The Apprentice of Thanatos

Chapter 23: Ultimate Enemy Part 3

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This chapter takes place right after the previous one.

Merry Christmas! We are so sorry it took so long to get this next chapter out, life decided to suddenly dump a bunch of responsibilities on us (school and work are mean). We really wanted to finish the Ultimate Enemy arc before the end of the year, but that just didn't turn out to be possible. We'll hopefully get another chapter out before school starts again, but no promises. We'll update when we can, but we probably won't be able to go back to weekly updates. :(

We do not own Danny Phantom or Percy Jackson, only this story and our original characters.

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Dan POV:

As the portal closed, Dan took in his appearance. Black hair, pale skin, baggy clothes, scuffed sneakers. Everything was exactly as he remembered.

But not how his younger self appeared now.

Dan glared down at his bare right arm. He knew that apprentice marks could not be mimicked, having learned so back when he tried to impersonate Artemis' apprentice. Still, Dan had hoped that since he and his younger self were the same person, he would be able to mimic his apprentice mark.

But that was not the case.

He bit back a growl as he changed his appearance yet again, adding an elastic bandage wrapped tightly around his forearm. It would have to do for now. He would figure something out later.

"What do you plan to do now?" Gaea asked from behind him, her voice soft like moss on a stone.

Dan scowled. "What I plan on doing is none of your business."

Gaea tutted disapprovingly. "Now, now. There is no need to get cross with me, :little death:."

Dan whirled on the protogenos, his lip curling with rage as he hissed at her. "Do not call me—"

He froze.

Gaea stood before him. Really, it was only a projection of her. She wasn't fully awake—not yet. But... she hadn't taken on her usual glamour. Instead of dark soil churning and shifting to form her robes, little shards of shattered glass from the broken windows rippled over her, crystallizing into a long, pale blue chiton and shawl. Coal black hair tumbled over her shoulders, and silvery-white leaves sprouted in a semicircle around the back of her head. Her gaze was half-lidded as she watched him, and Dan was grateful that her eyes were still inhumanly green, rather than icy blue.

The impersonation wasn't perfect, but it still looked achingly similar to...

"I told you to never take that form again," Dan growled as he turned away.

"Oh, am I bringing up old memories?" Gaea's tone indicated that she was teasing him, but Dan was not in the mood. "Perhaps you would be more comfortable with a more recent one?"

Dan heard the sound of shifting dirt, but he didn't turn around. He didn't need to turn around to know what she looked like now. White hair, white dress, a flower crown adorning her head...

Dan shook his head, clearing his thoughts. He couldn't afford to think about the past right now. Not after...

"What are you going to do?" Gaea asked again.

Dan's eyes flared red. "I'm going to ensure my future."

He held up one of the medallions that had been left behind by his old friends, and a blue energy surrounded Dan as he was pulled from his present and transported back to his past.