Synopsis
At some point, the ghost kid will get tired of running and hiding. Eventually, he will start exploring alternative options. If his loved ones are put in harm's way, his protective obsession for them will take over his mind and the only option left would be self-sacrifice. Instead of delaying what will inevitably come, he will make a deal with the "Guys In White". Protect his friends, protect his family, protect his city, and better understand himself. All he has to do is be their living sacrifice.
Preface
The week has been anything but restful for Danny. He'd spent the previous weekend being the infamous Phantom of Amity Park, which entails ghost fights, practicing for ghost fights, planning for ghost fights, and the occasional battle with ghost hunters. It felt almost planned, each of his enemies came at him one after another, all seeming to have new abilities or toys to use against him. The fights left his body feeling sore and tight, everything hurt in some way or another. The bruises always stay longer than the cuts, which Danny assumes has something to do with the healing abilities his ghostly side provided.
As his injuries heal, the long weekend turns into a long week. Everyone seems to be at the top of their game in these continuing fights, leaving Danny hardly standing. Regretfully, he's continued to call for backup. Despite the aid of his friends in his cause, each fall makes it harder to get back up again. The burnout this week has begun to take its toll on the boy. He is expected to participate in the life of his living form, yet It becomes increasingly meaningless as the burdens of his ghostly half grow larger. His teachers think of him as the sort of child that shys away from hard work. He's been called a slacker or an unmotivated student, but if they knew the whole truth perhaps they'd give the boy a second thought.
By Friday he's made it through the week with his sanity intact, although the fights aren't dying down. Sam and Tucker covered Skulker and that provided Danny a chance to breathe. Their attempts to free him of the constant battles are admirable, although just as quickly as he is Fenton again, Phantom is needed. Another Ghost, another fight, another few moments as Phantom. Another agent on the scene with an ecto gun trained to Phantom's signature. It has become relentless by the time Danny realizes he's hardly alive anymore.
Every aspect of his life and himself has been tossed aside because of Phantom's responsibilities. He takes pride in the good he's brought to his home, yet it still stings to watch his grades crumble. His friends have also become tangled in his double life, showing up when Danny needs someone to cover for him, or picking him up in the alleys of Amity Park after narrower escapes, and the upkeep of the new wounds and the old ones; Danny always cleans the ones he can himself, but man do his enemies love to hit him in the back. Danny can't remember the last time he was able to see his best friends in the absence of pain.
His family has fallen captive to the same fate. The obsession his parents, especially his mom, have with the ghost kid is taking its toll on them. They have the same hours as him, with late nights to early mornings completely saturated with ghosts. Maddie loves to imagine the possibilities of Phantom's DNA. She thinks about his form and how unique he is, how young he seems, and how his brain works. She never keeps these thoughts to herself. Her theories entice her mind in a way that leaves Danny utterly afraid of his mother. More often than not Maddie shares her urges with Danny, a very uncomfortable conversational partner. It oddly makes Danny feel guilty, knowing that he is the key to all her desires and that he still keeps Phantom away from her.
And the alternative is not reassuring. To see how worn Tucker and Sam are after a fight or the morning after late-night emergencies. Their restlessness, Danny concludes, would be the fate of his family if he told them the truth; either that or they would kill him and he would be out of everyone's hair.
In Danny's mind, everyone would be better off without his ghostly half.
His family practically makes a daily habit of expressing their hatred of him.
The consequences of keeping his secret become more present as his thoughts continue. His parents' obsession, his friend's constant involvement, and the danger Tucker and Sam put themselves in by being friends with the ghost kid.
And the town, Amity Park, they root for the hunters more than they ever have for the ghost kid. His abilities hurt the same people he slaves to protect. The accident made him this way, and now it is his responsibility to find his place in the new persona he was gifted.
The only thing giving Phantom worth is the fact that he is an anomaly. None of the scientists know why, but maybe if he let an expert in on the secret, they would be able to learn from him. Who knows what kind of doors could be opened by the scientific discovery of halfas? His body is full of biological contradictions. He is living but died. He is a ghost that breathes air and needs sleep and people to patch him up when he gets hurt, he can feel pain.
He wonders how much the Guys in White would want to explore his pain. All the hunters always yell out quips about making Phantom hurt in their fights, but Danny never really interpreted their threats as more than just threats.
If being a science experiment meant pain, it isn't like it would be foreign to him. And they would have to keep it under control. They'd want to keep him alive. Alive, could he die again? There were so many things Danny didn't know about himself. The pain and the breath and all the human stuff he could live without being aware of, but he would like to know if he was mortal or not. What if he was stuck living forever? Would he have to watch everyone he loves die?
He was starting to understand the fascination his mom had with Phantom. There is just so much to learn.