Chapter 2: The Lonely Ghost

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*"You ready to go ghost again?"*
―Ben Tennyson**[src]****Chapter 2: The Lonely Ghost** is the second chapter of *5 Years Later*.

## Plot Summary

After spending five years finding his way back to Earth from his astro-isolation, Vlad revisits his old mansion, now in custody of the state, and his laboratory underneath. He spends time reflecting on his past when he is interrupted by Eon, who offers to return Vlad to his full health and strength in exchange for his services. Vlad is reluctant at first, but agrees when he realizes he has nothing else left to live for.

Back in Ben’s Dimension, Ben, Rook, and Danny attempt to figure out how to return Danny home while sharing smoothies. Danny begins to doubt himself as a hero, and Blukic and Driba begin creating their own ghost portal. Lula enters to warn Ben of a threat detected in Bellwood.

Danny and Ben then teleport to Max’s Plumbing, and come face-to-face with Vlad.

## Details

### Major Events

* Recruiting of Vlad Masters
	+ Vlad Masters and Eon form an alliance.
* Blukic and Driba begin building a ghost portal.
* Battle in Bellwood
	+ Danny and Vlad reunite after five years.

### Characters

* Danny Fenton
* Ben Tennyson
* Rook Blonko
* Lula (5 Years Later Debut)
* Crawnch (5 Years Later Debut; Flashback)
* GoTro (5 Years Later Debut; Flashback)
* Chirp (5 Years Later Debut; Flashback)
* Eve (5 Years Later Debut; Flashback)
* Blukic (5 Years Later Debut)
* Driba (5 Years Later Debut)
* Horas (5 Years Later Debut; Photo)

### Villains

* Vlad Masters
* Eon

### Minor

* Zak Saturday (5 Years Later Debut; Cameo)
* Max Tennyson (5 Years Later Debut; Flashback)
* Psyphon (5 Years Later Debut; Flashback)
* Milleous (5 Years Later Debut; Flashback)
* Dimension 12 Droid (5 Years Later Debut; Flashback)
* Six Six (5 Years Later Debut; Flashback)
* Limax (5 Years Later Debut; Flashback)
* Gwendolyn Tennyson (5 Years Later Debut; Flashback; Mentioned)
* Kevin Levin (5 Years Later Debut; Flashback)
* Vilgax (5 Years Later Debut; Flashback)
* Magister Labrid (5 Years Later Debut; Flashback)
* Gourmand Ramsey (5 Years Later Debut; Flashback)

### Transformations

#### By 10-Year-Old Ben

* Wildmutt (Flashback)
* Four Arms (Flashback)
* Grey Matter (Flashback)
* XLR8 (Flashback)
* Upgrade (Flashback)
* Diamondhead (Flashback)
* Stinkfly (Flashback)
* Ghostfreak (Flashback)
* Heatblast (Flashback)
* Ripjaws (Flashback)

#### By 16-Year-Old Ben

* Feedback (Flashback)
* Water Hazard (Flashback)
* Rath (Flashback)
* Pesky Dust (Flashback)
* Eatle (Flashback)
* Ditto (Flashback)
* Echo Echo (Flashback)
* Ultimate Echo Echo (Flashback)
* Goop (Flashback)
* Terraspin (Flashback)
* Chamalien (Flashback)
* Humungousaur (Flashback)
* Upgrade (Flashback)
* Wildvine (Flashback)
* Walkatrout (Flashback)
* Spidermonkey (Flashback)
* Astrodactyl (Flashback)
* Fasttrack (Flashback)
* Crashhopper (Flashback)
* Juryrigg (Flashback)
* Arctiguana (Flashback)
* AmpFibian (Flashback)
* Brainstorm (Flashback)
* NRG (Flashback)
* Pesky Dust (Flashback)
* Eye Guy (Flashback)
* Bullfrag (Flashback)
* Cannonbolt (Flashback)
* Molestache (Flashback)
* The Worst (Flashback)
* Gutrot (Flashback)

### Locations

* Danny's Dimension
	+ Vlad Masters' mansion
	+ The Ghost Zone (Flashback)
* Ben's Dimension
	+ Plumber Base (Orion-Cygnus District)
	+ Bellwood

## Mythology

* During Ben's Monologue, the following episodes are referenced:
	+ Ben first obtains the Omnitrix.
	+ Ben's first encounter with Vilgax.
	+ Ben, Gwen, and Kevin listen to Magister Labrid's final words as he dies.
	+ Ben fights a mentally-unstable Kevin.
	+ Ben holds the universe together to prevent its recreation under Maltruant's influence.
* Since his banishment, Vlad's mansion is now under custody of the town and is off-limits to the public. His laboratory is now unkept and filled with cobwebs.
* Vlad recalls his college years with Jack and Maddie, along with his accident that gave him his ghost powers, first alluded to in the *Danny Phantom* episode Bitter Reunions.
* Rook calls Zak Saturday for advice on ghosts, further establishing the shared universe between *Ben 10* and *The Secret Saturdays*, which was confirmed in the *Ben 10: Omniverse* episode T.G.I.S. after being hinted at in the Secret Saturdays series.
* Danny, Rook, and Ben drink smoothies, a nod to Mr. Smoothy. Danny comments on his distaste with the flavor of his, referencing the odd choices of Mr. Smoothy's menu, such as Grasshopper, Lamb and Sardine, and Chocolate and Carrot.
* Ben wears a Sumo Slammer's T-Shirt, his favorite series through the entire *Ben 10 Franchise*.
* The map Danny shows to Ben and Rook is the Infi-map, first shown in the *Danny Phantom* episode Infinite Realms.
* Ben asks Danny if he's ready to Go Ghost Again, a reference to a hashtag Danny Phantom fans started using to help try and bring the show back.
* A poster for the *5 Years Later* spin-off series And Beyond appears on a window at Max's Plumbing.

## Errors

* The flashback of Vlad receiving his ghost powers was said to be 25 years ago. In the Vlad's Accident animation, the scene was revealed to have happened on April 7, 1984. The current year in the Danny Phantom Universe is 2010, so the flashback should be 26 years ago instead of 25.

## Trivia

* Despite featuring the most amount of aliens so far, none of them were used by Present-Day Ben.
* This chapter, along with Chapter 4: The Fallen Gods, are tied for shortest chapter, with 24 pages.
* The panel showcasing the original ten aliens in Ben's Arsenal resembles an old, popular wallpaper from the *Classic Ben 10* series.
* The Orion Squad look slightly different in this chapter from their future appearances, such as Lula having only two freckles per cheek, Chirp being much larger than he really is, and GoTro's overall shape.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 https://twitter.com/ItsTheInkTank/status/1513155842509578246