here," Echo agreed as they walked into the hallway that showed doors that would lead into different screening rooms. "This is… uncomfortably similar to the hallway in Danny's mind."

"Except it's less tight, better lit, and there are bathrooms," Juliette pointed out. "The doors are also much different as they don't have door handles or locks, simply bars you can pull on."

"You're such a nerd sometimes," Echo chuckled, playfully pushing Juliette. "I can tell the differences myself."

"Looks like the people back here either collect tickets or clean up," Juliette noted as she looked around. "While the ones up front either sold tickets or worked the concession stand."

"Yeah, that seems to be about the gist of it," Echo agreed. "I think they also would get yelled at by their boss if they don't do a fast or good enough job."

"Sounds like the boss is a jerk," Juliette remarked. "Hopefully not in front of customers… but I'd still rather not have an asshole of a boss."

"Yeah, a boss could definitely make or break your jobs," Echo remarked. "Well anyways, I'm not sure about the boss here. We can keep looking around the mall though."

Juliette nodded. 'Perhaps we could check out a couple clothing or jewelry stores. I worked at a jewelry shop in China at one point."

"Wow, you really get around," Echo whistled. "Alright, let's go check out the jewelry store next, then a clothing store."

Echo led Juliette all around Amity Mall. They checked out the jewelry stores that sold jewelry, but the boss was greedy, he wanted to charge people way more than what the jewels were worth. They tried the clothing stores next. Some of the employees were snobby, and wouldn't let certain people in unless they were beautiful or famous. Other clothing stores just didn't have a lot of good variety and didn't pay all that well.

Eventually, Juliette had enough and decided that there weren't a lot of great job options in the mall.

"God… that mall was just… awful," Juliette remarked as she and Echo left the mall. "Either the bosses were screwing their employees over or yelling at them or blaming them for crap, or the employees were getting underpaid or there were toxic working environments. The worst ones were the ones where the bosses were forcing their employees to gouge the wallets of the customers and the customers were so naive or innocent that they had no clue…"

"Yeah, there's quite a few corrupted people with too much power in the mall. Some of them are actually…" Echo hesitated a little. "Ghosts that can shapeshift, they can hide their aura so Danny wouldn't be able to sense them. But don't worry, there will come a time where they'll get what's coming to them, and better people will be put in charge at the mall."

"Karma is the Goddess of Just Desserts and Karmic Retribution," Juliette remarked in agreement before she sighed. "Any other ideas of places I could get a job?"

"Hmmm…" Echo looked around for a second. "How are you with non-anthro animals?"

"Pretty good," Juliette answered before tilting her head a little. "Why?"

"Would you like to try becoming an employee at a pet store?" Echo asked, pointing at the building that was behind Juliette.

Juliette turned around, following Echo's arm until she saw a giant pet store.

"PetSmart?" Juliette raised a brow, seeing there was a 'Help Wanted' sign in one of the many windows.

"Yeah, it's a place where they sell a lot of different types of non-anthro animals for people to take home as pets. Actual pets, not kinky pets," Echo explained.

"Hmmm… I guess we could take a look," Juliette responded. "Hopefully it's a positive atmosphere with friendly bosses and employees."

Echo nodded in agreement before he and Juliette walked into the PetSmart. There were all sorts of pet items being sold, like dog toys, collars, pet food, hamster wheels, hamster cages, fish tanks, and the like. There were surprisingly a lot of anthros in the pet store. Echo wasn't as surprised though, because anthros enjoyed having non-anthro pets more than humans, likely due to having feral animals to take care of, especially of their own kind. Anthro dogs love having non-anthro dogs for example, they know best what the non-anthro dog would need and want.

Echo looked at the glass cages that showed rodents. He enjoyed watching how the small rodents would run in their wheels, drink water, eating their seeds and grains, and clean themselves. They were adorable, and Echo wouldn't be ashamed to admit that he squealed a little whenever he watched the little furry rodents.

"It looks like the animals are well cared for… but what about the staff?" Juliette asked as she began to look around.

"You can find them near the entrance at the cash register, or at the back, grooming the dogs. Some of them are walking around the store, doing merchandise checking and whatnot," Echo informed.

Juliette gave a nod. "I'll be back, you just keep admiring the dwarf hamsters."

"I-I'm not admiring dwarf hamsters!" Echo sputtered.

"Uh huh…" Juliette nodded, her tone full of doubt, as she walked away.

Echo grumbled to himself before he turned his attention back on the hamsters. Whenever he wasn't watching Danny, he would sometimes come to the nearest pet store and watch dwarf hamsters. Echo wouldn't mind keeping one as a pet, if he could. Danny himself liked hamsters, though he usually preferred dogs. Danny ended up learning how to care for a dog since Cujo often came to Amity Park wanting to play with Danny, which, more often than not, brought Valerie's wrath. Echo couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he thought about Danny getting pounced on by Cujo, then having Valerie stare at them before the shooting began.

"A boy and his dog," Echo mused. "More like a ghost boy and his ghost dog."

Before long, Juliette came back.

"Hey, so how were the employees?" Echo questioned.

"They all looked pretty happy," Juliette responded. "And all the bosses and managers seemed to be extremely happy and friendly."

Echo smiled. "That's great. So do you want to work here?"

"Possibly, but I have to wonder why they're looking for employees," Juliette answered. "It seems they have all the employees they could need and then some."

"Maybe you can ask them later," Echo shrugged. "So, now that we found a good place for your job, how about we continue with our little tour? There's a few more places I want to show you."

Juliette nodded. "I should probably come up with an alternate job or two, but that can be done on my own time."

Juliette followed Echo out of the PetSmart. Echo showed Juliette around Amity Park once again, seeing more Wisps along the way. Then Echo came to a fast food restaurant, which had a name that made Juliette raise an eyebrow.

"Welcome to the Nasty Burger," Echo announced. "A place where many teenagers come to hang out. This one in particular is close to Casper High, so mostly Casper High students like to come here. Danny, Tucker, and Sam often come here as well."

"Definitely wouldn't have been able to work here," Juliette noted.

"Maybe not, but when you get money, you might like to eat here. Not that I would know, but apparently the food tastes really good here," Echo stated as they walked inside. "Unfortunately, like how I can't smell, I can't taste either, so both of those things are lost on me."

"The smells are… decent," Juliette remarked. "But there's a heavy scent of oil and fat in the air… So I probably wouldn't eat here too often."

"Hey, Rebecca, can you take this? I need to put more ketchup in the condiments section," An african american teenage girl said.

"Sure, Valerie," The girl called Rebecca answered.

"Oh? Valerie works here?" Juliette questioned, recognizing Valerie from school.

"Yeah, she works here part time," Echo replied. "Because her and her father are on hard times, so Valerie's doing what she can to help raise money for college. At least that's what she tells everyone."

"What do you think she's actually doing with the money?" Juliette questioned.

"I know she's putting some money on the side for her future," Echo admitted. "But the rest usually goes to getting better ghost hunting equipment. You know, it's a real shame that she couldn't have just stayed with Danny, but she dumped him to go ghost hunting. I just had this feeling she would've been a good friend."

"Danny and Valerie dated?" Juliette loudly gasped, shocked that the ghost boy and the ghost hunter would've dated.

"Yeah, at one point, they did…" Echo informed with a sigh. "I mean Sam also likes Danny, but if Danny and Valerie wanted each other, I was going to support him, even if he didn't know it. It's just a shame though, because I feel like Valerie could've been a good friend, especially if Danny told her. Valerie doesn't know Danny's secret, but from what I've seen, she probably would've understood, or would at least have stopped going after him, if he told her. Valerie likes- Oh, wow, I can't believe I haven't told you about her yet."

Before Juliette could ask, they both heard familiar voices talking.

"About time you're back."

"Sorry, Skulker was being hectic. He's got a few upgrades."

"Do Danny, Sam, and Tucker always talk about Danny's escapades out in the open like this?" Juliette asked, identifying the voices.

"They do, but nobody really knows what they're talking about. They, more often than not, think they're talking about a video game," Echo answered. "Or Maddie and Jack's ghost hunting business."

Echo was bouncing on his feet a little.

"You… okay?" Juliette raised a brow, noticing Echo's bouncing.

"Yeah… um… could you excuse me for a minute?" Echo requested before he took off.

Echo rushed to where Danny, Tucker, and Sam were sitting. Their food had already arrived, Tucker and Sam were halfway done eating. Danny just got started since he evidently just came back after chasing down Skulker.

"Have you tried that KinkQuest homework?" Sam asked as Danny took a bite of his burger.

"I did," Danny answered.

Juliette chuckled before she walked away, a small smile on her face.

"So what did you think? Found any kinks you liked?" Tucker prompted, eating his own burger.

"Nope," Danny replied as he swallowed his burger.

"What kinks did you try?" Sam inquired.

"Some weird kink where I got tied up. I didn't like it, it reminded me too much of when my enemies tied me up," Danny grumbled.

"Bondage?" Sam questioned to which Danny gave a small nod. "Well rope bondage, or whatever they tied you up with, is only one kind of bondage. Remember Juliette's leather suit? That's another type of bondage."

"Yeah, I tried that too. I just felt awkward and embarrassed," Danny replied.

"Any other kinks?" Tucker asked. "After all, the assignment is two hours a night."

"There was one where my foot was tickled. Another where someone tried to whip me. And then… I think I was eaten by a dragon," Danny shivered. "Or maybe it was a fox? … Could've been a fox dragon, it was furry, but also dragon-esque."

"Eaten by a fox dragon? Just what is KinkQuest?" Echo mused as he watched Danny eat.

"Oh, hey Danny!"

Echo jumped when he heard Juliette greet Danny, spinning around to see her waving.

"Juliette, what are you doing?" Echo hissed.

"Hey, Juliette," Danny greeted. "I didn't think we'd see you here today."

"Hi, Juliette," Sam waved. "Come sit down with us."

"Nice to see that you're here." Tucker smiled.

"I wanted to explore a little bit of my new town," Juliette informed as she sat down at their table.

"Have you ever tried a Nasty Buger's burger before?" Tucker asked.

Juliette shook her head. "No, and sadly I can't just yet, as I don't have any spending money."

"Your Mom doesn't take you here or anything?" Sam frowned.

"If you want, you can try this one," Danny offered, pushing an unwrapped burger towards Juliette. "None of us have touched it yet."

"Are you sure? Weren't one of you going to eat it?" Juliette questioned.

"I was," Danny answered. "But I can always get another one if I really need to. You look like you could use some food yourself. I can hear your stomach growling."

"From how loud her stomach is growling, one could say she has a dragon in there," Echo commented.

Juliette sheepishly chuckled. "Thanks…" Juliette reached forward and took the unwrapped burger. She then lifted the burger up to her mouth before she took a bite.

Echo could only watch Juliette's expression to figure out what she thought of the burger, though he stood a bit away, knowing she wouldn't like it if he got up in her face again.

"Wow, this is pretty good," Juliette commented after she swallowed her bite. "A bit too much grease though…"

"Yeah, that's Nasty Burger for you. That and fast food restaurants as a whole," Tucker chuckled . "Good old grease."

"Maybe next time you could try a veggie burger, those don't have a lot of grease in them," Sam offered.

"Would she be able to eat a veggie burger?" Tucker asked. "I mean she's a fo- I mean, a kitsune, aren't they carnivores?"

"Actually foxes and kitsune are omnivores," Juliette informed. "I can survive on both meat and non-meat items."

"Nice, so we don't have to worry too much about your diet," Danny remarked.

"Unlike someone else we know," Sam teased, making Danny blush, but also narrow his eyes.

"It's not that bad…" Danny grumbled.

"Does Danny eat only meat or something?" Juliette raised a brow.

"No, that would be yours truly~" Tucker stated proudly. "Well, Sam did get me to eat a few vegetables."

"It's nothing to concern yourself with, Juliette. I just have somewhat of a stricter diet than most," Danny waved off. "Growing up with ghost hunters, you're bound to get some kind of mutation on the inside from the excessive amount of ectoplasm in the air."

"Does your… mutation prevent you from eating certain things like an allergy? Or does it only mean you have to eat a certain type of thing that most people wouldn't eat?" Juliette inquired.

"Come ooooon, Juliette, why must you ask him this?" Echo groaned, wishing he could slam his head into a table.

"The latter. I can eat anything anyone else can eat," Danny replied. "Just don't ask me what it is. It's kind of… personal."

Juliette nodded. "That's about the same with me."

"Have you tried out the KinkQuest yet?" Sam asked.

"No, I haven't," Juliette answered openly. "I'm a little worried that my mom made a few… edits to my headset that I may not like."

"You do seem to have a hostile relationship with your mom," Danny noted. "At least from what I can tell."

"It's not… hostile… just very… unique," Juliette replied.

"I'd rather not have to play KinkQuest, but I can't afford to fail another class," Danny grumbled. "Oh, here, you can try some of the fries too, we have plenty of them."

Juliette gave a grateful smile. "Thank you, I feel a little spoiled right now…"

"Don't be, we like helping people out," Danny chuckled.

"That's especially true with Danny," Sam remarked. "A little too true."

"I know this is a bit out of the blue… but by any chance, are you Danny Phantom?" Juliette softly asked. "I mean your name already sounds really similar to it… and you seem to disappear right before Phantom appears."

If Echo could, he would've dragged Juliette right back into the Void himself and start screaming at her.

At first, the three were silent. But then Danny spoke up. "That would be really cool actually. But sadly, I'm not. I just watch what Danny Phantom does."

"Yeah, besides, Danny Phantom is a ghost, Danny himself clearly isn't," Tucker added.

"Seems kind of a weird leap in logic just because of a name, and that Danny isn't around when the ghost boy shows up," Sam remarked.

Juliette looked down, acting like she was a bit ashamed of asking the question.

"Hey, don't feel bad. Believe it or not, you're not the first person to ask that question," Danny said softly. "I guess that's what happens when you're the only teenager with the name 'Danny' in the area."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked such a stupid question," Juliette apologized.

"It's cool, we sometimes like to pretend Danny is actually Danny Phantom," Tucker joked.

"The reason I thought it could be plausible is because there are a lot of half breeds between anthros and humans… so why not a half human and a half ghost?" Juliette explained. "I mean… it would be pretty cool to imagine a human with ghost powers, or the ability to become a ghost at will."

"While that may be cool, it also sounds impossible," Sam remarked. "I mean, how can you be half alive and half dead? It defies all logical explanations."

Juliette gave a silent chuckle to that. That's pretty much what I am… just not half ghost. "There are other impossible seeming things in the world like dragons and kitsunes. I'm a being right out of folklore apparently."

"Oh, those aren't impossible, especially now with the world we live in," Danny chuckled. "But no matter the world, it's still hard to believe something could be half alive and half dead. Still, though, you have a point in saying there's a lot of things that exist that no one would think was possible."

"Like Will O' the Wisps," Juliette remarked.

"You know about Will O' the Wisps?" Danny asked, surprised.

Juliette nodded. "I can see them and interact with them… in fact, what I said before about your 'mutation' being similar to something that I have. Sometimes, if I'm really hungry, Wisps can give me some of their energy. But when it happens… which is very rare as I try to avoid it, I feel a bit more… feral, somewhat less in control."

"Wow, that's very… interesting," Sam said, looking at Tucker as if trying to figure out what to say.

"Yeah, who would've thought a kitsune could fee- ow!" Tucker yelped, Sam stepped on his foot.

"Hmmm…" Danny gave a thoughtful look.

Before anymore could be said, a light blue mist came out of Danny's mouth. Danny frowned in annoyance.

"I'll be right back. I need to get something," Danny informed before he got out of the booth and ran out somewhere.

"I think YOU need to leave too," Echo hissed at the kitsune girl. "You've got some explaining to do!"

"Huh… is that blue mist thing another mutation that Danny's undergone…?" Juliette worriedly asked. "If so… perhaps Danny's parents should rethink some of their work… or at least make the house safer."

"It's definitely a mutation, but it's pretty harmless," Tucker reassured.

"Though I do agree with you on them making the house safer for Danny…" Sam sighed.

"Does the mist mean anything?" Juliette asked curiously.

"Uh…" Tucker hesitated.

"We're not sure, it just comes up once in a while," Sam spoke up.

"Oh!" Juliette remembered something. "Do you think Danny would be up to tutoring me at all? I'm having a bit of trouble in the classes he seems to do really well in, like science."

Echo was trying to grab and shake Juliette, but since she wasn't in the Void, all he could do was move his arms around her, pretending he was shaking her. Juliette was trying hard not to laugh.

"Danny? As a tutor?" Sam blinked.

"Wow, nobody's ever asked or thought of Danny as a tutor, especially with how he's barely passing school," Tucker chuckled.

"It might be better if you ask his sister, Jazz, to tutor you," Sam suggested. "I'm not saying Danny's stupid or anything, but Jazz is really more suited for tutoring."

"She's also a senior," Tucker added.

"I'd… prefer to get tutored by someone I'm… familiar with," Juliette explained.

"I could help tutor you on some things," Tucker offered. "I'm really good with math and science."

"I appreciate the offer… but I'd first like to ask Danny if he'd be up to tutoring me," Juliette replied. "I'd also like to get to know him a bit better."

"Is there a reason why you seem a bit… fixated on Danny?" Sam cautiously asked.

"I… have a feeling his life and fate is unique, like my own," Juliette answered. "I… think it's a kitsune thing? Being able to sense uniqueness in people."

"Oh, he's unique alright." Tucker smirked.

Sam glared at Tucker. "Well, I'm sure you have your reasons, just… try not to make him feel uncomfortable. Danny's got a lot on his plate."

"I promise I'll do my best," Juliette gave her word. "I know what it's like to have a lot on my plate…" After all, I've lived my life being hunted by Void Creatures, beings who want me as their pet or slave or whatever, and even had a few magical beasts chase me… I still wonder why that dragon chased me so long ago…

After a while of chatting about random things, Danny finally came back. Though to Juliette's surprise, Danny was holding a cup of water.

"Ah, I just thought you'd like something to drink after eating all that," Danny explained.

"Oh thanks." Juliette smiled before she took the cup of water. You were getting a drink for what… 5? 10 minutes?

"He's too good," Echo muttered. "Just too pure."

Juliette noticed that Echo stopped trying to get her to shut up, and just went back to admiring Danny. Juliette took a sip of the cool water, which was refreshing to her.

"So, Danny, Juliette's been wondering if you'd tutor her," Tucker spoke up. "Lucky, getting a kitsune girl to want you to teach them."

"What?" Danny blinked, going back to eating his own half eaten burger.

"Yeah, I notice you do really well in science, and I'm honestly having quite a few issues," Juliette explained. "I was hoping, if you had the time, you could tutor me a little to at least help me understand the formulas a bit better."

"Oh… well, I guess I could," Danny said hesitantly. "But I don't know. My plans… often get changed a lot."

"We can play it by ear if you'd prefer," Juliette offered. "Perhaps we can aim for after school one day and if anything comes up, we can postpone."

"I suppose we can give it a shot. At least then I can tell Jazz that she's not the only one who tutored people." Danny smirked.

"I'm sure Maddie and Jack would also love to meet a kitsune," Echo chuckled.

"If you need to stop tutoring me or need to postpone our tutoring sessions at any time, feel free," Juliette offered. "I can tell you have a lot of pressure on yourself and I don't want to add any more."

"It's fine, I'm sure I can tutor you," Danny assured. "So when do you want to start?"

"This coming week would be nice," Juliette responded.

"Okay, so on Monday we can get started after school, that is assuming nothing else happens that day, sound good?" Danny suggested.

Juliette gave a nod. "That sounds fine."

"Oh, Juliette, we never asked," Tucker began. "Where in the area are you living?"

"Oh… uh…" Juliette hesitated, unsure if she should answer the opera house or some other location.

"Yes, Juliette, where are you living, hmmm?" Echo mocked questioned. "Are you living in a place where your mom doesn't want you to say?"

"Anise…? If someone from school asks me where I'm living, should I tell them the opera house? Or some other place where you are living?" Juliette mentally called out. "I… don't remember the exact place as I'm new to this city. If you give me a second, I can try and think of the general area."

"Tell them you live in school," Anise giggled.

"What? I can't tell them that, Anise!" Juliette mentally shouted.

"It's either that or the opera house. Cause I'm living in the school myself if I'm not in my actual house, which isn't on this plane of existence," Anise replied.

"I think it… used to be an opera house of some kind…?" Juliette hesitantly replied.

"An… opera house?" Sam blinked.

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to, Juliette. Where you live isn't any of our business," Danny spoke up.

"No, seriously, that is where I live," Juliette informed. "It's right near a movie theater and a bookstore."

"You can't seriously mean that empty opera house…" Sam frowned.

"If you'd like, I can take you there," Juliette offered.

"Wait, so you actually live in an abandoned house? Or did you and your mom refurbish it or something?" Tucker asked.

"We refurbished it and renovated it a bit," Juliette answered. "The stage is still there, but most of the rows of seats were removed, though there are still a number left. Mom is thinking about renovating even more and putting up walls to make proper bedrooms. Right now we're using dressing rooms as our bedrooms."

"That's pretty cool," Danny commented. "Maybe we will have to check it out one day. But we should ask your mom for permission first. She kind of scares me a little."

"She already said I can bring any friends I want over," Juliette said, making it up, but knowing Anise would be more than interested in Juliette making friends and bringing them over to 'their home'.

"Well, that's awfully nice of her," Tucker stated. "Maybe we can all bring our VR helmets and play locally on KinkQuest together."

Both Juliette and Danny glared. "No."

"I… honestly have no plans on trying out the game," Juliette commented.

"Yeah, and I'm tired of being the victim to everyone's kinks," Danny grumbled.

"You two will never find your kinks if you keep up with that attitude," Sam pointed out. "It might be more fun to do it with friends than just with the AI."

"I am worried that my mom messed with my helmet or the game to…" Juliette shivered, legitimately terrified of what Anise might do to the helmet in order to control and ensnare her.

"You could borrow one of my helmets then, I have a few extras," Sam offered. "You really shouldn't avoid this forever. At least think about it, that goes for you too, Danny."

"Fine, I'll at least think about it," Danny agreed.

"I'll… consider it," Juliette agreed as she stood up from the table. "Anyways, I should probably get going…"

"Okay, and hey, don't be a stranger," Danny replied with a small smile.

After saying their goodbyes, Juliette left the group, who left a few minutes after her.

"There a reason you're with me and not Danny?" Juliette softly asked as she walked towards the opera house.

"First of all, the tour wasn't quite finished, and second, WHY THE CRAP DID YOU ALL BUT ASK DANNY HIS SECRET IDENTITY!?" Echo shouted, making Juliette's ears ring a little.

"I wanted to see how he would react…" Juliette responded after she took a few moments to recover. "And next time you start yelling, I'm going to put you in a Void Barrier box and leave you there until the following day."

"I wish I could put you in a Void Barrier box," Echo growled. "What was your plan anyways? You wanted to get closer to Danny or something?"

"Well, at base I wanted to interact with him outside of school," Juliette answered. "I also wanted to try and arrange that tutoring session so I can destroy that device… the Mortalizer?"

"Mortifier," Echo corrected.

"Right, that one." Juliette nodded. "I also wanted to show him that I'm kind of like him in some ways."

"That's fine and all, but did you have to do it so… spontaneously? If I had a heart, I would've gotten a heart attack," Echo grumbled.

"People are spontaneous sometimes, Echo," Juliette informed. "You should know that by now."

"Uuugh… sometimes I forget who I'm talking to," Echo groaned. "I did sense that Danny seemed a little more at ease to know someone similar to him was around, even though she's not exactly the same. That's why I started to calm down a bit. I was more worried about you adding more stress to him, especially after when you asked him if he was Danny Phantom."

"I mostly did that to break the ice and get him to be more aware of what I was saying," Juliette explained. "Now, where else would you like to take me? I can't go back into the Void for a bit."

"Well… I wanted to take you to see where Mayor Masters lived, but… since you can't go back into the Void right now, maybe I'll just show you the mansion. Tourists are allowed to see the outside of his mansion, so you should be fine," Echo informed.

Juliette gave a nod. "After you."

While Echo was leading Juliette to Vlad's mansion, he remembered something she said to Danny that got him curious.

"So, Juliette, you told Danny that you actually met with Wisps before, right?" Echo asked. "But… didn't you say you didn't know what Wisps were?"

"When did I say I didn't know what Wisps were?" Juliette raised a brow.

"When we saw the Wisps at Central Park?" Echo reminded.

"Yes… and?" Juliette questioned. "I never said I didn't know about them."

Echo frowned. "Then what was the point of me explaining them to you?"

"Well I did want to find out if Wisps here were any different than the ones I've interacted with," Juliette replied. "Also, it was just fun to see you getting so into explaining something. You seemed like you were having fun."

Echo rolled his eyes. "Whatever, let's just get to the mansion."

"And here is where Mayor Masters lives. You're free to take pictures, but no passing the gate, thank you, and have a nice day," Echo stated, mimicking the tone of a tour guide.

Juliette couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Aww, does that mean the tour is over, Mr. Guide?"

"You've seen just about all you need to see of Amity Park for now," Echo answered. "This is the only place I don't come to very often though. The place gives me the creeps. Void Creatures love nesting in that area, not to mention all the lewd pictures he has of Maddie, a hologram of Maddie, and his leftover project from when he tried to clone Danny."

"He tried to clone Danny…?" Juliette asked, a bit surprised. "Honestly, from what I heard of him, he wouldn't be capable of that. Well… minus the whole 'he's half ghost' part."

"He keeps most of his real experiments top secret from the public. If the government ever found out about it, he'd probably be arrested, or taken by the Guys in White to be experimented on. He has a hidden lab, and he uses that suit that Valerie has to spy on Danny. He analyzes Danny, his personality and his abilities. He learned a lot about Danny just from the suit alone, and he used it to try to create the perfect clone of Danny," Echo explained. "But there can never be a perfect clone of Danny. All the clones ended up melting into goop… well, all the male ones at least."

"All the male ones?" Juliette repeated. "Does that mean Vlad made a successful female clone of Danny?"

"Uh… sort of?" Echo hesitated, trying to think of the right words. "I wouldn't call her a perfect clone of Danny. She's two years younger than he is, and she wasn't all that stable either. But Vlad must've done something right with her, because she was different from the other clones, who were kind of like mindless slaves to Vlad. She had her own personality and sense of self. Eventually, Danny managed to get her to see that Vlad didn't care about her, and only wanted to use her to get Danny's mid-morph sample for his 'good clone'. The two of them worked together to knock Vlad out and escape. I believe her name was Danielle, and she's quite a free spirit, she's also half human, half ghost due to being Danny's clone, and she's currently travelling the world. If I remember right, Danny managed to stabilize Danielle when they met again later, and Valerie…"

Echo paused for a moment. "Valerie… found out that Danielle was half human. And she was… well, she was shocked at first, but eventually she came around. She and Danielle are almost like the best of friends, and that made me a little sad, knowing that Valerie could be the same with Danny if she just knew, instead of always being so hostile towards him."

Juliette gave a nod of understanding to that. "Perhaps Danny will tell her one day instead of her finding out on her own."

"I doubt that's going to happen any time soon," Echo sighed. "He still hasn't told his parents."

"Well… hopefully he'll tell them too at some point," Juliette responded. "Perhaps after he tells Valerie."

Echo got a far away look in his eyes, Juliette knew this meant he was likely tapping into his ability to see into the future. Juliette waited patiently as Echo was looking ahead. Echo's eyes suddenly widened in alarm.

"You need to leave, now," Echo suddenly warned.

"What? Why?" Juliette asked quickly.

A tall, albino anthro lizard lady suddenly stood over Juliette.

"Excuse me, Ms. Kitsune?" The lizard asked.

Juliette spun around to look at the voice. "Y-yes?!" Juliette asked, a bit nervous and on guard.

The lizard had red eyes, but they didn't look creepy like a ghost's eyes would, they looked natural and kind. She had some red tattoos around her neck and stomach area. Around her neck was a red, orange, and yellow collar that had the name 'Lulu' on it. On her body she wore some bondage, covering her more private parts.

"C-can I help you?" Juliette added, gulping a tiny bit.

"I really need to stop giving you these tours when you're not in the Void Realm," Echo grumbled.

"Mayor Masters would like to invite you to his mansion for some tea," The lizard lady, whom Juliette assumed is named Lulu, stated.

"O-oh? I wasn't expecting the mayor to take note of me… let alone invite me into his mansion…" Juliette said, looking down. "I… guess I can join him. But I shouldn't be too long, I promised my mom I'd be home in an hour."

"You're not half bad with acting and lying," Echo observed.

Lulu gave a bow of her head. "Please, come with me, Ms. Kitsune."

Juliette gave a nervous gulp before she began to follow Lulu. Echo followed Juliette.

Lulu had the gate opened, and led Juliette to the mansion. As soon as they reached the doors, a butler opened it.

"Welcome to Mayor Masters's mansion," The butler greeted. "Please, come in."

Lulu led Juliette inside before the butler closed the door behind them. It was large inside, but Juliette was uneasy, despite the luxurious decor, she could sense and see a lot of Void Creatures in the area. Echo wasn't kidding when he told her Void Creatures liked being in this place. Juliette tried to ignore the Void Creatures though, and stayed focused on Lulu.

"You may take a seat on any of the furniture here," Lulu said, gesturing to the armchair and couch, as well as a few chairs near a fancy glass table. "Mayor Masters will be with you shortly."

A small Void Creature was on the table, and hissed at Juliette.

Juliette made a small motion, feeling an energy drain before a clearish white wall appeared between her and the Void Creature.

"Is there anything I can get for you while you wait, Ms. Kitsune?" Lulu asked, completely oblivious to the Void Creatures in the area.

"Some water would be nice," Juliette replied.

"Any kind of water in particular?" Lulu asked as Juliette sat down on an armchair.

"I don't have any preferences," Juliette chuckled. "Just some water."

"Then I will get you some regular water," Lulu stated before she gave another bow and left Juliette on her own.

Juliette looked at all the Void Creatures uneasily as they looked at her. Echo walked over to Juliette and glared at the other Void Creatures.

"Don't move too much. They can sense fear easily," Echo whispered.

Juliette nodded before she whispered. "If I need to, I can defend myself a little… but I'd rather not have to."

"It might get worse when Vlad comes. Being a halfa himself, and the fact he has a lot of built up bitter emotions, the Void Creatures are attracted to him like moths to a light," Echo warned, before hissing at a Void Creature that tried to get closer, making it back off a little. "It's just too bad the light is a source of energy instead of a bug zapper."

Juliette put up another barrier in front of herself, not wanting to give the Void Creatures a route to her. "Please keep an eye on them."

"I will," Echo promised, glaring at the Void Creatures.

Lulu came back with a cup of water, giving it to Juliette. Juliette took a sniff of the water before she carefully took a sip. The cool water helped Juliette calm down a little, but not much.

Echo hissed a little, and Juliette could sense stronger Void Creatures approaching. But Void Creatures weren't the only things coming her way, she sensed another strong presence, one similar to Danny, but darker in a sense, and more twisted.

A man wearing a fancy black suit, with white hair long enough to be tied into a ponytail, approached Juliette. He had a few dog-like Void Creatures hanging beside him, as well as some vulture-like Void Creatures flying around him. But the man didn't seem to notice them as he approached Juliette.

"Hello there, Ms. Kitsune. I must say, it's quite a rare honor to see such a rare species such as yourself in my humble little city," The man greeted. "I am Vlad Masters, the mayor of Amity Park."

"Hello, Mayor Masters, my name is Juliette Rosescale," Juliette greeted in kind. "My mother and I just recently moved into the city, hence why I was walking around outside when your assistant came to fetch me."

"Ah, yes, I've heard about Anise Rosescale, a new teacher at Casper High," Vlad remarked before he sat down on an armchair. "What kind of tea do you like?"

Some of the Void Creatures started to approach Juliette, but whimpered when they hit her barrier.

"I don't have a preference," Juliette answered.

"Very well then, perhaps you'll settle for jasmine?" Vlad asked. "I'll have Lulu bring in some jasmine tea and perhaps some biscuits."

Juliette gave a polite smile. "That sounds delightful."

While Vlad was telling Lulu what to bring, Juliette paid more attention to the Void Creatures. There were more of the larger ones, they looked at Juliette hungrily. Juliette's Void Barrier wouldn't be able to last forever against all of these Void Creatures. Echo was trying to ward them away, but they kept trying to approach her.

"So, why don't you tell me about yourself, hmm? What brought you and your mother to Amity Park?" Vlad asked politely.

"We've moved around a lot since my mother adopted me," Juliette began, trying to seem unphased by the Void Creatures. "We moved here because my mom heard that the high school was looking for someone to teach a kink class. My mom has a gargantuan knowledgebase regarding kinks, so this was the perfect job for her. In fact, some joke and call her an unofficial kink goddess."

"Is that so?" Vlad noted. "How interesting. Kinks used to be looked down upon until the past few years, whatever happened to the world seemed to have affected Amity Park the least."

Vlad and Juliette carried on with innocent questions with the conversation, while Juliette was trying to ignore the Void Creatures. Echo smacked a few of them away. Lulu came by, pushing a cart with a tray. The tray had a teapot, as well as a couple of tea cups, a bowl of sugar, and some biscuits. Vlad poured the tea into the two tea cups, handing one of them over to Juliette.

"It seems you've been getting along fine with the students of Casper High at least," Vlad remarked as he put a few teaspoons of sugar in his teacup, and started to stir. "You said that you've become friends with Daniel and his friends? Did you know that I'm considered Daniel's godfather?"

"I wouldn't say I've become the best of friends or even good friends with Danny and his friends," Juliette replied. "I've unfortunately known him for only a week and I've only spent a little time with him once outside of class, and that was earlier today."

"Ah, of course, you are still new here after all," Vlad said as he started to sip his tea. "So what do you plan to do while you're in Amity Park?"

"I guess… get a job, earn some money, and make some friends?" Juliette answered in an unsure tone, not yet having taken a sip of her tea. "My mother and I have never really settled down in one place long enough for me to do any of that…"

"Then I hope you and your mother will be able to settle down for a bit, take some time to figure out what you want to do in life," Vlad responded. "Now, is there anything you want to ask me?"

"Umm… hmm…" Juliette gave a thoughtful look, biting her lip slightly, before she sheepishly chuckled. "I'm honestly not sure what kind of questions to ask the mayor… Maybe you could tell me why you decided to become a mayor? I had heard about you before as a billionaire philanthropist that donated money to a bunch of charitable causes. Why go for mayor when you could easily have run for Governor or President?"

"Ah, that is an excellent question, Juliette," Vlad remarked. "You see, even though I have all this power and money, I am not looking for more. Contrary to popular belief, I only want something simple that many often take for granted."

"And what would that be?" Juliette asked in response.

"Love…" Vlad sighed. "There was a woman that I had loved dearly back in my college days, but… due to an accident, my bumbling oaf of a friend of mine ended up taking her away from me."

As Vlad said this, bigger Void Creatures began to appear in the area, all hungrily lapping up the negativity that came from Vlad, who was completely unaware of this.

"Oh geez, what was the accident if you don't mind me asking?" Juliette inquired, seeming concerned and interested while glancing over at Echo and then the bigger Void Creatures. Echo, you better do something!

"It's not something I like to talk about, but it did give me a deadly disease. By all rights, I should be dead. I was rotting in the hospital for years. Doctors all thought I was a lost cause. My family stopped visiting me, my so-called friends abandoned me, I was left to die," Vlad growled.

Then a huge bear-like Void Creature towered over Vlad, Juliette, and Echo.

"I'm so sorry to hear that." Juliette softly replied. "That's so awful! They really should've done something about it."

Echo approached the bear as it tried to move closer to Juliette.

"I would be ashamed of those doctors, and your family was awful if they stopped visiting you," Juliette continued as she formulated a lie. "My mother taught me that friends and family who are only around when you're happy and healthy are no kind of friend or family at all."

The Void Bear let out a roar, making it hard for Juliette to focus. Echo got down on all fours, which made Juliette raise an eyebrow. Then blue flames started to appear on Echo, coating his entire body. Soon, a familiar large blue and white fiery fox stood where Echo was, and it let out a warning growl at the bear.

So… it was Echo who saved me on my first night when I was consoling Toriel? Not Foxfire? Juliette noted in surprise still giving a disappointed and concerned frown. "I am sorry you had such a horrible experience, Mayor Masters."

"Yes, it was terrible. But I will say that it did give me a chance to chart out my life, and help make some decisions to become very wealthy, very quickly," Vlad went on. "It was a miracle, but I had survived the disease, and gotten better, well enough to leave the hospital."

The Void Bear attacked, Echo jumped forward, slashing the Void Bear's stomach, causing it to cry out in pain. The Void Bear slashed its claws, but Echo jumped away with quick reflexes. Echo growled before he circled the Void Bear and bit its leg, causing the Void Bear to fall over, burning its leg. The other Void Creatures hesitated. Some of them went to attack Echo, but Echo lashed out his long fiery tail, sending them all back.

Juliette gave a soft expression. "Mayor Masters, would you mind if I gave you a hug? You can decline if you'd like, but I still wish to offer it."

"That is very kind of you, Juliette, but I think we should keep our hands to ourselves for the time being," Vlad replied.

Juliette's right brow went up slightly at that. 'For the time being'? I wonder what he means. "Of course. My offer will still be here if you'd ever like a nice, soft, warm hug." Juliette then picked up her cup of tea and took a sip.

"I will say, however, when the Fentons visited me when I lived in Wisconsin, I was happy to see Maddie again even though she and I both had grown since our college days," Vlad admitted. "And I saw she had two wonderful children, the brilliant, and intelligent Jasmine Fenton. And the foolhardy, resourceful, Daniel Fenton. It's just too bad that they were the children of Jack."

The Void Bear managed to grab onto Echo's tail, though the flames were burning the Void Bear's claws, it managed to swing Echo through a wall. Echo recovered quickly, however, and jumped back through the wall before he tackled the Void Bear down. Jumping into the air, he summoned three fox skulls that had their mouths open. They each shot out some kind of beam at the bear, causing it to shrink down as it disrupted its form. The other Void Creatures jumped at Echo, though the smaller ones were instantly burned by the blue flames.

Juliette took another sip of tea, but then furrowed her brow a little, tasting something not quite right about it. "Did Lulu add something to this tea? Or is it a fresh jasmine? It tastes a little differently from the jasmine tea I've had before."

"It might be a different kind of jasmine tea than you're used to," Vlad shrugged.

Echo gave a loud roar before he used fox skulls to blast away the other Void Creatures.

Juliette put the cup of tea back down on its tray before reaching over to one of the biscuits. That could be the case… jasmine tea leaves aren't grown in only one place.

Echo then began to head over to Juliette, but the Void Bear grabbed his tail, pulling him back. Echo growled before he lifted the Void Bear with his tail and smashed it down onto the ground.

Juliette put one of her hands under the table and made a few motions before she felt a somewhat significant drain on her energy. At the same time, in the air above the Void Bear, three large white spears formed. After making sure Echo wasn't in the way, Juliette made a stabbing motion with her hidden hand, causing the three large spears to stab down into the bear. Juliette figured she must've gotten the heart, because the Void Bear dissipated into black mist before fading away. The other Void Creatures all growled. Echo jumped over to Juliette, landing beside her before he summoned two more fox skulls and had them blast out beams at the other Void Creatures, one on each side. When the Void Creatures either dissipated, ran away, or stayed back, the fiery fox dissipated itself.

Echo stood back up on two feet, looking a little tired. "Juliette… don't eat the biscuit… don't drink the tea… there's some… light drug to slow you down… make it harder… for you to think."

Juliette glanced over at Echo before she slowly put down the biscuit back onto the tray.

"I should probably not fill up on snacks," Juliette chuckled a little. "My mom would chew me out if I filled up before dinner…"

Vlad frowned a little. "Oh, yes, of course, of course."

Juliette stood up, wobbling just a little bit, and she also felt some kind of static shock when she stood up. "If you'd like, I can come back over at some point in the future."

"Yes, that would be nice." Vlad smiled. "It will be nice to get to know you better, Juliette."

Juliette gave a nod before she looked at the tea. "Thank you for the tea, Mayor Masters."

"Please, come again soon," Vlad stated. "Lulu, please escort Juliette out. I'd rather she not get lost inside my mansion."

"Yes, Mayor Masters," Lulu obediently replied as she walked over to Juliette. "Please follow me."

Juliette gave a small wave to Vlad before she began to follow Lulu to the exit. Juliette felt a little wobbly, likely from whatever drug Vlad had put in her tea. Echo walked beside her, looking at her in concern.

"I'm sorry, Juliette. I should've warned you, but I wasn't sure which branch of the path we were on," Echo apologized. "And with all the Void Creatures in the area, I kind of forgot about it until you mentioned the tea tasted different."

"It's fine… I didn't have much, only two sips," Juliette responded quietly with a small smile.

Lulu stopped in front of the gate. "We're here. Be sure to call ahead of time if you wish to visit again."

By the time Juliette was home in the opera house, she laid down on the bed upstairs, feeling tired. Echo stood beside her, his lower half going through the bed.

"You want to lay down? I can create a barrier big enough for you to lay down on," Juliette offered.

"Nah, I don't get tired. I mean I do get a little tired if I use Foxfire for too long, but it doesn't last very long," Echo explained. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay. Maybe you should call it an early night."

"Probably… Anise is probably going to come check on me anyways… I get the feeling she likes to keep an eye on my health," Juliette agreed with a small yawn. "Next time I go to Vlad's place, if I have to go, I'll make sure to fill up beforehand or take something that negates whatever he put in the food and drink."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Echo chuckled. "Maybe tonight I'll keep an eye on him to see what he's planning."

"Or maybe you can stay here in your Foxfire form and keep me safe from any Void Creatures while I rest," Juliette suggested in response. "How were you able to do that by the way…? Turn yourself into Foxfire? And why didn't you say anything about saving me that first night…?"

"Heh…" Echo chuckled lightly. "I'm not too sure on the how, but I'm just able to summon Foxfire's cloak around me, turning me into a fiery kitsune, a non-anthro one mind you. My instincts, speed, and battle prowess are heightened and sharper in that form. I often only use it against the bigger Void Creatures. I can summon these fox skulls to shoot out beams of intense heat that could disrupt or melt a Void Creature's form. It's pretty cool, though I don't use it too often since it makes me feel like a wild animal. As for why I didn't say anything… be honest, would you have trusted me if I did at the time?"

"Honestly…? Probably," Juliette answered. "I should explain what I did as well. While yes, I can make Void Barriers, I can also make weapons to defend myself with… but it drains a large amount of my energy to make weapons. I have been getting better at it over the years though. I think the more I train, the larger the energy reserve I have and the more times I can use my powers without passing out. Also, the more I use a specific ability, the less it drains from me, hence why making such a large barrier takes barely anything from me at this point."

"Ah, I see, well it's cool that you can defend yourself at least. Void Creatures are annoying as heck to deal with alone," Echo remarked. "By the way, I think you're pretty much safe here. So do you really need me to stay to keep you protected?"

"Need you… probably not," Juliette replied before grinning. "Want you… I guess it'd be nice to know someone is keeping a watchful eye on me while I'm drugged up and unconscious."

"Heh, seems you are a little drunk right now," Echo chuckled. "Nobody's asked me to stay before, nobody really could. So… I guess… it's a nice feeling, to be wanted."

Juliette nodded, giving another yawn before she pointed at a chair and motioned at it a bit, making the chair something Echo could sit on. "There, now you can sit down there if you want… Nighty night, Echo."

"Heh, goodnight, Juliette," Echo whispered.

Juliette laid down completely and closed her eyes, quickly falling asleep.

Echo sighed to himself as he sat on the chair, the chair Juliette put a Void Barrier on so he could sit on it. But as Juliette slept, Echo began to feel the very thing that he always felt after a while when everyone was asleep or were somewhere else he couldn't follow; bored. Echo couldn't deny that he liked Juliette wanting him there, but at the same time, he felt bored just sitting there with nothing to do. Juliette was unconscious, so he couldn't talk to her, heaven forbid he'd try to go into her mind.

Deciding it would be more productive to see what others were up to than sit there all night, Echo stood up and walked to the wall, looking back at Juliette.

"Sorry, Juliette… but I'll come by to check on you later," Echo promised before he walked out of the opera house.

Being in the Void, Echo was able to watch and observe what the living did. If he got close enough to someone, he could hear what they're thinking and feeling. It was like he was watching the world from a different point of view if he decided to stick with that person. It gave Echo a better understanding of what the person was like, what their life was like, and why they wanted to do whatever it was they were about to do. There were so many people with different lives and perspectives that it was difficult to keep up with them all. And that was only counting the people in Amity Park.

Nobody knew who Danny Phantom was except for a few people, and it was always so interesting for Echo to hear the theories people came up with on where Danny Phantom came from and why he chose Amity Park as his haunt. There were theories like how Phantom had died young, and he was a new ghost, or an old ghost but looked young because he died at that age. There were also theories on how Phantom had an obsession, like with most ghosts, to protect people, which wasn't that far off from the truth. Of course, there were also the conspiracy theories about Phantom, like how he's become a powerful ghost, that he's getting so strong because he's feeding off the people of Amity Park, that he'll one day turn on everyone and rule the world with an iron fist.

Those types of theories usually came from Jack and Maddie, though Valerie also contributed to that. Unfortunately there wasn't much Echo could do about that, they'd only believe what they wanted to believe, at least until Danny told them the truth. Echo frowned at that.

Even if Danny did tell them, there's still a chance they won't accept it, they'll think Phantom is a disease, and will try to remove him. Hurting Danny even more… Echo sighed.

There didn't seem to be a right way to handle that. The best case scenario was on a path that was too small, too narrow, too unlikely to happen.

Echo decided not to worry about that right now, and focus on Vlad. Echo walked through the gate, leading into Vlad Masters's mansion.

Once Echo was inside the mansion's walls, he looked a little ahead into the future, trying to find where Vlad was.

"Of course, he's in his secret lab," Echo groaned.

Echo walked into Vlad's private study, he may not visit often, but he was familiar enough with the place to know where Vlad's secret lab was. Echo walked past the fireplace that hid the stairs, leading down into the lab. Once Echo was in the lab, he saw Vlad, who was floating in his ghost form, checking something on his supercomputer with the Maddie hologram beside him.

"What's he doing…?" Echo questioned himself, seeing Vlad was holding something black and silver in his gloved hand.

"Are you sure it is wise to do this, sweetie?" Holo Maddie asked.

"But of course. I can sense there was something not normal about that kitsune, and I want to find out what she's hiding," Vlad answered.

"Could it simply have been the fact that she was a kitsune that you were sensing, sweetheart?" Holo Maddie questioned. "After all, kitsunes are known to have powerful magics."

"Yes, all the more reason to find out more about her," Vlad remarked before he placed the fur into a container.

"What do you hope to find, honey?" Holo Maddie inquired. "Perhaps you hope that she is also half ghost like you and my sweet child Daniel?"

"Oh, Maddie, you know me all too well." Vlad smiled. "That is a big factor, but I also want to know what kind of magic she has, and how powerful she is."

"What are your plans if she has both ghostly traits and is magically powerful?" Holo Maddie asked.

A small, bug-like Void Creature buzzed around Echo all of a sudden. Echo flicked the Void Creature away.

"Buzz off," Echo grumbled.

"I will start to factor her into my plans as well as Daniel's. Daniel is still my top priority, after all, the boy and I have a special kind of bond, even if Daniel refuses to see it," Vlad answered.

"It may be easier to go after the kitsune than it would be to go after Daniel," Holo Maddie pointed out. "After all, you nearly had her earlier."

"Yes, but unlike with Daniel, I don't know her that well. So there is that prospect of unknown power that I don't want to risk until I know what I'm getting into," Vlad answered. "Now, begin the scan on the kitsune's fur."

Holo Maddie gave a small nod of understanding. "Scan beginning. And if I may suggest, my sweet, you could have that Red Huntress girl keep an eye on Juliette as well. Perhaps under the excuse that there has been an increase in ghost activity since Juliette and her mother have entered town."

"I could do that, but Valerie has been ignoring most of my orders lately. I can't fathom why though. And even she couldn't keep an eye on Juliette 24/7…" Vlad sighed.

"Then perhaps you could activate the other project," Holo Maddie suggested.

Vlad smirked. "Ah, Maddie, you are always such a brilliant woman."

Echo frowned at that. "What is it…?"

Echo tried to look into the future to see what Vlad could be talking about, but there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. "Must be really subtle if I can't see it…"

"The scanning is complete, love bug~" Holo Maddie announced. "The computer will show the list of what magic and ghostly properties she may have as well as any other traits it can identify."

Vlad nodded as a big digital list appeared on the monitor. Out of curiosity, Echo walked over to see the list himself.

"60% Kitsune and 40% Anomalous DNA for her overall genetic makeup," Vlad listed off. "She has… my word, that is the highest magic levels I have ever seen. Juliette's magic is at about the level of 3 modern nuclear warheads… That is… just spectacular. She does appear to have some ghost DNA within her, but the computer is unable to discern just how much. By the looks of it, not enough for her to be a halfa… but she may have the possibility to become one. And finally, it would appear she has some other anomalies that the computer can't even begin to decipher… In fact, at certain points in the scan, the computer detected the fur as simply not there anymore, like the strands simply disappeared."

Echo wasn't surprised by the fact the computer thought the fur wasn't there at certain points, that was likely the Void half of Juliette, but he was surprised by the fact that Juliette had all that magic inside her, and that she apparently had some ghost DNA in her.

"She really didn't need me to protect her with that much magic in her," Echo observed, frowning a little.

"I do have to ask, honey, if she has so much magic, why didn't she use any of it to sense if the food and drink you were giving her was spiked?" Holo Maddie questioned. "Is it possible that, despite all the strength that is inside her, she is unable to actually tap into it?"

"I don't know… yet," Vlad answered. "But let's be thankful that she either can't, or won't, use all that magic. It would bring in the Guys in White, and they'd swarm all over Amity Park. For now, I'll have to work discreetly if I want her and Daniel."

"Of course, sweetie," Holo Maddie responded.

Vlad turned himself intangible and flew up through the ceiling, and Holo Maddie disappeared. Echo frowned, deciding that was all he was going to get from Vlad tonight.

"I have other places I want to check out right now anyways…" Echo sighed to himself before he walked up the stairs.

Irusha the Kitsune: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': That's good to hear. And we do offer a wide variety of stuff and will likely include others later as we feel like trying things out. We try to make the kinks a part of the story, so that way it's more seamless and doesn't feel like such a slap in the face when we're suddenly doing kinks. However we do sometimes do kink centered scenes instead of plot centered scenes.

DarkFoxKit: Yeah, just a heads up. There are gonna be moments where characters you don't usually see doing something will be doing. … Wait… Onyx, is that the only review?

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Yep, Irusha was the only one to leave a review this time.

DarkFoxKit: … Well… at least that makes this short and easy then. Also, thanks, Irusha.