Notes:

Howdy! Thank you for taking your time to check this short story. I couldn't get this idea out of my head, so I finally decided to write it. I hope you like this one.

Disclaimer: Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon. I own nothing.

Ghostly Lament

The evening breeze tenderly caressed her cheeks. The wind played with her hair and whispered in her ear as if it were giggling softly. She almost cried as the invisible current of air reminded her of her children's carefree laughter. Somehow, it seemed as if it had been years since she last heard it, but Maddie knew it had only been a few days ago, just before the attack.

The miserable woman continued walking. A couple of sighs later, she found herself at the grim place she had intended to visit. Dead leaves adorned the muddy ground. Dozens of tombstones surrounded her. She continued her path, holding the flowers in her hands closer to her chest, and headed towards a dried maple tree, knowing she'd be able to find a familiar grave behind it.

Just as she got closer to her destination, Maddie heard someone sobbing desperately. The heartbreaking lament became louder with each nearing step and the adult huntress realized it came from behind the maple tree. Her curiosity grew even more.

When she finally reached the aforementioned tree, the glum mother stared with a mixture of anger, sadness, and confusion at the figure crying in front of her child's grave. The intruder had fallen on his knees and was angrily pounding his gloved fists against the ground. His tears glowed as they rolled down his young but pale cheeks, and his white hair was so messy that it almost covered his brilliant green eyes.

Maddie Fenton knew who it was. She didn't even need to look at the symbol on his black and white attire to recognize him. She could easily identify the ghost responsible for the death of her loved one. Phantom, she thought bitterly as she let the flowers fall to the ground.

"You must have some nerve to come here!" the enraged huntress yelled, silently cursing herself for not bringing a weapon.

The ghost boy didn't seem to be scared or startled when he turned to face her. In fact, he had a sorrowful expression, stained with tears that wouldn't stop flowing as he met the woman's gaze. His eyes then shifted to the ground. "I'm sorry," he practically whispered, though Maddie could still hear him loud enough to notice the echo in his voice.

"Sorry?" she repeated heatedly as she began to cry. "You want to apologize after everything you've done to this town and our family? After you destroyed my children's lives?" she continued her angry outburst, clenching her shaky hands into fists.

Phantom stared at the hysterical woman with his teary eyes, confusion clearly apparent on his look. "Children? What are you talking about?" his voice quavered. "What happened to-"

Maddie took a step closer to him and slapped him across the face. "You know what I'm talking about!" she yelled, interrupting the boy from his concerned question. "Because of you, one of my kids is dead and the other one is so traumatized that won't even eat, sleep, or speak!"

The ghost's face was still turned away from her after the slap, but Maddie could have almost sworn she heard him whisper her daughter's name before he slowly stood up, keeping his head down. "I-I-I never meant any of… this to happen," he said, gesturing towards the grave next to him. "Jazz wasn't supposed to be there. I told her to go somewhere safe. The ghost then-" he abruptly stopped, as if he didn't know how to explain the rest.

That's when Maddie noticed something familiar in him. Something she hadn't paid attention to until that moment, in which she was close enough to her enemy to study him. It was a something in his mannerisms, in his voice, in his look, as if she had seen those gestures somewhere else. Unfortunately, she couldn't place exactly what was so familiar. She didn't even care enough to find out. He was the murderer she had bowed to destroy and that's all that mattered. She regretted even more not to have any kind of weapon hidden in the black dress she was wearing.

Phantom finally looked at her. "It was a ghost attack. I was trying to stop it!" he desperately exclaimed, as if pleading her to believe his frantic words. "But I wasn't good enough. I lost more than you could ever imagine in that fight," he continued as he lowered his head. A humorless chuckle then escaped his throat. "It's kinda ironic, actually."

Maddie was fuming in anger, clearly provoked by the ghost's insolence. "You think this is something you can make fun of?" she exclaimed indignantly.

"I don't know if you would ever believe me," the boy replied softly. He paused as he wiped away the remaining tears in his eyes, to which Maddie just stared expectantly. His face then became more serious as he looked at the woman directly in the eye. "It's me, mom. Danny."

His mother's eyes went wide in surprise and she even backed away a few steps, obviously expecting any response from her foe… except this. However, it didn't take long for her to narrow her gaze. "Liar! How can you even dare to use my son's name so freely?" she yelled.

Danny gave her a sad look but didn't move. "The accident with the portal changed me. I know I should've told you, but…"

"Stop!" she exclaimed as she backed away from him. She immediately questioned her intelligence for letting that spook speak instead of attacking him when she had the chance. She remembered her lack of weaponry, but soon dismissed this excuse: she should've tried to take Phantom down even if it had to be done with her bare hands.

With a sad but pleading look, Danny advanced slowly towards her, trying to convince his mother to believe him. "Remember how you used to sing Danny Boy whenever I was scared? Or how excited I was when you sent me to that Junior Astronaut Course? Or how we used to bake cookies whenever dad wasn't around so he wouldn't eat them all?" he asked, nostalgia drifting in each word. "I still remember all those things, mom, and I still remember much more."

Danny expected his mother to stop, but she just kept walking backwards until a tree behind didn't allow her to continue. "No! No!" Maddie exclaimed as the one she considered an enemy reached her. She began hitting his chest with her fists, which didn't really hurt or bother the boy. "No! You can't be him!" she yelled as she fell into his arms, allowing her son to hug her while she continued crying.

"Shh, it's okay, mom," the teenager said soothingly, rubbing her back while she cried on his shoulder.

Maddie snapped out of her current heartache. She still couldn't believe or even fully grasp what Phantom had told her, so she faced him to study his features. Even though the tears in her eyes made it difficult to focus her sight, she began to notice all the similarities she tried to ignore for so long: his face, his hair, his frown… his eyes. She knew they had a different color, but they held the same depth.

As if the truth had suddenly collapsed on top of her like a ton of bricks, the huntress stared at him in awe. "Danny?" she whispered as her lip quivered. "What happened to you?"

The white-haired boy frowned and glanced once more to the ground. There was a brief silence before his response. "I'm… half ghost," he replied. Danny then shook his head. "Well… I used to be.

"The last thing I remember is how I was trying to stop a ghost. He was strong and incredibly fast. He even drained most of my energy. Jazz tried to help me, but the ghost sent a blast towards her. I used the rest of my strength to push my sister out of the way and save her. Unfortunately, it hit me and I fell unconscious," he explained softly. "I don't know what happened next. All I remember is waking up in ghost mode... in my coffin."

His mom gasped. "You were trapped in your human body all this time?"

Danny shrugged. "I guess so," he answered. He then closed his eyes and shook his head. "I didn't even know I was dead. As for my… corpse… I just couldn't fuse back. It felt as if every time I tried to, I was holding on to nothing."

A look of horror appeared on Maddie's face. It broke her heart to know that she had been trying to destroy her own son, but it pained her even more to find out the kind of trauma her boy went through. He hadn't even been aware of his own death.

She figured what had happened after he fell unconscious. The ghost probably grabbed Danny's body and snapped his neck to stop him once and for all. That was her guess since the official reports mentioned his seriously damaged spinal cord.

It then occurred to Maddie that Jazz was most likely blaming herself, feeling responsible for not saving her brother. A chill traveled down her spine. If only she had known about all of this from the beginning. If only Danny had told her when he was still alive…

"Oh, my poor boy," the mother exclaimed appalled. "I can't even imagine all the pain you went through. Oh, sweetie… You're all right now. You don't have to worry anymore. You're with me, Danny," she soothed as teardrops continued to roll down her cheeks.

Danny didn't say a thing. He just remained there, holding his mom a letting her embrace him tenderly. He did feel safe and calm, or at least as much as he could while he tried to suppress his newfound fears, doubts, and worries.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, the youngster broke from his mother's grip and faced her once again. "Mom, what am I really doing here? What am I going to do now? I am a ghost!" he exclaimed, practically spitting out the last statement as if it hurt to even think about it. "I… just don't know what I'm supposed to do," he finished softly.

Maddie didn't dare to look at her son. Her own uncertainty overwhelmed her. The woman knew she didn't have a straight answer but, as any other mother would, she tried to reply something to calm him down. "Danny, your existence isn't over. You're still here and there's still so much you can do," she said in a comforting tone. "Even if you have a hard time trying to sort everything out, we will always be here to help you through this. We love you. I love you, sweetie."

A smile appeared on Danny's features, though his grief was still visible. "Thanks, mom. I guess I'm just going to need some time. Everything's still very weird, even to me." He then seemed to be debating on something with himself. "Listen, I would really love to fly around the town for a while, if you don't mind. It always helps me think," he explained as he stood up, helping his mother to her feet as well.

The female hunter nodded. "Don't worry, I understand. But come home afterwards, all right?" Maddie requested as she kissed her son's forehead. "We'll work something out, Danny. I promise we will," she reassured once more.

With another nod and a thankful smile, the ghost kid of Amity Park defied gravity once again as he soared through the sky. He glanced down at his mother from above, showing her a stronger and happier expression. She waved back when her boy was about to fly away from the area, unaware from that distance of the return of Danny's grim look as well as the fresh glowing tears covering his emerald eyes.

Maddie was still worried and sad about her son, though she didn't want him to notice. With a melancholic sigh, she turned around and noticed the abandoned flowers she had brought, which were still on the ground. The mother picked them up and took them to Danny's grave. She kissed her fingers and touched the name on the gravestone with them.

Daniel Fenton

1991 – 2006

Beloved son, brother, and friend

You will always live in our hearts

The evening breeze tenderly caressed her cheeks as she stood up. The wind played with her hair and whispered in her ear while she walked back towards her home. Maddie held back her tears. She should be happy. Even if her son's life was abruptly taken away, there was still a chance to see him again. If only things had been different…

Well, that was my first one-shot, so please let me know what you thought.