Third Person

It was one peaceful morning in Amity Park. Nothing would have hinted the occasional passer-by about the ongoings within the house belonging to the Fentons'. The duo of ectologist was working without taking rest once for the whole night. They didn't feel tired, for they had a lot of breakthroughs to accomplish, their enthusiasm, work etiquette, the multiple feelings of several degrees of descent on the slide of morals, were their bread, butter and water. They, of course, ignored the latter, thinking more of themselves, feeding their ego even further. Did they think of themselves as saviors of humanity? Probably, Jack Fenton surely did feel like it. They made the final additions to their newest creation, as no failure was allowed at the journey of such importance.

At the meantime, on the opposite side of the metal doors of Fenton portal preparations were being conducted. The king was no fool, and he wasn't going to let some stupid, wretched mortals come into his lands, ravage his new home and hunt down his subjects. Ironic, how something he wished to avoid waltzed right into his hands.

Phantom looked intimidating during those days. Even a simple messenger would be regarded with a look that made them think the king's ever-sore mood was entirely their fault. It did not concern his close ones, for he always tried to look alright near them. And failed. Ember could easily see through the faux smile of his that something was not right. Of course it wasn't, she could not be tricked that easily. Deep inside he was still the same cheerful boy who, despite his righteousness, somehow managed to make the diva eventually care for him deeply and be worried when he was hurt. And it did harm him to be faced again with the monsters more horrible than the world of the dead could give.

The Council, a thing of the bygone era, was finally good for something. And Phantom sometimes sympathised with Pariah for abolishing this incessant bother, a meagre sign of old ages. The Council should have been abolished or made more effective, instead of being a platform for pointless talks of a limited amount of people. They had no use, honestly, apart from that time. To listen to the young monarch's insistent demands that the humans shall be punished for their arrogance with immense abhorrence. While many were surprised, stunned at hearing such talks coming from the most benevolent of them all, they understood him. He did not insist on outright killing them, which wouldn't be that hard, honestly. He had a plan and no member of the Council complained. Despite being young, King Phantom was respected, and now they were putting their faith in the teen once more. For he had the power, and it was all that mattered. Before all of that happened, he had had a talk with his sister.

Jazz POV

I was returning to FentonWorks from my job at the local coffee shop. I have been working there for some time since I finished High school. Yes, I had dreamt about going to Harvard for very long, but it was not going anywhere. A gap year was a good excuse to stay here when Danny needs me so much. He needs some people to rely on. It's good that lil' brother was able to make friends in the Zone, I would have thought that after everything that had happened he would have shut himself completely. Well, when was there a time he played by rules? That was him — a frivolous, chatty kid who never could avoid troubles, the industrial amount of sticking plaster I had used on him when he was barely in elementary school was a good confirmation of that.

I still couldn't believe what our parents had done to him. It is...hurtful to even think of it. I was his bigger sister, I had to know that they would react badly to these news. But I guess I still could not see clearly. I was not Danny, they actually gave me all of their attention. I was not blind, I saw how they ignored my little brother even on his birthdays, but I still held hopes for them, like every normal child in a normal family would. I just forgot that they were anything but normal. They were insane maniacs, and I now felt like a spy in the enemy territory. I wanted to rent a flat, Danny even offered to pay for it with his immense wealth, but I decided that I had to be of help.

No matter what people say, this is a war if you look at it from a certain perspective. People dying on both sides, the pain, the suffering. And our family just so happened to be in the center of it. Poetic, isn't it? Son of two 'leading ghost experts' becomes the ruler of beings they hated the most. My job is spying on Fentons, who are working for GIW now. It's not so hard, seeing that Jack can't keep his mouth shut. Sometimes I'm taking photos of the blueprints about their new inventions, even going as far as to ask creators about details. Then Danny made something against this new 'toys' to protect the people.

I can't help but be proud for my brother. In such young age he saved hundreds of lives and fights for safety of his people, because he was responsible for them. This responsibility was taken voluntarily, because of his good nature. And he had done many heroic deeds since the accident. But why humans didn't see it? Why did they always blame Danny for everything? Petty souls they were, and they tended to ignore a plentitude of 'what ifs'. I just hope that this bloodshed would be over soon. But for that...something nasty would have to happen.

On the day I learned about the newest plans of my parents, I was, to be frank, horrified. If it was someone else, with a peaceful intention of visiting the place, I am hundred percent sure that Danny not only would have let them come, but also sent someone to protect the visitors. But when you go in with guns raised, being the horrible people that you are, you should expect the retaliation. Danny could hold to a grudge, he was a ghost. And the pulsing hatred deep inside him was not a good sign. He stood at the edge, he was on his way to total recovery, and they came and ruin his existence yet again! That was what angered me the most if I was to be honest. They just couldn't leave him alone.

It didn't take long for Danny to get to the park, where our meeting place usually was. I wasn't on any watch, I was sure of that, and so I wasn't worried about him being spotted. Surprisingly, the ring with enormous power on his finger could hide this same power. It's not the first time he came here. And so, dressed in a hoodie that hid his appearance, he just popped in unannounced, scaring me out of my shoes. His laughter alone could give him away to everybody who happened to pass. But that also quickly faded as he sat on the bench near me.

"What's wrong Jazz? Skulker said it's very important so I came here as fast as I could."

"Danny, you are rambling. Again," He blushed with a tint of green colour. The amount of wounds inflicted on him had forced his core to expunge even more ectoplasm in his blood even in human form. At least that's what he had told me.

"Sorry, I was just worried. Skulker made it sound urgent. Why did you call him and not me?"

"He happened to be close. I knew he would tell you. Jack and Maddie want to send a bunch of teenagers on a field trip to your kingdom."

"They want to do WHAT?!" He exclaimed, and from below the hood I saw his glowing eyes.

"I know, I didn't believe that too when I heard it."

"It can't be true, even they aren't so stupid. Can't they imagine what would happen if even one of the students all but gets a scratch? This whole affair would be ruinous for the GIW, nobody would be able to give a logical excuse."

"You give them too much credit. Though Jack accidentally said something about catching ghosts," he then raised an eyebrow.

"Jack always talks about catching ghosts."

"Yeah, but how often Maddie interrupts him and says completely the opposite thing? Like they wanted to keep everything in secret. Something is fishy here and you definitely needed to know. You are better at figuring it out. I can give you the outline of their logical assumptions."

After that Danny laid back in thought. I knew that he needed to be left uninterrupted during these moments. Then a metaphorical lighting bulb appeared above his head, as he perked up with eyes wide as saucers. "Maybe," he muttered and shook his head.

"What is it, Danny?"

"There is no way for them to know that I am still kicking. Unless some of the captured ghosts disclosed this info to them. We have to consider this nasty possibility. If such is the case, they know damn well that I won't let anyone harm the innocent people. So, they either lure me in, or use the people as the living shield so they could hunt the weaker ghosts sent their way. Now if they don't know...lastly I have heard about their dire need for ectoplasm. After all, I did ban the unnecessary escapades out of the Zone. And with fewer ghosts you are as good as dry on the material that powers your everything."

"Can't they just pump it out of the portal?"

"Well, then you will have to turn your house into the whole mining facility. That will include taking down a couple of houses," he began counting with his fingers, "and for that you need the agreement of all sides, then the ecological problems, the Greenpeace would have their heads by the next morning, that's for sure. Think of it as leaving a nuclear reactor out in the open. Spells disaster."

"And the artificial ectoplasm?"

"It is not created out of thin air, it is a normal one that is multiplied. To create artifical ectoplasm you need the real one, which you can get from...well, we have covered this part already. Anyways", he said, "The GIW can't keep ghosts for long I made sure of that."

"So now they are hunting the lion in his den," I finished, understanding what he meant.

"Exactly, but why do they need...what class is going?"

I grimaced. It was going to be interesting.

"It's Lancer's class."

"Oh, great, universe still hates me, nice to know," he groaned, looking up, "God, if you exist, go to Hell! As much as I'd like some of them to be eaten, it's still not good."

"What do you mean 'eaten'?"

"It's just that, terrain around Fenton Potal is inhabited mostly by feral ghosts...Oh, Ancients", Danny said rubbing his face.

"Danny, what is it?"

"God, I hope I'm wrong."

"What.Is.It."

"Well, unarmed humans are a nice bait, not gonna lie."

I felt color drain from my face.

"What?" I managed to croak.

"Think about it. Fear is impossible to fake, especially to someone who can sense it. And seeing that our beloved hunters are 'Fearless'", he made air quotes, "More like overconfident and stupid, but they still will need others for that."

After that it became quiet. We both tried to absorb this piece of information, albeit Danny had accepted this in a second. I guess, I shouldn't be surprised about it. After all, they had already proved to be soulless creatures. Still...I needed to change topic before I threw up.

"How is my favorite niece doing?"

Danny grinned, glowing brightly. I knew what always cheered him up. He loved talking about his little Dani. After all what proud parent wouldn't be happy to share the news about his child? Of course, there was a story behind that. And it involved a certain lonely billionaire in serious need of cat. When Danny said to him "I will never join you", enough times, instead of rethinking his life he had chosen another path no one had expected. He decided to clone Danny. But out of all attempts survived only Danielle. With a body of a three years old, she was just as mentally complex. Which is not that much. The girl needed someone after Vlad's defeat, and Danny was happy to take her in. Apparently, he was happy to get another member of the family. And I was initially worried.

Danny was, above all, a neglected, and thus mentally abused child to some degree. I had managed to lower the effects, but I was not his mother. And the statistics were a cruel thing. Abused and neglected people made poor parents quite often. And with Danny's responsibilities, the girl was under threat of suffering the same fate, ominous as it may sound. For once, I was glad to be proven wrong. Ghostly psychology was an untapped topic, one I was interested to explore. He was actually the most caring father I've seen, maybe it was caused by his obsession, but I liked to think that he was just so kind, and his heart was not completely hardened by betrayal.

"Jazz, she is your only niece," Danny chuckled, "Dani is fine. We actually have begun to learn how to read. She is very bright, that's why we get her a head start. Looks like she and Youngblood became nice friends. I'm fine with it, there aren't many children around that I'm familiar with and can trust well enough. I just hope they won't blow anything up again."

"Again?"

"That's a long story, that involves a couple of petards, a couple of bottle caps and a broken toilet as a result. She already pranks me, I am so proud of her," He wiped a fake tear in his own fashion, "Baby Girl is also starting to get a hold of her powers. She is still floating in her sleep, but at least she doesn't go intangible when unneeded. Back in the day I had to search for her all around the palace. Oh, and she can't wait to see Aunty Jazzy again", said Danny, before making a sad sigh.

"I will see what we can do with this field trip, sis. And maybe we should inform the Council. The ghosts there don't like to be left in dark. Which I would love to do once in a while. I hope it will go well."

"Don't worry, Lil' Bro, I will be with you no matter what," I said with a hug I knew he needed so much, and Danny returned it threefold.

"Thanks Jazz, for everything. I don't know what I would do without you. Not only after the whole disaster. I mean my whole life."

That being said, Danny stepped aside, vanishing in the air as if he had never been here in the first place.

Third person POV

"Spector Deflectors."

"Check."

"Ecto-wrist cannon."

"Check."

"Well, looks like we got everything in order," said Tucker, leaving a tip on his PDA and before zipping cloze duffel bag. He and Sam were making preparations for upcoming trip at her home. True, it was going to transpire only two days later, but they decided to do it now. Just so they wouldn't be running around looking for the required things at the last moment. Plus, they had nothing better to do. "Guess we are ready."

"Ready for what?" asked the voice from the doorway. It was Pamela Manson, a redheaded, usually peppy Stepford's dream made manifest.

"Mom, it's not the time," came reply from the annoyed goth girl.

"Really? Then answer me, Samantha, why do I keep hearing about this 'Field Trip'?"

"What about it?"

"Simple, young lady, you are not going", came a very blunt answer.

"WHAT?! YOU CAN'T DO IT!"

"Don't take this tone with me, young lady!" said the mother, appearing out of nowhere, "We can do it, since we are your parents and you need our permission. Which is about to get burned in the fireplace, by the way. It's bad enough that you started this 'ghost hunting'. It is a horrible enterprise we are simply unable to stop. But that is atrocious! You are not going and that's final!"

Sam growled and got up. Being tall enough thanks to her combat boots, she looked right into her mother's eyes.

"I am doing this so you can still be around and kicking to keep scolding me, mother. You haven't supported me once in my life!"

"Nobody asked you to get involved. Nowadays you have to dig out those filthy creatures to destroy them, there haven't been any major attacks in ages. Now you want to kick the hornet's nest and expect me to be on board with this? You are going to the one place where these bloodthirsty beings are in abundance."

"Everything is under control. We are properly armed, and defended. No more dangerous than a simple safari."

"Which you abhor," Pamela duly noted.

Yes, it did take a no short amount of mental gymnastics to justify this change of attitude depending on the amount of ectoplasm within any being. After all, her being against killing animals even for food contradicted the assault on the spectres. Maybe because they were already dead, she wasn't doing anything new, just shortening the path to the other world. She too did not like the ceaseless torture. And it applied to Danny too. He should have just moved on, but her protests were left unheard, making the girl refuse initial proposals of joining. And now with him gone, the problem solved itself. What were they talking about, again? Ah, yes.

"It is different, mother. This is not just some hobby, mind you. I'm getting paid. Paid more than you that's for sure. Unlike you I am not willing to sit at home all day while someone else makes the living and shares it with me."

"You are not even of age yet to be working for those brutes and risk your life."

Tucker felt uncomfortable being here. He sure as hell did not belong here. His parents were equally worried, but they were calmed by the fact that he wasn't on the very frontline against the ghosts. But, for the sake of his girlfriend he might try to interfere. Especially considering the glances of hers asking him for said support. Standing up, he approached them.

"With all due respect, Mrs. Manson, I think your fears are misplaced. We have charted the territory before, nothing powerful is there. If the people around don't know about the ghosts properly, they may not be prepared when they come. This relative silence is bugging us all. From what the captured ones told us, they got a new king, one that got everything under control out there. But they refuse to tell who that is. This fierce loyalty is concerning. And if he is plotting just like the previous one...we will have problems if we do not handle it all correctly."

"And how will this trip change anything? A bunch of kids who learn what they eat is hardly essential," Pamela crossed her hands. But in spite of her tone, the woman's voice still wavered. The harrowing news deeply troubled the mother of a child that's going to be in the middle of that onslaught. They should have moved out of that thrice-damned town when the first sordid event of a ghost attack occurred.

Tucker sighed. Now of all times she decided to be perceptive enough to notice the details.

"We are killing two birds with this one, admittedly. We scout the area, the others learn."

"I guess you two are still going and my refusal to sign anything is not going to change it," Pamela muttered, "I may not have supported you on your rebellious actions, but you never listen to me either. Fine. Go. Don't tell me I didn't warn you."

And just like this the woman left, no longer looking dignified. The latter could be said about Sam, whose shoulders sank and the look in purple eyes dimmed.

"You alright, Sam?" Tucker asked worriedly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You know, sometimes I wish she fought back as of late," mumbled Sam.

A.N. So, what made me remake these two humans from absolute bastards to the people who have their own problems? I believe they were rather walking, screaming or sobbing caricatures. It may not be just as satisfying in the end, but we will see, I will make up for what I am leaving.