Danny Phantom: Ultimate Showdown

Chapter One

Danny and Sam's RV was driving along when suddenly, Danny's Ghost Sense activated. Handing Sam the wheel, Danny turned into his alter-ego, Danny Phantom. In the ten years since he first turned half-ghost, he had grown; he was as tall as his Dad and just as strong, as a human. Danny looked around and saw a strange ghost, all glowing technology, with a head on his chest. "Skulktech," Danny said, "don't you have a Gorilla to look at?" Skulktech laughed and said, "That annoyance was deleted from our memory. All we have to do now is KILL YOU!" the Ghost-cyborg yelled as he activated his blasters.

Danny wasted no more time on banter, all business. Skulktech blasted away, filling the air with laser fire. Danny flew as fast as he could think, narrowly dodging the lasers. Skulktech kept on going until the head on his chest said, "Activating Ecto-missiles." Four missiles screamed out of the Ghost-cyborg's broad shoulders. Danny blasted at the missiles with his ghost-ray, destroying them just as they left his enemies' shoulders. The blast damaged Skulktech, making him stop long enough for Danny to fly over and knock him around with a punishing punch-kick combo.

Danny followed it up with his cryogenic powers, freezing Skulktech solid. He then reached into his belt and grabbed his Fenton Thermos and sucked him in. Danny flew back into the RV, Sam asking, "How do you feel?" Danny Phantom turned back into Danny Fenton and said, "Fine. A little butt-kicking can go a long way." Seeing how concerned she was, Danny told his wife, "Honest, Sam, I'm good." Sam nodded and turned back to drive the RV. "I was just worried because you've been having trouble sleeping the last four nights, and I thought it might affect your Ghost." She said. "I know", Danny said, buckling in beside her, "but it seems that my ghost can go for a while without sleep."

For the next hour, neither of them said anything until a beep resonated from where a glove-box would normally be on a car. Danny activated the Com and said, "Hey, Tuck." Sam and Danny's old friend was all smiles, "And how is everybody's favorite ghost hunting couple doing today?" "Fine, Tuck, same old same old. One minute we're having dessert, the next a two headed ghost-bear charges at us." Sam joked. Tucker smiled and said, "Sorry for this, guys, but I kinda set up a little parade for the Triumphant Return of Danny Phantom." "Uuugh," sighed Danny, "a guy just can't come home to see his folks without something going wrong." "Sorry guys, but you know Amity Park; they can't let their hero have a break. If they're not hunting him, they're worshipping him." Danny smiled at that and said, "Don't I know it. By the way, how are Valerie and the kids?"

Tucker told them, "Valerie keeps saying that being the Mayor's wife is killing her ghost-fighting skills. Omar and Odafin can't wait for their Aunt Sam and Uncle Danny to come over. They just won't sleep unless me or Valerie tells them a story about "Inviso-Bill" first." Sam laughed at the mention of the Media's first name for her husband. "How's Jazz doing, we've been trying to call her for a week now and get no answers." "Jazz has been busy working at Axion Labs with Damon trying to find more efficient ways to deal with ghosts. Damon says she won't even leave when he orders her to. It's like she all of a sudden inherited your parents' obsession squared."

Danny was concerned at hearing that his older sister was pushing herself so much. "Maybe I can help with that. Sam and I are planning on staying home for a little bit, I might as well help Jazz while we're there." Tucker looked somewhere off screen for a few seconds then said, "Gotta go guys, duty calls. Danny, I'll give you a tour around town after the excitement wears out. Foley, out." "Wonder how Mom and Dad are doing." Sam answered, "Your Mom told me last night that Jack was all kinds of excited to see you again. They really missed you while we were gone for the year." "Well, let's not keep them waiting." Danny said, and the RV raced down the road.

Chapter 2

The crowd at Amity Park was screaming as they saw Sam and Danny's RV come into view. At the entrance to the city, Danny and Sam came out and suited up, Sam in her customized Fenton Ghost Peeler, Danny with a cry of, "I'm going ghost." The crowd cheered even louder. Danny and Sam then flew up into the air, where Danny created ice crystals by the dozen, and Sam blasted them all one-by-one. The two ghost hunters then flew above the town, doing acrobatics in the air like no one's business. After a minute, they spotted the podium where Mayor Tucker and his family were. As they flew closer, they saw their families, Jack and Maddie Fenton, Jazz, and Sam's parents, Jeremy and Pamela Manson. When they landed at the podium, they were given hugs and kisses all around from their family. After their families greeting, Tucker walked up and addressed the crowd assembled, "People of Amity Park, it is with great pride that I announce that our heroes have returned. I give you, Sam and Danny Phantom!" The crowds cheered like their lives depended on it. Danny walked up and said, "Ten years ago, I would have given anything for this parade. And now I finally got it. Thank you all. GO CASPER HIGH!" The crowd somehow cheered even louder at these words.

After 7 hours of partying, autograph giving, handshaking, and photo taking, the people of Amity Park went home. The Foleys hugged everyone goodbye, while the Fenton's and Manson's headed for the Manson's mansion to continue with a much more private party. When they got there, Sam and Danny saw just how much their families had changed. Jeremy's hair was going; Pamela had a few wrinkles that weren't there last year. Jack's hair was a lighter shade of grey; Maddie's hair was streaked with grey. Jazz looked almost just like Maddie, except she was thinner and had different color eyes. "It's great to have you two back home." Danny and Sam grinned and said, "It's good to be home." "We have big news," Danny said. Everyone grew excited and Joseph said, "What is it?" "I'm pregnant" announced Sam, a large smile on her face. Everyone present smiled as big as their faces would let them, and had a big group hug. Jazz asked them, "How long until it's born?" "Five more months," Danny said. That sent Maddie, Pamela and Jazz into a tizzy, and the three women started planning a baby shower on the spot.

Jeremy then told everyone to gather around for a photo. There was a little shoving to fit everybody in, but they managed and the picture was taken. Jack pulled Danny aside and told him, "Tomorrow, we got a lot to talk about." "Is something wrong, Dad?" Danny asked. "No, I just want to have a little Father-Son talk tomorrow. It's been a while since the last time we had that." Danny nodded. It wasn't long until everyone went to bed; the day had been an exhaustingly exciting one.

But for Danny, sleep was impossible. He awoke around 2 o'clock in the morning. Sam stirred beside him, but didn't wake up. Danny looked at his wife and realized how much they had both changed. She had trained herself intensely after they became a couple, and now had the body of an Olympic acrobat. He went into the bathroom, and saw that he looked startlingly like his Dark Self. Even after ten years, that monster still haunted him. Danny was concerned that he would look like him, and had gone so far as to keep his hair short, afraid that if it grew too long it would flame in his Ghost Form. Unable to go back to sleep, Danny wandered around the Manson's mansion, eventually going into their library, where he found Jeremy, looking at a photo album.

"Danny, you can't sleep either I see." Danny said, "I had a bad dream, and couldn't go back to sleep. I figured reading a book would bore me to sleep, any recommendations?" Jeremy replied, "We got "The History of Bread", "War and Peace", and somewhere around here we got a book about Fungi." "Thanks", Danny said, getting "The History of Bread" off the shelf. After an hour, neither man was near going to sleep, and Jeremy asked, "What was your dream about?" Danny reluctantly told him, "I dreamed about Sam, and our …child. I was in the hospital, and had just fought like fifty ghosts who were trying to hurt them. I got to Sam, and looked at our baby. Its eyes, they were blacker than space, and more evil was in them than I had ever seen in ANYONE, ghost or human."

Jeremy nodded at this and said, "When Pamela got pregnant with Samantha, I couldn't sleep for more than, 2 hours a night. Pamela and I, our families were prone to Tay-sachs, and we had both lost cousins to it. We were terrified that we would get our baby, only for her to die horribly in front of us. After she was born, we had her tested, and she was negative. After that, I could sleep again. Heck, I probably got more sleep after she was born than before." Danny looked at his Father-in-law with shock. "Danny, what you are feeling is probably just the nerves that all first time parents get." "Maybe," Danny said.

After that, they went back to bed. Danny slept a little better the rest of the night than he had in the last five nights.

Chapter 3

Danny and Sam woke up around seven, and headed for the gymnasium the Manson's had installed after the "Disasteroid" incident. For the next hour they trained, then showered and went to the breakfast table. The Manson's had a feast ready for them, with various exotic and healthy foods. After breakfast, Danny went out to see Tucker and tell him the news, and for the tour. Sam stayed behind to catch up with the family, and prevent them from planning a horrible baby shower. As he walked around, Danny saw how different Amity Park had become. More houses seemed to have some kind of Fenton gadget, from lasers to all out fortresses. Were more ghosts coming through? Had it been selfish when he and Sam left for a year?

Soon, he came across Mr. Lancer's house. Lancer wasn't home, so Danny phased through the walls and saw what had happened to him in one year. The first thing he noticed was that Lancer, unlike almost everyone else, hadn't installed any Anti-ghost defenses. Next, he saw that Lancer had pictures on his wall. All of them were classes he had taught. Lancer really did care about his students, even when he was on their case. Danny promised himself to visit him later in the weekend.

Feeling adventurous, Danny flew the rest of the way to Tucker's home. When he reached the door he considered going in it like he did Lancer's, but decided against it. Knowing Valerie, there would be anti-ghost tech coming out the yin-yang in that house. He knocked three times before Valerie answered. She had Odafin in her arms, sleeping. She whispered, "Let me get their breakfast ready first, then we'll talk." Danny nodded. Five minutes later she invited him in. "How're the kids?" he asked. "Omar's been a little more hyper since you showed up, while Odafin has mellowed a little." "Tucker told me that you and he had to tell them stories about me to get them to go to bed." "Yeah, we do that more recently. But, I'm sure they'll be done with that soon and want to hear more about "The Scarlet Siren." "Scarlet Siren? I always thought of you as more of a "Heroic Hunter." Danny said. Valerie shrugged and said, "Tucker came up with it, and it stuck." "Speaking of Tucker, where is he?"

"He's at City Hall, arguing with his advisers over the tourists. More of them come every day it feels like. Some people think they need to increase your visibility here, open a museum or theme park or something. Tucker's arguing that you need to sign off on that first, and then some other people are arguing if you deserve equal rights because you're half-ghost." That disturbed Danny; he had assumed that his countless actions on behalf of the city would make everyone think of him as more of a "hero" than a "half-ghost". The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. Danny said bye to Valerie and the kids with a hug and a promise to come over and tell them some stories later that day.

He then flew all the way to City Hall. Not wanting to disturb the meeting, Danny turned invisible and watched from above. City Hall didn't have anti-ghost defenses either. Danny wasn't sure if that was comforting or concerning. For three hours, Tucker and other lawmakers argued over whether or not Danny Phantom should be thought of as a citizen, or a tourist attraction. Tucker argued his case like a ten year veteran should have, turning the oppositions' arguments against them and strengthening his own position. Just before they broke for lunch, Tucker made a motion that it would go to a vote, after lunch. None opposed.

After Tucker left, Danny switched back to human form and walked up to him. "Hey man," Danny greeted. Tucker returned the greeting, and the two old friends walked off to the Nasty Burger. They ordered some burgers, and talked about the neighborhood and Sam's pregnancy. Tucker explained that he had a resolution passed that allowed the City Hall to pay to install anti-ghost defenses to any who wanted them. Most of the citizens happily accepted, but a few, like Mr. Lancer, declined the offer. He had also formed a special division of the Police, Foley's Fighters, that was specially equipped and trained to fight off ghosts. Tucker saw that there was something else bothering him, and asked, "Why'd you really come to see me bro?"

"I need to tell you something. I've been having nightmares for the last five nights. I haven't told Sam or anyone else, except for Sam's Dad, Jeremy, about it. He thinks that it's just stress because Sam's pregnant, first time parent jitters. I think they might be something more." "How long would it take you to tell me about them? I don't want to be cold, but the vote begins in 49 minutes, and I can't miss it." Tucker told him. Their food arrived, and they ate. Danny thought about it and said, "It won't be long." Tucker looked at him and said "Tell me."

Chapter Four

"In my first nightmare, I was fighting Vlad. All of a sudden he grabbed me, and ripped my ghost and human halves apart. He bonded with my ghost, and then killed everyone, our families, you, Sam, Jazz, everyone. As he did it, you and everyone screamed, "Don't do it Danny", as If it was me, not Vlad, killing you. In my second nightmare, Ember McLain took control of everyone, and I couldn't defeat her this time. I couldn't save anyone. All I could do was run.

"In my third nightmare, Sam and I were at our wedding when all of a sudden Pariah Dark showed up. He beat me to a pulp, literally, and drank me. I felt everything, from his fists, to his evil as I was absorbed into him. In my fourth nightmare, my Dad was giving my eulogy. I tried to tell them that I wasn't dead, but I couldn't be seen, I couldn't move anything, nothing I did worked as everyone I loved mourned me, and my enemies were laughing. Last night, I dreamed that Sam was giving birth to our child. I had just battled like fifty ghosts that were trying to hurt them. As I got to them, I saw our baby. It had eyes as black as space, and they were evil eyes, Tuck; Pariah Dark, Skulktech, Walker, even my Dark Self combined didn't have as much evil as I saw in my child's eyes."

Tucker was shocked at first, and finished his food before replying, "Danny, there's a psychiatrist I know who may be able to help you." "I'm not going crazy, Tuck, not yet." Danny angrily said. "But you haven't been sleeping. What if you wear yourself out so bad, you make a mistake, what if someone gets hurt? Danny, you need to see this guy." Danny sighed and said, "Who is he?" Tucker told him "His name is Dr. Jeremiah Steel. He was one of the Professors at my college. He has studied you for a long time. Danielle has been helping him study the psychology and abilities of ghosts. If any human can help you, it's him." Tucker checked his watch and said, "Think you can give me a lift back to City Hall?" Danny took the card Tucker handed him, "Sure Tuck."

After giving their waitress a healthy tip, the two men left The Nasty Burger. As soon as they were out, Danny turned invisible, and flew Tucker to City Hall. Danny didn't have anything else important, and was about to go back to the Manson Resident when his Ghost Sense activated. Danny barely dodged the giant guitar riff, and said "Hello, Ember." Ember McLain looked at him with a smile and said, "You look good, Phantom. I'm gonna hate messing up that pretty face of yours." "Try it." Danny said.

Ember sent three more riffs at him; Danny shielded himself from the blasts and flew closer to her. Ember saw what he was doing and blew an ecto-kiss at him. Danny barely dodged it and said, "Kitty's been teaching you some new tricks." Ember laughed then tuned and aimed her guitar at some people on the street. Danny flew as fast as he could, but Ember's riff got them, making them slaves to her will. The five people struck then flew up into the airusing their bodies to protect their mistress.

"Let them go, Ember!" Danny yelled. Ember thought about it for a second and said, "No!" sending her slaves to attack Danny. Danny went intangible to avoid hurting them, and then flew straight for Ember. Ember tuned her guitar again and sent a riff Danny's way. The hero couldn't avoid this one, and was blasted back 20 ft before he righted himself. Ember's slaves flew right for him and hit him with their full momentum, sending him back another 30 ft. Danny sent a ghost ray after Ember, but the rocker ghost dodged it and answered with one of her own. Danny dodged again and decided on another tactic.

With a massive intake of breath, Danny fired off his most powerful attack, a Ghostly Wail. A fearful Ember fired riff after riff at the Wail, but it struck home, destroying her guitar and knocking her back a mile. Danny quickly rescued the now released slaves, and then headed for Ember. He got his Thermos out, and sucked her in. Down below he saw an RV speeding down the road with the symbol FF painted in navy blue on it. Foley's Fighters. Danny appeared in front of it, and the RV stopped. A large blonde man even more muscular than Danny stepped out. "Fenton?" the man said. "Dash?" Danny replied, "You're one of Foley's Fighters?" "I'm the leader of Beta Squad." the former jock replied, "Lieutenant Dashiel Baxter, at your service." "Wow, I thought you went on to act after High School." "I did, but last year when Mayor Foley formed this outfit, I figured he could use a guy like me to keep the girls from soiling themselves." "See you around Dash," Danny said as he flew away. "Same to you Fenton," Dash replied.

Chapter Five

In the Ghost Zone, Clockwork was busy watching the progress of time. He saw a child born, and saw it die as an old man. A forest bloomed, and was cruelly chopped down. Uncountable futures, uncountable pasts, all were seen by Clockwork. Suddenly, he heard a loud explosion; and a laugh as evil and twisted as madness itself. Clockwork turned and saw the laughing man. "Hello, Clockwork. How long has it been?" The time ghost looked into the blood red eyes of Dark Danny and said, "It's been ten years. You cannot win, in every future, you will fall." Dark Danny laughed at this and said, "Maybe, maybe not. But I know that you won't be around to see it." Dark Danny then unleashed a Ghostly Wail so powerful that Clockwork's whole tower was reduced to atoms. "Now, let's see how my better half is doing," Dark Danny said, teleporting to the human world with a swirl of his cape.

Back in the human world, Danny was flying to Fenton Works when his cell rang. "Hello," he answered. "How's it going Danny, you've been gone a while." Sam asked. "I was listening in on some City Hall business, and after Tucker gave me the grand tour, Ember showed up." "I thought she gave up on trying to beat you." Sam said, concerned. "She learned a few new tricks and decided to try them out. I'm dropping her and Skulktech into the Portal and then heading home." "See you soon," Sam said and hung up. At Fenton Works, a scanner activated and saw that it was Danny. "Welcome to Fenton Works," Jack's voice said, "please, don't steal anything."

Danny almost laughed at that. He walked down to the basement and put the Fenton Thermos on the Ghost Portal. He pressed few buttons, and removed the Thermos. Danny walked out and then flew over to the Manson residence. He walked in the door just in time to hear Sam scream. Danny transformed and flew to where she was and saw what she was screaming at. "Yikes," he said. Pamela, Maddie, and Jazz had decked out the whole room in what could only be described as "Happy."

Sam turned to her husband and said, "This is what happens when you let the family decorate." Danny politely asked the three women to leave him and his wife alone for a while. They left, and Danny said, "That was a little overdramatic, don't you think?" Sam replied, "It was the only way I could think of to get them out of here for two minutes." "Point taken," he agreed. "How was Tucker?" Sam asked, wanting to change the subject. "He was good; he looked a little tired, but good. Valerie's a little more cheerful. Omar and Odafin have grown, a lot. I promised to stop by later to tell them stories, want to come?" "Sure, anything to get away from "this," Sam said, indicating the room. Danny's phone rang, it was his Dad. "Hi Dad, is it time for that Father-Son talk?" "Yep, come over to Fenton Works, and we'll have it in your old room." "I thought you and Mom replaced it with an exercise room." "We did." Jack said. "I just told you so you would know what window to fly in. See you soon." "See you soon Dad," Danny said as he hung up.

Jack stood in his exercise room and lifted his weights a little before working the heavy bag. Maddie was insistent that they replace Danny's old room with an exercise room, arguing about how they were getting a little wider in their age. Jack would never admit it, but she was right, they did need it, the last time they saw Danny, he beat him at arm-wrestling. Maybe a little exercise would help. Suddenly, the alarm sounded, a ghost was in. Jack grabbed one of his Spectro-blasters and put on this Specter Deflector. Suddenly a voice said from behind, "Hello, Dad," Jack spun around and saw a strange ghost, who looked like an evil version of his son. "Eat laser, ghost!" Jack yelled, blasting away. The ghost shielded itself from the blasts, and floated forward.

Jack grabbed his Ghost Gauntlets from one of his pockets and destroyed the shield wit combo, and gave the ghost a haymaker on the button. The ghost laughed at the blow, and gave Jack one of his own. Jack crashed through a wall, but quickly got up and charged forward. The ghost dodged his attacks effortlessly, and kicked him in the solar plexus hard enough to crack Jack's sternum. Jack spat blood at the ghost and kept on fighting, landing a jab and a cross to the ghost's own sternum. The ghost didn't laugh this time and said, "Time to get serious then," it said, and launched a volley of ghost rays at him. The veteran ghost hunter barely dodged the blasts, all of which seemed to destroy one thing or another in his house.

Jack exchanged a few blasts of his own with the ghost, who dodged them effortlessly. Suddenly, the ghost multiplied, and rained a storm of ghost rays at Jack. Jack couldn't dodge them all, and was knocked out. The ghost grabbed his right arm and twisted it until it broke. Jack woke up with a painful scream, and tried to hit the ghost with his other hand, but his strength was gone. The ghost threw Jack through another wall, laughing as he said "You never had a chance, old man. Now do what old men do, and die," the ghost blasted him with a Ghostly Wail. Jack was blown through a third wall, but wouldn't stay down

"I don't know who you are," Jack wheezed, "but you won't beat my son. I might not be able to beat you, but Danny will." "I doubt that," the ghost said as he grabbed Jack's other arm and crushed it. He then grabbed Jack by the throat and effortlessly raised him above his head. Danny arrived just in time to see this and yelled "Dad, NOOO!" but he was too late. Looking straight at Danny Phantom's eyes, Dark Danny crushed their Father's throat with a sickening CRUNCH!

Danny flew faster than sound and punched his evil self two miles away, and flew even faster to follow up with a kick. Dark Danny responded with a flurry of ghost rays, stopping Danny in his tracks. "I'll make you pay for this," Danny darkly promised. His Evil Self laughed at this and said, "Dad was just the beginning. I'm going after EVERYONE you ever cared about. By the time I'm done with them, you will wish you had never gone into the Ghost Portal." Danny flew faster than he had ever flown before, but was just barely too slow to catch Dark Danny before he teleported away. Danny immediately got his phone out and called his wife, "Sam, get everyone, and I mean everyone, and get them into the most secure part of the mansion. It's Dark Danny, he's back, and he just KILLED DAD!" "I'm getting them now, Danny, just please, be careful." Sam said, nearly screaming as loud as Danny. Danny looked down and saw Foley's Fighters arriving.

The Ghost-hero flew down and turned back into Danny Fenton. "What happened Fenton? It looks like a bomb went off." Dash said. "A ghost, one more evil than you would ever want to meet, that's what happened Dash. I was coming over to see Dad, and he KILLED HIM DASH, HE KILLED DAD!" Dash had to grab Danny to get him to calm down. "Tell me everything, do you hear me, EV-ER-Y-THING. With a homicidal ghost loose, we need all the Fighters to be prepared to defend Amity Park." Danny breathed in deeply and told Dash everything about Dark Danny, his description, his origins, how he snapped his Father's neck like a toothpick, everything. By the time he was done, Dash looked three shades paler, but managed to keep his fear out of his voice as he called the other squads and Tucker. "God help us all," he said after he made the calls.

Taking a deep breath himself, Dash walked back to the Foley's Fighters RV. Before he drove off he told Danny, "I don't care how you do it, Fenton, but you have to beat this psycho. You may just be the only one in the world who can." Danny wordlessly nodded, then turned back into his Ghost form and flew as fast as he could to the Manson residence.

Chapter 6

Danny arrived just in time to see Tucker and his family show up. They all wordlessly entered the mansion, and headed straight for the secure room. They entered to see Maddie and Jazz in tears, mourning for Jack. When Maddie saw Danny, she walked up to him and pounded his chest saying, "Why! Why couldn't you save him, you have all the power, why didn't you save him!?" The rest of her words were lost as they turned into mindless sobs. All Danny could do was hug his Mom close and say, "I'm going to get him, Mom. He'll pay for this, I promise." Maddie didn't say a thing at this, just straightened her back, and went back to hug her daughter. For the next ten minutes, all one could hear in the room was the Fenton women's crying. Sam wordlessly looked at Danny, her own tears barely stopped from falling.

After Maddie and Jazz grieved, their eyes took on a much more fearsome appearance. Danny then spoke up and told everyone everything he knew about Dark Danny. After he told them, Jazz and Maddie's fierce look didn't change, as if they welcomed the fact that Jack's murderer would come for them and save them the time."What are we going to do, Danny," Jeremy said, "Tucker can't be sequestered here forever, and if you stay here, this Dark Danny thing could unleash Hell on Earth in Amity Park." Danny looked at him and said, "Tonight, everyone stays here, no arguments. After tonight, everyone has to arm themselves, no one goes out alone, and everyone keeps their cell phones on "LOUD" mode. If Dark Danny attacks anyone, they call one of us, and we get there as fast as we can. I'll get there as soon as I can too, and hopefully, we'll be able to beat him together." Danny looked at his Mother and Sister and said, "Focus only on surviving. Don't go after him; don't try to beat him, just focus on survival. I can't lose anyone else."

Everyone agreed with this, and Tucker called his Fighters and the Police to inform them of the situation. "Valerie, you and me are going to my RV to get some weapons." Valerie nodded and kissed her husband and kids goodbye. The two veteran ghost-hunters walked as carefully as they could on the way to the RV. Their eyes were constantly moving, looking for any sign that Dark Danny would come for them. Nothing happened on the way, and Danny and Valerie grabbed as much weaponry as they could carry on their persons.

Valerie sighed in relief and said, "So far so good." "Don't let your guard down, remember, he can teleport." Danny told her. Valerie nodded and the two decided to fly back to the Mansion. Danny grabbed Valerie and turned them both intangible, and flew as fast as he could to the Mansion. When they got there, they gave Jeremy and Pamela Specter Deflectors and some wrist blasters. Jazz and Maddie were already armed. Valerie gave Tucker a double-lightsaber like weapon, the Fenton Ghost Staff, and a wrist blaster. Sam activated her Ghost Peeler, and for the rest of the day they took turns standing guard, four at a time. Before Odafin and Omar went to bed, Danny told them how he defeated Undergrowth that first time, then went on watch with Jeremy, Tucker, and Jazz. They weren't attacked that night.

Elsewhere, Mr. Lancer heard a voice that chilled him to the marrow, "Hello Mr. Lancer." "Count Dracula," he exclaimed, "Who are you?" "A former student." was all the voice said. Mr. Lancer screamed as loud as he could, the last thing he ever did in life.

Chapter 7

Everyone at the Manson Mansion jumped when they heard the doorbell ring the next morning. Valerie and Maddie held their weapons ready as Danny opened the door. They all relaxed when they realized that it was Dash. Dash looked sad, shockingly sad. "He got Mr. Lancer last night. Alpha Squad responded, but by then all that was left was a smoking crater, and Him. He possessed Alpha Leader's body, and killed them all. We NEED you Danny, now more than ever." Danny wasn't sure what shocked him more, the news of his old teacher's death, to hear of Alpha Squad's destruction, or to see the effect that it had on the man who once bullied him in High School. "I will, just let me tell everyone he-" "Go, Danny, I'll tell them. Valerie, go with him." Maddie interrupted. Danny nodded, and together with Valerie, left with Dash.

Dash quickly filled Danny in on how Foley's Fighters worked. There were various Ghost Detectors throughout the city. Whenever a ghost was detected near a sight of property damage, Foley's Fighters would roll out. There had been five squads, Alpha, Beta, Kappa, Delta, and Omega, made up of teams of eight active members and sixteen reserve fighters. All of them were given different quadrants of the city to patrol, and were only allowed to leave said quadrants if another squad called for backup. Last night had been the first time that any of the squads had called for backup.

When Danny saw how talking about Alpha Squad affected Dash he asked, "How close were you?" Dash didn't try to argue or deny his feelings, "Alpha Leader, Rachel Cortez, we were going to be married next month." Danny pressed the issue no further, imagining how he would have felt had Sam been killed. Danny's Ghost Sense activated, and he flew out of the RV to spot Freakshow and Lydia robbing a jewelry store. Danny wasted no time on banter; he simply went intangible and got their loot. Beta Squads RV screeched to a halt, and the squad charged out, all business.

"Ghosts, surrender peacefully and you will be escorted back to the Ghost Zone with no injury to yourselves," Dash announced via megaphone. Freakshow laughed at this and fired off a ghost ray at Beta Squad. Beta Squad sprang into action, dodging the ghost ray easily, firing at Freakshow every chance they got. Lydia saw how badly they were outnumbered and brought all of her tattoos to life. Danny created copies of himself when he saw this and together with Valerie made quick work of them. A weakened Lydia could only scream as a member of Beta Squad sucked her into one of their Fenton Thermos's.

Freakshow screeched in rage and turned into his monstrous form, firing off four ghost rays at once. Valerie blasted away at the former human, distracting him long enough for Danny to suck him into his Fenton Thermos. Beta Squad stood ready for anymore ghostly activity, but there was none. They all filed back into the RV, and Dash had a look of pride in his eyes as he took over the wheel. "That was the fastest capture Beta Squad has ever had. They're getting better." Valerie and Danny smiled at this, Danny more so. Amity Park had been in good hands while he was away.

For the next five hours nothing happened, no ghosts were detected by Danny or the Ghost Detectors. Seeing this, Dash told Danny and Valerie that they could go home if they wanted to. Danny thought about it and said, "Thanks man, I haven't gotten a whole lot of time with Sam since we got here." Valerie chose to stay and see what she could do. Before Danny left Dash said, "Danny, I'm sorry about your Dad. If it wasn't for him, Foley's Fighters would still be just a dream. He taught us everything we know about ghost fighting. Whenever you need us, just ask and we'll get there as fast as we can." Dash then handed him an ear-mic. Danny managed to keep his sadness off his face and started back for the mansion. His cell rang just then, it was Jazz. "Hi Jazz," he answered. "Danny," his sister said, "We're all at Fenton Works, the lab. Mom and Tucker think they have a way for you to get rid of Dark Danny's teleportation power."

Danny quickly adjusted his flight path, heading for his old home, the site of his Father's last stand. Danny was allowed in by the security system, and did everything in his power not to look at the signs of battle. Foley's Fighters had removed Jack Fenton's body for autopsy the night before. When Danny got to the lab he was greeted by a serious Tucker. "Danny, we have it, this will help you stop that psycho once and for all." Danny nodded; all business and said, "Show me."

Chapter Eight

That night found Danny and Sam awake in their RV, everyone sure that Dark Danny wasn't going to attack that night. "I'm beginning to think that my dreams were warnings, psychic flashes or something." Danny told Sam. "How can you be sure? It could just be coincidence." Danny then told her his dreams, and she said, "You may be right. Some of your dreams sound like they were warnings. But Danny, you can't let that affect you." "How can I NOT let it affect me? I could use these dreams to find some strategy to use to fight. At least they'll let me know who to look out for."

"Danny, why are you really awake?" Sam asked him. Danny almost told her it was because of his dreams, but as he looked at Sam, he lost the heart to. "I'm scared, Sam, more scared than I ever have been before. Before yesterday, I never really took ghost fighting seriously. It was an adventure, it was fun. I always knew that no matter what, everything would turn out alright. Now, I'm not so sure that I can protect everyone, or at what cost."

Sam made Danny look at her, then kissed him as sweetly as she had ever kissed him before, "You can do this Danny, you've never failed before. Even when you had every right to give up, to retreat, to quit, you never did. You fought all the harder. You just need to remember what it is you are fighting for." Sam then took Danny's hand, and placed it on her slightly enlarged stomach. Danny looked back at her like she, and their child, were the most precious things in the world. The couple then finally went to sleep, all their troubles forgotten.

Danny and Sam awoke three hours later to the sound of Dash's Ear-mic. "Beta Leader to Halfa, Beta Leader to Halfa, damn it Danny, answer me." Danny put the mic on and said, "Halfa to Beta Leader, what's happening?" "That ghost you talked about yesterday has a big family, THAT's what's happening. I'm getting multiple sightings from Kappa, Delta, and Omega Squads, and we're taking casualties fast. Get your butt over here NOW!" Danny was about to fly away when Sam grabbed him and said, "Danny, wait, we got something that should help you fight the Dark Danny's."

Sam led him to her closet, a massive one that could hold a year's worth of clothes. Sam opened it to reveal the Fenton Ecto-skeleton. "I've been tinkering with it whenever I got the time. It's now four times more efficient and can destroy individual ghosts without leveling a city block. Danny got inside the Ecto-skeleton and turned it so he could use it to its fullest capacity. Danny gave his wife a grin and flew off to battle the Army of Dark Danny's. Sam suited up herself and flew after him. When they arrived they found a city at war, an army Dark Dannys were destroying everything they laid eyes on. Beta Squad was fighting like each man was ten, but they couldn't destroy the Dark Dannys. Sam took aim and fired at three closely packed copies and fired. All of them yelled in pain, allowing Beta Squad to finish them off.

Danny saw some of the copies going after a school bus full of kids. Danny intercepted and destroyed them with well placed punches. Sam fired whenever she saw a group of dark Danny copies and Beta Squad finished them off. Five of them saw how she was turning the tide and spread out to fly straight for her. Danny made copies of his own and took them all out. For a straight hour it went until Danny heard another voice on his mic. "Omega Leader to Halfa, we are down to three men, we need you-" the transmission cut off with a scream. Danny told Sam what happened and flew off at top speed. He saw the last two members of Omega Squad making their last stand.

Danny blasted away with his ghost rays, destroying a lot of the Dark Dannys. More were coming from the North, eyes glowing with bloodlust. Danny used a Ghostly Wail and disintegrated all of them, but left him exhausted. Danny checked the power meter on the Ecto-skeleton and saw that the Ghostly Wail had drained 33% of his energy. He was down to 61% power. "Gotta go easy with the voice." He told himself. But there was no rest for him, as Kappa Squad's Leader screeched "Heeeellllp!" into his mic. Danny flew straight for his coordinates, just in time to see that all that was left defending that section of Amity Park was his Mom, Sister, Tucker, and Valerie. All of them were taking out Dark Danny copies, but they couldn't do it fast enough.

Danny copied himself rapidly, and took on all of the copies one-on-one. For the next three hours he fought, destroying copies with every blow, only for two more to taking their place. Danny watched helplessly as Jazz got her right arm blasted off by two of the copies. Maddie quickly defended her daughter and reduced them to atoms. The rest of the copies forgot about everyone else and focused on Danny. They circled around him, pounding him with ghost-rays. Danny shielded himself, but the Ecto-skeleton's energy levels were draining fast. Desperate to survive, Danny focused what power he could muster and released it all in a powerful Ecto-Repulsion Field, obliterating them all. Danny checked his energy level; he was down to one percent. He flew down and climbed out of the suit. He turned back into his human form and ran to his sister, tearing his shirt off to use as a bandage. Maddie took it and wrapped it around the stump where Jazz's arm used to be.

Danny was panting hard, but took a deep breath and said, "Where is Dark Danny. If we can distract or beat him *huff huff* we can stop this." Tucker told him, "Delta Squad's *huff huff* last transmission reported *huff huff* that there was one Dark Danny who stood away from the rest at City Hall. The last we heard, he was standing on its roof and just watching and laughing at the destruction." Danny nodded and used the mic to call Dash, "Halfa to Beta Leader, we got wounded in sectors Omega and Kappa, we need medical assistance." Dash answered, "You and everyone else, *huff huff* Halfa. We got at least 200 civilian casualties, *huff huff* 2000 wounded, and at least a thousand more are missing. EMT's are arriving, I'll see what I can do, but it'll be at least 3 hours *huff huff* before they can get to you." "Understood Beta Leader, we think we've found the Head Ghost. I'm heading for him now." "Send him to the Ghost Zone in pieces Danny," Dash responded.

Danny looked at his Mom, Jazz, Tucker, Valerie, and finally Sam. All of them looked scared; like this was the last time they would ever see him. "I'm coming back. I promise." He said, and he turned into his Ghost Form and flew as fast as he could towards City Hall.

Chapter Nine

Like a gargoyle, Dark Danny stood on the roof of Amity Park's City Hall. He was stooped over, looking at all the destruction he had caused. It sent a thrill through him, a powerful orgasm no sane being could ever feel. He looked up and saw Danny Phantom arrive. He was tired, they both were; it wasn't easy making and maintaining all those copies. But now, only he and Danny were left in the fight. Everyone else was too tired, wounded, or dead to fight.

"This was even more exciting than when I destroyed Amity Park in my own time." Dark Danny said. Danny Phantom only looked at his Dark Self and waited. Dark Danny returned his stare, just as intently. If looks could kill, the looks they exchanged with each other would have killed the whole world with its hate alone. Whether it was only for a few seconds or hours, neither cared, they maintained their stares, neither of them moving. With a look of tired desperation, Danny Phantom raised his hand and formed a sword out of ectoplasmic energy, sharp enough to cut diamonds. Dark Danny did the same, a look of evil joy on his face.

The two Danny's charged at each other, shouting as loud as rifle shots. Dark Danny went for a stab, but was parried by Danny Phantom who answered with an upward cut. Dark Danny barely avoided the cut, and countered with a side swipe. Danny Phantom blocked the blow, and the two Danny's floated there, fighting with all their superhuman strength to push the other back. Dark Danny then spat in Danny Phantom's face and pushed him back while he was distracted. Danny Phantom dodged all of Dark Danny's follow up cuts, and counter-attacked with a furious combination of stabs and cuts. So it went for half an hour, both Danny's too evenly matched to land a blow.

The two Danny's swung their swords as hard as they could; shattering them both. Danny Phantom recovered first, and kicked Dark Danny in the face, sending him back 100 ft. His evil counterpart blasted him with ghost rays, and Danny Phantom blasted his own. They quickly grew tired, and Danny Phantom flew as fast as he could, reaching into his belt. He took out a device that looked like a ring, and put it on. Dark Danny tried to teleport away, but Danny Phantom got to him before he could and landed a shocking punch to his chin. Dark Danny tried to teleport away again, but couldn't. "How?!" he shouted at his good self.

"This ring's surface is covered in thousands of microscopic needles. Tucker, Jazz and Mom designed it. Each needle is laced with a ghost power destroying element called ectoranium." Dark Danny's eyes glowed red with rage, and he multiplied himself into four fighters, Danny Phantom did the same, and the fight resumed. Dark Danny used his ghost rays, not wanting to risk getting another dose of ectoranium. Danny Phantom dodged as much as he could, and shielded himself as well, but was too tired and one of his copies was destroyed. Danny Phantom answered with a Ghostly Wail followed by a freezing ray on two of the Dark Danny's, allowing two of his own copies to shatter them.

Dark Danny's remaining copy shot ecto-goo out his fingers, wrapping up Danny's own copies, allowing him to destroy them with ghost rays before Danny Phantom destroyed that copy with a punch with his ring hand. Dark Danny then wrapped up Danny Phantom in goo and unleashed a Ghostly Wail. But instead of harming Danny Phantom, it was at a frequency that let it shatter the ring. Danny Phantom ripped out of the goo and gave Dark Danny a Ghostly Wail of his own. Dark Danny released an equally powerful Ghostly Wail, resulting in a near atomic explosion that sent the two of them falling to Earth like lead bricks, creating craters when they hit.

The two Danny's clawed themselves out of their respective craters, their fists glowing with what power they had left. Both had pushed themselves past the point that would have killed the strongest human from exhaustion. Weaker ghosts than them would have been destroyed by the blows they had exchanged with each other. This was it, the final blow. With one last punch, the future of the world would be decided. Light and Dark stared at each other, ready to die if it meant destroying the other. The two Danny's gave each other one last look, and charged at each other, creating an explosion when they hit that dwarfed the one that knocked them out of the sky.

Chapter Ten

Danny woke up in a hospital. He weakly moaned when he felt an intense pain…everywhere. A doctor appeared as if from nowhere and flashed a light in his eyes, "Sir, do you know who you are." "D-Daniel Fenton." Danny answered. "What is your mother's maiden name?" "O'Reilly" "Do you know where you are?" the doctor asked, "Amity Park Hospital" Danny answered. The doctor let out a sigh of relief, "You are very lucky, Mr. Fenton. In all my twenty years here, I have never met a patient who was as badly hurt as you and didn't suffer some kind of permanent brain damage." "What happened?" Danny asked the doctor. "I think you might want to hear that from your wife, I'll get her." The doctor told him.

Sam appeared at his side five minutes later, breathless from having run all the way to his bed. "Sam, what happened? The last thing I remember I was fighting Dark Danny at City Hall, and the next thing I know I wake up here, everything hurting." "I found you in the middle of a huge crater, you and Dark Danny. He dissolved almost as soon as I got there, the last thing he said was, 'Why?' I got you to the RV and drove you here. You looked like a giant bruise by the time we got here. When I told them who you were, they sprang to work. They later told me that half of your internal organs were bleeding, every bone in your body was crisscrossed in hairline fractures, and you had a Grade Three concussion. They said you wouldn't make it through the night and left you to attend to the other wounded." "How am I still alive?" Danny asked.

"The only explanation the doctor's could give was your ghost DNA. It kept you alive and healed you. Danny, you've been unconscious for three weeks." Danny took a second to let that sink in and asked, "What about Jazz, is she alright?" Sam hesitated, and then said, "She lost her arm and was in shock when she got here. She's stable, but confined to bed rest. Because of how she lost her arm, all her nerve endings were fried and they couldn't reattach her arm." "It's all my fault. I should have known that Dark Danny would attack the town, he did it in his own time, and he even told me that he was going after EVERYONE. I assumed he meant our family and friends, I should have-" Sam silenced Danny with a finger to his mouth.

"You couldn't have known no one could have. No one can predict how an insane human would act, let alone an insane ghost. Danny, none of this is your fault. If you hadn't arrived when you did, even more people would have died."

Sam then went to his room's window and opened it. Outside it was night, and hundreds of candles lit it up. Sam told him, "All those people have two candles. One is for the victims in this hospital, and the other… is for you." Danny looked and saw how much he meant to amity Park. And he was happy. No matter what else, he was still a hero. "How many people are still missing?" he asked. "There are still 300 people trapped in buildings, they need someone to rescue them, now." Sam told him. Danny Fenton got out of his bed, sore. Sam held him up, and hugged him tight. Danny Fenton said, "I'm going Ghost!" and became Danny Phantom, then flew out the window in full view of the crowd. The crowd cheered louder than a waterfall as they watched their hero Danny Phantom fly off to rescue the people trapped in the wreckage.