First off I just want to say, the people in Amity Park do not know that the skeletal ghosts are called wraiths, I have just continued to use the word from their perspective so that I don't have to keep skeletal ghosts, or ghost skeletons. Just so ya know.

ShinyMudkipGal: That pool thing sounds fantastic. And Maddie is slowly getting better. Slowly.

Princessbinas: Yeah. It won't be a power he uses often. I haven't mentioned it yet, but while fighting it will take up a lot of energy, so it's not really convenient to teleport all the time

Echgrl: It always is, isn't it? And I've been having a lot of ideas lately, too

HEB807: Thank you once again for pointing out my continuity error in the previous chapter, and for you skills in German!

Op Kazuma: You'll just have to wait and see

GirlFish: You may not have wished for it, but it happened! Mwahahaha! Vlad actually isn't mayor still, for lack of anyone else, I've used the old mayor again, and that Dan will stay tightly locked away

Mimi1012: Thanks for the enthusiastic review, and it wasn't late at all!

Nesy girl: My punishment is the emotional anguish Danny tells me you guys are feeling. And yay about the finals! I had my own exam last week that I just got a grade for

Sophia the daughter of Nyx: Thanks!

Katpet: So I haven't really explained it in the story, but the reason Danielle is mentally young is because of how long she has actually been around. I personally don't know too much about science, so I can't go into detail about the cloning process, but she obviously physically matured at a quick rate, to about that of a small 10-12 year old. While she physically matured, the mind can't be excelled in the same way. She has technically only been alive for around half a (hah, halfa) year in my story, so while her mental development is still excelled from the normal rate, it has not had a lot of time to develop, therefore she's mentally only about half her physical age. Although it probably won't come up often, or at all, her speech isn't totally perfect either, she has trouble with long words or articulate sentences as a young child would. Hope this answers your question, and if you have anymore, please ask! I have so much fun with them

So just in time to count as a daily update, hooray!

Enjoy!


The first thing Danny heard as the Speeder passed through the portal was the incessant buzzing in his ears. Danielle shifted in his arms, but wasn't woken by the buzzing. Danny assumed she wasn't powerful enough for the shield to affect her human form. What did wake her, and what the second thing Danny heard was the screaming. The Speeder was hovering a couple feet off the floor, and the people that had woken from the sound of the portal door opening were now faced with a very large, very heavy vehicle suspended in the air inches from their faces.

Suffice to say, they panicked.

When the screaming started Maddie yelped and the Speeder shot up a few more feet, bumping against the ceiling. Danny, having now spotted the crowd of people scrambling out from under the Speeder and towards the walls of the lab, breathed a sigh of relief that Maddie's reflexive move had not been to let the Speeder drop to the floor.

Danny threw open the door to the Speeder and jumped down, his knees barely bending to absorb the shock, into the empty space that had been made when everyone awoke.

"Excuse me, let me through please!" A voice called from the stairs, and people spilled down to make way for the source of the voice.

"Danny?"

"Jazz! What's going on?" Danny asked right away, marching swiftly across the open space.

"You're not dead?! I thought those wounds would have killed you. Did you guys get Sam? Is everyone else with you, and why is your shirt wet? Is that blood?!" Jazz cried, going into overprotective sister mode. Without even asked, she grabbed the hem of Danny's shirt and lifted.

"Hey!" Danny jumped back, swatting her hand away, and Jazz sighed with relief. His chest was properly bandaged, and he appeared to be energetic.

"Okay, to answer your questions. We got Sam, she's fine. Everyone is with me, and yes that is blood." Danny pressed a hand to his shoulder. The gouge he had made in his shoulder was mostly healed, the flesh visible through the hole stitched together. He hadn't changed his shirt at Dora's, ignoring the requests of the others while worrying over Amity.

"Now answer my question," Danny commanded.

Jazz waited a moment, going over Danny's response in her mind, and taking in the large number of people around them, before answering.

"The day after you guys disappeared, all these ghosts invaded Amity. A lot of people are either here, or at the school, but there's more that are trapped in their homes. They haven't actually attacked yet, and no one has been hurt, but they don't look friendly."

Danny scowled. "Show me."

Jazz nodded and turned, motioning for Danny to follow. He was about to, when Tucker's panicked voice reached his ears.

"Danny, something's wrong with Ember and Princess Dorathea." Danny, much as Jazz had earlier, immediately snapped into over protective sibling mode. He turned back to the Speeder, which had lowered a little, but still didn't have enough space to stand. With barely a thought for all the normal people watching, Danny jumped up, just a little higher than the average person would have been able to, and easily pulled himself into the Speeder.

Those who knew of Danny's reputation as a weakling watched with gaping mouths.

In the Speeder, Dora and Ember were huddled against each other, hands over their ears and whimpering slightly.

"It's because of the ghost shield. It was modified recently to not only repel ghosts, but attacks any ghosts encased inside of it. Mom, lower the Speeder a little more. Kwan, can you grab Ember?" Danny asked the jock. Kwan nodded and picked up the ghostly rock star, who grunted in place of complaining. Danny carried Dora, and jumped more carefully from the Speeder with the ghost in his arms. A few people gave shrieks of surprise at the sight of the two ghosts, and watched with wary eyes as the Fenton boy and Kwan Lee carried them over to the portal. Danny pressed his thumb against the genetic lock, motioned for Kwan to stay outside the portal, then jumped inside. He emerged without the princess in his arms and took the blue-haired ghost from Kwan, repeating the process. When Danny emerged the second time, the door closed behind him, and he immediately followed Jazz upstairs. The citizens of Amity Park shared glances, and moved back against the wall so that the Speeder could land.

Maddie carefully brought it down, and the Ghostketeers piled out, a sleepy Danielle wobbling after them and automatically reaching for Sam's hand. Without even thinking about it, Sam closed her slender fingers over Danielle's. No one missed the large number of bandages covering the Goth's arms and legs.

"So… does anyone know if my parents are here?" Sam asked. A few people shook their heads, and she sighed with relief.

"Good."

"Where'd Danny go?" Danielle yawned, rubbing her eyes.

"He went upstairs," Sam explained.

"Okay," Dani swayed on her feet and yawned again, leaning against Sam. "The buzzing is annoying."


Jazz had opted to remain inside Fenton Works while Danny stood just behind the ghost shield, staring down the wraiths on the other side. They had recognized him instantly and worked themselves into a frenzy, slashing at the shield. Their swords did nothing. Danny smiling and taunted them with a wave. He turned on his heels and started to walk around the house, out of sight of the windows. While most of the wraiths were on the street, there were a few hiding out in the alley behind the house. If they hadn't been able to fly, they would have been trapped between the ghost shield and the wall.

Danny was smirking at the wraith when he heard movement from his left and whipped around, fists raised in a guarded stance. He relaxed when he saw it was Dash and Paulina, but only slightly.

"Oh, hey… I've been meaning to talk to you guys," Danny said nervously. Dash looked a little angry, and Paulina looked contemplative. It was an unfamiliar expression on the Latina's face.

"Why are you lying, Fenturd?" Dash asked, crossing his arms.

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Lying about what?"

"There's no way that you're Phantom. Phantom is cool, and strong, and he's a hero. You're just a wimp and a nerd."

"So… you think I'm lying?"

"Yeah, Fentina."

Danny met Dash's glare, then burst out laughing. "Oh, man. You can't be serious? I mean, I knew you were dumb and all, but really? You saw me change, Dash. You and the other Ghostketeers. There wasn't any illusion, no magic, just me, turning into Phantom."

"But it's not possible," Dash scowled, his anger rising as Danny dared to laugh at him.

"Seriously? Have you completely forgotten everything that happened with Vlad?" Danny's eyes flashed red as he said the name. "He's a halfa, just like me. You didn't find it so hard to believe that Masters was Plasmius, but there's absolutely no way Fenton can be Phantom?"

"Mayor Masters was-"

"A halfa. Just like me, except he was evil. He had a portal accident a little bit like mine, although I'm pretty sure he's not as dead as I am," Danny rubbed his temple. The buzz of the ghost shield was getting to him.

"Then change again," Dash said stiffly.

"I would just love to, Dash. But in case you didn't hear me explain it, this current ghost shield, harms ghosts that are inside of it. I am currently inside of it. If I go ghost, I'll be worse off than Dora and Ember were," Danny laughed sarcastically.

"You're fine right now."

"That's because I'm in my human form, and not using any of my powers. The moment I change, or turn invisible, or try to float, and I'm down for the count."

"Then go outside and change!" Dash yelled, getting frustrated.

"I can't. Ghosts can't pass through ghost shields, and neither can powerful half ghosts. Danielle could, because she's weaker than me and her ghost energy isn't as prominent in human form. But me? The only thing that changes now is my appearance, I'm so far gone," Danny's voice was cold and emotionless, making Dash pause. But the blond jock soon recovered.

"How do I know that no one can pass through it?" Dash countered. Danny just stared at him for a moment, then Dash suddenly found himself being pulled forward by the collar of his shirt and shoved towards the shield. Only Danny's grip on the front of his shirt kept him from stumbling back. Dash was leaning out of the shield, head and shoulders exposed for the nearby wraith, which clicked its teeth happily and started approaching.

"Pull me in, pull me in!" Dash shrieked. Danny obeyed and the moment he let go of Dash's shirt, the bully shoved him back against the shield, expecting Danny to go through much the same as he had. When Danny didn't, and instead hit the shield with a sharp grunt, Dash's eyes widened.

"You weren't lying," Dash whispered.

"No, I wasn't lying. Dash, as much as you may hate it, I am Danny Phantom. The kid that you punch every day is the ghost you go home and cheer for while watching the news. Those posters in your locker and on your bedroom wall? They're of me. I'm the one you spent a whole day with, running away from Skulker. I'm the one you complained about wimpy Fenton too, then proceeded to tell me how cool I was. I'm the one that saves this town from ghosts every. Single Day. And I'm the one who's going to go out there, beat the wraiths, Technus, Skulker, Vlad, and Kraeva into ectoplasmic pulps while you guys stay safely behind the ghost shield."

Danny's chest was rising and falling rapidly, and his eyes were fading back from green to blue. He scolded himself silently for his emotional outburst and leaned against the shield wall, glaring at Dash.

I dare you to say something else, Danny's eyes challenged.

"So you are Danny Phantom?" Dash asked.

Danny didn't even reply, just tilted his head and gave him an "are you serious?" look.

"You're still a loser," Dash scoffed, looking away, and Danny actually smiled.

"Good, I wouldn't like it any other way. Being popular isn't really my thing, and it would make what I do a whole lot harder if both of me had to avoid people." He mussed up his hair with both hands, then shook his head so it fell just in front of his eyes. Danny pushed off the shield with one foot and tottered for a moment before falling forwards, before swinging his foot out into the grass. Dash stumbled back as Danny's feet literally slid along the grass, leaving growing green trail that faded a few seconds later. The halfa stopped with his arm thrown around the jocks shoulder in a very uncharacteristic manner, eyes flashing green.

"I'm also a loser with a big secret. One that, if too many people knew about, could result in me on an operation table undergoing extensive vivisection," Danny hissed into Dash's ear, who was shivering at the image. "So it would be appreciated if no one else found out."

Danny's eyes flicked over to Paulina, who had yet to say anything, while Dash nodded vigorously.

"Cool!" Danny grinned and stepped away from the jock, who went running back inside. "What about you, Paulina? Are you going to tell someone?"

"Hmm… no." Danny flinched involuntarily as Paulina stepped close, hands clasped behind her back and looking up at a stunned Danny. Her eyes roamed over his face, and she grinned. "You're secret's safe with me, ghost boy."

Paulina giggled, stepping backwards while still facing Danny, before spinning around and skipping inside. Danny blinked, blushing despite himself. He loved Sam, thought she was beautiful, but Paulina was still pretty, and a pretty girl, the queen of Casper High no less, using a flirtatious tone with him was not something the halfa was used to.

Danny waited a few moments after the A-list couple had gone before following. While he felt a little bad for scaring Dash like that, it had been necessary, and Danny had found it kind of fun. He chuckled, then realized exactly what he had just thought. It had been fun.

It shouldn't have been fun. Heroes don't find scaring people fun.

But he just did.


"They're called wraiths." Danny was leaning against the wall by the door, looking over his shoulder out the window. A few of the wraiths had seen him watching them, and were thrusting their swords into the air repeatedly. Danny stuck his tongue out at them, then faced the room. The sun was up now, and everyone was awake. The children were being entertained upstairs, and anyone that was interested in the topic had crowded into the living room. The Ghostketeers, Officer Jackson, Amber, and various adults and teenagers. Everyone was watching Danny, although many of them seemed skeptical as to why they were paying attention to the Fenton boy.

After Danny had returned inside, he told Jazz that he knew what was going on, but would wait until everyone was up before he started explaining, so he wouldn't have to do it multiple times. He had been surprised with how easily Jazz accepted this, as well as her request to speak with him afterwards. Although he wasn't sure if afterwards referred to his explanation, or this whole ordeal.

But for now he stood in front of an expectant, if wary, crowd, with Danielle sitting on the floor beside him. He had tried to get her to stay upstairs with everyone else, but the youngest halfa would have nothing of it. She refused to be separated from Danny if she didn't have to be. Danny had relented, and now his daughter was smiling contentedly while playing around with a lipstick blaster. A few parents looked ready to scold Danny for allowing her to use it, but he ignored their looks. Danielle could handle that small blaster better than they could handle a Creep Stick.

"From what I gather, they're working for a powerful ghost named Kraeva. Who Kraeva is exactly, I'm not sure, but I have people working on finding out," Danny started.

"Like who?" Someone asked.

"Friends. Ghost friends."

"Ghosts? But they're the ones attacking us in the first place!"

"They're also the ones you're expecting to save you, right? I don't care how much you may say you hate Danny Phantom, you all believe he's going to be the one to stop all this, right?" Danny met any challenging glares, taking his time, not blinking as he did so. It didn't take long for those people to shift their gazes to the floor or shuffle their feet in nervousness.

They never knew the Fenton boy could be so perceptive.

"Phantom is a good ghost." Danny was pleased to see most heads bobbing up and down, the Ghostketeers a little more enthusiastically than others.

"Damn right he is!" Jack cheered, drawing a few stunned stares. When Maddie nodded in agreement, their stun turned to outright shock. First the Red Huntress, now the Fentons. Phantom was slowly gaining everyone's favour.

"Right. Phantom is good, and he's not the only good ghost. There are many others, they just don't usually leave the Ghost Zone, preferring to stay in their own homes. The ones we do see just happen to usually have less than kind intentions. Some of you saw them before, Princess Dorathea and Ember McClain. They're good, and they're getting us the information we need."

"Why are we listening to a kid? You're barely fifteen, and your parents are the ghost hunters," Henry Sanchez said gruffly. He still didn't really like the Fentons, but they had brought his daughter back safe and sound.

"You're listening to our son, because he has been fighting ghosts for a year, and knows them better than anyone," Maddie sniffed and Danny grinned. For all his worries, it was great having his parents in on the secret.

A few people looked back and forth between the mother and son, not believing what they were hearing, until a certain Latina spoke up.

"Danny knows a lot about ghosts, and he has a lot of ghost friends that helped us while we were in the Ghost Zone. If it weren't for him, we probably would still be in there," Paulina smiled sweetly and, being the easily manipulated people they were, the Amity Park citizens ate it up. While Paulina may not have been the brightest, she certainly knew what to say so that things would go the way that she wanted.

Danny gave her a grateful smile before continuing. "There's a lot of ghosts out there, and a lot more citizens not under the protection of a shield, but there isn't enough room here, or at the school. So the first thing we need to do is expand the shield to cover several blocks, bring everyone together in the same area. As for the wraiths? The easiest way to take them down, would be to take down their leader. I've spoken to Phantom about it and-"

"Dude, even Phantom can't do that on his own," Tucker interrupted.

"Yeah, Danny. Even if he got anywhere close to Kraeva, the wraiths keep him too distracted. He needs help," Sam gave him a pointed look and Danny sighed.

"He doesn't want anyone getting hurt," Danny explained, sounding exasperated.

"But who says they'll get hurt?" Danielle asked, looking up from her spot on the floor. Danny crouched down, patting her raven hair.

"Dani, Phantom barely beat Pariah with the use of the ecto-skeleton. This army is much bigger, and he had the other ghosts helping him out back then. This time, those ghosts are on Kraeva's side, and some of his allies are gone too," Danny said.

"But he did have help," Danielle pointed out, and she grinned. "And no one will get hurt. You'll protect us."

"We can train those willing to fight, teach them how to use our anti-ecto weapons," Maddie offered. Jack had already run upstairs to the Ops Centre to work on expanding the shield.

"The GIW are coming, too," Jackson added.

"What?" Danny stilled, his body tense, and his eyes roamed over to Officer Jackson while his head stayed straight.

"I had the mayor call them after learning you were all stuck in the Ghost Zone," Jackson elaborated. No one seemed to notice the way the Ghostketeer's eyes were all drawn to Danny and Danielle, the youngest halfa instinctively clinging to Danny's leg at the mention of the government ghost hunting agency. She personally had never had the misfortune of meeting them, but Danny had warned her about them nonetheless.

"Right, good. They're help is more important than my safety," Danny nodded, then leaned down to Danielle. "Do not use your ghost powers, no matter what, unless I tell you to."

"Uh-huh," Danielle nodded obediently.

"Good. Are you guys sure you want to fight?" Danny asked the crowd.

"Of course we are!" Kwan called from the stairs. "We can protect the town, just like Phantom does!"

The teenagers cheered in agreement, the adults quickly following. Even the ones who hated Danny Phantom couldn't boo the idea of protecting themselves.

"Okay. Anyone interested in learning to fight, talk to any of the Ghostketeers," Danny ended the 'meeting' at that, and headed down to the lab, with Danielle, Tucker, and Sam following him.

"I'm going to go into the Ghost Zone and see if Dora has found anything yet. Ember is out gathering my allies, or who's left of them at least. I don't know how long we have before Kraeva will attack, but I doubt he'll stay hidden for long. This will be too much fun for him to miss." Danny paused before the portal doors.

"I won't actually be leaving the door, but I have Fenton Phones just in case." He pulled two pairs from his pocket, handing one to Sam while putting on his own. "I'll be right back."

His friends and daughter nodded, and Danny jumped into the swirling green haze. As soon as he had left the human realm, Danny sighed a breath of relief. Here, in the Ghost Zone, he was out of the ghost shields reach, and his head became blessedly silent. But his chest still hurt, it had hurt ever since he saw how hurt Sam had gotten, and hadn't lessened up since. Danny knew what it was from.

Failing his obsession.

Sam, one of the most important people in his life, had gotten hurt, and he hadn't been able to stop it. The stabbing pain had started immediately, and he knew it would probably never go away. Danny itched to distract himself, to feel some semblance over power over this, some control over how he felt. It wouldn't be the first time Danny had failed his obsession. There had been many days when he had gone without fulfilling his ghostly needs, but that had always been remedied the next time he flew into danger to save someone. Though he hadn't always been able to resist the same urge he was feeling now. The urge that was stronger than ever.

"No, stop it!" Danny shouted, punching the spot on his thigh that had been itching. He had made Ember a promise, had sworn on the people of Amity Park just as she had sworn on her name. A ghostly promise sworn through obsessions was one never to be broken, but Danny was very tempted to now.

And he might have, if Dora hadn't chosen that moment to arrive.

"Danny, you're here! I was worried I was late and might have missed you," Dora said when she approached, a large book in her hands.

"No, I've only been here a minute or two, and I would have waited. What did you find?"

"I went to Clockwork requesting his help, but he was not there. I know it may not be proper to do so, but a princess gets curious when standing in the abode of the master of time," Dora smiled cheekily. "And I did notice this book, not too far from the entrance, in fact."

Dora passed the heavy tome over to Danny, who read the title. Ekzilita Aĵoj, Esperanto for Exiled Ones.

"Frostbite mentioned the banished lands, the first time I spoke to him," Danny quickly flipped open the cover, pouring over the first page, hardly even needing to think as he translated the text from Esperanto to English. It told him about the land beyond the Ghost Zone, on the farthest edges, where ghosts that had committed heinous crimes were sent. The ancients that had sealed Pariah Dark, or the king of ghosts, were the only ones able to banish people, and it was said to be absolute. Once were banished, you never returned. Since the sealing of Pariah Dark, no ghost had been sentenced to banishment, since the ancients disappeared soon after, and there was no longer any ghost bearing the title as king. That's when the observant took over, and placed Walker as warden of the Ghost Zone.

Danny frowned. "How did Kraeva returned, if it's supposed to be absolute?"

"I am unaware, Danny," Dora spoke softly.

"That's okay, maybe I can find something in here, thanks Dora. I told the others I wouldn't be gone too long. Could you help Ember find any ghosts willing to fight, and gather them here? I'll be back as soon as I'm able to be," Danny closed the book and tucked it under his arm.

"Of course, brother. I hope to see you soon." Danny gave Dora a brief hug and watched her fly away for a moment before returning to the human realm, complaining quietly to himself when the buzzing filled his ears again.

"I'm going to the Ops Centre, to be somewhere quiet," Danny informed his friends. They nodded, and immediately followed. Danny settled on the floor in one of the corners, the book Dora found spread over his lap. Tucker fiddled with his PDA, showing Danielle his newest game, while Sam took out one of her newest poetry books. By the time the others were comfortable, Danny's eyes were already moving across the pages at an alarming rate, absorbing as much information as he could.


Kraeva had been the equivalent of the king of ghosts, before the title had been formally created and given the power it now held today. Just as the Fright Night was second in command to Pariah, Pariah had been second in command to Kraeva. The demon-like ghost had not been provided the same opportunity as Pariah in his search for power, the Ring of Rage and Crown of Fire not yet having been made. He had been a native to the Ghost Zone, one of few to take on a semi-human form.

Always a powerful ghost, he had grown intrigued by the things he heard of this 'human realm' where many other ghosts came from, and it became his obsession. Kraeva had subjugated the Ghost Zone on his journey to reach the human realm, but his efforts remained unfruitful, thus failing in satisfying his obsession. Kraeva descended into madness, consumed by his pain and hate, and he had destroyed much of the Ghost Zone, creating what would later become the banished lands. The ancients, who had been quite young at the time, worked together to create a barrier around the lands Kraeva had destroyed, that would remain strong as long as their (and later the king's) will remained strong. It had taken years to accomplish, but when the task had been complete, they had combined their powers and sent Kraeva away after a long and arduous battle.

Sensing the need for order in the Ghost Zone, the ancients established the king of ghosts, a blessing to be given to whomever they chose. They imbued their powers into the crown and ring to be worn by whoever they deemed worthy, which would often be the strongest ghost. The ghost they chose would receive a marking, often unbeknownst to them, that would give them power. Once they bore the ring and crown, that power would increase over ten fold.

Many centuries passed under the peaceful rules of various ghosts, but the ancients wrongly believed that Pariah Dark had changed his ways during his years out of servitude, and blessed him with their mark when he had been rising in power. It had been a mistake, and they had sealed him away in the Sarcophagus of Forever sleep in lieu of banishment, not wishing to send Pariah to the land where the ghost he once served was in fear of what they may do.

After the reign of Pariah Dark, the ancients retreated from the world, and a ghost bearing their mark, chosen for kingdom, had yet to be found.


Danny stared down at the last sentence on the page, his thumb running over the old ink. His hand slipped from the page and rose to rub the back of his neck, fingertips brushing the spot where, at the base of his head, if one were to look carefully past the hair that had grown out over the past year, the tail end of a dark mark could be seen against his pale flesh.


What? Danny has the mark? Of course he does, I mentioned Danny and kings earlier :P but trust me, what you're expecting to happen at the end of all this, will not happen. Seriously.

'See' you later!