LES: I just realized that I need to clear something up. And it's in regard to Thanatos' birth. Yes, I'm going into that. Mainly because he's a natural-born halfa, and I'm made it so that humans and ghosts can't breed together. Thankfully, this does have an easy solution. Not long after I discovered DP, I discovered that there are stories about a mythical creature called a cambion, half human/half ghost. Cambions are created when a demon called an incubus/succubus breeds with a human. Sometimes an incubus/succubus is classified as a ghost, and sometimes as a demon. So in my DP fan fiction world, an Incubus/Succubus is a demon that can breed with humans, since that's the whole point of their haunting. Thanatos' mother was human, and his father was a demon, and that's how natural halfas are born.
Chapter X: What Can We Do?
Jack and Maddie watched their son in confusion as he stared down at Tucker's phone. Unbeknownst to his parents, Danny's mind was racing a million miles an hour. In order to avoid provoking Vlad, Danny had not revealed the other halfa's secret to his parents. Winning Maddie for himself was Vlad's obsession, and Danny knew what happened to ghosts if they lost their obsession. If Danny revealed Vlad's secret to his parents, thereby ridding any chance Vlad had at his mother, he would graduate from fruitloop to full-blown psychopath.
His first thought was to find some way to reveal Vlad Masters to the world and just deal with whatever fallout happened. But the idea was quickly dismissed. Right now he could predict Vlad's plans. If he unhinged the elder halfa, there would be no predicting him.
There was also royal protocol to consider. Technically, Vlad was not putting the world in danger by running. He'd said as much the last time they met face-to-face. Vlad wasn't interested in destroying the world. He just wanted to rule it. There was the small possibility that Vlad had changed in the past several years. After all, in all that time he had not made one single attempt on Jack Fenton's life.
The last thing to consider was that, unlike the Ghost Zone, America was a democracy. If Vlad won, it wasn't like Danny or anyone else could waltz into the White House, challenge the halfa to a fight, and take the title of President by combat. If the people voted for him, there would be literally nothing Danny could do unless he overstepped his bounds. And the Vlad he knew was too smart to do something like that.
"When is the election?" Danny asked Tucker in a low voice, making sure his parents could not hear.
"Next year." Tucker answered quietly. "Danny, what are we going to do?"
"Right now? Nothing." Danny sighed. Tucker's eyes widened in shock, and he opened his mouth to start arguing with Danny, but quieted from the look Danny gave him.
The young king turned to his parents and said, "I'm sorry, but I need to talk to Tucker in private."
"Oh… of course, Danny." Maddie said, taking her husband's arm and leading him away. "Maybe we can find another ghost to answer our questions."
The door shut behind them and Danny turned to face Tucker. "I'm sorry, Tucker. I know that you want me to fly in there with an army and stop Vlad from running for president. But there's nothing I can do."
"Nothing you can do?" Tucker repeated. "You could expose him! That fruitloop is a giant hypocrite! He's running a largely anti-ghost campaign!"
"But I can't expose him." Danny said. "As much as we make fun of Vlad for being a fruitloop, he's not completely unhinged. He'll keep an iron grip on his sanity as long as the possibility of winning my mother's heart remains. Without that holding him in check, there is no predicting what he'd do."
"So, what, you're just going to sit back and let Vlad the Fruitloop become the leader of the free world?" Tucker asked in shock.
Danny sighed. "Being the king doesn't mean that I can get my way all the time." He said. "I've all ready done more to protect humanity than any ghost king before me. I might be able to do more, but I have to be very careful." He met Tucker's eyes. "A king is nothing without his people. There are many ghosts who are suspicious of me because I am half human. I've been challenged by many of them, but there are still more out there; powerful ghosts who might be able to challenge even me. If I make it seem like I'm favoring humanity over ghosts, my reign would probably end within the month."
"Damn, man, talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place." Tucker sighed. "But, seriously, dude, I don't think I can live in an America run by a fruitloop! Could you… make me one of your subjects? You know, like Sam?"
"What? No! No way, Tucker!" Danny growled. "Do you know how hard it was for me to stand there and watch Sam die? I'm not going to stand around and watch that happen to you too! Besides, he's just running. That doesn't mean he'll win. He'll have to have more than an anti-ghost platform, right? That sort of thing might work in Amity Park, but the closest that a majority of Americans have come to ghosts is non-intelligent ectoplasm imprint in the creepy house down the street."
"Oh, yeah… living in Amity Park, I've kind of forgotten that ghost attacks are not a big deal everywhere else. Really the only thing that most Americans have wondered about ghosts for the past few years is what happened to Phantom."
"Yeah… I guess I did disappear abruptly." Danny admitted. "And, speaking of disappearing…?"
"Danny Fenton is currently in Japan, studying what makes Japanese ghosts particularly violent." Tucker said.
"They are not particularly more violent." Danny answered calmly. "But their culture is more spiritual, so they are slightly more powerful on average. So when a Japanese ghost has a grudge against a human, they have more power to act upon it."
"And Sam has decided that she's tired of the city. She's currently living on a distant mountain, completely off the grid." Tucker said.
"And away from the government." Danny said. "So, besides Vlad, how are things going in the human world?"
"Well, the Guys in White tried to get the current president to enact more anti-ecto legislation. But the United Nations stepped in and..." Tucker trailed off.
"Tuck?" Danny asked, concerned.
"Dude! That's it! That's it!" Tucker yelled excitedly, pumping his fist in the air. "Danny! America might be heading in an anti-ecto way, but the majority of the world feels that if ghosts have intelligence and sentience, they should have the rights of a human being! You would not have to confront Vlad directly, and it would give the world as a whole a better view of ghosts. It might even allow you to relax some of your travel regulations that pissed off so many ghosts!"
"Tucker, what are you saying?" Danny asked.
"Diplomacy!" Tucker said, grabbing Danny by the shoulders. "Open diplomatic relations between earth and the Ghost Zone!"
"Okay, wait. That's something that's never been done." Danny began.
"But it doesn't mean that it can't." Tucker said. "You can let Vlad run, and rant and rave about being anti-ghost all he wants! You wouldn't even have to talk about him at all. Just show the world what ghosts are really like! Show that you've got culture, intelligence, and that ghosts have feelings too!"
Danny was catching on. "Most Americans have never even seen a ghost. So their fear will make them more inclined to believe Vlad… but if I show them that ghosts aren't like that at all..."
"They won't be afraid and less likely to swallow Vlad's lies!" Tucker finished. "Am I a genius or what?!"
"You're a genius!" Danny said, embracing him. "Yes… yes… I think this could work..."
"So, does that mean you're leaving the Ghost Zone?" Tucker asked.
"I suppose so." Danny said. "I guess I can't ask any world leaders to come here. They might see the invitation as a threat."
"We should get Jazz on this plan." Tucker said. "You'll probably have to make some sort of speech eventually and no one does speeches like Jazz does."
"She's out of college now, right?" Danny asked.
Tucker nodded. "You know she doesn't live in Amity Park anymore, but I know she'll come rushing back if she heard that her brother is coming out of the Ghost Zone to try to convince humanity's leaders that ghosts are not a threat."
"God, I haven't seen Jazz in… years." Danny said, and he suddenly felt awful. "Yes, I'll definitely have to bring Jazz in."
"And what about Sam? Bring Team Phantom back together!" Tucker said.
"Sam… might have to sit out on this one, at first, at least." Danny said. "She's not entirely used to being a ghost, let alone a ghost in the human world. That's the one thing I can't teach from experience. My human half was always able to keep my ghost form together in the human world, but she'll need to do it herself. Besides..." He sighed. "I should be the only ghost to go at first. It will be hard to overcome my being the Ghost King, but if I showed up with anything resembling an army..."
"Good point." Tucker said.
"I suppose I'll start in Amity Park. At least they are familiar with me." Danny said, holding out his hand and opening a portal into the human world.
"Whoa! Are you going right now?" Tucker asked.
"The only thing I plan to do is be seen and let Amity Park know that I'm back." Danny said. "This should not take too long." So Danny stepped through the portal and back into the human world for the first time in years.