Chapter 1

Amity Park
A few months later:

Amity Park was a small corner of the United States, lost in the center of the country. Its population averaged only a few thousand. There was its downtown with its tall buildings, a few shops including a large shopping mall and a local aquatic centre called Floody Waters, where the majority of teenagers had fun during the summer. The schools in Amity Park where the students had classes were Spooky Junior High School (which combined school and college) and Casper High. Nothing distinguished it from any other city in this region, and the sign planted at the entrance to the town displayed a joyful "A nice place to live" very welcoming, but one of the most notable things that had made it famous in the area this last years was the regular attacks of ghosts. Indeed, what we thought were just urban and banal legends appeared regularly around here, to wreak havoc and amused themselves by terrifying the mortals there, or planned to conquer the world.

Very quickly, the once-quiet town of Amity Park had acquired a sinister reputation as one of the most haunted places in the world, and few people came to stay there for long periods of time now: there was too much risk of a ghoul appearing at night in the room above the bed, or that the light bulbs in the rooms start to flicker.

However, only one ghost stood out: calling himself a vigilante named Danny Phantom, this ghost regularly defended the human population from his fellows. It wasn't uncommon to see him fighting in the middle of the city against spectral creatures, or in the park and the surrounding area. No one knew why the ghost teenage was so different of the others; people speculated about him or his identity when he was alive, but found nothing. From a hated ghost like all the others, the teenage ghost had become a celebrity and protector of humans : this ghost had already saved Earth when a huge asteroid was close to wiping it out. And even more ago, a terrifying ghost named Pariah Park had threatened Amity Park, and once again, Danny Phantom had managed to defeat him.

Now, people have been waving and cheering for him as he passes, since his past feats. In our day, the ghost hero saved the widow and the orphan; prevented many robberies and burglaries; retrieved cats stuck in trees or helped grandmothers cross the crosswalk safely.

But his main occupation was hunting for ghosts in Amity Park : even though the ghosts had helped protect Earth, that didn't stop them from frequently attacking humans and invading their world. Even today, the hero was in the park outside the city: he was currently grappling with a familiar ghost, small and round, who was waving in all directions with several cardboard boxes.

"Beware ! I am the Box Ghost, and I have power over all containers carboard and square!" he warned the crowd below him, who were completely unaware of him.

Meanwhile, Danny watched him fidgeting with great boredom. This guy will never change... What a pain in the ass.

Even though it wasn't the most terrifying ghost he'd ever encountered, the halfa had to admit to him that Box Ghost was as elusive as an eel. In his ghost form, he had earlier chased Box Ghost who had materialized right in front of him. After stealing a few boxes, he tried in vain to terrorize passers-by, proclaiming to fear him and making ridiculous faces. The ghost had swept him all over the city, disappearing behind the walls and seeding him repeatedly.

The chase through Amity Park had lasted an hour, before Danny finally found him.

For the moment, no one seemed to be interested in him: it must be said that the inhabitants of Amity Park had had their share of daily ghost apparitions and no longer took this kind of threat seriously. And Ghost Box was one of the least terrifying ghosts that had appeared so far.

Still nailed to the ground, thermos – made by Jack Fenton - in hand, the half-ghost had to admit his tenacity: only once, when the Box Ghost had stolen Pandora's box, had he really succeeded in scaring them. But now that he no longer had it in his possession, and Pandora had threatened to feed it to Cerberus if he dared to return to the Acropolis, it had become a simple annoyance that came back to harass them from time to time.

"Oh, come on!" the Box Ghost suddenly exclaimed, weary of the lack of reaction. "You could at least pretend to be terrified, everyone!"

"You really should let it go, buddy," Danny rose into the air to the level of the now sulking specter, looking at him pityingly and placing a hand, the one that wasn't holding the thermos, on the poor spectral man's shoulder. "There are other, more interesting things you could do in the Ghost Zone, instead of ruining other people's lives. Or you could help people by carrying their box: they might appreciate you."

He tried to be conciliatory, but Danny had his own agenda that this meeting jeopardized: normally, the young teenager would meet Sam at the Skulk and Lurk library, where she worked part-time – why did a girl who came from a wealthy family need to earn pocket money, anyway? - and his girlfriend was surely waiting for him. After that, the two of them had to meet Tucker, and the three of them had to join Valerie at the Nasty Burger so they could all eat together. It was a little ritual that their gang organized every weekend. However, Box Ghost had chosen to appear at the same time and put him late: what bad luck.

To think that he had purposely come early to chat with Sam, just the two of us for a while. Before leaving, he'd even made sure to take a good shower – earlier in the day, Danny had dealt with Skulker, the robot ghost hunter who dreamed of making the halfa his bed rug. The fight, even though Danny had emerged victorious and Skulker had taken a good beating, had left him just as beaten, dirty and in a bad mood – the teenager still felt the burn of a plasma energy shot that had grazed him to the side. He had to go home for treatment and another shower. It had already wasted his time.

The hard life of a hero, the usual routine.

Ghosts seem to love to complicate my life more than the average teenager, Danny thought with some annoyance. He resumed his conversation with the ghost in front of him: "Frankly man, you'd better leave without making any more fuss. I'd rather not waste time fighting you either."

The blue specter warmed up at his impertinent remark and he pulled out of his grip, glaring at him: "You're dreaming, Ghost Boy! The joy of evil ghosts, like me, is to make your life a living hell! And especially yours! That's our ultimate goal in life!" To punctuate his words, Box Ghost mimed an expression that he wanted to be terrifying, waving his arms madly and sticking out his tongue roughly.

Danny's eye twitched, his patience slowly dwindling to nothing at all. Of course, that's all you have to do, it seems. "I can assure you that you and the others are a real pain." And with that, he opened the thermos wide and activated it: the device started working, noisily sucking in the air around him.

Helpless, Box Ghost found himself dragged inside, unable to escape the attraction, and he disappeared with a dismayed "Hey!" Danny closed the device with a sigh. At least he didn't have to fight this time - even if that idiot had sent him flying everywhere. That's it. Now I have to go and find Sam: I hope she won't be angry with me for being late.

It wasn't her type to get upset over that kind of trifle, especially since she knew how hard Danny worked to keep ghosts at bay, but she'd wonder about his absence. And if Sam found out that he had taken over the patrol without her and the rest of their gang, the girl might eventually be upset.

"Look, Mom! I see Danny Phantom above us! He catched the bad ghost !" suddenly cried a child, who jumped while shaking his mother's arm.

"I see, dear."

Danny looked at the small family waving at him. He returned their greeting, unable to help but smile warmly - and the child was even happier. There were still good sides to being a hero now: the entire town of Amity Park recognized him as their savior. It made a very clear difference, compared to before. That alone made his burden seem less heavy to bear, if it meant that people like this kid could continue to be happy.

As luck would have it, the clock chose that moment to strike, and Danny looked with increasing horror at the dial that displayed the time. "Damn, I've been hanging around too long!"

He sped through the city, his ears ringing as he increased his speed until he reached the speed of sound. To better fly, his legs had faded under him at the level of his hips. In his hand, he kept the thermos that still contained the ghost he had captured. Danny will soon have to release him through the Portal, the one that served as a gateway between their world and the ghost world, which was at Fenton Works in his father's laboratory.

But for now, Sam was waiting for him. Within minutes, Danny walked through half of Amity Park to the library. He went so fast that Danny didn't notice the tall, levitating hooded figure watching him far above. The individual didn't take his eyes off him with his red stare as the ghost boy made his way downtown.

Then the stranger turned away and disappeared in the green portal behind him, which closed after he passed.

...

Before arriving, Danny had sneaked into a small alley below to change his appearance. After his transformation, his pristine white hair had turned black again, the green of his eyes was his normal blue, and his signature jumpsuit – which bizarrely was also a part of his ghost form and disappeared when he was no longer – had been replaced with his usual clothes. The return to normalcy had only lasted a short while, and the feeling of possessing a body of flesh had returned, still a little unsettling at first, but he had gotten used to it.

As expected, Sam had already finished her work time and was waiting outside the building where young Manson worked. Hiding on a street corner, Danny looked at the young goth girl who was watching around, probably looking for him. Recently, the girl had changed her look slightly, the most notable being that she had let go of her raven black hair, on which she had dyed a front strand purple, and she had swapped her plaid skirt for tight ripped jeans with a silver chain hanging from the belt. She held her bag in her arms, which seemed to contain something - but Danny hadn't yet acquired the vision through matter to guess what it was.

After taking a deep breath of fresh air and adopting his most natural demeanor possible, Danny emerged from his hiding place and joined his girlfriend.

"Hey, Sam!" He called out to her, causing Sam to turn back to him as the teen ran down the sidewalk until he reached her.

Her purple eyes sparkled with joy at the sight of him, but Sam hid her excitement and decided to tease him a little for keeping her waiting. She had begun to wonder where Danny had slipped and had been about to call him. Crossing her slender arms, she took on a bored expression when he arrived, her lip becoming sulky.

"You're late!" accused Sam reproachfully. At her remonstrance, Danny stirred slightly. Sam raised an accusatory eyebrow as if to say, "Well, mister?»

Even though she had a very good idea of why he had hung around, but the goth wanted to hear him explain. Especially since she couldn't remember receiving any recent ghost alert messages: when a member of their group spotted a ghost nearby, they had to warn the others so they could get organized. She was curious about his excuse. And if that was what Sam guessed, he was going to get a hell of a ear from her!

There was no need to hide the truth from her, Danny guessed: Sam already suspected what he might have done before he came. He sighed.

"I've been busy with an urgent matter," the young man explained, a little embarrassed as he awkwardly tousled his hair. He didn't want to lie to Sam: she was pretty clever and smart. He couldn't hide the truth from her. The teenager sighed and showed Sam the Fenton thermos, while being careful not to drop it on the ground especially. "I came across Box Ghost on the way, and I had to take care of him"

"Oh." Any uneasiness that the girl might have had vanished at once; at the mention of the ghost, she tried to hold back a mocking smile as she imagined the comic scene.

Danny didn't have too much problems about capturing him, she thinked. His visit to Earth must have been short: Sam was almost sorry for the ghost trapped in the Fenton thermos. Honestly, she wondered why Box Ghost kept hurting himself by trying to scare the people of Amity Park: no one feared him anymore: even the babies in the strollers laughed at her clowning. On top of that, Danny always ends up kicking his ass - literally - and bringing him back to the Ghost Zone in a tiny container. He was really out of luck.

She was about to let go and joke with Danny about it, but the boy wasn't done emptying his bag: "That, and I'd run into Skulker earlier. He had badly damaged me, and I had to go to my parents' lab to treat myself," Danny added in a small voice.

This time, Sam wasn't smiling at all and her eyes became genuinely irritated. "Danny, it was reckless to do it on your own!" she snapped, flabbergasted by his risk-taking. "And without telling anyone! Skulker is the tough type, like ghost. Not to mention, the GIW guys are still trying to capture Danny Phantom, remember ! You could have at least contacted us!"

Danny tensed at her reproach, unable to find an argument to defend himself. Sam was careful to mumble in a low voice to prevent anyone from inadvertently overhearing them. She had dragged them a little further away, to a quiet street corner. They were free to talk now. Sam crossed her thin arms, waiting for a good explanation from her friend.

"I know, Sam," Danny admitted in an equally low voice, eager to end the conflict so that neither she nor he would argue. It could go on for hours, and Sam was a pretty stubborn girl. "I'm sorry: I should have warned everyone. But lately, all of you have been very busy: you at the library, Tucker with his duties as mayor at City Hall, and Valerie at the Nasty Burger. Jazz is away at college for the rest of the week, and my parents were invited to a conference today to promote their inventions. I didn't mean to disturb you. And then, I managed to manage it: I only got scratches. And those clowns in white suits weren't here today."

He knew that was a poor explanation, but Sam's gaze softened slightly, and she breathed slowly as they continued to walk together in silence.

For the past few weeks, Sam noted, Danny had been keen to live up to the expectations of the people of Amity Park. Previously, when everyone still hated him, his friend had been burdened with the weight of his ghost powers. Between their life as a teenager to manage, and his heavy life as a hero, Danny had several times sought to get rid of his responsibilities. Things had changed since the Desastroid; this event had reminded him of his duty as a hero, when he had tried to give up. Ever since Danny Phantom had been recognized as the savior of mankind - that symbol being the latter's large statue protecting the Earth - the young halfa had never tried to run away again.

Amity Park needed protecting - and, along with the rest of the planet, his family and friends too.

Danny had changed, for the better. He had finally fully accepted his role, and the halfa fought every day against all the ghosts that kept manifesting themselves in the world of the living.

Still, Sam lamented the fact that, more and more often, Danny was trying to do it on his own.

Danny is that kind of guy, she remembered thoughtfully. It was as if he was trying to voluntarily distance himself from them – from her – when, from the beginning, they had acted as a close-knit team regardless of the threat.

Sam's gaze went down, as her hand shyly slipped into Danny's larger one. He stared at her with undisguised surprise as she squeezed, and his cheeks flushed slightly at the touch of her - glancing around, Sam was just as embarrassed than him, though she didn't move away from Danny - as she intertwined their fingers together. The two of them were still shy in their new relationship: they had been best friends for so long, that neither of them knew how to act with each other now. And apart from their "real" first kiss at the station and then the one they shared at Danny's honoring ceremony, their experience went no further. Sometimes, the situation could be rather awkward, when they would turn around without knowing what to do except talk about random topics.

However, that didn't stop Sam from trying to reassure Danny, and she looked at him with a tender look that the teenager reserved only for her loved ones – and exceptionally for everyone at Christmas.

"You don't have to do it all alone, Danny," she reminded him. "We're all here for you: we're a team, remember. Promise me that next time you'll let us know if there's anything wrong. Okay?"

Danny tried to gather his thoughts together, as he was still taking in what was happening - because, damn, Sam was so beautiful in that moment. In his defense, the warmth and softness of her hand holding hims was very distracting. Danny thought his ghost form was going to come out of his body, as his heart threatened to shoot out of his chest like the Alien monster they'd seen at his home last week. Absentmindedly, his thumb brushed against Sam's ring – the one he'd given her back in the day when the Desastroid was about to destroy Earth. She had never left it, not once.

He could see that Sam was still waiting for his answer: Danny was hesitant to answer her, as he preferred to deal with the ghost crisis as much as possible on his own. Even when his parents, ghost hunters, arrived to join him, the young halfa almost always completed the task on time – even though Jack often complained about missing the party and his son innocently pretended that his Fenton alarm had failed; Maddie gave him funny looks, showing him that she wasn't fooled, even though her mother hadn't reported him and was busy consoling her sad husband. But Sam wouldn't accept that so easily; therefore, reluctantly, Danny yielded:

"I promise, Sam. In the future, you'll be the first one I'll contact."

Her request granted, Sam relaxed and moved a little closer to him; the teenager fully appreciated her closeness, as their shoulders brushed against each other. Both of them felt pleasant electric stings at this contact, which they did not break all along their walk. Even though their relationship was new, each of them enjoyed progressing at this pace, without rushing, taking it step by step. Immersed in a pleasant atmosphere and giving each other silly and awkward smiles, but genuinely happy, the two teenagers made their way back to the town hall to join their other friend.

It was a quiet and peaceful late morning.

Ghost Zone
Meanwhile

The Ghost Zone was not a peaceful and safe place: far from it. Many places in this dimension were full of earthen moors where dangerous powerful wraiths lived, destructive black holes, a carnivorous chasm, and an infinity of doors that led to places across time and space. However, there was one place in the entire Ghost Zone that all ghosts avoided like the plague, as it was the prison of one of the most tyrannical and cruel beings that ever existed: the dungeon of Pariah Dark.

More frightening than the Acropolis of Athens and more impressive than the castle of the Kingdom of Aragorn, it was a setting worthy of the evil king the specter was during his reign of terror: a huge purple castle with twisted pointed towers. The green glow around it glowed like a beacon in the middle of the night, further accentuating the intimidating contours of this abode. When the King of All Ghosts fell, it was his former servant, Frigh Knight, who had resided here to carry out his own reign. But when he was imprisoned in his turn, no one had dared to approach this terrifying castle.

Since then, only two people had walked through the front door. Their reasons were various: the half-ghost Danny, in order to retrieve the Halloween Knight's Soul Shredder for a school project (and accidentally freeing the owner before locking him up again) ; then Vlad Plasmius, who wanted to possess the two artifacts that had belonged to Pariah Dark and, in doing so, waking him from his eternal slumber. It was one of the worst disasters ever. After Danny brought Pariah Dark back to the sarcophagus in an epic battle to save Amity Park, the entire city sent to the ghost dimension and invaded by an army of skeletons, no more intruders had entered the place so as not to disturb the dangerous king's imprisonment.

"And now, look where we are," grumbled a yeti-ghost warrior from the people of Far Frozen, holding a deck of cards in front of another.

The intimidating snow monsters sat in suits with their spears at the ready, both playing a game of poker and munching on frozen fish sorbets. Their game for a while now, after their king Frostbite ordered the soldiers to go to Pariah Dark's dungeon, claiming to "keep the place safe."

Ice Cream – that was the name of the yeti whose ice horns had been broken – had not finished complaining and stared with an mad eye at the sarcophagus where the terrible ghost king slept. With a sorbet stuck in his mouth, he grumbled to his comrade: "Don't you think that's weird, Frozen Feet? This morning this old Clockwork came to visit the chief: they had a little talk, and just after the guy left, the boss asked us to go and watch this cursed place."

Frozen Feet, named after his feet completely caught in the ice, raised a doubtful eyebrow as he listened to his partner's ramblings. He analyzed his playing (Frozen Feet was holding a square) and compared it to that of the other yeti who threw a full house. With a victorious smile, he exclaimed, "Square! I got you, you big dummie," which made Ice Cream roar angrily and threw the winner a purse full of gold coins.

When Frozen Feet put away his prize and restarted a game, dealing the cards between them, he replied with a shrug of his broad shoulders, "You know how he is, Clockwork: a tad paranoid. It must be said that he lived through the time of Pariah Dark. It is even said that he helped to enclose him in this sarcophagus. He and the chief get along well, so he had to ask Frostbite for a favor to come and check on everything."

"Well, if he's so worried, Clockwork could have asked that half-ghost to come in our place," Ice Cream replied in a bad mood as he bet a quantity of gold of his own - but less than last time. The only half-ghost the yeti was referring to was Danny Phantom, Clockwork's disciple and a close friend of their leader. He was also the one who got rid of Pariah Dark after his release.

His friend raised an eyebrow at his bad tongue "Dude, you're lucky the boss can't hear you: he would have given you a hell of a beating. He's still our benefactor and the Great One."

Ice Cream only replied with a stifled growl; the yeti didn't like the half-ghost very much, ever since Danny's arrival to practice mastering his ice powers – one of the spikes the ghost boy had accidentally thrown at the audience had come close to impaling Ice Cream on the bleachers. The discussion ended there: none of them spoke again, except to announce their hand on each turn and each of their bets. Time passed like this, game after game, as Frozen Feet took advantage of his lucky hand and gradually stripped the other warrior who became a little more annoyed. His savings for the month were gradually disappearing.

"I've had enough! How can you pull me a Royal Flush?!" exclaimed Ice Cream as his last coins disappeared into Frozen Feet's greedy purse. Enraged, he tore up the cards and they flew through the air: they were a good combination, and he had thought he could win that round, but his friend had another lucky hand and had beaten him easily. Ice Cream needed to breathe a little outside, and he stood up, grasping his spear in disgust. "I'm going out on a watch! Keep the sarco-"

A creaking sound from the door interrupted him: startled, the two yetis turned towards the entrance, as the opening widened further. A figure emerges, hidden by a cape and his face covered by a hood; The intruder entered the castle of the tyrant king, which the yetis, both bewildered, were guarding. The warriors of Frostbite froze in the face of this unexpected apparition, unable to believe that anyone was here: no sane and minimally cultured beings would come to this place that was feared throughout the Ghost Zone. Then they reacted at a moment's notice; the monstrous ghosts raised their spears – Frozen Feet had hurriedly grabbed hers before joining his partner – and, immediately, Ice Cream barked at the intruder: "Halt, stranger! No one has the right to enter here!"

"Turn around right away, do you hear?!" added Frozen Feet, not hesitating to bare his imposing, deadly fangs as the individual did not slow down.

To heighten their threat, the yetis pointed their guns at him. However, the strange figure did not stop; he just walked forward, without blinking his red eyes as he stared fearlessly at the two fur giants. Faced with his audacity, Ice Cream raised a huge paw from which a blue glow sprang out, and projected a chilling ray at the individual's feet. A block of ice formed, finally forcing the intruder to stop.

"Last warning!" the warrior warned him in a somber tone. "Go back immediately, or we'll drive you out by force!"

"... In that case, I choose force," the intruder replied in an even voice.

Then he disappeared. The next moment, Ice Cream was thrown against the wall, grunting in shock; his spear crashed against the cobblestones. Frozen Feet could only blink in amazement as the stranger stood where his companion had been, now on the ground. With a roar of anger, the yeti turned the spear to mow down this formidable foe. He became intangible, allowing the weapon to pass through without causing any damage to him. In return, he summoned a ball of plasma, and sent it exploding into Frozen Feet's belly. The ghostmonster was sent flying through the air, before falling back inert to the ground, unconscious. It had only lasted ten seconds.

Easily freed from the two troublemakers, the intruder quietly made his way to the top of the stairs. Until he reached the Sarcophagus of Eternal Sleep: the prison of Pariah Dark.

"It's time for me to go, now." Now that he had what he had come for, the stranger could leave this austere place.

Suddenly, a sixth sense warns him of a presence. When he turned around, the intruder received a vengeful punch from a badly wounded Ice Cream, who had snuck up behind him. The impact sent the unknow ghost flying across the room, before the being recovered and stopped running in mid-air. He rubbed his mouth, and when he raised his hand, the stranger's eyes reddened more at the sight of the green trail of his ghost blood. Ice Cream, short of breath and barely able to stand with his spear as a crutch, looked at the ghost who stared at him hard. The two of them met their eyes, furious, judging each other.

"I only planned to leave and let both of you knock out, without further damage," the stranger confessed. Then he raised his fists, which focused on energy. "But you will set a good example for your fellow beast." The enemy's voice dropped dangerously as he advanced toward his target.

In response, Ice Cream summoned his own ice power with the tips of his trembling paws. "Enough useless chatting : bring in on !"