A.N. I guess I should congratulate all my dearest readers on this wonderful day. Well, it is Christmas here when I post it, time zones and all. Wish you all a better year than this one.

"Wh-what in Oblivion are you?!" Ulfric's right hand man asked in terror.

"Let me introduce myself, good Northern Folk. I am Daniel. My services have been employed by Dovahkiin, and thus I am here to detain the leader of the Stormcloaks so he would stand a trial..."

One of the Nords decided to interrupt the pompous speech by attacking the teen. Sighing, Danny tossed them aside with telekinesis. They did not try again, only grunting and rubbing their sore spots.

"I have no time for this," Ulfric said coldly.

"What is that I hear? The mighty Stormcloak is afraid of a duel with a child?" Danny raised his voice, letting everyone, even those on a fairer distance, hear it. "Hey, everyone! This blonde megalomaniac is chickening once more!"

"First wipe the milk from your lips, lad. Then we can talk about it."

"Shall we kill this brat, Ulfric? He is distracting us from the battle!"

"Just let him go. I am asking you to leave peacefully, lad. There won't be any more warnings."

He was obviously trying to look merciful to all his subordinates, all those people who believed in his strength. The position of the teen was incredibly fortified as usual. If Ulfric won, he would hardly be praised for beating a kid. If he lost, he would be beaten by a kid. No matter how you look at it, the fight between the two was already not in the Stormcloak's favour. And boy, did Danny understand the power he now had over the pretender for the throne of Skyrim.

"Listen, I am glad to see you all circle jerking, but I came here with a purpose in mind. You say you honour the tradition, and even amidst the fight you have to accept the challenge. You have already refused challenges, have you not?"

The glance Ulfric gave his top henchmen made Danny sweatdrop. Wait, so his bluff actually was correct? Well, good for him.

"I am waiting, Stormcloak! Get your ass down, Majesty, or I will make you!"

"Fine."

Ulfric got down the horse and drew his sword from its sheath. The steel glistened brightly, and not only it, because the weapon was enchanted to bite with cold. Now getting a good look at the man, Danny noticed that the armour he wore seemed allowing for agile movements, as between the chest plate and wrist bands there was nothing but cloth. The fur mantle was taken down, as well as the crown. The bright blue eyes of the pretender tried to examine the young man, just like the latter did with him.

"What's your weapon of choice?"

"Bare hands, Majesty. Try not to let me snap your little toothpick in half."

His attitude was getting on the jarl's nerves. Some space was already given for their fight, as the top henchman took command in his temporary absence from the leading position. This whole situation seemed surreal. But it also made him nervous deep inside. Such eagerness could not be regarded as mere foolishness. There was something beneath the cheerful smile of a man who wished to humiliate him at best, kill him at worst.

"What do you wish to achieve, lad? What did the Imperials promise you?"

"Imperials? Nothing. See, we got a problem, my friend got entangled in your war, because the siege you put here is not exactly suiting our interests. We've stayed apart from this war as much as we could... disregarding our little errand of acquiring the crown you are wearing for some reason."

"I have the right to wear it. More so than that Imperial puppet of a woman."

With that being said Ulfric lunged forward. Phantom dodged a series of relentless strikes, without going intangible. He had to admit, that man had a bull's stamina. And Danny was honestly getting sick of it.

"You murdered her husband, why do you THINK she is against you?"

"Which does not mean that she is fit for the position."

"True. And what have you done except plunging this country into...this?" Phantom pointed at the ensuing battle, "Except mercilessly butchering the people of Markarth? I may have been around for a relatively short while, but some things have come to my knowledge."

"You are a self-righteous child, I did what I had to!"

This struck the cord within the young man. He clenched his fists and his eyes glowed.

"Yes. I am! Because there is nothing wrong with condemning cruelty when it comes at such unnecessary scale! When it can be avoided."

"This is clearly not the case, boy. I don't expect you to understand."

Taking a shaky sigh, Danny did not dodge this time. Instead, the blade was grabbed by the half ghost, who snapped it in half, making a scissor-like motion. His look clearly signified that he had no interest in further fighting. Utilising the confusion, the teen grabbed the giant of a man and punched him in the face. Grunting, Ulfric backtracked, but didn't have time to react, because Phantom spun him around, grabbed the wrists and engulfed the hands of his enemy in sticky ectoplasm.

"Well, at least I understand that you are in a sticky predicament," Danny smirked.

"What in Oblivion is this?!" The pretender exclaimed, trying to tear his cuffs.

"Try as you might, the thing is dura..."

Suddenly something unexpected happened. Apparently, Ulfric had the ability to shout like Dave did. And the sheer force of it launched the teen good ten meters away. The blonde then ordered to cut his binds, and the goo did not resist as much. Spewing out the mud, Danny slowly began to get up, with the edge of the eye noticing the rapidly approaching armed man. His eyes flashed again in anger, before he outstretched his palm. Ulfric gasped as he found himself unable to move.

"I am DONE playing," Phantom let out a chilling growl. "Can you imagine, how I feel when some unwashed brute thinks that he knows better?!" The armour suddenly pressed heavily on Ulfric's body, tighter and tighter as Danny's fist clenched, "You know nothing! I can squash you any time of the day yet I do NOT! I can control myself, why everyone else cannot?!" His voice gained an echo, his body glowed with ethereal light, scaring away any potential threat. "Why do you all keep telling me that this is normal while it is clearly not?!"

Finally finding their courage, the soldiers ran forward, but one look from Phantom's glowing ice blue eyes was enough to freeze them. Literally engulfed in ice up to their necks, they were a scary reminder to not meddle in the conversation, as the distance between the two shortened slowly, but steadily.

"I do not kill because I can! I of all people have the power to beat everyone around and without it! Why is it so hard for everyone to understand?! Maybe I should teach you to appreciate what I am trying to give?!"

"You are insane!" Ulfric managed to say.

Surprisingly, this calmed the young man down, if by that you mean nothing except the coldest stare imaginable.

"Is that so? Of course," he chuckled, "I almost forgot with whom I am talking. Apologies. But still..."

Phantom grabbed the man's neck and grinned toothily, "We've got a trip to make."

With that they vanished from the Stormcloak encampment, and Ulfric was tossed right onto the ground, which was actually the top of the wall. In his bent armour Ulfric was almost immobile, easy to grab and pin right over the edge so his bleeding face would be shown to all people down there.

"People of Skyrim!" Danny bellowed so loudly that everyone heard him. His Wail did not only bring destruction, "To you I show the self-proclaimed High King of Skyrim! Right in the hands of the Empire! This is your only warning, Stormcloaks! Surrender or leave, or your leader will take a flight down!"

"You are bluffing," Ulfric chocked, "You just said..."

"But they don't know that, do they?" Danny smirked.

The hysteria among the troops of Ulfric could only be compared to the boost in morale for the soldiers of the Emperor. With the Stormcloaks thrown into disarray despite the second in command's attempts to hold the reigns, the Legion pushed forward, driving the enemy further away. Finally, the horn signalled for the Nords to retreat. And so they did. Sighing heavily, Danny leaned on the edge of the merlon for support. Ancients, when had it become so bad? His mind was like a wreckage at this point, one that cannot come to a logical conclusion, it was jumping from one thought to another, his actions fell not into any sensible pattern. In a sense, the young man really was insane. To think that he could easily be shaken by all of this.

That's how it goes, does it not? Break the dam and every droplet would get right through. One murder led to his agitated mind. And now he saw the triggers everywhere. God, did he look and sound pathetic. But he was thinking correctly, was he not? He just...didn't want any deaths, why did everyone around try to make him doubt that? Were they all gripped by cynicism? Were the locals so backwards that the moral barrier between Danny and the people of Nirn? It did make sense, even if Phantom himself did not give it much thought, as it would be too egocentric. The world with little semblance of humanism could not make it so far on its own. What was Danny supposed to do then, if his behaviour was not only unwanted but generally looked strangely upon? Maybe he was overdramatising, maybe, but what of the question left unanswered? If only someone would tell him.

He had his feelings for Serana, and her words made sense, but... the plan to swallow it up and go just... did not suit him, despite his best effort. Just look at this pathetic excuse for a supposed god, he snapped at the very first second when the things turned out wrongly. Perhaps it was not the way. But what was it? Danny sighed, he had things to do, his feelings on unrelated matters could wait.

"Come on, big guy, I will arrange for you to meet the Jarl."

Once he dragged Ulfric down in a most humiliating, yet effective matter. By the collar and down the tower staircase. Once they were down, Phantom finally cuffed the man properly once again. The soldiers returning behind the city walls cheered loudly, spewing insults at the pretender, who, you have to give him credit, still held his head proudly. And Danny did not try to torment the man any further, he had no interest in this. Soon enough, his two companions approached him. Phantom smiled and saluted.

"Hey guys, I've wrapped the gift but I don't know where to send it."

"You took longer than I thought," Dave hummed, "I mean, you are... well, you know," he looked around and stopped himself mid sentence.

"Our Danny is just too sentimental," Serana rolled her eyes, approaching him, "But still, good job," she pecked him on the cheek.

"Can we skip this part?" Ulfric complained, before his eyes fell on Dovahkiin, "Again we are near each other and I am being led to the chopping block, speak about irony."

Dave crossed his hands, "Yes, indeed. And this time there won't be any dragons to save you. The execution is rather distant at the moment, so we will see if you actually see that block. I won't be surprised. I hope you understand that it is not out of my own spite, Ulfric."

"I understand."

Then several legionaries came, with the legate himself, demanding that Ulfric be given to them. Danny let the man go, telling how to remove the binds when they needed it. Now being left alone, the team were free to discuss their future plans. Phantom chuckled internally. Even in another world he got into a trio of interesting individuals, when he thought about it.

"So, what is it between you two?" Asked Serana.

"Long story," the Dovahkiin responded, "How was your journey?"

"Well, we did get the bow," Phantom pointed at the weapon on the vampire's back. "But I didn't think this through after this point. What do we do? Destroy it so Harkon won't have it?"

"This artefact is too powerful to try. Hiding it is not an option either. We will only postpone the inevitable."

"This leaves few options," Dave snorted, "So, we barge into his castle and send them all into Oblivion?"

"I think there is a place to hide it," Danny rubbed his chin. "I could...leave it in my world once I go back. No vampire will ever reach it there."

"This isn't a good idea," said Serana, maybe too suddenly.

"Why?" Both men asked.

"Oh, it's...it's nothing."

"Ser..."

"Nothing. Anyways, Dave, what do you think?"

"Ugh, why you too..." Dave rubbed his forehead, "I'd stick to the suggestion of using this thing. You lass seem to agree."

Serana nodded, and that left only Danny, right under the gazes of his companions.

"I am concerned that if something happens Harkon will get his hands on the bow. It's better that we hide it, I tell you."

"He won't. We just hold it tighter."

"We have actually tested this thing," Dave said. "The arrows explode on contact. Into a huge ball of sunlight, the lass has got a couple of burns."

"Really? Are you okay, Ser?"

"I am fine, Danny. The vampire burns heal quickly. Anyways, it is a powerful weapon. One shot will kill a dozen of exposed vampires, no matter their power. And in the castle they all are pretty much helpless against a portable sun."

"Nonetheless, I think that we can gain a hefty reward for capturing Ulfric. It will keep us going for a long while. Damn, I think I will be able to live off it for the rest of my life!"

Dave received a couple of non amused glances.

"Hey, I need the money for my elder life. And it doesn't seem that you lad would require it, seeing as you will one day leave for your world."

"Gold is valued everywhere," Danny smirked, putting the hands on his belt. "Anyway... let us celebrate and then make our plans, huh?"

Serana shrugged, "Don't see why not. Your treat. You are going to be rich here."

"Not yet. I only have some looted money."

The next complicated task was the fact that not all taverns lived through the siege and took advantage of the happy soldiers. One should thank the healthy streak of entrepreneurship for an evening well-spent. Thrown into an epicentre of the event, the trio basked in the praises from the happy soldiers who eagerly anticipated the end of Civil War. And for many it meant returning home to their respective provinces. The orcs, the Bretons and the Imperials — they all talked about their native lands and prowess during the battle. And the adventurers tried to avoid too much attention, taking a small private room in the back of the tavern.

"Cheers!" Three mugs hit each other, being emptied very quickly.

"Bah, what a load of piss, where do they take this stuff?!" Dave exclaimed.

"Oi, our Dave is a sommelier," laughed Danny, "It is just mead, pal."

"Just mead?! Mead is our everything! And if it cannot be prepared properly, then what of us Nords? Who are we without it?"

"Mead is mead," Serana mumbled, taking a gulp, "It is not wine to be savoured exquisitely."

Dave grumbled under his nose. But, despite his complaint, he continued the drink, immediately going after a chicken leg.

"Y'know, I was serious about you leaving lad. You are going, aren't you?"

"Well..." Danny glanced at Serana, who held the neutral expression, "My family and friends live there. I can't just leave them."

"Pity. You are going down in our history just like that and decide to get out of here in a moment."

"I hope I didn't do anything bad. Who knows where my decision would lead. Hell, the next day a guard may walk in Ulfric's cell and find it empty..."

His speech was interrupted by a messenger barging into the room. The same one that the trio had encountered before. And without saying a single extra word he ran out, leaving a letter behind. Recovering from her confusion, Serana began reading it aloud, having gotten her hands on it first.

"Respected hero, I, Jarl Balgruf, wish to thank you personally on behalf of Whiterun and the entire Skyrim. As such, I ask you to come to Dragonsreach, where you will be provided with everything you might need. A reward must be suitable for a person of your achievements."

"Wow, never seen Balgruf being so nice to anybody," Dave whistled.

"Is he bad?"

"No, no. He is a nice fella. But he is not usually that polite and courteous. Seen him myself, actually. Let's go. After I eat. Those nobles would take forever to give me any meal."

The undead rolled their eyes. As Serana sat on the chair and opened the book, not hungry anymore, Danny decided to sit outside. The crowd had mostly dispersed, so he just sat near the bonfire in the centre of the main room, not bothered by anyone. He turned all ears, curiosity getting the better of him. There were a lot of stories to tell, but one of them caught his particular interest.

"I'm telling ya, something is wrong with the Jarl's kid."

"And why do you know, I don't see you in the Cloud District often."

"I actually saw the lad myself, ye. Got a delivery of vegetables to make to the Dragonsreach. The last time was a month ago. Both times I met the lad and now it's like someone replaced him! He used to be sweet, and now he is the meanest brat of them all. How does he know that my mama died a week ago? It was so scary, I am not going there again."

"Hahaha, Arngeirn, you always were a scaredy cat. Seriously? A lad scared you? Or what do you think? That he is possessed?"

Danny realised that he really needed to take the Jarl's offer.