Daylight streamed through the bars of the cage as Maddie shielded her eyes from the sun, glaring across at where Freakshow was sifting through a steamer trunk, various items falling to the ground around him.

The third day was rapidly coming to an end and the tension all the adults felt was rising at a steady rate. Jack had been pacing back and forth since they'd woken up and Jazz had kept closer to them then she had the entire two days before.

There had been no word, not even a sound about the kids. Maddie didn't care what happened to her, but why had there not been anything about Danny? Had something happened to him?

Freakshow had given them various updates over the past couple of days so she knew they were traveling and looking for the gems, but they were just teenagers, who knew what kind of trouble they might have run into?

A piece of her had wondered if they would make it back in time, but realistically she knew it wasn't possible. She'd seen Phantom do a lot of things, but at the end of the day they were a bunch of fourteen years old kids with no driver's license, no money and no guidance. If she was praying for a miracle, it was just that her son would be safe.

"Where is it?" Freakshow snapped, his voice carrying towards their prison as Jazz glanced up, her shoulder brushing against her mother's. "I swear, never let a ghost handle anything of importance." He muttered, slamming the lid of the trunk closed as he turned, regarding the Fenton's briefly before stalking towards his train car.

As he yanked the door open a quiet beeping echoed from beside the trunk, a red light pulsing beneath a strip of blue cloth. "Oh? What have we here?" He gasped, an over exaggerated motion following the villainous man as he pushed aside the cloth and held up a small device that flashed a bright scarlet.

"Oh, oh! Do you know what this means?" He grinned madly, moving close and holding the light towards the family. Jack stopped pacing and glared, hatred burning through him as Maddie frowned.

"Oh come now, nothing to say? Well, I'll tell you what this means. It means that your precious little brats have my gems, every single one of them!" He cackled, pocketing the device as he turned his back to them.

"Lydia!" He yelled as the ghost phased through the wall and hovered near him, the hood she wore covering her ghoulish features. "Go get them."

His thin lips twisted into a grotesque smile as a green mist began to cover the ghost, swirls of neon color surrounding her until she was gone from sight, leaving Freakshow standing triumphantly in the abandoned yard.

"What are you doing?" Jasmine's voice spoke out, Maddie's eyes darting to her daughter as the girl sat up, a red tint to her cheeks from the heat of the day.

"I'm retrieving what's mine, of course. You really think that ghost boy could make it back here in time? Please, I'm honestly surprised he managed to locate the gems at all. He's not exactly the brightest now is he?" He goaded, smiling wider at the slam of the bars that came from Jack as the large man snarled.

"You lay a finger on my son and I'll end you, Freak!"

"Because I haven't heard that one before. Tell me, do the museums know one of their Neanderthals got free?" He sneered, turning his back to them and clasping his hands behind his back. "Any moment now."

Maddie found herself leaning forwards, staring at the same place Lydia had vanished from as a green mist began to emerge from the ground. Holding her breath, the woman watched as ectoplasm bats began to swirl around, rising higher and higher into the air before they broke apart and the three teenagers collapsed to the ground in front of the cages.

"Danny!" Jazz screamed, flying forwards and grabbing ahold of the bars as all eyes rested on the kids. Lydia emerged from behind the trio, red eyes glowing beneath her hood as she moved behind Freakshow, the impish man practically singing with glee.

A groan echoed out from the group as one of the boy's heads lifted, pained green eyes attempting to focus on their surroundings as Maddie's breath caught on the way out.

How many times had she seen Phantom around town? How many times had she blatantly ignored the fact that he looked so young. And now there he was, right in front of her eyes, and it was like seeing him for the first time.

Snow white hair, glowing green eyes and a jumpsuit that she should have recognized months back. He was so different, but still so very much like her son.

The kids had begun to move, a few more pained sounds erupting from the teenagers as Danny sat up, a hand rising to his head as his eyes flickered over to the train cars, his gaze settling on his mother.

He looked terrible and it broke her heart to see. She was used to bags under the boy's eyes when he was up too late studying, or rather ghost hunting. She was even used to his moaning on mornings he felt he didn't need to get out of bed. But what she certainly wasn't used to seeing was the blood. And there was just so much of it.

Trailing down his head and staining his hair, tears in his suit that revealed more cuts and bruises that were tinted green with his ectoblood and a jagged cut along his cheek that left streaks smeared across his face. He looked as if he'd been hit by a truck and run over repeatedly.

Biting down on her lip to keep herself from crying, Maddie gave him a weak smile that seemed to perk him up a bit. Suddenly she was on the same boat as Jack. If she got her hands on Freakshow she would kill him on the spot for what he'd done to her family. To her son.

"Well well," Freakshow boomed, striding forwards and standing over the kids as each head lifted to stare at him. "Look what the bats dragged in, with my Reality Gems."

His grin was nothing short of malicious as Danny reached behind him, tugging out the Fenton Thermos from Tucker's backpack and holding it close. There was a moment of hesitation, his eyes flicking back to his parents before a hard look passed over his face and he was forcing himself to his feet.

"I don't think so!" He yelled, fist tightening around the thermos. Freakshow appeared bored by the show of defiance, barely flicking a finger as a neon wave rushed around the boy and pulled the thermos right out of his hand.

"Oh no." He murmured, eyes widening as he muttered under his breath and tightened his fists. Starting towards the Freak, Danny's arms were pulled tight against his sides as Lydia's tattoos attacked again, wrapping firmly around the teenagers and knocking the boy back to the ground as he struggled to free himself.

Tipping the thermos over and catching the glittering gems as they tumbled out into his hand, Freakshow cast a victorious smile at her son.

"The Gem of Life," He announced, sliding the red stone into its slot. "The Gem of Form," The yellow slid in next. "The Gem of Fantasy." The final gem fell into place and a weight settled in Maddie's stomach. "Put them with the power source, and thanks to you, I now know how to activate the gauntlet." Freakshow laughed, the gems brightening as he pressed them one at a time.

"Danny, stop him!" Sam yelled, struggling against her ghostly bindings as Danny grimaced, trying to get his arms loose.

"I can't break free!" He yelled, panic and fear weaving into his words as his feet dug into the ground.

Maddie pressed against the bars between her husband and daughter, all three watching as he fought for his freedom. The gauntlet had begun to glow, power rolling off the Freak in waves, but Maddie couldn't take her eyes off of Danny.

He wouldn't stop struggling, a pained expression on his face as he twisted and turned and kicked, trying everything he could to be rid of his bindings. Jerking to the side, green eyes fell on his parents and Maddie's hand grabbed ahold of Jack's.

Seeing him struggle was awful and seeing him in pain was worse, but the look in her son's eyes felt like someone was stabbing her through the chest. Because amidst the fear and the anger and the worry, the thing that outweighed them all was the guilt. Danny felt guilty because of what was happening.

She wanted to reach for him, to hug him close and tell him it wasn't his fault. None of this was on him, it never had been. His biggest responsibility in life was to go to school and get good grades. His biggest worry should have been girls and parties and homework.

But her son, her strong, selfless, heroic son, he had placed so much more on himself that never should have been there. He had carried the weight of the town, the weight of his secret, the weight of his parents on himself and carried it around every day. And even now, when he'd been run ragged and had been hunted and had fought to free them, he blamed himself for Freakshow winning.

A heavy gust of wind blew through the bars of their cage, Maddie wrapping an arm tight around Jasmine's shoulders as Freakshow's clothes changed, shifting from the cheap coat and silly hat he wore to a long red tailcoat and black top hat. A long staff appeared in his hand, a glowing blood red diamond seated on top as it glittered in the light.

"Thanks to you, I am now the ringmaster of all reality!" Freakshow cackled, his hand lifting and moving through the air as the sky above changed to an inky purple hue, a chill descending and wrapping tight around Maddie as her next breath fell out with a misty cloud of air.

Laughter that grew louder and more maniacal echoed around them as the Freak rose through the air, a pillar beneath his feet as he extended his arms out dramatically. Fireworks exploded in the sky behind him, bright bursts of color that gave off shrill shrieks popping left and right as he was lowered back to the ground.

"Neato, huh?" He boasted, his eyes flashing as they landed on Jasmine. The girl pushed herself closer to her parents, a hard look passing over her features as Maddie hugged her tightly. Why the Freak was looking at her like that she didn't know, but let him try coming near her daughter, just let him try.

"Let them go, Freakshow!" Danny's voice cut in, his tone commanding attention as he forced himself up onto his knees. "I brought you the gems, we had a deal!" His arms shifted as he fought against his ghostly restraints, a mixture of red and green blood sliding down his sleeve through a tear in the shoulder as Maddie clenched her teeth.

"The deal was 'bring me the gems if you want to see them alive again' and well, here they are, alive. For now." He laughed, leaning his face closer to the boy as he sneered at him. Danny's eyes flashed, glowing an ethereal hue as he tried to throw himself at the man only to be forced back to the ground by Lydia's powers.

Turning his back to the trio, the staff switched back and forth between Freakshow's hands, obviously getting great delight from the power he held as Danny's body trembled, rage building as Maddie spotted Sam murmuring something next to the boy.

All at once the glow in his eyes faded and his body sagged, his head turning until his gaze landed on his family. "I'm sorry." He mouthed before ducking his head in shame as Maddie sunk against Jack.

It was all real. They couldn't stop him, not anymore. Freakshow had won, Danny had been beaten and all of reality was about to be lost forever.

A/N

Danny literally needs a hug SO DAMN BAD ugh. Four chapters to go! I know this one was shorter, but we're about to get into the big fight and I wanted a final view from his family's side when they reappeared.

Hope you guys enjoyed, leave a comment or a review, I love hearing from you!