Guess who's back? Back again. Guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back?

I have returned, my beautiful readers!

I don't know who the cover image belongs to, but if someone recognizes it as their own, please let me know and I will be sure to give you credit immediately.

Soo, it's time I gave this series a little twist and tried out some different writing styles. Hope you like it! Enjoy!

Danny P.O.V.:

In the small town of Amity Park, Minnesota there lie a house unlike any other. It's classic brickwork of a normal home was the only normal thing about it. Hanging off the side of the two-story building sat a glowing, neon sign with the words 'Fentonworks'. The real abnormality was the giant UFO-styled observatory that sat dormant atop the building, littered with satellite-dishes and various antennae. This was the home of the Fenton's.

Jack and Maddie Fenton were, at one time, what the world called 'ghost hunters'. As the title suggests, the couple built a business, inventing and developing weapons to combat the influx of ghosts that had made an appearance in Amity.

Of course, the appearance of these paradoxical entities would have not been possible, had it not been for the creation of the Fenton's greatest achievement; the Fenton Ghost Portal. The Portal acts as an inter-dimensional tunnel, a bridge into another world. More specifically, a realm known as the Ghost Zone.

Or, rather, it would have been.

Upon completing the Ghost Portal, the couple attempted to power up this bridge. The most they received were a series of sparks and nothing more. The Fenton's, believing they had failed, had abandoned their invention. Half a dozen grants and thousands of dollars in funding, wasted on a doorway that would never open.

Then, along came me.

Sam and Tucker urged me to enter the portal, merely poke around and see what the inside of it looked like. I remember donning my white, and black-trimmed hazmat suit - as I was always instructed to do when I was around my parent's inventions - and walked through the steel-plated hole in the wall.

Now, I don't remember what exactly happened, but I know I must have pressed something. Next thing I know, there was this flash of light and I felt like every nerve in my body was on fire. The pain was unlike anything I'd ever felt before and would probably ever feel in my life. I honestly thought I was dead, when a surge of lightning jolted through my body. Then, it all stopped, and I blacked out. I was sure I was dead, and I was terrified. There was nothing, nothing but darkness, all around me. Was this all there was when we die? Just an endless expanse of dark oblivion?

Just when I thought I would spend eternity in this...hell...I heard a voice. Someone was calling my name, screaming it. I could hear the panic, the strangled sobs. Sam. Tucker. Then, I felt someone slapping my face, cursing me. "Dammit, Danny. Don't you quit on me!" Tucker.

Another hard slap to the face and my eyes shot open, and I sucked in a deep, raspy breath. My throat burned, my vision swam, and my muscles felt as though I'd taken a twenty-four-hour beating from Dash. "Danny? Danny are you okay?"

Sam. I struggled to force the words from my throat, but the rawness was too much. I settled with a nod of my head and forced myself to sit up. God, did that hurt. After taking a moment to catch my breath and let my vision settle, I could make out the forms of my best friends. Tucker was kneeling next to me, arms ready catch me. "Careful man."

"Tucker? Why does Danny look...different?"

"I-I don't really know."

Different? What the hell are they talking about? Is my hair standing on end like Doc Brown, or something? I tried again to make use of my voice and managed a strangled word. "W...wat...er."

Sam raced to the sink and came back a moment later with a glass. She placed the edge of the glass to my lips and slowly eased my head back to allow the water to flow into my mouth and down my throat. It felt like the sweetest thing in the world, the cool liquid soothing the rawness in my throat. I drained the glass, and Sam ran back to the sink for a refill. I managed a few more words past my numb lips.

"H-help...me...st...and." Tucker hesitated as if to argue with me but relented and swung my arm around his neck and gently helped me to my feet. Sam returned with the water and again helped me drink, once again draining the glass. "W-what h-happened?"

"Dude, you just got the hell shocked out of you!" Tucker exclaimed, setting me down in a nearby chair.

"Tucker! Maybe try a gentler approach next time?" Sam admonished, her cheeks were flushed and stained with tears.

Tucker held up his hands in surrender. "All right, all right." He turned to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "How ya feelin', man?"

"Ugh, like I walked through a power plant soaking wet." I groaned and held a hand against my pounding head. It was then I remembered the 'different' comment Sam had made earlier. "Guys...what did you mean when you said I looked...different?"

Sam and Tuck exchanged a worried glance before Sam pulled a black compact mirror out of her pocket. I took the mirror from her outstretched hand and opened it. The person staring back at me...was not me. My once raven hair had turned snow-white, and my icy blue eyes were glowing a radioactive green.

"W-what...the hell?!" The mirror slipped from my shaking hands...or so I thought. I realized the mirror had slipped through my hands. The freakin' things were transparent! "Holy shit!"

Sam's already pale face had gone almost completely white as she stared, at where my hands had been, in shock. Her voice was shaky when she spoke. "W-what the h-hell is going on?"

"Guys."

"I don't know! Why is my hair white?! What happened to my eyes?! Where the hell are my hands?!" I was freaking out, my heart was...I couldn't feel my heart beating. My blood wasn't pumping. Instantly I went into full blown panic mode.

"Guys."

Sam was still shaking when she approached me, placing a comforting hand on my arm. "Danny, you need to relax. Calm down before you have a panic attack."

"Guys!"

Sam and I whirled around and yelled at Tucker in unison. "WHAT?"

Tucker wasn't facing us, and he raised an arm to point at something behind me and Sam. We turned slowly, and our eyes widened at what we saw. The hole of the portal was replaced with a swirling mass of varying shades of green and projecting an eerie light that bathed the lab in an emerald shade.

As we gazed, wide-eyed, into the swirling portal my voice was a no more than a whisper. "Holy shit."

"You can say that again," Tucker muttered.

I opened my mouth to say something else when I felt a cold shiver run up my spine and gasped as a blue mist escape my mouth. "Uh, guys, I think we should-."

My sentence was cut off when I saw what looked like a green tentacle, reaching through the swirling portal. I had only a second for my brain to register in terror when I realized what was happening. Oh shit!

Before any of us could react, two huge ghost-octopus looking things burst from the portal. They were green and glowing with murderous, ruby-red eyes and gaping maws full of razor-sharp teeth. Their eyes scanned the room and came to rest on the three of us. There was a look of hunger in those two sets of red eyes and feral grins on their shark-like mouths.

Without warning, one of the ectopi stretched out a green tentacle as quick as a whip and snagged Sam around the waist, pulling her back to its floating body.

"Sam!" Tucker and I shouted in unison. Tucker raced to one of the counters lining the walls and started opening cabinets and drawers to look for a weapon. I looked around with wide, panicked eyes, trying to spot anything I could use as a weapon. I couldn't find anything, and Sam was screaming, and I felt so...useless...so weak. I hated being weak.

So, I gathered up whatever courage was left in my body and charged the ghost holding Sam. I swung my right fist forward, think about how much I wished I had an ecto-gun. Just before my fist impacted its glowing, gelatinous body I was shocked to see my fist glowing green and a beam of green energy shoot from my knuckles and impact the ghost's body.

The ectopus squealed in pain and dropped Sam. "Run! Get to Tucker and stay back!" The next several moments passed in a haze after that. Flashes of green ooze flew around me, and emerald beams shot from my hands. Squeals of pain and the sounds of my fists impacting green flesh filled my senses. Then, just as quickly as it began, it ended, and I found myself standing over two piles of goo, with ectoplasm dripping from my clenched fists, and I was breathing hard.

"D-Danny?"

I turned to find Sam and Tuck staring at me with wide eyes and slacked jaws. Tuck stepped towards me slowly and looked between me and the goo piles. "H-how...what...holy shit."

Sam shook herself from her shock and spoke with a slight tremble in her voice. "V-very eloquently put, Tucker."

"Heh, well...that was...fun." A wave of exhaustion flooded over me and I saw a flash of blue light. Glancing down I noticed two blue rings appear at my waist and split to travel up and down my body. The black and white-trimmed hazmat I wore changed into my baggy blue-jeans and my white and red-trimmed t-shirt. I looked up at my friends with a tired smile. "Huh, imagine that." My eyes rolled up and closed and I succumbed to the darkness that had crept into my vision and passed out.

I woke a few hours later in my bed to find Sam and Tucker talking quietly near my bedside. I couldn't help but groan as I shifted under the covers, my muscles burning and sore. "Danny?"

"Ugh, yeah?"

I opened my eyes to find my friends hovering over me, concern written all over their faces. Sam placed her hand gently on my shoulder. "How do you feel?"

"Like I was hit by truck...followed by a semi-trailer." Tucker snorted and received a half-hearted glare from Sam.

"At least you're awake, man. You really scared us there for a while."

It was my turn to snort and I shot Tucker an incredulous look. "I scared you? I scared myself." I sat up and scooted against my headboard, wincing as my back twinged. "What happened exactly?"

Tucker grinned and pulled up a chair. "Dude, you kicked those octopus things asses. You were punching them left and right and you had these wicked green lasers comin' out of your hands!"

My eyes went wide. I had forgotten that part. I stared at my hands in disbelief and remembered how my hands had gone transparent shortly after my adventure in electrocution. "Guys...w-what's happening to me?"

"I think…" Sam started slowly, "that you might be a ghost."

Tucker stared at her like she had grown a second head. "C'mon, Sam, Danny can't be a ghost. Look at him, flesh and blood." I think Tucker was trying to convince himself at this point.

"When...when I saw my reflection...I felt like I was going to have a panic attack. But something wasn't right...I couldn't feel my heartbeat. It was like I was a ghost." I explained slowly, my heart - yes, I could feel it this time - was slowly picking up speed and I felt another panic attack coming on.

Tucker scrunched his brow together, a look I'd seen plenty enough to know he was trying to figure something out. Most likely examining the facts and cross-referencing what he knew with what he'd learned in his super-computer of a brain. "What if...what if Danny is half ghost?"

"Get real, Tucker," Sam admonished, rolling her eyes.

"Wait a minute, Sam. Think about it; he walked into the portal, the Ghost Portal, got the hell shocked out of him, walked back out with white hair and green eyes. His hands turned invisible, then those freakin' ectopi show up and Danny starts shooting green lasers from his hands." Tucker was practically hysterical at this point, his arms flailing about. "Quite frankly, it isn't that far off from him being a full ghost!"

Sam seemed to concede Tucker's point, her face pale and grim. My gaze went back to my hands, I felt like I was in a daze. "Half ghost?" I mumbled quietly.

My life took a hard right-turn after that. Between trying to control and discover my powers, fighting the next ghost the Portal would spit out, and avoiding the newest dangerous invention Jack and Maddie would cook up, my life gave a whole new definition to stressful.

I took the name of Danny Phantom when I was in my ghost form, and I took it upon myself to fight the ghosts that would threaten my town. So, for four years I risked my life time and time again. I fought Nocturn, the ghost of dreams. I froze and defeated Undergrowth, a ghost with the power to control plant life. Defeated and imprisoned Pariah Dark, the former King of the Ghost Zone. My hardest battle however, was when I fought Dark Dan; an alternate future version of my ghost half combined with Plasmius' ghost half.

Time and time again I stuck my neck out for the people of Amity Park, and yet, they vilified me. Referred to me as a menace to Amity, and painted me as a villain, despite how many lives I saved, because of my actions. The final straw; when I told Jack and Maddie about my ghost half. They turned on me. They tried to destroy me. So, I fled.

I had nowhere else to go, so I fled into the Ghost Zone. There, I sought out Clockwork, the Master of Time, and the man I consider a father to this day. He told me, as a ghost - even a half ghost - that I had a lair in the GZ; a huge island full of plant life, complete with a lake and a waterfall. From there I built my new home; Phantom Mansion. In the days that followed, I found Danielle, a little girl I had found years earlier who I had thought was a clone created by Vlad Plasmius. I soon discovered she was actually my daughter, my own flesh and ectoplasm.

Danielle is the sweetest little girl you will ever meet. Smart and witty, and downright adorable. She made me proud to be her father, and I would give anything for my little girl.

The biggest surprise was when I was informed by Clockwork and my friend, Grim, Master of Death, that I was next in line as King of the Ghost Zone. To say I was shocked would have been an understatement. It took some time for me to come to terms with this information, but in the end, I relented and accepted my soon-to-be title.

We had been living in Phantom Mansion for a few weeks, me, the little halfa, and Sam and Tucker, when something crash landed on my island while I was training Danielle to use her powers. That something turned out to be someone; Ember McLain. The Rockstar had been beaten within an inch of her afterlife by that ecto-infused hunk of scrap metal, Skulker. I saved her afterlife and beat Skulker, promising to destroy him should her ever set foot on my island, or near my family again.

With Sam's help we managed to patch the Rockstar up and welcomed her to stay as long as she liked. As the weeks passed, my daughter had grown attached to Ember, and vice versa. The two had become thick as thieves and, I had to admit, even I had developed an attraction to the fiery Rockstar. It wasn't long before we started dating, and I got to see a softer, kinder side of the badass, don't-take-crap-from-anyone Ember McLain.

My coronation as King came on my eighteenth birthday. Gods, that was a hell of a day. We had teleported - thanks to Clockwork and Grim - to a large island near the Time Tower to find hundreds, possibly more than a thousand, ghosts assembled to witness their new King. The ceremony was long and tedious, but the pride I saw in the eyes of my friends, my daughter, my girlfriend, and my father were worth every grueling minute.

The Observants were there, along with the Masters of the Natural World; Grim, Clockwork, Mother Nature or Terra, and Theodon, Mistress of Reality. After a lengthy pledge to uphold my duties as the King, to guide my people and protect the GZ from invaders and Evil, I was given the Crown of Fire. After swearing to use the power responsibly, to perform my duties as a protector without fault, I was presented with the Ring of Rage. These two ancient artifacts were the signature of a true King and held unimaginable power.

Days later, I was observing my island from my balcony. Since my crowning, islands and doors had been showing up and melding with my island, signaling the start of a kingdom, a capital in the GZ. It was on this day my sister, Jazz, showed up in a stolen Spectre Speeder, claiming she knew what happened between the Fenton's and I. I welcomed her with open arms into my strange family, happy to have my sister in my life once again.

Three years have passed since then. Three years since my family was started and I became King of the GZ. We began construction of a capital, a place for all ghosts to call home. The city thrived upon its completion, and ghosts from all over the GZ began to settle in. Jobs were created, families were started, and Akoni City became the symbol of a new age in the Ghost Zone.

Today is the anniversary of the day I defeated Pariah Dark, a day the citizens of Akoni call the 'Phantom Festival'. I had missed the first three celebrations but have joined in the last couple and, I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of it. All it is, is a day where they celebrate me, and I've never been a big fan of being the center of attention. But, Ember has decided to force me to attend because it's 'my day', so I don't really have a choice.

I suppose I should get ready for the festival then. Danielle loves these celebrations so, I guess I can suffer through a few hours of parties for her.

"Danny."

3rd Person P.O.V.:

Danny turned from his journal to find Ember leaning against the doorframe of their bedroom, her arms crossed and her foot tapping impatiently. "What are you doing? Danielle is driving Sam up the wall with how long you're taking."

"Sorry, Angel." Danny closed and locked his journal, stashing it in his desk drawer. The halfa stood and placed the Ring of Rage back on his finger. "Just working on the memoir."

Ember approached him with a small smile on her face. "How are they going so far?"

"Really good, I think." Danny pulled Ember close and planted a soft kiss on her pale-blue lips. "You ready to go?"

The Rockstar rolled her eyes and gave Danny an impatient look. "We've been ready for twenty minutes, babypop. Move your ass so we can go party."

Danny chuckled, taking Ember's hand and lead her from their room and down the stairs to the living room where they could hear Danielle chatting excitedly with her aunt. The ghostly couple couldn't hide the smirks on their faces when they caught sight of Sam and the little halfa. The goth girl was shooting the royal couple pleading looks, begging one of them to distract Danielle.

Ember, deciding to be a little merciful, snuck up behind the hyper little girl and wrapped her up in a hug whilst tickling her sides mercilessly.

"Miss Ember!" Danielle shrieked, collapsing in a fit of giggles. Ember grinned and ceased her attack, setting the little halfa back on the couch. Danielle put her hands on her hips and gave the Rockstar an adorable glare. "What was that for? You know I don't like to be tickled!"

"Oh, cut the act, baby-dip. You love it when I tickle you!" Ember stated matter-of-factly, her mouth turned up in her ever-present smirk.

Danielle huffed and crossed her arms in a mock-pout. "Fine. But only you! And Daddy!"

Danny walked up and gathered the, now seven-year-old, little halfa in hug. "That's right, kiddo. Just me and Miss Ember." Danny pulled Danielle back a little to kiss her forehead. "From the look on Auntie Sam's face, I'd say you're ready to go?"

"Yes! We've been waiting for you, for forever!" Danielle groaned, causing the adults to chuckle.

"All right, all right. Well, if you're ready, let's get Uncle Tuck and we can get going."

Sam rolled her eyes as she stood from the couch. "Tucker the Tech-Wizard is still working on a new project with Technus at his lab. Tucker called earlier to let me know he'd meet us at the Square."

"Yeah, I guess I should've seen that coming." Danny admitted, rolling his eyes. A thought popped in his head, and the older halfa turned to his girlfriend. "That reminds me. How did Walker like the improvements to the new prison?"

"When I checked in for his report yesterday, he seemed to be somewhat impressed," Ember smirked. "Which, for him, means he greatly approves of the enhanced security and specialized containment methods for those who 'still have a problem with the punk', as Walker so eloquently put it."

Danny chuckled and started towards the door with Danielle sitting on his shoulders and Ember's hand in his, motioning Sam to join them. "Well, that's good. I think he's really changed his opinion of me since we helped turn in a lot of the 'big and bad' of the GZ."

Sam piped up at that. "Just imagine how he'll be when we finally find Dutchman and its crew. I'd be willing to bet old Skull-Face cracks a smile."

The group laughed as they followed the glowing, cobblestone street towards the sounds of laughter and celebration. Rounding the corner, the residents of Phantom Mansion were bombarded with the sights, sounds, and smells of the festival. Ghosts of all shapes and sizes were milling about, laughing, and shouting with general merriment, and the smell of fried foods and candy wafted through the air, making their mouths water with hunger. Nearly everyone they passed either bowed or raised their drinks to acknowledge their King and his family.

Danny grimaced as he watched the people of Akoni City bow before him. The halfa had never been a huge fan of having his own 'Phan-base', as Tucker put it. Ember, seeing his discomfort, squeezed his hand in reassurance, earning a grateful smile from the halfa. After several minutes of navigating the crowd, Team Phantom made their way to the small stage set in front of the city hall and arranged themselves before the crowd. Danny stood behind a podium with Danielle to his left and Ember on his right, and Sam was positioned behind them with a sheepish Tucker (who had just shown up), and a proud looking Jazz (who had been attending to some official business in city hall).

"Citizens of Akoni City!" Danny spoke into the mic with, what Sam and Ember call, his 'King voice'. "I hope everyone is enjoying the festivities thus far! I want to thank you all, for attending today's celebration. Today marks the 6th annual, Phantom Festival; the day Pariah Dark was returned to his Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep!"

The crowd roared with cheers and small fireworks were set off in response.

"Once again, I ask that you not celebrate me and my name, but that you celebrate the fall of darkness and evil. Yes, it was because of my actions that the Mad King was returned to his imprisonment, but I did this because it was the right thing to do. I did not ask to be your King, but I am proud nonetheless to lead this city, and its loyal citizens." Danny paused as the crowd roared once again. "Now, I believe I've talked long enough. Let the Phantom Festival begin!"

With his announcement, massive fireworks were launched into the sky of the Zone, exploding in sparks of greens, whites, and blues. Danny gathered his daughter on his arm and wrapped the other arm around Ember's waist as the Phantom Family gazed up at the fireworks, smiles on everyone's faces. It's true, Danny wasn't a huge fan of the festival and hated being the center of attention, but he loved the smiles of joy and awe that this celebration brought to his odd family.

XXX

This chapter was a lot of fun to write. I've really wanted to do my own spin on Danny getting his ghost half, and I think I did a decent job. But, I'll leave that to you to decide.

So yeah, it's been three years since the last story and everyone, except Danielle, is in their early 20's. Old enemies have become allies, in case you might've missed their collaboration with Technus and Walker, and I may include more mentions of others in later chapters.

Also, I've named the city Akoni City after the original King of the Ghost Zone, an OC character I mentioned in Chapter 12 of (Half) Dead Rule, in case there was any confusion.

Hope you enjoyed! Thank you, my beautiful readers!