Author Notes:

Hi guys! Thank you for clicking on my fanfic! This chapter is just the exposition setting up for the rest of the story, but it's very important to the plot, so please read it before you go on.


Chapter 1: Exposition


Amity Park, 2009

A silent Amity Park watches, as their brave hero is thrown to the ground. His signature jumpsuit is torn. A large, jagged rip splits the logo across his chest, and a red liquid, speckled with swirls of bright green, stains the white sections of the fabric. Tears stream down his face, but other than the slow rising of his chest, he doesn't move. The boy's luminescent aura makes him stand out against the dark purples, greens, and reds of the stormy sky.

Next to him lies what remains of the ghost boy's cousin. Her uniform is ripped almost to shreds, and green fire licks the tips of her snow colored hair. Her body is still smoking from the attack that finished her.

The citizens of Amity Park have only seen the attacking ghost once before, but they could never forget the Ghost King. Though they don't understand the history or politics of the Ghost Zone, they knew the moment they saw his face that he was not some ordinary villain.

After what seems like hours, though it must have been two minutes at most, Danny stands up from the ruins of Casper High.

He looks at the destruction around him where his friends and family had been only moments before. There was no way for him to know that rallying his forces in one place was part of Pariah's plan all along. How could he foresee the death and devastation that were coming his way? Jazz, Sam, Tucker, and even his parents had all come to his aid, only to be stolen away from him five minutes into the battle. Fighting through the shock and pain of his loss, he and Danielle continued to fight Dark with everything they could. Inevitably, Dani's strength gave up on her, and she too was ripped from the living world. While he watched, Pariah shot ectoblast after ectoblast at the only other person in the universe who fully understood Danny.

Now, emotionally and physically exhausted, soaked in blood, sweat, and grief, Danny vows to finish what he started. Standing in the wreckage, a ghostly green aura seems to float around him. The air crackles with angry green electricity. His eyes glow brighter and more dangerously than the explosions that send rockets into space. As Pariah touches down to face the young hero, Danny clenches his fists.

"How does it feel, young ghost child," Pariah's deep, rich voice cuts through the air like a silver blade, "To be completely, and utterly alone? Was it worth it, hero, to put me back in my sarcophagus? Are you satisfied with your actions? The crown comes with a price, child, and this," Pariah gestures to the ruins around them, "This is how you've paid. The ghost realm demands blood, and you have generously obliged."

Danny stares into the eyes of his enemy. His body is tense, ready to fight, "I never wanted your crown, Pariah. You know that."

"Ah," the Ghost King coos, "And you really believe that, don't you?"

He laughs a dark, booming laugh that fills the hollow spaces of the crumbling halls of Casper High. The horrified onlookers feel the vibrations in their bones, shaking them to the core, "You've been lying to everyone about your true identity for so long, you've managed to confuse even yourself of the true nature behind your actions. You might be able to fool yourself halfa," he spits out the word, like it's poison on his tongue, "But you can't fool me. After all, I am your king." He laughs again, the crown of fire on his head burns brighter with every bellow.

"I don't serve you," Danny responds, "I will never serve you. You're nothing but a washed up specter, Pariah," Danny scowls and cracks his knuckles, "And I'm going to enjoy kicking your ghostly ass."

In a flash, Danny flies towards Pariah at full force. His fist, sparking with ectoplasmic energy, connects with the Ghost King's chin. Another punch to the gut sends Pariah into one of the few still standing walls of Amity Park's decimated high school.

"Very good, very good!" Pariah baits Danny, "Don't you feel better now? Beating the killer of your loved ones to a pulp must bring you such joy. Go ahead, do it again," Pariah opens his arms wide to expose his chest.

Danny hesitates, unsure of the conflicting emotions churning inside him.

"Come on Danny," Pariah mocks, "Can't stomach the implications?"

"SHUT UP!" Danny shouts, blasting Pariah with all of the energy he can muster, "All I ever wanted to do was help people!"

"Well that didn't work out well for you, now did it, boy? Don't quit your day job," he places a hand on his split chin, "Oh wait, I blew that up didn't I?" He laughs again, hand clutching his stomach.

"Enough Pariah." Danny glares at the immortal King, slowly inching closer and closer to the ghost plastered against the wall.

"Oh, am I hurting your feelings?" He feigns a concerned look, "Why don't you go cry to mommy?" Another pause, "Whoopsy, guess I blew her up too!" By this point, Pariah is in hysterics. His head hangs down at his chest, the blasts are exhausting his body. Immortal or not, every blast of ecto energy hurts like hell.

The atmosphere feels heavy. Lightning crackles overhead while booming thunder shakes the foundations of Amity homes. The sky turns an ominous shade of dark gray, and, despite the electricity in the air, a cold wind whips through the town.

"Pariah," Danny growls, still trying to get closer, "I'm warning you. Stop now."

"Poor Danny Phantom, no school, no friends, no family," Pariah smirks, and lifts his face. He locks eyes with the desperate teenager, "Good thing I murdered that filthy goth whore. Samantha, was it? She would have given you the world, and I couldn't have that, now could I?"

Danny stops. He stares directly ahead. Slowly, his face changes. Fury wracks his body. His hair seems to flicker like fire, his teeth look sharper, and his face turns a shade cooler. Slowly, he meets the eyes of his attacker.

"It's Sam," he says. Fists clenching once more, "And you're going to pay for that."

Parents cover their children's eyes as the battle turns dirty. Danny gets a couple of kicks and blasts on Pariah before the Ghost King pins him to the ground.

Pariah brings his face close to Danny's and whispers, "You can't beat me Daniel. And even if you could, there is a heavy cost. Do you really want to accept those conditions? Live an eternal life, with no one but yourself to keep you company? The grief, bitterness, and isolation would ruin you, corrupt you like it corrupted me."

Pariah locks eyes with a few of the people scattered around the lot, "And what about them?" He gestures to the people before turning back to Danny, "How will they react when their kind-hearted friendly neighborhood ghost boy gruesomely murders someone right in front of their eyes? We might be ghosts, but you know as well as I that we bleed like everybody else. We sicken, we scream, we suffer."

A flicker of a grimace dances across his face before his gaze hardens again, "Make your choice, child."

Danny looks towards the ruins of Casper High, "I made my choice the minute you destroyed that school," He whips around to face his enemy and pulls the Ring of Rage off of Pariah's hand. He wrestles his way out of the ancient ghost's grasp, and braces himself for his final attack.

Pariah looks at the white haired teenager. Shock is chiseled into every inch of the Ghost King's face. This was not going the way he expected it would. A thin trail of green blood oozes from his nose. Without the ring, he is severely weakened.

Danny looks at Pariah with defeated, pleading eyes, "This isn't what I wanted."

Pariah stares back, a morbid smile creeping onto his face, "You've made your choice. I can accept that. Can you? It might take 50 years, 100 years, hell maybe even 1000, but mark my words, you'll be no different than I am some day."

A minute of silence passes. Both men take in the moment that will end one life and corrupt another.

Danny takes a deep breath and creates a ghost shield around him and Pariah, obscuring them from the watching citizens of Amity Park.

"They don't need to see this," Danny whispers.

"Good luck, Phantom." Pariah says and closes his eyes, "I'll be waiting for you at the end of time."


From outside the ghostly bubble, the citizens of Amity Park hear a loud scream. The sonic waves are so penetrating and harsh that they have to cover their ears. Several citizens will experience bleeding ears, or temporary hearing loss. The physical pain, though, is nothing compared to the flood of emotion they feel in their hearts. The noise isn't just violent, it's deep and dense. It crawls into their veins, into the deepest, darkest crevices of their souls. Men, women, and children alike openly weep in the streets. They weep for the people they've lost. They weep for the lives and the innocence that they could have had. Most of all, they weep because they know, somehow they know, that something indescribable has occurred.

A soul has been erased from this plane of existence. A wound has been opened in the fabric of the universe, and it will take many years to heal. And though it is how it was always meant to be, nothing will be the same.


Author Notes:

I hope you all enjoyed! I have a couple of ideas, so if anyone is interested in me continuing this story, I'd be happy to keep going with it. I understand this chapter's a bit short, but *fingers crossed* they'll get longer. I that hope you enjoyed, and that I've grabbed your attention! :)

Feel free to let me know in the comments and let me know what you think! Thanks for reading! 3