Edit: 6/5/18: Next wave of grammar fixes and wording tweaks or some scenes altered to avoid cliches. Took out AN question and answer sections.

Until next chapter, best wishes,

~NoSignal.

Enjoy!

zzz- normal separation

ooo- dream or vision separation (could be a past event of some kind)

Mental thoughts or distant speaking

"The law does not expect a man to be prepared to defend every act of his life which may be suddenly and without notice alleged against him." ~ John Marshall.

zzz

Ghost Zone? One of Clockwork's Timepieces/Viewing ports...

Vlad was getting more and more uneasy as he walked about the quiet plane. In all black and white, people walked silently through him on the street.

There were several things that Vlad started to think that could compare to the situation he was in, anything from surrealism to some kind of story archetype similar to the classic A Christmas Carol.

"I better not be visited by ghostly guides," Vlad ground out, thinking this couldn't get any more pointless.

But lo, time passed… or at least it seemed to and absolutely nothing different happened. Life went on around him. It was truly as if Vlad was simply not part of the earth anymore.

Vlad sighed and because he'd noticed that he somehow had access to his powers in here, minus the pain, he willed a bit of ectoplasm into being so it could function as a hair tie. He was quite frankly getting tired of his hair in his face and brushing against his chin.

With that out of the way, the half-ghost relented and began to explore. It seemed like ages before he finally found something of interest. Daniel and his little friends where walking in the park. It could've have been too long ago, though the lack of the Gray girl was a possible indicator of time placement… at least to some degree.

Vlad walked closer to the talking teens and like magic, a barrier seemed to be breached, because he could now hear what they were saying.

ooo

"Something's wrong though… It's just something I've started to think about."

"Danny, he's dug his grave. Besides it's not like he'd ever change," Sam replied, placing her hands on her hips.

"I kinda have to side with Sam on this one, man. Vlad's gone into the millionaire bad guy territory. I don't think he can come out of that," Tucker continued.

Danny only sighed and looked away. "But what if some of it wasn't his fault? I mean I know I hate him sometimes. Sometimes I hate him more than anything I can even think of, but…"

Sam frowned and walked closer to place a hand on Danny's shoulder. "Danny, I know we can't really understand what it's like… being what you are. If I had to guess, you're probably sympathizing with him because other than Danielle, he's the only person in the world like you and even Danielle is different in a lot of ways. She never knew what it was like to be fully human."

Danny looked at her and Tucker's worried faces. Danny sighed and rubbed his hair harshly. "It's just such a waste and sometimes I think things could be different. Just little moments, you know? And then it's gone. Maybe his obsession is too strong for him."

"He seems articulate and mostly there to me, dude," Tucker answered. "I mean usually when a ghost starts to turn too heavily towards its obsession, they become more animalistic from what Frostbite taught us."

Danny frowned at his friends in thought. "But, that's full ghosts… maybe it's a bit different for half-ghosts."

"What do you mean, Danny?" Sam asked in confusion and slight worry for how her friend was thinking.

"I mean…" Danny took a deep breath. "Clockwork showed me a few other snippets of the future that came to be through… him. In one, I saw what happened to me after everyone was killed. My ghost half started to fade without all of my obsession present for me, but my body remained. I think even if my ghost half had faded away, then my human half would've lived… if only for a couple more days. My body was mostly just waiting to die since I had no purpose or drive to live anymore." Danny noticed how uncomfortable Sam and Tucker were getting with the topic and tried to get to his point. "The point is, maybe a halfa's obsession just skews their personality to some degree. Frostbite said that ghosts gain a personality that is only a more exaggerated form of what they were in life, whether kind, lonely, angry, etcetera. We've been thinking that maybe splitting the ghost from the human alters a halfa's personality in some way… maybe an obsession actually works as something of a balance, tilting the personality in one way sometimes. You guys have seen me when I've gone a few days without sleep and try to save every kitten in a tree. A few times… I've even gotten a bit violent." Danny paused giving his friends a darker look. "And we all know what happened to me when I lost my obsession and drive completely…"

"That's all great and fine," Sam finally replied. "But what does any of it have to do with Vlad?"

Danny frowned. "You aren't forgetting he's human too, are you?"

Tucker seemed to think a moment. "You think he's been slowly changing since the get go."

"Even before we knew him. I mean he's had his powers for twenty years," Danny answered back. "The only difference between him and me is that I have somebody there for me. You, Sam, Jazz, even most likely my parents if I told them the truth. Vlad has had no one to help manage his obsession."

Sam grabbed Danny's wrist firmly. "Danny there are a lot of things different between you and Vlad. Just because you were both human and are now both half-ghosts, doesn't mean you're the same. Humans are different from each other. You are different from Vlad…" Sam glanced at the ground. "Though… I will agree that you might have a point."

Danny nodded his head. "I not saying we need to go to his doorstep with a gift basket. I'm just saying… what's been on my mind."

"Why now though? You're getting better with your powers all the time and can even manage school, sleeping, eating, and everything else with your two lives better than before. You don't need a teacher or mentor really. Even if you did you've got like three awesome allies that vary in specialties and Father Time as a guardian. What do you need Vlad for?" Tucker asked.

Danny blinked and went to answer, only for the sound of their voices to fade…

ooo

Vlad gasped in annoyance as the sound faded and so did the three teens' visages. A sense of self-importance and validation had surged through the elder halfa during the snippet and yet so had a feeling of confusion and… something else… loss perhaps? It was frustrating how he could hardly decipher his own emotions anymore.

After several moments of standing there, internally hoping that the phantoms would return, Vlad left and started exploring this strange grayscale world more. He had decided to make his way towards FentonWorks, fairly certain he'd find something for him there as well, when he'd stumbled across sound coming from an alleyway. Curious he floated that direction and started to realize it was crying and sniffling.

ooo

Danielle in her human form sat on the dirty street trying to dry her eyes. For the longest time, Vlad simply watched her crying, rocking herself and hearing the growling of the child's stomach. She never really spoke.

Alone…

A part of why he'd sought to have Daniel as his son was to prevent him from having to live through the loneliness he himself had endured. What irony, what cruelty of fate…

And when Daniel had refused to join him, he had created her in an attempt for he himself to no longer feel alone, and in the process another hybrid suffered… alone.

Vlad took a couple steps back in a mix of discomfort and denial. Of course, the child didn't notice his action, but she did speak some.

"He called me daughter… I don't understand."

ooo

Vlad left at a brisk pace, though her mumblings and sniffles seemed to travel with him until finally the sounds faded. Looking up, after making his escape, he found himself in front of FentonWorks.

After a moment, he walked through the door and immediately he saw Jack and Maddie in the living room. Jack was packing a few clothes in a suitcase, filling the rest of it with ghost hunting equipment. Maddie was cleaning a few dishes and making sure a few things were closed up and tidy before they left…

ooo

"I can't wait for the kids to meet Vladdy," Jack smiled broadly as sound came from the scene.

"It has been quite a while hasn't it?" Maddie asked, pausing as she put down a dish. "You really think he's okay?"

Jack stopped and looked over his shoulder with a frown. "What do you mean? He looked great when we saw him at our wedding and he's a billionaire Mads!"

Maddie nodded. "I just think about the accident sometimes and wonder. The doctors seemed so sure…"

"Maybe they were, but Vladdy proved them wrong!" Jack bellowed happily. "I knew they were wrong! Vlad wouldn't give up like that. He could always come up with another solution to something!"

Maddie laughed a bit at Jack's excitement. "I guess you're right. Vlad was creative to say the least, a little withdrawn too, but he must've done something right to get to where he is now. I'm proud of him." She turned to look over an ecto-powered microwave. She double checked it was unplugged and deactivated. "I bet the kids will like him. I know they can get a little over whelmed by our…"

"Passion, Mads. I call it, passion." Jack grinned a big white and happy smile before going back to packing, trying to jam another Fenton foamer in the small suitcase.

"Right. Jazz will probably appreciate his calmness," Maddie finished and walked towards the steps. "I'm going to tell the kids to hurry. Make sure all those weapons have their safety turned on before you finish packing them, Jack."

Jack glanced at the guns that were jammed in his bag and saw almost every one of them had the red marker showing that the safety wasn't on. "Aw man." He pulled one out only for a wave of weapons to crush him.

Vlad stood numb as the visage started to fade and Jack's shout of, "I'm okay!" was the last thing he heard from the scene.

ooo

Vlad grit his teeth in anger. "If you were so worried Madeline… why didn't you come back?"

In a flush of anger, he had to remind himself that he hated Jack Fenton and everything this family had done to him big and small. He pushed away all the nice words and pleasantness of the talk he'd heard. He didn't want to hear all that. Blast it! He didn't want to hear it! They didn't mean what they said!

ooo

The world around him blurred a bit and suddenly the street and everything was dead. Not only did silence continue to reign, but now no one walked the streets. The only thing he could see were two people down the road. After finally getting his legs to move forward, he marched slowly and then picked up the pace when he noticed who was there. It was Daniel and Maddie.

He paused when he saw the street colored with bright green and crimson, almost like spilled paint on a canvas. For a moment, Vlad had to remind himself that color was a thing. Carefully and almost fearfully he walked forward, looking over Maddie's shoulder.

She was holding Danny, a human Danny with several terrible injuries. Most of them looked as if they had tried to and would've healed, but the last was a perfect blow, right to the core. To shoot a ghost in the core wasn't quite as easy as it was for one to shoot a human in the heart, because the core wasn't quite as solid as one would think and could move slightly on its own accord; however, the feat had been accomplished here as a sickeningly beautiful light blue liquid glittered around the edge of the wound and didn't mix with Daniel's red blood. His unseeing eyes where half lidded as if he'd tried to take a nap but never got there.

Only Maddie's sobs entered his ears as she held her son close to her heart. Her hair and clothes were frazzled and stained with the same bright colors as that ground.

What had caused this? Was this real? Had this happened? Could it still happen? Who was responsible?

Of course, none of these questions were answered as other quick scenes were shown before him. Jack sitting in his home, head in his hands and completely silent, Jasmine sitting on her bed gripping some sort of scrapbook that Vlad couldn't see, Samantha sitting in a uniform at an unfamiliar school, Foley talking to no one as he walked through Casper's halls…

Vlad felt his hands trembling, being overwhelmed by all the strange things he was being exposed to.

The world blurred again.

ooo

"Uncle Vlad, I need some time from home. Danny's been irritable recently and getting mad at me for no reason!"

Jazz stood before his mansion talking to a phantom of himself. He watched as this other Vlad answered the girl.

"I see. Come on then, tell me when he's been acting out…"

"Every time I try to help him catch a ghost that causing too much trouble. I mean I am just learning about how to use some of the equipment and how to fight certain ghosts. Sometimes he makes me mad enough to tell our parents-"

"Now Jasmine, I thought we agreed that we would wait a while longer before telling your parents about Daniel and me…"

"Are you sure that's the best idea?"

"I'm simply concerned about the series of events that telling them could set off… back to your brother though-" The phantom Vlad hummed slightly in thought. "You have to understand that if you're interfering too often with his ability to pursue his obsession, he will get irritable, tired and even ill."

Jazz lowered her gaze to the ground. "I didn't… I didn't even think about that. I mean I've been trying to help, but I keep accidentally catching Danny or messing things up."

"Of course, you didn't think of it, else you wouldn't be here," Vlad retorted.

Jazz looked up at him and gave him a look.

Vlad rose a brow in barely hidden smug amusement. "Is that not the truth?"

Jazz grumbled in frustration.

And again.

ooo

"Ack!" The younger Daniel, appearing about fifteen, tumbled backwards from a blast of energy to his chest.

"You still need to work on your stamina. It's a bit pitiful really."

The youngest Fenton sighed in exhaustion and irritation as the rings of light formed around his waist and forcibly changed him human. He growled. "I don't need any more stamina! The ghosts that show up aren't as strong as me anymore. I need to master more skills like duplication or those eye beam thingies you can use."

Vlad leered at the boy. "Stamina is the basis of everything else. You will not be able to maintain these powers you so desperately want to understand and master. The ability to duplicate will be useless if your body should give out mid combat, hm?"

Daniel opened his mouth and then closed it when he realized he didn't have a comeback.

Vlad glared at him a moment longer before letting out a large exhale. "I'm only wanting to make sure you're properly prepared little badger."

Danny huffed. "Whatever." He glanced up at the clock and balked slightly. "Dang it! I've got to get home in five minutes! Mom's going to kill me!"

"Very well then. Be careful passing Walker's Territory and do well at school," Vlad commented.

Danny transformed and walked over towards Vlad's portal. "I'd like to do that, but I like to think saving people is more important than school work."

"Perhaps, but you must realize that ghosts will be ghosts and you don't need to hinder every single one that comes out of your father's portal," Vlad replied.

Danny frowned.

"A difference of opinion then…" Vlad continued. "Shoo."

Danny couldn't hide a tiny smile before he dove into the swirling green expanse. Vlad was surprised to see his own visage smirk in contentment.

ooo

Blackness surrounded him and all he heard were voices…

"How could you hold the world hostage like that Vladdy? And after all the good fortune you've had in your life."

"GOOD FORTUNE? You infect me with ghost DNA, then steal the love of my life, and you call that good fortune?"

"I infected you? You mean…"

"YES, FOOL! It was your bumbling that made me what I am today. But, I suppose I should saying "thank you", for without you, I wouldn't be moments away from becoming ruler of the Earth."

"I never meant to hurt you, what happened was an accident. Wh... I'm your friend Vladdy, I've always been your friend, I even voted for you."

"I'll remember that when I steal Maddie from you and make her my queen."

"Jack, you have to help me. You wouldn't turn you back on an old friend, would you?"

"An old friend, no. You, YES!"

"Jack!"

And then silence…

ooo

It was black and silent. Vlad floated in the quiet for a while, trying to process everything he'd seen. Which were memories, which were of other futures and outcomes? He didn't know really what was real and what wasn't.

Terrible fates, lonely fates, fortuitous fates and maybe current feelings?

Vlad growled letting red light fill his eyes. He glared upwards. "I don't know what you're trying to show me or prove, Time Master. Is this supposed to make me change my ways? Am I honestly supposed to forget the pain of betrayal and let go of everything I've built the later years of my life off of!?" Vlad swiped an arm through the air angrily. "Death is natural no matter how sad!"

The visage of Danny dying in his mother's arms flickered in his mind and was replaced by an old Russian woman who also faded.

"If I should end up abandoned by Jack and the others, why should I care!? They did the abandoning, first!"

The voices of from that unknown event between him and Jack were crushed in his mind.

"Those images of happiness with Jasmine and Daniel, they can't come to be because I would merely be ignoring my own feelings! They left ME! THEY ABANDONED ME!"

His voice didn't even echo as the man stood there trying to compose himself. Without another spoken word, an image started to fade into view…

ooo

"Jack!? Jack, oh God, has he gone unconscious?" Maddie asked worriedly as an ambulance pulled up.

Jack was partially cradling Vlad in his arms. The boils on his face were beginning to leak and his hair was very slowly turning more and more white. Before long, Vlad was being pulled up onto a gurney and being taken away. Maddie had offered to ride in the ambulance since Jack wasn't able to fit, so the paramedics had claimed.

Maddie was watching as the medics gave Vlad fluids and started checking his vitals. The college student was moaning, in what appeared to be pain. She grimaced in sympathy as Vlad's hands clenched and unclenched.

"It'll be okay, Vlad. I'm right here."

Vlad watched the scene in a mixture of horror and disbelief. At Maddie's words, his core hummed in his chest.

"I'm right here for you, Vlad."

Burning pain in his chest. It was growing with every word she spoke.

"You need to back-up a bit, miss!" A medic said hurriedly, when monitors started to beep ominously.

"He's going into shock!"

Maddie panicked when they brought out the paddles, ready to introduce electricity to Vlad's body. "Don't die Vlad!"

Vlad watched as his own body convulsed from the shocks the paddles gave.

"Don't die!"

Slowly everything started to fade away, starting with sight, then smell, and last of all was hearing. It was like living through a second death.

"I'm sorry…"

The next thing Vlad was able to see clearly was a doctor, talking to red-eyed Jack and Maddie. They'd been crying it seemed.

"We managed to stabilize him and even his brain activity is normal. It's some type of coma, but for whatever reason it's not following any of the general rules coma cases follow. He only needs to be fed, watered, and helped with waste. To be frank with you both, we're all a bit stumped at this point…"

Vlad looked up to see things begin speeding up and the pages of a calendar on the other side of the room started tearing off at a decent clip. Like watching a movie in fast forward, Jack and Maddie came and went almost every day. Months passed.

"We're fairly certain his state isn't going to improve. At this point we're practically waiting for him to deteriorate enough to where we can legally have the plug pulled."

"But what if that's not what he wants?"

"Unfortunately, Mr. Fenton, we have no record anywhere of what his preference in a coma situation is and he has no remaining family to try and take claim over his treatment, seeing as the both of you don't count." The nurse saw the broken hearted looks on the two friends' faces. "We will call you if his state changes for the better or the worse."

Jack and Maddie left the hospital hand in hand, trying to comfort each other…

Everything blurred again and only voices remained.

"He recovered?!"

"They never called us."

"They said he left suddenly and they never got around to it…"

"Vladdy did it! He beat the odds and he became a rich man all in one fell swoop, what a guy!"

"Yeah… I wonder how he is mentally, after being unconscious for so long."

"You know what this means, Mads!?"

"Hm?"

"We can invite him to our wedding!"

A final snippet of a scene faded into view.

Vlad, almost as he appeared now with neat gray hair and an aristocratic appearance, walked up to Jack as the man prepared his own tux with a little trouble. Vlad was holding a glass of wine and giving Jack a slightly irritated but controlled look.

"I must say, congratulations, Jack."

"Thanks, Vladdy!" Jack bellowed happily. "I think I'm the happiest man on earth right now! I'm marrying a wonderful woman and my best friend is right here with me!"

Jack missed Vlad's grip on the glass getting tighter and one could see Vlad trying to give something of a half-smile. "That's beautiful, honestly."

Jack looked over himself in the mirror one last time before he turned to pass Vlad and walk out of the dressing room. "By the way, V-man… nice hair! It suits you!"

Jack disappeared around the corner before the glass of wine shattered under the strength of Vlad's grip. Red eyes burned back at him through the mirror's image. It was all just a joke to that fat oaf.

ooo

For the longest time, Vlad sat with an emptiness in his chest.

"They… hadn't known?"

That was the simple answer to such a complex subject, to all the hate and justification, the loneliness and bitterness? Had he really been lying to himself about how things were?

It was a web of misunderstandings…

They hadn't known...

Misunderstandings...

They hadn't truly forgotten...

Hadn't known…

They did still care?

The silence slowly ate away at him and he was certain he knew what Purgatory felt like. Then he let out a scream that couldn't be attributed to any one emotion.

zzz

Washington D.C. Courtroom. Three days Later. 7:03 AM.

The courtroom was packed. The clicking of specter deflector belts was starting to get on Sam's last nerves. Of course, it made sense and was only a simple safety precaution, but did everyone have to click them all at separate times?

The Fentons were to her left, with Jazz sitting next to her and Tucker was on her right, followed by Valerie, Star and her parents, Dash, Paulina and her father, and Kwan. Others had wanted to come and since most were eighteen, they didn't have to have their parents legal say so to take a plane to D.C. and Sam had been willing to pay for tickets, but Sam had drawn the line at some point. A mob wasn't what they needed. Star's parents had come for their daughter and son, while Dash, Kwan, and Paulina had come against their parents' wills; Paulina's father had only come, when he'd realized he couldn't stop her.

Of course, Ash and Jace had wanted to come too, but they were not old enough to strike out on their own; even when Jace and Tucker had thought of doing a combination of hacking and manipulation, via Tucker' gadgets and Jace's genius siblings, Sam had told them that they needed to stick to the books. This was the one time she didn't want to rebel. They couldn't risk acting suspicious. She saw Tucker shift nervously; he was keeping the thermos right next to him. She then glanced back to see her parents, Ida, Tucker's parents and Valerie's dad in the row behind.

Her wandering mind was halted by the sound of the large oak doors opening. The few reporters that had been allowed access to record the events of the trial for the nation and in turn the world, started snapping pictures and filming as Danny and Danielle were led in.

It was kind of of uncomfortable to everyone, except the most heartless of spectators. Both hybrids, in human form currently, had the ghost proof shackles on their wrists as well as a strange collar around their throats. If Sam had to guess, the collars were a secondary measure if the two should try to escape without their powers, nothing a good shock wouldn't stop; it made her ill.

Danny glanced over a moment before Danielle did and gave everyone a half-smile. He must be happy to even see their faces again. A couple of men in black suits as well as Agent M, O and K, were the ones to escort them. When Danny didn't move fast enough for Agent's O's liking, the agent prodded him in the spine slightly with a staff, that most likely would normally be electrified to be a weapon.

"Move."

Die-hard supporters of Danny's, Phangirls and the general Phans that he knew not the names of, took the opportunity to rise and start booing the agent.

"Okay, calm down." Danny replied simply to Agent O and walked forward to join his sister at the defendants' table. David was already there and began murmuring to them both as the black suited men silenced the supporters. The three GiW agents sat in the row right behind Danny and Danielle's location.

As everyone calmed further, the Courtroom Deputy rose and banged the gavel once.

"All rise, the Honorable Judge Kaufman, presiding."

Like a hundred thundering hoofbeats of rhinos, everyone rose at the same time. The judge walked in and sat to face the masses. He looked something like David but was aged a bit more and had brown eyes and very dark brown hair. Everyone remained standing as the two juries were brought in. Half were from Congress and the other half were regular U.S. citizens; all thirty of the chosen people had been carefully picked to make sure they all had no bias either way regarding Amity Park, Danny Phantom, or ghosts in general. Of course, most might have heard of him at least once, but none of them had any personal connection to the subjects in general, they even had a nice general diversity of race and gender, not that it actually mattered as much in this less than normal case.

Kaufman huffed. "Evidence issues have been resolved and it was decided that no evidence for either party was to be removed from the trial. It seems everything is out on the table then." He coughed once as a scribe and artists captured these historic moments in their own ways. "I will ask the courtroom deputy to administer the oath to the jurors."

"Would the jurors rise and raise your right hand?" The deputy stated as the jurors all complied. After a moment of listening to the oath, the jurors all responded with an I do before everyone in the room sat.

Kaufman spoke up, "This case is a bit unusual as it doesn't contain one specific criminal offense. To this end, we will be proceeding in a somewhat altered manner. Is the Prosecution ready to begin?"

The man acting as the prosecutor rose after organizing his papers one last time. He was a tall broad-shouldered man, with dirty blond and spiky hair. He wore a brown dress shirt with a blonde colored tie, black slacks, and dress-shoes. His name was Diego Armando. He walked towards the front of the courtroom to start his opening statement; after a quiet moment of anticipation, Diego turned and locked his emerald green eyes on first the crowd and then the jury.

"Ghosts… It's a term that's quite the misnomer. These… ghosts are nothing more than ectoplasm, a radioactive element that is found as plasma in its most natural form. What I am going to tell you here today is that ghosts are not ghosts. They are, if anything, more akin to elementals, entities of aether, thralls of sorts; perhaps they are the 'beings', a term I use loosely, mentioned in Greek mythology or the Classical period, but are nothing more than that. What is more important to conclude from this brief exploration of the possible correct nomenclature of 'ghosts' is that these beings are not lost souls or creatures with thought or reason. They are not deceased relatives or imagined deities, they are energy-based phenomenon that conceivably can latch onto left over emotion or… a conduit slash anchor…" Diego paused from his pacing. "Therefore, Danny Phantom and Danielle Phantom are merely the energy left over from the deceased Daniel James Fenton and an unnamed fetus. Their bodies have become something of an anchor, allowing the ectoplasmic energy to house itself in one place."

A few people in the crowds couldn't help but murmur in excitement, confusion or worry, causing Kaufman to pound his gavel in warning.

Diego coughed. "As I was saying… These beings are moreover, dangerous. They destroy buildings with little effort, wield the elements, and can easily kill if a human if one is so unfortunate as to cross their paths. As with dangerous animals, if you disregard needing to actually act humanely towards them, what is it we do to preserve our own safety should they roam into our cities and neighborhoods? We relocate them if they seem non-threatening or we put them down. Fortunately for us, we don't need to worry about them feeling true pain or fear as they can only mimic what information the emotions they've latched onto can tell them. The tradeoff is that we must fight harder to keep them at bay as their power is far greater than any wandering carnivore or deadly animal could offer. These creatures do not live nor did they live and as such they should be provided no benefits given by the constitution of this nation. I aim to prove this to be the case." Diego nodded and then walked back towards his desk.

Danny tried to relax, clenching and unclenching his hands under the table. He knew everything the prosecutor had said was wrong, but at the same time it had sounded surprisingly convincing to someone who knew nothing about ghosts. He also couldn't help but think about Diego's metaphor about deadly animals. Sam must be having a coronary. He could almost picture her face hot with anger, the animal lover in her just itching to jump in to stand against Diego for the animals as well as Danny; the mental image almost made him smile, but he decided to focus more on what he was facing now. He could listen to Sam rant about it for months after this was over and everything was okay… that was what he kept telling himself.

"That's all he's got?" David muttered under his breath and Danny rose a brow in the direction of his attorney. David looked back at him. "What? Just because he said a bunch of fancy words and came up with a nice sounding theory doesn't mean he has the evidence to prove it. I'll be surprised if my motion to dismiss isn't granted. Oop, see you in a minute, show time." David jumped up, casing papers to fly off his desk like unfinished and less than graceful paper airplanes. Dani smacked her face in a double-face palm and Danny knew his eye had to be twitching.

"David…" Kaufman moaned a bit. "Please do try to show some decorum."

"Sorry, can't blame a long-legged guy for having trouble fitting under a desk."

"…"

"Right, moving on." David finished gathering and putting away his papers before walking up to the front to address everyone, like Diego had. "Elementals… Not bad I suppose. But how about we go with the facts, hm? Ghosts are ghosts. Yes, they are made of ectoplasm, but that's about where the similarity stops with my and Mr. Armando's assessment end. Ectoplasm is highly active and highly energetic as a plasma. Theoretically it's because of this super energetic state that it can bind and form around the souls of things. Yes, ghosts have souls as they are the physical manifestation of said souls. The designation between what kind of ghost is varied to three types, but information on that will be provided later in our time together…" David paused and placed his left hand over his heart, as though mentally beseeching his audience to listen. "They are not to be generalized as my peer has tried to suggest. They are complex in physiology, psychosis, and even society and culture; furthermore, their world is dependent on ours just as the same is true for our world and theirs. From this, I wish to conclude that Daniel and Danielle Fenton are human beings that have simply suffered a genetic mutation. I'm convinced that you will find my position to be correct." David then turned and sauntered back to his desk with a contemplative look on his face. Danny blinked and watched as the slightly older man mumbled some things under his breath and glanced at a few papers.

"Now that we have heard the statements from both sides, we will move onto giving these two gentlemen the chance to present their cases. Mr. Armando, if you would-" Kaufman directed.

"Yes, your honor," Diego answered and rose. "I would like to call my first witness, Dr. Jack Fenton."

Jack frowned after patting his wife's hand and rose to make his way to the front of the courtroom. He sat in the witness's chair. After swearing to tell the truth, Jack faced Diego.

Diego was silent for a moment before speaking. "What do you do for a living, Mr. Fenton?"

Jack smiled a bit. "I'm a spectrologist and an inventor."

"In layman's terms?"

"I study ghosts and invent machines to study and fight them if necessary," Jack replied, keeping a close eye on the man. Jack Fenton could be supremely oblivious, but he knew before-hand to watch for a trap; He'd do anything to prevent causing harm to his children's case.

"I see. Mr. Fenton, did you feel the need to create weapons because ghosts are violent?"

"Objection," David responded calmly. "That question is leading."

"Sustained, counsel please reword your question," Kaufman spoke.

"Mr. Fenton, in your own words, why did you create weapons," Diego continued, showing a bit of irritation on his face.

Jack cleared his throat. "We created them at first to protect ourselves because we didn't know exactly what we were getting ourselves into-"

"And then?"

"We thought ghosts were all violent, but-" Jack replied only for Diego to interrupt.

"What made you believe all ghosts might be violent? They're actions, behavior, or the complete absences of any sort of primitive or advanced communication system in their body?"

"Now wait a moment. We are still doing study-" Jack started only to once again be ignored.

"What more do you really need?" Diego answered.

"Objection, he's antagonizing the witness," David muttered as he tapped a finger repetitively on his desk. Danny and Danielle were too busy watching Diego verbally dance with their father.

"True, but he is antagonizing his own witness…" Kaufman spoke. "Regardless, I suppose you should let up, Mr. Armando."

"Very well, no further questions," Diego responded and Jack let out a sigh.

"Would you like to cross examine the witness, Mr. Hudson?" Kaufman asked.

"No, your honor."

"Understood. Mr. Armando, your next witness?"

"I call Dr. Madeline Fenton to the stand."

Maddie passed her husband as determination became set on her face. She pledged to tell the truth and faced the man that was trying to convince the world, it was okay to murder her son.

"I'm going to assume you have the same occupation as Mr. Fenton?"

"That is correct."

"Wonderful." Diego glanced at the ceiling for a moment and then back at her. He was slightly unnerved by the powerful woman's glare. He pulled out a piece of paper and began to read. "They appear to have no nervous system of any kind and in some instances of induced stimuli they reacted in a way no more advanced than Deroceras reticulatum, a garden slug. The only concentrated organ-like feature they seem to have is nothing more than a concentrated ball of plasma. What causes the plasma to form into such a tight sphere of energy is unknown and will require more study. For now, though, using the light scans we've preformed from afar on even more complex looking ghosts, it is fairly safe to determine that all ghosts can neither feel pain or have true reason centers as they lack the structures necessary to perform such actions."

As Diego had been speaking, Maddie's face had slowly fallen more and more from her set expression. It had been so long ago. During those first few months the portal had been opened and Danny had been just learning about how to control and hide his new powers. She and Jack had succeeded in capturing a green blob-like ghost and opened it up. At the time it had just been a bit of ectoplasm and some blue liquid from the core… She'd completely forgotten about the whole thing. God, she and Jack had destroyed a ghost, a more animal-like ghost, but it was the fact that they hadn't even known and that they'd done it with no inward concern or thought that suddenly threw her completely off track. She shared a quick horrified look with Jack, who seemed to be having trouble hiding similar thoughts and then Danny, oh Danny. He was looking at her with a face of fear, horror and slight betrayal. Something told her deep inside that he understood that at the time she'd been unaware, but that didn't stop him from feeling haunted by his mother's actions. His face looked a bit green in sickness, as though he'd pictured the procedure mentally.

"Mrs. Fenton? Mrs. Fenton?" She whipped her eyes up to stare back at a slightly smug looking Diego. "The question?"

"I'm sorry, repeat it please."

"This is your scientific paper, correct? Words written and published by yourself, not taken seriously until almost a year after publication…"

"Yes but-"

"Yes or no will suffice, thank you-"

"We were wrong though! Just as the Tabula Rasa, the Flat Earth, Spontaneous Creation, and the Earth being the center of the universe were. Science is always chang-"

"That's enough, Mrs. Fenton. No more questions."

Kaufman looked at David who shook his head. "No, I don't wish to cross-examine the witness."

Danny gave David a nervous look while Danielle watched her mother sadly walk back to her family. Jack held his wife's hand and tried to his best to quietly comfort her.

"Do you have another witness, Mr. Armando?"

"Yes, the prosecution would like to bring to the stand, Dr. Ethan Harland."

Danny tilted his head in confusion, not recognizing the name. He looked over to see the stern scientist that had been present during the days he was studied. His greasy dark grey hair framed his glasses covered eyes. He pledged to tell the truth and Diego began the questioning. Danny noticed David lean forward and start to pay even more attention than before.

"Mr. Harland-"

"Dr. Harland, please."

"Of course, excuse me. What do you do for a living?"

"I am a physicist."

"Were you present for the testing and study of Danny Phantom and Danielle Phantom?"

"I was."

Diego pulled out another piece of paper from a stack on his desk. "There are no doubts that these entities are interesting. As for the being known as Phantom, there seems to be a more complex arrangement going on. His body is filled with ectoplasm and its energy, focused into what is known as his core. From what I've seen, I feel the energy within is very static in accordance to the emotions available for each stimulus." Diego looked up. "Describe for the court, what the stimuli tests demonstrated."

"Certainly." Harland fixed his tie. "The supposed Phantom half of the being seemed geared towards violence, while the Fenton side was quite timid. These were very consistent, showing that they might be some of his only emotional states."

David shook his head and smiled a bit. They really didn't have much except perhaps a dose of bigotry to support their arguments with.

"So, what did you conclude after studying Phantom?"

"He's a conglomeration of energies that are stagnant. If anything, he is no more alive than a machine, programmed by a strange phenomenon of nature to behave similarly to a living creature."

"Thank you, Doctor. No more questions."

Kaufman glanced at David. "Would you like to question this witness, Mr. Hudson?"

David stood. "I would actually." As Diego took his seat, David walked closer to Harland. "So, explain to me again firstly what sorts of stimuli you used against my client."

Harland frowned. "Pictures of ghosts and some humans made him grow aggressive on both the scans and the brain wave readings."

David nodded. "We're going to ignore the fact that you stated said inorganic being has a brain-"

"A dead brain-"

"And focus on the stimuli. You didn't mention that Fenton grew depressed or upset at the signs of destruction… Also, please tell me more specifically what the stimuli pictures that trigger aggression actually showed."

Harland clenched his jaw. "Ghosts attacking people and people showing varying degrees of violence."

"So then, you showed violent scenes to a supposed protector and he reacted with violence? How exactly is that different from how a very brave normal human being would act? Do not some people even in the safety of their homes see some kind of injustice on TV and feel a surge of righteous vengeance?"

"Perhaps, but his activity was higher in those localized sections of the brain."

"Theoretically speaking this could have something to do with a ghosts' obsession, could it not? Would something like a strong energy, which has a huge influence over one's physical body, not help to increase those feelings?"

"Objection, speculation," Diego grumbled.

"Sustained, is there a point you're trying to make with this, Hudson?"

David nodded and looked back at Harland. "I only have one last question for you, Mr. Harland."

"Doctor…" Harland ground out.

"Yes… Are you a biologist?"

Harland huffed. "Of course not."

"Did you study the small biological samples taken from Mr. Fenton?"

"They belong to a long dead corpse. Of course not."

"But did you not check to see what sort of energy came from those small pieces? I read over the rest of your report and you stated that if Phantom was merely a mass of organized energy, then any piece take from him would be able to continue giving off energy until neutralized by an outside force."

Harland paused before hesitantly answering. "Right."

"And yet you didn't actually test the samples to see if they retained their energy or lost it over time?"

"No."

David fiddled with his tie. "Tell me again what exactly you did do?"

Harland practically looked like he was going to explode with the amount of red coming to his face. Harland opened his mouth to speak before David cut him off. "The last question was a rhetorical question." He looked at Kaufman. "No further questions for this one."

David made his way back to his desk while Harland stalked out of the room. Kaufman eyed Diego.

"Mr. Armando?"

"I have one last witness I wish to call to the stand." Diego nodded to the courtroom. "Agent I of the Guys in White." With that, a young Asian woman rose, dusted off her stark white suit, and made her way to the front. "Agent I, I have a few simple questions for you."

"Of course."

"The Anti-Ecto Act was set in place for the protection of our citizens, correct?"

"Correct."

"And the main reason this is because 'ghosts' are very powerful. To be honest, we have next to nothing that could stop a full-on invasion of the earth, right?"

"That's correct."

"Even if by some chance these being were intelligent and had sentience, we couldn't possibly live amongst them."

"They are simply too powerful. They can't be trusted or reasoned with. Fortunately for us, they don't have good reasoning skills to begin with. These laws need to stay in place in order to secure the world's safety."

Diego nodded. "Thank you, agent. No further questions."

"Would you like to cross examine the witness, Mr. Hudson?"

David rose again and nodded, showing his consent. He moved closer to the witness' stand. "Let me ask you this, Agent I. Are we assuming that all ghosts or ectoplasmic entities can't be reasoned with?"

"Well…"

"A yes or no will suffice."

"Yes."

"And from that… They are too dangerous to reason with and they can't be reasoned with so therefore they are too dangerous." David paused in his pacing. "Do you kind of see why I'm a bit confused here? That's practically circular reasoning. I'd almost say bigoted."

Agent I squirmed. "It's the truth though."

"Have you actually ever talked to the ghosts, listened to what they were saying, gone into the Ghost Zone showing no ill will or at least being peaceable rather than malicious yourselves?"

"Well… no."

"My client has told me many things about the Ghost Zone as have others I've questioned that have actually been there…"

Agent I stuttered, getting flustered. She wasn't exactly the most experienced of the GiW. "Well I…"

"Also, was there a particular reason that the Anti-ecto act specifically states that your fellow agents aren't required to inform family members about ghosts that share the appearance of family members and loved ones? You do realize that if you're wrong, you could be preventing deceased friends and family from having closure with still living people-"

"Objection! That is complete speculation!" Diego announced and slammed his desk at the same time.

"Calm yourself, Mr. Armando." Kaufman eyed David, who returned a sheepish grin to him. "Be a bit more careful, David."

"Of course. No further questions…" David replied and left for his desk.

Kaufman let out a sigh as Agent I left the stand and looked at Diego.

"Your honor, the prosecution rests."

"Very well-"

"The defense would like to pass a motion for dismissal."

Murmuring immediately erupted from the people in the room and Kaufman slammed his gavel. "Order! Order!" He glanced at the prosecution and the defense. "Let's have a short recess while I talk with Mr. Hudson and Mr. Armando."

zzz

Judge Kaufman's Office. 9:43 AM.

"So, a motion for dismissal? Hudson, are you okay in the head?" Kaufman asked in frustration.

David crossed his arms, ignoring the glare from Diego. "Of course, I am."

"This is practically an international trial. Even after this whole thing with Phantom is decided, there will be hell to pay with the UN whether he exists after this or not. We can't just halt the trial in the middle of this mess."

"I think he's intimidated, your honor. He is pretty new to this after all. Talent doesn't tend to win out over experience…" Diego retorted suddenly, trying to hide the nasty sneer on his face, unsuccessfully.

David frowned. "It's not my fault that you've practically not given any solid evidence that my client isn't alive. And if you can't prove physically with your witnesses and doctors that he isn't alive, then almost everything else regarding ghosts and the Zone falls through. This is simply becoming pointless. You have nothing except your bias to back up your theories. Consider a motion to dismiss a mercy kill of sorts."

"Why you-" Diego started before Kaufman coughed, loudly.

"That's enough." Both turned to the look at the judge as the man closed his eyes in deep thought. After a moment he looked back at Diego. "You aren't doing a very good job of proving the young man isn't alive in some way, Diego. You have a great deal of theories and circumstantial information, but nothing physical."

A slow smile started to for on David's face.

"However, we have to continue the trial."

Diego nodded while David looked as though he'd been slapped by a wet fish. "Excuse me?"

Kaufman looked at David. "Personally, I agree with you, David. So far, I'm not convinced, but this is something that effects the safety of the entire world, possibly. We have to hear every scrap of evidence, no, the world has to hear it all. We have our hands tied. We have to put on a show." He gave a pointed look to Diego. "No matter how poor that show seems at the moment…"

Diego scowled angrily and turned to leave in a huff.

David groaned a bit as Kaufman walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Just keep it up."

With that, David and Kaufman left the office to return to the courtroom. David frowned to himself.

Time to get ready for Round Two…

So, I hope this chapter was entertaining. I tried my hardest to make the Trial so far seem tense and well, possible. I know I'm probably butchering the justice system in more ways than I know, but it would also probably be boring if it was written exactly like a script of a trial. Round Two in the next chapter.

Thank you all so much for your support and wonderful reviews! I thank you all so much :)

God bless and Best wishes to all of you!

~NoSignal