Chapter 25: What Danny Wants

Danielle grabbed the staff and Danny held Cirth in a headlock. By then, all of the shepherds had presented their gifts in front of the baby and the two adults that were kneeling next to him.

"Noooo!" Cirth choked out, but it was too late for him. The three of them found themselves back in the Ghost Zone, standing before a lengthy counsel table made for twelve ghosts. Behind the table was a large jury. At the end of the table, Walker was holding Vlad in chains and the twelve ghosts read off his sentence.

"You, Vlad Plasmius, and your cohort are sentenced to six-hundred years in prison for attempting to destroy Christmas." A Santa-like ghost declared. "All in favor say aye."

"Aye." Said Holly.

"Aye." Said a snowman ghost, and an elf ghost.

"No." Said an icy blue man.

"Oh come on, Frost!" Holly pleaded.

"Allright, aye." Said Frost reluctantly.

"Aye." Said three lady ghosts whose nametags read "Love", "Joy", and "Peace".

"Aye." Said a chipper ghost dressed from the past.

"Aye." Said a modern-looking ghost.

"Aye." Said a grim ghost in a dark hood.

"Consider that his sentence." Midnight finalized the sentencing and Walker took Vlad away.

The jury clapped.

"I'll take that." Clockwork redeemed his staff and then took his seat in the jury of other ghosts Danny did not recognize.

Two of Walker's goons took struggling Cirth out of Danny's arms and followed Walker. Danny and Danielle slowly approached the counsel table. Midnight smiled at them and stood up in respect.

"Well done, Danny and Danielle. You have saved Christmas from disaster." Midnight said.

The other eleven ghosts clapped for Danny and his sister.

"You're welcome." Danielle smiled.

"Thank you," Danny turned to Midnight, "For believing in me. And for showing me the true meaning of Christmas. I really needed that perspective."

"Oh, but it wasn't me who taught you the true meaning." Midnight smiled. "But I'm glad you've learned, nevertheless."

There was a beat of silence.

"Goodbye, then." Danielle said and she and Danny changed into ghost form and started to float towards the portal that was in the center of the room.

"Wait, wait!" Midnight called to them and they stood still. "I don't suppose you have a Christmas wish you would like me to grant?"

Danielle gasped happily.

"Ask for anything." Midnight smiled.

"I wish for it to snow!" Danielle closed her eyes and when she opened them again, the ghost zone was snowing. Clouds appeared above and the snow appeared throughout all the realms and Danielle watched it, entranced.

Danny smiled halfway at Danielle's simple amusement.

"Isn't there anything you want, Danny?" Midnight asked.

Instantaneously, Danny thought about Cecelia. Could Midnight bring her back? He almost wished for that, but then he remembered that everybody else wasn't having so great a Christmas as he. He thought of his friends Sam and Tucker, and Garth and Valerie, and how they were all having mediocre Christmases.

And then Danny thought of his family back home. His parents had wanted to give each other the gifts they really wanted but they just didn't have the money or the time this year.

Come to think of it, nobody actually got what they really wanted for Christmas. Even Valerie, who had gotten what she asked for, was still not truly happy because she had lost her dear friend and then her life had taken a downhill spiral.

"Danny?" Midnight reminded him that she was still waiting.

"I wish for the power to grant everyone's Christmas wish." Danny thought it was the perfect answer. He thought about how he could make his friends happy instead of thinking about himself.

Midnight smiled proudly. "Very well then." She made a golden sack appear and handed it to Danny. It was just large enough to swing around his shoulder. "Make sure you stop by every house. What you need will be in that bag."

"And take this." The Santa ghost gave Danny his red and white hat.

"What about you, Danielle?" Danny asked his sister, who was still watching the snow.

"I'll be home later. The treaty's still on, right?" She flew off dramatically into the ghost zone greenery and waved to each ghost she passed and wished them a Merry Christmas. They bid her one too.

With that, Danny flew through the portal that was in the floor of this large room and he was back in the human world. Danny looked around him at all the holiday cheer.

That night, Midnight somehow made it possible for one ghost to travel the globe delivering present after present to everyone. Each time, it was some small token that was significant in their lives some were brought to tears. Others just wanted romance, so Danny made mistletoe appear between a few couples. Some wished for snow, and somehow, the snow came.

Danny saved the people he knew for last. Dash wished for a football to replace the expensive one he had that broke years ago. "Gee, thanks Danny Phantom!" Dash waved from his front porch.

Paulina wanted a hug from Danny Phantom, and that's just what she got. Though it wasn't a real hug that Danny would have given to someone he loved. It satisfied her simple expectations regardless.

Next was Tucker. Danny placed an expensive PDA on his front porch. Tucker had not asked anyone for this specific PDA, because it wasn't even in the stores yet and also cost an amount of money that nobody had. "Where'd you get this?" Was all Tucker could say because he couldn't believe his eyes.

"It's Christmas, man." Danny said as he flew away. The next house he came upon was his own. He knew he'd have to grant his parents' wishes and then Jazz's.

Jack and Maddie Fenton would later discover that some of their old inventions they had broken in the past were now fixed good as new.

And Jazz, well, she got a few books. And by a few, I mean a library. Danny must have pulled out a hundred books from the golden sack. "Thanks, little brother." Jazz said gratefully. "And Merry Christmas."

Not too far away was the Manson mansion. And Sam was home. Danny flew into her bedroom where she was sitting on her bed reading a gothic book. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Oh…nothing." Danny couldn't hide his smile as he left a small present underneath her black Christmas tree that was sitting on her desk.

"What's this?" She got up and opened the small blue box and gasped. She pulled out a small black necklace with the Danny Phantom emblem on it. "That's…something I've always wanted to get custom-made. How did you know?"

"It's Christmas." Danny smiled. He made his way to the window to take off again.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"To Garth's house and then to Valerie's. I have some presents that need delivering."

"Can't I come with you?" Sam almost pleaded. "Don't you think you could…make room for me?"

"No, not really. I think it's better if you stay here." Danny said as he flew to Garth's house. Sam watched Danny dreamily until she could no longer see him.

Danny knocked on Garth's door and he answered it. Danny expected to just hand Garth his present and go, but there was no present in the golden bag. He shook it, but it was empty. "Oh no." Danny thought that the magical bag had run out of presents.

"What is it?" Garth asked Danny.

"Your present…I can't seem to find it…" Danny said awkwardly.

Garth's phone rang and he went over to answer it and Danny came inside.

Garth picked up the phone and a surprised look appeared on his face. "Dad? Mom?" he asked. "I can't believe it! You really are? See you in an hour." Garth put the phone down. "Danny! My mother's not sick anymore! And my parents have been talking to each other again and they've decided to visit me for Christmas!"

Danny realized what Garth's wish was. "Merry Christmas, Garth." Danny flew away.

The sounds of merry voices and carols echoed through the streets and Danny sung along while he was in flight.

But soon the cheerful voices began to get softer and more sparse and farther away until they could no longer be heard. Danny realized he was in Valerie's neighborhood. It was a poor neighborhood—so they didn't have very much to be cheerful about. Danny flew into Valerie's bedroom and there she was practicing with her kicking bag and making karate grunts too

"Danny?" Valerie noticed him.

"Hi Val." He realized that the bag was empty again. Now he had to think about what Valerie would want.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well…I thought it would be nice to be with friends and family during the holidays." That was Danny's excuse.

"Oh."

"Where's your family?" Danny asked.

"Downstairs. I got tired of 'em. It's just my dad and my uncle anyways."

"So you're just going to spend your Christmas beating up an oversized pillow?"

Valerie chuckled sadly. "Pretty much."

When Danny didn't say anything back, Valerie resumed her punching. Danny looked out the window and he could just imagine the songs of cheer that were only a few streets away. "What if I took you somewhere?"

"What?" Valerie asked.

"Just trust me, okay." Danny took her arm and they flew out the window hand in hand. At first she was a little scared because she didn't know where they were going, but then she gave into her heart and trusted Danny.

Danny brought Valerie to the rooftop of Fenton Works.

"What are we doing here?" she asked.

"Just listen." Danny said and he and Valerie sat close together and listened to the sounds of the city. With the nearby holiday music, and the sounds of people greeting each other happily, as well as the normal city sounds, they all came together to form one grand symphony. It was beautiful. It was almost like a lullaby.

Danny went to set the golden sack down and then discovered there was in fact an item in it. It was very small. Danny reached in and pulled out the very same class ring that his father had given him years ago. Danny originally wanted to give it to Valerie, but he ended up giving it to Sam because Danny's father had gotten it engraved with "Sam" on it. But Danny knew in his heart that the ring had always belonged for Valerie. Sam had given it back to him after their breakup. Danny looked on the inside of the ring where "Sam" used to be engraved on it, but now it was gone.

Danny turned to Valerie. "Here, it's for you." Was all the nervous boy could say. "I hope you don't think it's lame…because well, it meant a lot to me. Just like you do."

Valerie took it and studied it. "A class ring? What's this for?"

"I…..want you to be my girlfriend. For real this time. Now that you've seen the real me."

Valerie's eyes started to well up. She always thought class rings were lame, but that was because she never expected she would receive one. "Oh Danny!" She hugged him and in that moment, Danny knew he had given her all that she ever wanted. Their relationship had finally healed.

Danny stayed with her for a few moments more and then took her home. Then he remembered that he was still carrying the sack. He flew back through the ghost zone portal in his parents' basement and soon he was standing before Midnight Clear once again.

"Here you go." He handed her the sack and gave the Santa hat back to the Santa ghost. "I've made everyone's Christmas wish come true. Thank you for letting me do that."

"Not everyone's." Midnight looked at Danny tenderly.

Danny looked at her in bewilderment.

Midnight stepped out of the way to reveal Cecelia standing behind her—healed and alive—wearing a beautiful white Christmas gown.

Danny smiled and Cecelia smiled back.

"You, see, Danny, you made a very unselfish wish. But you wished for everybody's wish to come true, and that includes you." Midnight explained. "Merry Christmas." She said. "And don't worry—I've fixed it so that none of the humans remember her death except for you and your friends and us ghosts."

"Let's go home." Danny took Cecelia's arm. "I don't suppose you know where we are?" He asked Cecelia as he flew them through the portal.

"Actually, Midnight explained everything to me. And thank you…for wishing me back."

Danny chuckled happily.

"It's strange, you know? After what happened to me, I didn't think I'd come back. And now here I am with some explaining of my own to do."

"I'm not sure what you mean." Danny and Cecelia stood there in a snow-covered street.

Cecelia looked down at her hands and balls of fluctuating electrical energy formed around them. And at her command, they disappeared. Danny looked at her strangely. "Midnight said it had something to do with the Equator that I destroyed…"