Tucker pulled Sam back, “Sam we need to help Danny we don’t have time to waste on getting arrested by the League!”
“No! It’s their fault they are the ones who did this!”
The trench coat league member, to his credit, was handling this with a lot of grace, simply rubbing his jaw and processing what they were saying.
“Aight that was personal, does that mean you’re friends of Phantom? Do you know where he is?” Constantine grabbed Tuckers shoulder examining the teen closely.
“Tch. We’re not just his friends we’re family. Better than his actual blood relations—save forJazz.” Sam muttered.
“Why do you care? Full offense, you had your chance to talk to him before you recruited huntress.” Tucker shoved the man’s arm off himself. The man grit his death in clear anger rubbing the bridge of his nose as if to relieve a headache.
“They weren’t fucking supposed to. Guy was specifically told to wait until after I had talked to Phantom but he doesn’t BLOODY LISTEN! I need to find Phantom, I can understand him leaving; hell he has every right to. But he has to know what will happen if he does. This recent changes in Amity are just the beginning!”
“Well it might be too fucking late.” Sam snarled.
“If you can locate him I will figure out how to reach him—”
“He didn’t leave, he’s in the den, but nothing we saying to him is registering. I’m not sure he can get physically hear us at this point.” Tucker explained hoping that Constantine was on Phantom’s side and might actually be able to help.
“He’s still in town?” The man cursed in truly the most vulgar language Tucker had ever heard. “To still be physically here and it to feel like this he’d have to be nearly gone?! I’m not a realm’s doctor I don’t know how to stabilize him! I don’t have time to search all of infinity for one!”
“If we knew a doctor would you be able to bring him to us?” That snapped Constantine out of tugging his head out.
“You know a realms doctor?”
“Yeah or at least a healer but he’s kinda taken on a mentor/personal physician role.”
“I can summon him, please take me to Phantom, we are running out of time before he’s permanently gone.”
Frostbite could feel something wrong at the cosmic level— maybe even beyond that. Nothing about the Realms as a whole had changed, the Far Frozen was the same as ever, and yet there was this deep seated feeling of a loved one dying. Of course his fraid was all safe and accounted for in the far frozen, which left only one possibility, Phantom…Danny. But Frostbite didn’t have a way to contact Wulf or travel to the Amity portal, he’d need Cujo to wander by, something highly unlikely without Danny being here already. Hailwind was trying to get his to stop pacing (again) when a swirling portal that stuck of human magic appeared, but it was to Danny’s side of the veil and may be his only chance. Frostbite went through.
Constantine opened the portal focusing on the kids’ impression and connection to Frostbite, but before he could cross to talk to the entity, the entity was coming to him. Huge, hulking and growling deep in his throat Constantine was being stared down by one angry Yeti-realms ghost. A never born by the looks of it, and likely more ancient than civilization.
“I am searching for Phantom do not get in my way.” The yeti growled before seeming to become of aware of where he was and that Tucker and Sam were there too. “Great Fraid! Where is he? Why can I not sense him in his own haunt!”
“It’s obsession rejection, I don’t know how he hasn’t already faded.” The second sentence was out before Frostbite processed the first, a deep howl of agony shook Amity.
“Where?!” He growled, this time laced with sadness rather than anger. Sam and Tucker took of towards the main house (Constantine couldn’t make the sigil in the basement, something he was regretting not forcing.)
When they made it to the room, Frostbite moved way faster than a being of his size had any right to, he went from the doorway to the pile of blankets around Phantom. Immediately taking the fading boy into his arms, cooing and comforting like one would a distressed child.
“Danny, oh sweet coreling. I forget you do not have the instincts of ghosts of your true age. You could not call for me— for clockwork.” Fortnite rested his forward to Danny’s torso, both ghosts’ chests began to glow before a tearing sound and the most powerful energy Constantine ever felt appeared— head turning in search before landing on the boy in the yeti’s arms.
Clockwork, the ancient of Time and oldest being in existence, was scared, eyes widening at Danny’s form before they glowed in red hot anger.
“They obstructed my view. They will pay for this overstep.” Clockwork growled, more to himself that any present company.
“We will deal with the Observants later, I have enforced the tether to his core, but if not for his human side keeping him here while his body died he would be gone. He is not hearing my core. Make him listen to yours.” Frostbite sounded like he was threatening Clockwork, but if the ancient took offense to that kind of disrespect he dint show it, instead his body morphed into that of an old man, he kneeled down so he could reach Danny without removing him from Frostbite’s lap.
Clockwork ran his hands through Danny’s (slightly less see-through) hair. Danny’s core began to glow again and the sound of an endless clock grew louder.
“You are wanted. You are needed.” Clockwork was quiet like he was listening, to someone respond.
“No one hates you, they are loud but few.” Clockwork summoned a round looking glass small enough to fit in two hands, the frame holding it was decorated by a grand star chart. Danny’s eyes opened slightly more, seeing but still far away, Clockwork held the looking glass to face Danny. His eyes moved like watching a picture.
“You do not need to believe me, this is a gift I have been saving, I was waiting for the right time. I regret having done so, the occasion did not matter so much as the reassurance it will give. It shows how you are seen, how you are loved, how those you protect feel protected by you, are comforted by your presence, worry with your absence— for the sake of your absence, and their outrage for the slight against you.” Clockwork was quiet for a time Danny’s eyes taking on more of a shine, tears pearling in his lashes. This time the human onlookers saw Danny’s mouth move, as if muttering, even if they still could not hear his response in the conversation.
“This was not the fated path, The Observants have meddled too far both in causing these fated events and blinding me from them. The League did not intend on recruiting her before you, they came for you. They see you. The one responsible for misunderstanding, for not listening, is facing the anger of the league, but even Batman’s wrath is second to the wrath of the members of Justice League Dark. They had come to recruit you not as spare power in need of training and education, a child not trusted to be left alone. They came to recruit you as an equal, new but no less capable. The Justice League can not have you because Justice of the Dark have claimed you.”
Danny’s eyes again grew bigger, form finally returning to physical and opaque, as he watched whatever new seen played out on Clockwork’s looking glass. Tears finally overflowing down his cheeks like diamonds, glistening and large.
His mouth once again moved, the expression familiar to Sam and Tucker, he always had that look when making a particularly bad self deprecating “joke”. Sam and Tucker walked closer, finally feeling they were able to join in comforting their friend…their family member, their fraid mate.
“I didn’t hear what you said but I know it’s not true just by looking at your face.” Tucker teased, tears also tracking his cheeks.
Clockwork moved behind Danny’s shoulder allowing his fraid to face him. Danny hugged the looking glass to his chest.
“I just said that it’s silly I nearly caused my own final death because I wanted recognition.” Danny spoke, voice thick.
“It was not over recognition at all, you had received what felt like confirmation of a fear and struggle you have held for a long time. You are a guardian and a protector, if protection is unwanted it is harm. Your core took the evidence of your unwanted protection to mean you were hurting people with a sacrifice that was already causing you distress and harm. It is not your fault you could not find enough strength in the people’s who love you are sure in. We all need community beyond the closest and most dear.” Frostbite soothed, ice claws gently stroking the coreling’s scalp.
“I’m sorry I scared you guys.” Danny apologized to all four of them.
“Dummy. You don’t need to apologize you were really hurting and we weren’t able to help you.”
Danny welcomed Sam and Tucker into a hug, Frostbites lap large enough to accommodate all three teens.
“Do not sell yourself so short Midnight Briar, you stayed, you did your best, and it was your efforts that got us to him. Without you we would not have known and I would not have been able to travel at all without you finding the magician.” Frostbite gathered all three into a hug, warm and soft in a way animal fur is.
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