The guardians watched the scene play out on the black veil of energy and jumped back in surprise as an explosion of black sand erupted around Danny and his eyes snapped open. Both his right green eye and left blue eye burning brightly. He sat up and blinked and shook his head. Before the guardians could say a word, Danny turned to Jamie and scrambled over to the boy.
"How long was I out?" He asked quickly. The guardians blinked in surprise as Danny checked Jamie's pulse and breathing. Danny glanced at them.
"Guys! How long?" Danny snapped loudly.
"Er… a few… few minutes," Jack stammered, still stunned from watching Danny's murder.
Danny nodded and placed both hands on to Jamie's shoulders.
"Jamie. Can you hear me? Jamie!" Danny prompted. He shook his head.
"What's wrong?" Tooth whispered.
"He's too scared to hear me. My voice isn't going to reach him. But I might be able to get him to listen," Danny answered.
"You said you're voice wasn't getting through," Jack reminded him. Danny turned to Jack and nodded.
"I know. This is a risk since I don't know if I can overshadow anymore since my interaction with living people is limited. But I might be able to get Jamie to hear me if I manage it," Danny explained. He stood up and made himself intangible.
"Wait, overshadow?" Jack began but Danny phased into Jamie's body before Jack could finish.
Danny appeared in a dark world. There was no light and no sound except from a little boy trembling in a dark cage. Danny walked carefully over to the little boy. He had brown hair and eyes and looked to be around four years old.
"Jamie," Danny called softly. The boy's head jerked upright and he whimpered.
"Hey, Jamie. I'm not going to hurt you. I look a bit weird but I'm here to help," Danny reassured him in a gentle voice. The little boy shrank away from Danny as he crouched down outside the cage. He touched the bars cautiously. His head exploded in terrified screams. Danny withdrew his hand. It was Pitch's handiwork. The cage would trap Jamie's inner child and smother it in fear. So much fear that Jamie wouldn't be able to feel anything. The terror would gradually eat at him and his heart would give out.
"Jamie, do you want out of this cage?" Danny asked softly. The boy watched Danny fearfully and nodded slowly. Danny smiled at him.
"Well, I'm going to help you. But I can't get you out without your help. Alright. So do what I say and we'll get you out of there," Danny informed him. The young Jamie bit his lip and nervously nodded.
"That's great Jamie. This cage is fear. And it's alright to feel afraid alright. But if you want out, you need to face it head on. Do you understand?" Danny began. Young Jamie shook his head. Danny frowned in thought. What could he say to help Jamie? He recalled the book Jamie had, the book on Danny Phantom. Perhaps Jamie's inner child would remember that person. Perhaps Jamie was a fan of Phantom.
"Jamie, do you remember any stories about Danny Phantom?" Danny asked. Young Jamie nodded.
"He was a hero," Young Jamie whispered. Danny smiled warmly and nodded encouragingly.
"That's right. He was. You know, I know a lot about him. Do you remember the story of Pariah Dark?" Danny encouraged. It was a good thing that Jamie's inner child was talking. It meant he trusted Danny. Jamie nodded.
"Well, did you know that Danny Phantom was frightened facing that ghost?" Danny revealed. Jamie's inner child shook his head, eyes wide in surprise.
"Well he was. He had to wear an experimental battle suit that was potentially lethal to anyone who wore it. Even Danny Phantom. He said his goodbyes before leaving the town. While fighting the ghost king, he was afraid that he wasn't going to win. He was losing power too quickly and Pariah Dark was strong. But you know what?" Danny recalled. Young Jamie listened carefully, his frightened trembling had stopped and he no longer shrank away from Danny.
"Even though Danny Phantom was scared. He knew what he had to do. He knew that he had to fight Pariah Dark or his town would be in danger. He wasn't fearless Jamie. He was brave. And that's what heroes are. So Jamie, are you ready to be a hero? Because I know you can face this fear. And I'm right here to help you," Danny concluded with a warm smile.
Young Jamie returned the smile nervously and nodded.
"Well done Jamie, you're doing great. Now I need you to put your hand on this bar. I'll do the same. You're going to hear a loud scream but don't let go. You have to tell the bar to leave. You have to force it to disappear. Can you do that?" Danny explained, relying on instinct to know what he had to do. Young Jamie bit his lip and edged forward and knelt in front of where Danny was crouching. Danny smiled encouragingly. Then Danny grabbed a hold of the bar and his head exploded with screaming again, but he tried to ignore the head splitting screech.
"Now you. The scream is very loud and frightening but I promise it can't hurt you," Danny warned. Young Jamie nodded and copied Danny. He whimpered and his other hand touched his head.
"Great job Jamie. Now, tell that cage to go away. Make it free you," Danny ordered and he focused on the task as well. He tried to pull the fear towards himself more than Jamie and gradually it seemed to work. The boy stopped whimpering in pain and Danny's head ache intensified.
"Leave me alone," Young Jamie began to chant under his breath.
"Keep going Jamie. You can do it," Danny encouraged. Suddenly the cage flickered and vanished and Danny and the inner child were left holding nothing. The place began to lighten and Young Jamie stood up happily and laughed. Danny smiled at the sound and unsteadily got to his feet.
"You'll be fine now Jamie. I have to go now. But you'll be fine. You did great," Danny informed the young boy. He glanced at Danny and grinned happily and nodded.
And Danny saved Jamie. Also, Danny is still learning how much he can and can't do. Such as overshadowing.
Let me know what you guys think so far.
Until the next chapter.