"through which we live life there will always be trials that create storms within our minds and hearts. To be strong means to stand up to these storms and say 'Come at thee!' and brave them. if we can overcome these trials and storms, then surely we can overcome the cruelty of life in itself"- Unknown
Chapter 1: Begining
Through everything that happened in what was deemed 'phantom planet' the major officials of the world nobody, save for the people who were on site and sworn not to tell, known who Phantom was. It was irritating for some but okay for others, but Danny was still having a hard life upon him. Almost ninety-eight percent of the school populace, and world for that matter, didn't know he was phantom, and even though Lancer had been there he still didn't lighten up on Danny because he didn't want to inflate the young hero's ego. Vlad had returned and had gotten back his position in Wisconsin. But he had managed to stay away from Amity, which in itself was good….at least for team phantom.
Now Danny, Sam, and Tucker were in the cafeteria, just talking. Sam had become Danny's girlfriend after 'Phantom Planet, they were a lot closer than most couples at the school. But still Danny had his job to do, so it was times like this he'd like to work on his relationship with Sam and his self-control in his 'alter ego' as Tucker had called it one time. They were talking about the recent events that were going on between the Ghost Zone and Amity. Unfortunately Tucker had a meeting to go to so he was excused from school for the rest of the day, Leaving Sam and Danny to them selves.
"So, I heard that the movie 'Expendables' was pretty good. Do you want to come over and watch it with me sometime?" Sam asked. Danny smiled but also looked shocked
"You haven't seen it yet?" Sam shook her head "Oh my god, you have been missing out. Greatest action hero's in that movie, Hands down. Sylvester Stallone, Steve Austin, Jason Statham, Jet Li Sam, Jet freaking Li. I swear there was more action than dialogue and the-"
"Well don't ruin it for me!" they laughed as Dash came up to them
"Hey Fen-turd! We lost the game last night. Do you know what that means?" Danny gave a dead pan look
"ugh, let me guess, I'm supposed to shake my head no, then you say that its pay-up time or something on those lines and then you beat me up or shove me into a locker just to assert your dominance because your to afraid of people to actually handle them by yourself, which gives the proof that hold everyone by fear." Everyone in the cafeteria gasped no one stood up to Dash Baxter like that. The bully drove a fist into Danny's gut, Sam tried to go to him but Paulina held her back
"Sorry girl, but he needs to learn his place." A few of the other popular girls helped restrain Sam. Kwan and an unnamed jock held Danny up while Dash was bashing on the poor boy.
Danny's lip was gashed, he had two black eyes, and he couldn't see at all, his legs were pretty much broken from the crunching sounds that were heard from his legs before Kwan held him up. Sam could be heard crying for Dash to stop, but the punches kept coming. Suddenly sirens could be heard, two sets of them.
"Stop right there!" Dash looked around and saw two officers walking towards him. "Drop the boy, put your hands on your head and drop to your knees, all three of you!" Danny was laid on the floor by Kwan, before the three did as the officer said. "you three have the right to remain silent, anything you say and do, can and will be used against you in a court of law, you have the right to an attorney if you do not have one, the state will provide one for you." The officer said as he cuffed the three and kept reading the rights.
A paramedic got in and put Danny on the stretcher the medic said to him "sorry if it hurts but this is standard procedure and from here it'll get better, I promise." He could feel Sam's hand on his.
"Don't worry. Lancer was the one that called the cops; He couldn't stand for an assault or battery in the school you know." Danny tried to laugh, but it still hurt from when the air was knocked out of him.
Since that day, things had gotten better. Vlad had mad his return to Amity and under the oath of Clockwork; has sworn off any misdeeds that would cause him to be in bad favor with anyone around the Fenton family in good retrospect, since this was Vlad, he'd probably make a move for revenge against Danny as soon as he could, true to his word though, Vlad did help pay for Danny's lawyer in the trial Dash was put on trial set for two weeks after Danny was released from the hospital. The doctors said he was healing better than most people so he'd be out in a few days at the most. While the doctor was talking to his parents he noted some strange oddities.
"Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, we noticed that there are scars on him that seemed to already be there, do you possibly know why?" the doctor asked.
"Well," Maddie started "he does look up to us a lot and when the ghosts started attacking he might have picked up the family trade. We noticed the scars, the bruising, all of it. When we confronted him about it, he told us he'd just been getting into fights lately." She lied without a hint of remorse. A doctor would've let his secret out and publicity and fan-girls galore would come from far and wide just to see him. Not exactly something they wanted.
"well at any rate, he should be done healing by tomorrow, at least to a point where he can be discharged, but for standard purposes we have to keep him a full twenty-four hours to make sure that he's completely in the clear, you understand this, correct?" the parents nodded.
"That's my boy in there alright! He's a Fenton, and Fenton's don't ever give up on something once they put their mind to it." Jack said with a proud smirk.
The day of the trial was at hand. Danny had gotten much better and was now able to walk with crutches, his eyes had lost the swelling but were still a light and barely noticeable purple. Danny knew that when Dash was put in jail, a lot of trouble would be going with him. Students who were bullied by him came and some agreed to testify. The trial began with everyone rising for the Judges entrance and then the reading of the charges to the defendant.
"Dashiel G. Baxter, you are charged with assault and battery of the 2nd degree as well as sexual assault and drug use. How do you plea?" the judge asked. Dash looked confused where the other two charges came from but none the less he answered
"Not guilty, your honor."
"Very well, call the first witness."
"The court calls Samantha J. Manson to the stand" Sam rose and went to the stand before she got up there; a bible was placed in front of her. She knew court tradition and this was where she made the oath of truth as she called it "Samantha Manson, do you hereby swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god?"
"I Samantha Manson hereby swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me god."
"Very well, please be seated." She took her seat and the lawyer that her family had arranged for Danny stepped up after being told to proceed with questioning.
"Ms. Manson, can you describe the events that took place two and a half weeks ago?"
"Yes, I can. Me and Danny were sitting at our lunch spot talking about a movie I had yet to see, Dash came up and called Danny quote by quote "Fen-turd", a disgrace of name calling if you ask me, but back on point. He'd been a bully to Danny and many others for years and I guess that Danny just had enough of it. He'd just wanted to get Dash to go away so he and I could spend time together-"
"Objection! The witness is leading by emotional ties" Dashes lawyer spoke
"Is this true, Ms. Manson?" the judge asked
"No sir, while it is true I am Danny's girlfriend, I know enough about court procedure to know that if I was 'leading' then I would be convicted as well on charges of lying under oath or something of that area….I didn't get that far into the law book. The point remains though that if it came down to the point where Danny was on trial for something I would know that the best option is to plead the fifth so not to break trust and at the same time keep myself from getting convicted."
"Well Ms. Manson, you know your stuff, objection denied, continue please."
"As I was saying before the objection, Danny had just wanted to get Dash to go away so we could spend time together while Tucker was at a meeting. When Danny said that Dash kept his status by fear, he lost it. Dash went on to pummel Danny like a ragdoll. Danny didn't fight back, he just took the beating, I tried to help but Paulina and the A-list girls held me back. From what I saw in the Ambulance after the police arrived, Danny had received two black eyes swollen to the point where he couldn't see, several broken ribs and broken legs. The Doctors couldn't tell me everything just from the ambulance and my mother had me come home to get the arrangements with Mr. and Mrs. Fenton on the trial. This is all I have to say concerning that day." The Jury looked at her trying to find some form of falseness of words but some of them had a similar experience in the past and sympathized.
"Ms. Manson, has Dash ever bullied you?"
"Not directly, in that sense he does have some honor and leaves the bullying of females to females, meaning he probably bribes the A-list girls to bully me for him. I say this because he looks at me with the same glare he normally gives Danny and used to give Tucker before he became mayor. Nothing series yet, normally just mental warfare; name calling, cut downs, you know verbal stuff. I don't let it get to me though because I know that they were just pawns in this, and I don't blame them either. Human nature is controlled by greed, give someone what they want and they'd go as far as kill a person for you."
"I see, Prosecution rests your honor." The prosecutor sat down and the defense attorney walked up to her.
"Ms. Manson, is it true that your and ultra-recyclo vegetarian?"
"Yes but I don't see how that pertains to the case."
"Do you recall when you attacked the school board to change the menu for lunch?"
"How could I not, after all, its not everyday you see ghost controlling meat just to get what they want."
"Tell me, why did you attack the board, when so many people of that school were probably allergic to what you had requested?"
"Objection!" Danny's lawyer spoke
"Denied, continue"
"I'll be completely honest, I am not the best person, I wasn't thinking about the people at the time but more the earth itself. I've grown up though and I've only been 'attacking' as you call it, to get a more balanced lunch for the school, not something too meaty and not something too….'grassy' for lack of better term. Almost losing your home, family, friends, and life will change that about a person."
"What do you mean?"
"Well I was one of the spectators of the Disasteroid event that took place a while back."
"Then it's safe to say that you know who phantom is?"
"I plead the fifth"
"So you know, why won't you tell us?"
"Because he made everyone in the area swear not to rat out his identity." Sam was getting uncomfortable now, this guy was backing her into a wall and she knew it. He was going to try and get the identity of phantom and turn the charges on him.
"Defense rests."
The trial had gone on longer than expected after words, next on the stand was Danny himself. He'd gone through smooth enough to get by and left out details that would let his secret out. Tucker went up and testified that he'd also been bullied by the jock; the statement was agreed by several others that took the stand. A few of them even testified to the sexual assault charge.
Now the Jury was listening in on the latest witness: Kwan
"Mr. Kuroken? Did I say that right?" Kwan nodded "Now, why did you help Dash. You were told out to be one of the more rational A-listers in the school, so that begs the question, why?" Danny's lawyer asked
"I-I shouldn't have helped him. I've only known Dash for two maybe three years but still the only reason I stay around him is the fact that he wanted me there as a football player and one of his cronies. I should've stood against him and did the right things and if I could go back, I would without a doubt make sure that no one got bullied because I was too scared to do anything about it. It was because of him that any normal friends I had were taken away. My best friend, before I joined the team, commit suicide because of him. I-I never want to see that happen again!" Kwan finished. Tears were rolling down his cheeks by the sheer memory alone.
"I know this must be hard for you, Mr. Kuroken, but we need to know any evidence that you may have. What was the name of your friend who commit this tragedy?"
"His name was Edward Miles. He was a great strategist as well as an all around nice guy; people loved him just from his charisma alone. He got asked to join the A-listers one day by Dash and refused. So he got his revenge by bullying him and in the end, Ed took his own life just to deal with the pain."
"Thank you. Prosecution rests your honor"
"All right, from today's events alone I can tell people are tired and it's best not to let a weary mind take stand as a witness. We'll call recess for today and resume tomorrow at 10:15 A.M. and not a minute later. Dismissed." The judge said. Everyone stood up to leave.
When Danny and Sam were settled down in Danny's home there was a knock at the door, Danny had mad a move to get it but was pushed back onto the couch by Sam. "don't you worry about the door, your only goal right now is relaxing." She said as she got the door
Upon opening the door she saw Dash's lawyer. "Hello Ms. Manson, is Daniel here by chance?"
"Yeah but I doubt he'd like to talk to you." she deadpanned
"All I ask is that he here me out. Nothing more, nothing less, and I am a man of my word Ms. Manson." Rolling her eyes at the statement she led him inside. When they got to Danny he was watching USA on his family's T.V. more specifically; Law and Order: SVU (Special Victims Unit) "My, my, Daniel. You seem to be getting better each time I see you" Danny faced the lawyer
"Look, Mr. Kenson already told me you might try to do something so I'll tell you now that I'm not interested in whatever you're selling."
"Please, just hear me out. Dash is a guy with a future in his hands, and as a lawyer I'd like to see that future come to fruition. I am offering you one million if you drop the charges as well as a trip for you and your girlfriend to anywhere in the world."
"I understand that you have good intentions, sir, but now that evidence has come to light; it's not just me that has charges on him, almost everyone in Amity has at least one charge on him and to top it all off he has blood on his hands from the people that he bullied into suicide. I was just a catalyst in this event and now the string has come untangled to a point were it must come straight." This shocked both the lawyer and Sam
"Wow, since when did you get so smart?" She asked
"I watch a lot of Law and Order in my free time." Was all that was said.
The next day when the trial all that was left were the final statements considering that all of the witnesses had been called. Mr. Kenson (a red haired, green eyed version of the Phoenix Wright protagonist); Danny's lawyer stood first
"People of the jury, though not much evidence was brought on the charge of drug use, the evidence of Assault, battery, and sexual assault are plain and vivid, it's also clear that his "friends" were only there because of fear. This is not someone we need on the streets of our home, so I ask you. Do you really want this person, with so much blood on his hands, around the future generations? Do you want him near your family that he could turn against you and use them to his advantage? I ask you as parents, do you want your daughters to grow up around him, knowing that their innocence is in danger just because he's on the streets? All I ask is that you consider this. Thank you for your time"
Dashes lawyer stood "well I can honestly say that this has been a very eventful trial, but honestly look at him, does he have the face of a murderer, honestly? No, all I see is someone who has a bright career ahead of him after getting clean, and for all we know he could've been drugged when the sexual assault charges took place. I'm not asking you to agree or disagree, just look at the pros and cons of listening to a liar" the jury gasped. "According to the police reports, Mr. Fenton was admitted to the hospital with a sprained leg, a broken leg; both which should've been in a cast, five broken ribs and two extremely swollen black-eyes. Five days from then we find ourselves here and look at him, he looks almost completely healed. Why is that? Did Dash really commit the offence or was Mr. Fenton lying just to get someone in jail from spite. I'll leave that to you to decide"
"Wait, I can answer the question of the Medical history!" Maddie said as she stood. The judge allowed her to speak "as you know, I and Jack are scientists, as well as ghost hunters. When we started developing a project called the 'ecto-dejecto' it was still in an incomplete form when we first tested it, a small dosage must've found its way onto Danny. The failed attempt made ghosts stronger instead of weaker as was its intentional purpose, now since it was in a failed state, it could've had a similar or adverse affect on humans, and I'd say the former because it may have given him a small amount of ghostly power, accelerated healing. I'm not saying that he's immortal, but if my theory is right then damage like a broken bone should heal within a matter of hours unlike the natural several weeks for a normal healing process." Danny took his que
"Well, now that you mention it….yeah it was right when you first started testing, Dad was anxious about the new experiment so I came down to see what all the fuss was about. I learned that day to always wear a long sleeved shirt or a jacket in the lab." It was a good lie; after all lying was something that came with the trade of being a hero.
The jury was satisfied with his statement. They convened and came back with their answer. "Your honor, we the jury find the defendant guilty of assault and battery in the second degree, murder in the third degree, and sexual assault in the first degree." The man said. There was an outburst of why he was charged with murder all of a sudden but when one took into consideration the statement and testimony of Kwan, it wasn't all that hard to see, murder through mental status. "we the jury, also recommend 50 years to life sentence in prison with a high bail of at least 1.5 million"
"WHAT!"
"ORDER! The final verdict has been placed by the jury. Dashiel Baxter, considering how old you are, I hereby sentence you to 65 years of imprisonment with a bail of 75 thousand. The only reason I do this is because you are still a minor. But one more outburst before you're taken away and I could easily sentence you to life with no bail." Dash's lawyer grabbed hold of his arm and whispered to dash
"Look, I know a guy that could get you out in about a week. No more no less, at the same time this guy can put charges on Daniel to get him thrown into one of the worst prisons in the world. A place called Château d'if, in France. Just trust me on this and I'll pull through. Your family saved my daughter and now its time I repay the favor." Dash nodded as the guards took him to the transport that would send him to the state pen.
Two months have past since the trial, Dash was back on the streets but everyone evaded him like the plague. Danny was now fully healed and finally got in the good graces of Jeremy and Pamela Manson, Sam's parents. All things said and done, life was looking good…..for now.
As the two families of Fenton and Manson had settled down for dinner, a knock was heard at the door. "I'll go ahead and get that, you all get started on dinner." Jeremy said as he got up to answer the door.
The families looked at the door way that Jeremy had gone through, Danny and Sam had a bad feeling about what was going on. "This wouldn't happen to be the Manson household would it?" a voice said.
"It is, and from the looks of your uniform and your accent I'd say that you're the French military police, why have you come here?" Jeremy asked
"We are here to take one 'Daniel J. Fenton' into custody for an unprecedented amount of time. The court magister will oversee his trial, evidence of the crime, and his sentence. With all of the boy's luck though, he might just get a slap on the wrist and sent back to the states." Danny, upon hearing his name and why they were there got up to see what the commotion was.
"Do you have a warrant from the supreme court of America to take me into custody? Last I checked, other nations couldn't come into the state other for official business and to arrest someone would take a warrant from the supreme court of America." He said
"Smart boy. Yes we have a warrant for your arrest. Now if you'll come along, the quicker you come with us, the quicker we can get this out of the way."
"Can I at least get the name of my Judge?" Sam held on to Danny for dear life, the bad feeling turning into despair with each passing second. Why did they want to take Danny? What had he done wrong? Questions without answers running through her head, and she knew that if she asked, it would only make things worse off.
"Your Magister is monsieur d' Villefort. That is all you need to know. Now come along, our flight leaves in an hour."
"Danny…." Sam still held on. Danny turned to her and placed a hand on her cheek.
"Don't worry, I'm sure that this is just some sort of misunderstanding. I'll be back before you know it, until then, wait for me and I will return for you." And with that, he bore farewell to the family he knew, not knowing that this would be the last time Daniel James Fenton would see his home of Amity Park.
"Life is small and fragile, as is a human being. give them something and they become happy, give them true, unrequited love and they are given bliss, take it all away and you have a shell with no will to live. unto that person, given the means of revenge, could seek vengeance. a vendetta of true and utter despair. forgoing the heart and steeling the mind and resolve. Love. Trust. Betrayal. Pain. Despair. Revenge. Friendship. And back to love." Deep in a cell a spectral figure wrote in a small book. "To the one who finds this, has found the memoirs of Edmond Dantes: the Count of Monte Cristo." the figure pulled a stone from the floor and placed the book under it before resealing the hole. "Thy life is in thou hands oh heavenly father. May thy grace fall upon thee for I would never wish my past upon anyone. Heavenly father, my life is in thou hands. for if thee has pulled thy heart to write this book, thou must have a reason, may you guide the one who finds thy book. I am ready father, to pass and meet thy family in the next life." a soothing feel came onto the ghost and it disappeared as if wind in the open plains.
