Broken Trust

Chapter 1: Mistakes

I always thought she was my friend. Not just a friend. A crush, I could always rely on for anything. Even though she never knew it was me, I always forgave her for my mistake. But... I could never forgive her now.

I wanted to confront her for that night. It was foolish of me to be out that late at night, but I wanted a small break. I didn't think about her sneaking up on me and trying to plot another plan to kill me. But of course I wasn't thinking straight.

I cursed myself repeatedly and held onto myself tighter. My eyes snapped closed as my body shook with fear. Everytime I thought about her, nightmares appeared and I had no other choice but to be a shadow of my old self and run away. I hated doing it but it was the only way to get rid of the problems coming back after me. I could never confront it.

Once again, I thought about that night and my body collapsed on the floor.

It was a cool, crisp night when it happened. I gave a smile as the wind through my face and hair, giving me a tingling feeling. My arms wrapped around knees as I glanced off at the moon. It's perfectly rounded shape bounced off the pond water and reflected onto my eyes.

"Danny?" A voice whispered.

I moved my body so that I was able to see the owner of the voice, who I already knew. I turned my body upside down so that my knees were hanging onto the branch and so I was able to see the whole form of the voice. Once I was at least able to make out the shape of Sam, I smiled at her, "Hey."

"You shouldn't be out here that late. What if someone catches you?" She asked worriedly.

I laughed at her and shook my head, "Who would be here this late?"

She pointed at me, "You."

"And what about you?"

"I'm just trying to help you out," Sam spat back and pushed my shoulders back. Not sensing this, my knees were unable to support me anymore and I tumbled off the branch. I gave a yelp of surprise and groaned as I rubbed the top of my skull.

After laughing hysterically, Sam rushed over to me and failed to hide a snort of laughter. "Gosh Danny. You're so clumsy."

"I'm clumsy?" I choked back and sat up. There was slight pounding in my head but it wasn't painful for me to get off topic. I stood up and pushed her back. "Thanks for helping."

"Your welcome."

I froze as my ears picked up a high sound coming from behind me and I did the quickest thing I could do. I shoved Sam out of harms way and went to find the sound myself. As I came closer to object, I narrowed my eyes. It was her...

"What do you want Valerie?" I spat at her.

Through the dim lit mask, Valerie gave a smirk as she held up her large bazooka. "I could ask you the same thing. Your disrupting everyone's sleep. Why don't you go back home?"

"I'm not even doing anything!" I argued back, "You're the one flying around with that huge hover board and holding up weapons."

"I'm trying to protect my town from things like you. You should go back to your own land."

"Why can't you leave me alone? I was only sitting in this tree," I pointed up at it, "and thinking."

Valerie frowned, "Probably thinking about destroying Amity Park."

I huffed and crossed my arms, "What's wrong with you? Always thinking I'm doing something wrong? How about you? Can't you have a day off from this silly job."

"No, justice never sleeps," She retorted back and gave a smirk. "But soon it won't matter. I'll get rid of you and you won't ever bother anyone again." She held up her bazooka and turned a knob on its setting. Giving one last look at her prey, she pulled the trigger and a large blast of pink ecto energy emptied out of the gun, towards me.

I was late to react and instead was shot back by the intense surge of energy. I screamed loudly but it was nothing compared to the pain I was instead feeling. My eyes widened as I fell to the ground, my whole body numb from the deathly experience. Valerie's shadow fell over my half conscious body and she gave a smile filled with triumph.

"Good night, Phantom."

And my world went blank.

I wasn't sure how long I was unconscious but as soon as I woke up, my whole body shook will unnatural coldness. My arms and feet were strapped to the wall by some oddly glowing green metal material and my head throbbed in my skull. The worst part of it was that my enviroment had changed and now I was in broken abandoned building.

My fingers clenched together as I tried my best to wiggle myself out of my small prison but as I expected, only failure came out of my struggle.

"Look who's awake," A dark haunting voice informed. I backed up, hopefully able to disappear from the hunter's sight but of course she had to grab my chin and force me to look at her. Her eyes blazed with temptation and fury as pushed by chin away. "I've wondering when you were going to wake up. Ghosts don't sleep long like humans."

"Well maybe I'm not what you think I am," I growled back, my eyes locking onto hers.

Valerie smiled, "I well aware of that. Your not like everyone else in your kind. Could you tell me why?"

"Why aren't you humans alike then," I quipped as my gaze drifted to the concrete floor.

"We all have different DNA. But you ghosts don't. It would be any ectoplasm and any one of you wouldn't care. You're like the same but in different bodies and souls."

"And how would you know this?" I asked. Of course I wasn't aware of this but somehow Valerie was? How could she know this but not me? Who was telling her all this?

"I... do my research. Rest assure, I do it thoroughly," She smirked.

My eyes focused back onto her and I gave her a frown, "So what now? What does the great ghost hunter want to do to me now?"

"I'm going to destroy you."

Before I could add another sentence though, my mind froze as I stared at her, my mouth hung open. "K-kill me?"

"I can't kill you," Valerie corrected, "I can only erase you from existence and that, I promise, will surely happen to you today."

"But... you're making a huge mistake. You'll regret trying to hurt me. I swear!" I cautioned, giving a meek smile in her direction. But the smile she was giving me and the stress falling down my face, it put me on the edge. I started to struggle harder and harder against the binds holding me, but every time I continued to fail. My ghost powers weren't responding to my desperate attempt to break free and there were no signs from Valerie that she was going to stop me. She was surely confident on the bonds and the plan to destroy me. It gave me a sickening feeling.

"How would I? All you caused is trouble not only for me but for everyone in the town. Your best being destroyed by me." Valerie laughed.

"And what are you going to do to me then? Shot me with a gun repeatedly? Electrocute me?" I asked, my eyebrow raising.

"Something around the last one. I'm going to shock you with intense electricity energy and watch you melt into a puddle," Valerie explained and held up a remote. "They say its the most painfullest thing a ghost can feel. It was nice meeting you however."

She pressed down on the red button and my world changed before my eyes. Power coursed through my veins as I howled in pain from all the distress I was feeling. I wanted to cry, scream, beg and die all from that surge of power. I wasn't aware that I was struggling so hard until I felt blisters itch on my skin after seconds of the pain. Still pain continued through me and I continued to shriek.

"Danny..." A voice screamed.

I heard it well enough that it was one of my friends, who was thankfully trying to save me from the torture. But more words were exchanged until the pain increased...

I screamed in agony and my whole body felt numb. Like my essence was disappearing from my body. I couldn't hold on anymore... not even if I tried. I was going to give in...

And soon the pain disappeared. I panted hard, my lungs filling up will as much air as possible and then releasing it. The bonds around my wrists and feet released and I fell onto something plump. I could barely maintain my eyes to open so I wasn't able to tell who was holding me. But by the way they were comforting me, I could tell it was Sam.

I heard the voices chatter but I was only able to pick up a few things.

"What...you...do?"

"He...Danny."

"Phanto...Danny."

"...disgrace..."

Light blinded my face and my brain suddenly shut off, making me plunged back into the comforting darkness that had kept me safe...for a couple of hours before the torture.

"What did you do to him?" Sam screamed as she held up her ecto weapon. She gave a look of fear at the direction of her best friend and rushed over to him. "Danny! Calm down!"

"Leave him alone. He's a ghost and it's my job to destroy people like him," Valerie warned and grabbed Sam's hand from touching the still screaming boy.

"It's your job to destroy a friend?" She spat back, her eyes glaring furiously.

The hunter laughed, "You think that piece of ectoplasmic scum is my friend? It could never be my friend. It's a monster."

"I think very well that Danny is your friend."

"Yeah, the HUMAN Danny. Not the ghost," Valerie smiled and held up her weapon. "Now if you would, step away from Phantom, so he can be destroyed."

Sam swallowed hard and pointed up at the screaming ghost, who was starting to melt away. "That is Danny. Phantom IS Danny."

Valerie paused and have a snort of laughter, "That's a nice way to try and trick me. You think I'm going to fall for something like that. Like a human could ever be a ghost. There's no way Phantom could be Danny."

"Your such a disgrace, Valerie. I thought you knew whenever to quit. But to come out like that and kill something that was alive... That's just heartless."

"Ghosts are human souls that could never fulfill a goal in their life. That's why they roam around. Hoping to accomplish it and leave our plane. Just don't understand why Phantom here don't go away. But I've already found a way to destroy him," Valerie smirked and held her weapon, in a serious manner. "Now step away from him."

To disagree on her point, a blinding light over came around Phantom's direction and everyone was forced to shield away. As the light dissipated, Valerie's eyes widened in a horrifying state and backed up from the realization. "D-Danny?"

Standing or being held where Phantom was suppose to be, was 14 year old Danny Fenton. His eyes were half lidded, threatening to fall into unconsciousness and his whole body shook with fear and pain. His clothes were tattered as if he had been in a major battle and had lost with no competition.

He gave a small heave and fell forward, falling right into Sam and Tucker's arms. Cold skin met warmth and both Sam and Tucker widened at the unnatural cold enveloping their friend. They both sensed the exact same thing; he was going to die in a matter of minutes.

Tucker decided to take Danny's full weight and took half of his body off Sam. Even though he was holding his friend's entire body, the weight felt like the weight of a sack of potatoes. He was extremely light, which gave a worry to Tucker.

"We'd better go," Tucker whispered and slowly took Danny out of the building.

Sam followed behind him and looked over at Valerie. "Like I said. Disgrace." She walked off without another word and slammed the door shut behind her.

That left Valerie to wallow in her own confusion and pain as she fell to the ground and punched the concrete, hoping that it would clear her head. But it only gave her pain. Pain that she should of never had passed onto an innocent boy.

She looked at her murderous fingers and whimpered softly. Sam was right. She was a disgrace.

"Danny?" A small pat awoke me and I moaned in pain. I wasn't sure where the pain was coming from, but I could feel it clearly around my body. Another pat forced me to open my eyes halfway, which only allowed me to see a blurry object in my eyelashes.

The object felt my forehead and whispered something beside it and then sighed. "Please wake up."

My eyes immediately opened and I looked up at object. It was still blurry but I was able to make out a lot of black and I smiled at her. "Hey..."

She gasped as she hugged me tight, "You're okay."

As she hugged me, my whole body fell with pain as I held a large scream, threatening to burst out. I whimpered in her arms and fell back onto the bed, wrapping myself with my arms.

"Be careful. He's still extremely hurt," Tucker whispered and sat beside me. He rubbed my arms and sighed. "I'm sorry."

I turned my head so that I was staring up at him. "W-what happened?"

"Valerie... almost killed you."

Just hearing those 4 words threw me off and I felt salty tears fall down my cheeks. The memories flooded back into my mind and I just cried harder. The pain. The cold numbness. And the evil laugh of a dear friend.

"She killed me..," I whispered, "I was...dying. I could feel it."

"No no," Sam disagreed, "Your not dead. Your alive. Your still with us."

"I know," I turned my head back into my pillow and continued to cry as if I had lost my insanity. I did though. I could never trust her again. Not after what she did. Never again.

"There's also another thing," Sam added. I turned to her, my blue eyes red from the harsh sobbing I was still doing. "She knows your secret. You passed out from the pain and you turned back to normal. She... she said she was sorry. But we didn't listen to her and had to rush to my house."

"We almost did lose you," Tucker whispered, "You were literally seconds from dying. We rushed here as fast as possible in the Speeder, which thankfully I was able to take and had to give you shots of energy. You were so cold and pale... I was scared."

"But we managed to return you to normal vitals and your okay. Probably still in pain but safe," Sam smiled and held my hand.

"Thanks...guys," I smiled back and closed my eyes. "So what's going to happen now?"

"I don't know Danny. That's your decision. You could go back to either being normal with Valerie as your friend or decide never to trust her again."

I sighed, "I already chose. I'm never trusting her again... But you guys have to help me. I can't see her, confront her. I don't want to even talk to her. Please don't let me near her."

"No problem dude. We promise that," Tucker agreed and pushed my hair back. "Just go to sleep. Your parents know your at Sam's sleeping over tonight and tomorrow. We'll keep you safe. Just sleep."

I gave one last smile in their direction before my eyes shut back into a peaceful sleep.

Little added bonus to everything on my plate. I know it's kind of short.. sorry. I had written this a couple months ago but this story was in storage until now. You all deserve a little extra, holding on to me and my messed up updating.

Thanks to everyone supporting my other story, 'A Mother's Embrace'. I appreciate every single thing I receive from you all. The tips and opinions are extremely helpful by the way.

Until my next update.

~Tortoro15