Eh...I don't know anymore. XD This is another Danny Phantom one-shot...and whether or not it's a direct sequel to Human, Ghost, or Freak? is entirely your choice. Either way, this is going to be...rather unique, at least in terms of an interpretation or summary of the show.
Anyway, read, review, and I hope that you enjoy this little one-shot! Man, I really need to go back to watching DP again... XD But if I can remember correctly, you can consider this happening at any time between the two episodes, "Public Enemies" and "Reign Storm".
Again, if I accidentally plagiarized anyone, I'm terribly sorry and will take this one-shot down immediately.
If Danny knew that he would've been involved in a war between man and spirits six months ago, he would've said no thanks and fled far away from it. It never crossed his mind that every ghost fight was really a larger battle between two greater parties...but it was.
And what was even worse? There was no end to the dark conflict...or, at least, no end to it as far as he knew. He was only one superhero after all.
Truth be told, ever since the realm of the unnatural was opened, some of the restless spirits that dwelled inside it were eager to go and war against man, and it couldn't be helped that the chosen battlefield would be the metropolis of Amity Park itself. They were ambitious, hungry and desirous to fulfill their own pleasures and wants...and the means to achieve such ideals were repulsive and barbaric from man's perspective.
Of course, it was also man's nature to be hypocritical. After all, Danny knew more about the realm of the spirits because of his parents' tedious research on them. They were involved from the very beginning...no, before that actually, since it was he who opened the portal. And when he did, he had let loose those vengeful monsters from their own prison, allowing them to spread and wreak havoc and chaos to the mortal plane.
If there was ever a reason on how such a war came to existence, he was to blame for it. He started it, so it was his responsibility to end it...even if he had to lose his own life (or, well, what was left of it) in the process.
That was one reason on why he and his friends opted to defend Amity Park from the invading ghosts. Although...he couldn't really find it in his heart to blame them, considering what they were composed of.
It was their own nature to do so. They were bound to it throughout their entire existence, unable to control their own instincts and will. By a more technical definition, they were feral animals, beasts composed of ectoplasm and other supernatural substances, their drive being to please themselves and fulfill their own selfish desires...well, some of them.
But they were also somewhat sentient...and they had some sort of moral compass as well, even if their definition of morality was different from man's. Nevertheless, that alone separated them from being classified as mindless beasts...not that that helped the problem much.
And even if most of them would rather want to be left alone and not get involved, it was unfortunately thanks to the actions of those who actively sought revenge against the mortal realm...that man now had a tarnished and negative interpretation of their world. For if the only ghosts that appeared in the town were the ones who would destroy and inflict danger, then perhaps they all were destructive and vicious creatures.
And anything that was a danger...no, a threat to mankind...must be annihilated. And to the ghost hunters (and the G.I.W.), that philosophy expanded to all ghosts, including him.
According to their research and past studies, if all of the ghosts they had encountered and fought against were considered evil, and if the rest of their kind that lived inside their world was of a neutral alliance, the alarming idea that there would be any spirits who would willingly fight or battle for the greater good...never once crossed their minds.
He just had to be the lone exception. Perhaps it was the fact that he was only a halfa, a term known by the ghosts as someone who was both half-ghost and half-human. They knew who he was, and they knew his actions and ideals as a superhero.
That position forced him to be on neither side, and yet fight for the greater good of both kinds...even if he was hated and targeted as such. For ghosts, they were more aggressive towards him because of his very nature and will to stop them in their tracks (it didn't take him much time to learn that the name halfa was actually a degrading term, one that left a foul taste in their mouths), keeping them under check and actually making sure that they didn't obey their nature.
But as for the humans, specifically the ghost hunters, they only sought to destroy him...because he was only a ghost in their eyes. As his parents had said, "All ghosts are evil!", and he couldn't change that part of himself. It was nearly impossible then to change their way of thinking.
Plus, he was afraid of what would happen if they found out that he was also human...the numerous frightening situations that could happen afterwards were too real and scary for him to take such a risk. They would probably think that he was being controlled or overshadowed by a ghost, which would lead to them trying even harder to capture and experiment on him...
However, that was only half the battle; the ghosts all knew exactly who he was. It was because of that reason that he now suffered from a mild case of paranoia, leading him to constantly watch his back and just wait for them to target him, his friends or his family. He lost many hours of sleep because of it...well, that and from all the times that they've decided to run amok at night, and he wondered if they did that personally just to get back at him.
Well, most of them. The Box Ghost was only ever interested in those boxes down at the docks...and bubble wrap.
Nevertheless, his life was difficult, and at times, he felt like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Both sides hated him, even if he was the solution to the problem...or, at least, he was trying to be. But he would never win any battles if he try to force his ideals to them (they were too stubborn and prideful to listen), so he just had to keep fighting, hoping that his efforts as a superhero would eventually lead people to see a different path, to see that he wasn't like the rest of them.
He would change their philosophy to "Not all ghosts are evil!" with his actions. After all, the life of a superhero wasn't exactly a life filled with happiness and worldly riches (unless he was a billionaire like Bruce Wayne, but he wasn't...plus, that guy had a few problems as well); it was a hard and bitter life that was filled with battles, and the end result of each battle would leave both physical and mental scars. It was a life of responsibility and hard work, and he had chosen that life himself...even if he didn't know it back then.
He was Danny Phantom, the defender of Amity Park. That was his position, his role, and he wouldn't have it any other way...no matter what perils or obstacles life would throw at him, no matter how much he wanted to give up and throw in the towel, no matter how many times he nearly lost his life...
He was a halfa. He was both alive and dead, boy and ghost, his two natures being complete opposites. He was a part of both their worlds, acting as a bridge between them. His state alone was the prime example that there could be peace between them, that this war was unnecessary, that no more lives had to be lost or threatened.
Of course, acting as an...ambassador between them wasn't easy. They would target him, despite his efforts to help stop and end the conflict. Others would help him, such as his best friends and sister who often aided him in protecting the city. But...it was everyone to their own battlefield, whether they wanted to or not.
It took him six months to realize all of this, and now he regretted that he didn't figure it sooner when he had the chance. All of the signs were in front of him: the ghost fights, the narrow escapes from the human hunters, his new position and nature as a halfa and superhero...but it didn't matter now.
He knew his battlefield: it was Amity Park, his home. And he would fight to the very end to protect it, both for the well-being of mankind and ghostkind alike. And maybe, just maybe...one day, the strife would finally cease, when both sides could acknowledge each other peacefully.
It would take some time, but he knew that it could be achieved. After all...that was what he was truly fighting for, even if both worlds were against him.
And...yep, that's it! Whew, well, I hope you like this one-shot. It was just from something that I was thinking about (blame Arc V for the war part), which was basically a different interpretation of the show as a whole.
If the TV series of Danny Phantom can be symbolized or shown as a war between the inhabitants of the Ghost Zone and that of the human world...then imagine how dark it could've been. 0.0 Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this interpretation of it! :D
Read, review, favorite, DO WHATEVER YOU LIKE! And until next time, this is CTA out! AND GOD IS SO GOOD! :D