Melinoe glowered at the ghost standing over her. In the time she had been asleep, Leto had tied her hands and feet together and then had arrived in Amity Park. The sky was stained with golden light and there was a chill in the breeze caressing her bare arms. She ignored the water cascading in the fountain nearby. She couldn't see anyone else in the park but herself and her ghostly captor. She wriggled her wrists experimentally, but the ropes held strong. She gritted her teeth and tried harder, wincing when the ropes scratched painfully at her skin. She didn't want to think about what Leto had told her about Danny, her father. It couldn't be possible, even though it did make sense. Danny had a big secret. He knew things that he refused to explain about. It explained why someone tried to hurt him and ended up killing Leto's son. It explained his ease in the Ghost Zone on the way to the orphanage. But there were massive gaps in that theory. How had Danny become half-ghost? Wouldn't his parents have cured his affliction? Wouldn't he have been able to find Leto before now? Her mind couldn't compute such an unbelievable thought, so she decided to ignore it and direct her energy into escaping Leto.
"I wouldn't bother dear. I weaved those ropes myself. I know how to weave and sew to withstand children," Leto remarked, not moving her gaze from the golden sky.
"Why are you so sure that killing me will make you feel better?" Melinoe ventured carefully. Leto tore her soft yellow eyes away from the sky to settle on Melinoe's scared but determined gaze.
"I will have my justice," Leto answered.
"But will you really? The hunter that caused everything is still out there. I wasn't even born when Kendis died. Why should I pay for it? This isn't justice. It's revenge," Melinoe reasoned. Leto frowned at her.
"Phantom deserves to feel my pain. My son was innocent as well dear. I do regret that a child ignorant of the evil of your father will be pulled into this, but it is necessary," Leto admitted.
"No, it isn't. You've just convinced yourself that it is. You can make the right choice. Turn away from the hate and move on. Forgive Phantom's part in Kendis's fate and try to make things better for ghost kids instead," Melinoe argued.
"What Phantom did was unforgivable," Leto growled.
"I dunno much about pain, but I've seen tons of movies on forgiveness and everything is forgivable. If you're the bigger person. The better person," Melinoe contradicted.
"Have you ever suffered a loss?" Leto challenged.
"Not exactly. But I've grown up without a dad because of you," Melinoe accused with a scowl. Leto blinked in surprise.
"You blame me for your father's choices?" Leto realised with a confused frown. Melinoe blinked before nodding slowly in confirmation. She hadn't realised but she did feel angry towards this ghost. If Leto had never threatened her life all those years ago, Danny and her mother wouldn't have been forced into making such a difficult and drastic decision. Danny would have stayed with Sam, probably married her. Melinoe would have grown up knowing her father and growing up with a complete family unit could have changed so much of her life.
"It's your fault my mom raised me alone. It's your fault I've always feared my father left because of me. It's your fault I thought I wasn't good enough for my father. You want to know pain? Every time I look in the mirror I've wondered if I look like my father or not. What he was like? Why he left? Why me and my mom weren't enough?" Melinoe confessed, her anguish built up over years of feeling rejected and abandoned by a faceless, nameless man swelling in her chest, choking her.
"That was his decision not mine," Leto retorted.
"A choice you forced on him! If you had never threatened my life my parents wouldn't have split up!" Melinoe shouted, tears leaking down her cheeks. Leto stared at the crying girl before turning away without another word.
"The past is in the past," Leto mumbled after a few silent minutes where Melinoe tried to regain control of her emotions. Melinoe clenched her fists tightly and ground her teeth.
"You're still focusing on something that happened sixteen years ago. Isn't that in the past?" Melinoe hissed. Leto scowled at the sky but didn't reply.
"She has a point," a voice called calmly and Melinoe and Leto looked up to see Sam and Tucker walking over to them.
"Where's Phantom?" Leto growled, flicking her eyes around the park for the missing adult.
"We figured that you wanted him here. I convinced him to let me handle this," Sam answered coolly, glancing worriedly at her daughter huddled on the ground with bound limbs. Melinoe frowned in confusion, scanning Tucker's neutral expression for any hints of what was going to happen.
"I will kill her whether he's here or not," Leto threatened, pulling her knife out of her stained apron.
"I don't think you will. You've been planning your revenge a long time. You'll want it to be perfect. You have the location, now you want the audience. Sorry to disappoint, Mel's father can't make it for your little show. You'll have to make do with her mom," Sam replied, stepping forward with a scowl aimed at the ghost.
Leto shuffled uncertainly before pulling Melinoe to her feet and brandished the knife threateningly. The ghost swept her yellow eyes, filled with worry and a slight panic, around the park again.
"He's not coming Leto," Sam repeated. Leto licked her lips.
"You have caused your own fair share of pain Leto. I understand that you are in pain but that gives you no right to hurt others. It's time that you move on and live on to honour Kendis's memory, not to sully it with murder," Sam continued, edging closer to the ghost, flashing her daughter a reassuring smile. Melinoe frowned. Unlike before when Leto held her at knife point, Sam was calm and collected. She wasn't begging Leto, but reasoning with the ghost. Melinoe was beginning to realise that her mother had a plan and she trusted her mother completely.
"Phantom murdered my son," Leto snarled.
"No, he didn't. He tried to help him. He tried to protect you both. But you were outnumbered and pinned down. It was an accident. He did what anyone else in his position would have done and dodged a weapon. It was just unfortunate that Kendis was behind him. It was a tragic accident that the knife caused your son to fade," Sam corrected with a hard edge to her voice.
"You weren't there," Leto reminded the woman.
"I wasn't. But Danny told me everything. Every single detail Leto, including his part in what happened. He miscalculated and made a mistake. That's all. He didn't mean for Kendis to get hurt. And he's regretted what happened ever since," Sam confirmed, pity and sympathy softening her stern gaze.
"My son deserves justice," Leto decided and lifted the knife again, having lowered it while Sam spoke.
"This isn't justice Leto. It's bloodlust. It's revenge. And it's not what Kendis would have wanted," Sam growled angrily.
"You never met my son. How can you possibly know what he would have wanted?" Leto challenged.
"Danny told me about Kendis. He seemed gentle. Kind. If a little naïve and too curious for his own good. He went back for Danny despite knowing the danger, or maybe even because he knew the danger Danny had placed himself in. That doesn't sound like the type of boy who would demand blood," Sam reasoned. Leto's hard gaze softened a little at the memory of her son.
"I know how easy it feels to blame someone else for when things go wrong Leto. For a long time, I'll admit, I blamed you for the pain I and my daughter have felt. We lost someone too because of your blood lust. I lost the love of my life. Mel lost her father. He may not be dead, but he has been absent from our lives. But you were a victim before we were. You lost your son. You've lost yourself to this quest for revenge. You're not Kendis' mother anymore, in any form. But you can be the ghost he knew again, if you try," Sam sympathised, stepping close enough to place a soothing hand on the ghost's hand holding the knife. Leto blinked at the calm, gentle hand on hers.
"Stop this now before any more innocent blood is spilt. Let my daughter go Leto. Go back to your orphanage and be the mother they need you to be. If you do this, you won't be ending the pain, only adding to it," Sam urged.
Leto blinked at the human in front of her before glancing at Melinoe and Tucker standing a respectful distance away.
"I don't think I can let this anger go," Leto whispered in a broken voice, startling Melinoe.
"You can. You have to. It's what Kendis would want. It won't be easy, but I promise you, it'll make you feel far better than this will. If you kill my daughter, you will forever have innocent blood on your hands. A child's blood on your hands. I can't stop you. We both know that. But I'm begging you, don't do this," Sam assured, taking a step back and flashing Melinoe another reassuring smile. Melinoe tensed nervously but she still trusted her mother. Leto chewed her lip and glanced between Sam, the knife and Melinoe. After one last glance around the park surrounding them, Leto took a deep unnecessary breath and dropped the knife. Sam's face lit up with relief as she grabbed the knife and tossed it to Tucker, who to Melinoe's stunned surprise caught the blade with ease.
"Now let Mel go," Sam coaxed. Leto hesitated before releasing Melinoe's shoulders and crumbled to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks. Sam frowned sympathetically at the ghost. She stepped forward and untied her daughter before gently pushing Melinoe towards Tucker, who held out a hand to her. Melinoe spared the sobbing ghost one last glance before rushing over to the man and let him push her behind himself protectively.
Sam knelt beside the ghost and placed a comforting hand on the ghost's shaking shoulder. Leto jumped in surprise but spun around and clung to Sam, crying into the human's shoulder loudly.
"It's okay. Let it out Leto. It's okay," Sam whispered, hushing the ghost soothingly. Melinoe watched the scene in complete bewilderment.
"Your mother realised that she could convince Leto to stop all this if she faced her alone as a mother," Tucker muttered to Melinoe in a voice the teen didn't recognise as her mother's best friend's. However, before she could question the man, Leto pulled away from Sam and clumsily got to her feet.
"I don't know what to do now. My whole afterlife was focused on Kendis. Now he's gone, I have no purpose," Leto mumbled miserably. Sam stood up and smiled, pulling the ghost into another embrace. She pulled away moments later and looked into the ghost's miserable yellow eyes.
"You already found your new purpose Leto. You protect the most vulnerable ghosts in the Ghost Zone. You find new families for ghost children with nowhere else to turn. Those kids are lucky to have such a great mom to look after them," Sam replied. Leto offered Sam a weak smile and nodded.
"Thank you. I… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have tried to take your daughter from you. I just… without Kendis, I didn't know what else to do. I thought that if I could make Phantom feel even a fraction of the pain I felt, it would ease my grief. But it hasn't, has it? It's only caused that pain to fester inside me," Leto remarked.
"Trust me. We have all felt a fraction of your pain. I understand how terrible these years have been for you. I'm glad you've chosen to move on. If you ever need help, don't be a stranger Leto. As long as you leave my daughter alone, me and Danny are your allies," Sam promised. Leto's soft, sad expression darkened a fraction and shook her head.
"No. I can never forgive Phantom for his part in Kendis' fading. But… I can move on. I can leave you and your daughter in peace. This will be the last you see of me," Leto decided. Sam frowned but nodded mutedly.
"If that's how you feel, we'll respect that decision. But just remember that if you or any of the children need our help, we're here. If you ever change your mind," Sam concluded and stepped back. Leto nodded stiffly before turning to leave.
"Tell the halfa… his children can live long lives, despite my son's being cut short," Leto added. Sam glanced at Tucker. Melinoe glanced at the man as well and was surprised to see regret in his bespectacled eyes.
"He'll get your message Leto," Sam mumbled. Leto gave one last curt nod and walked off into the park, flickering invisible a few steps later. Sam breathed a loud sigh of relief and turned back to Tucker and Melinoe. The woman rushed to Melinoe and grabbed the girl in a tight embrace.
"Are you okay Mel?" Sam asked, leaning back to cup the teen's face and gaze into Melinoe's eyes fearfully. Melinoe smiled and nodded, grabbing her mother in another heartfelt embrace.
"Let's get you two home," Tucker decided in his strange voice.
"Maybe you should get out first," Sam interjected.
"I don't want Leto to see we tricked her. We just calmed her down, I don't want to enrage her again," Tucker admitted with his strange voice.
"How did you get here?" Melinoe asked as they all started walking back to Sam and Melinoe's home. Sam wrapped her arm around Melinoe's shoulders.
"Tucker had the brilliant idea that we should ask the children in the orphanage to help us get here in time. And Danny remembered that Rosie wanted a new family. He knew two ghosts who would make wonderful parents and promised her to bring her to them if she found a ghost child who could make a portal for us. Then we came through and it didn't take long to get to you since Leto told Danny where to find her," Sam recounted, smiling at her daughter. Melinoe frowned in confusion.
"Where is Danny then?" Melinoe ventured.
"He's closer than you think honey," Sam muttered knowingly, a mischievous smirk on her lips. Melinoe frowned in confusion and opened her mouth to press further.
"Mel, we'll explain everything once we get you two home. I promise," Tucker assured. Melinoe scowled at his strange voice again.
"You sound funny Tucker," Melinoe remarked. Tucker cringed and refused to speak further as they walked through the park and to the Manson residence.
Once Melinoe unlocked the door, the only one with a key, Sam ushered them all inside and turned expectantly to Tucker in the hallway. Tucker glanced nervously at Melinoe before he glowed green and Melinoe gaped in shock as Danny Fenton stepped out of Tucker's body. Tucker stumbled back a step and Danny quickly steadied his friend.
"We're even," Tucker groaned. Danny rolled his eyes and Sam hummed doubtfully. Melinoe closed her mouth hastily, she opened it again and tried to make some kind of sound similar to words, but nothing came out. Sam put a gentle hand on Melinoe's shoulder and finally sound erupted from the teen's mouth.
"It's true," she gasped in disbelief.
"What's true?" Sam pressed.
"L-Leto told me my father was a halfa. Half ghost. I… I didn't believe her," Melinoe explained, her voice sounded far away, and she hardly believed the words she was speaking. Danny turned to her and rubbed the back of his neck. The man stepped a little closer to the teen before sighing a low breath.
"There's a lot you need to know Mel. And it's not gonna sound possible. But you can't tell anyone. If you don't believe a word I say, at least promise me that you won't repeat anything," Danny began and Melinoe suddenly recognised the voice Tucker had being speaking with in the park. He had had Danny's voice. Mutedly Melinoe nodded.
Sam pulled her daughter into the living room and Tucker and Danny trailed along behind them. Sam encouraged Melinoe to sit down on the couch and Tucker dropped onto the other one. Sam perched beside her daughter and Danny stood in front of everyone in the space behind the coffee table.
"I don't really know where to begin," Danny admitted, staring hopefully at Sam. Sam shook her head and shrugged at him.
"Start at the beginning dude," Tucker suggested, ignoring the bewildered scowl Danny shot at him. Danny took a deep breath and nodded.
"Do you remember my parents' lab? The Fenton Portal?" Danny asked. Melinoe nodded, confused why Danny mentioned the machine but listened intently.
"That's where this all started. It's where I became a halfa," Danny revealed.
"How?" Melinoe breathed, startled by her own question. Danny grimaced but nodded.
"When I was about your age, a little younger actually, my parents put the final touches to their life-long project. They had dedicated years into developing a machine with the ability to punch a hole between our world and the Ghost Zone. They believed it could validate all their work if they could prove this dimension, this ghost world existed. Turns out over the years, even their blueprints got mixed up. Details from older versions weren't put in the new blueprints and vice versa. Since they never actually completely stripped back their project and just added elements, they didn't realise that they had built an on switch into the machine. It got lost within the wiring and metal plating," Danny explained and paused to step around the coffee table and perch on the wood to be at eye level with the girl listening.
"When they tried to activate it, because they only plugged it in and didn't turn the machine on by the switch they lost track of, it didn't work. They decided to step away from their project before they went back and reworked it one more time. But in the time that they stepped away, we, your mother, Tucker and I, went to investigate. We were curious. I wanted to help my parents. Tucker wanted a closer look at some of the high-tech stuff. So, against my parents' rules, we went into the lab alone. We studied the blueprints. Fiddled with dials. Poked at wiring. Eventually, I walked into the machine to check out if a panel came loose or something inside," Danny resumed and paused, glancing at Sam, seemingly asking her permission which she gave in the form of a nod, wrapping an arm around Melinoe's shoulders. Melinoe frowned in confusion at the exchange but her attention was quickly reclaimed.
"I tripped over some wiring. It was dark and I felt something by my hand. Like an idiot, I poked my hand around against the wall and hit a button. Suddenly the entire machine started to hum to life. Light filled the other end and… electricity surged through the tunnel. It… was the worst pain I ever felt. I should have died," Danny continued carefully.
"But you didn't," Melinoe whispered, almost afraid to break the trance Danny had put her under with his words. Danny see-sawed his hand.
"Technically, I half died," Danny corrected.
"How's that possible?" Melinoe questioned, this time a little louder.
"Ectoplasm. It follows different rules. I was unbelievably lucky. If I had been anywhere else in the portal, I would have died or become a full ghost, which essentially is the same thing. As the portal ripped me apart at the molecular level, ectoplasm flushed the air around me and bonded to the only living thing there, me. As I was destroyed, ectoplasm bonded and rebuilt my body," Danny explained and Melinoe gasped in surprise when Danny's human hand was suddenly covered in chilled green flames.
"Ectoplasm by nature is fluid. It flows and changes. It can be blown apart and then pull itself back together again. With all the energy in the portal flying around me, it was pulled to me. It combined with my DNA and that gave it the blueprints so to speak of how to rebuild me. But it got a little muddled. I can look like this, or I can look like this," Danny resumed as he extinguished the flames in his hand and Melinoe squeaked in shock when a band of white light so pure it hurt to look at appeared around Danny's waist. It divided itself and swept across his body, changing his casual t-shirt and jeans into a skin-tight jumpsuit much like the ones Jack and Madeline Fenton wore. His body began to glow, and his blue eyes turned a bright neon green colour. His jet-black hair bleached to a shimmering white. Melinoe blinked at the ghost sitting in front of her. Danny Phantom.
"Like you said. I'm a halfa. Half a human. Half a ghost," Danny concluded and waited. Melinoe glanced at her mother and Tucker, both were watching her worriedly.
"Am… I a-?" Melinoe ventured.
"A halfa?" Danny finished and Melinoe nodded in confirmation.
"I'm not sure. I only found out today that you even inherited anything from my ghost side. Although, I guess it was pretty obvious looking back. No one in my or Sam's family has green eyes. You probably inherited your eye colour from my ghost half," Danny confessed.
"My eyes?" Melinoe echoed, putted a shaking hand to her face. Danny nodded.
"Turns out you do have some ghost energy. It… was how Leto found you in the first place. I didn't know. I suppose I hoped you wouldn't have ghost energy. Not that I'm upset you have it, just that it made it easier for ghosts to track you down and link you to me when all I could do to protect you was hide that I was your father," Danny explained.
"Ectoplasm scent," Melinoe recalled and Danny nodded in confirmation.
"Your energy has seeped into the walls of this house. It's a beacon to any ghost looking for ectoplasmic residues. It's not easy to pick up without the right technology or even the right know how from a ghost's perspective, but it led Leto right to this house and this house led to you. I'm sorry Mel. I shouldn't have hoped and assumed you couldn't inherit my ghost side. I should have come up with a way to hide your energy," Danny agreed with a sad shake of his head.
Melinoe chewed her lip before shaking her head, edging her hand out from her lap to touch the ghost sitting in front of her gingerly.
"You didn't know, and you did it to protect me. I understand. Thank you," Melinoe mumbled, lifting her green eyes to meet the regretful glowing ones in front of her.
"I didn't do much Mel. Your mother managed to talk down Leto, not me. I just made a mess of everything," Danny confessed.
"You promised to protect me. You promised to find my mom and bring her home. You did that," Melinoe retorted with a shrug. Danny smiled tenderly at the teen and Sam squeezed her shoulders. Melinoe turned to her mother and smiled at the woman.
"What happens now though?" Melinoe wondered. Danny frowned to himself and shrugged. Melinoe blinked and glanced at Tucker who was scowling in thought as well.
"Honestly, I had always envisioned that we pick up where we left off," Sam admitted, and they all turned to see Sam holding up a chain from around her neck. Danny's eyes widened in surprise when he saw the simple gold band with a small cubic zirconia jewel hanging from the delicate chain that hung far below Sam's collar.
"You kept it?" Danny gasped. Sam grinned.
"Technically, we're still engaged right," Sam replied. Danny's surprise morphed into a confused frown.
"We agreed to cut all ties. To protect Mel. You shouldn't be wearing that Sam," Danny scolded. Sam rolled her eyes and pulled the chain over her head.
"Even Mel never saw the ring. I was careful Danny. Besides, I wasn't gonna get rid of this when I still love you," Sam argued lightly and pulled the ring off the chain to give to Danny. The ghost blinked at the ring and shook his head, a smirk coming to his lips.
"For what it's worth, I haven't dated anyone since we went our separate ways," Danny confessed. Sam chuckled and shook her head.
"Since Mel was born, there hasn't been anyone else for me either. Despite my parents trying to set me up with untold suitors," Sam returned.
"Won't it raise some questions though if you two are suddenly engaged after sixteen years apart," Tucker interjected, avoiding Sam's glare. Danny sighed and nodded sadly.
"It will. We're gonna have to take it a little slower. Besides, Tucker's right, it has been a long time since we spent any real time together. We might have changed. We should wait for now," Danny agreed. Sam huffed sadly but nodded in agreement.
"I've waited sixteen years, I can wait longer," Sam decided before leaning forward and pecking the ghost on the lips, startling Melinoe who had never seen her mother so much as hug anyone but her daughter all her life.
"Meanwhile, Mel can get to know Danny," Tucker added with a grin at the teen. Melinoe blinked at the inventor before smiling uncertainly, knowing he was right. Without Leto keeping Danny away from Sam and Melinoe, the teen could finally get to know her father.
"We can start that tomorrow. I have to go back into the Ghost Zone to introduce Rosie to her new parents. I just hope they're together. Rusty can stay with my parents tonight and I'll bring him over tomorrow morning, first thing," Danny offered. Melinoe chewed her lip but gradually nodded her consent. She didn't like the idea of Rusty spending the night in another house, but it had been a long and stressful couple of days. She could sense that her mother needed some peace and quiet, not a boisterous dog jumping all over her in excitement.
"I should get back home too. Holly will be expecting me back so we can go out for dinner," Tucker admitted.
"If you don't mind helping me with Rosie, I'll take you back home," Danny suggested hopefully. Tucker laughed and shook his head adamantly.
"I'm not going back to your folks' place to get yelled at for missing our deadline with your mom. Sorry dude, you're on your own," Tucker retorted and got to his feet and left the house, calling back a hasty farewell. Danny scowled at the doorway.
"If you really want back-up, I can come," Sam volunteered.
"Nah, bad idea. My parents were so excited when I mentioned your name earlier. It's probably best I um tell them the news carefully that we're back together. They spent months trying to convince me to contact you when we split up," Danny replied before he drifted into the air.
"Wait! I have questions!" Melinoe exclaimed urgently, half-rising from her seat. Danny turned back to her with a tender smile. He drifted back down and placed a gentle, chilled hand to her cheek.
"I'll be back tomorrow. I promise. We can talk all you want then. I'm not going to disappear this time," Danny vowed before he drifted back up and phased through the ceiling and out of the house.
"Mom… he'll come back right?" Melinoe mumbled, startled by how small her voice was.
"One thing you should know about your father Mel, he takes his promises very seriously. He never ever breaks a promise. He'll be back tomorrow. And then we can be a family, just like we should be," Sam assured before she got to her feet, pressing a loving kiss to her daughter's head, before disappearing upstairs for a shower and to get changed. Melinoe glanced around the room before allowing herself a small smile. She didn't know what to expect to happen tomorrow, or even after that. But one thing was for certain, she had a father who cared for her. She breathed a deep sigh and leant back in her seat, flicking on the television with a contented smile.
And that is that.
There is a one-shot on the way wrapping things up for Rosie but that's the end of this story. Although there will be a sequel, at some point in the future (hopefully soon but that depends on how busy life gets) so there's plenty to keep your eyes open for.
Now that the story's over, please let me know what you guys thought, especially since I tried a few new things in this fanfic, such as the flashback chapters. I did find it difficult to stick to one point of view in this story as well, did it work for you guys?
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for all your reviews and for reading the full story. I hope you enjoyed reading the story as much I enjoyed writing it. Your reviews honestly make my day every time.
Well, I guess there's not much else to say except…
Until the next fanfic.