Spy Guy: Ok...so here is the next chappie. I've noticed that this story, is like a episode of the simpsons. It can start out as somethogn, and then by the end of the spisode, it's somethign entirely fifferent. (Sorry for the bad spelling. I'm tired.) It boggles.
So...reviewers.
The Sleep warrior, yeah that is from the Cheat is not dead. I love that song. Have you heard the extended version on the Strong bad Cd? It's hilarious. And yes, I knwo that it was a bad sliffie, and I actually intended to end it there, but...by friend threw her shoe at me...and it was a steele toe...and it hurt.
Queen S of randomness 016, you'll have to decide that for yourself. Is he really evil, or is it just and act? You might think you know by the end of this chapter, but how can you be sure?
AnimeMew, thanks. I really have an issue with describing. It makes me happy to know that I've inproved a lot.
Crazyemogal, you'll have to read and see...
DPfan, I'm am updating! Yay updates!
illustroiously unsound, did yo actually think I was going to leave this baby by the wayside? nuh uh. I', going to finish this if it's the last thing I do! (Wich it very well may be.)
S2teennovelist, yeah...I cried while writing that last one, and that;s a very rare thing. It's going to tone down a lot after this chapter, due mostly to the stress I'm having right now. I only write angst when I'm happy, and I write comedy when I'm sad. LEt's just say that I'm going to be buried neck deep in pie and running gags for a while. and I understand what you're saying. You pretty much laid down the whoe, story in a few rants. But you're right, it would be a shame to make this story have a sad ending. So I'l; say right now that it won't. This chapter has some more action in it, and the next one you're going to love. Dannyvs. Vlad. He! I've been waiting for this! And true Key sequal is coming along fairly well. I really liked some of your ideas. I'll make sure to give tou credit.
Arabic blesing, actually, sockman was my lame superhero name once. Along with Accountant man, and mighty mole. Good times...good times.
ghost boy 814, yay! yo liked it.
Punker88, Vlad is evil.
Disclaimer, I don't own Danny Phantom...nope...
Phantom looked around, as the emerald flames licked at the remains of the town.
The place that he used to protect.
Now he stood there, his eyes dull and emotionless as he stared at the burning memories. He tried not to look anyone in the face.
A part of him couldn't believe that he was doing this.
But the other part, the one that listened to Vlad was stronger.
He watched as Skeleton guards ripped into a moving car, pulling the people out from it forcefully. The ghost couldn't look anymore.
Tucker was in there.
Phantom sensed Skulker landing beside him, and turned to look.
"Boy." The other ghost said. "Aren't you happy? Look at all the destruction you've caused. You should be happy."
"This is just what I've been ordered to do, Skulker." Phantom replied flatly. "It is my purpose."
"Vlad really has you under his thumb doesn't he?" The hunter laughed. "I was hoping you'd rebel again, and I could hunt you down."
The other ghost closed his eyes as Skulker laughed cruelly, and grabbed a blonde haired boy by the back of his varsity jacket as he ran past. Dash screamed and tried to get away, but he found it impossible. Phantom slowly opened his dull eyes, and stared him in the face.
"Dashiel Baxter." He hissed.
"Danny Phantom." The boy shivered. "Don't you remember the time that, we…we had to work together? We made a pretty good team didn't we?"
"Team…" Phantom said quietly taking a step forward.
"You take him whelp." Skulker sneered, holding Dash off the ground. The boy screamed again, his feet flailing around.
"It would make your father proud."
Phantom stood still, then in the blink of an eye, he shot forward, punching the jock in the gut. Skulker laughed and dropped Dash to the ground. The boy was all twisted up in pain. Yet Phantom felt no joy at his revenge. His eyes remained blank.
"I thought you…were supposed to help people." Dash strained.
The ghost said nothing, advancing on his prey, his hands glowing green.
"Hey ghost!" Cried a voice from behind him. Phantom spun around, and expertly shifted just in time for a pink blast to fly fast him.
"I always knew you were bad!" Valerie yelled from atop her hover-board, a smoking ecto gun balanced on her shoulder. "After all the times you tried to convince me. To think…I was starting to believe you.
"She almost believed me?" The small voice inside Phantom's mind said in wonder.
But on the outside, the ghost's eyes turned to slits.
"My other prey." Skulker laughed. "I know your father would be very pleased if you got rid of her."
But this time Phantom made no advance. He didn't even move. His remained the same as he stared up at the girl's face.
He hesitated to attack her.
Valerie shot another blast, aimed right at him. Phantom felt a sharp pain shoot through his neck, and he leapt to action, pushing the bullet aside with a shield as he flew into the air. The two collided, sending Valerie skidding across the pavement, her gun flying from her hands. The hover-board went to her side, waiting for her to get up. The ghost boy didn't even seem phased. He just charged up a blast in his hands and fired. Valerie grunted as she pulled herself back onto the board. It sped out of the way of the attack. The girl stood, glaring at Phantom with her teal eyes. She took what looked like five large metal marbles from a pouch at her side, and took off high in the sky, dropping them right over Phantom's head. They exploded, releasing a green gas.
The boy tried to fly away, but fell to the ground, coughing hard. He got back up to his feet, as a blast flew past him. He hadn't even heard it coming.
"Skulker?" He coughed.
The other ghost had fled.
The boy tried to find his way through the smog, but found it impossible. The world seemed to be spinning.
Phantom sighed and closed his eyes, trying to listen, honing in of the faint whirr of the board. There was the charging of the blast. He could hear it this time.
The blast flew.
The boy jumped up just in time, flipping backwards, and landing on the girl's hover-board as well, quickly regaining his balance. Valerie screamed when she felt the back of the board dip under his weight. She whipped around, about to fire upon the ghost, but he leaned over, and phased his hand through the metal outer paneling. He came back up with a clump of sparking wired in his fist. Valerie screamed as the nose of the board scraped against the ground. She jumped off, just as it exploded. Debris flew everywhere, the orange flames intermingling with the green ones.
Green flames.
Where had she seen them before?
"It was you." She hissed. "You destroyed Fenton works! You were trying to destroy the only people who could even try to stop you!"
Phantom said nothing. He only charged up another blast in his hand, coughing into his other.
"That gas was supposed to kill you!" The girl shouted as she got up. "Why are you still here?"
The ghost advanced forward, before he stopped to cough again. This time the blast in his hand fizzled out. He stared at it in confusion.
Valerie seized her chance, and ran at him, ramming the ghost in the side. He grunted, hitting the ground with a thud. The girl wasted no time in attacking again. A laser came from her wrist, and fired. It hit him in the shoulder. Phantom screamed in pain, reaching his had to the spot.
Valerie gasped as both green and red blood seeped out from under the wound. All ghosts had green blood.
Why not Phantom?
The ghost looked at his stained white glove as he snarled in rage, his green eyes becoming slits.
"No!" Shouted the voice inside his mind. "Control it!"
This time Phantom listened and took a minute to compose himself, taking a ragged breath, before coughing again. He rolled to the side as Valerie fired once more. Then he ran at her, his fist igniting green again. He fired, blowing the laser to bits.
"You may have destroyed all of the Fenton's inventions, but you should know, you didn't destroy them. They're still alive." Valerie said, as she yanked her sparking glove off.
"That wasn't the intention." The ghost replied flatly.
Valerie was slightly taken aback. Those were the first words she'd heard him speak the entire battle.
"The intention was to destroy my past so I could prove myself to my father, and show that I was ready to follow his every command. In truth, he wanted them alive. My father knows everything."
"You're father? The king?" Valerie asked, in shock. "You're the prince?"
"Prince?" Phantom asked, raising his eyebrow in confusion. "I am not the prince."
"But your father's the king." The girl said, secretly slipping a small metal rod into her hand from her belt.
"That makes you the prince."
"I am not worthy enough to ever have the throne. My father said so."
Valerie gasped, as someone jerked the rod from her grasp, holding her arms tight behind her back. She tired to pull away, but felt skeletal fingers dig into her skin.
She spun around, knocking the guard away. He hit the ground and shattered to pieces, the rod landing a little ways away. Valerie ran to get it, but Phantom reached it first, pressing a button on the side, and extending it. He spun it around in his hands before lashing out at the girl. He jumped out of the way, and took a broken beam in her fist. Phantom dashed forward, and the two rods made contact. Valerie cringed from the reverberations. Phantom remained motionless.
"Why do you fight me alone, Phantom?" The girl spat. "You have an entire army to do it for you. Why take on me? Is it revenge?"
"Revenge is a petty emotion." The ghost said flatly. "To my father you are simply another person in this town who needs to be exterminated. The others could not do it. Now it's my turn. For my father."
"Does he even love you?" The girl spat, swinging out, aiming at the ghost's head. He caught it in his free hand, bending the metal in his fist.
"Of what importance is love to me?" He nearly snarled. Valerie stared up at his slitted green eyes, a slight twinge of fear coursing through her.
The ghost tried to act indifferent as he clutched the rod, but Valerie could see the small trace of a tear gather in his eye, and roll down his cheek. He didn't even acknowledge it. The ghost just swung the rod around, with the girl attached. She hit the ground with a groan. Phantom walked up behind her, and placed his boot between her shoulder blades.
"Give up." He hissed.
"Never!"
"You've become just like Vlad now." The voice spat. "You know she won't. You didn't."
"Shut up!" Phantom shouted. "Not now!"
"I won't. You're making a mistake. You're becoming just like the person you hate the most."
"No I'm not."
"You can't deny it. This is just what Vlad knew would happen. He knew you'd eventually become as evil as he is."
"Go away!" Phantom sobbed, grabbing his head in his hands.
"I won't. Let yourself go Danny…"
"I'm Phantom…"
"You're Danny…let her see the real you. The person you are when you're alone. The person who feels remorse for what he does. The person who feels pain at every life he destroys. Let her see…She'll do what's right."
Phantom made a choking noise, before he staggered backwards, still holding his head in pain. He fell backwards, two white rings traveling along his body, changing his hair from white, his eyes from green.
There lying, sobbing in the street, was Danny Fenton, tears flowing down his dirty face, making muddy streaks as they went. He was still wearing the sweatshirt from the library, except now it had burn holes in it.
Valerie had seen the whole thing. She stared in shock.
There was Danny.
He was Phantom.
And now he was holding his knees close to him as he sobbed into them. The girl slowly reached out her hand and touched the boy on the shoulder. He cringed, but did nothing.
"Danny?" She asked. "Danny? What happened to you?"
Still nothing.
"Were you over shadowed? Where'd Phantom go?"
"He's going to kill me." The boy sobbed. "I'm showing weakness to an enemy."
"Since when where we enemies?" Valerie asked in surprise.
"When father said you were." Danny choked.
"Jack?"
"No. Father says that Jack isn't my father anymore. He is."
"The ghost king did this to you, didn't he?" The girl asked. She clenched her fists when the boy nodded in reply.
"He was the ghost who kidnapped you. You escaped last time. Why not again?"
"Danny!" Shouted a voice from the distance. The two looked and spotted Jazz, running in, leaving her car behind. She reached her brother, and pushed Valerie aside, hugging him.
He did not return it.
"I can't believe that he did this again. Try to fight it." She sobbed, pushing the boy's dirty hair from his eyes.
"I wasn't hurting him." Valerie protested. "Did you know he was Phantom?"
"Yes, I did." The girl snapped. "I knew it. But he never meant to ruin your life. It was an accident. Right now he's in trouble."
"I'll be fine Jazz." Danny whispered. "Vlad is happy. He is king."
"But don't you get it?" The girl asked. "He isn't supposed to be king. You are!"
Danny's eyes widened.
"Don't doubt father."
"Listen to me!" Jazz cried. "You were the one that defeated Pariah Dark. That would make you king. I was doing some research, and I found out that in order to take over, Vlad needed the consent of the true king, or the ring of rage and the crown of fire would destroy him. He didn't want to kill you, so he beat you down until you said that he would make a good king, thus making it so he could rule. That should be you on top Danny. You have to take it back!"
"Father won't let me…"The boy trailed off. "He doesn't want me to rule, so I won't."
"Your real dad would…" Jazz said, smiling weakly, turning her brother's head so he had to look her in the eyes. The girl helped Danny to his feet, hugging him once more. He took her hand, and guided it up to the back of his neck, making it rest right on top of the chip. She gasped, and tapped at the surface.
"What did he do to you?" She asked.
"We are connected by it, father and me. He can make me do anything he wants me to, just by wishing it."
"You have to fight it, like the manacles."
"I can't…" The boy trailed off, walking backwards. "I really want to, but I can't."
He cringed in pain, as a sharp jolt coursed through his body from the chip. He cried out as the white rings jumped into action, changing the boy back to Phantom. Valerie ran in front of Jazz, wielding the rod before her.
"Father grows impatient." Phantom hissed. He ran forward, taking Valerie's rod in his hands, and pushing her backwards into Jazz. The two fell, Valerie's head hitting the ground with a crack. She went limp. Phantom started to approach, before he growled, and clamped a hand to the back of his neck. Once more he tried to advance, but this time the pain came even stronger. He gave Jazz one last look, before he turned to the city hall building behind him. His boots clomped against the tiled floor loudly, as he pushed through the doors. A guard jumped out at him, his gun firing. Phantom phased through it, not even missing a step. Then, without warning, his hand raised, and an ecto blast flew from it.
The guard didn't even have a change to scream.
His partner stared down at him in shock, before he turned his fearful gaze back to Phantom.
"Don't kill me." He begged. "I'll tell you anything! Anything you want!"
The boy slowly approached, the rhythmic thudding of his boots echoing through the darkened hall.
The guard cringed as Phantom took him by the front of his shirt, staring at him with his green eyes. The man looked away, shivering from the cold radiating from the ghost. Phantom growled softly, whispering,
"Where's the mayor?" He asked.
"He's hiding." The guard stammered. "In his office. There's a high tech security system there…"
The boy growled again, but made no movement. The man chanced a look, and saw that Phantom's eyes were shut tight. He tried to pull slowly away, but in an instant the ghost sprang into action, throwing the guard against the wall, and firing an ectoblast right at him.
Phantom rarely missed.
They continued on, his boots still making the ominous noise against the ground. He heard a noise to his left, and fired on instinct. A woman screamed, the blast narrowly missed her. She tried to run, as Phantom turned his attention to her, but found him upon her in a heartbeat. He took her roughly by the arm, and held tight. She screamed in terror.
"I thought you were supposed to be a hero." She spat.
The boy paused, his grip never faltering, as he delved deep into his mind, where an internal conflict had been going on for some time. But in an instant, the moment was gone, and he threw the woman to the ground, walking back through the halls, the tempo of his boots faster now, more frenzied.
He came to a door in the building that he knew instinctively to be the mayor's. The ghost looked around, spotting what he dismissed as inferior security wires around it. The alarm wouldn't go off if he didn't trip them. And he couldn't trip them if he was a ghost. In the blink of an eye, Phantom was gone. He walked, invisibly into the room, where the mayor sat, his plump face looking panicked as he talked on the phone. The boy snuck up behind him, grabbing the phone in his hand, and slamming it down, to the shock of the mayor. The boy became visible, his clouded eyes staring down, as the man cowered under his gaze.
"Phantom?" He stuttered. "Pleasure to see you here. What brings you and …your friends to Amity Park?"
"We gave you warnings." The boy replied flatly. "Many warnings, but you heeded none, putting the people who live here in danger for a mistake they did not make. My father said he was not afraid to take this place by force."
"Well tell you dad…" The mayor continued, still looking nervous. "That we thought they were prank letters. We thought they were jokes."
"My father doesn't joke around." Phantom deadpanned. "He says that it's too late."
"Maybe we can come to an agreement." The mayor begged, slowly inching closer to his desk.
"My father said that he will not except a compromise. Those times are over."
"Then it's your fault Phantom!" The man shouted, pressing a button on his desk. The ghost could hear foots steps rapidly approaching from behind.
They were just policemen with inferior weapons…
How terribly he was wrong.
The ghost was caught off guard by an ecto blast that hit him straight in the arm. Phantom snarled, and spun around, coming face to face with a large group of Guys in White soldiers. He didn't even falter, his training from the past month immediately kicking in. He sent a large ecto blast into the crowd, before going invisible and sneaking up on two men. He took them by the back of their jackets, and cracked their heads together. Another shot flew at him, one that he easily dodged.
This was going to be too easy. Phantom ignited his fists, and ran at what he thought was the leader. The man was ready, and took out a glowing whip. The weapon lashed out, catching Phantom around the wrist. The boy tried to phase through it, but found escape impossible. Phantom next tried to over power the guard, pulling on the rope, but the leader's strength matched his own. Another whip circled his leg, but this person was weaker, and Phantom easily pulled him down. The boy's eyes glowed red as he began acting like a wild animal in a cage.
He was trapped and he knew it.
The leader yanked on the whip, its surface cutting into the ghost's skin. He snarled, as he lunged at the guard, the ecto energy around his free hand, turning into sharp claws. He raked them right across the man's chest, slashing open his suit. The man growled at him, barking out a command that was lost to Phantom's blood lusted mind. The ghost hissed as he rammed the leader hard, sending him to the ground.
"Now!" The man shouted. Phantom was about to dig his claws into his prey's heart, when a metal device on a chain, took his arm in its jaws. The ghost hissed, pulling at it, only to have the weapon's teeth dig into his flesh.
But he didn't care. He was beyond the point of caring. The ghost got to his feet, and ran forward, dragging the two men together. Phantom's face remained emotionless as he ripped the chain from his arm, creating a large open wound, oozing red and green blood. A soldier tried to sneak up on him, but the ghost spun around, hitting him head on with an ecto blast. The man's dead body hit the ground.
And another and another fell to the Phantom's power as the bloody battle raged on. The leader got up, and gasped at their diminished troops. He glared at his target, and took out what looked like a grappling hook, redesigned to fit to someone's body. He fired, catching Phantom by surprise. The ghost cried out as electricity coursed through him, but still he did not stop. More men shot the chained devices, holding their ground as the ghost lashed out at them, screaming madly from the pain. He was covered in large open gashes, his blood, and the blood of others spattered the floor. The leader and all the others pushed the buttons on their weapons, causing white-hot electricity to course through the boy. Phantom's red eyes were open and staring, as he gasped for breath, finally collapsing to his knees, still pulling slightly, almost mechanically. With one last shock, the ghost fell forward, the white rings traveling over his body.
And the whole room gasped…
For Danny's secret was revealed…
"Patient X587 need another dose." Said one of the GIW workers, staring at the clipboard he held.
"Again?" Replied one of his coworkers. "Man, I hate seeing that guy. He scares me, the way he stares at nothing. I don't see why we need to give him anything."
"The boss says that he took out over half of the field workers…alone. I think he needs sedative. He's just quiet because we have him on a strong one. That's the only thing keeping him from going crazy."
"That makes me feel better." Said the man, taking a syringe from a box, and giving it a test squirt. He then motioned the other man over and they walked down a long cellblock. Soon they came to a white door with a small window allowing them to look in. Inside was a figure, dressed in the black prisoner uniform, attached to the wall by a long glowing chain fastened to his ankle. He sat on a chair staring at the wall blankly.
"See?" Said the man, peeking through the window.
"He gives me the creeps."
"Hard to believe he was the Fenton boy." Remarked the other one. "Do his parents know?"
"Yeah." Replied the first. "The boss finally got hold of them. They're coming this afternoon. We'll have to dose him again before that, just to be careful."
"Alright." The man took a deep breath, and unlocked the door. He walked in, and was met by the clouded eyes of Danny.
"Hey X587." The other man smiled. "We're just here to help. Your parents are coming later. Do you want to see them?"
The boy said nothing, only looking back at the wall.
"Come on." Said the other worker. "Just give him the shot and let's get out of here."
The man nodded, and walked over to the boy. He didn't even move as the liquid was injected into his arm. The two left, sending him fleeting glances. One noticed a lone tear rolling down the boy's cheek before the door was shut once more.
Maddie and Jack walked silently. The two guards next to them had fallen to silence, as they walked along the bright white halls.
"Mr. and Mrs. Fenton." One said, stopping at a door. "Be careful. We'll be waiting if anything goes wrong."
Pause.
"Are you sure you're ready for what you're about to see?"
The two looked at each other and nodded.
"Alright."
The door was opened slowly, shedding the light from outside on the boy's dirty face. He looked up at his parents for just a moment, before turning to the wall.
"Danny?" Maddie asked, trying to stay calm. "It us. Your mom and dad."
Nothing. The two walked closer, Jack gently resting his hand on Danny's shoulder.
The boy did not move.
"Danny, what happened?" He asked softly. The boy did not answer.
"Please speak to us Danny." Maddie begged, kneeling before her son, looking him in the face. "We want to help you. You don't need to live here forever. Don't you want to go home?"
The boy looked of in space for a moment, before slowly nodding.
Maddie felt a twinge of excitement shoot through her as she took her son by the hand, gently rubbing it.
"Jack? Did you see that?"
The man nodded, a small smile playing across his face.
"Danny, you have to tell us what happened, or you'll be stuck here. Please." The woman begged. Danny opened his mouth, as if to speak, but he clamped his hand over his neck, sucking in air sharply through his teeth before closing it once more.
"Danny, just talk to us. Say something." Jack asked. "Tell us something, anything. We'll listen."
There was a long pause.
"He won't talk." Said the leader, walking into the room. "He hasn't said a word since he got here. He hasn't moved from this spot. He hasn't done much. He's much different than he was the night he attacked."
"I still can't believe he did it." Maddie sobbed. "Why?"
"There's a chip in the back of his neck Mrs. Fenton." The man continued. "We don't know what it does, but it's bound to have something to do with it. Your son…was most likely brainwashed by the ghost who kidnapped him. How did he act when he got home?"
Maddie paused a moment before replying,
"He was very confused all the time. Even his alarm clock was unfamiliar. He didn't know what it meant. And whenever he'd wake up, he'd usually ask me if I was really there. That was scary too."
"Yes…This is a scary thing indeed."
"Why?" Jack asked.
"If this ghost could do something like this to your son, what about other children? Now that this pawn is locked up, what if he just turns to another? How many others have fallen to him? Having a threat out on the streets is a danger to all of the kids in the world…and to us."
"Who would use little kids to do their dirty work?" Maddie cried, wiping the hair from her son's eyes.
"A ghost would. And now your son has to pay for it."
The woman let out a great sob, and hugged Danny tight. Her tears came faster when he made no movement to return it. She refused to let go even as Jack rested his hand on her back. She roughly pushed him away.
As she hung there, she felt a something on her cheek. The woman opened her eyes, and watched as Danny's hand wiped away her tears. He was still staring out at space, and his movements were mechanical and shaky, but they were movements, none-the-less. Maddie gasped.
"Danny?" She asked.
His mouth moved slightly, but no sound came out.
"This is the first time he's responded to anything." The boss gasped. "This is amazing."
"Mom…" Danny whispered. He shut his eyes, and shook his head, before looking at his mother once more.
"Mom...please no…" He got up suddenly and backed up, slumping against the wall.
"Danny?" Jack asked. "Are you ok?"
The boy shook his head madly, looking up at his parents fearfully. Tears were coming from his eyes.
"I killed people…" He said, shivering. "I…killed them…" Danny then turned his gaze to his hands, horror written over his face.
"I killed people…" He repeated. He then held his fists close to him, starting to cry harder. Maddie tried to rest her hand on his shoulder, but was pushed away.
"No!" The boy shouted. "I killed people! I don't want to hurt you."
"Danny…" Jack said, trailing out.
"Tell us what happened. Explain everything." Maddie begged. "We can help you."
There was a long pause.
"Tell us what happened a year ago."
Danny shook his head.
"I can't." He cried.
"Yes you can." Jack said. "We can bring the ghost who did this to you to justice."
Pause.
"No you can't." The boy replied, an insane smile playing across his face. "You can't beat father. No one can. I tried, but in the end, my surrender was inevitable. Struggle only made things worse."
Maddie gasped, and felt Jack hold her hand tight.
"Maybe it's best if you leave now." The boss suggested. "I need to talk with you in private."
Jack nodded, and gently led his wife from the room. She wouldn't tear her gaze from the defeated face of her son.
"Danny was recently revealed to be half ghost, and not only that, but a class ten ghost known as Phantom." The leader said as they walked through the white hall. "The disturbing thing is that just a little while ago, Phantom was determined to be only a class seven. He had a drastic power spike…a dangerous one."
"I don't know how it happened." Jack whispered. "We were always careful with our work. How could this happen?"
The man shrugged his shoulders. "Of that, we're not sure. It could be that Phantom needed to fuse with the spirit of another in order to survive, but, even though he has split personalities, I believe them to be the same."
"What are you saying?" Jack demanded.
"I'm saying, Mr. Fenton, that your son,"somehow or other, only half died, and now he's half ghost, very valuable to any maniac trying to take over the world. If your son had been kept a secret, he could have gone on living like a normal person, able to get to places where ghosts were not allowed, attacking and taking everyone by surprise. And because of how beat down he is, I'm sure Daniel would do that without question…from the person he calls father."
"I noticed that." Maddie whispered. "How he called his captor father. He never called Jack his father. He always called him Dad."
"From the camera footage in the mayor's office, we discovered that 'father' is the ghost king. He gave many warnings to town hall, telling them that if they did not surrender, he would send his son. Whoever this maniac is, he had the sickest way to get a kid. Hope he never had his own…"
Cassandra stalked through the halls of the castle, her red cape flying behind her. She burst through the doors of the throne room, and stood before the throne, looking up at Vlad's face.
"Sir, the guys in white have caught Phantom, and locked him up. The mayor laid a trap for him. Our troops were pushed back, we were lucky to even get out of there."
"They caught, Daniel?" Vlad snarled, getting to his feet, and walking over to the ghost. "How? I had him under my thumb!"
"He was greatly outnumbered." Cassandra continued. "He took out over half of their agents before he went down. I saw the bodies. And I saw him as they dragged him from the building. He was a bloody mess, open wounds everywhere. We've lost him…"
Vlad growled and shoved the ghost away, storming back to his throne.
"How could this happen?" He snarled. "Without Daniel, we no longer have the muscle we need to take the world. We couldn't even take a town."
"Daniel…can you hear me? Can you hear my voice?"
The boy looked up, finding himself floating in a dark abyss, surrounded by swirling green mist.
"Yes." Danny replied, wiping the hair from his eyes. "I can hear you. Where are you?"
"I've been trying to contact you for quite a while Danny, but you haven't been listening." T he voice continued, seemingly ignoring the boy's question.
"You haven't been listening, because you were not ready to listen, but now you are, so I will tell you…"
"Tell me what?" The boy demanded, whirling around, desperately looking for the voice.
"I will show you…"
"Show me what?"
There was a whoosh as a great misty portal appeared before him. Inside, the entire area was dark, illuminated only by a few flaming torches. When the boy looked closer, he could see people being pushed roughly along by skeleton guards through the darkened corridors of the castle. Danny felt his heart give a tug, as he saw one was Sam. Another Valerie, and yet another, Jazz.
"What is this?" The boy asked.
For once the voice answered him.
"This is the future for your friends that you have created." It said. "Vlad, or father as you seem to call him, is taking them to the quarry. There they'll dig up stone to refurbish the great castle, probably for the rest of their lives, and you…"
The image changed, showing Phantom, standing with a glowing whip in his hand, watching over a large deep pit.
"You'll be preventing their escape…"
Danny stared in horror, as the him in the portal spotted someone running. In a moment he was upon them, the whip lashing out, screams tearing the air.
"Stop that!" Danny demanded.
"He can't hear you." The voice continued. "These things are in the future, but you...can prevent them from ever happening…"
"But I'm not strong enough." The boy whispered. He gasped when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. Danny turned, only to be greeted by the warm face of Clockwork.
"Yes you are. Look at your wrist. What do you see?"
The boy turned to it, and frowned.
"I see scars…from the manacles."
"But you should see more." The time ghost said. He gently touched the Clockwork band on the boy's forearm. "See not what Vlad has done to you, but to what others have given you."
"It won't work. I've tried." Danny whispered. "I can't change the past."
"You need to try again…"
"It won't work."
"No…I won't…not yet anyways. First you must pull from Vlad's control."
"How can I do that?" The boy asked, longingly. "He's too powerful.
"Stand up to him…and the ability to change the past will become clear."
"I can't stand up to father!" Danny cried, as the ghost began to drift away. "How can I fight him! How!"
Clockwork turned to the boy, a smile on his face.
"You're a Phantom…" He said, before he disappeared.
"I'm a Phantom…" Danny whispered… "And a Phantom is feared…a phantom can do anything it wants to…"
The boy then looked up, resolve burning in his eyes.
"I'm a Phantom…and I can beat Vlad."
