Chapter Text
Chapter One –
Danny stared blankly at all the paper work they still had left to do. Whoever had said that being the ruler of a dimension was easy or fun was either lying or never had to deal with all the paper work it came with. The Norse Vikings had yet another celebration that had spilled over into the Christian Heaven and the Valkyries and Angels had ended up fighting yet again. The fighting had crashed into Pandora’s temple (quite literally) and now Pandora was demanding retribution. However, the Valkyries were claiming the Angels were at fault while the Angels were claiming the Valkyries were at fault. It was now up to Danny to decide who was at fault (all though it was very clear that both sides were at fault, however neither side could safely work together).
Not only that, but Vortex had escaped into one of the different dimensions and had wreaked havoc. And now Danny had to figure out how to fix what the Ancient of Storms had damaged without alerting the inhabitants of that dimension that the Infinite Realms existed. Thankfully, Ellie had managed to find Vortex and soup him before too much damage had been done!
Oh, and Walker had put in a request to expand his territory yet again. The only problem with that was that the territory he wanted to expand into was Skulker’s territory! Danny had just stopped the prank war that Ember had egged Skulker into starting with Walker, this wasn’t going to help with that and might just start up an actual war between the two!
And we can’t forget the fact that Johnny and Kitty were having one of their fights again and had ‘broken up’ and were fighting over who had custody over Shadow! At this rate Danny was going to have to order those two into mandatory couples counseling with Jazz… again! The counseling had seemed to work for about 50 years the last time and they had only had 2 months of mandatory couples counseling!
One would think that ruling over the Infinite Realms for a little over one thousand years would make this easier!
Danny groaned and dramatically draped themself across their desk as yet another pile of complaints about one John Constantine appeared on their desk. Danny was really starting to hate that con-artist! If they ever met that man Danny was going to chain him to a desk and force that man to work on his own paper work! Maybe that will teach that fucker to stop selling his soul to every demon/ghost/fae that looked at him! Fucking soul-whore.
“What has you all mopey?” Jazz asked as she elegantly strode into their office. She had taken well to being a Realm ghost after she had passed. Though, she had the option to rejoin the cycle of life like the rest of Danny’s fraid, she had opted to stay by their side. Though they had at first hated the idea that she was denying herself the chance to reincarnate and actually have a chance to live, Danny was secretly glad she had stayed.
“John Constantine sold his soul again!” Danny whined at her, waving their hand at the man’s paper work. Jazz hummed and they knew she was lightly thumbing through the paper work.
“Can’t you just gather up the soul pieces and summon him to you before binding the soul together so that he cannot sale it anymore?” Jazz asked and Danny groaned.
“But then I’d have to touch him and I don’t know where he’s been!” Danny told her lifting their head up to stare at her. “Wasn’t it you that told me not to touch dirty things if I don’t know where they’ve been.”
“No, I told you not to put things in your mouth! You never know where it’s been.” Jazz told them and Danny stuck their tongue out at her. “Yeah, I wouldn’t want that nasty thing in my mouth either.”
“I brushed my teeth this morning! My tongue is not nasty!” Danny argued.
“I don’t know, I’ve seen some of the nasty things you’ve put in your mouth.” Jazz teased as she playfully ruffled their hair.
“When Sam and Tucker get back from their latest life, I’m telling them you called them nasty.” Danny said with a smirk as Jazz fake gagged.
“Oh, eww, no, I did not need that mental image of my sibling and their partners!” Jazz cried causing Danny to cackle. No matter how drained being Ruler always made them, their sister Jazz always knew how to make them laugh and smile. “That’s more like it.” They heard Jazz mutter as she sent a proud smile their way.
“So, whatcha need, Jazzy? Did one of your patients skip a session? Is Youngblood hiding one of your case files again? Is Spectra trying to fight you for your job as Royal Psychiatrist?” Danny asked resting their head on their hand.
“Can’t I just come to see my little sibling?” Jazz asked.
“In my office? No. You never ‘just come to see’ me in my office, usually you’re here to file a verbal complaint.” Danny told her and Jazz tried to look offended. “So, tell me what High Ruler Phantom can do for you, High Princess Jasmine Astella Rose Fenton?”
“I need you to take a vacation.” Jazz told them as she sat elegantly down on the seat across from them. Danny blinked at her.
“Jazz, we talked about this. I’ll go on Vacation once I have set the Infinite Realms onto a course where they won’t need me as much as they do now. Pariah Dark was a shitty King and left the Infinite Realms to basically decay! It took nearly 300 years for me to go through all the back logs of paper work from when the fucker was sleeping in the Sarcophagus the first time. And the Eyelets are still finding some long lost contract or stolen artifact! I can’t leave until everything’s all fixed!” Danny cried, their core whining at the thought of leaving their people to suffer.
“Danny, little ghostling, you can and will go on a vacation.” Jazz started only to hold up her hand when Danny opened their mouth to argue. “No, listen to me. You are the High Ruler of the entire Infinite Realms, they are infinite, there will always be something that needs to be fixed. But you’re not alone. You’ve got me, Ellie, Dan, CW, Frostbite, Pandora, Dorthea and the rest of your counsel. You are stressed, and the Infinite Realms can sense that you’re stressed and are stressing as well. The Denizens can sense that the Infinite Realms are stressed which is causing them to lash out more. And them lashing out more is causing you more paperwork. And that more paperwork is causing you even more stress. It’s a feedback loop. The only way to stop the loop is to take something away. The only thing that can be taken away from this loop is you.” Jazz told them causing Danny to frown.
When it was put that way, then there was no other option. Danny sighed and looked down at their desk and the piles of paper work that were appearing more frequently. They knew that Jazz was right, but it still felt like they were just abandoning their people. Their core whined as they looked back up at Jazz. “I know, ghostling, I know.” Jazz said as she stood up and walked around the desk and pulled them into a tight and loving hug.
“I can’t abandon my people.” Danny whispered curling up in their chair as they allowed their sister to comfort them.
“You’re not abandoning them, Danny. Putting yourself first and taking a vacation to relax isn’t abandoning them. Your people want what’s best for you, the Infinite Realms want what’s best for you.” Jazz whispered into their hair.
“I’m not like you or the other ghosts; I can’t rejoin the cycle of life. I’m neither dead nor alive. How am I supposed to ‘go on vacation’?” Danny asked as they allowed their sister to pick them up and leave the office.
“We’ll figure that out, Danny. I’m sure that Clockwork will know what you need to do to enjoy a small vacation.” Jazz told them as she quickly carried Danny through the halls of their keep, their servants pausing in their job to bow to the two of them. And Danny was so thankful that their people had become so used to seeing their Ruler being carried in the arms of their older sister. The first time it had happened; the servants had all freaked out thinking something bad had happened to Danny. That had been a fun time explaining to their people that when Danny was stressed, they enjoyed being held by their fraid.
Danny barely blinked when Jazz whisked them through a doorway hidden behind a large grandfather clock, knowing that Clockwork liked to be dramatic like that. “Right on time, as always.” Clockwork’s voice rang throughout the room as the Ancient of Time slowly appeared in front of the siblings. “To what do I owe the honor of having both the High Ruler and the High Princess in my tower?”
“Jazz is forcing me into a vacation.” Danny told their mentor who they had quickly grown to see as a grandfather. The man shifted into his older form with a knowing smile.
“Is she now?” Clockwork asked. “I do believe that it is time for a short vacation.” He added looking off towards one of the many gears showing one of many timelines he was overseeing before returning his attention to the siblings in front of him, mainly Jazz. “What did you have in mind, High Princess?”
“I was thinking, Danny never really got to have a childhood.” Jazz started and Danny huffed as they crossed their arms.
“I had a childhood.” They huffed out earning an annoyed huff from their sister as she tightened her arms around them.
“Danny, the ‘childhood’ you had wasn’t a childhood and you know that! Mom and Dad neglected us! We never had food in the house that was safe for us to eat! They forgot you so many times! I’m surprised you didn’t die sooner than you did!” Jazz growled out. Danny just huffed and glared at one of the gears, they couldn’t argue with that (well, they could but they knew Jazz was right).
“High Ruler Danny would not be able to fully reincarnate, unlike the rest of you.” Clockwork informed Jazz and Danny felt their sister nod.
“I know, but they don’t need to be reincarnated to get the childhood they deserve, right?” Jazz asked and Danny glanced at Clockwork who was watching them with a small smile.
“Of course not, High Princess. As the Lord of Time, I have the ability to turn back time for the High Ruler’s mortal form. All you must do is decide how young you wish to be, Daniel.” Clockwork told Danny who narrowed their eyes at the Ancient.
“What, you don’t already know? I know you, Clocky, don’t you already have the dimension already picked out and ready for me?” Danny asked and Clockwork smirked at them.
“I have quite a few picked out for you, young one. However, it is up to you to decide which one you will be delivered to.” Clockwork told them as he waved his staff and each of the gears shifted to show different scenarios. One showed him as an 11 year-old flipping through the air dressed in an outfit the color of a traffic light as he laughed and quipped at whatever villain he was fighting. Another showed him as a young three year-old following behind a butler (that reminded him of Clockwork) through a mansion as a seven year-old protectively followed behind him. A third showed him as a nine year-old stalking some vigilantes with a camera. A fourth one showed him as a 13 year-old stealing the wheels of a strange bat-themed car.
Danny’s eyes flicked across the gears as they realized something. “It’s the same family.” Danny muttered. “No matter what dimension you send me to, I’ll end up with the same family.”
“Yes. However, depending on what age you choose will depend on where you fall into the family.” Clockwork explained. Danny allowed themself to examine the gears. Being a three year-old seemed too young (that gear darkened as they thought that), while the one he was 11 years-old in looked fun, that felt too old (both that one and the one he was 13 years-old darkened).
“I think…” Danny started as their eyes kept drifting towards one of the gears. “I think I’d like to be five years old.” At their decision, all the other gears darkened leaving the one where he was five still lit up.
“A fine choice.” Clockwork told them.
“So, how will this work?” Jazz asked.
“I will use my powers to de-age Daniel here until their mortal form is once again five years-old. However, they cannot have the mind or memories of their time as High Ruler of the Infinite Realms, that would negate my powers and force them to revert back into their true age. To stop that we will need you, High Princess, to use your power to temporarily create a mental block of their memories.” Clockwork informed them.
“The block won’t hold for the entire time if there isn’t something holding it up.” Jazz explained.
“Which is why we will create a false memory to keep the block up. One that will go along with their new life.” Clockwork told Jazz as Danny just looked between the two of them feeling both nervous and excited. They glanced over Clockwork’s shoulder to the gear showing what would be their new life. They watched as the young man with caramel skin and emerald green eyes sat beside the bed they had been tucked into and was reading to them.
“Okay, Danny, I’m going to put you to sleep now. The next time you wake up, you’ll be in your new life.” Jazz told them as she shifted Danny in her arms. She kissed their forehead, allowing her powers to flow through them. Danny blinked, their eyelids becoming heavier by the minute. “You’re going to have a fantastic new life, little ghostling.” Was the last thing Danny remembered before they allowed sleep to wash over them.