Author's Note: I do not own Danny Phantom. All credit for the show and characters involved goes to Butch Hartman.
The Ultimate Sacrifice
Chapter 1: A New Enemy
Have you ever wondered what life would be like as a hero? Saving people, hunting things, the everyday job. For one 15-year-old boy, that was his life. After a fateful accident in his parents' lab a year ago, he was inevitably thrown into the challenging life of a human-ghost hybrid. Now, using the powers and abilities he was so suddenly gifted with, he fights every day to protect the town he calls home from all of the ravaging ghosts that bring havoc to it. His name is Danny Fenton, also known as, Danny Phantom. In the year since he gained his abilities, Danny endured many life-changing difficulties. From battling the ghost of a meat-suited cafeteria lady to saving the planet from a destructive asteroid, the boy grew from "public enemy number one" to a world renowned hero. During the events of his most recent battle to save the world against the "Disasteroid", Danny revealed his secret of being half-ghost. When he transformed from Phantom to Fenton after his heroic actions, he received nothing but love and appreciation from all who knew him. Now, 3 months since the Disasteroid, Danny was happy with his life. His parents, along with the rest of the world, knew his secret, he was in a great relationship with his girlfriend and best friend; Sam, and the people of Amity Park no longer rejected him as a threat, but rather appreciated him for his help and protection. Even his ghost-hunting parents accepted him for who he was and loved him nonetheless. At school, his grades have increased exponentially, and his teachers finally understand why he was always late or missing class, and they no longer count him off for having to fight ghosts. Everything was finally starting to look up for Danny.
As he sat with Sam on the roof of his parents' op center enjoying the sunset, Danny smiled. Unbeknownst to him, a man wearing a black cloak hid in the distance, watching them. Though Danny received much more love and appreciation since he revealed his secret, there were still a select few people and ghosts throughout the world that held nothing but hatred for the young ghost-boy. The cloaked man wanted revenge on Danny. He despised him for always being a little goody-two-shoes and getting everything he wanted. While he watched Danny and Sam from afar, the man smiled an evil grin as he thought of his villainous strategy to ruin the life that young Danny had worked so hard for.
Danny and Sam sat together admiring the last few minutes of the sunset as it faded into the growing night sky. Neither of them said a single word to each other as they absorbed the beautiful peace and quiet of this very moment. Danny loved this, every single bit of it. He loved spending time with Sam, just being with each other. He loved the aesthetic of everything around him; the sunset, the gentle breeze, the birds flying in the sky, and Sam. Oh how he loved her. He loved the way the sun reflected in her uniquely violet eyes. He loved the way her short, black hair flowed in the wind. He just loved everything about her. If he could stay in this very moment for the rest of his life, he would. It was then that Sam turned to Danny and said; "I wish it would last forever, it's so beautiful." Danny looked back at her and said; "Maybe that's why it's so beautiful though, because it doesn't last forever." They looked each other in the eyes and smiled as the sun finally set below the horizon and the night sky grew darker. "We should head inside now, dinner will probably be ready soon," said Danny. Sam nodded in agreement and Danny transformed back into his human form as the two made their way inside FentonWorks.
Sam stayed with Danny while the Fenton family all gathered together to enjoy a hot and fresh store-bought fried chicken dinner. Danny's mother, Maddie almost never cooked because it rarely came out edible. Luckily for them, the family was so active because of all the ghost fighting that they didn't have to worry about gaining weight from eating fast food for dinner all the time. So, in a way, ghost fighting was both a blessing and a curse. For the Fenton family, however, there was no better way to spend time together than kicking ghost butt. Every night, after a long day of school and dealing with ghosts, Danny was always happy to be able to come home and enjoy a good dinner with the ones he loved.
After everyone had finished with their dinner, Danny said goodbye to Sam as she left to go home. He offered to fly her home but she declined, saying that she had to run some errands beforehand. They kissed each other goodbye and she was on her way. Later that night, Danny had finished his homework and was about to get ready for bed when he heard a loud crash from outside. A scream came shortly after at the same moment his ghost sense went off and a short blue mist escaped his lips. Danny immediately transformed into his ghost form and flew through the open window of his bedroom. Once outside, he surveyed the area from which he heard the noises. It didn't take long for Danny to find a woman trapped under a pile of rubble from a fallen building. Straightaway, Danny flew down to her aid. After a few minutes of struggling and digging through debris, he finally managed to pull the woman out. She had a few cuts and bruises but seemed otherwise unscathed. She promptly thanked Danny for his help and he nodded. "Do you know how this happened?" he asked. The woman replied, "No, I have no idea! I was just walking by when, all of a sudden, I was thrown into this small building. I know something must've pushed me but I didn't see who." Danny nodded sternly and said, "Well at least you're alright, will you be okay heading home?" "Yes, I'll be okay, thanks again," she replied and walked away.
Just then, Danny's family came running up to him. "Danny! Is everything alright? We came as soon as we realized what had happened," said his sister Jazz. "Yeah, everything's fine. Don't worry. I found a girl trapped under this rubble but she's fine now. As for the ghost that attacked her, I still don't know," he stated. "Well thank goodness you both are alright. Why don't we go home now?" said Maddie. "You go on ahead, I think I'm gonna stick around for a bit longer and try to find the ghost that did this," Danny replied. "Are you sure you don't need our help, son?" asked Danny's father, Jack. "No, no. I've got this guys, don't worry," said Danny. "Alright honey, just don't be too long. You've got school in the morning," Maddie said as the family turned to leave.
Once his family had left, Danny floated up above the buildings so that he could see the entire area. He flew around other nearby buildings, inspecting them all for the being that could have done this. After about 30 minutes had passed, Danny decided that the ghost must've left and went to head home. Just as Danny turned around, he jumped in surprise as he saw a ghost wearing a huge black cloak floating directly in front of him. This ghost was much larger than he, standing at about 7 feet tall. Though he wore a black cloak that covered most of his body, including his face, he could see that he had ominously glowing red eyes that were poised in a suspicious evil glare. From his hands he could see that the ghost had greyish blue skin, like that of a dead person. Overall, Danny received a very oppressive vibe from the ghost and he immediately knew that he would be a difficult one to deal with. "Who are you and what are you doing here?!" yelled Danny. The specter in front of him only grinned villainously with carnivorous teeth and laughed. Danny glared and said, "Answer me or I'll have no choice but to attack!" The ghost responded in a deep voice and said, "Oh trust me ghost-boy, you'll get your fight, I can promise you that." And with one last malicious laugh, he vanished into a cloud a black smoke and disappeared into thin air.
Danny floated there, gawking at the sudden disappearance of his new enemy. With strong concern, he thought about what the ghost had just told him… "Oh trust me ghost-boy, you'll get your fight, I can promise you that" … Then Danny's heart filled with fear as he immediately took to the skies and flew home as fast as he could. He needed to warn his friends and family about this new entity right away. As soon as he arrived back in his bedroom, Danny immediately transformed back into his human form and ran downstairs to tell his family what happened. After he explained everything to his family, he then called his friends, Sam and Tucker, telling them everything. Once he made sure that his loved ones were aware of the threat that he had encountered, he mentally prepared himself as he worried about what was to come. He was terrified; but not for himself, for his friends and family, and for the citizens of Amity Park. What would happen if this new enemy were to defeat him? What if Danny lost? How would he be able to protect anyone? Now that his secret is out, everyone has put their faith and trust in Danny to keep Amity Park safe. But, what if this proves to be the one ghost that Danny can't beat? Just as he began to panic, Danny's sister Jazz stepped into his bedroom. "Danny? Are you alright?" she asked. He turned to her with tears in his eyes. Jazz walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, knelt down in front of him, and said, "Look little brother, I want you to understand something." Danny looked her straight in the eyes as he continued to panic, shaking and breathing heavily, with tears flowing. "You are Danny Phantom, you are strong and brave and powerful, but you are also Danny Fenton, my little brother, mom and dad's son, and Sam and Tucker's best friend. And although you've faced countless enemies, there will always be more to come. But Danny, you need to remember that you are never alone. As long as we're around, you'll always be safe. I promise," concluded Jazz. Danny lowered his head and said, "But Jazz, that's what I'm worried about. What if you guys get hurt? If you're too busy protecting me, how are you going to protect yourselves? Now that you all are so willing to help me, I'm putting your lives at risk. With more enemies, comes more danger. Jazz, I cannot allow you guys to risk your lives for me. If something ever happened to you guys, I could never live with myself." With that, Jazz pulled Danny in and hugged him tightly as she said, "You won't have to, little brother. Everything's going to be alright." Jazz pulled away and looked him in the eyes with a loving smile on her face. Danny watched as she got up to leave until she shut the door behind her. Then he whispered solemnly to himself, "How can you be so sure?"
As the stress and anxiety continued to build, Danny finally decided to wash up and go to bed. He'd need his sleep for school tomorrow, especially after what he had experienced today. For the first time since he revealed his secret to the world, he felt unsafe and on edge. But for now, all he could do is try to get some sleep, hoping tomorrow would be a better day. After a long shower and a change of clothes, he jumped into bed and laid down his head. Little did he know that he had a long dreadful night ahead of him.
