Danny Phantom:

Rise of the Champion

Author's Notes

Hey-hey-hey, people! What's happening?! Prince of Shadows is finally back, baby!

Now, for those who read the tiny bits of stuff I've posted already - Digimon Rising's and Five Nights with Tails' first chapters - rest assured, I'll be getting some time in on those stories, as well as this one, real soon. I got real busy with school, and I've been kind of out of it lately since the semester's end. But I'm feeling the groove again, so I'm back for more action! Just bear in mind, I'm a writer, not a miracle maker; it may take a while for me to get going on this stuff, as I'm trying to also start up writing some actual novels, too. When I've got a bunch out there, I'll reveal the ones I've written. In any case, thanks for those who read my other stuff and thanks in advance for giving me a chance with this story, too!

Now, I've been a strong fan of several cartoons from Nickelodeon which got cut, in my opinion, way before their appropriate time. Among these were Danny Phantom, My Life as a Teenage Robot, and - don't laugh - Jimmy Neutron (I was a kid, I was fascinated with the inventions, you do the math - it's still a cute little show). However, Danny Phantom, when I went back and started watching it again about half a year or so ago on Amazon and Hulu, I realized how much potential the show had, and how awesome it had been and still was. I felt it didn't get the ending or length of running time in terms of episodes that it deserved before Nick and Butch Hartman shut it down. I appreciated they gave us a big send off with Phantom Planet, but it was nowhere near enough for me - especially considering how ridiculous I found it when Danny simply powered down and showed the whole world his secret. Showing your family, teacher, and some peers - like Valerie, for example - I could understand, but the whole world? Not cool, bro. Too much paparazzi trouble in my opinion. Showing your town makes more sense than that. Plus, there were too many loose ends for me. Let me rattle 'em off:

First, there's the matter of Danielle "Dani" Phantom. We got to see her help Danny save the world in Phantom Planet, as she helped turn the world intangible (she was below Danny on the spire, if you look and pay attention). But what we didn't get to see is if she ever got revealed to the Fenton's in terms of her being a Halfa like Danny and Vlad. And what about her future? Could she follow in her "cousin's" footsteps a bit and help him defend Amity Park? Could she become an official member of the Fenton family and household (consider, she's Danny's clone, but she's still a little girl who will inevitably long for a strong familial bond

beyond just having a "cousin", y'know?)?

Second, there's the matter of Danny's relationships with the residents of the Ghost Zone. We know he's friends with Frostbite and the Far Frozen, Pandora, Princess Dora, Wulf, Cujo (the guard dog ghost, if you don't remember), and Clockwork, but what about the others? We know that the rivalry with Skulker isn't likely to cease anytime soon - his words at the end of PP prove that. But what about someone like the Ghostwriter? The only reason I see for him to have become Danny's enemy was because of blind rage over his Christmas story getting torched on accident when it was the only copy of the manuscript - hey, it can take ages to write a good story, so who wouldn't have been ticked in that situation? Or maybe Johnny 13 and Kitty? I mean, they seemed to have a decent level of respect for Danny the few times they gave him trouble after their premier episode when they tangled with him. Yeah, Johnny shoves him around and bugs him with his Shadow when they cross paths and Kitty almost blew his secret that one time when an episode showed her possessing Paulina, but I figure that's mostly because Kitty knew it would make Johnny jealous and, when he wasn't jealous, Johnny just needed to blow off some steam or wanted to mess with the infamous Halfa for a laugh. And Youngblood's another such case. The kid only really seems to hate adults - and stuck-ups who want to think they're adults - and, from what I saw, only gives Danny trouble for a laugh or because he got in his way somehow for a plan to stir up trouble. The list goes on and on, really.

Third, there's the matter of Valerie. We know she doesn't give up grudges easy, and is stubborn as a mule, so it kinda stinks they neither confirmed nor denied if she and Danny made up for the trouble they gave each other - intentionally or not - before he revealed his secret in PP. Makes a guy stop and wonder, am I right? What would've or could've happened there?

Fourth - and true fans can't say they haven't wondered about this one - Dan Phantom is still a concern. Enough said.

Finally, there's Vlad Plasmius/Masters to consider. We of course saw him make his big move against Danny to make him give up the fight by forming the "Masters' Blasters" team, then witnessed his revealing of his powers to the world in a dumb move meant to gain control of the world. The guy had so much potential yet to tap into, and blew it all up like that... It was such a stupid end for him. I've often wondered how much would've been different if he and Danny had somehow managed to eventually burry the hatchet, y'know? And, hey, can anyone say plot hole? Where'd he go when he just warped out of there when the Disasteroid almost got him? Did he mentally go "Awwwwww crap!" And "nope" it out of there, or did someone or something else pull him out of harm's way? Kind of unceremonious, but then there are some who could've pulled it off (*cough-cough* Clockwork! *cough-cough*). Ahem, anyway, moving on.

So, with all these points in mind, I decided to try and fill some of the gaps that were left - or could've been left, as it were. You see, this story takes place on an alternate Time Stream - yes, that's a Clockwork reference, Phantom Phans - where PP didn't end quite the same. It's a Time Stream where Danny didn't show the entire world his secret and, instead, passed things off as if Danny Phantom was still an enigma. Any other details which are different - well, you'll have to read and find out what those are.

Now, without further ado, I think it's about time I stopped jabbering your ears off and got on with the story. So, for all you Phantom Phans out there, here's a story for all of you - you who, like myself, feel Danny Phantom should fly again! Here is my latest creation:

Rise of the Champion

Prologue: Disasteroid's Aftermath

As the scanner's monitors showed the Disasteroid finally passing the last of the way through the planet, everyone on Earth breathed a collective sigh of relief, then burst into a rousing chorus of cheers and hearty shouts of praise and thanks to the heavens and the residents of the Ghost Zone as their planet became solid once again. The ghosts opened their eyes, everyone among them having shut and clenched their eyes in concentration on focusing their intangibility power into the collection spire, and looked down to the surface of the Arctic in mild surprise. They could hear cheers rising up for the usual suspect, of course, but there were just as many - if not more - thanking them all as a whole, every last ghost among them, for lending their power to their survival. For a moment, they all smiled in honest gratitude, glad to be recognized alongside what many of them considered to be their enemy.

First to let go of the spire, of course, was the Halfa in question, his eyes searching over the crowd to make sure no signs remained of panic or terror. When he was finally certain all was well with the world and its people, Danny Phantom sighed softly and smiled in pleasant relief, wiping a gloved hand across his brow to wipe away the last trace of the cold sweat he'd developed from the mixture of fear and exertion. He then planted his hands upon his hips, smiling confidently down at the crowd as the other ghosts disengaged from what had been their last hope, their last lifeline to survival for both the Human and Ghost Worlds.

Suddenly, the clearing of a throat, seemingly laced with a metallic echo, drew his attention behind him and he turned, smirking slightly at the sight of Skulker, his old foe, floating behind him with crossed arms and a slight smirk of his own, a brow quirked as if to say, "Enjoying yourself much?"

Dropping his hands to his sides, Danny floated closer to the metallic hunter and grinned, saying, "Heh, yeah, you could say that again. Course, we did just save the entire world, so you can't really blame me. Thanks, Skulker. Thanks for helping me rally everyone to save the world. I know that had to have been a real blow to your ego."

Skulker simply grunted, scowling and shutting his eyes as he replied, "And how!" Then, after a moment, he opened one eye to find his prey looking as if he'd been somewhat surprised, a blank expression having overtaken his face. Instantly the larger of the two figures burst out laughing, deep baritone guffaws echoing over the landscape. For a moment, Phantom seemed to be confused, but the viewers below watched in mild surprise as he soon joined in the laughing, followed shortly by the rest of the ghostly crowd floating around and above him.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Danny chuckled and glanced across the crowd of familiar faces, picking out all those he could see and had come to know in some way. There was, of course, Frostbite and the yetis of the Far Frozen, along with Pandora, Princess Dora, Wulf, Cujo the Ghost Pup, Dani and Clockwork - the last of these floating with a proud smile on his face. Yet there were countless others, Ember McLain, Sydney Poindexter, Klemper, the Box Ghost, the Lunch Lady, Johnny 13, Shadow and Kitty, Spectra, Desiree, the Ghostwriter, Undergrowth, Vortex, Amorpho, Youngblood and his skeleton parrot, Hotep Ra, Nocturn - even the Fright Knight had come to lend what help he could, with his winged horse in tow! There were others - countless others, some familiar and some not - and all had come to the human world to save the world they had loved terrorizing to no end, the very world several of them had at some time or another hoped to conquer, and the world some spare few had honestly preferred to help him protect rather than destroy.

Danny looked at each face he recognized in turn and smiled, saying, "Thank you all so much - you have no idea how much I appreciate you all coming here to help me. I know most of you probably hate me and have a real big grudge against doing anything for me, but you came anyway and... Well, I just can't thank you all enough."

Ember, in her usual fashion, smirked and said, "Just don't get used to it, dipstick - we didn't do this for you, anyway."

Spectra chuckled and clicked her teeth as if in disapproval. "And if you thought for a moment we did, you're honestly even simpler than we give you credit for being."

Johnny, smirking and running a hand through his hair, laughed and added, "Yeah, totally. Only an idiot would think we did it just for you. We did this for ourselves more than anything."

The white-haired youth chuckled and shrugged. "Hey, hope springs eternal, doesn't it? Can't blame a guy for hoping his enemies will have a change of heart, even if it's as likely as Vlad was of not being a total fruit-loop."

Clockwork, a smirk of his own slowly forming as his body shifted from that of a child to a young man, nodded and said, "Yes, that is true - hope does spring eternal. And while not all of us came here to help you, Danny, it was nevertheless a pleasure for all of us to do so, both to save this world and to save our own."

Danny smiled and nodded his gratitude to the Master of Time, then laughed as Cujo, barking and yipping with his fiery tail wagging fast as a motorboat propeller could spin, leapt onto him and began to happily lick at the Halfa's face. Amidst a gale of laughter from above, below and all around, the green-eyed youth laughed and gently shoved the dog away, saying, "Hey, down, boy! I'm glad you came, too, little guy, but - seriously - lay off the slobber and drool, will ya?"

Giggling, Dani moved forward to gently pet the dog's head, earning a pleased whine as she looked into her cousin's face and said, "Clockwork's definitely right, Danny - a lot of us were glad to help. Besides, with us, it's what cousins - no, it's what family is for, right?"

Smiling, Danny floated to his female clone and nodded, crouching in the air to wrap her in a gentle, grateful and loving hug as he whispered, "Got it in one, cuz. Got it in one. And if you ever need me, you can always come find me in Amity. And if it helps, I'll try to spread the word that you're a good ghost so no hunter tries to take a chunk out of ya or anything."

As his cousin smiled warmly up at him, a tear of joy leaking from her eye, the elder half-ghost gently wiped it away with his thumb, then brought himself upright as he looked at each of his ghostly friends and allies. "The same goes to all of you guys, too. If you ever need anything from me - if there's anything I can at least try to help you with or that I can do for you - just gimme a shout. I'll always be there for my friends, ghost and human alike."

Frostbite smiled, floating forwards and placing his frozen claw on Danny's shoulder as he said, "You do us a great honor, Great One, to pledge unto us such an oath. Know that the same promise is one I likewise extend to you. You have helped all of the yetis of the Far Frozen in uniting us to save both worlds, so it is the least we can do. If ever we can be of assistance, you need only come and find us."

Pandora, smiling and bowing slightly to better meet the hazmat suit-clad boy's gaze, nodded and said, "Princess Dora and I likewise promise such, young Daniel. You already helped me once in retrieving my box from - ahem - a certain someone." Here she glanced meaningfully at the Box Ghost, her hardened gaze making him yelp and hide behind Klemper, causing everyone, including the humans below, to burst into another bout of laughter. Wiping tears of mirth from her eyes, the Grecian 'goddess' smiled and added, "No matter what ails you, Danny, if you think I can help you at all, you are always welcome to come visit me - in fact, I insist you come around anytime you like. You will be forever welcome in my abode."

Princess Dora smiled and nodded. "Indeed, Sir Phantom, the same is true for your presence in my kingdom - it is always welcome. You and Lady Samantha - er, Sam - helped to liberate my realm from the grip of my fiendish brother. I will gladly do all in my power to assist you in any way possible."

Danny, blushing from all the praise and attention, smiled as Wulf approached and, rather than attempt to communicate in his favored and still only language of Esperanto, wrapped him in a thankfully not bone-crushing but still warm and firm hug, the oversized werewolf ghost whispering, "Danny... best... friend."

Pulling away from his furry comrade, Danny nodded and replied, "You, too, Wulf. If anybody gives you any trouble, feel free to drop in and, hopefully, we'll be able to talk by then."

As his friends retreated back to the edge of the crowd of ghosts, Danny watched as Skulker approached once more with crossed arms, Walker beside him. The prison warden smirked and floated in front of the young Halfa and extended a hand, saying, "This doesn't change anything between us, punk. I'm still not gonna forget all the trouble you've put me through and all the time you're still due to serve for it. But, I gotta admit, you definitely impressed me today. So consider this an agreement to drop the sentence time down. If I catch you and can hold you, you'll only be due... fifty years, I'd say. Fair?"

Shaking his head ruefully, the boy simply took the ghost warden's hand and shook it, saying, "No, but okay. Thanks, Walker, I guess."

"Whelp."

Turning to the one ghost who had perhaps given him the most trouble out of all the rest, the white-haired teen found it no surprise that said enemy was scowling again as he spoke. "You may have helped to save our world as well as your own, but, as with Walker, that doesn't change anything between us. I may have a bit more respect for you, but that's it. Mark my words, I will catch you one day."

Frowning, Danny simply asked, "Let me guess - when or if that day comes, my pelt's gonna be a new addition to your mantle, right?"

Skulker smirked and cracked his knuckles, saying, "Indeed, whelp, for your pelt would be the final and penultimate proof, whenever it were to become mine, that I am and always will be the single most powerful, most skilled, and overall greatest hunter in all of the Ghost Zone!"

Smirking, Danny extended a hand to his longtime rival and declared, "I wouldn't have it any other way, Skulker! Without you on my tail to keep me on my toes every once in a while, being a ghostly defender for my town and world just wouldn't be the same."

An honest smile forming on his metal face, the ghostly mech nodded firmly, saying, "Until we meet again... Danny Phantom."

With that, all the ghosts flew up into the air as the Halfa hero slowly descended towards the icy ground, his eyes locked on the stream of laughing, cheering ghosts as they soared into the air, Clockwork, Skulker and Wulf at the head of the pack. With a slash of Wulf's claws, a portal into the Ghost Zone was suddenly made to open, granting the ghosts passage back into their own realm. Soon only two spectral forms remained trailing behind, that of Dani as she circled overhead, gazing down with a smile at her cousin with Cujo trailing behind her. With a whoop and a wave, she performed a full one-eighty, flipping into a corkscrew and passing into the portal, Cujo bounding through the air after her and going through just before the portal flashed and disappeared.

Waving towards the empty air where the portal had been, Danny whispered, "Thanks, everyone. I'll see you again,"

Turning towards the crowd of humans, the young ghost-human hybrid grinned as they all burst out into thunderous applause, particularly those who had followed the Fenton's from Amity Park. From the depths of the massive group, Tucker and Sam emerged, racing towards their friend with Jazz trailing behind alongside Jack and Maddie Fenton, all of them bearing smiles. First to embrace him was Sam, naturally, her arms wrapping around his neck and threatening to drag him onto the ground. He laughed, wrapping an arm around her waist and extending the other one out in time to wrap around the shoulders of his techno geek buddy, the three laughing as he finally did fall backwards onto the icy snow. Feeling Sam place a quick, tender kiss upon his cheek, the white-haired teenager blushed scarlet, pleased to see his new girlfriend bearing a similar tint to her own cheeks. Tucker, smirking, observed this with what seemed a superior air mingled deeply with amusement. Knowing that he and the goth girl would never hear the end of this, Danny just pushed the other boy's beret down over his glasses, earning a startled shout which made he himself burst into greater peals of laughter before looking up.

Jazz stood there, a look of pride dominating her entire face as she held out a hand to help him up. He smiled warmly and gladly interlocked his fingers with hers, letting her pull him to his feet. Grinning, he wrapped her in a tight bear hug, making her yelp in surprise before gently returning the embrace. Her words, softly spoken so only he could hear them, made his heart soar just as much as Sam's kiss.

"You did it, little brother. I always knew you could."

Danny smiled, closing his eyes and relishing what had to be the best hug the two siblings had ever shared as he whispered back, "Thanks for believing in me."

When the two unwound from each other's arms, Danny's gaze turned now to his parents, though based on their faces he guessed they still didn't know that they were such. Both Jack and Maddie wore identical smiles - smiles of deep and profound gratitude, but also ones which seemed to hold a trace of pride. He smiled back at them, assuming they were proud of having helped save the world, and took a step towards them.

Jack Fenton, one of his massive arms encircling the shoulders of his wife, looked Phantom in the eyes and, his smile disappearing, said, "Well, gotta hand it to you, ghost boy, you certainly changed our thinking about ghosts. Up until now I always assumed all ghosts were scum who only thought of themselves, were evil to the core, and would waste a human just as soon as look at 'em, and were as likely to help us as I am of getting to be as thin and trim as Maddie. The only exception I'd ever decided to allow for had been that Pandora ghost who helped save the town from the Box Ghost when he'd stolen her box."

Then, his eyes growing lidded and his brow rising slightly, he sighed and looked down at the ground, kicking a stray bit of ice as he continued. "But I see now that I was wrong. I should've seen it before, but now it's so obvious that even a blind man could see it, or a complete idiot. All those times I assumed you were fighting other ghosts for a chance to harm the town and its people, you were doing nothing but trying to protect everyone. You faced the Box Ghost when he went crazy, took down that Ghost King, Pariah Dark, and fought off that overgrown weed, Undergrowth. You kept fighting off ghost after ghost, sometimes using some of our tech to do it - don't think we haven't noticed how you've often been carrying around one of our Fenton Thermoses! Maybe you caused a big mess at Christmas year before last - or you could've just been made to look like you did - and maybe you did - or didn't, if it's the same case as the Christmas mess - attack the mayor, and you may have stolen from a bunch of places when that guy Freakshow was in town in that weird Circus Gothica mess, but no matter what you did that might've been bad, you still fought hard as you could to protect everyone nine times out of ten." Smiling, Jack lifted his gaze to meet that of the green-eyed ghost boy and finished, "If it weren't for you, Phantom, none of us would be standing here right now."

Maddie glanced up at her husband's face, smiling, and turned to phantom with a nod, saying, "Thank you so much, Phantom, for everything you've done. Or, should I say, thank you, Danny."

Shaking his head, Danny smiled and gazed back at his parents, taking a step back as he said, "No, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton... Thank you. Without you two and the other scientists all banding together to build up the spire and the coil to spread that intangibility power over the planet, who knows what would've happened. Besides, you're right - your tech has helped me out a lot fighting and catching ghosts to send them back to the Ghost Zone, particularly the Fenton Thermos. Of course, the Wrist Rays, Fenton Peeler and Ecto-Dejecto - the faulty version - helped, too, especially with regards to a certain cousin of mine for that last gadget. Also, I am sorry for all the trouble I have caused, both the intended and the not. I never wanted to steal anything, or to wreck Christmas or hurt anybody. Though those last two weren't my fault, I can't deny I was stealing stuff from shops that time Freakshow was around, but it was his fault. Just the same, I'm sorry it happened, both to you and to the people of Amity."

Maddie nodded in understanding and replied, "It's alright. I daresay, this whole fiasco's end has more than made up for it. Whether we were willing to see it before or not, you're a true hero, Danny Phantom. It was an honor to help you save the world."

Nodding, the white-haired youth smiled and slowly levitated into the air, casting a glance to his friends and sister before turning to the crowd as a whole and proclaiming, "Rest assured, everyone, Amity Park won't ever have to worry - no matter how, when, or why, if any ghost tries to mess with Amity Park ever again, I'll be there, ready and waiting to send it packing right back to the Ghost Zone. And that goes for the entire world, too. If no one else can be there to save the day, you can count on me!" Then, his legs fusing into his ghostly tail, he waved and called out, "I'll see you around in Amity!" Then, with a burst of wind and sound, he took off, rocketing through the skies and rapidly vanishing in the distance.

Two days later, Danny watched with a smile, sitting under the boughs of an old tree at the height of a hill in Amity Park's Central Park, as the statue of himself supporting the world was revealed. He listened, amazed and humbled to the core, as his best friend and Amity's newest and youngest mayor, Tucker Foley, revealed that all the biggest capitals of the world had agreed to build and house a copy of this same statue near their centers in honor and thanks of Danny Phantom for saving the world. He sighed, shutting his eyes as he considered how everything had happened - his getting ghost powers, his battling all the other ghosts, his rivalry with Vlad, and finally his uniting of the ghosts to save the world - and relaxed as he let it sink into his head that this was the fruits of his labor finally being fully revealed for him. He guessed in the back of his mind that Clockwork had seen all of this coming and, after a moment of contemplation, was glad he had never asked if something like it would come to pass. Some things, he now realized, were worth waiting for so you could learn and experience it for yourself.

As thin, delicate fingers gently wrapped around his hand, a gold ring with a bright green stone glinting on one of them, he smiled and turned his head to meet the gaze of Sam, his girlfriend for two days now. She smiled back at him, brushing a bit of hair behind her ear as he leaned over and kissed her cheek. After carrying her around for a brief flight, he'd been more than happy to lay in the grass with her by the tree and just relax. After having been just friends for so long, after harbor ing and hiding his true feelings for as long as he had, it felt good to finally be able to express them in their fullest. He wasn't sure if it would last forever - unfortunately, Ember McLain had said rightfully that young teen love didn't always last - but he was more than ready and willing to give it a try and see if it would continue to blossom and grow.

Slowly rising to his feet, he glanced to the horizon where the last rays of the sun had just begun to vanish and then looked at his dark-haired companion as he said, "Think we'd better head back?"

Nodding, Sam stood up and brushed off her skirt, answering, "Yeah, probably - knowing my folks, they're gonna get frantic if I'm not back by eight. The sooner I get back, the less likely I am to get in trouble."

Chuckling, Danny smirked and said, "Sam, you're the girlfriend of a half-ghost, half-human teenager who can barely scrape a low C in most of his classes, is constantly having to fight off a bunch of ghosts almost daily, and is more accident prone on good days than his own dad is a fan of fudge. Trouble just goes with the territory."

Laughing, the goth fanatic smiled and allowed herself to be scooped up and carried bridal style in her ghostly boyfriend's arms as he took off into the skies, soaring over the buildings of the city towards the Manson household. Neither one said anything, both believing there was nothing that needed to be said and wanting to simply enjoy the moment together. When they arrived, Danny set the raven-haired teen on her feet and gave her one final kiss before once again taking to the skies, the two sharing a wave until she was no easier to see than a speck on the ground. Still smiling happily, Danny flew onward towards FentonWorks, certain that he'd find his parents there as well as Jazz. After all that had happened, there was one thing he still needed to take care of, one thing that still remained to be done.

Landing on the roof building across from his home, the youth sighed and sat on the ledge overlooking the towering sign for FentonWorks and the Ops Center just behind it. Reverting to his human self, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, not surprised in the least to find there were already several new voicemails and texts, mostly from his mother with a few coming from his dad and one a piece coming from Jazz. A perusal of both confirmed what he'd already suspected, that they had realized Jack's error in believing the robot which Tucker had disguised as him in order for him to be able to rally the ghosts without revealing his secret had not been the true Danny Fenton and were growing worried sick, though Jazz's call and text clearly showed she was much less worried than her parents. He smiled and closed the phone, returning it to his pocket before once again letting the chill of his transformation wash over him. He knew what he was going to do - he'd had it planned ever since his parents had thanked Phantom for saving the world and protecting Amity. It was still not going to be easy, as he needed to play things up just right before letting the proverbial cat out of the bag, but he knew, in the end, it would be for the best.

Levitating across the gap between the two buildings, he silently phased into his bedroom on he second floor of FentonWorks, maintaining his intangibility and forcing himself to remain invisible as he lowered down into the living room, not surprised to find the Fenton family all gathered there, waiting for his human self with worried eyes. Catching part of a conversation between the three of them, he waited and listened.

Sighing, Jack placed his face in his hands and said, "I still can't believe I mistook that robot do-what's-it for Danny... The voice sounded so close to his, I didn't even realize it was computerized... The metal was so obvious, though, what the heck is wrong with me?"

Maddie, for her part, tried to comfort her husband, patting his arm and saying as she pulled off her hood, "It's alright, Jack - from a distance, who could've seen that it wasn't Danny? You were never actually looking right at it with full attention." Sighing, she lowered her head and stared at the floor, whispering, "I just hope he comes home soon... I'm really worried about him..."

Jazz sighed as well and nodded, "I'll admit, I usually don't worry too much when Danny's out on his own, but usually he would've at least let me or you guys know if he's gonna be gone this long. And using that robot to hide he was gone? That just makes it harder."

"Makes what harder?"

The three elder Fenton's jumped and turned to find the infamous Danny Phantom standing in the middle of the living room, a concerned look dominating his features. While the oldest of them glanced at each other in shock, Jazz simply sighed as if in relief and smiled at her brother, a curious brow raised in a silent question he knew concerned his still being in his ghost form. He waved to her and winked, signaling that all was well before turning to face his parents and saying, "I'm sorry to just barge in like this, but I couldn't help overhearing as I was passing by. Is everything alright here, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton?"

Sighing again, Jack shook his head and said, "No, Phantom, nothing is alright. Our son, Danny, is missing. We've tried calling him, texting him - no response. I'm honestly starting to think we need to just flat out go hunting him down in the Fenton Van or something."

Crossing his arms and putting a hand to his chin, Danny tried hard to make it look like his thinking, his eyes aimed upward in mock contemplation before he asked, "Did you try dialing his friends - Tucker and Sam, right? Maybe they'd know where he is."

Jazz shook her head, trying to play along despite not knowing where he was going to take this. "We tried that - Tucker didn't know where he was, and Sam only just got home, said she hadn't seen him."

Though his face remained stoic as he nodded as if in acknowledgement of her words, inwardly Danny was practically pumping his fist in the air. Apparently Tucker and Sam had played their parts well. He'd of course told them of his plan for this moment and what they would need to do to help him along with it, but it made things so much easier in the execution to know that they'd actually been able to pull it off.

Scratching his chin, the teenage Halfa looked to his mother as she suddenly stood up and asked, "Phantom, please, can you help us find him? I know it's a lot to ask, after all we put you through before. Apology or not, I don't expect you to really forgive us for hunting you all the time. But... He's my little boy... I don't know what I'd do with myself if he was hurt, or... or..."

Feeling as if his heart was on the verge of breaking, Danny shook his head and walked towards his mother, saying, "No, no, Mrs. Fenton, it's okay, I completely understand. Heh, I actually understand that better than you'd imagine. But believe you me, I forgave you guys a long time ago for hunting me down."

At their stunned faces, he raised a hand for silence and continued, "I'll admit, it got annoying here and there, always having to look over my shoulder for you two and your ecto-weapons. But did I blame you? No, not at all. You were just doing your jobs as ghost researchers and hunters. Okay, so maybe you made me panic once or twice with the whole, 'rip him apart molecule by molecule', rhetoric - didn't even know I knew that word - but I completely understood your reasons. You thought all ghosts were bad or evil and were determined to keep them out of your town. I understand that, and respect it, too. And," He sighed and scratched at the back of his neck, a habit of nerves he'd had for so many years now, before continuing, "I actually don't think you need to worry so much about your son. You see, I know exactly where he is."

Startled, the two adults leapt to their feet and exclaimed, "WHAT?!"

Instantly Maddie was gripping the ghost teen by the arms, staring into his eyes with a pleading, practically begging glow in her eyes as she asked, "Phantom, please, tell me! Where's our son? Where's my little boy? If you know anything - if you really know where he is, Phantom, then, I'm begging you, please tell me!"

Startled, the youth faltered for just a moment before phasing himself free of his mother's arms, saying, "Okay, okay, calm down! I-I can show you exactly where he is."

Jack, leaning over his wife's shoulder, instantly asked, "Where is he, Phantom? Is he at the park? The mall? The Nasty Burger?"

Smiling slightly, Danny shook his head and replied, "No, none of those. But, you can rest assured, he's closer than either of you two could imagine. Jazz - your daughter - over there could probably guess where he is if she really tried her hardest," A glance at her made him smirk as she shot him a withering yet playful glare. "but he's actually very close by."

Maddie, her eyes wide, simply stared at him and asked, "Where?"

Brushing a hand through his snowy bangs, the young ghost boy sighed and said, "Before I tell you, there's something I want you both to know about me - something very few people know about, something I've kept hidden from all but a few choice ghosts and humans to the best of my ability."

An eyebrow raised in curiosity, the red-headed matriarch of the Fenton family nodded and said, "Alright, what is it?"

Instead of speaking, Maddie was surprised when the youth gently took her hand in his - a cold and thin yet soft and strong hand - and placed her index and middle fingers at the top of the left side of his neck, close to his jaw. For a moment, she was confused, and marveled silently at the slight chill his skin carried as she touched it. But then her eyes widened as he kept her fingers held there, a slight yet easily discernible rhythmic change in the feel of his skin making her mind and heart race.

"You... you have a pulse?"

Her breathless whisper made Jack jump, and for a moment he stared at her in confusion before reaching his hand over to the boy's hand, gently placing his fingers on his wrist and waiting. Sure enough, in a moment he too could recognize the shifting in the skin - ever so slight - that constituted the flow of blood though vines and arteries. He could often be a bit of a goof, and may have made many mistakes concerning ghosts, but some matters regarding science and ghosts he knew like the back of his hand.

"You have a pulse!" he exclaimed, mentally slapping himself for restating what now seemed pretty obvious. "But, how can that be? I thought... I thought all ghosts were dead. How can you have a pulse and be a ghost?"

Gently pulling away from their hands, Phantom sighed and looked down at his boots as he answered, "About two years ago - give or take a few months - I was involved in a lab accident. I was watching... some people I knew work on a machine they were fascinated with the concept of: a ghost portal. When they tried to activate it, it didn't turn on like they'd expected it to. They gave up on it at first, but... I just couldn't give up on it. I was a bit of a scaredy cat at times back then, but I just couldn't keep the thrill of adventure out of me. I mean, think about it; what kind of wonders would lie on the other end of a ghost portal? So I pulled on a hazmat suit and stepped inside the machine. I don't know how, but somewhere along the way I leaned on the walls - it was dark as heck in there, after all - and accidentally found something the builders had forgotten: the ON switch."

Maddie and Jack both gasped, staring at him in shock and concern. "You were," the former whispered, hands over her mouth, "inside the machine when it turned on?!"

Nodding, Danny looked at them and said, "Yeah, and all that energy - all that ectoplasm - slammed into me all at once. It hurt like flippin' heck! It was like every part of me was getting burned, shocked and torn apart all at once. But, somehow, I managed to survive and fell out of the portal. When I woke up, my friends - who were there when I went into the machine in the first place - were there and told me what had happened. That's when I realized I didn't look like myself anymore. My hair, my eyes, and even the hazmat suit had all changed color. I started to panic, and would've gone crazy, if I hadn't of accidentally made myself revert back to normal. When the builders came back down into the lab, my friends and I just played it cool as if nothing had happened. But... ever since then, I've been living a sort of double life. During as much of the day as I can manage to, I live an ordinary human life - going to school, hanging out with friends, trying to stay on my parents' good sides - but the rest of the time I revert to this half of myself - my ghost half - and use my powers to keep the evil ghosts and the troublemakers who, while not evil, like to stir up trouble for me and the locals from causing too much collateral damage."

Jack, trying to wrap his mind around all of this, scratched his head for a moment before asking, "So... what you're saying is that... you're basically a half-ghost, like Vladdie, my former best friend?"

Frowning at the name of his enemy, Danny nodded, then shook his head. "Well, yes and no. I am a Halfa - a half-ghost - like Plasmius, but there's one defining difference between him and I: I am not, have never been, and never will be, an evil, sadistic, egotistical, arrogant cheesehead ghost like that fruit-loop. And that is a promise."

As Jazz, a smile on her face, came up beside her parents, Maddie stared at the ghost boy for a moment before raising an eyebrow and asking, "Out of curiosity, Phantom, what are you called as a human? Would our son know you? Is that how you know him and where he is?"

Looking into his mother's eyes, he gave her a smile that she was surprised to find was both warm and, somehow, deeply affectionate as he whispered, "That, actually, is something you have to see. After all," he winked and finished, "seeing is believing, isn't it?"

In a flash, twin glowing white rings suddenly phased into existence around the ghost hero's waist, one sliding slowly down his legs as the other passed upward over his arms and torso. Black and white pieces of a hazmat suit gradually faded away to reveal a pair of slightly baggy jeans and red and white converse shoes below, with a white and red T-shirt above. Bright, glowing green eyes changed into a bright, shining ocean blue, and the full head of snowy white hair gradually become replaced with familiar raven-black locks. Both mother and father gasped as the visage of the town's ghostly hero melted away to reveal the seemingly perfectly normal and unassuming shape of their one and only son.

Danny Phantom was finally revealed, not for all the world, but simply for the family he held so dear, to be none other than the one and only Danny Fenton.

Instantly he found himself wrapped up in the arms of his mother, her kisses raining upon his face as if she would never get enough of him, her joyful sobs and tears rocking her to the core such that she was shaking all over. He smiled and gently wrapped his arms around her in return, gently rubbing her back as he whispered calming and soothing words, trying to help her to calm down, despite being happy to find her so relieved. Jack, a joyous laugh and equally joyous tears spilling from his own being, raced forward to lock his arms around both his wife and his son as Jazz, her smile now tremulous, likewise entwined her arms around the rest of the family, all four shedding tears of happiness at the reunion. Despite his fears throughout the many long months since his transformation, at long last Danny realized this was probably exactly how things were going to turn out no matter when he revealed his secret to his family. He remembered now that they had accepted him back during the fiasco when Freakshow had revealed him - an incident now only he and his friends could remember - and silently thanked heaven that, though a different scenario, this could've have had such a similar and happy ending. For the first time in his life since the accident, he wasn't afraid of being attacked by another ghost, no matter how strong. Because now he knew that, no matter what happened, his family would always accept and be there for him.

Finally, he was truly at peace.

AN

Whew! Well, there you have it. Please tell me what you think in the comments below, but no flames, please! Until next time, adios!