Broken Phantom

Star – Phantom's Keep

The air in Phantom's Keep was lighter now, and the tension that had once filled the Zone was replaced by a sense of calm. Star stood near A portal, its swirling green vortex humming softly, casting an otherworldly glow across the room. She glanced over at Danny, who was leaning casually against the wall, his hands tucked into the pockets of his hoodie. He looked… different. Not just in the way he carried himself, but in the way he seemed more at ease, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

When they came into the Zone 2 days ago he looked on edge and had been ever since but after yesterday...What that was that happened with Fentons, he disappeared and appeared later looking more at ease.

"Are you sure it's safe now?" Star asked, her voice steady but still tinged with a hint of caution. She couldn't help it—after everything they'd been through, it was hard to trust anything completely.

Danny grinned, his glowing green eyes sparkling with a familiar mischief that made her heart skip a beat. "Safe as it's ever been," he said, his tone light and relaxed. "The portals are stable, and the Ghost Zone's under control. You've got nothing to worry about."

Star raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest. "Nothing to worry about? Like the whole 'war against the GIW' thing, right?"

He raises a brow at her. "Guess even ghost love to gosip, go figure," she said.

Danny chuckled, the sound warm and genuine. "Yeah, But that's over now. They're gone. And trust me, they're not coming back."

She didn't get a chance to talk when Dash came over.

Stepping forward, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "So, uh… what about you?" he asked, his voice quieter than usual. "Are you… ever coming back?"

She turned back to Danny, she could see the others pretending not to listen. But even she was curious to know if he would return. After what happened she had guessed that the GIW were the reason he left and never came back but with them gone now maybe.....

Danny's grin softened, and he pushed off the wall, walking over to stand in front of them. "Maybe," he said, his tone thoughtful. "But honestly? I'm good here. The Ghost Zone's my home now, and I've got a lot of work to do. But who knows? Maybe I'll pop in for a visit sometime. Keep you guys on your toes."

Star couldn't help but smile at that. There was something about the way Danny spoke now—more confident, more relaxed—that made her feel like things would be okay.

Maybe Phantom sightings would return in Amity Park.

One by one, they stepped through the portal, leaving behind the Ghost zone, It was an unexpected trip but Star would be lying if she said it wasn't interesting. As the swirling green vortex closed behind them, She turned back waving him goodbye.

-Dash-

Home sweet home.

As he sat down on the couch watching the news. Things had been interesting the past few days.

Finding Fenturd, Finding out Fenturd was his hero Phantom was a bit of a shock but if he was being honest it fits, the dork was always trying to help people even when they didn't deserve it.

Looking at his TV, this was something else, he knew the GIW were not really good people, hell the whole of Amity Park knew it, they had nearly killed a lot of people all in the name of keeping humanity safe, but this, these things that was on the news.

The world was in chaos, but Dash couldn't help but feel a sense of relief as he watched the news reports. The Truth and collapse of the GIW had sent shockwaves across the globe.

And he could understand some of the things that he saw, if they were just Ghosts then Dash was sure that the politicians would have wizeeled their way out of things but looking at a video of a child no older than 7 crying and screaming as the cut her open, men and women tied down on tables experimented on and finding out that manny of their government officials knew and surpported it was hard to swallow.

It was terrifying become He knew of people in Amity who had gone missing with no explanation and this just gave him an idea of what happened to them. He was sure others had already figured out the same thing too.

He should be scared but as he watched the news, he felt relieved. Relieved that these people were never going to see the light of day again.

Former agents were being dragged from their hiding places, leaders dragged out of office kicking and screaming, and their crimes laid bare for the world to see. Protests erupted in cities, their chants echoing through the streets.

Dash leaned back on the couch, a smirk tugging at his lips as he watched the chaos unfold. "Serves them right," he muttered under his breath.

Phantom had done this. Danny had done this.

Danny wasn't the same kid who used to get shoved into lockers. He was something else now—something greater. and for some reason he felt a strange sense of pride for the once little guy he bullied. Danny was thriving and while Dash would admit to himself he was jealous he was also happy for his former classmate.

-Danny-

They were gone, His former classmates had returned to their homes. Danny walked through the halls of the citadel, his footsteps echoing softly against the polished obsidian floors. He had just come from the infirmary, where Sam and Tucker were resting. Frostbite and his team had done everything they could to remove the control devices, but the damage to their bodies—and their minds—was severe.

Sam lay in one of the healing chambers, her face pale and drawn. Her once-vibrant green hair seemed dull, and her breathing was shallow. Tucker was in the chamber next to hers, his body hooked up to ectoplasmic monitors that beeped softly in the quiet room. Both of them were awake, but barely. Their eyes were hollow, their expressions distant, as if they were still trapped in the nightmare the GIW had put them through.

Danny sat down beside Sam's bed, his chest tightening as he reached for her hand. Her skin was cold, and she didn't react to his touch. "Hey, Sam," he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. "It's me. You're safe now. You're both safe."

There was no response, just the faint rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Danny's jaw clenched, and he looked over at Tucker, who was staring blankly at the ceiling. "Tucker," Danny said, his voice cracking slightly. "You're gonna be okay. Both of you. I promise."

But the words felt hollow, even to him. Frostbite had warned him that their recovery would take time—not just physically, but mentally. The trauma they had endured was unlike anything Danny had ever seen, and it pained him to know that he couldn't just fix it with a wave of his hand.

Danny leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair. He had won the war, but the cost had been high. Too high. And now, as he sat there watching his two best friends struggle to recover, he couldn't help but feel a deep, aching sadness.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "I should've protected you better. I should've stopped them before they could hurt you."

But there was no one to answer him, just the soft hum of the healing chambers and the faint beeping of the monitors. Danny sat there for a long time, his heart heavy with guilt and grief, before finally standing up and walking away.

He moved on, his face in a stoned expression as he made his way deep within the Phantom Citadel, Danny stood before the black obelisk, and placed his hand on it, green light glowed on the runes craved on it. Opening a gateway into a wide area room, no door, no windows, no way in or out beside him.

Danny stepped inside, raising his right arm to light the room with soft green flames. The bags he had handed to his ghosts throughout the war rested in the middle of the room, their surfaces shimmering with an eerie glow. He snapped his fingers, and the bags began to shake and glow, expelling streams of light that flew wildly across the room.

You see while he had told his Ghost that the bags were meant to collect the remains of his subjects, he wasn't entirely truthful.

Waving his arms, structures began to form—tables, restraints, and instruments that glinted with a cold, otherworldly light. The lights from the bags swirled and coalesced, taking shape into the forms of the once-living GIW members and their allies.

Danny watched silently as the souls of the GIW agents materialized, their spectral forms writhing and twisting as they were bound to the tables.

The bags were designed not only for the innocents but also to tag all the GIW as they were being killed and trapping them in the bag.

Did they really think that after all they had don't that he would just kill them and be done? NO. NO way in hell.

They would surffer. Just as his People surffered.

Danny's eyes scanned the room, landing on familiar faces—Agent K, Agent C, and even Agent O. And there, among them, were Jack and Maddie Fenton, their spectral forms flickering with a faint green light. They were ghosts now.

He waved his hand, and the souls began to stir, their eyes snapping open as they awoke to their new reality. Confusion quickly turned to rage as they realized where they were—and who stood before them.

"You!" Agent K snarled, his voice echoing unnaturally in the cavernous room. That seemed to draw their attention to him as all started to curse and shout out at him.

Danny didn't respond, his expression calm and unreadable as he walked among the tables, his hands clasped behind his back. The insults continued, each one more venomous than the last, but he ignored them all. Their words meant nothing to him now.

"You think you've won?" Maddie spat, her voice trembling with fury. "You're just a ghost, A monster. You always were, and you always will be!"

Danny stopped in front of her, his glowing green eyes meeting hers. For a moment, there was silence. Then, he spoke, his voice low and steady. "You're ghosts now. Just like me. The very thing you said should not exist." he stopped letting it sink in.

He could see them all freeze at that, they all now seemed to realize that they had died, they were no longer human. Jack and Maddie seemed to be having a crisis but he didn't allow them to even process it before he continued.

"And if ghosts can't feel pain, as you always claimed, then you won't mind what comes next."

He turned away, raising his hand as a group of ghosts materialized in the room. They were twisted, grotesque figures—creatures of the Ghost Zone that had suffered at the hands of the GIW. Their eyes glowed with malice as they approached the tables, their claws and fangs glinting in the eerie green light.

"You tortured my people," Danny said, his voice echoing through the room. "You experimented on them, dissected them, and called it science. But now? Now, you'll experience what it's like to be on the other side of the table."

The ghosts descended on the bound souls, their claws and fangs tearing into the spectral forms of the GIW agents. The screams that filled the room were the same as when he and others had heard back when he was in their care,—piercing, agonized, and filled with a terror that went beyond physical pain. It was the terror of realizing that everything they had believed—everything they had built their lives on—was a lie.

Danny sat there for some time watching in silence, his expression unreadable. He felt no joy in their suffering, no satisfaction in their pain. But he felt no guilt either. This may not be considered justice for others but he didn't really care. This was what they had earned for themselves.

As the screams echoed through the room, Danny turned and walked away, leaving the ghosts to their work. The war was over. And now they get to spend eternity in the care of those they had once inflicted pain on.

-Vlad-

Vlad tried to rise, but his body refused to obey. His body was in agonizing pain, he had lost to that monster wearing Daniel's face, and he could not fight, not run. In the end he lost badly and his ghost half was ripped from his body.

The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt before, watching as that monster incenerated his other half had another pain entirely.

"You thought you could take the throne," Dan said, his voice dripping with contempt. "You thought you could rule the Ghost Zone. But you're nothing, Vlad. Just a pathetic old man clinging to power he never deserved."

Trying to stand, even as his entire body screamed in pain.

"Pathetic," Dan said, his voice cold. "But don't worry, Vlad. I'm not going to kill you. That would be too kind."

Before Vlad could react, Dan's hand shot out, grabbing Vlad's human body by the throat and lifting him into the air. Vlad gasped, his vision swimming as Dan's grip tightened.

"You'll live, Vlad," Dan said, his voice cold and merciless. "But you'll wish you could have died here. You'll exist in the in-between, trapped in a state of perpetual suffering. You'll feel every moment of it, every second of the agony you've caused others. And you'll never escape."

With that, Dan tossed Vlad's broken body into the void, where he would drift for eternity, trapped in a state of endless torment. It was a fate worse than death, a punishment befitting the man who had caused so much pain and suffering.

-Danny-

Danny stood on the highest balcony of the Phantom Citadel, overlooking the endless expanse of the Ghost Zone. The swirling green skies stretched out before him, a chaotic yet beautiful reminder of the realm he now ruled. Danny felt… at peace.

The weight of his crown—both literal and metaphorical—no longer pressed down on him. The war was over, the GIW was destroyed, and Vlad was gone, trapped forever in the vo. He had done what needed to be done, and now he could breathe.

Danny leaned against the railing, a small smile tugging at his lips as he watched the skies. The Ghost Zone was his home now, and he was okay with that. He had his friends, his kingdom, and a future full of possibilities.

As the green skies of the Ghost Zone swirled above him, Danny allowed himself a moment of quiet reflection. The war was over, but his journey was far from finished. The Ghost Zone was his kingdom now, and he would rule it with the same determination and resolve that had brought him this far.

But for now, he was content to just… be.

END...