Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom
AN: Happy 13th Dannyversary!
Sam stared at the spot Danny had been moments before, a gaping hole now in its place. "It can't be," she whispered in horror as the smoke from the blast slowly encompassed her .
Everyone who had been watching the brawl had fallen into a hush, the only noise that could be heard was blaring sirens. Not even the Guys in White agents moved a muscle. It was as if time itself had stopped.
He wasn't gone. It wasn't possible. He would climb right out of that hole and continue the fight, and he'll win like he always did. The longer she stood there, she became less sure of that outcome.
"Sam!" she heard somebody cry behind her. "Danny?" she turned around, hope bubbling inside of her. She knew it, he wouldn't leave her. However, as she saw who was running towards her, she felt her world come crashing down the second time that evening. She watched with tears in her eyes as the orange and blue blobs came into focus.
"Sam! Where's Danny?" asked worriedly. Sam opened her mouth to speak but, instead of words, came a choked sob. Maddie grabbed onto her shoulders, "Sam? Please, where is he?" She asked again, voice trembling.
"I'll tell you!" came a menacing voice from behind. They all turned and saw the hooded ghost floating amongst the smoke. "Where is our son?! What have you done to our baby boy?!" Maddie shouted raising the Fenton Bazooka in her hands.
The ghost cackled, the sound sending shivers down Sam's spine. "Danny Phantom is dead!" The ghost bellowed followed by the horrific laugh.
Sam's heart felt as though it had stopped beating, the word 'dead' ringing in her ears. No, it wasn't true.
"You liar!" Jack Fenton cried. She heard Mrs. Fenton's sobs as she tried to keep herself from breaking down.
"Liar?" The spirit mocked. "Do you see your beloved son anywhere? No? That is because he is dead. Deceased, perished, destroyed, gone. And I was the one to cause his demise."
Sam couldn't control it anymore. The tears came streaming down her face. She felt as if someone reached inside her and ripped her heart out. He was gone. Danny was gone. No matter how many times she said said it she just couldn't bring herself to believe it.
She glanced back at the Fenton parents and saw them enveloping each other in a hug, sobbing uncontrollably. Turning back, she saw that the horrible hooded ghost had left, just like Danny.
He stood invisibly on top of a nearby building silently watching the aftermath of the battle. His heart throbbed as he heard his father cry out after the ghost pronounced him dead. He desperately wanted to fly over and show them that he was alive, that everything was okay.
Closing his eyes he reminded himself for the hundredth time that day that this was for their own good.
He wiped his tears away when he noticed the hooded ghost fly over to where he stood. "Ready?" he asked. Danny nodded. The ghost led him to the edge of the roof and they flew off, Danny watching the rooftops of Amity Park drift by for the last time.
The two ghosts landed in a dark alleyway. They had been flying for hours and were far from Amity Park now. Danny looked at the street beyond the alley. The houses seemed as if they were on the verge of breaking. The walls that were intact, were covered in graffiti. The air had a foul smell that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Even the bad parts of Amity looked better than this dump, Danny thought as he shivered.
"What are we doing here?" he asked, turning to the ghost. "You'll see," he replied. The hooded spirit walked to the end of the alley where a grimy dumpster stood. He pushed it away to reveal only solid ground.
"Follow me," he said. Danny looked at him in confusion. "Uh... where exactly? I don't know if you noticed, but this is a dead end." The ghost chuckled at Danny's words. He went intangible and sunk into the ground. The halfa stared at the spot in surprise.
Head reappearing from the ground, the ghost stared at Danny. "Aren't you coming?" he asked. Danny rolled his eyes and followed behind.
When he touched down on solid ground, he took a look at his surroundings. There wasn't much to see as it was almost pitch black, despite the lantern, lighted by a green flame, that the ghost held. Danny guessed that they were in some secret underground tunnel.
"Come on Phantom." The ghost began to walk forward, and Danny followed close behind. The two ghosts fell into silence, the only noise that could be heard was Danny's footsteps. The tunnel was very narrow, he realized as he bumped into the walls multiple times. There was an odour in the air similar to the one outside. Danny couldn't wait until they got out of this place.
They walked for what seemed like hours. All the walls looked the same, and Danny began to wonder if they had just been going in circles. The tunnel seemed endless.
"Hey dude? Are we actually going somewhere or..?" The ghost turned to glance at Danny. "Patience Phantom, we'll get there," he replied. Danny huffed, but continued to walk.
He began to grow tired as time went on. The fight had taken more out of him he thought. He was about to complain again when the ghost announced they had arrived.
"Finally," Danny grumbled. He looked around at their 'destination' but didn't notice anything different from the rest of the tunnel. "Uh...where have we arrived exactly?" he asked. The ghost ignored him, instead he turned to the wall and began to knock in what seemed as a sequence.
The both stood by the wall for a few moments, but nothing happened. Danny glanced up at the ghost who stood as still as a statue. Had he lost his marbles?
Suddenly, a door appeared on the once blank wall. Danny blinked at it in surprise. The door creaked open, and the ghost led the young halfa inside.
Danny looked around. They now stood in a fairly large room that was dimly lit by candles scattered throughout. On the far wall was a symbol of a triangle and an eye painted in red. Danny recognized it as the symbol the ghost had on his necklace. He shivered. This room was beyond creepy.
In the center of the room was a long table, where about ten other ghosts dressed in the same cloaks as the ghost that stood beside him. "Have you completed your task Spiridon?" The spirit at the head of the table asked. "You see the boy beside me, don't you?" The ghost next to him muttered.
Danny looked up at the ghost an eyebrow raised. "What?" he asked. "Your name is Spiridon?" Danny smirked. The ghost grumbled at his question. "Shut it and come sit down," Spiridon said, annoyance clear in his voice. He floated to the table and took an empty seat. Danny chuckled at his behaviour, and took the chair beside him.
"Greetings young Phantom!" The ghost who had addressed Spiridon spoke, "My name is Bhoot. I must say, I am quite surprised you chose to accept our offer to help you." Danny shrugged, "well, it's better for everyone now that I'm out of the way."
"Hmm, yes. Well before we begin our meeting, do you have any questions or concerns?" Bhoot asked. "Ya, I do actually," Danny turned to Spiridon, "you said you would explain later?" "Explain what exactly?" The ghost asked. Danny crossed his arms, "you told me nobody was going to get hurt." Spiridon laughed, "I did not break my promise Phantom. Nobody was hurt." Danny narrowed his eye, "then was all that huh? What were those ambulances doing there? I know what I saw." Spiridon shook his head, "you see Phantom, the ghosts that were assisting me were shooting your citizens with a special ecto ray. This ray causes a person to fall unconscious for five hours, and they wake up as if nothing ever happened." Danny sighed in relief.
"Anything else Phantom?" Bhoot asked, Danny shook his head. "No, that's all." Bhoot nodded, "alright then, first things first, put this on." The ghost reached into a pocket on his cloak and pulled out a necklace. It's pendent was identical to the one around Spiridons neck. Danny glanced at the ghosts at the table and noticed they all had one on.
"This necklace," Bhoot spoke, "is designed to cover your ecto-signature so that it is untraceable. Nobody will be able to track you down with this on."
"Why would anyone need to track me down if they think I'm dead?" asked Danny. "Some people may not truly believe you are gone, so they might attempt to trace you." Danny nodded and took the piece of jewelry from the ghost, putting it on. Who knows what would happen if anyone found him?
"However, even with that on, you are unable to visit your hometown." Danny looked at the older ghost in confusion. "What? Why? What if I was invisible?" Bhoot shook his head. "I'm sorry, but your signature is very strong. If you were too close to any ghost tracking equipment, your signature could be picked up, even if it is weaker than normal." The ghost boy nodded sadly. 'I guess I'll never see my family again,' he thought to himself.
"Okay, now onto the fun stuff!" Bhoot clapped his hand together pulling Danny from his thoughts. "I'm sure Spiridon told you that we are to give you a new life? Well with a new life comes a new identity." Danny turned his attention to a ghost sitting across from him, when they placed a stack of official looking papers in front of him.
"What are these?" Danny asked "A fake birth certificate, school records, and other important documents you humans need," said the ghost. Danny looked at the paper on the top of the pile and read the name written on it. "Chip Skylark? What type of a name is that?" Bhoot laughed. "Well Phantom, it's your name." He looked at the older ghost in disbelief. He was joking right?
"No way dude. You've got to have a few screws loose to think I'm gonna go around calling myself Chip," he complained. "I'm sorry Phantom, but the documents are already made, and it took us months to put them together. I'm afraid you have no choice." Danny made a face at the ghost.
"Chip. Out of all names you pick Chip. I mean do I look like a potato to you?" he huffed. Bhoot chuckled again. "I'd rather not answer that." Danny heard Spiridon snickering beside him. "Shut up," he grumbled, glaring at the ghost.
"Okay, that's enough. We still have a lot to discuss." Danny could still hear Spiridon laughing quietly but ignored him and turned to Bhoot. "You are to move into a small town named Dimsdale. It is far from Amity Park so I doubt anyone has any chance of finding you there. We've got you an apartment not too far from the high school that you'll be enrolled in next week. We will supply you with little money for now, but we expect you to find a way to earn some yourself. And I believe that is all," Bhoot finished.
The ghost sitting next to Bhoot leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "Ah yes. How could I have forgotten. About you ghost half..." Danny wrinkled his forehead, "my ghost half?" He asked. "Yes, your Phantom persona. You obviously can't be seen flying around as Danny Phantom anymore. But that doesn't mean you can't, what do you call it? Yes, 'go ghost.' Next time you change into your ghost form, your appearance will not change, but you will be able to use your powers."
"And how exactly is this going to work?" Danny questioned. "Why that necklace of yours of course," the old ghost said happily. "Wow, you guys really thought of everything, huh?" Danny remarked. "So, if I were to take the necklace off, I would look like Phantom again?" he asked. Bhoot nodded. "Cool," said Danny.
"One last thing young Phantom." Danny looked at him to continue. "I think it would be best not to use your powers for a month, you know, until all this 'Phantom is dead' business dies down." Danny nodded sadly.
Bhoot clapped his hands together, "alright, that would be all. Spiridon, if you could take Phantom to his new home." Spiridon nodded and got up. Danny followed. He thanked Bhoot and the other ghosts, and with that, left.
AN: Hey Everyone! Thank you for actually sticking around to read this story! Tell me what you thought about the story so far in the reviews, I'd love to hear what you all have to say! Until next time,
EctoLadoo :)