Chapter 33: Over the Wall

"...I don't remember creating this safehouse…"

"I prepared it to ditch you."

"You…!"

"Instead, I've gone and shared it. Touched, Mayor?"

"Immeasurably," Tuck growls, taking an angry sip from his soda. He's not sure how much longer they can keep this up. They've been attacking the firewall ceaselessly in turns to break through, and they're running out of caffeine, in addition to many other supplies.

He's glad he picked up Burgess, though, as there's no way he could've made it this far without the pirate. If it weren't for Burgess's top-notch security, they would have been caught by the GIW days ago, when they traced his location. Additionally, he didn't have another safehouse prepared that the GIW hadn't found. It's only natural that the career criminal had been more successful in keeping the existence of his safehouse hidden.

Last but not least, his hacking ability is unreal. He'd come up with creative ways to hide his trail while attacking the firewall, and while progress is slow, there is progress.

"...why didn't you ditch?"

He shrugs, "I wanted to screw over those white-clad freaks more."

"Careful, I'll start to think you almost like us."

"I don't like anyone," he empties another energy drink, "I just hate certain people less."

Tuck snorts and shakes his head, one corner of his mouth curled into a wry smile. A glance to his right reveals Burgess, wearing a similar expression.

"And besides...Val is scary," the pirate chuckles.

After days of caffeine-fueled sleep-deprivation, that's all it takes to reduce the two into fits of laughter. Despite their debilitating laughter, however, they keep typing away, hoping to find a breakthrough.

Grandma Manson, curious about the noise, wheels into the room. She had somehow tracked them down before they switched safehouses, and when asked how, only replied, "If there's one thing I know about, it's hiding from government dogs!"

Burgess's laughter suddenly stops, a curse flying from his lips instead. A finger of ice runs down Tucker's spine, the bright mood suddenly gone.

"What happened?"

"I'm through."

"...what?"

"I got out. I can watch the Five O'Clock News. I can illegally download the rest of Desper—the rest of my show. We're out!"

"Anyone talking about Amity? What is the government telling people?"

"Nothing. They're blocking anything and everything about it. It looks like there were a few forums of people talking about how they lost contact with relatives, but they've been removed from public view."

"So…"

"Let's give them something that'll spread too fast to hide."

"...you aren't saying we should…?"

"It'll be on more international social media accounts faster than you can blink, and everyone will talk about it. "

"Not only will it cause large-scale panic," Tucker protests, "But Danny will-"

"His normal days are already dead! The most we can do is humanize him. The Guys in White side with the anti-ghost lobbyists, and people are getting scared of how powerful Danny Phantom is. But what if we point out that he's a human? It's a moral dilemma they can't just steamroll over."

Tucker groans, rubbing at his temples. He knows. He knows that Burgess is right; nothing will spread faster than that. He knows it'll throw a wrench into the plans of the anti-ghost factions making their way up in the government; after all, the same dilemma caused the infamously stubborn, ghost-hating Red Huntress to rethink her standpoint.

But…

But…

"...that's not my secret to share," he whispers, his hands shaking, "besides, what will happen if they see Phantom falling to The Fright Knight? Won't that cause more panic? Won't that validate the quarantine?"

"No matter what, it won't validate the government hiding it. The people of your country have a right to know what's at their doorstep, don't they? Fenton's secrets are already out. It's just a matter of time. We need to use it now, when there'll be the most impact."

He would give anything to speak with Danny right now. Even Sam.

"You need to hurry. I don't think we have long before they catch us and we're thrown out. If you can think of another way, I'm up for it, but I think this one is our best shot."

...And we've only got one, don't we?

Danny...I...I don't want to make this decision.

ZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzBREAKzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZ

Sean O'Hare, the owner of a bar in Kreugerville and the current employer of both Daniel Fenton and Samantha Manson, looks down at his phone in confusion. Yet again, neither of them have answered their phones. In fact, their phones didn't even connect. He'd left them messages the night before, but there's been no answer.

Something's wrong, his instincts hiss. There's been whispers amongst his patrons that there's something going on in Amity Park, but no one knows what. With his two best employees out-of-contact, he feels that something's only been confirmed.

Gasps and murmurs break throughout the room, people gathering around phones and talking in hushed whispers.

"Hey, Sean," one of his regulars gestures, "I think you need to see this. Isn't this the kid who works here?"

It all makes sense.

A clip on the phone shows the famous Danny Phantom falling through the air. Two white rings encircle his waist, seperating to reveal none other than Daniel Fenton. Sean's hands tighten around the rag in his hands as his eyes settle on the dark red stain spreading across the younger man's chest. The video loops, and he looses a long breath at the sight of the sword piercing his chest.

"What is this from?"

"I dunno, someone started throwing it everywhere, saying that Amity's been quarantined and something about a cover-up. Do you think this is real?"

"It has to be edited!" someone pipes up, "I mean...come on, a ghost turning into a human? Let alone Danny Fenton?!"

No, it's definitely real.

He'd always thought something was 'off' about Danny. Not that he wouldn't trust him with his life, but there was always an unexplained element surrounding him. Always a small gap that didn't seem to add up.

Without another word, he walks towards the door, motioning to his current staff to take care of closing themselves. They nod in acknowledgement before returning to their tasks.

Sean trods out to his chunky old Jeep, digging a flip-phone from the glove compartment. He takes a moment to mentally prepare himself before hitting '3' on his speed-dial.

"Dan? Yeah, it's Sean. What can you tell me about Amity Park?"

A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and patience! Remember to be careful out there, and be diligent in your hand-washing! Quarantine and distance yourself as much as you can! My job is considered essential, so I'm not really able to quarantine like we're supposed to, but we'll all do the best we can, right?
Anyway, this is FF, where we go to escape the real world (or canon), so no more of that! Here's the next chapter, short though it may be. **grovels for forgiveness** We're getting there, though! Despair not! Besides…...I finally gave us an update on Tucker!