Danny couldn't help but stare. He examined every corner, every crevice on the ceiling, and all of that in an unchanging position, right on his bed. There were stars painted above, as it was his bedroom which his surrogate mother made for him. And it soothed the young king, who may have given up on hopes of reaching for them in real life, but still found solace in his imagination, in the replica of what the unsuccessful astronaut wanted to achieve. Perhaps, there was something beneath just that, it was always a sign of freedom, freedom from everything he experienced in his day-to-day life. Ignorance, neglect at home were changing into bullying at school, only to then make a full circle in the evening. And yet, the stars were there every night, pure, untainted, shining as if only for the boy. Perhaps that's why a star was now his symbol, ever since he was subjected to ceaseless torture by those he loved. Only the stars remained as clean as they were before.

It was ironic, Danny guessed. In the times of greatest need, he saw them in his dreams. During his captivity, they graced him while the teen was being given a short rest that lasted for three hours at the most, a mockery, if nothing else. Now, however, they were the very things that prevented him from sleeping. Danny could just close his neon green eyes, dive deeper into soft pillows and sleep to his heart's content, but...there was something inside of him that stopped him each and every night. Therein lay a deep fear of all of this being merely a dream. Each time he was afraid to close his eyes so as not to wake up in the wretched place, to wake up as a prisoner of fate, forgotten or hated. Danny knew how irrational it was. No dream lasted that long, never was so real, and yet...it took him a lot of time to accept that and finally drift to sleep.

Until that moment comes, his mind is left to wander. To his guests, to his life...to the hunters outside the city walls. Danny hated himself. He hated the pangs in his core that came when thinking of them. They were the vilest beings he had encountered so far. He should not have felt that because they had to sleep outside like dogs. They had done far worse. They had to pay in full. But, full of enthusiasm as he might have been, Danny realised that, with all his planning, the end of the path was a mystery even to him. He was uncertain. He didn't know what to do with them in the end. And if his heart that wasn't beating reacted here and in such a manner, he was unsure of the lengths he was willing to go to.

A wind blew into the window. Its coldness helped to ease his concerns just a bit, but even so, it unintentionally awakened some others. Danny hit the pillow nearby. He despised his very being at this very moment, for what he was about to do. He got up, pulled on the simplest of clothes from a chair, and then opened one of the wardrobes. Several minutes later, he was where he wanted, getting there by air, invisible. Or, rather, it was the place in which his heart desired to be. Sitting on a rock, Danny dropped his invisibility. The changing of the guard was happening at the moment. Perfect for being unnoticed.

For some time, he stared down at the subjects of his torment. There they were, slumped closer together for greater warmth on this cold night. Tucker had been and still was a terrible person for being on the lookout, so none of them were awake. Here he sat, slouched, with a blaster in his hands. Danny's fists balled. If he hadn't known, he would have assumed that nothing had changed between them. For all intents and purposes, he was the same guy. Sam was the same. Then why? Why did it have to turn out like this? His own destructive future was set in stone with the condition of their untimely deaths. Why did becoming their saviour only lead to such an outcome? Then, Danny made a quiet laugh. His own future self would have flipped if he had learned what was in store for him if they hadn't died in his timeline. Perhaps, it would have saved Dan some grief of his own, for there was nothing to actually mourn, except for the loving sister and the thoughtful teacher. Another laugh. To think that everything was supposed to start because of it! Now it probably would not have worked as effectively. The laughs. Everyone before him could just die on that day! They were nothing but his enemies now, enemies that would threaten him, his sister, this world, and, most importantly, his daughter.

Cold logic told him the simplest of things. They were weak when awake. They were defenceless when they slept. His hand glowed. They were at his mercy. One swing, rip them in half before they even realise. Make the blow, make them writhe in agony before they die. At the last second, Danny stopped himself. A laugh, now even more quiet. He was not the most logical person around. Phantom tossed near them what he had brought. A set of warm blankets. Turning invisible, Phantom floated up, then fired a blast right near the group. They jumped from the minor explosion, they shouted, they took their guns, and then they noticed the blankets. Their only salvation from the cold night. Danny flew back into the palace.

Why did he do that? Why did he stop? Once back at his home, Phantom slapped himself. Idiot! That's where your self-righteousness gets you. There was no response to the previous question; it was only multiplied. Perhaps, he was better than them. As tempting as it was, such a thought gave him little comfort. The bar was just too low to begin with. And another thought made him chuckle sourly. They actually thought they stood a chance now.

The next morning, Danny woke up well rested. The ectoplasm-filled air was harmless to humans for about a month of constant exposure, and to him it was a good battery. The ghosts didn't sleep at all. He needed but a couple of hours. Still, unable to fall asleep sooner, he didn't wake up in due time, doing so only a short while before the humans did. It came with a bonus: the first go in the nearby restroom. The palace's design was acceptable, but not without its woes, as it had become evident. The place did not account for any tourists. The other room was on another floor at the other end, so everyone was going to flock to this one. Danny went through the usual morning procedures, and, seeing as nobody was outside, he reasoned that he had the time to take a quick shower.

The cold water was refreshing, and unlike humans and some ghosts, he didn't feel discomfort. Besides, it kept him from drifting into his thoughts, just staring into nothing. Soon after he exited the shower and combed his stark white hair, Danny heard an impatient knock on the door. Here they were.

"Come on!" Dash's voice was heard, "You ain't the only one in this place who needs a toilet!"

'Polite as ever', Danny sighed. He opened the door, seeing an entire line of students waiting there. Needless to say, the last thing the kids were expecting to see today was Phantom dressed in only a black bathrobe.

"Good morning, Mr. Baxter, and everyone," Danny said with a strained grin, "it's a little rude to hurry the host, isn't it?"

"Oh...ehm, I guess you are right...didn't know it was you."

Phantom rolled his eyes, making an inviting gesture and stepping out of the bathroom. "I don't think I took that long anyhow."

The awkward silence was something to get away from. Dash did just that, disappearing inside. Danny felt somewhat amused about the situation. The humans weren't used to Phantom going about his daily life like this. To them, he just appeared and vanished after saving or ruining the day. Few actually considered what he did between the fights.

"The breakfast is at the same place. Relay this to everyone, please. I will take care of the supplies for the road and we will be off before noon."

"GAAAH!" A loud yell came from inside the room. "Why is it so damn cold?!"

Everyone present began to laugh and snicker. Phantom smirked.

"My heart is made of literal ice. For me, this temperature is acceptable. Wait, are you showering in there?"

"No, everything here is cold!"

There still wasn't any need to shout, Danny reasoned. "To everyone curious — I'll explain it on the way. There is a whole line of students here, so be quick, you all. She really should have made more bathrooms," he muttered to himself.

Phantom nodded to the humans and strolled away. His footsteps were silent—he really was a ghost in this place. He was supposed to put on some proper clothes. His jumpsuit was comfortable enough, but he preferred some actual clothing now that he had access to it. He wasn't a superhero anymore, so there was no need for a suit. The previous day he had put it on just to spite the hunters. Opening the wardrobe of his room he began examining his possessions. He resorted to a simple short-sleeved linen shirt and black pants. One would call him an ascetic, he called himself unimaginative. The former outlook was a good PR, though. Aside from that, he had a long way ahead, not like he would walk around in a suit of armour. Royal clothes were stylish, but uncomfortable in the long run.

That matter out of the way, Phantom exited his room, before taking out a phone. Some arrangements needed to be made, and he was still running that whole show. It was harder than it looked, and at the same time simpler. The Ghost Zone ran itself for the larger part, he was the main decision maker for the cases that concerned the world in its entirety. It was not a country in a traditional sense. It was archaic, feudal, anarchic even under his rule, but it worked fine with how the Zone catered to the major needs of many. The difficulties lied in how he would organise that frivolous crowd in cases when the unity was required. When it came to the relations with humans, he was the go-to man...ghost...both.

He could savour the revenge, but few ghosts were sympathetic to what he was doing. He toyed with the newcomers instead of killing or freeing them outright. And his secretary called him to inform the king of the discontent. He had to return to the capital in the nearest future. It made Phantom mildly furious, but he hid it well. It was a nifty little game. Danny pretended that he didn't know about how everything he told Hess was blathered to every powerful ghost around behind the scenes. Danny would pretend to be honest with a trustworthy man while saying only what needed to be said for his own interests. He just had to prevent himself from being engrossed in this bluff game until there won't be any need.

Danny shook his head. He was getting too far ahead. After putting away the phone he ran down the list of points made during the discussion.

Point one had already been mentioned. Point two — he still needed to make a detour. Point three...

"Phantom!"

The half ghost in question stopped and turned around, seeing Valerie all dressed up and looking suspicious. Danny just gave his signature smile and put hands inside his pockets. But on the inside he knew that it wasn't going to be a talk about today's weather. It rarely changed in the Zone.

"Morning, Val. Is there something on your mind?"

"Don't talk to me like we are all buddies. Because we are not."

"Even after that dough baby fiasco? But we made such a good parenting couple," Danny chuckled. "Fine. Shoot your question."

"First, I want to know why you treat me and Jazz differently from the other hunters."

"Jasmine has been a good friend of mine for a while. She never shot at me, so why should I treat her badly? I offered the same deal to the rest, anyhow. They are just vain pricks who would rather sleep outside. As for you, I never viewed you as an enemy."

"Yeah, right. And all the fights were just a lover's quarrel."

She never realised how ironic that sounded.

"It was a misunderstanding between us that brought all of this. Your anger is fully justified. I would have shown my other cheek, but you slapped that one, too."

"What?" Valerie crossed her hands, "Not going to try and justify it all? Say that it wasn't your dog that made me live alongside bozos and junkies?"

Danny's eyes widened a bit. He had no idea it was THAT bad. Sure, he had his suspicions, but...

"I've long since accepted that you won't believe my words. Take it as you will."

"Is that supposed to make me treat you any better?"

"I don't seek acceptance. This is my world, and I have given up on yours."

"So you ran away? Just swept everything under the rug after everything you did?!" Valerie raised her voice.

"Ran away? Guess I did. I am just a coward who runs away from responsibilities and the unreachable goals I myself put in place. But tell me this, Valerie. Do your responsibilities burden you like mine did?"

"What does it have to do with anything?"

Danny shrugged, "We are similar, you and I. That's what made me so attracted to your persona in the first place."

"Wh-what do you mean "attracted"?!"

Crap, he said more than he had meant to. Curses.

"Meaning that you caught my interest. We both were involuntarily brought into this whole mess. Of this redundant conflict that came out of nowhere and will go to where it was born. Humans, ghosts, you never could imagine this whole world existing just few years ago. And it all happened because of one puppy and a megalomaniac who used you as a pawn. As for me...well," he chuckled, "I actually died. From the reasons that are only partially connected with me. And yet for some reason I accepted one responsibility and neglected everything else. Just like you, if not for one fateful day in our lives we would have been normal humans."

But it would have meant her remaining a snotty A-lister and him staying a nobody weakling. Which wasn't right by any means. And albeit his heart belonged to the siren, there was still a place there for the huntress. He still cared about her. And she was not the one who betrayed him.

Then again...she didn't know. As that looming thought descended onto him, Danny felt a pang on his core as he waited for an answer.

"That's...awfully hearty of you. You changed, Phantom."

"You do know my name is Daniel, don't you?"

"I refuse to call you that. There is another one...and I am worried about him."

That got the half-ghost's attention.

"Fenton, I presume? Haven't seen him for a while. Then again, I didn't step outside this world."

"You mean to tell me that he is not here?"

Those notes in her voice. She sounded ready to crack like a piece of china. And as much as Danny wanted to tell her everything...

"Even if he was here, I am not all-knowing. And as it pains me to say this while seeing you like this... if he was eaten there I wouldn't know either."

"You lie to me!" She yelled as the tears were ready to spill out, "You both disappeared at the same time! It cannot be a coincidence!"

"And just why would I hide him being here, Val? Killing him myself would do no good. Pointless, and I am not an animal to kill all around, you know it. Hiding him here is also of little reason. Unless you can think up said reason."

"B-but I...I just..."

Danny sighed. "No, I'm sorry. It came out much harsher than intended. I know how important he was to you."

"You spied on us too?" She mumbled.

"I wouldn't call that 'spying' ..." Phantom noticed her unamused gaze. "Yeah, I spied on you, alright. But not because I wanted something to threaten you with."

"You sound awfully nosy for someone who is just 'interested'."

"I-I am not harbouring such feelings towards humans, I told you all. I am taken, Gray!"

"Yet you seem flustered," she pointed at his greening face. Yet she herself did not appear amused.

Danny made a deadpan expression and looked away.

"I am awful with women even still," he mumbled, before sighing. "I'll look into it, Valerie. Maybe there is something I can find. But I can't promise you anything."

She nodded mutely. "I don't think I'm in the position to demand anything else."

"You are free to ask, Valerie. Within reason, of course. If you want...I can reimburse what has been caused with my involvement."

Her eyes went wide as saucers, "What? How?"

"I've happened to come across a fortune. As long as you accept gold..."

"I don't think accepting money from you will go unnoticed."

"True..." Danny muttered. "Still...I can give you my number. Would you like that?"

"I just can't understand you. Who are you, Phantom?"

Phantom smiled and put his gloved hand on her shoulder, "The one who sets reachable goals and responsibilities to boot. I am not some comic book hero anymore. This is the real world, I've come to realise. And I must stop looking at it from the perspective of a dreamy teenager."

That smile...Valerie blinked and something familiar instantly vanished. He had the same kind and genuine smile, so contrary to Phantom's cocky one that came to replace it.

"Now, I am famished after this heart-to-heart. Come on, I'll show the way."

Phantom turned around and walked forward, humming a tune under his nose. Valerie followed him through the marble corridors, but soon they were stopped by that one ghost from before, Paris.

"Morning, sir!" He said cheerfully, dressed in the usual Greek style. "What's with the getup?"

Valerie didn't expect him to actually use slang. As if foreseeing her question, Phantom smirked.

"Wow, you did pick a couple of words."

"Oh, shut it, mitéra says you are a bad influence on me."

All that politeness at the gates was seemingly a protocol. So that's what the guy was really like. Not hard to see why the two got along.

"I'm certain she didn't say that. Was there something you needed, Paris?"

"Oh, it is about those humans you left near the gates. I think the night cold and hunger made them more amiable to your conditions. So now the dog whines to be let inside the house," he said with scorn. "It is your call, Danny."

Phantom blinked. The events of the last night came back to his mind, but he quickly forced them out. It was strange that Paris omitted that one part. For all his joking around, he should have realised from where those covers came.

"Bring them in," Danny sighed, "Cannot have them complaining all day. But check them thoroughly, I'll have no shooting in mother's house."

"We are on the same page here, adelfós. But are you sure that's the reason?"

"I beg your pardon?"

Paris glanced at Valerie. "You are just too soft, everyone knows it. I don't think they deserve your quarter after butchering you like a chicken."

Valerie's eyes widened in surprise. Had... had the Fentons actually done something they weren't letting on?

"I will deal with them, Paris," Danny snapped. "At the capital. We are civilised people. For all this mockery, I am not just dumping them into the Pit."

Paris snorted. "You are the archon, dearest brother. I'll relay the order."

As the greek man left, Danny turned back to Valerie. "This is going to be one interesting meal," he muttered. "Hopefully mother doesn't kill them on spot."

-Linebreak-

The tension in the room was so palpable, a knife could cut it. Everyone at the table was aware of who were the main causes of such hostile atmosphere. On one hand, there was Pandora, the angry mama-bear that did not look away from the ones who hurt her foster son. The hunters in return loathed everything about the place they were in. And Danny was the one sitting between them, the people sitting at the opposite sides of the table. The classmates and Mr. Lancer too felt like they were at the crossfires. The silence only aggravated the problem, so it fell upon Lancer to try and break it.

"Tell me, Mr. Phantom..." he began. Danny, who was sitting in front of him, looked up from his omelette. "Where will we be going next?"

"Another friend of mine," shrugged Phantom. "I sent a message to her yesterday, so everything will be ready for when we arrive this evening."

"This evening?" Dash complained. "Why are we going so far?"

"Well, Baxter, our destination is the capital. And certainly nobody would want to place it near the portal."

"Lest some unsavoury characters get in," noted Pandora and took a sip of wine. She really liked it, it appeared.

"And just who are you implying?" Asked Maddie.

"She means you," Danny shrugged, ignoring the bashful glares. "We will be at the capital tomorrow by noon if we keep the pace."

"But don't you have, like, horses or something?" Star asked.

"Yeah," Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "But the scent of humans sends them into frenzy. Anyway, we will spend the night at Dorathea's abode. I trust Sam and Tucker remember her well. In fact, all of you do. After all, she did host a pageant at your school."

That statement left the audience largely flabbergasted. Lancer was especially pale.

"You... mean to say that Ms. Mattingly was a ghost?"

"Yep. Next time be pickier with school events," Danny looked around. "Although I think nothing will ever top this catastrophe."

Lancer took a deep sigh and made a huge gulp from his coffee mug. "Why did I even move here?" He muttered.

"Despite having done some questionable things in service to her now incarcerated brother, Dora is most welcoming."

Suddenly, the one who made his presence known was Paris, who entered the room after loudly swinging open the doors. The ability to be discreet had clearly passed down from his mother.

"Forgive my intrusion, mother, visitors. This is urgent."

"Speak, child," Pandora waved one of her hands.

"The Northern road is going through the shift. That's the road the archon chose to take, so I thought you should know this."

"Isn't that just convenient," Sam muttered angrily.

Danny, in the meantime, turned thoughtful, which didn't go unnoticed.

"What do you mean by "shift"?" Tucker asked.

"Have you noticed the chunks of land floating around? The roads are unstable in this world. And since you all cannot fly, this is an obstacle."

"What are we going to do now?" Lancer asked tiredly, hoping that their guide knew what to do.

"There is another road, a bit trickier..." Phantom began. "It will take a bit longer to reach our destination, but there are some unpleasant meetings on the way. Nothing dangerous, but I'd rather not interact with those who stay there."

Paris bowed, saying that he had to return to his duties, and left soon after, despite his mother's offer to join them.

"Well, that's a bugger," said Danny and shrugged.

"Who are those people you don't want to meet?"

"You already should know the answer, Sammy. We will soon be on the path we have treaded together," he grinned. "Walker's hangs out there."

The girl jumped from her seat, hitting the table and glaring at the half ghost.

"We are NOT following you to the damn prison!"

"Gee, the volume," said Phantom and shot a brief glance to Pandora. Who was obviously about to give a piece of her mind. "I am not tossing you there, Manson. After all, it is not equipped to handle your kin, we all learned it first-hand. That will have to wait. Until then, we are just passing through the place, you know, like in a game of Monopoly."

"For you, hunters," Pandora finally spat. "This is not a merry journey. You will do as Daniel says, because out of our entire kind he is probably the only one who won't put your pelt on the wall. You being still alive is the courtesy of his and his alone."

"Mother," Danny said slowly, asking her not to aggravate the situation.

"Is this true?" Asked Lancer, sounding concerned.

"She did say "for the hunters"," Danny shrugged. "You will be fine if you stay in a populated area. With or without me. But to take a shot at killing those who brought so much grief to our people — this is certainly a matter of time if you don't listen. I can at least promise you a trial."

"What trial?" Demanded Jack. "You have no authority to do that. He doesn't, right?" He whispered to Maddie in the end.

"Of course he doesn't!" She answered loudly.

Danny chuckled and got up, raising his hand and showing Pandora that he would handle it.

"You people are forgetting that this is a whole different world with its own sets of rules."

With that he was slowly making his way to their side of the table.

"And boy, were you keen on making this very world hate you with passion. You captured our kind, tortured them, performed your sick experiments on us. The only thing which didn't land you in prison there was the fact that humans, frankly, don't care. You put us lower than some animals. You see the looks on everyone's faces? Oh my, they had no clue, had they?"

Danny smirked upon seeing that his words were having an effect on visitors and the locals alike. Then, he turned to his former friends.

"But you two knew, didn't you?" He said a bit more quietly. "And yet here we have you, not only stabbing me in the back, but continuing with your quest to cause harm to my people. Sammy, where did your love even for animals go? Are we not worthy of such compassion? Or maybe all of that was to merely get attention of your parents? Oh, how I understand you."

"Shut up!" Sam yelled and got up. "You know nothing about me!"

"True, had I known you, I would have stayed as far away as possible. Tucker, my man. We will get to you eventually. I just do not wish to spoil everyone's breakfast too much with my tirade."

"Please, child, go on," Pandora lazily waved her hand. "I think they deserve to know something."

And besides, it was good for him to vent out his frustrations. The will of the guests notwithstanding with her.

"What do you... ah, that. Dear people of Amity, hasn't it ever crossed your mind that our kind started visiting your town way too often?"

"Ehm... yeah..." Dash weakly put in.

"The Balance between our worlds is delicate. And you know who didn't care?" He asked as he stood behind the chairs of Fentons'. "These two. They have a running portal in their basement, as you have noticed. And guess what. There is no lock on that thing. The litigants used to line up before that shitting thing and get out to wreck havoc upon you, people. Havoc, from which I alone used to protect you all from. You can guess why me and their family have some bad blood between us. Now they are solving problems they themselves create and take the credit. The loveliest scam this town has ever seen."

"Mrs. Fenton," Lancer slowly spoke. "Don't tell me that that portal is constantly open like he says."

Maddie contemplated the answer, all the while Phantom stared at her, wearing that same punchable grin, daring for her to say a lie.

"We are keeping a close watch on it the whole time. There has been a decrease in activity anyhow."

The most observant visitors could notice how every ghost in the room turned towards Phantom. The teen only shrugged in response. This time he decided to feed their delusions.

"It's not like they could after the portal was turned on. Shutting it down would have some unforeseen consequences. Even so, you could just lock it," Danny complained and rolled his eyes. "Opening this box of my dear mother's was a mistake in the first place. Now we all are forced to deal with crazy gunmen in white, multiple deaths on all sides, millions in property damage just because these two had absolutely zero brakes. It was only a matter of time until you crashed into a wall. Anyway, this is not a courtroom. We'll save your accusation list for later. Finish your breakfast, everyone, we will be moving soon."

-Linebreak-

The morning conversation had been quite enlightening to some, Danny came to realise. It was true that the A-list didn't like neither the Fentons (Jazz excluded as per Dash's fruitless attempts at charming her) nor Sam and Tucker. However, beforehand they had been negligent, they looked down on them for being losers. Now it was more of a more genuine dislike. After all, even those nerds who are even lower in the pecking order now stood away from them. After all, if the hunters had been the ones to make Amity Park the most haunted place on Earth, they were the ones to blame for many misfortunes of its people. Them easily believing the half ghost was largely due to their veneration of the former hero and the image Fentons themselves created. Jack and Maddie had demonstrated many times that they were inconsiderate, one would say.

Driving what amounted to a tank around the town was one thing. Them going around guns blazing was the second problem. Phantom, for all the collateral destruction he had caused, had something to show for it, and as his power grew, the fights tended to end rather quickly. All in all, in the minds of the younger people Phantom enjoyed more popularity. Even Lancer was largely growing on the young-looking spectre. He wondered why the boy was the way they observed, both before and after his disappearance. After all, what urged a ghost to go against his kin and protect those who hunted him down? Lancer had seen the boy get gravely injured after such battles, wounded, bleeding buckets. And yet he went on. It was a noble concept. And if there was anything Lancer appreciated the most, those would be stories such as this one. Phantom presented a stark contrast to those who were now suspected of being in it for money alone.

Fentons were indeed doing quite well. With Phantom gone, they got a lot of requests for weapons, security systems, because the people now feared ghosts more than one would expect, despite the relative decrease in activity. Come to think of it, Fentons were the most vocal opposition to the ghostly hero, right from the start, even before the few acts of crime the boy committed. Young Daniel never appeared to be the delinquent type, and Lancer had seen his fair share of those. All this time he never actually wondered if there was something deeper going on between the ghost hunters and their main target. The entire city thought that it was just their general hate for the ghostly kind, and it probably was the case, just not the entire story. Perhaps it would not hurt to ask.

"Mr. Phantom."

The boy in question turned towards the teacher, who had caught up with him. A smile graced his features.

"Do you need something?"

"I was meaning to ask you some questions. If that is alright with you, of course."

"That depends. What do you want to know?" He asked, slowly turning upside down in the air. He really preferred flying to walking.

"How long has this rivalry of yours with Fentons been going on?"

Danny hummed. "Calling it rivalry is a bit of a stretch. It was largely one-sided. I only stole their goods and spied on them so that I don't get killed. They took exception to that, too. But they have been at my throat largely since I came to Amity Park."

"And the younger generation?"

"The younger... Well, I have nothing against them," he leaned closer and began to whisper. "Jazz helped me a bunch several times. Danny did, too. But I said nothing."

"And Manson with Foley?"

"Same deal as with the younger Fentons. For a while. I mean, we used to fight ghosts together, despite my clear opposition to the idea. They helped, we learned from each other. But these two decided to abuse my trust, hand me over to the GIW for them to do whatever they like with me."

"And that was..."

Danny gave him a blank look. "Biology class, Mr. Lancer. All practical lessons included."

The teacher stood frozen, realising the implications at an instant. They wouldn't, or would they? He glanced towards the secluded group of hunters, who were carefully looking around in search of a threat. Lancer then turned towards the curious teen, who himself was intrigued by the man's reaction. The bald teacher only wondered why Phantom was so lenient with them even still. Whilst not hiding his disdain and the intent on throwing them into prison, he remained calm around them, probably carefully hiding the passionate hate. Even still, the very idea of Phantom refusing to kill them outright, guiding both them and the unfortunate people caught in the crossfire went against the Fentons' notion of ghosts being bloodthirsty beasts who destroyed everything in their wake.

And again, something felt amiss in that story. Something major he couldn't see.

The journey towards the second stop of their journey was largely uneventful after that. Even Paulina realised that her whining would get her nowhere, so it was also quiet aside from Danny occasionally giving trivia about the surrounding area. There wasn't much, admittedly, as the ghosts who hadn't been rounded up by Walker chose to stay far away from the good warden. How lifeless even by local standards this place was. The group wasn't kept in high spirits by what they were seeing. Only Phantom appeared as cheerful as ever, oblivious to the whispers of the hunters.

Soon the first structure came into view. As they got closer and closer, the atmosphere was getting heavier and heavier. The unmistakable shapes of prison walls and luminescent towers filled the stomachs of many visitors with dread.

"So, do you just knock?" Jazz quietly asked Danny.

"Not really. Give it some time, sis, Walker already saw us, I can guarantee that."

And as he was saying this, several red dots appeared on his forehead.

"Danny, does he have snipers?"

"Of course he does. Wait, they are looking at me, aren't they?"

Jazz only nodded, before Danny turned in direction of the prison and waved. Eventually the dots disappeared.

"I suppose we are clear to go," Phantom grinned.

"Your carelessness sometimes," Jazz whispered in exasperation.

Danny gestured for everyone to follow him. It was fortunate that nobody else realised what danger they were in for a moment. Walker had indeed grown somewhat paranoid after the last and only prison escape he had seen. Thus he took seriously to turning his facility into the place more secure than even the royal palace. Putting it on a floating island was pointless, because ghosts could fly. And it was also why it was a convenient spot for the traversing group. But Walker did put snipers, he put extra barbed wire and excluded the open space completely. Why it hadn't been there before was the question of the day.

As they neared the slowly opening gates, Danny turned towards the unfortunate tourists.

"I will do the talking, everyone. The local boss is..."

"There you are, punk."

"Less than welcoming."

Every pair of eyes turned towards the source of the voice — a tall, gaunt man, pale as a paper sheet. Dressed in the official white suit and a black felt hat, he created the image his occupation demanded. And the man did not appear happy about seeing new guests.

"Walker, long time no see."

"And I would have preferred for it to remain that way. I thought you were entertaining yourself elsewhere."

"Well, yes. But there was a shift, and these guys can't fly. Which is a problem."

Walker's pupilless green eyes darted towards the extra audience. And he couldn't help but concentrate his gaze upon two particular hunters.

"You still haven't served your own hundred-year sentence."

"And we have no intention to," retorted Sam.

"I haven't seen any royal pardons issued towards you. Unlike this punk."

Danny smiled innocently. He was the one to pardon himself, after all.

"I'll still keep in mind your two millennia worth of offences. What do you want?"

"Just a little shelter from the rain for a couple of hours. While we discuss some things while I am at it. This will certainly interest you."

Walker hummed. He may not have liked that punk at all, but he was still their king, the one they were supposed to obey. And if whatever that man of influence suggested was worth it, he could bear the extra presence.

"Make it quick. Bullet! Keep a close eye on these. You, punk, follow me."

Danny briefly glanced towards the humans and gave them a thumbs up to reassure them. Walker always stuck to the rules, one of which was not to shoot the messenger. And also, if a ghost invites you to their haunt, it generally means that no harm should come to you. Though non-obligatory rule, it was still one. Breaking it would mean going against the obsession, something ghosts could not do. And even if the hunters' guns were to be confiscated in the process, Danny was pretty sure that they acted smarter now, hiding some small tricks in their clothes. And in those hazmats they never took off. And to be the level-headed one fell upon Jazz's shoulders. All in all, Phantom was pretty confident that they would be fine. He alone entered the prison, wishing to limit the contact of humans with unpredictable ghosts. Lest they babble the cherry on top. Walker was pretty safe, he called the teen "punk" all the time.

The humans, however, were left to wonder.

"Two millennia?" Valerie asked in shock. "What did he even do to get this sentence?"

"Last time it was a millennium," Tucker recalled. "Walker is a prick, and ghosts are not gonna be scared for by a human's life sentence. They live for eternity, after all."

"But what did he do?" Dash asked, "He is a hero, after all."

Despite the snort from the older Fentons', Sam was the one to indulge Dash. "Ones that we know of are: illegal smuggling of human world goods, resisting arrest, assaulting the guards on many occasions and leading the one and only riot and escape from Walker's prison. That's what led to a thousand year sentence."

"That doesn't seem that bad," said Paulina. "He wanted to enjoy the things this mud-pile doesn't have. Oh, poor ghost boy, why did you choose to stay here?"

"Did the part about riots pass by your ears?"

"Sam, we helped him to do that, remember?" Tucker leaned closer. "That really isn't what's important. As I said, Walker is obsessed with rules and will punish everyone around. He isn't even an official warden, he just decided to be one and impose his own laws."

"If that's not important, Mr. Foley," Lancer suddenly butted in. "Please tell us, what is it about Phantom that made you betray him?"

"Where did this come from?"

"So far Mr. Phantom has been our guide. He provided us with food, shelter and protection. You are the ones who promised us safety on the journey and the ones who led us into this trap. That is why I am asking. What makes him worthy of destruction when he has been nothing but generous to us?"

The students never thought they would be on Lancer's side, but he was making a very good point.

"We had our reasons," Sam quickly retorted. "He may act cheerful now, but we know what a ticking bomb he truly is."

Jazz's fist balled. How dared they say such things about him. That future was averted, they had no proof to the contrary.

"That's your excuse?" Asked Jazz. "Probably that's why you are doing everything to piss him off. While being completely at his mercy?"

"Jazz," said Maddie, "Are you taking his side?"

"I am taking the side of common sense, Mom. Your blind hatred would have got us all killed. And despite everything you did to him, he is still willing to save your lives. Or maybe how the humans treated him? He still kept protecting our city despite how you tried and directed the crowd against him. What did that fighting, or as you say "pretence" give him other than serving his sense of justice and giving him wounds?"

"We WILL have a talk after this," Maddie hissed.

"I doubt it. Phantom seems kinda focused on putting you in jail. So there might not be "after this". Say it now, Mom."

The woman's look turned visibly furious at seeing her usually sensible child behaving that way. Jazz obviously wanted to wash the dirty linen in public.

"I won't stand by you, mother. Because you are some horrible parents."

"Jazzy, don't say such things," Jack tried to reach out, but failed.

"No. I will say it. At first it all seemed like your stupid antics that got us the scorn of every town we moved to. Then, as time went on since opening that damn portal, the more your antics appeared like bloodthirsty delusions. You nearly killed my brother, but you didn't, you do not care."

"Don't you dare to say such things, Jasmine! This is ridiculous, we loved Danny as his parents!"

"'Loved', mother?" Jazz repeated slowly. "As in, past tense? I saw him, bleeding, exhausted and without any will to live anymore after what you did!"

Everyone yet unaware stared in shock and horror at the hunters. Valerie, horrified at such revelation, stepped away from the other hunters as well. Lancer suddenly got another mystery to untangle. He had seen Danny with bruises, scratches and scars. Now, he had a sinking feeling of knowing what caused such traumas.

"You... saw him?" Maddie asked slowly.

"Yes, Mom. I know it all."

"Mrs. Fenton," Lancer slowly spoke, now having basically heard the admission. "I hope you know that I will call child services if we make out of here?"

"What? No, you misunderstand what's happening. That thing was NOT our son, Jasmine, it was NOT your brother."

"And on that we are done," Jazz snapped, her glare could burn them alive.

Silence fell on the entire group, nobody had it in them to talk any longer upon learning the truth.

-Linebreak-

But someone else had it in him to talk without stop.

"Hey, Vortex, looking good, chap," Danny looked at the prisoner, largely reduced in size. "Prison robe suits you."

"Go to hell!" The ghost responded in a raspy voice.

"Don't talk with prisoners," Walker snapped and hit the bars of the cells as they passed.

"Party-pooper," Danny popped out his tongue.

They soon entered the warden's office — the textbook definition of ascetic lifestyle. Or was it afterlife style? As Walker sat at his big chair, his eyes bore into the teen.

"I imagined you in this exact situation," he admitted. "Only wearing robes and chains."

"We all have dreams to aspire towards," Danny shrugged. "Alright, so, why I come here. I was meaning to talk with you anyways, and this tour of ours just so happened to go by you."

"I noticed the hunters, punk. What gives?"

"Ah, but we will get there. You see, I want to punish them. That is one of my dreams, along with seeing my kid happy. So, I am bringing them to the capital, to be judged there. The rest of the humans will be set free and return through my portal."

"Don't you have Observants for that?"

"The Observants take too long. They are going by your own principle, but there are too many judges and jury. It takes far too long. I want it done as soon as possible."

"Impatient, aren't we?" Walker smirked. "Kids, you are all the same. I don't see how this concerns me."

"Oh, cut it out, Walker," Danny rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall, crossing his hands. "You know exactly what I offer. That you take the mantle of judge and jury."

"You forgot my favourite part."

"The execution part is up in the air for now. I'm not sure what to do with them. You know that our main court is basically the king and the judge reaching an agreement on what to do. The Observants are just as unpredictable in this case as I am. I would prefer for at least one side to be predictable."

"What makes you think that I'm predictable?"

"The fact that you are, Walker. You will just behead them if given free reign."

"And what about you? Don't you want to kill them for what they did?"

Danny rubbed his palms slowly. The events of the last night came back to him.

"Maybe. Maybe not. I am now unsure. In any case, I have a proposition."

"Oh?"

"You would like to be something bigger than a regional petty king, wouldn't you?"

"I'm listening..."

"You having that post may just become not only a temporary solution. I don't need the Observants turning each of my steps into a hurdle. This is the right opportunity to sideline the idiots."

Walker burst into a laughter. That was first.

"Oh, I should have known. Beneath this innocence lies a conniving snake."

"The hunters will get what they deserve," Danny responded calmly. "But me and our world will outlive them, so we have to think of the future."

"And you also know that I hate the Observants as much as you do."

"Exactly. However, you understand that once you take that post, your local rules will see no use."

Walker narrowed his eyes.

"Don't look at me like that. I won't imprison people for centuries on such flimsy charges. But I'm sure we can adapt your laws to see wider use. Compromise, Walker, exactly what people will expect from us if I put you on that spot."

"And what if I refuse?"

"Refuse the chance to bring law to the entire Infinite Realms? That will be going against the obsession, Walker. And unlike your dearest king, you are bound by it. That's why I am unpredictable."

"Like all humans are," Walker pointed out. "Very well, punk. I accept your offer. I get to teach the disobedient punks like you some order, you get just the judge you need. Do I have to wait until the end of your jolly trip?"

"I think so. We make it to the capital, detain the hunters and set the rest free. They have nothing to do with this."

"I'll await the call then. I trust you to find the way back out by yourself. Since you apparently are so good at getting in and out."

Danny chuckled. "Guilty as charged."

After saying this, the teen exited the room and entered a long corridor. Walker really wanted the petitioners to cook properly before approaching his office, Danny mused. The chains on the walls, the chains on the high ceiling — it tended to create a fearsome impression. Danny reached the middle of this corridor, when all of a sudden he heard a whirring noise. First his eyes darted to the side, before he slowly turned around.

"Are you serious?"

Before he could do anything, the blasts were fired launching the teen backwards and into the wall.

"Did we get him?" Jack asked, after the initial blinding wore off.

"How the hell did you get here?" Danny asked as he floated back up.

"We can go through walls here, you can't," Sam reminded.

"Alright, next question," Danny slowly spoke, dusting his jumpsuit. "Why attack me all of a sudden?"

"Your deceit ends here, you slime," Maddie all but growled, charging another shot. "Even if it costs us dearly."

Whatever had happened in his absence must have made them go ballistic. Danny narrowed his eyes, glowing brightly than before.

"You will ruin all chances of getting out."

"Like you will let us get out," Tucker snorted. "Just... stop coming back from the dead."

"Oh, dear Tucker. You are the one that killed me, alongside our attention seeking goth," Danny laughed. "Forgive me my desire to live, dear friend. But I will keep coming back. Until you shits get what you deserve. Walker will hate us for it, but..."

His stark white hair ignited in the gust of spectral flame. "Take your best shot!" He yelled.