Sam must've battled and captured four dozen ghosts all by herself. She would've passed out had it not been for her adrenaline. She felt so alive, yet, every time she stopped fighting to take a breath, she felt extremely exhausted and tired. She took out the snake-like creature that had trapped Dean and his brother Sam so they could help her. The Fenton parents went to the hospital due to Maddie's worsening condition. Tucker came back after successfully closing the portal and began fighting as well but they were out of room in their thermoses.
"Where's Danny?" He asked. Their movements were now mechanical as they fought the ghosts.
She checked her watch worriedly. A ghost dove at her and she sliced at its torso. Ecto-goo flung around them. She frowned. "I'm not sure. He and Jazz have been gone for a while now."
"Do you think they're okay?"
Sam shrugged. "I have no idea. But I guess all we can do is hope."
Maddie opened her eyes slowly. It took her eyes a while to adjust to the lighting of the hospital room but, as soon as they did, she gasped. "They're out there alone!" She tried to sit up, but Jack kept her down.
"You shouldn't be moving around too much right now…"
She put her left hand to her forehead and rubbed it. "Dammit Jack. Was it all just some terrible nightmare?"
He shook his head grimly. "The ghost army is still attacking, but Tucker went to close the portal that was letting the ghosts in last I saw."
She nodded. "And our kids are -?"
"In the Ghost Zone taking out 'the source' of the problem. Whatever that means."
She narrowed her eyes. "How would Danny be able to do something like that? And why is this all happening now when Danny's just arrived?"
"Coincidence I guess?"
"And Phantom just returned too… That son of a bitch."
Jack sighed heavily. "He's the least of our worries right now. Unless he's the one behind these attacks."
"I mean, it would make sense since he's just arrived back!"
"Wow, our Danny boy sure knows the right time to come back home!" Jack joked.
"Where has he been?" She frowned, remembering all that time they had wondered if they would even see him again. They felt so hurt, so scared, so depressed, so broken without him. She didn't want to press him with questions. She knew something was obviously wrong, but she realized that these things take time. But how much time does he need? He left us for a year! And he just waltzes back in almost as if nothing has even happened? Where was he all this time? One question rang in the back of both Maddie and Jack's minds, but didn't dare surface at the forefront of their thoughts: Why did our son come back at the same exact time as Phantom?
Maddie shivered. "I hope they're okay."
"Okay, so he has Clockwork. I thought things couldn't get worse but now they are way way worse," Danny paced the kitchen anxiously.
Jazz leaned against the counter. "Who's Clockwork?"
"Master of Time."
"So heeeee's a time traveler," Jazz guessed. Blueberry pop tarts jumped out of the toaster. She handed one to Danny and took one for herself.
"I mean, yes and no…It's more like he sees all the outcomes of the future, can manipulate the future. He's one of the most powerful ghosts in the Ghost Zone. The fact that he's being controlled… Jeez, I don't even know what to think."
Jazz put a hand on her chin. "So first priority should be to take him out of the trance. Because, if The Master can control him, he can control time."
"Yeah. The problem is, how do we do that? I'm half-ghost so this belt only weakens my ghost half. But I'm not sure what this could do to a complete ghost and we can't risk it with Clockwork."
"Is there some other device? Maybe we could call Mom and Dad."
Jazz called Dad's cell and he answered immediately. "JAZZ? DANNY?!" Though the phone was not on speaker, Danny's ears buzzed with sound. I guess that power wasn't weakened by the belt…He grimaced.
"Hey Dad!" Jazz said, then she put it on speaker unaware that Danny could already hear their dad loud and clear.
"Kids, oh thank God…your mom got hurt in battle and we are at the hospital. She's holding up okay, but she will have to stay a while longer."
"Mom's hurt?" Danny cursed under his breath.
"I'll be okay sweetie," Maddie assured them. "Are you in the Ghost Zone?"
"The Ghost Zone doesn't have service," Danny pointed out.
Maddie, of course, knew this…it had just slipped her mind. But how did her non-ghost-hunter son know this? "Oh right…Well, did you go there and what happened?"
He shifted uncomfortable.
Jazz spoke up. "Yes, um, the ghost behind all of this goes by the name The Master. He has the ability to control minds. He is controlling those ghosts, making them invade against their will…and he controlled Danny!"
"Danny? It can control humans too?"
"Um - Phantom. Danny Phantom," Jazz rephrased. "He didn't kill those people. He was being controlled…It was all a big misunderstanding."
The parents exchanged looks of disbelief. "Jazz, we saw the footage…" Jack started.
"He didn't do it. Not on his own accord. And he wouldn't. Think about it. Does it really make sense that he saves the world one day then the next he's suddenly a villain?"
"Well, he's a ghost. Ghosts are very unpredictable," Maddie countered.
As she turned to Danny to defend himself, he shook his head and mouthed it's fine. Jazz crossed her arms. "Well, whether you believe us or not, this ghost is very powerful, and we aren't sure how to go about taking him down. Clockwork, an important ghost with power of time is under his control!"
Maddie scratched her head and then put a thoughtful finger to her mouth. "If we are trying to block a ghost from controlling minds, the Fenton phones might work…"
"The Fenton phones! Duh!" Danny practically yelled as he face palmed himself. Jazz raised her brow.
Maddie and Jack looked equally confused though their expressions were not seen by their children. "You know that invention Danny boy?"
"Um…" Danny took a bite of his pop tart. "I gave them to Sam as a present one time."
"Oh!" Maddie exclaimed. "That's so sweet!" But a bit weird for someone who never uses any of our equipment let alone goes into the lab unless asked to…
"I saw them in the lab once and, um, thought they would look good on her," Danny half-lied. "That time when that ghost Ember attacked, Sam was the only one who remained totally unaffected."
No one recalled what he was talking about. As far as his parents were concerned, Danny had never really experienced ghosts. But for some reason, he seemed a lot more knowledgeable about ghosts than he had ever previously let on.
"Okay…um, I think we have some in the lab, on my desk. But Jazz, Danny, you need to be careful. This ghost sounds dangerous."
"We will! Thanks Mom and Dad! Bye!" Jazz said hanging up. She looked at Danny squarely. "Danny, you seriously need to tell them the truth."
"And then what? Make them think I'm a murderer?"
"They won't think -"
"They know Vlad is a halfa. If I told them I was like him, it wouldn't be long before they came to the conclusion that I was evil especially considering what I was staged to do…" Danny brushed a stray hair out of his face.
She sighed heavily, but replied. "I understand."
"You do?"
She shrugged. "To some extent. I get what you fear. And I can't blame you."
He smiled sadly, then he opened up his entire mind to his sister. "It's just that I feel like being Danny Fenton keeps me grounded, normal. My other side as Danny Phantom makes me a whole other person in their eyes. Someone who isn't trusted, who has killed people, who - " he closed his eyes, stinging with stress and new tears. "I can't face a world that hates me. That's why I left… Everyone knows me as Danny Fenton, true, I can distinguish between my two entities somewhat. But the largest part of my life was - and still is - being Phantom. It makes me who I am, makes, well, made me have a purpose in this utterly dull world. But once people stop believing in you, - the person you really are - it's hard, no, it's impossible to feel like you're making a difference. I wanted to be here with you, Mom, and Dad. God, I did. But I knew I was going nowhere as my human half, not with my guilt and all of my self-hatred. I was paralyzed. I went to the Ghost Zone to find myself again while also keeping ghosts from entering the human world so I could somewhat protect people without needing to show my face," Danny opened his eyes to see Jazz's eyes were filled with tears. She hugged him.
She pulled away after a while. "Danny, you are never going to be able to live with yourself with this hanging over your head. We will prove to the world that you are good again," she wiped a tear from one of his eyes. "I never knew how tormented you were and I'm so sorry that you've had to go through this," she frowned. "Don't worry. I believe you, and the whole world will to if it's the last thing I do."
Hope y'all are enjoying it! Reviews are appreciated and thanks for the support! JHave a good night!