The Halfa Prince (Book 1) *RE-MASTERED*

Chapter 16: King of the Ghost Zone

Third Person POV

Despite everyone's pestering, Clockwork refused to answer any of their questions and went about repairing the throne room. Nocturn helped here and there but mostly remained off to the side, staring into the blue box Clockwork had given him.

Fright Knight, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz caught Danny up to speed on everything that happened with Vizier, him being mind controlled, Elder Spirits and anything else that they could think of. Danny was reeling with all this information being given to him, but what had him most on edge was the fact that the coronation was today. He was out of time. He was going to be crowned as the new ruler of the Ghost Zone whether he wanted to or not.

Danny excused himself from his group of friends and headed towards the doors of the throne room. Jazz reached out to stop him but Fright Knight held her back. 

"I believe the Prince needs some time to himself. A lot has happened to him in a short amount of time," he said quietly. 

Jazz bit her lip and stared at her brother as he shuffled towards the large black doors. She sighed, and turned away, choosing to help clean up the throne room. Sam and Tucker joined in as Fright Knight rested against Nightmare, letting his wounds heal.

Just as Danny reached the doors, a hand clasped his upper arm and pulled him out of the way as the doors crashed open and in flooded a tidal wave of castle servants. Danny jerked himself free from the unknown hand's grip and turned to see the Nocturn-looking ghost towering over him.

"I am not 'Nocturn-looking'," the ghost pouted, "I am Nocturn. And I am quite offended you don't recognize your old enemy." He finished by crossing his starry arms and scowling slightly at Danny.

"Wait a second, how did you-" Danny started, before his eyes widened at what the ghost admitted. He began to charge his hands with green ecto-energy when Nocturn raised a glittery hand.

"I am not here to fight you, little one," he said quickly, "I merely wanted to offer some advice." 

Danny lowered his hands but still remained on defense. He wasn't ready to trust Nocturn just yet. 

Nocturn sighed, allowing his form to shrink so he was almost the same height as Danny. He held out his hands and gave Danny an expectant looking, silently asking the teen if this was better. Danny made no change in his posture nor did he give a sign of acknowledgement. The starry spirit sighed again, "I can tell the whole, Prince of the Ghost Zone is causing you quite the amount of stress. Might I suggest you just... put it on hold?" he offered, shrugging.

Danny's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?" the halfa questioned, "The coronation is today. I'm out of time and I doubt I'll be allowed to refuse now." Danny finished by throwing his hands in the air, exasperated.

Shaking his head, Nocturn continued, "You misunderstand me. You don't have to refuse, you can just pass on the position until you are ready." A smug grin appeared on Nocturn's face as he watched Danny's expression become hopeful. This was all too easy.

"But, who would I pass on the position to?" Danny asked, mentally going over ghosts he thought were trustworthy. There was Dora, but she already ran her own kingdom. Frostbite had an entire tribe to take care of, and would he even be able to survive outside the Far Frozen? Thoughts raced through Danny's mind and Nocturn winced. He placed a hand on Danny's shoulder, drawing the teen's attention to him.

"When the time for the coronation comes, announce that you are stepping down for the time being, and are naming Galahad as your temporary successor," Nocturn instructed, staring into Danny's eyes. 

Danny tilted his head in confusion. He opened his mouth to ask who Galahad was, but found that the words wouldn't come out. "W-Who..." Danny finally managed to mutter when loud music began to play, cutting the young halfa off.