Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

What most people didn't know is that ghosts can indeed get sick. The symptoms vary from ghost to ghost, are the same as pneumonia, but it's always fatal. Symptoms may show up in hours, weeks, or even years. Once they do, the clock ticks against them. It also kills randomly too. 

~Five years after The Ultimate Enemy ~

Dante didn't know about it. He didn't know he'd caught it when dealing with his younger, weaker counterpart in his timeline. And now.... he's residing in a Fenton thermos. 

It caught him off guard, the first cough. He hasn't coughed since before he was separated from his human half. Dante shrugged it off. Meanwhile, Clockwork heard it, but he wasn't entirely sure. Maybe it was just Dante messing with him. He knew about the illness and had seen many a ghost die to it. Still, he thought nothing of it. There were other illnesses that ghosts could get that involved coughing. 

A few months later, and the symptoms had worsened. Dante coughed a lot. He sensed Clockwork coming in for his yearly check-up, making sure Dante was still in the canister. 

"Clockwork. Please...." Dante croaked out, throat aching badly. 

Clockwork took on a look of concern. Dante shouldn't sound like that. He should be fine. But he sounded weak, almost feeble. Other illnesses never got this bad. Ghosts and ecto-sapiens can handle one for at least six months before it got bad. 

"Clockwork, please. I'm really sick," Dante groaned out, a coughing fit taking over. 

"What else are your symptoms?" Clockwork asked, afraid it was the fatal illness, gripping his staff tightly.

"I'm exhausted, in pain.... I'm noncorporeal, so I don't know what else? Maybe a fever?" Dante replied.

Clockwork hesitated. That wasn't necessarily the fatal illness, but it was enough to worry him. Dante needed to be checked on. Thankfully, he was immune. All Ancients were. Clockwork took a deep breath and popped the lid off the thermos. But Dante didn't come out on his own. Using the release button revealed the ghost curled in on himself. 

Now free, Dante coughed up ectoplasm without covering his mouth. It left a green mess on the floor. That was a definite sign of the fatal illness. With that, Clockwork gently scooped up Dante. The murderous ghost groaned lightly, not wanting to be touched.

Clockwork floated to the sitting room of his lair, lying Dante on the couch. Ghosts normally didn't need to breathe. But this illness tore away at them, giving the simulation they were struggling to breathe from oxygen deprivation. Dante had this as well. He now felt hot, too. Clockwork bundled him up. He was going to need a different room for Dante. 

He made the new room, soup, and tea, making him take medicine to help with the symptoms. Dante barely consumed anything, too weak and tired. Clockwork sighed heavily, bringing Dante into his new room, tucking him into bed. A machine like an oxygen generator was put onto Dante's face. 

"Thanks," Dante whispered before falling back asleep. 

Clockwork left the room, his core hurting, mind troubled. Should he save Dante or let him die? He knew Danny would be upset with him. But at the same time, no ghost deserved to have their body and core ravaged by this illness. He would do it. He would enlist Danny and a few other ghosts to help him. After thinking about it for a moment, Clockwork decided to call upon Skulker, Ember, Fright Knight, Plasmius, and Pandora. 

"Hey, Clockwork," Danny said cheerily. 

Clockwork nearly jumped. He'd almost forgotten about Danny's monthly visit. Was it that time already? He looked at a clock. Yes, it was time. 

"Clockwork? Are you all right? Is this a bad time? I can come back...." Danny worried. 

"Sorry. It's both good and bad. Let me show you," Clockwork said, leading Danny to Dante's sleeping form. 

Danny gasped, but Clockwork's hand muffled it. The timekeeper silently closed the door, dragging Danny away. 

"Why is he free?!" Danny screamed. 

"There's no need for that, Daniel. Dante is no threat to you or anyone. You see, he's very ill. This illness.... it rips ghosts apart. It mimics human pneumonia, but it's fatal in ghosts. There's currently no cure. There won't be one a cure for another 100 years. I need your help to save Dante's life. I'll send you into the future with a few helpers," Clockwork explained. 

"You've got to be kidding me! Help him?! You do remember everything he did right?!" Danny yelled. 

"You're not very good at having an inside voice, are you?" Clockwork deadpanned. 

"Excuse me for wanting my future evil me dead! And since when is his name Dante?!" Danny gripped.

"That's irrelevant. But tell me, Daniel, can you live with yourself knowing that in Dante's final hours, he'll be in agonizing pain, begging for the parents that he lost, crying, delirious as he dies? I wouldn't wish this on any enemy, not the annoying Observants or even Pariah. It's the worst thing that could happen to a ghost," Clockwork said. 

Danny took a deep breath. 

"You're really making this hard for me," he grumbled. 

"Life is never easy, and neither are the decisions we need to make," Clockwork wisely replied. 

Danny thought about it. 

"He really needs that breathing like device?" he asked for clarification. 

"Yes. Dante is struggling to survive as the illness ravages his body. He's coughing up ectoplasm, too. For all I know, he could die by tonight," Clockwork confirmed.

Danny sighed heavily. 

"Okay, fine. You really had to play on my helping people desire, didn't you?" he grumbled. 

"I don't like to. It's a low blow. But I knew you would if I did appeal to your desire to help others. I've watched too many ghosts and ecto-sapiens die to this. Even though Dante is an evil version of you, he's still you. I've come to care for you. Watching him die is like watching you die. I don't want to watch you die," Clockwork lamented. 

Danny knew the timekeeper was being honest. He huffed.

"Fine. I'll help save Dante," he reluctantly agreed. 

Clockwork smiled, sagging in relief. 

"Good. Your allies will be here soon," he said.

"Who did you pick? Vlad?" Danny griped. 

"Yes. He needs to know about Dante anyway. He's still half Plasmius," Clockwork said.

With that, there was a knock on the door. Clockwork opened. 

"Danny, meet your allies on your mission," he said. 

Chapter Text

"Skulker and Fright Knight?!" Danny exclaimed, glaring at the two ghosts, then at Clockwork. 

"I needed some of the best," the timekeeper replied. 

"Then you should've picked someone other than Skulker," Ember teased. 

"Thanks, Em. I really feel the love," the mechanical ghost deadpanned. 

"Could we move along, please? There's not much time left," Clockwork requested.

"Of course, Proinsias," Fright Knight replied. 

Danny, Vlad, Skulker and Ember looked confused. 

"Later," Pandora mouthed as Proinsias explained the future while the group of six followed him. 

They stopped in front of a window to the future. Each person had a small supply pack, a communicator, a map, a locator, and a canteen of ectoplasm infused water. Danny gulped upon seeing the war torn future. Pariah had gotten loose and had kicked up the worst attack on the Ghost Zone and the Human World. 

"I can get you one thousand miles from thelocation of the cure. Any closer and it'll be too dangerous. You'd poke your head out and get it blasted off," Proinsias explained. 

He looked at each one of them. This might be the last time he saw any one of the six. He really didn't want to send them off to their potential deaths. But Dante would be the first case out of millions. They needed the cure and Clockwork had to stay behind to care for him. They grabbed their supplies. 

Danny began forward to the window. Vlad soon came to his side. They could sense the other four behind them in twos as well. They stepped into the future. 

"You can taste the difference in the air. It's terrible," Ember whispered. 

The others nodded, too afraid to talk. They flew forward, whispering plans to one another. 

Back in the past, Dante seemed to be struggling with something. Proinsias flew over. 

"This is going to hurt, sorry," he muttered, puncturing Dante's right lung. 

The ghost whimpered but soon relaxed as the ectoplasm was suctioned out of his nearly full lung. Clockwork stitched the wound shut, then repeated the same process to Dante's left lung. 

"Danny and the others will get the cure. Just hang in there," Proinsias told him. 

Dante couldn't believe his ears but fell back asleep, the illness making him too tired. Clockwork sighed softly, covering Phantom with the blanket again.

Only an hour later, Walker came by. They began talking, wanting to establish an acquaintance relationship. Suddenly, the warden coughed. 

"Are you all right? Would you like some water?" Proinsias offered. 

"Sure. I'm fi-" Walker coughed again, ectoplasm on his hands. 

"It's begun for you too, warden," Clockwork said, having Walker lie in a bedroom he created. 

The ghost didn't object, lying down once he'd yanked off his boots, gloves and hat. Proinsias sighed heavily, setting down the glass, then leaving. Two with him, and thousands more already popping up across the Ghost Zone. 

In the future, Danny dodged to the left, dodged to the right, did a backflip.... twice since the first one wasn't enough apparently. He then rolled to his right as Seraphino sliced through the enemy. 

"Thanks," Danny mumbled. 

"You're most welcome. Come. We are close," Fright Knight reassured him, offering his hand to Phantom. 

Danny took his hand gratefully. He was glad the spirit of Halloween was actually really kind and super helpful. Not long after, they got separated again, two ghosts jumping them and throwing them into separate directions. 

And then came Pariah Dark, looking taller and wider than ever. With his appearance came the end to Danny's patience. All of Dark's supporters crowded around him. Phantom flew before his other five allies, took in a deep breath and wailed.

Ghosts and ecto-sapiens were quickly flung backwards, soon fading into nothingness as Danny's beefed up wail ripped apart their cores. Pariah tried to stand tall, but Phantom put more energy into the wail. With only Dark remaining, he was able to target the massive ghost's core alone and it was ripped apart as well. 

Danny finally stopped, hands on his knees, sweaty and shaky. Having perfected the attack himself, he wasn't as weakened as he used to be. Vlad put a gentle hand onto Danny's shoulder. 

"I'm okay. I just need a minute," Phantom whispered. 

Vlad had lost his own supply bag, so he just rubbed Danny's back. Seraphino floated to them. He gently tilted Phantom's head back a little, the canteen to his lips. Danny gulped the mouthful down. Then Seraphino gave him the ecto-granola bar. Phantom ate it hungrily, taking another sip afterward. He felt much better, rejuvenated. 

"Whoa. What's in that, drugs? I feel fantastic!" Danny exclaimed. 

"It must seem that way to you since you're young and a hybrid," Fright Knight commented.

With that, they located the building that had the cure. It was deep underground like in a videogame. The building was unstable thanks to Phantom's wail. But where the cure was kept, it was sturdy and sealed. The door was unsealed and then.... resealed, locking Pandora, Danny, Vlad, Ember and Seraphino inside. Skulker smiled at them, then walked away. 

"He can't be serious! How can you do that to me?!" Ember cried. 

She tried attack after attack, but nothing worked. And then she coughed too. 

Chapter Text

"I can't believe Skulker did that! To me!" Ember whined. 

Vlad was going over the medicine in the room. He was carefully packing them with Seraphino and Pandora's help. 

"Try freezing the door or the mechanism, Daniel," he called. 

"I'll try," Danny said, then muttered, "I should've learned how to create ghost portals like Dante. I'm such a slacker." 

"Can't you teleport, Plasmius?" Ember hoped.

"Not out of here. I already tried," Vlad replied. 

"Shut up! I'm trying to concentrate!" Danny scolded. 

The others went quiet except for Ember coughing every now and again. Danny couldn't freeze the controls. Vlad concentrated his fire powers to heat up a spot on the door. Once weak enough and had created a hole, Seraphino put one of his gem energy spheres in and everyone stepped back, putting up shields. The sphere exploded and the door fell down. 

The group hurried out only to see Skulker had summoned more enemies to help fight the small group. 

"Oh, come on!" Danny complained. 

"Daniel, protect Ember. We've got this," Vlad ordered. 

"It's just a-" McLain got out before coughing again, feeling like she was being suffocated. 

Clockwork was fighting a losing battle. Dante was getting worse and worse. He had the dying ghost in an ice bath, keeping the cold water running, Dante's fever too high. Walker was trying to help by bringing water and helping to replace IV bags and keeping the breathing machine going. 

"If I become this bad, just yank out my coreme," the warden requested. 

"Your core will be destroyed when it's the right time and not a moment sooner," Proinsias told him. 

Walker knew that would be the timekeeper's answer. He'd hoped the Ancient would've changed his mind the way this Phantom was struggling to survive. Speaking of him, the ghost finally woke up, surprising Walker. He wasn't expecting the red eyes this ghost had. Didn't the punk have green eyes? Wasn't this the kid's future version? 

Dante sat up and Proinsias helped him drink some tea. 

"How do you feel?" the timekeeper asked. 

"Like I need the toilet," Dante rasped, coughing harshly for a good five minutes. 

He was then carried over. 

"Don't...." Phantom whined, embarrassed.

"Relax. It's okay. You won't be judged. You're not feeling well," Proinsias reassured him. 

He then let Dante have his privacy, then carried him back to the ice bath. Dante sighed in relief, submerging himself for ten minutes, then coming up. He then noticed Walker. 

"He's back?" Phantom asked. 

"You're not in your timeline," Proinsias reminded him.

"Oh," Dante mumbled. 

He then got comfortable and fell back asleep. 

"I'm back?" Walker whispered. 

"Dante ripped out yours and other cores and absorbed them in order to make himself more powerful," Proinsias told him.

Walker stared at the two in shock. That was his fate in this Phantom's timeline? He looked at the slumbering ghost in fear. 

"And he's allowed to roam free?" the warden whispered. 

"No. Dante's only out because he's unwell. He's got more of a story to tell too. I'll be keeping him with me," Proinsias explained. 

Walker was frightened. This ghost was deadly. Why was the timekeeper allowing this.... this.... demonic entity was what he'd heard a human refer to him once. That explained this Dante Phantom better than him. He sounded worse that Pariah Dark. But Clockwork would keep him in line, right? 

Danny's body shook with the stress and strain. He kicked and punched, blasted and wailed, this one cutting off. He couldn't fight any longer, his throat ripped raw. But Pandora, Vlad, and Seraphino were finishing up. Skulker had been destroyed by Danny's first wail. He swayed, yet Vlad caught him. 

"Easy, little badger. You fought so well. I'm very proud of you. Rest now. I'll carry you," he whispered, gently picking Phantom up. 

Danny smiled tiredly, his ghost side struggling to stay. He couldn't switch to human form with all of these injuries. He could feel they were flying. It felt like an eternity before they got to the safe spot.

With that, they took off the medallions, reappearing in Proinsias' lair. More rooms had been added. Vlad gently laid Danny onto a bed. A duplicate of the timekeeper came and tended to Danny's injuries, then let him rest. Another took the cure for making more with a third bringing one to Dante. 

He woke the dying ghost and tipped the liquid down Phantom's throat. Dante grimaced at the taste, then flinched at Proinsias' gentle touch, still only accustomed to pain and suffering. 

"You're going to be all right. Danny and the others managed to survive. They're resting," the timekeeper told him. 

Dante blinked a few times. That.... didn't sound right. 

"Mini me? He saved me?" he asked in surprise. 

At Proinsias' nod, he had to see it for himself. But getting to his feet was a challenge. The illness had nearly killed him. His body was rapidly recovering, yet he was still so very weak. 

The timekeeper picked him up again and carried him to Danny's room. The young adult's ghost sense went off, but he continued to sleep. His body was littered with injuries, severely bruised, some bones broken. Dante was brought to the screening room and watched the fight, the struggling, the betrayal, everything. He couldn't believe it. Danny had saved his life along with Vlad, Ember, Seraphino and.... Pandora is what she had been called. Why? Why would they do that for him? His ghost sense went off, turning his head only, he saw her.

"You're up early," she commented. 

"I.... Yeah," Dante replied. 

"How are you feeling?" Pandora inquired. 

"Better," Phantom said. 

The woman nodded and smiled. She was weird in Dante's opinion. He felt awkward having her around. But she seemed to take the hint and left. Phantom was confused. He was so confused and he was getting stressed. The caring for him didn't make sense. He was a murderer, a destroyer. They should've let him die. Why didn't they? He couldn't think. The illness was still making him tired. Dante felt Proinsias lift him up and bring him back to his room. 

"Relax. We'll discuss their choice later," the timekeeper reassured him. 

Dante couldn't keep his eyes open any longer, soon falling asleep. His nap was surprisingly four hours. Phantom felt much better and stronger. He was able to get out to Proinsias' sitting room. The timekeeper was there and poured coffee for the two of them, a mug handed to him. Dante took it with a soft thanks. 

"I asked each person since they were affected by you in one way or another in your timeline. I wanted them to try to create a positive relationship with you. Helping you was a good way to start off with. Now, the ball is in your court. Will you show gratitude or not?" Proinsias explained. 

"I.... I think I remember Mini me being kind. I'll try to mimic it," Dante replied. 

The timekeeper nodded, then had someone join them. It was a male ecto-sapien with pale orange hair and the common glowing green eyes. He was wearing purple robes that looked like they were from a fantasy story. 

"This is Artorius. He's the most powerful healer in the Ghost Zone. There aren't many healers, but he's he best. He can restore your humanity since it was quite literally ripped out of you. Artorius will only do it if you want," Proinsias explained. 

Dante stared at the two. Did he want this? He'd been happy to have shed his human half, but.... His future would be better with it, wouldn't it? That's why the meddler was offering him this choice. Why wasn't he offered this in his timeline? Did he have to go through everything in order to make this decision, to have this desire? The Ancient's face was passive, giving away nothing. 

"Take your time, Dante. There's no need to rush," he reassured Phantom. 

"I do," the ghost quickly blurted out. 

"Are you sure?" Proinsias asked. 

Dante nodded, determined. 

Artorius had Phantom lay down on the couch.

"This is going to hurt a lot," he warned. 

Dante shuddered but he stayed lying down. Artorius began, a cream colored light emitting from his hands. This guy was rather unique. The process started off normal, a warmth enveloping him. But a moment later, Phantom began to tense as the pain began to occur. Dante gripped the leather couch, whimpers coming out shortly after.

The whole process took an hour, the pain slowly increasing. The end of it was too much, a high burst of pain, making Dante scream in agonizing pain. The whole process left him panting, sore, a little weak, tired and thirsty. Artorius slowly helped Phantom to sit up. Proinsias helped him to drink an ecto-fruit infused water. 

"Did I die?" Dante worried. 

"No. It's a very intense experience," Proinsias told him. 

Artorius had black veins running along his body, almost up to the top of his head. They weren't there before. He was meditating and the other two stayed quiet. Slowly, the black faded. Phantom looked to the timekeeper for help. 

"Restoring humanity requires purity from the healer. The more one without humanity has killed, the more the black appears. Artorius is a very strong, powerful and capable ecto-sapien. He was able to handle it," Proinsias explained. 

"I-I can't thank you two enough," Dante said quietly. 

"You still have a story to tell. I helped you as much as I could. The Observants aren't happy, but I do what the timeline demands, not them," Proinsias told him. 

"Can you blame me for killing them in my timeline?" Phantom asked. 

"No, but you still shouldn't have," the timekeeper said. 

Dante merely hummed, drinking more of his water. Artorius had a glass and received his payment, then left, patting Phantom's head kindly.