Amity Park was no stranger to the supernatural and all elements that it can bring to their small town. Ghosts in particular brought the most issues along with heightening the danger, but even that with time slowly eased into everyone's minds as nothing more than a daily occurrence that can be avoided with proper prep time and common sense.

The Ghost Boy helping out 100% of the time made things a lot easier as well, though he was never one for praise. He didn't mind it if you sent it his way, but he instead gave his all to protect Amity Park. Some theorize he is native to them and died here. Some believe that he's simply another ghost that fights other ghosts for fun. A small minority actually know the truth behind the Ghost Boy's true motives and he'd prefer it to stay that way.

Unfortunately…

A certain evil that even most ghosts stray away from struck Amity Park last weekend and rocked its people to their core.

Hope Bennet, a bright, beautiful and happy eleven year old girl was viciously assaulted and murdered on her way home from school three days ago. When their school let out all children were supposed to be escorted home by a designated teacher escort, so nobody knows how the assailant managed to get her away from the group, but the moment she left was the moment he tore into her.

A small search party was put together in order to search for Hope as it had grown to almost six or so hours since she'd last been seen. One of the other parents managed to find her in an alleyway a few blocks away from the school and hurled the moment he saw what had happened.

To say the crime was monstrous would still be an understatement, the man left her so beaten and bruised that she looked unrecognizable to her parents.

It didn't take long for word to spread around town that a monster had struck one of their own. A small little child so innocent…so defenseless, that the people who did the autopsy said the girl never stood a chance against her attacker. Ever since that day, the people of Amity Park had been walking on eggshells not knowing who was responsible for the crime. Because it happened on a Friday, the weekend had the entire populace on edge. A man like this would surely be keen to strike again and everyone held their children much closer than usual because of it.

The Ghost Boy also hadn't been seen the event either which confused and worried some people, but on the flipside of humanity…the dangerous ghosts that normally muck about and cause mischief had been in a state of constant fear. Now they all knew that many of them weren't good people in their previous lives and many embraced that nastiness. When some found out they felt joy in all the pain and misery this mystery man had caused.

The Ghost Boy, who was very good friends with many children in Amity Park did not find things all too funny. Any ghost who attempted to cash in on the ensuing confusion to wreak havoc and spread misery was swiftly…and violently dealt with in a manner unlike what they all knew of him.

Danny Phantom was a hero to all, menace to many, but above all else he was a protector. Maybe because of the manner in which he was half killed was the cause of his obsession. Tucker and Sam never really figured that part out. Danny did know that somehow he wasn't quite dead, but also not alive either and therefore had to have an obsession. It took them months before Sam put the clues together.

Protection.

Protection was the obsession he was cursed with and for Danny he didn't mind one bit. Being a hero was fun to him and since it's partially his fault the ghost zone had even opened up to begin with then he'd do what he could to keep people safe. Because Danny personally knew this girl and had even saved their family once from a ghost attack, the guilt was unbearable.

If only he'd have been more observant.

If only he'd been faster to stop the assailant.

If only he'd predicted the attack.

Speaking in hypotheticals, there was next to nothing Danny could have done to stop an attack he had no idea would happen and yet…

It made his ghostly core roar in discomfort thinking about what her last moments must have been.

How long did she cry out for help knowing none was coming?

How much pain did she have to endure before it ended?

Why did something so heinous happen to someone so pure and innocent?

As these questions bounced around within his head, his obsession, which was protection, was almost screaming at him. Ghosts form when someone dies unfulfilled or in a manner that leaves their souls unable to rest.

Danny knew deep down that he would be seeing this little girl again and that thought made his stomach turn in anger and disgust knowing they shouldn't be meeting like that.

But given the circumstances, he could do nothing but follow his urges and find her. He would not leave her alone…defenseless…scared.

That was a mistake he would not make any more.

Sunday Night-9:30 pm

"What a lousy night…" Valerie rode around through the air surveying her surroundings looking for any ghosts that might be lurking during this time of chaos. She and her father may not be as close as they were when she was younger and partly thanks to her ghost hunting activities, but she felt a certain comfort each time he hugged her. This weekend was no different.

The news of what had happened to that poor child sent waves of anger throughout her entire being. Given the assailant seemingly disappeared from the scene, she speculated that the perpetrator may be a ghost, still possessed by whatever sick, twisted desires they had before they died. Preying on children meant that whoever did this was scum of the earth and she hoped that whenever they found who did it, they would make his life a living hell.

Of course she still had to hunt ghosts in the meantime even with all the panic that's going around. If she can do her part to keep some semblance of sanity around town then she'd do just that. Hunting ghosts also helped ease her own mind as well.

Beep* Beep*

Her ghost radar went off as a rather powerful ghost was barreling towards her at an alarming speed. She fired a few shots towards whatever it was, but the ghost dodged it with relative ease. "I don't know what you're after, but I'm gonna leave an ectoplasmic mess once I'm through with you ghost scum!"

She readied another shot as her visor began to focus on what it was in her range. She shouldn't have been so surprised at who her special visitor was.

"You!" Valerie felt a surge of anger at who was standing before her. It was the crummy ghost that cost her dad the most important job of his career and ruined her life.

"What do you want, Phantom?" She continued to aim her ecto gun at him, but she noticed something felt off. Usually he'd be so talkative that it would almost make her burst blood vessels and annoy her to no end. Today however…

Danny was in no mood for games.

"Go home Valerie. You aren't needed here. I have everything under control." His answer was so monotone and calm that it immediately put her on edge.

She didn't lower the gun she had pointed at him, "I'm not sure what kinda games you're playing, but you must think I'm a fool if you think I'm just gonna turn around and go home. Especially with everything that happened this weekend."

Bringing up the incident was a sore spot for Danny. That was strike one.

He tried to inch closer and she sent another warning shot his way as if to keep him in her sights, "Keep your ghostly body where I can see it! Don't come any closer if you know what's good for you…"

Danny raised his hands in compliance hoping to ease the situation. He didn't want any problems with her. Why was she being so unreasonable when he was only trying to help? "Please…" Danny could feel his core getting restless again, "Just go home and be with your dad. I'm sure he'd want nothing more than to keep you safe-"

"Shut up! Don't you dare mention my Father to me when all I've been doing is trying to keep him safe. From other freaks that terrorize the town like you!" Valerier shot back.

Danny's core hummed again as if to spur him onwards. He needed her to understand he was only trying to help her. He was trying to protect her. Why wouldn't she just listen? His patience tonight was wearing thin. He had to get back to patrolling the skies and in order to do that with a clear mind he needed to know that Valerie would be safe.

That was strike two.

He racked his head as quickly as possible in hopes to find a solution to this growing problem. Valerie was stubborn to a tee and wouldn't back down under normal circumstances. There had to be something he could do to force her to understand.

As if a lightbulb popped over his head, Danny found an answer that he found suitable for the occasion. He vanished from her sight which sent her into panic mode as she turned on her ecto scanners in hopes to find him while he was invisible.

"I'm not invisible, Val." He had used his speed to get behind her quicker than she could anticipate. He was faster.

She hopped backwards on her board and tried to move away, but Danny had already grabbed ahold of her gun and crushed it like it was nothing more than paper mache.

"You didn't go invisible!? But how-"

"You're too slow." Before he could say another word, she threw multiple ecto grandes at him in hopes to get some distance from them. Danny knocked the grandes away with such force that they were thrown into numerous other buildings.

"I'm stronger than you too. If I wanted I could've beaten you before you could do anything at all. I always hold back when it comes to you guys…" Danny edged forward as fear began to creep into Valerie's mind. This wasn't the Phantom she knew. Something was off. Something was very off.

She motioned to activate her boosters and put some ground between them so she could think. Danny had already tightly grabbed ahold of her and said nothing. Try as she might, his grip was much stronger than she realized and she couldn't escape. "Let go of me!"

Danny ripped her mask clean off her head and his cold green eyes met hers. He was silent. It was like he was trying to convince himself of something. "I said, let go of me!" She started to spit venom towards him in hopes that he'd relax the hold on her arms. "You trying to protect one of your ghost buddies? Is that it?"

She saw an expression she had never seen on his face before and decided to keep at it. "Ghosts trying to protect other ghosts? Ha! I should've known. I'm gonna find who hurt that little girl, Phantom, and I won't let you stop me!"

That was strike three and Danny could no longer hold himself back.

The grip he held on her arms became almost unbearable as she started to scream out in agony. He started to shake her back and forth almost like trying to put some sense into her.

"Don't you get what I'm trying to do here!? I'm trying to protect everyone! I'm trying to save everyone! All of you are in danger as long as that monster is still on the loose! What if he attacks another child? What if he attacks another defenseless person? I need to be ready and able to stop him and I can only do that if you let me handle this!" By this point they were face to face with the look of insanity Danny was now glaring into her.

He regained a bit of composure before trying to reason with her once again, "I can't concentrate on finding her killer if you keep getting in my way. You don't get it…you just don't get it…."

"You attack any and all ghosts you come across, no matter how small or feeble they may be, right?" Danny asked her. She didn't reply. That made him angry.

RIGHT!?" He squeezed her to the point where she couldn't do anything but wince at the growing numbness her arms were beginning to feel.

"Ghosts form when someone dies unfulfilled or when their souls aren't able to rest peacefully. We just had an incident where a little girl was violated and killed so do you really think it's a good idea to blast away at any ghost you see?! She's bound to reappear as a ghost! She'll probably be here soon if she isn't already here…"

It didn't take a genius to understand the gist of what he meant. Valerie felt sick, "She'll…that means she's gonna come back-"

"As a ghost…yeah…Hope will come back to Amity Park as a ghost." Danny felt himself grow sick thinking about this next part. How badly this would inevitably hurt her family, "Her Mom and Dad…seeing her as a ghost..." Danny finished exasperatedly. "As a ghost…As a ghost…" He couldn't stop himself from murmuring now.

He grabbed the arm her laser wristwatch was attached to and pondered something to himself aloud, "You're so deep into ghost hunting you never really stopped to think about that fact huh…" And as much her current situation was not to her liking, Valerie had to silently admit he was right.

"If I let you go, you'd eventually just go back to hunting ghosts and there's no guarantee one of the ones you hurt wouldn't be Hope. You see! That's why I need to stop you…"

And as if a switch had been flipped, his obsession, which he had been wrestling with since learning of Hope's death, had finally been pushed to the forefront of his own mind. He took another look at her and Valerie slowly watched as it morphed from one of contemplation to one of acceptance and resolve.

She didn't miss the slight glint of insanity mixed within all that too.

"I know what to do. I'll protect you. I'll protect everyone." He started to smile and she felt a sense of dread that she'd never felt from him before. Valerie felt the cool touch of Intangibility rush over her body as Danny did the same.

She couldn't so much as blink before they were flying through the air at incredibly high speeds and was unable to break free from wherever he was taking her as they flew through many buildings until they eventually stopped in a very familiar living room.

"Wait-" Valerie was in her own living room staring at her father who was now staring at them. Why would Phantom bring her here? Val didn't even want to imagine what was going through her Dad's head.

"What are you doing to my little girl Phantom!? Let go of her immediately!" He moved to grab one of his ghost guns from behind the couch and before he could reach it, Phantom did something unexpected.

POP*

Valerie screamed in pain as Danny popped her right arm out of his socket and stood over her, "See! I finally figured out how to stop you! He dropped her and brought his foot down on her leg.

CRACK*

"You can't hunt ghosts if you can't ride your hoverboard. This is for your own good." Danny stated as her screams got louder.

"Keep your daughter away from ghost hunting." Danny gave the man a small tired smile as his cold green eyes gazed into his.

"Or I'll come back and find other ways to keep her safe." Damon didn't miss the implications behind that dangerous tired smile. And with that he turned invisible and vanished leaving him and his daughter alone to sort through and process what just happened.

Dealing with Valerie took longer than expected. The last time he slept was before he got the news so he had been up since Friday night, but Danny didn't want or need any of that. Sleeping meant time not spent on patrolling and that was time he could not afford to waste.

"I'm not tired…I'm not tired…I'm not tired…" He mumbled to himself again.

The sun started to rise meaning he'd have to momentarily put things on hold until he would be able to sneak away from school. He drifted back home and into his room, as he heard his sister's alarm clock starting to ring.

He had no desire to even be here right now. He wanted to be back searching for her killer. As long as that man is on the loose nobody was safe in Danny's head. His ghostly core hummed once again thinking about that little girl.

Danny wondered what she would feel when she materialized?

"Would she be ok?"

"Would she remember how she died?"

"I can't let her parents see her like that."

"It would be cruel."

"I have to find her."

"I have to find her killer so nobody else has to go through this."

So many factors were dancing around his head that he almost missed his Mom burst through the door to wake him up. He swiftly changed back into his human state and sat on the bed already dressed in the same outfit from Friday.

Maddie opened the door to what seemed like her son already ready for breakfast, "Danny? Breakfast is ready, so meet us downstairs whenever you're ready." Maddie could tell the news had clearly gotten to her son, but didn't feel right to pry on him. He'd come and talk to them whenever he was ready.

Danny slowly turned and gave his mom a small smile, "Ok, Mom, just give me a minute to freshen up."

"He's tired." Maddie noticed it immediately. Was her little boy not sleeping well? She nodded and closed his door, yet she knew something was wrong.

Did she just see a flash of green in her son's eyes? The light must have been playing tricks on her. That must be it. She tucked that thought away for now though. The city had commissioned Jack and herself to help with the efforts of finding her killer. Whether the killer was a ghost or not was left up to speculation and it was their job to rule out either option given their expertise in the subject.

Danny walked over to his mirror and rubbed his face in exhaustion. He could use his ghostly features to try and mask the bags under his eyes, but he knew that wouldn't last for long before someone saw something they shouldn't. Like an engine in constant motion, his core hummed again at the thought of that little girl. He could not…He would not stop until he avenged her and brought her killer to justice. He owed it to her and everyone else affected by her murder.

"Valerie…I'm so, so sorry. I didn't want to do that…" Memories flashed back to how he maimed someone he saw as a friend. Someone he swore to protect. And he intentionally hurt her and yet…

He felt no real guilt towards the events that took place between them. Instead he felt a renewed sense of relief for Valerie. He would no longer have to worry about whether or not she'd accidentally hurt Hope as a ghost nor worry for Valerie getting hurt anymore.

"I know I made the right call. It's definitely better for you this way." Danny reassured himself as he looked at the bags under his eyes in the mirror.

His core hummed again in agreement. It felt good. His obsession governed over Protection, so why should he feel bad keeping a friend safe? There was absolutely nothing wrong with what he just did.

"I didn't do anything wrong…I didn't do anything wrong…" He murmured over and over as his ghost half started to feel at ease.

His human half however…A gnawing sense of guilt was slowly being washed away by whatever his ghost core was making him feel.

The human half of him knew what he did was wrong and cruel. He committed a sin that he could never take back and even knowing that he didn't care. This was a necessary evil that he had to undertake in order to achieve the best outcome for everyone.

"I'll protect them. I'll protect everyone." The fatigue had far overtaken his body, but that didn't matter. He still had a job to do, being tired changed nothing. He would find that poor little girl and make sure she was able to rest in peace by finding her killer.

He was a hero and heroes protected people.

Protect.

Protect.

Protect.

Danny Fenton, above all else in this world, was a Protector and he would see this through to the end.

I wanted to write a story about Danny and his obsession after recently getting back into the fandom. Protection being his obsession is pure genius and I dunno who came up with, but I love you!

I swear everyone is gonna come out of this ok! It'll just take some time to get there...