"I can't believe you didn't want to attend your own ceremony."
"Well, you know me. I kind of like sitting on the sidelines sometimes."
She looked at him. "And your folks are cool with knowing your secret identity?"
"Yeah, the time for secrets is over. The world is safe, time for new beginnings. My dad even says he wants me to team up with him now. Says I can be his sidekick." Danny said, looking back at her with a smile.
"You're a big star now. Probably the biggest in the world." She said.
"Yeah, it's weird, huh?"
"You'll probably get pretty busy."
"What else is new?"
Her smiled faded. "And I probably won't see much of you anymore."
"Oh, I wouldn't count on that." He said, holding up the ring and placed it on her finger. "Sam, I could never have done any of this without you."
Her eyes were now shedding tears.
"And I don't care what's coming next. I just hope whatever it is you're there to share it with me." Danny said, honestly and happily.
"I will be." She blinked her tears away. "I just have to warn you, I'm no pushover, you know. I still have my own way of doing things."
"That's what I'm counting on."
With that they shared that long awaited kiss.
Danny then stood up and changed into his ghost form. "What do you say? Want to go for a ride? See where the future takes us?"
Sam stood up and clasped his hands. "Why not?"
He picked her up and like that they were off, flying over the city and the statue of him in front of City Hall.
"Cool statue. Personally, I would've made it out of recycled materials." Sam commented. "But you know, that's just me."
They sealed their trip by flying off dramatically in the direction of the moon.
'I bet anyone watching this figured that everyone lived happily ever after. Too bad life rarely works that way…Because all it took to undo all of this…was one bad day.'
Xxx
When the Diasateroid collided with him Vlad Master also known as Vlad Plasmius was sure he was a goner. It's not like he was going to put up a fight anyway. He could never home, due to the fact that he would be forever hunted now that he had revealed his secret and threatened the whole planet. Realizing that now more than ever he needed former friend's help, Vlad begged him to let him aboard the Fenton Rocket, but now knowing of Vlad's true nature and realizing that the Vlad Masters he knew is gone, Jack Fenton shunned his former friend by abandoning Vlad in space, dooming him to eternally roam the universe alone. After the Earth is saved by Danny, Vlad is shown sitting alone on a small asteroid, finally coming to terms with his eternal solitude as a "free-roaming space nomad" before being struck by the Disasteroid.
Now he was left weakened and would not possibly stay in ghost form for long and when he changed back to a human he would either die or become a full-ghost. Perhaps he shouldn't bother since he would not be welcome in the Ghost Zone either and if he became a full ghost he could wander the universe forever, forever free from his pursuers. It was just as his vision went dark did a portal appear behind him and he flew straight into it.
Xxx
Skulker had returned to his lair following the end of the Disasteroid incident, determined more than ever to defeat the Ghost Boy and hang his pelt on wall of trophies, even if the Ghost Boy had saved the Ghost Zone and all of them in the process.
He was still Skulker's most persistent enemy and he would not give up hunting him no matter what.
A flash of light appeared in front of him, blinding him for a second just before a golden hand shot out and grabbed him.
Xxx
Danielle 'Dani' Phantom could hardly believe it.
Her 'cousin' saved the Earth with the help of the human race and the ghosts and best of all Vlad was gone for good. It comforted her greatly to know he would never hurt anyone again. Still she had to wonder what she would do now. She had the whole world to explore now that Vlad was gone and she wondered she would go.
She could go and see Danny but she didn't want to burden him with any more of her problems. She was now flying over an ocean, leaving Antarctica in the wake of everything that happened, leaving her 'cousin' to handle the glory he had long since deserved. Still she wished she could have stayed to at least say hi and give him a hug.
'Still, where do I go now?' Dani wondered to herself.
She was a three month year old child in the form of a twelve year old girl who was cloned from a teenage boy who was half ghost and just saved the world and was created by the man who just tried to take over the world.
Not exactly the type of thing you'd want possible adoptive families to know about.
'Family…' Danielle thought sadly.
The only thing she had for a family was Vlad and he never truly wanted her. Sure she was related biologically to Danny but she was a test-tube baby, born and grown in a tank.
What kind of family would want her?
Dani was suddenly a little sad, wishing she hadn't just 'flown off dramatically' but she didn't feel she belonged with Danny.
She didn't really belong anywhere.
She was so distracted she didn't see the portal forming in front of her until she flew right into it.
Xxx
Valerie wasn't entirely sure how she should feel once it was all over.
One the one hand Danny Fenton who turned out to be Danny Phantom all along had saved the world.
On the other hand he was Danny Phantom that originally ruined her life.
It was only later it was all an accident caused by that ghost dog while Vlad Masters, the man she had once considered to be someone she trusted used and manipulated her. Her world had been turned upside down but she supposed she should be used to that. It did bring up the uncomfortable feelings of when she and Danny were together but broke it off to protect him.
Turns out he didn't need protecting at all.
Now he was with that Goth-girl, Sam and even had a ring to go with it.
And to think she thought rings were lame.
To try and shake the feelings off she decided to go on a late night patrol like she always did. Maybe she could find something to distract her.
Just as she was up in the air there was a flash of light followed by a blast that shut down her systems.
"What the-" Valerie was cut off as she fell straight into the golden light.
Xxx
RING-RING-RING
'Hey, this is Valerie. Talk after the beep and if that's you Dad, you're not making me get home any faster.'
BEEP!
"Valerie, please. This is the fifth time I've tried and I'd really like you to just answer by now." Damon Grey said, becoming increasingly worried at this point.
After the Disasteroid Incident Valerie had…
He didn't want to say disappeared yet because he knew she would spend days out hunting for ghosts but she would always leave a message or two to reassure him.
"Please call back." He said before hanging up and waiting.
Xxx
"Hey, Danny." Jazz knocked on the door. "Can I come in?"
"Go ahead." Danny answered and his elder sister opened the door and stepped in, dressed in her normal clothes. "Rough day huh?"
"Yeah." Jazz walked over and noticed Danny looking at Danielle's file. "Looking at it again?"
"Yeah. I know Vlad was monitoring her and I know she was there with the other ghosts to help turn the Earth intangible but after that she disappeared…Like Valerie did." Danny frowned. "I have a feeling they're both connected."
"You used Vlad's surveillance system?" Jazz asked, kneeling down to look over her brother's shoulder.
"Yeah. He was monitoring the whole town to the surprise of no one." Danny rolled his eyes. "And he was keeping an eye on Dani even after I told him to stay from her. I don't know if he was going to try and capture again or he was just keeping an eye on her but I'm glad I won't have to find out. I know his drones kept watch, even after he was gone."
"And you think she's gone too?" Jazz questioned.
"She disappeared right after we saved the Earth, just like Valerie did. That's not a coincidence." Danny sighed and leaned back on his chair.
"So what will you do?"
"Well, I guess I'll keep looking. I'm not giving up on either of them." Danny answered.
Jazz smiled, feeling proud of her brother. "I'm glad to hear that. I really want to meet her."
"Trust me, you'd like her."
"I think I would too."
Xxx
"Tuck?"
The teen mayor spun around and leapt at Danny with a big smile. "Danny!"
The college student barely managed to remain standing after Tucker grabbed him in a big hug. "Uh…" Danny awkwardly patted him on the back. "Good to see you too?"
"It's crazy, man!" Tucker broke away and walked over to his desk. "People left and right are calling for me to resign and the ones that aren't want to tar and feather me."
"Well, can you blame them? You ran hundreds of people out of their homes." Danny said as he approached the desk. "You even got our favorite arcade close down."
"Yeah but I didn't mean to! I was trying to make this place the best city on Earth!" Tucker closed the curtains over the windows. "It was supposed to be magnificent! A city of technological wonder but it all went so wrong! What was so wrong with my ideas?!"
"You tore the city's infrastructure out to make way for this new city and the one you built in wasn't able to properly integrate itself. Not to mention you spent millions of dollars and left the city in debt. Didn't your staff tell you this might not work?" Danny asked, having been keeping up with the news.
"My staff? They never even gave it a chance." Tucker grumbled as he sat in his chair. "Instead of working with me they kept trying to talk me out until I shut them up."
"And did it occur to you that maybe they had some valid points?" Danny asked which resulted in Tucker glaring at him.
"What is this? An interrogation? I'm your best friend here and you're saying it's my fault?" Tucker asked in a shocked and outraged tone.
"Well, you're the mayor. What am I supposed to think?" Danny shrugged. "And that idea to fill the new clothes with those sci-fi/anime clothes for the ladies?"
"Hey, they would have been practical and fashionable." Tucker argued.
"You ordered them from Japan." Danny pointed out, wondering why Tucker was being so unreasonable. "For all they knew, they could have thought you were setting up a huge anime convention. Not trying to make it the new fashion trend of the decade."
"Why are you arguing with me?" Tucker snapped.
"Because I am trying to understand why you want to blame everyone else for this. You just told me your staff tried to warn you that what you were doing was wrong and look what happened." Danny explained, gesturing outside the window.
"Hey, I'm the mayor so they were supposed to listen to me." Tucker banged the table slightly.
"Again with the 'listening to you' part?" Danny rubbed his face. "Why did you want me here?"
"I need you to protect me. They'll back down when they see that Danny Phantom is the mayor's bodyguard and best friend." Tucker said with a smile. "Once they back down we can get to work on fixing this mess and doing it properly. The City of Tomorrow will probably be back up in a year, better than ever."
Danny couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Tucker wanted him to go outside and make the people back down when they had legitimate reasons to be upset with him?
"And then-"
"No." Danny's mouth moved faster than his mind could process.
Tucker froze and looked back at Danny. "What?"
"I am not going out there to intimidate those people into shutting up after what you've done to them." Danny crossed his arms.
"What? You're my best friend and you'll leave me to the wolves. I'm also the mayor so you have to listen to-"
"Will you shut up about having to listen to you already?!" Danny snapped, eyes glowing green.
The sudden shout caused Tucker to stumble back into his chair, completely stunned from his own friend shouting at him.
"For once in your life listen to me, Tucker and keep your mouth shut. No one cares about your 'City of the Future'! What they do care about is the fact that you cost them their homes, their jobs and maybe the future of their kids because you couldn't take one second to listen to someone else outside of your whiny voice that all your ideas were bad ones! You wanted to make everything automated and make everyone so dependent on your gadgets that it never occurred to you that they would not only have no clue how to work but also because you were just wanting to make everyone fat and lazy!" Danny continued ranting. "And instead of admitting your fault you just want me to clean up your mess and scare everyone in to accepting you're crazed up ideas? Well guess what?" Danny slammed both hands on the table. "It's not going to happen so here's the smart thing to do: resign. Quit, give the job to the next guy if there are any left at all. You've clearly shown you don't care about this city or helping its people, just making it great for you!"
Tucker couldn't believe what his best friend was saying to him.
"I am not helping you out of this because there's nothing I can do and even there was it wouldn't be right. You know, because I'm Danny Phantom? The world's greatest hero? The guy who always does the right thing?" Danny asked rhetorically. "Well, the right thing is to not act like your yes man and 'listen' to you because right now, you are the worst mayor in history of not just this city but the entire world. So get some humility, try to fix this or let someone else take over for mayor and hopefully they can save this city from the mess you've made!"
With that Danny turned into his ghost form and flew out the window, leaving Tucker to just stare in sock at what happened.
Danny wasn't going to help?
He wasn't going to save him.
…What would he do now?
He was still asking that question when the windows behind him were smashed open.
Xxx
Danny couldn't get away from City Hall fast enough.
He couldn't believe what Tucker had wanted him to do.
That kind of corruption was something he'd expect from Vlad of all people and it was something he had been raised to stand against.
Heck, if Vlad expected that from him Tucker would tell him to blow off the fruit loop and leave him to be torn apart.
Well, Danny doubted the people would actually break into City Hall and tear Tucker apart. He still had his bodyguards with him and at best they would just hackle him to change all his policies. Right now he just wanted to get back to college, finish his class and take a nice long nap. He landed in the parking lot, changing back in his human form and simply walked to class.
He made it a point not to use his powers on school grounds unless he needed to.
Just as he made it inside he was grabbed by a pair of hands and dragged off. "Hey?! Watch the-Sam?"
Sam dragged him behind the bleachers and held out her phone. "Look at this."
Danny watched a video…of Tucker being tarred and feathered with people throwing fruits of all kinds at his face. "Tucker?"
"They broke into his office and dragged him out so everyone could see and film get tarred and feathered." Sam explained with a scowl. "Just after you left City Hall. What the hell did you do?"
"Me?" Danny gestured to himself with a shocked face. "I didn't do anything."
"So why weren't you there to stop them?" Sam asked. "You could have broken up the crowd before it got this bad."
"Are you serious? Tucker asked me to do the same thing." Danny groaned, rubbing his face.
"He asked you to break those idiots up? And you didn't help?" Sam questioned.
"How are they idiots? Tucker ruined their lives, destroyed their homes and probably left them in poverty." Danny retorted.
"And tarring and feathering him is supposed to make it better?" Sam asked rhetorically. "Since when do you sit back and allow mob justice to happen?"
"I didn't know they were going to do that to him but I wasn't going to be Tucker's muscle and scare everyone into backing down just so he could try building his 'City of Tomorrow' again, only for it to probably destroy what's left of the city." Danny argued. "He was wrong to force this on everyone and he was wrong to expect me to make his problems go away."
"So you left him to take the fall?" Sam questioned.
"How was it my fall to take?" Danny asked back.
"He's your friend, you should have helped him."
"How? I'm no politic. I wasn't going to force them to back down because they had legitimate grievances with Tucker. What could I have done?" Danny argued. "And since when do you believe in enforcing law on people? This is the kind of protest you love taking part in."
"Not against my own friend." Sam spread her arms out. "I stand against unfairness, hypocrisy and the government making us obedient slaves."
"And what Tucker was doing wasn't any of those?" Danny asked, unable to believe what he was hearing. "He was being unfair to those people when he didn't listen to them and expected to make his problems go away."
"He's your friend."
"And I'm supposed to bail him out? If it was Vlad or the previous mayor you'd be joining that crowd." Danny pointed out.
"So would you." Sam retorted.
"Vlad, yeah. He would have it coming but not every politician. You were on my case all through high school to be responsible about my powers, even though you did some things that were pretty irresponsible." Danny snapped.
"Name one." Sam challenged.
"You convinced me to go into the portal." Danny held up one finger.
"You wanted to go in!" Sam argued. "If not for me you wouldn't have your ghost powers-"
"I never wanted my powers in the first place!" Danny cut her off and held up her second finger. "And after that, you forced your vegan menu on everyone."
"It was ultra-recycling-"
"It was vegan!" Danny cut her off. "Just because you give it different names to not sound like mainstream. After that, you angered a ghost and made me clean your mess up without even admitting your part in it."
"Ghost attacks happen all the time!" Sam argued.
"Then you let a gorilla out, endangering it and everyone else in the zoo. If someone was in that gorilla's path they could have been hurt and the gorilla could have been killed." Danny continued, bringing up a second finger.
"I was trying to release it back into the wild!" Sam said, continuing to deny her putting people in danger. "And how is leaving it in a cage any better?"
"One: the laws for treating animals in zoos are a lot better now. Two: this isn't the wild. It's a concrete jungle filled with people who have screamed and ran for their lives, scaring the gorilla into frantically finding a way out and you of all people should know how dangerous a frightened animal gets." Danny answered, holding up a third finger. "You brought robot frogs instead of real ones into science class and that caused a mess."
"Better than real frogs!"
Danny held up a fourth finger. "You then threatened to show everyone a picture of Tucker and me hugging each other at school to keep us quiet! What kind of friend does that? We were afraid of everyone getting the wrong idea and making our lives more miserable which is something only a bully like Dash or Paulina would do."
Sam scowled. "I was bluf-"
"No you weren't. You would have and don't lie to me." Danny snapped. "You don't bluff, Sam. When you say you're going to do something then you're going to do. Oh, and let's not forget how you almost told me secret to that Greg-oh I mean Elliot after you knew him for one week."
"You spied on me!" Sam shouted.
"And you were going to tell him my secret without asking me!" Danny argued back. "You don't consider that a violation of trust?"
"He was new and I wanted to give him the benefit of doubt!" Sam said, trying to justify herself.
"It was still not your secret to tell!" Danny shook his head. "You always have to have it your way and when it doesn't you don't stop until you do. You don't even let people make their own choices."
"That's not true!"
"Again, you forced your vegan menu on us without asking, you wanted me to destroy those trucks and recklessly made a wish in hearing distance of a wish granting ghost. Hell, when I wanted to quit you guilt me into taking my powers back!" Danny raised his voice.
"Hey! You were doing good as a hero!" Sam stood her ground. "Like I said, I couldn't just sit back and stay on the sidelines."
"It was still my choice! And you are always on the sidelines!" Danny barked, shocking Sam. "You and Tucker have always been on the sidelines while I did all the fighting, not you. I was the one getting burned, electrocuted, tortures, abused and hunted, not you. Without a Fenton gadget in your hands you are useless on the battlefield….Just like how Tucker was riding my coattails to become mayor…You've been riding on my back this whole time I have been risking my life!"
Sam gasped before glaring at her boyfriend, absolutely infuriated. "Take that back, Fenton! Right now!"
"I'm telling the truth and you know it! I fought Vlad, the Ghost King, my jerky older self and all the other ghosts. You were always there but on the sidelines you claim I was trying to be part of and when I didn't want to be a hero anymore you and Tucker never wanted to hang out with me. All you cared…was the fact that I didn't my powers anymore." Danny shook his head and stepped back. "And now that I'm acting like the hero you want me to be you expected me to intimidate everyone in Amity Park to protect a corrupt mayor. How is that supposed to be different?"
"Because he's your friend!" Sam shouted, filled with absolute anger. "And because without us you'd be a lonely, scrawny freak with a couple of idiot parents, a lame bookworm of a sister and a stupid dream of being an astronaut!"
Danny's eyes flashed green. "Wow. Thanks for that. Thanks for showing me how better off I am. Thanks for showing me what real friends are like."
"And thanks for taking this back." Sam said, taking the ring Danny gave her after the Disasteroid incident and threw it at the ground in front of Danny's feet. "Rings are lame anyways."
With that Sam turned around and walked away, not even glancing back at Danny as he knelt down and slowly picked up the ring.
He stared at it for a long time…
He never got back to class until the next day.
Xxx
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Appliances powered by ecto-energy short circuited, power lines released electrical surges as they broke apart, and the ecto-energy core at the new power blast exploded.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Dark Danny threw his head back and laughed while Danny looked down in horror.
And his eyes zoomed in on his family.
Jazz threw away the Fenton Bazooka in her hand and looked behind to see the Fenton RV overloading. "RUN!"
She and her parents took off running just as the RV exploded.
BOOM!
The blast sent them all flying as debris flew in all directions.
Jazz grunted as she hit the ground hard and was left in a daze. The building she was in front of was on fire as the electrical wires connected to it exploded and caused a wall to fall…
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Danny screamed, flying at full speed to save his sister.
Jazz looked up with a dazed face...
Danny reached out with one hand, desperation on his face as he flew as fast as he could and maybe even more as he tried to make it.
CRASH!
Only he didn't make it.
Jazz felt the wall crash on her and let out a scream before the pain caused her to black out.
"JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!"
Xxx
Maddie was trembling as she turned away from Danny, looking at the wall. "How did…How could…Why did this…"
"Mom?" Danny slowly reached out to his mother…
Only for Maddie to slap his hand away.
"How could you?!" Maddie suddenly shouted, tears running down her eyes.
"Mom?" Danny stepped back.
"Cheating, lying, and killing?! How can you stand there and tell me that… monster is my son?!" Maddie was getting hysterical. "That the reason my daughter is fighting for her life in there, who may be crippled for life, is because of her own brother!"
"He's not me! You know that!" Danny said, suddenly frightened.
"Do I?! Do I?! Everything wrong has been from…from researching ghosts! Vlad, Flynn being kidnapped, and now it's hurt my daughter and it's because my other son became this monster!" Maddie said, breaking down as Jack hugged her. "I…I don't even know you! How could you never tell us about this?!"
"How could I…How could you never tell me and Jazz about Flynn?!" Danny retorted, his eyes flashing. "How could you spend every Christmas fighting over whether Santa Claus is real or not?! How could you spend my whole childhood acting like you were pair of great protectors when all you did was embarrass me and Jazz to the point we barely had any normal life at all?!"
Maddie stood up, glaring at her son now. "Don't talk to me like that!"
"Why? So you can act like I am actually that evil ghost? I told you, he's not me!" Danny argued.
"You said he was! You said it was you who cheated on the CAT test. My own son needing to cheat on a test! We never raised you to be like that." Maddie shook her head. "How could you go without telling us this?"
"Well maybe I wouldn't have cheated if you had actually paid attention to me rather than obsessing over ghosts!" Danny was now getting angry. "You barely paid any attention to me after childhood, when I started to realize that everyone didn't point and laugh at you because you were funny. It was because they considered you kooks!"
"It was because of us kooks that you have your powers!" Maddie shouted.
"Gee, thanks for that. Thanks for putting the on button inside the portal when I turned it on. Thanks for giving me the powers that almost killed me that I never even wanted in the first place! And thanks for making me clean up your mess because all the ghost attacks started happening after you built that stupid thing and was what got Flynn kidnapped!" Danny shouted back. "Heck, it was that stupid portal that made Vlad a ghost in the beginning so you made him a monster too!"
"Hey!" Jack said, standing in front of Maddie. "Don't talk to us like that! We were making ground breaking research and we never told you to go inside that portal in the first place!"
"No, you left it completely unsupervised and forgot you hadn't plugged it in." Danny said, not backing down. "Where do you get off attacking me like this? All my life, you made me a social pariah, both as a human and a ghost. With humans, it was because you kept on acting like you were both some great protectors when in reality you were screaming around town, damaging people's property without a single thought while failing to catch a single ghost and when you weren't doing that it was something else that completely embarrassed me and Jazz without any regard to how we felt about it! And as a ghost, it was because I was constantly protecting the town and making enemies in both worlds because you kept the portal open and let all those ghosts out!"
"Stop!"
Danny and his parents were silenced as the doctor along with several men in scrubs stood before them.
"This is a hospital, not a fight club. If you can't calm down, take it outside." The doctor ordered.
"We're not leaving our daughter…" Maddie threw a look at Danny. "But you can go."
"Oh, so you want me to leave and do what, Mom?" Danny snapped.
"How about going after the monster you say is not you?" Maddie retorted.
Danny growled, his eyes glowing deadly green now. "Yeah and who's the bigger monster, Mom? The monster or the lady who gave birth to said monster?"
Maddie seemed to have enough. "Get out. Stay away from us!"
Danny couldn't look his parents in the eye as he changed into his ghost form and flew, a single tear hitting the floor as he turned intangible and flew through the wall.
Xxx
SPLAT!
Dark Danny looked down in shock as Danny's flaming fist pierced his chest and reached in. "Wh-What are you doing?!"
"Removing a bad dream." Danny answered as he pulled his hand out.
And in the hand was the Time Medallion Dark Danny had used to travel back in time and allowed him to exist outside of time.
Dark Danny stared at the medallion in mute shock as his form started to break apart and vanish right before Danny's eyes.
Dark Danny then looked at Danny who just stared back stoically.
"No…No…NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Dark Danny screamed in hysteria as he began to vanish.
The Time Medallion was what allowed him to exist outside of normal time.
Now that it had been removed Dark Danny would be returned to his original timeline.
Only that timeline no longer existed.
"Oblivion awaits." Danny said simply.
First his vision became blurry.
This his movements became sluggish, as if he was trying to swim through Jell-O.
"THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!"
Meanwhile his legs vanished, followed by his lower torso.
"NO!"
Then his hands were gone.
"I AM THE REAL DANNY PHANTOM!"
His arms were next.
"THIS WASN'T HOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE!"
His torso was following very quickly.
"THIS WORLD WAS TO BE MINE TO DO WHAT I PLEASE!"
Just as his neck vanished he glared hatefully at the Phantom King.
"YOU'RE STILL A PRISONER! STILL WEAK! AT LEAST I AM FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
With that final scream Dark Danny was erased from existence forever, his voice echoing through the desolated neighborhood.
"…Hmph. So you are." Was all the Phantom King had to say.
Xxx
SMASH!
The sound of something breaking from downstairs was an obvious no.
"Can't these people learn?" Jack grabbed a Fenton blaster and marched into the lab. "All right, you punks, you have three seconds to…Danny?"
Maddie followed after her husband, both of them watching as their son stood in the middle of a lab with ghosts smashing all of their equipment. "What is going on here?!"
One of the ghosts, the Fight Knight turned to Jack and Maddie and raised his sword but Danny raised one hand and the Halloween ghost stood down.
"Glad to see you two are home. It makes things easier." Danny said, coming up the stairs.
"Danny, what is going on?" Maddie asked her son who walked past her without so much as a glance.
"I believe what I am about to say at this press conference will answer your question." Danny said as he walked up to the front door and opened it.
The crowd outside was silent as Danny stepped out, looking slightly menacing in his Ghost King form. He looked around across the crowd and leaned forward slightly.
"Would someone like to take my statement?" He asked, arms folding behind his back.
A reporter hesitantly approached and held a microphone out to Danny.
"Thank you. Now, you all know who I am, you all know what I have done for the last decade and you know that the ghost responsible for the recent attacks was in some form…me. Well he was but he is no longer me and to make him pay for his transgressions, I destroyed him. You can all relax a bit now that he is gone forever." Danny began in a reassuring town. "And as you can see from my current appearance, I have taken on a new job rather than just being the world's greatest hero."
Xxx
" I wear the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage which actually symbolizes me as the new Ghost King."
Damon calmly watched the broadcast.
Xxx
" Yes there was one before but to get what I needed to stop my former self, I defeated him in combat and took his crown and ring as my prize. And since I can use both, my powers are even stronger than before."
Far from Amity Park, former Mayor Tucker Foley watched in stunned shock to see his former best friend as the new ghost king.
Xxx
" But that doesn't mean the attacks from other ghosts will stop now, do they? They didn't stop when I defeated the previous Ghost King. They didn't stop when I saved the world from the Disasteroid and they won't stop now. But now there is something different."
Sam just stared at the TV in her new private garden.
Xxx
"Me." Danny said, hovering off the ground by a few inches. "As the new Ghost King, I now make this statement to every person in both worlds. Yes, this broadcast is even being shown in the Ghost Zone thanks to the work of an old friend of mine, Technus."
Xxx
Inside the Ghost King's castle, Technus was smiling a bit while being guarded by a dozen skeleton soldiers.
Walker was scowling in his office, seeing the punk's broadcast in the form of giant holographic screens that ensured everyone in the Ghost Zone could see and hear his speech.
Ember was watching curiously from her lair with Kitty and Spectra over as guests.
The Box Ghost floated in front one of the screens.
Frostbite and his tribe had gathered to look at the image hovering above their realm.
Pandora stepped out of her castle to see what Danny had to say.
" My first declaration as King of all ghost is this, any and all ghosts are now forbidden from traveling to Earth. Any ghosts that refuse my command will be hunted by the Fright Knight and given a gentle reminder of why he is known as the Ghost of Halloween."
Xxx
The Fright Knight nodded, eager to hunt down any ghosts who disobey his new master's orders.
Xxx
"My second declaration is that from this point forward, the Earth and the Ghost Zone will no longer be allowed have any form of communication with each other. As we speak, my ghosts are searching for and destroying and all ghost equipment, including ghost portals." Danny continued, ignoring the 'What?!' that came from inside the house. "It was opening a portal to the Ghost Zone that caused this all to begin. The creation of Vlad Plasmius, the abduction of my older brother when he was so young nobody knew he existed because of my parents' neglect and their continued wish to tear open a portal into the world of ghosts, the release of Pariah Dark, the Disasteroid and of course…Me. This tampering with another world led to everything that has happened up to now and I decree…No More."
Ghost rose up from the ground, scaring the people but they did not attack anyone. Instead they flew around Fenton Works, disassembling the Fenton's equipment.
"No more ghost portals, no more ghost hunting, and no more incidents where someone is given ghost powers." Danny decreed, his voice loud and commanding like that of a king's. "From this day, until the end of says there will be no form connection between Earth and the Ghost Zone aside from the one that exists to keep both worlds alive. If one world is destroyed, the other will follow despite the beliefs of some ghost hunters who think themselves smarter than everyone else."
The crowd broke into hushed whispers as they listened to Danny's words.
"As King of the ghosts, I take my leave and ensure that such tragedies will never happen again. Be sure to heed my warnings carefully. If ghosts and humans cannot live together in peace we will live separate from each other. We will not seek conflict with you as long as you do not seek conflict with us." Danny said, his eyes flaring and frightening many people. "Thank you for hearing what I had to say."
With that he turned around, his cape making a whooshing sound as he did and seemed to knock several reporters down. He hovered back into the Fenton Works, moving past his stunned parents and floated up to his sister's room, phasing through the door to check in on his sister. She was still unconscious, seemingly sleeping peacefully in her bed as Danny entered.
He stood over her, a solemn look on his face as he placed a hand on her cheek. "Goodbye Jazz…I have one last gift for you from Frostbite and Technus."
He raised his hand and she was lifted up, turning over so her back was facing Danny.
"I was told this would not hurt and you would be kept unconscious until it was done. Live a normal life that neither me nor Flynn could have Jazz. Be better than me, than our parents." He said as brought out a rather large syringe that he inserted into her spin.
Just as Maddie and Jack made it up the stairs Danny phased out of her room and back down into the basement.
"Wait!" Maddie shouted, running down to the basement. "Danny, stop! You don't know what you're doing!"
Danny stood on front of the Ghost Portal, looking over his shoulder at her. "I know exactly what I am doing. It's what the two of you should have done at the very beginning, right when you injured Vlad and saw what you had done."
"This is our life's work! It made you who you are!" Maddie argued.
"And it endangered the world. It unleashed monsters that nearly killed me and so many people and I never did a thing about it." Danny rebuked. "You don't get to argue with me after all the damage you have done to your own family."
Jack rushed in with his wife. "Don't talk to us like that! We're scientists! This is what we do!"
"No, you are kids pretending to be Saturday morning cartoon characters in a show about hunting monsters. But ghosts were never monsters. Sure, some were evil but not all of them but that didn't matter to you when you were hunting me." Danny snapped. "This ruined my brother's life when he was just a little kid. And then it forced me to become something in between living and dead, something that had to take the brunt of everyone's stupidity but now I am done. I am ending…It…All!"
Jack raised his Fenton Bazooka, aiming at Danny. "You're not touching my life's work you crazy ghost! Give back our son!"
His eye flashing, Danny let out a frustrated and angered shout as he fired a ghost beam that destroyed the Bazooka…
And blasted itself through Jack's ribs.
"JACK!" Maddie screamed, running over to her husband, kneeling down to get a better look at the wounds.
Danny seemed stunned for a second, actually horrified at what he done to his father, feeling heartache before his new, cold persona as the Phantom King took over. He stepped back and raised his hands, scorching the portal as he stepped through it and released a final blast that completely destroyed it along with the rest of the lab.
There was nothing left now.
The equipment along with the schematics had all been destroyed, meaning it would take years to build another and even then it was likely the Phantom King would just destroy it again. Maddie could only hold her husband's head on her lap, with only question in her mind:
Where did it all go wrong?
Xxx
Ghosts from all over the Ghost Zone had gathered in Pariah's Keep, many of them being Danny's former enemies and some being his allies.
None of that mattered as the Fright Knight led them into the Grand Hall where the Phantom King was waiting with the ghost dog Cujo sitting by his side.
Skeleton guards stood at attention as the ghosts were led in and stopped before the throne.
"All hail the Phantom King!" The Fright Knight said, bowing.
Many were reluctant to bow to a former enemy but the threat of the Fright Knight and the guards pointing their swords and spears at them convinced them to bend the knee rather quickly.
"Rise." The Phantom King said from his throne. "You all know me. Pretty well, actually. That is why you are here now. Unlike the former king, Pariah Dark I don't aim to conquer aimlessly but I have a vision for how the Ghost Zone will now be under my authority and I will be counting all of you to help me make that vision a reality. You can agree and we will work together to change the world in a way it never has been before or you can hold on to past grudges and see how long that will last."
The Fright Knight raised his Soul Shredder as a warning, stopping anyone from outright refusing.
"So," The Phantom King smiled. "Will you hear me out?"
Xxx
"So, you say you can help create a portal into this…Ghost Zone?"
Vlad Lazuli nodded, staring nervously up at the ruler of the moon named Tso-Lan. "Yes. If you give me the time and resources needed, I can construct a fully operational portal in-GAH!"
Vlad was suddenly overtaken by a flash of light engulfing his entire form, followed by two black rings that appeared around the center of his torso and split apart, traveling to his feet and head in a matter of seconds.
Tso-Lan narrowed his eyes at the new form before him. "And what is this?"
"This…is me." Vlad grinned as he held up a purple glowing fist. "Plasmius. Vlad Plasmius."
What happened next had been a spectacular battle between ghost and demon.
BLAST!
ZAP!
CRASH!
SLAM!
The Moon people looked on in awe as their great lord battled the ghost calling himself Vlad Plasmius and despite Vlad's considerable power, Tso-Lan was an immortal demon, more powerful than any spirit and it didn't help that his powers over gravity could even affect ghosts.
"You were powerful, Vlad Plasmius." Tso-Lan hovered over the ghost who was struggling to get up but felt like he was being crushed by the weight of the moon itself. "But no ghost or spirit is immune to my mastery of gravity."
He knelt down and lifted Vlad's head up, red glowing eyes staring into red eyes.
"Now, where were we before your sudden…change?"
Xxx
( Feed the Machine by Nickelback Starts)
A portal machine with a green swirling vortex is shown before dozens of red eyes appear and it suddenly explodes in a flash of green light. There is a swirling mass of green blobs with red that shoot out before the sight of a hangar complex with countless soldiers saluting with the title appearing in bright neon green letters:
GRIMMFALL: REIGN OF THE PHANTOM KING
(Addressing those beneath from high above)
Four thrones are shown with four armored figures appear, eyes glowing underneath their helmets as Genki Sanban appears and bows before them. This is then immediately changed as green glowing skeletons are shown bowing before an imposing figure on a black and green throne.
(Convincing his belief for what you love)
Damien Grey is then shown holding up a picture of his missing daughter, Valerie before dropping it onto the floor as it vanishes and the picture shatters.
(Baiting every hook with filthy lies)
Vlad Plasmius is shown grinning as he shakes hands with the moon demon, Tso-Lan as a portal activates in front of them.
(Another charlatan to idolize)
Vlad Masters is then shown, hands folded behind his back as he stands upon a podium with a confident smile.
(Is this suppression just in my mind?)
Danielle 'Dani' Fenton/Sanban falls to her knees, clutching her head as images flash through her mind.
(just in my mind?)
An armored figure with green glowing eyes appears on the left side behind her and the Sanban family appears on the right.
(No more questions, get back in line!)
The back of Damien Grey is then shown as he points his finger at a line of Guys in White.
(just get back in line!)
In turn, the Guys in White immediately salute.
(You pay with your life)
Skulker is shown, returned to his hunting suit as he clashes with Valerie Grey.
(The duller the knife, the longer it takes)
His green glowing blade clashes with Valerie's energy shield, sparks flying in all directions…
(the longer it takes)
Before the sword suddenly shatters.
(But now it's your turn)
Two thrones are shown, one black and red while the other is black and green, the screen split to as the dark figures open their eyes, one eye glowing blood red while the other glows luminous green.
(The ashes will burn, and wither away)
Dark monsters and green blobs are shown fighting, many of them splattering.
(Leaving your bones out on the stones, picking them clean)
The dark monsters dissolve and fade while the blobs explode, leaving behind a green liquid.
(picking them clean)
The two figures, the leader of the dark monsters and the ruler of the ghosts now facing each other.
(And carving the truth, while harvesting you to feed the machine)
Damien Grey is then shown, his back to the camera while facing a computer, lines of code running across the screen.
(to feed the machine)
The codes then form into a suit of armor with an ominous green visor glowing.
(The gears forever turn to grind the mice)
Lines of Guys in White are shown standing in a line before the armor.
(Will you become the fuel for sacrifice?)
One man puts on the armor…and lets out a scream.
(Power absolutely all for show)
Vlad Masters is shown again, lounging in a very expensive suite, sipping from a glass filled with expensive wine.
(The piper blows his flute and off you go)
A golden figure appears behind Vlad and raises his scepter, and he immediately transforms into his ghost form, flying off.
(Is this obsession behind your eyes?)
As he flies, the images of Maddie and Danny Fenton are shown in his eyes…
((behind your eyes?))
Before being replaced by Danielle.
(No more questions, get back in line!)
Lines of Skeleton Warriors are shown bowing before the Phantom King as he raises one finger and points over their heads.
((just get back in line!))
On the Phantom King's finger, the Ring of Rage could be seen glowing.
(You pay with your life)
In the King's eyes, the images of Vlad and Sammael flashed, both grinning before being overcome by green flames.
(The duller the knife, the longer it takes)
A massive portal is shown, leading to many other worlds.
((the longer it takes))
The King stands waiting, his army behind him.
(But now it's your turn)
The portal than shows Earth but not the Earth the King is familiar with.
(The ashes will burn, and wither away)
A world of strife and conflict, monsters of darkness battling humanity and many others.
(Leaving your bones out on the stones, picking them clean)
The King is horrified to see a familiar face, a young girl with the same hair and eyes as his fighting them.
((picking them clean))
He turns and yells at his army, pointing at the portal and they begin to march.
(And carving the truth, while harvesting you to feed the machine)
The King's visage is reflected in a golden visor that then shows Damian Grey, arms folded behind his back.
(to feed the machine)
Damien Grey then points to the green portal behind him and the armored figure steps through.
(Why must the blind always lead the blind?)
Damien and the Phantom King are shown back-to-back, Damien holding a picture of his daughter while the Phantom King conjures an image of his former family.
(Get back in line! Get back in line!)
Genki Sanban is shown next, watching as her children and Danielle are playing in the yard.
(Why do I feel like the fault is mine?)
Genki has a solemn look on her face, even as the reflections of the children laughing are shown in her eyes.
(Get back in line! Get back in line!)
Men in white suits are showed lined up again, holding advanced looking rifles.
(Why must the weakest be sacrificed?)
Danielle turns around with a scared look on her face.
((Get back in line! Get back in line!))
Lines of ghosts are shown standing and bowing before the Phantom King.
(No more questions, get back in line!)
One of them, the ghost of a teenage girl looks up with a look of devotion and obsession on her face.
((Just get back in line!))
The white armored soldier stands up, grasping a green glowing sword, facing Damien Gray who points to the right, giving the soldier his final orders.
(Pay with your life)
In the soldier's visor, the reflection of Valerie Gray could be seen.
(The duller the knife, the longer it takes (the longer it takes))
Valerie and the soldier are shown fighting now, the white armor soldier throwing strong punches that Valerie manages to avoid.
(But now it's your turn)
Valerie retaliates with a series of punches and kicks that the soldier seems to barely feel.
(The ashes will burn, and wither away)
Dark monsters surround them and attack, only to be blasted to pieces.
((wither away))
The remains of the monsters wither away into black dust that vanishes into the horizon.
(Leaving your bones out on the stones,)
Green Skeletons are show marching, only to be blasted away.
(picking them clean (picking them clean))
Their bones scattering across the battlefield, being picked clean by more monsters.
(And carving the truth, while harvesting you to feed the machine)
A ghost in a lab coat is shown to be grinning as a large machine powers to life before him.
((to feed the machine))
As the machine hums to life, a green vortex is shown before the title appears one last time:
GRIMMFALL: REIGN OF THE PHANTOM KING
(To feed the machine)
The screen fades to black as the song ends.
( Feed the Machine by Nickelback Ends)