Chapter 4

Fenton Works was quiet as everyone stared at the TV. Valerie had just announced to the world that Danny Phantom and Danny Fenton were one and the same.

"Oh no," Danny said. "Valerie, why?" He took a step away from the TV in disbelief. So much for giving Danielle a normal life.

There was a knock at the door and everyone turned their attention to it. A second later the wall blew apart as government agents stormed inside. The Guys in White. One of them stepped forward. "Danny Fenton, a.k.a. Danny Phantom. You are under arrest for crimes against humanity," he said as he advanced on the family.

Jack and Maddie immediately stepped between Danny and the operative. "Over my dead body," Maddie cried.

The operative smiled. "That can be arranged," he said. "Take 'em boys!"

Danny changed to Phantom and threw up a ghost shield, defending his parents as the agents fired tasers. "Everyone, get behind me," he ordered. He waited for everyone to move out of the way before he made his next move. "Stay. Away. From. My. Family!" He dropped the shield as his voice exploded from his throat, sending shockwaves that sent the Guys in White flying through the air.

As Danny wailed, Danielle felt a shiver run down her spine as her ghost sense went off. "No, not here! Not now!" She desperately searched around for the ghost but found nothing. Deciding that it was at the bottom of her current list of priorities, she ignored it.

Sam noticed Danielle's distress. "What's wrong," she asked.

Danielle shook her head. "It's nothing," she replied. "Let's just focus on getting out of here!"

Danny's wail was starting to die down. The white rings formed around his body, changing his hair black but not changing his clothes. As his voice finally gave out and he fell to his knees in exhaustion, the rings appeared again and changed him fully back to human. "That won't stop them," he said, panting. "There'll be more."

"Then we better get to the OPs center," Maddie said, reaching down to help Danny to his feet. They started slowly making their way to the stairs with everyone else on their heels.

Save Danielle. "Hold on!" She waited for everyone to turn to her before speaking again. "The stairs will be too slow," she said as she changed to her ghost form. "I'll fly us up there. Everyone grab on!"

The others did as she said and grabbed on to one another. Danielle strained as she struggled to turn everyone weightless so she could phase through the ceiling. Once she was sure she had everyone, she lifted them all through the house, going as fast as she could. Once everyone was in the OPs center, she let go, falling to her knees, exhausted herself now.

Sam ran over to the control panel and slapped her hand on one of the buttons. The latches holding the OPs center in place released, and a balloon started expanding from the roof with Jack's face on it. The room-turned-blimp started floating away from the building underneath as more Guys in White agents started flooding the house. She hit another button and a Jack Fenton shaped balloon emerged from the steering yoke. "Auto Jack is online!" The last button released the hot air balloon and caused the ship to change shape. Wings emerged from the sides, thrusters formed at the rear, and the front reshaped into an aerodynamic cone. "Emergency escape procedures initiated," said the auto Jack.

The thrusters fired at full power, propelling the jet away from Amity Park. The sudden acceleration caused everyone to be thrown unceremoniously to the back of the jet. "Cruising altitude reached," the auto Jack said after a few minutes. The G forces eased as the plane stopped accelerating, allowing them to stand. "Feel free to move about the cabin. Just don't touch the emergency ham in the fridge."

As everyone finally started to calm down, Danielle changed back to human and went to check on Danny who was still wiped. "Are you ok, Danny," she asked him.

Danny smiled up at her. "I'll be fine. That ghostly wail just takes a lot outta me," he reassured her.

"My, my, that IS some impressive power you have there," came an unfamiliar voice.

Danny's ghost sense went off and he stood to search for the intruder. "Who are you," he shouted. "Show yourself!"

A ghost materialized in the center of the room, causing everyone to look his way. He wore a simple toga and a pair of sandals with bat wings on the sides. "Fear not, humans," he said. "I mean you no harm. I am simply here to relay a message from his majesty."

Danny quirked an eyebrow at that. "His majesty? You mean the ghost king?"

"I assume by 'ghost king' you refer to that pompous windbag, Pariah Dark," the ghost asked. "No, I serve a higher power than a mere king."

Danny slid into a fighting stance. "Alright, spooky. You better start making sense or I'll have to beat some answers out of you," he threatened.

Sam stepped between the two, a concerned look on her face. "Hold on, Danny," she warned. "Doesn't something about this ghost seem familiar to you?"

"Familiar," Danny asked. He eyed the ghost from head to toe. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. He shook his head. "Nope, I've never seen him before."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Now I understand why you got a D in history," she said. "He's Hermes, messenger of the gods."

The ghost piped up at that. "I was always more partial to the name Mercury myself. But you may call me The Messenger," he said while bowing. As he righted himself, he couldn't help but smile. "I was sent here to deliver my message to the most powerful being in the realm," he explained. "I intended to find some sort of world leader, but imagine my surprise at finding not one, but two demigods in this modern age."

Now Danny was really confused. "Demi what," he asked. "What do you mean by demigod?"

The grin on the Messenger's mouth widened. "Oh, child. You did not really believe you were the first half ghost hybrid in history, did you," he asked. "As much as I would love to answer your questions, I am on a bit of a deadline," he said. He cleared his throat and lifted his hands before him, a scroll materializing in them. "His majesty, the All Father, will return to the human realm in three days' time. You have until then to rid the world of all other religious faiths and to worship his majesty as your one true god once again, lest he tear your world asunder." He rolled the scroll back up and it disappeared. "And with that, I bid you all farewell." The wings on his sandals started flapping and he flew out of the jet and back towards Fenton Works.

Everyone stood in stunned silence, unsure how to process the day's events. Until finally she couldn't take it anymore and Danielle asked "Can anyone explain to me what the heck just happened?!"

The Ghost Zone was in utter chaos. Ghosts were panicking and flying around everywhere. The Messenger had just announced that the All Father was due to return in three days' time. Many ghosts didn't even know who this All Father was, but the manic energy around them was enough to scare them as well. The Observants had sent their own message through the Ghost Zone, ordering it's residents to converge at their meeting hall, though only a precious few actually showed up.

"Enough stalling!" Skulker slammed his fist through the seat ahead of him in the huge auditorium. "Panic has set into the soul of every ghost in the realm. No more will be coming!"

"He's right," Johnny 13 said as he kicked his feet up. "This is the best you're gonna get."

"Just tell us what's happening already," Ember called from her spot.

One ghost of the bunch was noticeably quieter than the rest. Though Desiree did not require an explanation as to what they were dealing with, she was interested to see how the Observants would handle the situation. She knew there was no point in losing her mind like many other ghosts. She would simply accept her fate, no matter what it held.

"Very well," said one of the Observants. "Allow me to explain. The All Father is a ghost so ancient, many believe him to be the creator of the Ghost Zone itself."

"So ancient, in fact, that even we of the Observant High Council believed him to be nothing more than myth," another one continued.

"And you want us to do what? Fight him," Youngblood asked. "Ye'd be sending us to our dooms!"

"You will fight alongside the ghost boy, Danny Phantom," one of the others Observants said. There was a moment of quiet as the assembled ghosts processed what he said before the sound of laughter echoed around the chamber. "Why do you laugh?! Do you not see how dire our situation is?!"

Walker was the first to compose himself and answered. "You want me to cooperate with these rule breakers," he asked. "Far as I'm concerned, they all belong in my prison. Especially that punk ghost kid."

"None of us are very fond of the idea of teaming up," Spectra added.

"I don't think you realize just what kind of danger you're in," came a new voice from somewhere behind the Observants. Clockwork floated out from the shadowy hallway and into the light.

"Clockwork," said an Observant.

Clockwork's form shifted to that of an old man as he addressed the assembled ghosts. "I'd offer to show you what the future has in store for you," he started. "But I somehow doubt that would change your minds."

"You're darn right," Kitty shouted from her spot next to Johnny. Everyone started heckling, urging Clockwork to go back to his tower and stay out of their business. Until one voice rang clear above all the others.

"Wait!" The ghosts in the auditorium turned in surprise to Desiree, who so far hadn't said a word. "I would like to see what our future holds," she said. "Please."

Ember stood and approached the genie ghost. "What do you think you're doing, Desiree," she asked. "And why do you care anyway?"

"Because she's seen first hand what this All Father is capable of," Clockwork answered for her, his form shifting to that of a child. He hit the button on top of his staff, an image projecting into the center of the room. "Very well. I will show you the future of the Ghost Zone."

As the image of the projection stabilized, the other ghosts were left confused by what they saw. It was nothing. The trails of green and black found everywhere in the Ghost Zone proved that they were indeed looking at their home. But there were no doors, no floating islands, no trace of any ghosts or their lairs for miles around. The natural portals to the human realm had stopped appearing. It was the very definition of empty.

A shiver ran up Ember's spine as she watched the projection. "It's like some sort of limbo," she said quietly. "Where is everyone?"

"Vanished," Clockwork answered. "As if you were never there in the first place." His form shifted again to an adult. "Millennia of history, erased from existence. No trace of you, or anyone you care about." He looked about the auditorium as he addressed the crowd at large. "No more hunting," he said, singling out Skulker. "No more singing! No more playing pretend or going for joyrides in the human world with your girlfriend. No more power to be gained. No more world to conquer."

The room was deadly silent as the ghosts processed what Clockwork had just said. "And the human realm," Desiree asked quietly.

"What human realm," Clockwork asked pointedly.

Slowly, one by one, each ghost in the auditorium stood, starting with Skulker who said "Very well. We will assist the ghost child."

"Absolutely not!" Danielle's voice echoed around the ship, absolutely appalled by what her father was suggesting. "I'm not going anywhere near that fruit loop or his home ever again!"

Danny sighed and ran his hand through his hair. She was definitely Sam's kid alright. That stubbornness was something to behold. But he really didn't have the time or patience to deal with a temper tantrum right then. "For the last time, Danielle. I'm not asking you. I'm telling you we're going to Vlad's so we can use his portal to get to the Ghost Zone."

"Why can't we just find a natural portal to get there," she asked indignantly.

"Because we don't have the Infi-Map to find any. Which is why we need to use Vlad's portal to go get it!"

The rest of his family were sitting on the sidelines watching the scene play out before them. Jack leaned over to Maddie and whispered "Is that what me and Danny looked like when he was her age?"

Maddie nodded. "Reminds me of the time you wanted to take him fishing when he was eight," she whispered back.

"This isn't up for discussion, Danielle. I don't like it either but Vlad is the only other person with a ghost portal." With that, Danny turned and went to punch in the coordinates to Vlad's mansion. "You don't even have to go inside," he reassured her. "I'll go into the Ghost Zone on my own and grab the Infi-Map from Frostbite. You won't even have to look at Vlad."

"But I wanna go to the Far Frozen too," Danielle protested. "It's no fair you're the only one who gets to see all the cool stuff in the Ghost Zone." She crossed her arms, her bottom lip puffing out in a pout.

While Danny found it adorable, he knew he had to be firm on this. If she got hurt on their way to Frostbite, he'd never forgive himself. "I just took you to Clockwork's tower last night," he reasoned. "Besides, after we save the world and we have our house back, you can come with me and Sam in the Specter Speeder when I return it."

Danielle turned her head away and stared at the floor. "Fine," she mumbled. She walked back to her seat next to Sam and sat down, never taking her eyes off the floor. She jolted when she felt an arm wrap around her and looked up to see Sam smiling down at her.

"I know you don't want to go back to Vlad's," she said. "And I know you want to explore the Ghost Zone more, but your dad's got a lot on his plate right now."

Danielle stiffened at the words Sam chose. "That's gonna take some getting used to," she said.

Sam was confused. "Exploring the Ghost Zone?"

"No," Danielle said shaking her head. "Danny being my dad."

Sam considered what she said. After a moment of thinking, she replied "Yeah. It's gonna take a while for us to get used to it too." She glanced over to Danny, still fiddling with the control panel. "Though it looks like Danny is adjusting to it a lot quicker than either of us. He always did care about you a lot though," she said, looking back to Danielle. "I don't think much actually changed for him."

Danielle fidgeted nervously, suddenly very interested in her shoes. "I guess I do look up to him," she said quietly. "Even when I was working for Vlad, he only tried to help me and take care of me." She looked back up to Sam out of the corner of her eye. "Sorry I got you and Tucker covered in food at the cafeteria when we met."

Sam pulled Danielle in closer so she was leaning into her side and rubbed her hand comfortingly up and down the girl's arm. "Don't worry about it," she reassured her.

Maddie watched the scene before her fondly. Sure, she never expected grandchildren this early, but she knew Danielle would fit in just fine. It made her so happy to see Sam accept the girl so readily.

"Coordinates set! Destination, Madison, Wisconsin," the auto Jack announced. The plane tilted as it turned toward it's new destination. "Vladdy, here we come!"

Danielle swallowed nervously at the words. "It'll be fine," she told herself. "I don't even have to leave the plane."

The whole trip was nerve racking for her. She never left Sam's side for the duration of the 2 hour flight. At some point, Danny had returned to his seat on her other side, satisfied that the auto Jack would safely take them the rest of the way. Jazz looked his way from her seat in the back. "Danny, about that messenger ghost," she started.

Danny quirked an eyebrow at her. "What about him," he asked.

"Don't you think you should let the rest of the world know what's going on," she asked.

Sam looked over her shoulder in surprise. "Are you crazy, Jazz? Danny just had his secret identity revealed to the world and he's public ghost enemy number one," she pointed out. "If he went to the media with this it would just look like he was trying to make himself look good."

"So you'd rather wait three days for him to show up without warning anyone," Jazz asked indignantly.

"He's not coming in three days," Sam retorted. "Because Danny's going to stop him before he gets here. Right Danny?" She looked back to Danny and saw he'd gone ridged. "Danny?"

Danny jolted at the sound of his name being called and looked nervously over to Sam. "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. What Sam said," he said distractedly before going back to staring a hole in the floor ahead of him.

Sam stared at him over Danielle. "Danny," she finally asked. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, dude," Tucker said from behind him. "You've been spacing ever since you set the auto pilot to Vlad's house."

Danny sighed, his hand going to rub nervously at the back of his neck. "I don't know, it's just… a lot right now. Between Danielle, Valerie, my secret identity, this All Father. It's just a little overwhelming." He felt a weight push into him from the side and turned to see Danielle had latched onto him, tears threatening to spill down her face.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "This is all my fault."

Danny picked her up gently and set her in his lap, holding her in his arms. "Danielle Fenton, none of this is your fault." The words came out a little more harshly than intended. "Besides," he said softly, swaying gently from side to side. "I can't imagine life without you."

That was it. The dam burst. The tears that had been threatening to spill started overflowing from Danielle's eyes. She hugged Danny tighter, burying her face into his chest as she cried. It vibrated comfortingly as he hummed softly to her, trying to calm her down. She didn't know how long she sat with him like that, but her eyes were starting to feel heavy as the quiet sobs petered out, gently beckoning her to sleep.

Satisfied that she was asleep, Danny was about to stand when he heard a shutter sound to his left. He turned to Sam with her phone pointed at him and a gentle smile on her face. He smiled back before standing, taking Danielle to the guest room at the back of the jet.

As he left, Maddie leaned forward to whisper to Sam. "Send me that."

Danny gently laid Danielle on the bed, being sure to take off her shoes and cover her with the comforter. Like last night, he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before leaving her to sleep. After gently closing the door, he went back to the control panel to check the GPS. It showed they had just over ten minutes before they arrived.

Sam walked up to stand beside him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "How's Danielle," she asked quietly.

"Fine, I think," he answered. After a moment of silence he sighed. "I just want to be done with all of this end of the world stuff so we can actually talk about this properly."

Sam kissed his cheek softly. "I know," she said. "And we will. Trust me, it'll all work out."

"Preparing for landing," the auto Jack announced. Sam went back to her seat with the others while Danny took the pilot seat next to to the auto Jack, trying to mentally prepare himself for the meeting to come. The jet slowed and thrusters on the bottom ignited, bringing them down in a controlled descent as landing struts expanded from the front and rear. They gently touched down and Danny was happy to say that it was the smoothest landing he'd ever had in the thing. The door on the side opened up and a ramp expanded to allow them to disembark.

As everyone got up, Danny stopped them. "Hold on, someone needs to stay with Danielle," he said.

Maddie raised her hand. "Jack and I will stay," she said eagerly.

Jack looked at her in surprise. "We will?"

"We will," Maddie said with finality, walking over to stand next to Danny. "Don't you want to stay and protect your granddaughter in case something happens?"

Jack perked up at that. "Of course! Don't worry, Danny! Nothing's getting past us!" He whipped out the Jack o' Nine Tails, spinning it around and trying to show off when he accidentally hit the button on the side. The nine tails shot out and landed on his head.

Danny looked over to his mom. "You'll keep the blasters?"

Maddie sighed. "I'll keep the blasters."

The rest of the group disembarked, stretching as they walked down the ramp. Just leaving the mansion before them was Vlad Masters, looking none too pleased. "Ah, Daniel my boy," he greeted. "What an unexpected, and unwelcome, surprise."

"Save it, Plasmius," Danny said as he stepped forward. "I'm not any happier to be here than you are to see me."

Vlad arched an eyebrow knowingly. "Then tell me, Daniel, why are you here," he asked smugly. "It wouldn't happen to have something to do with Valerie announcing your secret identity to the world, now would it?"

Danny clenched is fist, hating what was about to come. "Vlad," he sighed. "I need your help."

Vlad barked out a laugh. "HA! Of course you need my help," he said arrogantly. "But tell me, boy, are you prepared to help me in exchange?"

Danny arched an eyebrow at that. "Help you? With what," he asked.

Vlad let out an over dramatic sigh, looking back to his mansion. "You see, Daniel, the clone body that I gave your future self to inhabit still hasn't fully accepted him," he explained. "The clone I gave him was mostly human, so I hoped it would be easy for him to take control but it seems there's still one piece missing." He turned back to Danny. "I need a sample of your mid morph DNA to bridge the gap between his completely ghost form and the clone's mostly human form."

"You want Danny to give you the one thing you need to create a perfect copy of him," Tucker asked indignantly. "You're even crazier than I remember!"

Vlad rolled his eyes. "Please. Surely Danielle must have told you she destroyed all my cloning research already," he said, exasperated. "I don't relish the thought of starting from scratch again."

"That reminds me," Danny said as he changed to his ghost form. Before Vlad could ask what he was doing, Danny punched him right in the jaw, sending him to the ground. Danny looked down at him with contempt as Vlad's hand went to his jaw to check for any damage. "That's for not telling me I had a daughter." He stared defiantly as Vlad picked himself up.

"I'll let you have that one, Daniel," Vlad replied as he righted himself. "Now what do you need from me?"

"I need access to your ghost portal," Danny said.

"And in exchange, you'll give me your mid morph DNA," Vlad asked pointedly.

Danny sighed. "Yeah, you can have-"

"Hold on, Danny," Jazz said, cutting him off. "Surely you can get something else out of him if you're giving him something so important."

Danny looked back at her in surprise. "Like what?"

The press came quickly when they heard Vlad Masters had an announcement to make. He'd gotten every major news outlet in the country to show up, with the promise that it would be broadcast to the rest of the world. Danny had to admit, Jazz was right. Getting Vlad to warn the public about the All Father was perfect. It wouldn't look like Danny was lying, and it would get the message out there. And while Vlad was distracted with the press, it would give Danny enough time to get to the Far Frozen and back.

Danny stood before the ghost portal, putting in his Fenton Phones while his friends behind him did the same. The last time he went into the Ghost Zone alone, he was jumped by every ghost in the place. To say he was nervous was putting it lightly. Sam stepped up next to him, slipping her hand into his. "You ready," she asked.

Danny nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be." He turned to face her fully, grabbing hold of her other hand. "Wish me luck?"

Without hesitation Sam leaned in and kissed him gently. The sensation sent butterflies through her stomach. She pulled away slowly, not wanting to lose the contact, and rested her forehead against his. "Good luck," she whispered.

He stepped away, nodding, and turned back to the ghost portal. "Here I go!" With that he jumped through the gateway and was gone.

A/N:As I write the latter quarter of this story, I'm sick as a dog and barely conscious. But I really wanted to get this new chapter out as soon as possible. I hope you enjoy!