Chapter Eight: Moving On

"All God's angels come to us disguised." - James Russell Lowell

Danny

I phase Dad back into the orphanage but not into the cellar. Instead, I set him down in the church room. There's no deep religious reason. I just sort of ended up here.

"What are we doing in here?" Dad asks. There's enough light coming in that he doesn't bother with the light switch or the flashlight. "Are the kids here?"

"No," I say before plopping down into one of the pews. I rest my elbows on my knees and hold my head in one hand while the other dangles off my leg. "I just can't face them right now."

Dad starts to sit down but hesitates, remembering how old this place is. He carefully lowers himself into the seat beside me and blows out a breath when the pew doesn't crumble beneath him. "Danny, you didn't do anything wrong."

"I didn't do everything right either," I croak out. "All they wanted was an apology from Rosa, and did they get that? No." I start to say more, but I'm too choked up to trust myself.

Dad puts his hand on my back. "It's not your fault. Some people are just born evil, and clearly Rosa is one of them."

I press my lips together, but it does nothing to stop the trembling. "Should I try overshadowing her again?"

"Again? Ah, son, don't cry."

Dad wraps his arm around me as I sob into my hands. How can I not cry? Four innocent children, one of whom never even got the chance to live, are going to be stuck in this building forever. They'll never see all their friends again or explore the Ghost Zone, whichever the case would have been. Louis, Amelia, and Benjamin will hover aimlessly between life and death, and not the way I do, for eternity. They can't even interact with the people coming and going in this place. I'm probably the first person they've ever made real contact with.

And, I failed them.

There's a stirring in my chest. Not my core punishing my failure. It's more like…what happens when I fulfill my Obsession. It's the gentle, happy pulsation that comes with helping someone in need. Why would-

Three little lights hover in front of me. They look different. They are still a silvery-white, and Amelia still has her baby attached, but they've grown to the size of baseballs, their outlines are more solid, and they seem to shine brighter.

The kids feel different too. It reminds me of when Ida Manson passed on. Her soul radiated a similar form of contentment.

"It's…the kids," I breathe.

"They're here?" Dad asks.

"Yeah," I say, scarcely believing it myself. "And, they're ready to go." I leap to my feet. The kids rise to eye level. "I don't understand. Rosa didn't apologize. I-I failed!"

Dad stands up and rests his hands on my shoulders. I glance up at him, and he gives me a proud, tender smile. "Maybe they're just happy that you tried."

I sniffle and swipe at my eyes. With shaking hands, I cup the kids and bring them closer. My smile is fragile but real. "I don't know where you're going…but I know you're going to love it there."

I guide them to my chest, feel them pass through my core. An white-hot burst envelopes me from the inside. So many feelings and memories swim through me.

Benjamin's mother tucking him in and kissing him goodnight.

Louis's father teaching him how to milk the cows.

Amelia's anticipation as Nicholas undoes her corset.

On and on, the kids' good memories play in my mind. I feel their joy and laughter and most of all, I feel their gratitude.

They were trapped for so long. Now they're free.

I'm light-headed when the moment ends, and my father catches me before I collapse. "Danny!" he says urgently. "Danny, are you alright?"

"They're free. They're free, Dad!" I throw my arms around him and a light sob escapes me. "We saved them."

Dad tightens his grip on me. "You saved them, son," he says with endless emotion. "I was just along for the ride."

I float upward to kiss him on the cheek and nuzzle his neck. "I couldn't have gotten through this without you."

We stay here and hold each other for a minute. Then, I phase Dad back outside. I fly away and turn invisible before flying back to meet him at the GAV. He hops into the driver's seat, and I check for witnesses before transforming and climbing into the passenger's seat beside him.

"Thank you for bringing me here, Dad," I say. "Sorry the trip turned out so crazy."

Dad grins. "Are you kidding me? Sure, it was…terrifying. But, I wanted to do ghost stuff with you, and boy, did I!"

I rub the back of my neck. "Probably not the kind of stuff you wanted to do."

"No, but all's well that ends well. The kids are free. Rosa's been dealt with. What should we do with her, anyway?"

I ponder that for all of five seconds. "Normally, I'd just release her back into the Ghost Zone. But, she did interfere with my angel stuff, and that is against the law. Besides, I don't like that she never got punished for what she did to the orphans in her care. And, I'm not just talking about the wanderers."

"So, what? There some kind of ghost jail you can take her to?"

"Funny you should ask," I say with a smug grin. "I happen to know the warden of the most feared prison in the Ghost Zone."

"You're friends with the warden?"

"I know him," I say bluntly. "Upholding the law is his Obsession - I think - so I'm sure he'll have a lot to say about our dear friend, Rosa."

Dad chuckles. Then, he lowers his gaze when a low rumble pierces the air. "Did we skip lunch?"

A similar sound comes from my own stomach. "Oh, I guess we did. Heh. We were so busy, I didn't notice what time it was."

Dad starts the engine. "Let's find ourselves some grub. There's plenty of places to eat around here."

Jack

Danny is quiet during dinner. It doesn't seem like the kind of quiet that comes with enjoying your food too much to talk. Though, that might be part of it. I don't know about Danny's BLT, but my patty melt is amazing! And, the fries aren't half bad, either!

Either way, there's something on my son's mind. "Penny for your thoughts, Danny Boy?"

Danny swallows a mouthful of fries. He glances at the patrons and employees and whispers, "Not here."

Ah, so it's ghost business.

We chat about regular human tourist stuff and finish our meals. Danny doesn't tell me what's going on until we're back in the GAV.

"I've been thinking," Danny says shyly, playing with his seat belt. "The kids probably never got a funeral. Maybe…we could have one for them?"

Pride threatens to swallow me whole. My son really is a man now, isn't he? "I think that's a wonderful idea. Maybe we could invite that Jennie Wade lady. She was a big help to us. She might like to come."

"Okay," Danny says. "I'll call Reaper and see if they wanna come. They like to stay invisible on Earth, but they might show themself if we go somewhere remote."

"Fine by me. Where should we hold the funeral?"

"Somewhere far away from the orphanage."

I couldn't agree more.

We wait until nightfall, then Danny flies me into a densely forested area just outside of the town. Danny, choosing to remain in ghost-form because "it just feels right," finds some stones and carves them using a small Ghost Ray from his index finger. He then digs some little holes in the ground and secures the stones as well as he can.

A mournful smile pulls at my lips when I see what he'd been doing: making tombstones. He carved each stone with the name of one of the wanderers. Ex-wanderers, I should say. Benjamin, Louis, Amelia…Casey?

"Who's Casey?" I ask.

"Amelia's baby," Danny says, brushing his gloved hands together and letting the dirt fly off. "I don't know if they were a boy or a girl, so I gave them a name that would work for either."

I barely have time to be touched by that before Jennie flies down and lands beside me. "Am I too late?" she asks.

"Nope," Danny says. He whips out his ghost phone and starts texting. "I just need to let our last guest know that we're all set up."

Not a moment later, a huge silver portal opens up, and Reaper steps out.

Danny makes the introductions. "Ms. Wade, this is my imprinted parent, Reaper. Grim, this is Jennie Wade. But, you probably knew that already."

"I did," Reaper confirms. They hold their hand out to Jennie. "A pleasure, Jennie Wade."

Once Jennie picks her mouth up off the ground, she shakes Reaper's hand and sputters, "Uh-huh."

In hindsight, we should have told her that an Ancient would be attending.

Danny clears his throat. "Should we…get started?"

I pat him on the shoulder and step back. "The floor is yours, son. You knew them better than any of us."

Danny turns around and gazes at the makeshift graves for a while. The rest of us wait for him to speak. He takes a deep breath before stepping behind the graves and facing the rest of us. His hands are behind his back, and his green eyes glow brighter with emotion.

He begins. "Benjamin, Louis, Amelia, and Casey. I didn't know them in life - 'cause, you know, I wasn't born yet - but I feel like I got to know them in death. Just a little." He looks down at the first grave. "Benjamin, you didn't give me a lot to go on, but I got the impression that you were a sweet, sensitive guy. I can relate." Danny moves on to the next. "Louis, you defended others and damn the consequences. I respect that." Then, the next. "Amelia, your only crime was falling in love. I'm glad you weren't ashamed of it." Then, the last. "Casey…you would have grown up in such a loving home." His voice cracks, and he takes a moment to compose himself. "I don't know any prayers, so I hope you don't mind if I skip that part. Given what Rosa is like, religion is probably a sore subject for all of you, anyway." He pauses and turns his misty eyes to the sky. "Be happy. You finally can be. Amen."

My tears started falling mid-way through the speech. I wipe them away as Danny joins me and the others. I clap him on the back. "That was beautiful, son."

"Indeed," Reaper praises, perhaps a bit choked up themself. "I am proud of you, Danny Phantom." They nod at me. "And, I am not the only one."

Danny sniffles and brushes his tears away before they can fall. His smile is genuine.

Jennie dabs at her eyes. "I'm glad those kids are alright. Even though they had each other, I can't imagine how lonely they were. They couldn't even interact with any visitors."

"Well," Danny says, "they're safe now. I don't know where they are, but they got there safely."

"And, that is all that matters." Reaper conjures their scythe. "Thank you for inviting me, but I must be on my way." They swing the scythe through air, forming a new portal. Before they step through, they turn back to us and say, "Oh, and…I have a good idea as to where two of them may have gone."

"W-what does that mean?" Danny says urgently. "Grim? Don't walk through that portal! Stop laughing! Grim! Reaper!"

Danny is not happy when Reaper doesn't respond to his calls or texts. Frankly, neither am I. If two of those kids became ghosts, we should at least know which ones.

"Ancients," Danny laments on the flight back to the hotel. "They're all the same!"

Based on what Danny and his friends have told me about Ancients, they don't do or say anything without a purpose. I'm hoping that means we get to find out which two kids became ghosts at some point.

Danny is quiet again the next morning. Tired too, like he had trouble sleeping. It isn't until I check us out of the hotel and we climb into the GAV that he speaks his mind. "Dad, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot," I say. I don't start the engine yet. Based on the nervous but eager spark in my son's eyes, whatever he has to say is too important to hear while driving.

"What would you say if…if I wanted to take over Fenton Works some day?"

Yeah, not driving was the right call.

A hearty laugh bursts out of me. I ruffle my son's hair. "I'd say that you just made my entire year! What happened to being an astronaut? That's been your dream since you were in kindergarten."

Danny crosses his arms with a bittersweet smile. "Ah, that dream flew south when I became a ghost. Even if my grades and attendance were perfect all this time and I didn't have the Obsession that I do, one physical, and I'd be the government's latest plaything." Danny doesn't give me the chance to feel bad. "All this with the kids, with doing my angel thing, it made me realize just how much I love being there for others. I mean, I always knew I loved it, but… I don't know. Something about this whole adventure just…made me think. Don't get me wrong. If I have the chance to blast off in a rocket ship, you better believe I'm taking it! But, I don't think being an astronaut is what I'm meant to do. I was given these powers for a reason, and that reason is to help people. Be they alive or dead. Or, a souped-up zombie," he adds with a chuckle. I smile back, recalling how I described him when he told his mother and me about his powers. "I think, if I learn to invent stuff the way you and Mom do, I'd be a bigger asset to ghosts and humans alike. Especially since I'm half of each. I feel like…like there's a lot I can do for the world. For both worlds. And, I think joining Fenton Works is the place to start."

Just when I thought I couldn't be any prouder of my son.

(Before he died) When he was younger, my son would often sneak down to the lab just to watch his mother and me work. He would ask us questions and show infinite curiosity toward our inventions. In fact, it was his fourteenth birthday when we decided that he was old enough to know how our tools worked in case he felt like tinkering. The next day, he took apart the toaster and was beyond embarrassed when he asked for help putting it back together. Maddie and I ended up converting it into a weapon, because some of the original parts were too damaged. We weren't mad; that toaster was old and barely worked anyway. In fact, Danny confessed that the reason he took it apart was to try and fix it. "I realized too late that I have no idea what I'm doing," he'd said. Regardless, we were so happy that our son had made the attempt, that he was showing such an interest.

That interest seemed to disappear a few months later when the Portal (killed him) started working. Danny always got so nervous when the topic of ghosts was brought up. Because we didn't know at the time, Maddie and I assumed that seeing first-hand the damage ghosts could do had scared our son out of his interest in our work. That added fuel to our fire, because ghosts now had a direct effect on our children.

We had no idea how direct an effect it was.

Now Danny is telling me that he wants to get back to it, to being in the lab and working with metal and circuitry.

When all I can do is sniff back tears, Danny says with a hint of humor, "I'm going to assume you're cool with that."

I nod. It's the only way I can respond that won't result in a sob.

Danny continues talking, giving me a chance to pull myself together. "So, uh, my senior year starts next week. I admit that I've kind of put any thoughts of college on the backburner. What with the ghost thing and all. I honestly didn't see a point in going to college since the astronaut thing is a bust. But, now I have a reason to. I should probably major in, like, engineering or something, right?" Danny purses his lips and narrows his eyes. "I guess the only college I can go to is Amity University. I wouldn't feel right leaving Amity Park in the lurch. They count on me to protect them, and I don't wanna give that up. I think it's an angel thing. Some of us latch onto places and end up becoming their guardians. I think I mentioned that before. Sort of limits my options for college. At least Jazz has good things to say about AU."

His words nail me in the chest. I never wanted my kids to know this, but I think Danny needs to hear it. "Son, I'm gonna let you in on a little something. But, it has to stay between us. Your mom knows, but your sister doesn't. I haven't even told Vlad."

Danny raises an eyebrow. "I assume the Vlad part is relevant to the story?"

"It is."

Danny raises his right hand. "Mum's the word."

"The truth is that I never finished college."

"Really?" Danny says in surprise. "Why not?"

Shame burns me. I can't look at my son and choose to recount the tale to the front windshield. "After Vlad's accident, I…I was afraid to get back in the lab." I grab the steering wheel just for something to hold. "Every time I set foot there, I pictured my best friend lying on the floor, his face covered in glowing boils." My voice breaks at that. "I hated myself so much that I dropped out of college and swore I'd never set foot in a laboratory again. Your mom tried to convince me to give it another go, but I was terrified. She kept up her studies, and I worked two jobs to keep a roof over my head and pay off my college loans. When your mom graduated and I got home from celebrating with her, I cried myself to sleep. I missed ghosts and science so much, but I didn't trust myself."

"What changed?" Danny asks.

"Your mother. She moved back in with her parents after college, and they had a workstation in their garage. Your mom would let me watch her work and said that I could jump in whenever I wanted, be it physically working or just making suggestions. She knew how much I was struggling and was trying to encourage me to do what I loved. She didn't force me. She let me go at my own pace." My heart beats faster at the memories. "One day when she wasn't home, I asked her parents if I could borrow the workstation. I couldn't afford a ring, so I thought I'd make one for her."

"That's why her ring looks like that," Danny says. He adds with a chuckle, "I thought it was just more weird eighties fashion."

Heat creeps into my cheeks. I rub the back of my neck. "Heh. No, that was me not knowing what I was doing. Anyway, I made the ring and decided that, if she said yes, I would officially get back into science, and I'd do it with her by my side. I don't need to tell you how that went."

There's a sweet, gentle smile on Danny's lips. Maddie's smile. It flips into a frown. "Why didn't you go back to college?"

"Simple," I say. "I couldn't afford it. But, that didn't stop me from returning to my passion. And, I love the life I've built. I have a beautiful wife, two great kids, and I know more about ghosts now than I ever did before! The moral of the story, son, is that college isn't the only path to a career. I'm not saying you shouldn't go to college. I'm just saying that it's not the only way to lead a fulfilling life. Don't settle just because you think you have to."

Danny hums in thought. "Do you think I should skip college?"

"That's up to you, Danny. Look at it this way. Not everyone goes to college straight out of high school. If you wanna start college ten years from now, nothing's stopping you."

Danny considers this then flashes his mother's smile again. "Okay."

We spend the day taking in the sights we missed while we were helping the kids. Unfortunately, we don't run into that sergeant ghost Jennie told us about, but we do take a look at the battlefield and the cemetery.

When the sun starts to set, we seek out Jennie and say goodbye and thank her for all her help. She laughs and claims, "I don't think I helped that much."

"You told us about the orphanage," Danny says. "That was all you needed to do."

After that, Danny's duplicates fly us back to Amity Park. On the way, Danny group-texts his mother, his sister, and Sam and Tucker and tells them to meet us at our house. Luckily, Sam and Tucker still have a few hours until curfew by the time we get there.

Now, with everyone stationed in the living room, Danny and I stand before them and recount everything that happened in Gettysburg. We leave out no details (except for Danny's impromptu visits with his son and girlfriend) and assure everyone that Reaper will make a charm that will keep Danny out of wanderer-related harm.

Once the story's over, Tucker asks, "What are you gonna do with Rosa?"

"One word," Danny replies. "Walker."

Jazz nods in approval. Tucker makes a satisfied noise. Sam says, "Good call." Maddie just looks confused.

"Is that the warden you mentioned?" I ask.

"Yep," Danny confirms. He explains to his mother, "Walker is the warden of a maximum prison in the Ghost Zone. Trust me when I say that there is no better place for the likes of Rosa."

Jazz chimes in. "So, those kids are okay now?"

"Yes," Danny says curtly. "And, Reaper implied that two of them became ghosts and refuses to tell me which ones!"

Sam furrows her brow. "Why are Ancients like this?"

"Who cares?" I grab Danny by the shoulders and give him a little shake. "Tell them the big news! Tell them!"

Danny laughs and pulls away from me. "Okay, I will!" He dramatically clears his throat and puts his hands on his hips. "I'm not going to college. Instead, I'm gonna join the family business."

Maddie covers her mouth in a gasp then releases a humbled laugh. "I…I never would have thought!"

"Dude," Tucker says in shock, "what about being an astronaut?"

Danny's joyful demeanor vanishes for a moment. "Guys, you know why that's not going to happen."

I try not to flinch. I see Maddie doing the same.

"It might," Sam says hesitantly.

Jazz shrugs. "He could always try for it later."

Danny points to her, his excitement returning. "Exactly. And, it's not like I can't just fly up to space whenever I want. It wouldn't be the same, but it's something. No, I think Fenton Works is the way to go. I want to help ghosts and mortals. I'm half of each, guys! Imagine the good I could do!"

Tucker not-so-subtly coughs out, "Hero complex!"

Sam and Jazz giggles, which irritates Danny, who argues, "It's an Obsession."

"An Obsession with being a hero," Sam taunts.

Danny stomps his foot. "No! An Obsession with helping others."

Jazz snorts. "Danny, do you even hear yourself?"

"Oh, fuck you, Jazz!" Danny cringes and turns to his mother. "Sorry, Mom."

"I'll let it slide," Mom giggles. She leaps from her seat and throws her arms around our son. "Oh, I can't wait to get in the lab with you!"

She gives him a big kiss on the cheek, which makes him blush furiously, jump back, and say, "Ew, Mom! My friends are here!"

Everyone in the room bursts into laughter. Even Danny joins in after a moment.

Big changes are coming to the Fenton family. I can't wait to see what happens next.