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The City of Amity Park
It’s dangerous to think of yourself as a hero and someone else as a villain. It gets in the way of empathy.
~Megan Ganz
The Knight raised his blade and Phantom twisted out of the way as he slammed into the ground near Phantom’s head.
Phantom took in a deep breath before disappearing into the ground. The Knight thing screamed as Phantom appeared back towards where Sam and Tucker were hiding.
“Who is this guy?” Sam asked glaring at the ghost that was now destroying the ground where Phantom was.
“Where’d he come from?” Tucker asked trying to look though all their information. Only Fright Knight was popping up as the only knight they’d really fought. Phantom was breathing heavily.
His muscles hurt. His body ached in a way it hadn’t before.
“Whoever he is, I blame Vlad. Vlad’s been the reason for the last three major attacks anyway,” Phantom muttered as he focused on his ice powers and created a sword. “Let’s see if the lessons with Frostbite were worth it.”
“Good luck, Danny,” Sam said. Phantom nodded and took off as he stabbed down and nearly took off the Knight’s arm.
He screamed before twisting and throwing Phantom across the park. Phantom hit the ground and bounced up before he righted himself and landed in a crouch. He looked up at the Knight as he charged.
Phantom pulled up his blade and blocked the swing of the Knight’s sword towards him.
“You are unworthy,” The Knight yelled as he swung again. Phantom braced, but the blow just threw him again. He wasn’t strong enough to maintain his ground. “You should have lost!”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” Phantom yelled as he dodged again and twisting in the air before aiming an ectoblast at the ghost and firing. The Knight raised his arm and blocked the blow. Phantom twisted in the air and took off.
He needed some time. The Knight came after him.
Phantom weaved in and out of alleyways in Amity Park before coming to the edge of the city. The Knight was right on his heels. Phantom stopped hard and flipped himself before double backing.
It paid off in getting him more distance as the Knight couldn’t stop fast enough. Phantom used his smaller frame to his advantage, he kept going getting further and further ahead before he landed on the side of a building and against his momentum upwards into the sky.
The Knight was still there as Phantom got closer to the edge of their atmosphere before he vanished. The Knight stopped and Phantom remained quiet.
“Pariah should have ended you when he was free, and now you believe yourself more powerful than he? You think that you deserve the crown and ring?” The Knight yelled looking around. Phantom swallowed because that was not what he thought at all.
He hadn’t wanted to fight Pariah Dark at all. He just wanted Amity Park safe.
He was too afraid to try to tell this to the Knight though. Knight twisted around with his blade still burning a sickening green light. Phantom slowly started to head downward keeping an eye on the ghost.
The fight had been going on too long. Ghost Hunters were bound to be tracking them. They knew that they were likely to go back to the park.
Phantom wasn’t sure he could handle this ghost and the hunters.
The Hunters had a tendency to fire at him even with a bigger threat between them. Phantom was getting so tired. He looked back down at the little town.
Well, it looked tiny from where he was at least. He looked back at the Knight before he headed back down.
Hopefully he could find Sam and Tucker. Maybe the ghost would give up for a time before attacking again.
Phantom landed outside the park gates seeing the agents dressed in white suits surrounding the area. Phantom leaned against the wall.
He didn’t have the energy to get out of there or check for his friends.
“Hey,” he heard from behind him. He jumped and started floating as he turned around with his hand lit in energy ready for an attack. “Sorry, come on,” a little girl said motioning for him to follow. Phantom carefully followed her to a house where her mother was holding open a door. She motioned for them both.
“Sorry, the agents are starting to spread out,” she whispered as she quickly closed the door. “We were watching the fight from our living room when you got the ghost to leave. We didn’t think you’d come back to the park though.”
“I wasn’t planning to, but I wasn’t sure what that ghost had wanted,” Phantom said as he looked around the apartment. This didn’t feel like a trap, but he was wary.
He usually only expected his friends to be there while he was a ghost.
There was a knock on the door. The little girl grabbed his arm and pulled him into her room as the mother went to the door.
The little girl kept her door cracked open.
“Hello, ma’am, have you seen this ghost?” Agent O asked.
“On the TV,” she answered, and Phantom felt relief. He had been afraid that they would sell him out.
“Right,” the agent said as he tried to look past her. She shut the door in his face not wanting to deal with him.
“Can they track you? I heard once the Fentons could track ghosts,” the mother said looking at Phantom. Phantom shrugged.
“Sometimes, depends, thank you,” Phantom said before he started floating. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you around.”
He disappeared before he got either of their names.
He didn’t need them. He just wanted to find his friends and tell them about the Knight.
Danny was at home with his sister when his ghost sense went off. He looked at her with fear in his eyes. The past three times he’d gone out to fight ghosts it was that Knight.
The Knight would drag the ass beating out till the Guys in White showed up and then Phantom would have to ditch. He wondered if it was worth it to just try to let them go after the Knight this time. To let them deal with the ghosts since they seemed more interested in taking him in than the other danger ghosts.
“Are you going to go?” Jazz asked and Danny looked at her. She looked slightly disappointed that he hadn’t immediately left. Danny looked down before transforming and heading out following his ghost sense.
He was careful and quiet as he realized that it was the Knight once more.
The Guys in White were surrounding him.
“Freeze, Ghost scum,” Agent K yelled aiming his ectogun and firing. The Knight simply brought a shield into existence and Phantom felt his heart drop.
The Knight wasn’t engaging with them. He was just standing there, waiting for Phantom to show.
Why did it have to be him?
He watched as more agents surrounded the ghost and fired. The Knight’s shield never dropped or wavered.
How long could the ghost keep it up?
Phantom knew that he couldn’t hold his shield up for that long with that much fire power being thrown at him. Whoever the Knight was, he was beyond what Phantom could handle.
And he wasn’t going to ask Vlad for help. Vlad couldn’t even do that. He eventually ran out of juice as well.
This Knight seemed completely unaffected. Phantom turned and looked back towards home when another ghost popped up next to him.
He startled and nearly sent himself into the view of the agents and Knight.
The little cat was walking in the air towards Phantom. It sat down and just stared at Phantom with a tilted head.
“Well, at least your not trying to kill me,” Phantom whispered.
“Now why would I do that, Little One,” the cat spoke making Phantom’s eyes widen and stare at the cat in fear.
“You can talk,” he whispered the cat scoffed.
“Of course I can, as can you. It’s truly surprising,” he said as he lifted a paw and licked it. “My name is Cheshire.”
“Phantom,” Phantom said and the cat laughed.
“I’m aware of that. I have…a friend,” Cheshire grinned and Phantom got the feeling that this cat was similar to his namesake.
“What kind of friend?” Phantom asked before Nightmare appeared in front of him. She growled lightly glaring at something passed him.
She was glaring at the Knight that had been trying to end him for the past two days and nearly succeeded.
“I know you’ve met her before, but she had a special hatred for your…Knight in Shining Armor,” Cheshire said as he walked around Phantom to look at Nightmare whose head was at Phantom’s chest now. She looked up at him and took a step forward.
“Knight in Shining Armor?” Phantom asked, confused. Cheshire laughed.
“That’s his full name. He’s quite ignorant in his ways. Believing that he is always right. He’s very much into the old ways of our culture. He hates the changes that have happened since Pariah’s imprisonment,” Cheshire explained as the cat looked back. “Those agents have no idea the type of ghost their fighting. They may as well be firing at a god.”
Phantom swallowed as he turned around to see that the shield was still around the Knight. He didn’t even look bothered as the agents grew more and more desperate.
“He doesn’t even care about them,” Phantom whispered as an agent started to set up a perimeter around the ghost.
“No, they are nothing more than ants to him,” Cheshire said. Nightmare pushed Phantom slightly and Phantom stumbled forward.
The Knight’s gaze was suddenly on him and Phantom took a step back as Nightmare bit him and threw him on her back before taking off.
The Knight followed as he plowed though the agents like they weren’t even there. There was screaming and cussing and Phantom just held on to Nightmare’s mane as she jumped into the sky spreading her wings and flying.
“Now you take the Fright’s stead as your own?” the Knight yelled as he pushed himself. Nightmare was faster and Phantom just held on.
He just wanted to keep his town safe. He just wanted his friends to be safe.
Nightmare leaped up and suddenly Phantom was now in the Ghost Zone. The Knight was still on their tail as she continued her run.
Fright Knight appeared out of nowhere and slammed the Knight into the unknown bottom of the Ghost Zone as Nightmare kept running.
Phantom caught sight of another horse that looked exactly like Nightmare. Cheshire appeared on Nightmare’s head.
“Frightmare and Nightmare are sister horse protectors,” he explained, and Phantom caught sight of the Fenton portal ahead of them. Nightmare jumped though it and up the steps to Danny’s room.
Phantom felt the rings appear around his waist as he transformed once more.
“Thank you,” he whispered as he hopped down and gently patted Nightmare.
“We’ll stand guard for now. The Knight isn’t done,” Cheshire said before walking out the wall. Nightmare swished her tail and Danny had no idea how to tell his parents that he had a ghost horse now.
“Danny?” Jazz called up the steps. “Didja get the ghost?”
“No,” Danny yelled as he looked downstairs. “Where’s mom and dad?”
“They headed to the park after hearing that the Guys in White had a ghost on the ropes. Said it was the Knight,” she said looking at her brother. “I take it you were the one that got him down and they were taking credit.” She smiled at him, and Danny shook his head.
“No, I didn’t…he just stood there as they fired at him. They weren’t doing anything to him; he was waiting for me,” Danny said as he wrapped his arms around himself. Nightmare appeared next to him.
“Danny!” Jazz called as she ran up the stairs seeing the ghost. Danny stepped between her and the horse though.
“No, she saved me. Her name is Nightmare,” he said putting his hands out to stop Jazz from coming closer. “There’s also a cat around here called Cheshire. He helped escape from the Knight.”
“Really?” Jazz said putting her hand on her hip and looking at her brother in disappointment. Danny glared at her.
“What else was I supposed to do?! Let the Knight beat me and then get captured by the government?” Danny asked angrily. Jazz relaxed.
“We’re worried about you,” Jazz said and Danny looked away.
“I know, but there’s not much you guys can do, and I need as many people in my corner as I can get.”
“I’m always in your corner.”
Danny sighed because while he knew that his sister cared, but she hardly listened to him when it came to the important parts.
Danny felt his ghost sense go off again. Nightmare was standing guard at the end of his bed. Her ears perked up and she moved as he transformed.
This needed to end. Phantom took in a breath and hopped on Nightmare’s back, and they took off.
The Knight in Shining Armor was standing in the park again.
Nightmare landed.
“You couldn’t even be bothered to fight your own battles?” the Knight asked as he unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Phantom. Phantom hopped off Nightmare and glared.
“I know when I can’t handle something,” Phantom said as confidently as he could. He was getting better at faking it, but he really wished that he had the confidence and ability to actually stop the Knight.
“So, I’m too much, but my King wasn’t?” he asked and Phantom tightened his fists.
“I know what he wanted. He was after something, and I don’t know what it is that you want,” Phantom growled.
“I want your head,” the Knight growled as he swung. Phantom dodged and twisted in the air freezing the Knight’s sword to the ground. He pulled at it and it wouldn’t move. He turned and growled at the hero. “I will have your head one way or another.”
Phantom dodged as the Knight tried to tackle him. He twisted and fired again freezing one of the Knight’s legs to the ground. The Knight looked up before fire twist around him and the ice gave.
The Knight grabbed his sword again, but the fire did nothing. He turned and glared at Phantom before racing towards him again.
Phantom dodged before throwing an ectoblast at him. The Knight screamed and managed to get ahold of one of Phantom’s legs and threw him into the ground.
Phantom felt his entire body rattle as his organs bounced around inside him. He held his head and looked up right as the Knight was coming down on him again. Nightmare had grabbed him and pulled him away from the Knight before he could land a hit.
Phantom stood up and faced the Knight as he slowly stalked his way over.
Phantom took in a breath, and then another.
He screamed and the entirety of Amity Park shook.
Phantom hit his knees and looked up at the destroyed park. The Knight was nowhere to be seen and Nightmare was behind him.
“We need to go, those agents are on their way,” Cheshire whispered as he bumped into Phantom’s side.
Phantom felt his powers start to give.
“Come on, Phantom,” a voice said, and Danny looked up to see an firefighter there. He didn’t realize how close to the fire department they were. “Come on, we gotta go.” Phantom felt the man pick him up and carry him closer.
He felt those rings and fought them.
He felt even more exhausted than before.
“Shit,” another voice said, and Phantom didn’t know anything else.
“Well, at least we shouldn’t have to worry about how to treat a ghost.”
It was the last thing he heard as he lost consciousness.
Tim was tired and he was ready to go home when he seen the lights coming from the park. He knew it was likely another ghost attack. Probably the same ghost that had been bothering Phantom for the past couple of days.
He slipped outside when suddenly everything was so loud.
When it was over, he seen Phantom on the ground not looking good as two other ghosts tried to get him up.
The Guys in White couldn’t be that far away.
He ran over and shook the kid, but Phantom was way out of it.
“He’s needs somewhere safe. We’ll lead those agents on a chase,” Cheshire said as he studied the firefighter. Tim nodded.
“We’ll keep him safe in the firehouse,” he said as he picked Phantom up.
A white light surrounded the boy and Tim nearly panicked before it disappeared. He hurried back to the fire house.
“Shit, what are we supposed to so with a ghost?” Eric asked as Tim shut the door and set Phantom down on the gunnery that had been set up for CPR training.
“I don’t know, but I couldn’t just leave him out there,” Tim said as he looked over the boy. There were some cuts and bruises, but otherwise he seemed okay.
It was always the injuries that you couldn’t see that could cause problems.
The white light was back and as it traveled across the ghost, they realized that something else was happening.
“Well, at least we don’t have to worry about how to treat a ghost,” Eric said recognizing the Fenton kid. Now they had a new and old problem.
“What do we do?” Tim asked. “Those agents are gonna want to get a hold of him if they ever find out about what he is. Or even who he is.”
“Let’s get a check up on him and get him to the hospital first. We keep everything on the down low for now. No cops, no names, just treatment,” Eric said as they loaded Fenton into the truck. “As long as no one goes looking for him specifically, then we should be able to figure out what to do from there.”
“Hey, Anita,” Eric smiled as he walked in. The nurse glared at him.
“What do you want?” she asked as he leaned forward.
“I have a special request for treatment by someone…who… let’s just say if we put their name in the system a lot of bad things could happen,” Eric said, and Anita narrowed her eyes.
“No,” she said as she straightened out her paperwork. Eric looked at the little Phantom pendant around her neck. It was why he went to her even though she hated him.
“It’s Phantom,” he whispered, and her eyes met his quickly.
“Why didn’t you lead with that?” she hissed as she stood and headed towards their truck. Eric pulled her back.
“Because…he’s not just Phantom,” he said. “Look, that ghost was back in the park and Phantom and him fought…Phantom was hurt and then…let’s just say Phantom isn’t just a ghost.”
“Of course not, he’s also a protector spirit,” she said as she threw open the back door only to stop when she spotted a black hair teenager. “Seriously?”
“I swear, this was Phantom and then he transformed into the kid,” Eric said, and Anita glared at him.
“You better not be lying,” she hissed before hopping into the back and starting to get his stats.
All were way too low for a human to survive. She put her hand against the pulse point on the neck.
“Alright, clearly there’s something here. Can you get Sasha?” she asked, and Eric nodded before running off.
“He gonna be okay?” Tim asked and Anita sighed as she looked over some of the wounds.
“Not sure.”
“He’ll live,” Cheshire said as he appeared on top of Danny making both humans jump. “You’ve done a good job keeping him safe so far. Those agents have given up chasing me, but Nightmare is still giving them a run around. Luckily, she can just jump back into the Zone whenever. I do not have that luxury.”
“What the fuck?” Anita asked as the cat laid down on Danny’s chest.
“What? Do you have a problem with emotional support animals?” Cheshire asked with a raised brow making the nurse wish she was in a dream. She pinched herself.
She did not wake up and the cat just laughed at her.
“Anita, what…” Sasha trailed off seeing the glowing cat on top of the Fenton kid.
“This is apparently Phantom,” Anita said still not sure, but knowing that there was still something up with the kid since by all rights he should be dead.
“Oh, I just saved Phantom yesterday and had him in my house trying to keep those agents from getting him,” she said as she slipped into the truck and looked him over. “All these cuts are new. Also, the ones he had yesterday are gone.”
“Ghost tend to heal fairly fast,” Cheshire chipped in from his perch on Danny’s chest. “He simply needs rest. And for good rest, he must be in a safe place.”
“Room 127 is still under construction, no one goes in there unless we’re really backed up and it’s a slow night,” Sasha suggested. “We’ll keep an eye out.”
Anita nodded and together they took the kid out of the truck.
“Should we contact his parents?” Sasha asked before Anita shook her head.
“No, they’re ghost hunters. If they knew, then they wouldn’t be hunting Phantom,” she whispered as they made their way further in.
“Eric, keep an eye on the Guys in White agents. Make sure that they stay away from the hospital. Give us a heads up if they start getting close. Still not sure if they can track him. Especially in this form,” Sasha said and Eric nodded before taking off.
“Great now all we gonna do is make sure that the ghost hating part of the staff doesn’t realize that we’re harboring a ghost,” Anita said as she glared out at her nemesis Cindy.
“I told you that I was fine, Pammy,” Jeremey complained as the doctor discharged him. Pamela rolled her eyes before storming out.
Jeremey had been complaining of chest pain for two hours and she was getting concerned and rushed him to the ER.
Turns out it was just heartburn, but she was concerned.
“Hey, Pam,” Sasha called, and Pam turned to her friend. She floated towards her on light feet.
“Yes?” she asked in the light air. Sasha rolled her eyes at her friend’s display.
“You know that Fenton kid?”
“Ugh, Fentons,” she grumbled, and Sasha frowned.
“Do you think that they would experiment on their own kid?” she asked, and Pamela lowered her hand and stared at Sasha in shock at the question.
“What?” she asked and Sasha pulled her into the room with Fenton.
“Look, they found him in the park after a ghost attack…he was Phantom when they went to hide him,” Sasha explained. “All of his stats are insanely low. There’s not way he should still be alive by all this.”
Pamela picked up the stuff and looked it over before looking over the boy that she hadn’t liked for a while now.
“Tell no one else of this,” she said as she turned around. “As long as those agents are operating under the Anti-Ecto Acts then he will not be safe.”
“Is there anything you can do?” Sasha asked and Pamela turned to the boy again.
“No, but I have a few ideas on contingencies if needed. I doubt my daughter is unaware of his condition. I’m not going to let her know that I know just in case, but we must be careful. I’m going to pull a few strings. Organize another protest. See what pops out,” she said. “When he wakes up, send him to Sam.”
Sasha nodded and closed the curtain as Pamela walked out. Far more grounded than when she had entered.
“Pammy?” Jeremey asked as he stepped next to her. “What’s up?”
“We’re going to war,” she said with conviction and Jeremey followed her as he fell in love with her all over again.
He loved her when she went on a warpath.
“Have you heard anything yet?” Sam asked as she paced her room.
“No, he’s missed both check-ins and hasn’t respond. Jazz said he isn’t home yet, but Jack and Maddie are both at the park investigating a ghost attack,” Tucker informed as he tried to figure out where their friend ended up. Danny should’ve given them a clue that he was okay by now.
“He used his wail. We need to be looking for Fenton,” Sam muttered as she looked over the hospital patients that had been in.
Her dad was in, but it was heartburn. She rolled her eyes. Honestly, her mother was sometimes a little much, but at least her dad was okay.
She kept going, but there wasn’t anything there.
“We’ll find him. I’ve still got the booo-merang,” Tucker said. “Give it one more hour, then we’ll do damage control.”
“Alright,” Sam whispered.
Danny felt a weight on his chest as he woke up.
“Well hello there, young prince,” Cheshire grinned and Danny groaned.
“Not a prince,” he grumbled annoyed as he tried to turn only to feel something connected to his hands. He shot up as he remembered that he had passed out after using his wail to take down the Knight.
Cheshire yowled as he was shoved off Danny’s chest. Cheshire growled as he laid down on Danny’s legs.
“Can you just be still a little longer. I was comfortable,” he grumbled as he shifted. Danny looked around seeing that he was in a hospital room.
But it looked like someone had torn part of the wall out and was doing something.
“Oh, you’re awake,” a nurse said as she walked in. She looked vaguely familiar. “Umm, stay please? I have a few questions, and then you can go.”
Danny blinked.
“Where are my parents?” he asked confused. He figured that they would be there if they knew that he was in the hospital. The nurse looked away.
“We didn’t call them under the circumstances,” she said, and Danny narrowed his eyes confused but he geared up.
“Please, Prince, they were protecting you,” Cheshire said, and Danny shot him a look.
“Me and one other nurse know. As do two other firefighters and…a friend,” the nurse said before she slipped into the room and closed the curtain. “Look, we’re trying to keep you safe like you do us.”
Danny blinked as dread built up. There was no way that these people could know, right?
They would’ve turned him in by now.
Danny just watched as the nurse typed something into her phone.
It had to be a trick. No one would actually help him.
“Look, you’re friends with Sam Manson, right?” the nurse asked, and Danny remained quiet, not wanting to say anything. It was how he often had to deal with Wes when he went on his crazy rampages.
“My name is Sasha, I helped you hide from the Guys in White yesterday? You met my little girl,” she said as she stepped closer. Danny shifted away from her but remained on the bed. “Right…you’re probably panicking…umm, I’m not sure how to make this better, but my shift is over in half an hour. You can’t stay here…”
Danny remained silent unsure how to deal with this. Sasha sighed again as her pager went off.
“Are you okay at least? Nothing feels off or anything?” she asked needing to go but knowing that she couldn’t leave unless she knew that Danny was okay. Danny nodded. “Good, umm, maybe don’t stay by yourself anywhere? A friends maybe?”
“You mentioned Sam, why?” he asked with narrowed eyes. Sasha looked around.
“I’m friends with her mom,” she said, and twisted her hands together. “She was here earlier…she also knows, but…”
Danny felt the dread build even higher.
“She wants you to go there…she was concerned when I told her. We weren’t sure about how you got that way, and I was worried that your parents had done that to you and were hurting you, so I just kind of panicked. Pamela works with trying to help kids get out of situations like that…and umm,” Sasha trailed off seeing Danny get more and more into a panicked state.
She wasn’t helping.
“Look, Pamela promised to help, just go there please,” Sasha begged, and Danny nodded before vanishing. Cheshire growling as he left.
“Brat,” the cat muttered as he got up and followed the wayward ghost boy.
Sam was pacing her room when Phantom crashed into her bed and hung upside down.
“Danny!” Sam cried out as she crashed to her knees and started looking over him. “Are you okay?!”
“Your mom knows,” Phantom said as the rings transformed him back into Fenton. “She knows…but…she covered for me in the hospital as did a few others…I don’t understand what’s happening.”
“What?” Sam asked quietly confused. Her mom knew about Danny?
“Yeah…I passed out in the park…” Danny was cut off by Cheshire.
“Technically it was the fire station,” he said as he sat down on Sam’s bed between Danny’s spread put legs. Danny blinked looking up at the cat before looking at Sam.
“I made a new ghost friend.”
“Friend may be extreme, and if you go by what you are saying, you’ve technically made two,” Cheshire said and Sam covered her mouth trying to hold back a laugh at Danny’s annoyed and puzzled face.
“Cheshire, you lost friend privileges,” Danny said as he crossed his arms. It still looked weird being half on and half off the bed and him still basically upside down.
“I’m so sad,” the cat monotoned before curling into a ball and closing his eyes. Danny huffed before righting himself and sitting on the floor. Sam sat next to him.
“So New ghosts friends?” Sam questioned and Danny nodded.
“Yeah, remember Frightmare?” Sam nodded and Danny leaned against the bed and looked up at the ceiling. “She has a sister caller Nightmare and she…has been helping me with the Knight in Shining Armor.”
“That’s what we’re calling it?” Sam asked with a raised brow. Danny huffed.
“That’s what he wants to be called,” Cheshire said remaining curled in his ball. “He’s very dramatic. And stupid, but powerful.”
“Great,” Danny mumbled before handing his head. Sam patted his back. He felt his ghost sense start as a cold chill ran down his spine.
“Again?” Sam whispered. Danny nodded debating if it would be worth it to even show up. Maybe his parents and the Guys in White could keep trying to hurt the Knight. They’d likely get nowhere, but then they could set up a trap for him when he eventually shows up to see what’s going on.
“I can’t do this,” Danny whispered as he started to pull on his hair. Sam grabbed his hands and pulled them down.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Sam whispered as she rubbed his hands. “We’ll beat him.”
“You’ll need more firepower than you have now,” Cheshire said as he opened one eye. “Quite frankly, let those hunters annoy him some more. Should be fun.”
Danny shook his head as he stood up. He felt better. Much better now, but there was no way he would be able to beat those guys.
“Alright, I…” he trailed off. Sam smiled at him.
“I’ll get Tucker and we’ll follow you,” she promised and Danny nodded before transforming and heading out.
“No,” Pamela said as she put her hands on her hips. She managed to get a fairly large group of people to the park to protect against the Guys in White.
She knew that a ghost attack was probably going to happen and so they were prepared.
Everyone had gotten some kind of ecto-weapon.
The Knight had appeared five minutes ago, and the Guys in White were trying to get the people to leave.
They refused.
“Look, there’s a very dangerous ghost in there, and if we don’t contain it, then he will kill everyone,” Agent O said as he pointed at the ghost was just standing.
Menacingly.
Which was fair to them, but Pamela knew that the ghost wasn’t going to attack anyone but Phantom, and hopefully that dumb ghost was still with her daughter.
They could hold the fort for a little while to give him time to recover.
“No, you’ve caused more damage to the people and our lives than the ghosts have,” Pamela said as she held her sign up.
It had the initials GIW with a red x though it.
Many of the people were holding similar signs. Some also were using the Fenton logo instead, but the point remained the same.
They were done with ghost hunters.
The Knight moved, making everyone back off as Phantom landed in front of him and stared at the gathering of people.
The Knight raised his sword, and the townspeople took their weapons and aimed at him. He paused seeing this.
Phantom’s hand lit up in energy as he looked between the people and the Knight.
“Leave them out of it,” he said firmly feeling his powers respond to his anger. They shouldn’t be here.
They shouldn’t be here in danger.
“I believe they’ve put themselves at the risk,” the Knight said looking over them all. They gathered for their warrior.
The Guys in White fired, and they aimed at Phantom when the Knight blocked the blast with his sword.
The Knight looked at them in disgust.
“You raise your weapons to the one who swore to protect this…town,” the Knight said as the agents raised their weapons to him and started firing. The protestors moved out of the way keeping their weapons raised at the Knight.
Phantom stared at the reflection on the sword, seeing himself with a crown floating over his head and a sword in his hand.
His reflection smiled at him and motioned to the people. Phantom looked over them.
They were there for him.
Suddenly a group tackled the agents. Everyone started firing at one another as the townspeople raised their arms to the government agents.
The Knight pulled his sword and aimed it at Phantom who had created his own out of his ice.
He still felt shaken.
Phantom narrowed his eyes as Nightmare landed behind the Knight.
The agents were outnumbered and subdued. Some of the folks turned their guns back to the Knight.
“To lead a town behind you, you must be willing to face forward in times of pain. You must be willing to preserve in times of hopelessness,” the Knight said as he lowered his weapon. “You are not worthy of the crown, but you are a worthy protector. I will challenge you at a later date.” The Knight went up in flames as Phantom felt himself shake.
The fight wasn’t over, but he had time.
He was still safe. He looked over to see the town that he had been protecting for two years. Many of them he recognized as people he’s saved.
Some directly and others indirectly. He swallowed as he started floating. He caught the eye of Pamela Manson who simply nodded at him. He smiled before vanishing.
The town was behind him.
“Can you believe this?” Maddie asked seeing the story about the protest in the park. “They were helping him!”
“I know, this was exactly what his plan was. To get people to let down their guard and protect him from us!” Jack cried. Danny walked into the kitchen watching his parents.
“Why?” Danny asked and both his parents turned to him.
“Cause he’s a stinking ghost!” Jack shouted and Danny winced.
“Why?” Danny asked again and Maddie sighed tiredly.
“I thought you would’ve grown out of that by now,” she said as she turned to him but stopped seeing how upset he was. “What’s wrong?”
“Why? Do you suddenly care?” Danny asked as anger coursed though him for a moment before he fought it back. “You don’t like me challenging your beliefs, but you sure do like to challenge mine.”
“Danny, ghosts…” Jack trailed off as Danny looked at him.
“I don’t care what you think about ghosts or what you think your research says. Half the time you sit there and complain that some of the ghosts don’t make sense with your theories! You need to change your theories! I thought you were scientists, instead, you guys just want to be right and have the ability to hurt others without guilt!” Danny yelled as he threw his hands up. “You guys don’t care about learning about ghosts! You only care about hunting them and that’s it! You don’t care about me or Jazz or the safety of the town, just what you think will look good on a science report that no one will read because of your own bias!”
Danny turned and stormed out of the house.
He turned into Phantom and took off towards the Manson’s house. He wanted to see Sam, and…he wanted to talk to Pamela and Jeremey about what they knew.
He wasn’t sure what to do with his parents, but when he looked down at the town.
Some looked up and waved at him with wide smiles.
He felt an inner peace he didn’t know he could have.
He felt free for the first time in a long time. He grinned and let the cold surround him and let snow fall.
It was July, but he was a ghost and kids looked extremely happy at the idea of snow!
He smiled and continued on his way. There was still a lot of work to be done, but now that he had the town in his corner, he felt like anything was possible.
fin