#i apologize in advance for this chapter | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

hannahmanderr · 2 years ago

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Supernova Chapter 2 - Collision Course

(AO3)

In which leadership of the Infinite Realms proves itself to be more dysfunctional than expected.

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"Are you sure it’s wise to alert him of this so soon?”

Pandora stared fixedly at the center of the chamber. “It is true that I do not know him near as well as you do. My interactions with him have been limited, but in the few interactions I have been fortunate to have, I have seen his true core shine through. Humans would call him of pure heart. He is of a goodness embodied by few others throughout history.”

She turned to look Frostbite square in the eye. “Whether it is wise, only the Timekeeper and whatever higher power may be will know. But I am confident that he deserves to know.”

“Does he?” One of his claws scratched absently at the wooden crescent table. “There is no question that he has earned the right to be involved, but is it fair to him to burden him with such a dire situation? We don’t even know if he is aware of the circumstances the Realms are in. And there is no guarantee his aid will be necessary.”

Pandora’s knuckles became pale as the grip on her spear tightened. “In a situation such as this, we must be prepared for the worst. His skills as a warrior have saved the Realms time and time again. We would be fools to ignore the asset he offers.”

“... Of course I agree. You know I do. It’s just… he’s just so young… And what if…?”

She bowed her head and closed his eyes. “We… we cannot allow our affection for him to cloud our judgment. We still have a duty to the Realms that we must fulfill first and foremost.”

“... Yes. Of course.” Frostbite’s ears drooped. “This is how it must be.”

A thick silence fell between the two. Only the sounds of the crackling flames lighting the torches and Frostbite’s scratching echoed against the chamber walls.

“Perhaps he will appreciate the forewarning,” Frostbite said after several long minutes. “Especially with the threat of the return of…”

“Pray tell, what might this threat be?”

They both turned their heads at the sound of the new voice. Another ghost stepped through one of the seven doors in the chamber (this one stamped in bright reds, yellows, and blues). Cloudy gray eyes held a sharp focus on the two, and his arms - both sets of them - came to rest in a loose fold in front of him.

“Welcome, Kala. I trust your journey went smoothly,” Pandora greeted, unfazed by this ghost’s arrival. She and Frostbite both dipped their heads in a polite bow, to which he responded in kind. A trail of storm clouds followed in his footsteps as he made his way to the seat to Pandora’s right.

“Yes. As it always is,” Kala replied. His voice rang deep and rumbled across the chamber in waves of thunder. “However, I would still like to know the threat you two are discussing. Need we worry of it?”

Pandora and Frostbite exchanged a cautious glance. “Unfortunately,” Frostbite began, hesitation muddying his voice, “it is the subject of our meeting today.”

Kala raised an eyebrow. “I would’ve imagined we gather to discuss the energy fluctuation from earlier.”

“And we do.” Pandora set her spear on the table. “They are connected.”

“Ooh! Are we talking about that tremor?” Another ghost entered the room, this time through the door made of dark wood with elaborate carvings adorning its frame. “I’ve just been dying to talk with someone about that! Well, not actual dying, of course, don’t be ridiculous, but come on! This stuff is right up my alley!”

“Ah, Zunje.” Kala clapped one set of hands together, and they all exchanged head bows. “Yes, of course. I trust you have a report ready on the nature of the fluctuation? Seeing as it is your domain.”

Zunje flipped her silky silver hair out of the way to grab a tablet from her satchel. “Don’t you know it! I haven’t had the chance to really dig down into the deep analysis yet, but I’ve been studying this thing since it passed through. Such rare magic! I hardly ever get the chance to examine such fine quality workmanship.”

“So you believe it was the work of someone else? Another ghost, perhaps?” Frostbite leaned toward her as she took her spot in between him and Pandora.

Zunje frowned. “Well now, that’s the tricky bit. See, I -”

“Nah nah, don’t worry about it man! That old boat was worthless anyway.” The door that looked like a manhole cover swung open with a flutter of its metal. Someone short and stout passed through, backside first, still speaking to whoever was on the other side. “We good for the same time next week?”

Kala only sighed and shook his head, and Pandora cleared her throat. “Babel? Care to join us?”

The newcomer whipped their head around a clean 180 degrees, though their body remained still. “Huh? Oh! Sorry ‘bout that, PanPan!” They waved a hand, and the door’s fabric blew shut with a loud clang. “Bowling night! What can ya do, huh?”

Zunje folded her hands and rested her chin on her interlaced fingers. “What did you use this time?” she asked, grinning.

“Oh ho ho, you’ll like this one, Zoombini!” They continued to laugh to themselves as they jumped up to sit in the chair on the far right end of the table, directly across from Frostbite. “We was using all those jewels I found with that human thief we snagged the other day! Boy, I gotta tell ya, diamond bowling pins can take just about any hit!”

“Is it wise to take stolen human goods and steal them again?” Frostbite said. Something in his eyes looked appalled by the suggestion alone.

“Nah, don’t worry ‘bout it!” Babel said with another wave of their hand. They snapped twice. “There, see? Back home, safe and sound where they belong. Easy peasy! Oops, wait. Almost forgot my yogurt.” They snapped once more, and a yogurt cup with a drinking straw in it appeared in their hand. They took a long, loud slurp and sighed contentedly.

“I would ask that you kindly refrain from interfering with human business like that again,” Kala muttered. “And that you refrain from… drinking your yogurt so loudly.” He held his temple, giving the impression of someone who’d begun to feel a migraine coming on.

“Seconded.” The agreement came from a ghost in the form of a young girl, no older than eight. Her stony expression only highlighted the intensity of her eyes of fire and hair of magma. Without another word, she sat in the final unoccupied seat, in between Kala and Babel, and stared at her colleagues with a glare of indifference. “Well? Do we begin or no?”

“Greetings, Pele,” Kala said to the girl. “Yes, let us begin. Frostbite, if you would please start.”

Frostbite nodded and stood. He held a fist over the center of his chest and bowed his head. “I, Frostbite, Ancient Master of Healing, offer my eternal servitude to the mending and restoration of the Infinite Realms. I solemnly swear this, or may my core melt to nothing.” No sooner had he finished speaking than a blue glow engulfed his area of the room and table.

Babel stood next, mimicking Frostbite’s motions. “I, Babel, Ancient Master of Chaos, offer my eternal servitude to the regulation and deployment of righteous disorder in the Infinite Realms. I solemnly swear this, or may my core succumb to the confines of purity.” Purple light exploded to life around them.

Zunje stood. “I, Zunje, Ancient Master of Magic, offer my eternal servitude to the powers and energies that give life to the Infinite Realms. I solemnly swear this, or may my core cease to give me spirit.” She was immediately bathed in a green glow.

“I, Pele, Ancient Master of Battle, offer my eternal servitude to the fields of combat and the wars of the Infinite Realms. I solemnly swear this, or may my core fade away in peace.” A pink glow washed over her.

Pandora stood, glancing at Frostbite one last time before reciting her vow. “I, Pandora, Ancient Master of Hope, offer my eternal servitude to the preservation of faith and light in the Infinite Realms. I solemnly swear this, or may my core waste away in the pits of misery and sorrow.” Turquoise light surrounded her and her seat.

Kala, as the oldest of Ancients, was the last to go. “I, Kala, Ancient Master of Justice, offer my eternal servitude to the enforcement of integrity and order in the Infinite Realms. I solemnly swear this, or may my core lose itself to the depravity of corruption.” Around him, a red glow burst forth, completing the crescent of colors.

The six Ancients had convened.

Instantly, the fires in the torches flared brighter and began to burn in the hues that surrounded each of the Ancients - blue, purple, green, pink, turquoise, and red. The six members sat down, each lit by their own color.

“And may it be forevermore,” Kala finished with a nod. “Now, Pandora? If you would be so kind as to inform us why you have summoned us. I for one am still plagued by your mention of a threat.”

Pandora nodded and stood. “The day we have feared has come to pass,” she announced. Her words reverberated off the chamber’s stone walls. “Kilaris awakens, and it grows unstable by the minute. We must take action or face the consequences.”

Another silence fell over the chamber, broken only by the scrape of her chair as she resumed her seat at the crescent table. Frostbite’s eyes darted back and forth between his colleagues as he tried to gauge their reactions.

Kala was the first to speak. “Kilaris? But… that’s impossible. How can you even be certain?”

“Well…” Zunje pushed her glasses up her nose, then began tapping furiously at her tablet. “Like I said, I’ve been studying the energy fluctuation ever since it happened, and it’s… complicated. Some serious juice in that thing! Like, way more than any normal energy fluctuation, and those happen all the time. No, this was a deep magic.”

“That would make sense,” Frostbite said. “My lieutenant reported cases of our young being affected by the wave, and they do not feel normal energy fluctuations the same way our full-grown kin can. That is what truly alarmed me. The last time our young felt such a fluctuation was…”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Babel waved their hands wildly, flinging yogurt around. “I don’t get it. How could it be Kilaris? It got all locked up didn’t it? ‘Cause I swear, I didn’t sleep through that!”

Pele grunted. “The Heart works in mysterious ways,” she said stoically.

“I will not deny that,” Kala ceded, “but I will also not jump to conclusions based off of the behavior of a few yeti cubs. I am not inclined to believe that this is the work of the Heart, and I will not pass judgment without sufficient evidence to believe otherwise.”

Zunje glanced up briefly before continuing to scroll through her tablet. “Where did I… oh, here! Okay, so I’ll be real here, last time I got to study anything related to the Heart was centuries ago, and I’m still working on uploading data from the Iron Age, like I haven’t even gotten close to the Middle Ages yet! And honestly filing stuff away is boring when I could be running tests. All that’s to say I don’t have the stats to show you here.” She waved her tablet. “But I do remember my last study on Kilaris! … I think? I’m pretty sure. Anyhow, these readings from today, they’re… well… complicated. Like I said.”

“Spit it out already,” Pele said, dry as ever.

“I’m working on it! Yeesh, sorting these things out is a lot harder than it looks! Anyway , what I was gonna say is that I remember those readings way back from when… well, you know… and these ones from today? They’re not really the same. And okay, sure, I haven’t had the time to go super in depth with the analyses of today’s fluctuation, but still.”

“Are there any similarities at all?” Pandora asked.

Zunje gave a noncommittal hum. “... A few? It’s hard to explain. It’s like… well, I keep expecting these readings to look a certain way, right? Because everything about them just screams Kilaris, only they’re not. The patterns, the readouts, everything, they’re all so close to lining up with normal Heart readings, but everything is just slightly skewed. Like someone took Kilaris and… tweaked it.”

“‘Tweaked’ it?” Frostbite leaned forward in his seat. “How could someone tamper with the Heart? It’s been sealed away!”

“Mmm! Mmm!” Babel shouted wordlessly while finishing their gulp of yogurt. “Ah! That stuff really hits the spot, I tell ya! But no, the Heart! I don’t think it’s been sealed away all proper this whole time.”

“What do you mean?” Kala asked slowly. “We were there when Kilaris was sealed away. We… are the ones who did it, after all.”

Pandora’s jaw tightened. Frostbite winced.

“Yeah, but didn’t it technically get unsealed or whatever? When that one dude let Dark loose?”

“Oh my stars,” Zunje whispered. “Of course!”

“Doesn’t matter,” Pele muttered. “It got sealed away again.”

“Precisely!” A shroud of stormclouds began to form around Kala. “Dark was locked away once more, along with the Heart. This cannot be its work!”

“You said you would pass judgment once you obtained all the evidence,” Frostbite said. A thin layer of frost began to form under his paw. “This is hardly enough to pass judgment on! Do you not trust what your fellow Ancients tell you?”

“I have not passed judgment!” Kala thundered.

“Kind of sounds like you’re just writing off the possibility to me.” Zunje shrunk away from Kala even as she spoke, keeping her gaze firmly fixed on her tablet.

“We must at least consider the possibility,” Pandora said. “It is the duty with which we have been charged. If the Heart is truly awake, then do we not have a responsibility to ensure it does not result in undue harm to the Realms?”

Pele looked at Pandora with something akin to disdain. “Why would Kilaris be a threat to the Realms?”

“No! Enough of this! I will go and verify it for myself if need be, but the Heart simply cannot be awake!”

“You underestimate Kilaris, dear Kala.”

The six Ancients froze and turned slowly to the seventh door, the one that had yet to be opened. The plain purple door, much like the ones drifting through the Realms. None of them had heard it open and shut, but there, having just spoken, floated Clockwork, looking on as if he’d been part of the conversation from the beginning.

“Timekeeper,” Kala greeted with a curt bow of his head. “I do not recall you being invited to this meeting.”

Clockwork shrugged. “The door was unlocked. And I heard you discussing Kilaris. I thought now would be as good a time as any to help warn you of its change.”

Zunje looked like she was seconds away from bolting from her seat and making a beeline to Clockwork. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” she asked with barely contained glee.

Clockwork only smiled in response.

“I would like to know what you are implying, Timekeeper,” Pele said, a frown ghosting her face.

“As would I,” Kala echoed. His frown was far more prominent. “And I would still like to understand what in the name of the Realms gives you the right to intrude on this private meeting.”

“My place here is well earned,” Clockwork said, unfazed by the Ancient’s anger.

“And pray tell, what would that place be? Show me.” Kala spread all four arms and looked pointedly around the room.

Seven doors.

Only six seats at the table, each occupied.

Clockwork knew this perfectly well.

“If I were not invited,” he said, “you would not have provided me with a means to come.”

Kala stood abruptly. Clouds fell from his shoulders. “You know perfectly well why that door exists! Your caucus is with the Observant Council, not us. Your door is an act of courtesy, not an open invitation. Now speak, Timekeeper! My patience grows thin, and I wish to move on to more productive conversation.”

Pandora’s grip tightened on her spear.

“If you insist on taking the hard path,” Clockwork sighed. In one swift move, he thrust his staff out and drew a circle with it in midair. A sweep of a clock hand within the circle revealed a dreary castle, floating by its lonesome in the green expanse of the Realms. Zunje squeaked and slapped a hand over her mouth.

“Why show us what we already know?” Kala said tightly. “We cursed that land centuries ago. Dark slumbers, alongside Kilaris.”

“Except when he got woken up,” Babel said, their voice high and thin. They’d long since put down their yogurt.

“Exactly!” Zunje fully abandoned her chair and pressed against the table with an ecstatic grin. “He got woken up! And if Pariah Dark awoke -”

“Then Kilaris awoke as well,” Pandora finished, nodding. “I suspected as much. But I don’t understand, Cl- Timekeeper. Why show us the Keep?”

Clockwork ignored Zunje’s eager whimpers. “I am not showing you the Keep,” he said. “I am showing you the consequences of your actions.”

“ What? ” The red light under Kala flickered as he pounded his fists on the table, nearly cracking it. “How dare you -”

“You wish to know why I am here? I am here for the only purpose I am allowed to be here: to deliver a message,” Clockwork said. “A message for the most dire of situations. For the sake of the Infinite Realms.”

“Timekeeper,” Frostbite begged. “Please, just tell us. Help us understand.”

“No! I will hear no more of this charlatan’s deception!” As Kala’s rage grew, a thick mist began to rise from the floor around him, partially obscuring the red glow. “You lied to us with your last prophecy! You tricked us into locking the Heart away! If this is true about Kilaris’ awakening, then you are to blame for this!”

“That is enough !” Pandora now stood, both the fire in her helmet and the turquoise light beneath her flaring. “The Timekeeper is here for the same purpose as we are! Kilaris is growing unstable; this is not the time to affix blame for past mistakes onto one another!”

“This is an affront to justice! I will not stand idly by when he has yet to face punishment for the falsehoods of his predictions regarding Dark! He claims to work for the sake of the Realms, yet he misleads us in the most critical moments! How can we continue to put blind faith in them now? With potential disaster on our doorstep?”

“He’s trying to help!” Zunje protested. “He’s trying to tell you what I’m trying to tell you! If Kilaris is awake then that means -”

“Are we about to fight?” Pele asked. For the first time since arriving, her face lit up in mild interest. “May I watch? It’s been too long since I’ve seen a good fight.”

“No, we are not about to fight!” Pandora banged the end of her spear against the stone floor. “We are all going to talk about this with the same dignity and respect that we have been entrusted with!”

“Dignity that he has tarnished!” Kala jabbed a finger in Clockwork’s direction. “The Realms fell to near ruins because of his deceit! Are you truly expecting us to abide by every word he speaks? He twists the truth to force the timeline to his will!”

“That may be so,” Clockwork said amicably, “but it is my sacred duty to do so.”

“Hang on, I’m confused. Your sacred duty is… lying?” Babel asked with a raised eyebrow. Their shoulders deflated. “Man, and I thought I had the best sacred duty!”

“Just as you as the Ancient Council have been entrusted with a duty to the Infinite Realms, I have had a similar duty entrusted to me. Anything I do is to the ends of that duty. You may choose to believe me or not, but it will not change the truth, and it will not change the gravity of the situation.”

“Please, let’s hear him out,” Frostbite pleaded. “See? We are all on the same side.”

“I do not want to be made a fool again,” Pele said, folding her arms and leaning back into her seat. “I do not trust that this will not result in disaster again.”

“Nor do I.” Kala’s thunderous eyes fell on each of the four remaining Ancients. “And I would be inclined to call anyone led to believe the Timekeeper’s falsehoods a fool!”

Pandora whirled on Kala. “You dare call me a fool? When I too have the interests of the Realms at core? You are not the only one looking out for them!”

“That may be so, but he has only his own interests to look out for!”

Clockwork tilted his head. “Would you like to hear me out first, perhaps?”

“ I will -”

“ STOP! ” Zunje shouted with a release of a powerful green blast of energy that cracked against the floor. A hush fell over the chamber as each person stared at the normally well-tempered Ancient.

“If you don’t want to listen to the Timekeeper, then fine! Don’t listen to him!” she said, her voice escalating in pitch. “But you are bound by the Realms to listen to me , and I’m telling you that he’s trying to give us a warning, a real one! This is some seriously bad stuff we’re talking, and magic that we would be absolutely insane to try and interfere with!”

“Did we ever get that warning?” Babel asked timidly, fidgeting with the crushed yogurt cup they held.

“I believe I never got the opportunity,” Clockwork said. He turned so that his red eyes bore straight into Kala’s. “If you’ll allow me to continue then?”

The two spirits stared at each other for a long moment. Frostbite and Pandora tensed, ready to jump back into action. Zunje had leaned forward again and was near the point of toppling onto the table. Babel was by far the most anxious of the group, and Pele simply watched the scene, having returned to her bored expression.

Finally, Kala’s shoulders dropped, though his face retained its storminess. “Fine. I will listen to the Timekeeper’s warning, as is my responsibility to the Infinite Realms. But it is only to fulfill that responsibility. I will be hard-pressed to reverse my judgment of the matter.”

“More like you won’t reverse your judgment of Clockwork,” Frostbite muttered, nearly inaudible.

“Much obliged, Kala,” Clockwork said with a polite nod. “Yes, as Zunje has so kindly reminded us, I am here to deliver a warning, a result of the consequences of the Timeline that has been followed. The sealing of the Heart of the Infinite Realms has led to this moment, and you must take heed. Kilaris no longer recognizes its host. It yearns to escape the confines you have placed upon it, and it will not stop until it has reached this goal, regardless of the cost.”

There was a beat of silence, then Zunje spoke up. “See? I was trying to tell you! Kilaris was woken up when Dark got released the first time around. And now that he’s back, sleeping in the Sarcophagus, so should the Heart! But if the Heart is still awake…”

“... then it has chosen a new champion,” Kala finished.

Babel’s yogurt cup clattered to the floor. “Whoa, really? Phew! About time!”

“So just find the new host and crown them,” Pele said. “No need for this nonsense.”

“But how are we to know who Kilaris has chosen?” Frostbite asked. “It hasn’t chosen a ruler like this in millenia! And we’ve always at least had a semblance of an idea of who the candidate would be.”

“Well, in theory, it shouldn’t be too hard.” Zunje turned back to her tablet and began tapping and scrolling once more. “It should be able to find the ruler on its own. Like I keep saying, it’s some seriously strong magic. I mean we’ve all seen how powerful that bond can be between Kilaris and its chosen, you know? And since it would be idiotic to try and mess with that magic, all we gotta do is let the Heart out and it’ll take care of the rest.”

“Uh, only one problem with that, Zuzu,” Babel said. They pointed at the image of the castle still hovering in the middle of the chamber. “The Heart’s still in there . With him . I mean you know me, I’m always down for a bit of chaos, but I ain’t about to just let him out like that, you feel?”

The magma of Pele’s hair glowed a brighter yellow. “Dark would be foolish to try and face me in battle again,” she all but growled. “It is only because of Kilaris he won last time.”

“Absolutely not!” Frostbite and Kala yelled at the same time. They looked at each other, and Frostbite pressed his ears against his head in embarrassment.

“I cannot in good countenance risk opening the Sarcophagus again,” Kala said, shaking his head. “Not after the havoc he wrought upon the Realms during his reign, and not after how quickly he moved through the Realms and the Mortal Plane upon his reawakening. Zunje, you say this power runs deep. Is it not strong enough to break the bonds of the Sarcophagus itself?”

Zunje pushed her glasses up again. “Oh yeah, totally! Like the Timekeeper said, that’s what it’s trying to do right now. The spell we put on the Sarcophagus is powerful - especially since it’s got all six of our essences, I mean very few things are gonna match that power - but nothing can stand up to the power of the Heart. If you wanted me to make a bet, I’m guessing based on the strength of Kilaris in general and the strength of the sealing spell on the Sarcophagus…” She paused and tapped a set of numbers into a calculator app. “We’ve probably got a little more than a day before it’s able to break free. Give or take.”

“But won’t that also result in Dark’s release?” Frostbite asked. “If Kilaris breaks the seal, wouldn’t that allow him to escape too?”

“Ooh. Uh, yeah. Good point.” Zunje grimaced. “In that case, we’d have to find the new ruler first. Initiate the transfer ourselves to avoid that happening and all.”

“Easier said than done!” Babel had snapped another yogurt cup into his hands and had been eating it by the handful. He paused now with strawberry yogurt coating his hand and mouth. “There’s like, a bazillion ghosts in the Realms! We’d be finding a piece of hay in a needlestack!”

Pele looked at Babel with mild disgust. “I think you mean a needle in a haystack.”

“... Eh. I prefer it my way.”

“Then we must begin the search at once,” Kala declared, standing again. “We will need every resource available to us to find the new champion before the Heart breaks the seal on the Sarcophagus.”

“Oh, you shouldn’t need to look far,” Clockwork piped up. The Ancients looked at him, having nearly forgotten he was present. “I believe one of you might have an accurate idea of where to start looking.”

“Don’t look at me!” Babel raised their hands, flinging a blob of yogurt onto Pele, where it sizzled on her skin. “I mean yeah, I was kinda thinking we could do something where we test it by going lair to lair and asking them the color of their socks, but I’m still workshopping it.”

“Ghosts don’t need socks,” Zunje said with a frown.

“‘Course ghosts need socks! Like I know this one guy all the way out towards the Banished Spire, and he’s an octopus, right? Great dude, we was on the same bowling team earlier. Anyway, guy’s got a whole closet full of socks! Wears a different one on each tentacle every day!”

“What does the color of socks have to do with them being the host?” Pele asked, entirely unamused.

“It’s got everything to do with it! I’ll let ya in on a little secret: all the good kings and queens have had socks with green polka dots! Maybe the Heart has a thing for polka dots, eh?”

“I do not believe I know where to start,” Frostbite said, cutting off Babel before Kala exploded in rage again. “And the last time we tried to find a chosen champion…”

“What’s past is past,” Kala grunted. “Pandora? What of you? You have not said a word since the Timekeeper’s warning.”

Pandora had, in fact, frozen in place. The ectoplasm had drained from her face, leaving her looking pale and sickly, even in her turquoise light. Slowly, she turned to look Frostbite in the eye.

“We may need more than his aid as a warrior,” she told him weakly.

Frostbite’s eyes widened in realization.

Another shudder ripped through the chamber.

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Deep in the Ghost Zone, in the ruins of Pariah’s Keep, the crack in the Sarcophagus of Forever sleep splintered further.

A roar, distant and distorted, rumbled from within the Sarcophagus and echoed across the Realms.

#danny phantom #danny phantom fanfic #ghost king danny #hannah writes #clockwork #and if you look to your left #you'll see hannah going way too hard with worldbuilding and LoreTM #i apologize in advance for this chapter

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