Pitch sneered at Danny.
"You still think you're a match for me. I thought I proved to you that the Spirit of Fear can't stand up against the boogieman. All you can do is whisper encouraging words to brats having panic attacks. I, on the other hand, can snuff out any light," Pitch gloated as a streetlight nearby shattered. Danny scowled at him.
"You still don't understand what I stand for Pitch," Danny growled. Pitch raised a confident eyebrow.
"Do enlighten me," Pitch sniggered. Danny took a daring step forward.
"I may be called the Spirit of Fear, but I don't protect that. The guardians protect wonder, dreams, fun and hope. Your fear can stop kids feeling that. I'm the bridge in between. I can reach any child if they let me. I can show kids how to conquer their fears. Do you know why?" Danny began. Pitch laughed.
"You truly do have a high opinion of yourself," he commented. Danny bared his teeth in anger and took another step forward.
"Pitch, I can undo everything you've done, and I think I figured out how. You reek of fear. I can change that," Danny warned. Pitch's confident smile wavered for a second. He shook his head.
"Nothing is stronger than fear," he retorted softly.
Danny smirked confidently.
"Well, that's where you're wrong. There is one thing that can always beat fear. And that's what I protect. I protect bravery," Danny replied calmly and stood in front of Pitch.
"The last time I was this close to you without hitting you was in Europe. Remember what I told you?" Danny recalled. Pitch licked his lips nervously, feeling the power and calm radiating from Danny and his own fear grow. Danny smiled.
"I told you, if you allowed one child to get hurt, I'd show you why the name Danny Phantom was feared throughout the Ghost Zone. You said you didn't need to bother with him. And you're right. You don't. You have to deal with me and right now I'm furious at you. You dare attack my hometown and friends and family. I did warn you," Danny informed him in an even, but furious tone. Before anyone could react Danny plunged his fist into Pitch's chest. Pitch's eyes widened in fear.
"Now you understand why you shouldn't have messed with me," Danny hissed as he vanished into Pitch.
Sam and Tucker stared in shocked as Pitch doubled over. They had never seen Danny so threatening before. They were also stunned to see Danny after four years of him being dead. Jamie glanced over his shoulder as he heard Tooth and Jack landed behind them. Tooth was supporting Jack as he leaned heavily on her and his staff. The nightmare creatures above dispersed and shattered.
"Jack! Are you alright?" Jamie called in concern. Jack smiled at him and Tooth helped him to walk over to the boy.
"Yeah, just over did it. Give me a few minutes and I'll be starting snowball fights in no time. Where's Danny?" Jack answered. Jamie turned to Pitch. Jack and Tooth gasped as they saw Pitch start to pulse with green and blue energy.
Meanwhile Danny had overshadowed Pitch. Both Pitch and Danny found themselves in a dark world. Pitch twisted around to see where he was and turned to Danny.
"What did you do to me?" he whispered fearfully. Danny folded his arms and looked around.
"I'm pretty new to this side of my altered overshadowing ability but I believe we are in your subconscious, specifically where your inner child is smothered by fear. Only done this twice before and that's been the case both times," Danny explained truthfully. Pitch glowered at him.
"My inner child, as you say, is not smothered by fear. I am fear!" Pitch growled. Danny raised an eyebrow. Pitch returned to looking around himself.
"Daddy?" a soft female voice called. Danny glanced up as he saw a young child, no older than six wander over to Pitch. The girl had long black hair and dark eyes which were a stark contrast to her pale skin and white dress. Pitch froze at the sight of the little girl.
"No! Stop this!" Pitch demanded. Danny shook his head.
"I'm not doing anything Pitch. This is your subconscious talking to you," Danny replied calmly, intrigued by the child. Then the shadows around them came alive and charged at the child.
"No! Don't hurt her!" Pitch pleaded. Danny stepped forward.
"Pitch, you have to face these fears. Tell them to leave you be," Danny explained. Pitch shook his head and cried out in fear and alarm as the shadows began to circle the child. Danny stood beside Pitch.
"Explain this to me Pitch. I can't help her if I don't understand," Danny requested, taking pity on the boogieman. Pitch shook his head and stared fearfully at the girl who had begun to cry and tremble in fear.
"Pitch!" Danny shouted. Pitch turned to Danny and glared at him.
"Help her," Pitch ordered. Danny raised an eyebrow at him.
"Tell me what's going on," Danny repeated. Pitch bit his lip and glanced at the little girl.
"She's my daughter. When I was human I was tricked into freeing creatures of fear. They corrupted me and I watched as my very presence around her terrified her. It was even harder than not being seen. I created the Dark Ages to show everyone how terrible the dark is," Pitch whispered.
"What happened to her?" Danny prompted, beginning to understand why Pitch was so cruel. Pitch's dark cruel eyes softened into sorrow and grief.
"I frightened her to death. I-I didn't mean to. I just wanted to be close to her. I-I got too close," Pitch recalled as he began to cry silently. Danny nodded slowly.
"So you want everyone to fear you for what you did?" Danny asked. Pitch shrugged and nodded.
The shadows edged closer to the frightened girl. Pitch made to step forward but stopped himself.
"I can't save her, can I? This isn't real… this is you!" Pitch growled and turned on Danny. Pitch attempted to punch Danny only to go through Danny as he turned himself intangible.
"I told you Pitch. I'm not doing this. This is your subconscious. You want to save her? Then you have to stand up to your fears, you must face yourself," Danny retorted. Pitch shook his head.
"I can't," Pitch bellowed in desperation. Danny glanced at Pitch and shook his head.
"Pitch, I know it's hard to face yourself," Danny began.
"How would you know that?!" Pitch demanded harshly. Danny unfolded his arms and acting on instinct used his ghost energy to create an illusion of his older, evil, alternate self.
"When I was fourteen, I learned what my future held Pitch. This was my future. This… monster. He is the fusion of my ghost half and Vlad Plasmius's ghost half. Created by grief and self-hatred. He killed my alternate human self and then went on a ten year rampage. He destroyed the Ghost Zone, hurt my enemies, and destroyed the human world. He attempted to kill my friends but I stopped him. I faced myself and it became my worst fear. What if everything I did didn't change my future? What if I only pushed my fate back and would eventually turn evil and become a monster? I was a very powerful ghost Pitch. If I had put my mind to it, I could have too easily destroyed Amity Park and killed everyone within. But I decided to face that fear and take responsibility for it. I vowed that I would never turn into that. Now I know it won't happen because I won't grow up Pitch. I'm dead and buried. Now you have to do the same thing," Danny explained. Pitch stared at the illusion.
Pitch turned back to his daughter and nodded.
"But I'm not strong enough to do this alone," Pitch whispered sadly.
"And that's why I'm here. If you accept my help and face this with me, I can help you," Danny replied with a warm smile and allowed his illusion to fade away. Pitch turned to Danny and smiled gratefully.
"But why help me? I tried to destroy your home. I tried to destroy the belief of thousands of children," Pitch pointed out. Danny shrugged.
"Like they always say, once a hero, always a hero. That and I was a terrible student, never could learn my lesson," Danny retorted with a smile. Pitch nodded with a small smile of his own. The girl screamed fearfully as another shadow lunged threateningly towards her without attacking her. Pitch took a deep breath and walked purposely to the little girl. Danny charged his hands with energy and fired it at the shadows. The moment Pitch reached his daughter, she held her arms up to him for him to hug her. Pitch faltered.
"Face your fear! You have to face your fear of touching your daughter Pitch!" Danny shouted as he shot down the growing shadows charging towards Pitch and his inner daughter.
This chapter took a bit of time to write because I needed to come up with a fear for the king of nightmares. I looked up Pitch's origin and so used that. Let me know what you guys think.
Anyway, until the next chapter.