Disclaimer: Don't own DP!

Hey, everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews, the critiques, and the praises! Looks like we're starting to hit the final arc in this story!

Chained

Chapter 21

By the frantic footsteps in the hall, Sam knew others had heard the fight. She groaned as she tried to stand up, but her entire body pained her. Her throat hurt, and she wheezed. She was sure of the dark bruise around her neck… Blood had slowly stained her shirt, and she could feel the room swim in dizziness.

Maddie slammed open the door, purple eyes wide as she took in the sight of Sam's bloody shoulder and Phantom's frayed jumpsuit, where ecto-blood had dried. Behind her, Valerie powered up a blaster, teal eyes concerned.

"My God," Maddie whispered. "Sam, what happened?"

She looked up, violet eyes haunted with the consequences of her actions. "He…he transformed," she whispered dizzily. "And…and he c-controlled me." She shoved the ectoplasmic blaster to Maddie, who concernedly took it from her shaking hands. "I shot h-him."

Sam swallowed hard, going into some form of shock.

Maddie closed her eyes. She knew what she had to do, even if she didn't want to. "Sam, we're going to get you fixed up. Valerie, I need you to rally a group of guards together and lock down this room. If Danny wakes up, we don't want him running around."

She raised the device, and waited for the readout. Ninety-eight percent ectoplasmic energy, and the remaining two percent of his humanity was quickly deconstructing. She gave both the device and the ecto-blaster to Valerie. "If he hits one-hundred percent on the scale, alert me and turn on the room barrier. It won't control him right now, but it will then."

Valerie blinked before narrowing her eyes. "Mrs. Fenton, wait. What do you mean, one-hundred percent ectoplasm? I thought all ghosts were made entirely of ectoplasm."

"All ghosts are," Maddie replied. She sighed. "Phantom isn't just a ghost, though."

The Red Hunter stared at the mother in confusion, as if she'd grown a second head. "Mrs. Fenton? Phantom is a ghost." A confused expression flickered across her face. "There isn't anything else for him to be."

Maddie pressed her lips together. "There is, Valerie."

She huffed. "No, there isn't."

The mother stared at Valerie in a form of hesitation before ultimately sighing. "…It's a long story. Drop it for now."

Valerie looked ready to argue, but she backed down out of respect. "Fine," she said, eyes narrowing in suspicion. What did Maddie know? "But don't think I won't ask later."

"Maybe you'll be able to handle the truth later," Maddie replied, purple eyes stormy. "Right now, I just need you to focus on securing this room." She knelt down beside Sam, who stared in strange fear at the unconscious Phantom. "Come on, Sam. Up we go." She helped the shaking woman to stand, and Sam leaned on the mother, body and mind heavy with spinning thoughts.

"H-he," Sam whispered, "I…"

"It's okay, Sam," Maddie comforted her, motherly instincts kicking in. "Whatever happened isn't going to happen again."

The younger woman's grip on Maddie tightened, as if to say that it would.

One of the Observants in the entourage screeched, flying frantically, "He's transformed! I repeat, he's transformed!" His white robes swished with invisible wind as he spiraled up to the stone platform of the Ghost Council, weaving through numerous ranks of faceless soldiers. The entire field hummed with energy and anticipation.

The Master of Knowledge and Wisdom rolled his eyes. "We are aware of that, Observant." He waved at the hordes of the Ghost Council's army. "As you can see, we are already prepared."

The Observant gaped at him. "Aren't you the least bit concerned?"

The Elder replied. "I am concerned for the safety of those who will be affected by this half-breed's tantrums. The paths of the future are as dark as Clockwork suggested. But Phantom will be destroyed easily enough at the proper time."

The Observant's eye furrowed with apprehension. "In what way, milord?"

"In the most inevitable way of all. A ghost is comprised of two basic elements. Ectoplasm, and the psyche he or she maintained at the time of death. In Danny Phantom's case, he was very deeply in love with Sam at the time he altered his DNA structure. Sam was also the one to convince Danny to walk into the Fenton Portal."

"So you think Phantom loves Sam Manson?" the Observant asked curiously.

The Elders face twisted in a frown. "Not love, per say. Danny Fenton loves Sam. The Phantom part of Danny obsesses over Sam, because it is her existence that gave him life and reason. And a ghost cannot live without reason."

"So in order to kill the ghost…" the Observant said, understanding.

"…you kill the obsession," the Elder finished. "Quite simple, really."

"And now that Danny is losing his human half to curb that obsessive nature, he'll be that much easier to destroy."

"He'll destroy himself in order to maintain his obsession." The Elder pondered. "And if he doesn't destroy himself, then only Samantha will have to die in order to bring him to his knees. The collateral damage is minimal."

Deep within the human dimension of Amity Park stood the makeshift headquarters of the CGIA. Commander Agent O sat, carefully cleaning and reassembling his favorite weapon. Like something of a rocket launcher, it packed a punch equivalent to Phantom's Ghostly Wail. Agent O smirked in retrospect. It was Phantom's Ghostly Wail.

Someone began speaking to him. "Sir? I'm intercepting abnormal signals from the Ghost Zone," Agent T reported, typing away on his laptop to get a closer analysis. He squinted in the dim light of the old warehouse and scooted closer to the old desk.

"What kind of signals, T?"

"Powerful ones, sir. One also matches Phantom's ecto-signature."

"Level?"

"21."

Agent O hummed in contemplation. "More than a level 13 this time…"

"More than? Sir, I think we should sound the alarm and alert everyone that Phantom's power is growing."

Agent O shrugged. "The scale goes up to only a 30. His power has to stop growing sometime."

Agent T sputtered, "But, sir! If he hits level 30, he'll be undefeatable!"

"Nonsense," O replied calmly. "Pariah Dark was a 30, and he was defeated by Phantom."

"B-but, he was only a level 6 when the fire broke out! We can't hope to capture him." Agent T clacked away on his keyboard to pinpoint the signal's exact location.

"Everything rounds back on itself, T," Agent O said. "Phantom might think he's free of this place and more powerful than us, but I guarantee we've still got him. We already know what he's planning to do."

"What do you mean, sir?"

"I mean that, for two years, he stewed in his own hatred for us. He's not just angry, T; he's pissed. This power spike can only mean one thing."

"And what is that, sir?" Agent T asked.

"It means that Phantom won't rest until he gets rid of us, even if he thinks he's free. Whenever a ghost gains that much power on its own that quickly, it's usually in self-preservation against a threat. We're a threat to him because we still exist, and he knows it. He's going to try and destroy us in order to feel safe again." The Commander looked down thoughtfully at his rocket launcher. "But he won't stand against what we've built."

"Uh, y-yes, sir."

"Great. Now give me those coordinates. I need to round up our reserve squads and power up our armory with the generator. I plan to move us out by dawn tomorrow."

"By dawn, sir? But don't you think we're moving too fast into combat? What's our strategy?"

"With Phantom on the prowl, we can't move fast enough. I've been detailing a strategy since his escape. We need to begin rounding up our reserve troops."

"Yes, sir."

Agent O stood up and stared at his watch. It was ten o'clock. The Ghostly Wail weapon lay completely reassembled, teeming with impatient energy. "Six hours to departure. Make sure we have everything in place. We'll be confiscating the Fenton Portal."

Back in the Ghost Zone, Maddie found herself with the resident psychologist, pulling up data on the large computer base of the PSYCH ward's lab. Sam had been given a hospital cot to sleep away her trauma, Valerie a job with security to keep herself occupied, leaving only Maddie to research Phantom's mysterious behavior.

To see the body of her son lying unconscious on the floor, bleeding... It had taken all of Maddie's self-control not to run to the boy's side, knowing that underneath the exterior of a red-eyed monster lay the remnants of her son, and that underneath the ectoplasmic blood was a precious mixture of her and Jack's blood.

"H-he transformed…"

Maddie knew that time was running out. If she was going to save her son, she had to know what was wrong before it became irreversible. Why was he transforming into something other than just his ghost half? Why did he attack Sam?

Her straining, purple eyes stared at the computer screen as the hospital's resident psychologist offered his opinion.

"This is actually a common occurrence," the ghost psychologist stated as he pointed out the data readouts. His hands shook with old age. "Upon intense or painful memories, a person may find that they themselves cannot handle the pressure. So, they subconsciously splinter their personality into very distinctive facets, which allows that person to function in a myriad of situations. Whenever the core personality decides the pressure is too much, it can call forth a splinter of itself to handle it."

Maddie asked, "Has only Danny's ghost side been affected by this?"

"It's not just a question of ghost and human, Mrs. Fenton," the ghost said seriously. "It's a question of Danny's true self, and whether or not he's actually out of control." Before she could interrupt, he added, "I think we have reason to believe that Daniel's inner inhibitions are being revealed through the freedom he feels as Phantom."

"No, no, that can't be right," she defended immediately. If he was right… "Danny is a wonderful boy who would never purposely hurt anyone! This isn't him! It's a fluke in his powers! It's not his real personality!"

"Mrs. Fenton, he's undergone an unimaginable stress," the psychologist tried to reason. "Certain aspects of that stress have been under lock and key for two years. He may be relying on his ghost side simply to cope with it."

"So then what?" Maddie cried. She stood up and paced the floor in worry. "Is my son lost forever? Can't he be saved, somehow?"

The psychologist bit his lip. "Ma'am, if I'm correct about this, we're looking at a dual battlefield: We first need to reestablish a physical transformation link between Danny's human and ghost half, so that way he can return to his residual self-image. Second, we need to reconcile both personalities and force Phantom to understand that he is only a splinter of the true Daniel Fenton. Hopefully, this combined approach will allow Daniel to take over as the one and only personality."

She swallowed hard. "And, what if that can't be done?"

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if it can't be done? What if we can't reconcile Danny and Phantom?"

The psychologist sighed. "He's subconsciously projected all of his negative personality into his ghost half in order to separate it from his true self. Maddie, if we can't get him to face his true emotions, he may very well remain mentally unstable."

Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "Well, what if we just separated Danny from Phantom?"

Something felt wrong asking it, but Maddie didn't know why.

The old ghost sighed, pulling on his thin mustache. "You'd simply be taking away his power. You see, Phantom's psyche is a part of Danny. All of Phantom's emotions and obsessions are ultimately Danny's. You will never separate that."

"So how can we reconcile them, then?"

The psychologist sighed with an idea. "It's a little of a long shot, but…" He glanced up. "You're aware of ghost obsession, yes?"

Maddie nodded, "Of course."

"We may still able to rein in this new personality with a little manipulation. According to ghost physiology and anatomy, the only way to destroy this psyche hold of Phantom's would be to destroy his true obsession. If you take away the initial driving force of any ghost, their obsession, you'll find that whatever negative emotions they've managed to collect will disappear along with their power."

"And since Danny's forced all of his negative emotions into Phantom, then they'll all disappear without any residual effects to his body," Maddie said.

"But," the psychologist warned. "psychologically, Phantom is Daniel, and vice versa. To destroy Phantom's existence entirely would be to kill your son. Now that Danny has gotten used to Phantom, the effects of such a permanent separation would destroy him. And you don't want to do that, do you?"

"Of course not!" she replied adamantly.

"So we need to use his obsession against him without destroying it so that Phantom gives Danny back control."

Maddie sighed and placed her head in her hands, wondering why her life had gotten so complicated. "Is this the only way?"

"It's the only option we have right now, Mrs. Fenton."

"Do we even know what his ghost obsession is?"

"No, ma'am. We need to discover this as soon as possible."

She fell unusually silent, wracking her brain for an answer. She used to be the mother of a wonderful, bright boy. Now, she was the mother of a ghost-human hybrid who'd been the victim of too many unspeakable tortures to reconcile his innocent self with his new-found anger.

And she couldn't help but blame herself.

Having successfully coerced hospital security into guarding Phantom's room, Valerie set the barrier, placing it on the highest level. Her fingers hesitated on the buttons. "If he hits one-hundred percent on the scale…" Teal eyes furrowed in confusion. "Why didn't we do this before now?" she wondered aloud, voice stiff with suspicion. "And what did she mean by 'one-hundred percent?'"

She typed in the last number and shut the cover. Immediately, soft green light leeched from the box on the wall to cover across the doors and sink into the wood. It pulsed with a quiet, calming hum.

Nearby, the guards floated with laser spears gripped tightly in their hands, like statues. Like fearful statues, despite the new barrier.

She stared at them condescendingly. "Where's Mrs. Fenton?" she suddenly interrogated the guards. They jumped.

"Don't rightfully know, Red Hunter," the first guard said quickly. "Last saw her walking down to the labs. Haven't seen her since."

"The labs closed down an hour ago to visitors," Valerie pointed out, eyes narrowing. "What could she be doing?"

"Who knows?" the second guard replied, paranoid as he inched away from the Red Hunter.

Valerie hummed suspiciously and turned towards the labs. "Keep watch!" she called over her shoulder. "If Phantom gets out, I'll have your heads!"

"Yes, ma'am!" they chorused fearfully before returning to their posts.

Valerie pressed a button on her suit, and a reconstructed sled streamlined underneath her feet, sweeping her away to the lower levels of the hospital. Rooms, nurse stations, and emergency units blurred into oblivion as she surfed the air in stealth mode. Her self-regenerating suit had taken quite a long time to rebuild her jet sled, but it'd been worth it.

Powering down the sled, she quietly snuck across the tiles. She heard voices, one rising in an upset cadence, and the other lowering into an comforting tone. One echoed, and it resonated against the halls. A ghost?

Valerie instinctively pulled out her ecto-blaster, and she flattened herself against the wall, lifting her weapon to eye level. Then, she peeked her head around the corner.

Her eyes widened.

She lowered her blaster, her heart pulling in confusion. Maddie sat behind a computer, and her fist covered her mouth to hide a sob. The mother's shoulders stooped in shame, and she seemed to collapse in on herself, with only the shadows from the computer reflecting her sorrow. Valerie's eyebrows furrowed in concern and dark curiosity.

An elderly ghost, with large glasses and a diminished physique, gently patted the woman on the back. "It's not so bad, Mrs. Fenton," the ghost said. "What you feel right now is just a natural reaction to your son's predicament."

Valerie raised an eyebrow, curiosity spiking. The ghost vaguely reminded her of a grandfather, with his comforting attitude. He wasn't a threat.

She stepped out from corner. "Mrs. Fenton?" she asked softly, quickly holstering her weapon. "What's wrong?"

The mother glanced up at Valerie's voice, her purple eyes red-rimmed. Tears streamed down her lightly-wrinkled face. So exhausted, she couldn't find the energy to be startled at the sudden intrusion.

"Oh, Valerie," Maddie whispered, her lips quivering. "What have I done?" She wiped away her tears, only to feel more fall down her face. "I-I…"

Hesitantly, Valerie walked forward and awkwardly patted the woman she'd come to respect. She wished, in that moment, that she was better at communicating with other emotions than just anger and frustration. "It's okay, Mrs. Fenton. Once we figure this thing out with Phantom, we can go back and find Danny."

A mix of a sob and a laugh escaped the mother. "Oh, Valerie," she returned the hug, "I'm afraid it's not that simple." The ghost psychologist, knowing what was coming, simply sighed and sat himself down at the corner computer, typing away on another patient's diagnosis.

"Sure it's simple!" Valerie argued lightly, pulling away. "We'll just get Phantom on our side, 'cause he owes me one anyway, and then he can help us to find-"

"-Valerie. Stop." Maddie closed her eyes and took Valerie's hands in hers. "I know what you're trying to do, and I appreciate it, but I think we need to talk."

"Talk? About what, Mrs. Fenton?"

"Something very important, so listen closely. Earlier, when you asked me about the one-hundred percent ectoplasm in Phantom," Maddie started, "I never answered your question. That's because it…it has something to do with my son."

"Danny?" Valerie asked, eyes lighting up. "What about Danny? How does he tie into Phantom?"

The mother tightened her hands around Valerie's. "Sit down, Valerie," she said tiredly, guiding the younger woman to a seat beside her. "You'll need it."

"And why's that?"

The seriousness in her gaze set her back as Maddie asked her, "You knew my son pretty well, right?"

Valerie nodded, "Yeah."

"So you knew that he skipped out on school and broke curfew at home?"

Valerie pressed her lips together. "Yes," she admitted, her teal gaze challenging Maddie to blame her.

"And did he ever tell you why?"

"Well, no. He never really told anyone."

Maddie closed her eyes. "Valerie, I've recently discovered why he did those things. I thought maybe he was being bullied, or I feared that he'd gotten into drugs…I always thought that maybe he'd disappeared because of something I had done, but after coming here with you and finding Phantom…"

"So what was it?" Valerie asked, curiosity and concern mounting. "Does Phantom know something about Danny? What did he tell you?"

"Phantom knows more than we initially thought. He and my son are…a-are connected."

Something uneasy and familiar dropped into her stomach. Valerie narrowed her eyes. "Connected? What do you mean?"

"I mean, they're intertwined. Who they are, everything that makes them up, traces back to each other." Maddie pressed her lips. "I-I never personally cared for Phantom, because I thought he was evil. But then…" she inhaled shakily, "I realized just how much he could remind me of Danny, and everything fell into place." She gently turned the computer screen for the younger woman to see.

And horrible, tragic terror washed over her like a flood.

Valerie stared at the specialist's notes in horror. There was a perfect DNA match to who Phantom was before death. "My son," Maddie said shakily, "never disappeared. He was right in front of us the whole time. And Phantom's not entirely composed of ectoplasm, like every other ghost, because he is half-human. Or, he was…"

"But-but, this…this isn't-" Valerie trailed off. Her teal eyes brightened with tears as the DNA readout matched a familiar name.

Fenton. Daniel James Fenton.

"My son," Maddie said, more serious than death, "is Phantom, Valerie."

Something, like frightened nausea, overcame the young woman.

Her mouth moved with words, none of which managed to be voiced. Valerie's hands shook, and the seat's handles cracked underneath her strength.

"Valerie, I know that this is a tremendous shock for you, but you have to look at the facts. They have the same facial structure, the same mannerisms, the-"

"-You must be kidding," Valerie hissed, teal eyes flashing. "What the hell is-?"

"It's the truth, Valerie! I wouldn't lie about something like this!"

"Are you insane, Mrs. Fenton? This is bullshit! You can't possibly be telling me that-!"

"-I am, Valerie." Maddie's voice was strong, unwavering. She believed it.

"But h-how?" Valerie whispered, lips pressed tightly, teeth clenched. Thoughts and images raced through her mind. "Danny Fenton existed before Danny Phantom. This is…this is impossible…!" She waved away the computer. "This model must be mistaken."

Maddie shook her head. "His ENA matches Danny Fenton's DNA to a fault. I double-checked with a few Fenton devices of my own, and it's the same result every time. They look the same, they act the same… They're the same person. They… always have been. I didn't believe it at first." Maddie searched her eyes, for…approval? Acceptance? Valerie didn't know, and she didn't care.

"How can you believe this, Mrs. Fenton?" Valerie's voice rose to hysterics, and it angrily bounced off of the walls in terror and fury. "It's just not possible! Phantom's stolen, lied, cheated, and destroyed lives! Even though I know now he's capable of kindness, I also know that Phantom's actions don't add up to what I know Danny would do!"

"Their version of justice is the same," Maddie said. "They're both idealists, in the end. It shows in the way they talk. They both talk the same, Valerie. No two people share the same vocal inflections and tonal qualities."

Valerie moved her mouth, but no words came.

Maddie placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. "Valerie, stick with me, because I'm about to ask you a very important question. It affects my son, whether you know him as Danny or as Phantom." Her eyes were as serious as death. "Now that he's been in his ghost form for so long, it's taken place as his dominant side."

Valerie swallowed hard.

"And I don't know what he saw at the CGIA, but Phantom's strange behavior is a direct reaction to it." Maddie pressed her lips together before asking hesitantly, "Valerie, what happened at the CGIA?"

The Red Hunter suddenly felt cold water storm through her once again. "What…happened?"

In her mind's eye, she witnessed Phantom's body cave to its knees as wires tightened about his arms, head hung as painful shocks stole away his power. This time, he had black hair and blue eyes. Danny. Valerie swallowed hard.

Every cry…

"Please, Valerie," the mother persuaded. "If I can understand what's driving his ghost side right now, maybe I can help him."

Every plea…

"Valerie? Are you okay?"

…was Danny?

The younger woman swallowed hard. How could she possibly admit to Maddie she'd stood by and watched the torture of her son? She stopped.

"Wait a minute," Valerie said, shaking her head. "This isn't right! This can't be right! Phantom is not Danny Fenton! Maybe…maybe they're connected somehow, but they just can't be the same person!" Her voice hitched. "They can't!"

Maddie tried to calm her. "Valerie, now settle down. You need to hear-"

"-No!" she stood up and shakily backed away. "No, I don't! You're wrong!" Her chest heaved as she hyperventilated.

The scars. That sad, knowing, old gaze…

The mother lightly touched her shoulder. "Valerie, I-"

She shoved Maddie out of the way and haphazardly raced out of the room, pushing the button for her sled.

Barely healed wounds reopened, and her heart bled in fear. Her friend, her teenage crush, was the same person as her once enemy? The same person she'd watched tortured, broken, forced to his knees?

In the distance, she heard the elderly ghost carefully say something about 'denial,' but the strange tears blurring her vision kept her from thinking too much about it, for a part of her knew that Maddie had simply voiced what she'd known all along...

Okay, so this is actually just part one of the original chapter twenty-one. But since I promised to get something out by Christmas, I decided to splice up the chapter into two parts and use this next week to finish up! Hopefully, I'll update again within the next week or so, and that update will focus more on certain characters I couldn't put in these thirteen pages.

Either way, Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I took a few liberties in dissecting the psychological reasons why Danny would turn evil, so I hope they were understandable. I also hope that you find Valerie's reaction to be consistent with her character.

From this point on, I have the rest of Chained mapped out! We're officially hitting the final arc in the story! Be prepared for some pretty intense chapters coming up!

Song Inspiration: Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful? By Paloma Faith

1. Plot? Good or bad?

2. Characters? Consistent or inconsistent?

3. Overall feelings about it? Happy? Angry?

4. Questions/Comments/Criticisms?

5. Anything I could improve on?

Thank you so much for reading,

Lightning Streak

Please Review! :)