Summary: For decades there has been a war between the ghost race and the human race, but when a new Ghost King arises the war suddenly stops. By the time Danny's born, ghosts are no longer seen. The humans believe it is just the calm before the storm and therefore have spent the last ten years preparing new weapons and technology against the ghost race. The most important of their weapons is built by Jack and Maddie Fenton, leading experts in ghost hunting technology. The ghost portal they have developed is a sure way to finally gain access to enemy territory and finally destroy them. When said race discovers their rival's intentions, they quickly decide to cut their plans short. Unfortunately, the events cause Jack and Maddie the life of their one month old son, Danny Fenton. In reality, the baby is found by the ghost king himself, Vlad Plasmius. This king however has a past that very few know about; what will Plasmius do with Danny when he discovers that the same series of events that make his parents believe he is dead, also made the child half ghost? Well that's where the story begins.

Author's notes:

Man, I thought I would never start this story! I have been planning to since October…. Heh, well here it is. But I need to blather about a few things before we start; but it is important and I'll be brief... or as brief as little ol' me can be!

Okay, this story falls under "alternate universe" category. That means it does not follow the shows timeline, facts, etc. You will notice however I will be adding some things similar to the show, but with a different twists. What's important is that you guys understand that it will be different and anything goes.

Main thing is this: Ghost are not dead humans in this story. They are a different species and living beings. They do not breathe or have hearts because their bodies work differently, not because they are dead. There life energy comes from ectoplasmic energy. It is what keeps them alive. Still people will at times refer to them as spooks or spirits, but mostly Ghosts which is what the race is really called. Got that? Kay.

Now, I am not explaining the entire background right away. I am keeping some things till later, so trust me, and go with me when I leave you hanging. But feel free to ask me something if you are confused. I will tell you if I want you to know, if not, I will answer: "wait and see".

Okay, most important thing. Take a look at the rating for this story. Yes, it is rated T and for a reason. My stories, including CM are not rated this high; that means, you can expect this story to be stronger than those. I rated this story higher mainly for violence. It will be very descriptive. But I also rated it this because it will have romance and again it will be descriptive. Nothing inappropriate I can assure you of that! Just descriptive. Just think of this as a rated PG 13 movie, if you are uncomfortable with them, than this fic isn't for you.

So, speaking of romance. This will eventually be a Danny and Sam story, but it will have other male and female pairings. I will not tell you what they are now, but if you are not flexible with different pairings than, again, this fic isn't for you.

And lastly, there will be character death in this story; so be prepared to see some of that.

Okay, I'm done with that. I hope all my wonderful readers will be joining me for this new story, and some new ones would be nice, too!

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.


Prologue:

The pale, quarter moon shined dazzlingly in the darkened sky of Amity Park. Not even the light from the stars combined, on this particular night, could over come its glow. Although the moonlight seemed to caress the entire town below -so much that the bodies of water present had become sparkling mirrors- its brightest wave of light looked down upon a particular house. More specifically upon a single window, located on the small two-story home. The beam penetrated through the glass and splashed the room within, providing sufficient light for a young mother to see the child in her arms; but the kiss of moonlight was also soft enough to lull the restless baby into tranquility.

The mother softly hummed to her one-month-old son in an attempt to get him to close his sapphire eyes that were currently dimmed with tiredness. She had opened the curtains to allow the moonlight to enter the room, since doing so always managed to relax her child. Now, her battle was to get him to give into his fatigue, and sleep. She gently stroked his soft, black hair, while rocking him slowly, her actions rewarded with quiet coos.

"You're so stubborn, Danny. I can see you're tired, so why don't you sleep?" she said gently, a soft and amused expression on her face.

"Maddie?"

The twenty-seven-year-old woman turned towards the voice, a quizzical look appearing on her face at seeing her husband's sober expression.

"What is it, Jack?" she asked softly, not wanting to compromise the battle she was slowly winning against her infant.

The man sighed quietly, before smiling down at his son and lightly caressing his cheek. "The Guys in White are downstairs" he answered, moving his blue eyes to his wife.

Maddie's demeanor immediately hardened. "Why are they here? We told-"

Danny whined in protest, clearly feeling his mom's agitation. Outwardly, the brown-haired woman quickly calmed for the sake of her child, but her anger continued to burn fiercely in her eyes. "They are not supposed to be here until the end of the week," she said seriously.

Jack walked over to a drawer and opened it. "I know, Maddie, but they insist we had enough time and that it's urgent they get the finished project," he replied with soberness, walking back to his wife and child, before offering Danny a pacifier.

Maddie sighed in resignation, her amethyst eyes falling to her son, who had moved a bit and was currently sucking lethargically on the pacifier. "It's not finished, Jack. There are still tests and calculations to be done. We have to make sure it's calibrated to avoid any instability. There's no telling what that thing could do if it's started without being properly checked first."

"You're right, Mads, but I really think it'll work!" he whispered excitedly, "Maddie, we'll finally gain access, we'll finally be able to end all this chaos caused by those…things! That device is humanity's secret weapon… We gotta finish it."

Maddie remained silent. Clearly, she didn't share her husband's enthusiasm. "Alright, let me put Danny down and I'll be right down," she said calmly.

Jack nodded his agreement. He then gave his sleeping son a kiss on his tiny hand, before kissing his wife on the cheek. "Don't worry about Jazz. She's fast asleep," he informed her, before walking out.

At hearing the door softly close, Maddie exhaled deeply. "I'm sorry you have to be in the middle of all this, sweetie, but your daddy and I are going to do everything possible to make everything better…. I just hope this is what's better," she added mentally with a worried frowned.

The brown-haired woman carefully put her baby down and covered him with his space-rocket-printed blanket. Giving him one last smile, she moved away and quietly exited the room.

Maddie walked downstairs, her expression quickly changing into sobriety at the sight of six men standing at the entranceway below. All of them were dressed in white suits, accented by dark sunglasses. The woman's gaze, however, was specifically locked onto one of these men, the one standing in front of the other five. He was clearly the one in charge.

"I want to know why you feel you have the right to barge into my house, especially in the middle of the night," Maddie demanded angrily.

The slim and muscular, blond-haired man removed his glasses and gave her a calm, almost bored, look. Clearly, he was unfazed by her glare. "You are working on a very important device, Mrs. Fenton. A device that I need not remind you is being funded by the government for you and your husband to develop. So, correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't the deadline for this project in a year's time? You are four months overdue."

"You're right, Mr. Chrome, and we're sorry for falling behind schedule, but you gotta understand, my wife recently gave birth to our second kid and well… it has taken some time away from us," Jack explained.

"Congratulations," Mr. Chrome replied, although it was obvious he did not mean it. "But you'll have to forgive me if I don't sympathize with your situation. Your main priority should be finishing that project. It has been ten years since those creatures sealed all entry into their territory and just as long that they have remained inactive. Whatever they have been planning during all this time is serous. Our entire existence depends on us striking before they do and that isn't possible without a way to get to them! You're worried about your children, Mrs. Fenton? Then give us what we ask, because until then, not only are your own children at risk, but everyone else's," the man assured.

Maddie slowly nodded in agreement. "It is almost finished. We just need to run a few tests before attempting to activate it."

"I would like to see it," Mr. Chrome replied, his cold, green eyes clearly showing that wasn't a request but an order.

The couple shared a silent look before Jack pointed and responded, "It's this way." The six men silently followed the two young parents down a hallway. They passed the house's kitchen located on their left before soon finding a door to the right.

Jack turned the handle and walked down a small set of metallic stairs, leading them inside a large laboratory. Among other things, the place contained a computer mainframe, lab tables with strange devices or beakers of chemicals on them, and… the so-called project.

The married couple stopped at the far end of the lab and turned towards the men. "This is it," the woman said, pointing to a large device behind her.

Passed half-opened steel doors, a long, somewhat circular entryway could be seen. It looked cold and dark, and like the doors that contained it, the wire and circuitry-filled tunnel was also made of thick steel.

The man approached the eerie machine and studied it intently before turning to the couple. "Activate it."

"No," Maddie said right away, earning her a frown from Mr. Chrome. "It has not been properly tested and I will not risk the safety of my children."

The man approached her with an icy look. "You don't seem to understand the fact that we are at war. This invention is what will finally break this ten-year stalemate. We need that doorway into the Ghost Zone! Plagues can only be eradicated from the source!"

"Mr. Chrome, no one wants the Ghost Portal to work more than me, but not at the cost of something happening to my wife and kids," Jack intervened, "How bout giving us a day? We'll have it ready for activation tomorrow afternoon."

Mr. Chrome remained silent, while glancing at the device. "Is the sample of concentrated ectoplasm enough?"

"Yes, we believe so," Maddie replied, heading to the right of the metal doors. She quickly typed a number sequence on a square, metallic control panel. A beep and hiss followed her actions, before she carefully grabbed a cylindrical glass tube from its holding place at the side of the control panel. The glass tube glowed with its swirling thick green fluid.

The leader of the Guys in White accepted the glass tube from the woman with surprising care. "It took a great deal of effort to obtain this sample," he said, studying the hot liquid within and seeing how sparks of electricity shot from it which was clearly being contained by its thick glass case. "If it is lost, it will take years to obtain another batch, especially now that the enemy has not set foot on our world for so long…. You do understand what I'm saying, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton?" he asked, his green eyes going back to the couple.

"It will work," Maddie assured in an icy voice.

Mr. Chrome handed the object back to the young woman before turning, and exiting the lab; his men following suit. "Have it ready by tomorrow," the mid-thirty-year-old man ordered.

The two young parents followed the six men out and walked them to the door. "One more thing," Mr. Chrome stated, turning to face them. "As the world's leading ghost experts you will be required to aid the government through this war in any way we need, understood?"

"Don't forget we are on the same side, Mr. Chrome. We've helped your ghost-hunting division since we started our research and will continue to do that in any way necessary until we get rid of the ghost race," Jack answered with a serious frown.

The man gave him a tight smile in return and answered, "Good, I'm glad to hear The Guys in White have your full cooperation. Until tomorrow, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton. Rest assured that the portal will be activated then, regardless of whether or not you believe it is ready."

The couple said nothing as they watched the men leave. Jack soon closed the door and turning to his wife, clearly saw her furious expression.

"If I didn't feel his fowl breathe on me, I would say that man is one of those evil creatures from how heartless he is," Maddie stated angrily.

"Don't worry about him, Maddie. Let's just finish the portal. Just think of all the things we can discover. Who knows? Maybe we'll finally find a weakness," Jack beamed.

Maddie headed to a nearby living room and sat on a sofa. She leaned forward and rested her face in her hands, a tired sigh escaping her lips. "Jack, we had access to the Ghost Zone during Dark's rule. What makes you think that this time it will be any different? This battle has been going on longer then you and I have been alive.… I don't know, Jack, something's strange in all this. Ever since this new ghost king appeared, things have calmed down…. Maybe they finally decided to give up; maybe there isn't a plot… Jack, what if this war ended ten years ago and all we have been doing is wasting our time?!"

Jack frowned deeply at his wife. "Maddie, ghosts are blood-thirsty monsters! They have killed thousands of people! Do you really think they would just give up? Do you really think that they'd leave us alone? Maddie, Dark was this close to enslaving the entire world. If it wasn't for his sudden overthrow-"

"Exactly, Jack! Since then, these creatures have vanished! Maybe this new ghost king…," Maddie sighed, "I don't know, Jack. I really don't know what to think anymore…. I guess I want to make sure we are doing the right thing and not just agitating a dangerous beehive," she said worriedly.

Jack sat next to his wife and wrapped his arm around her frame. "I think we are doing the right thing, Mads. Just think of it this way: Once all this is over, everyone will be safe again; the kids will live in a safer world, a world without these heartless spooks.

Maddie nodded in agreement. "You're right, Jack. I just can't help but worry. If the ghost king gets wind of this…"

"He won't, sweet cheeks! And even if he did, our house is completely surrounded by ghost detecting devices; he wouldn't even make it to the front door without us knowing," he assured with a confident grin.

Maddie smiled, clearly feeling better with his words. "I suppose-"

"Mommy?"

Mother and father looked toward the stairs where their two-year-old daughter stood, wearing pink pajamas and holding a bear with a mustache.

"Jazz? I thought you were asleep, sweetie," Maddie stated, surprise evident in her tone.

"Yeah, I thought I put you in bed?" Jack added, standing up and going towards the little girl.

"I know, daddy, but I didn't say night-night to mommy and Danny!" she answered, raising her hands, so her dad could pick her up.

Maddie smiled warmly as Jack sat back down and then sat Jazz on his lap. "Oh, I'm sorry, honey. I was about to go up and say good-night to you, but I got a little distracted by some guests that passed by."

The red-haired girl giggled and jumped on her mom's lap, before wrapping her arms around her neck. "It's okay, mommy! I say night-night first today!"

Maddie hugged her back and gave her a kiss on the nose. "Yes, you did," she whispered with a small chuckle. "But it's back to bed for you now; it's past your bedtime," she scolded gently.

Jazz furrowed her eyebrows, "But I have to say night-night to Danny."

"Princess, Danny's asleep," Jack informed her with a smile.

The little girl pouted her lips, her turquoise-colored eyes widening a bit, "Aw, please, mommy? I won't make no noise. Powmise!

Her mother smiled, "Alright, but you have to be very quiet. You know how hard it is for me to get your brother to fall asleep."

Jazz nodded her head enthusiastically and jumped a bit from happiness.

Maddie stood with Jazz in her arms, while Jack followed suit. They all headed upstairs, towards the room of the youngest member of the family.

"Hey, daddy? Can we go to the park tomowo? I wanna go feed the duckies!" Jazz asked, becoming excited at the thought of seeing the small animals.

Her father gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry, Jazzy-pants, but your mom and I gotta work on something really important tomorrow."

"But we'll take you the day after that, okay?" Maddie added, seeing the look of disappointment on her daughter's face.

Her face instantly brightened and she nodded in agreement.

"But you know what we'll do tomorrow, Princess? Your mom made fudge, so for lunch tomorrow we'll have a whole bucket full of mouth-watering fudge, just the two of us!"

"Jack," the late-twenty-year-old woman said with disapproving look, "You know you can't feed Jazz so much sweet. It'll make her sick."

"Nonsense, Maddie! Jazz is a big girl, arent't ya, Jazzerincess?"

The young child quickly nodded, "Yup! I'm this many!" she answered proudly, putting up two fingers to indicate her age.

"See, she can handle it!" her husband defended, just as they arrived at Danny's room.

"Alright, but only a little, and only after she gets a nutritious lunch," Maddie bargained with a smile.

Jack grinned. "Alright, but I'll have you know fudge is very nutritious! Just look at how muscular and fit I am!" he said, sticking out his chest and placing his hands on his waist.

Jazz giggled. "That's not mucile, daddy! That's fat!" she said, reaching out and poking her dad's belly.

Maddie laughed, while Jack frowned at his daughter, who just giggled some more at his expression.

"Okay, Jazz, don't forget to be real quiet," her mom reminded her.

"No noise, powmise," she whispered, bringing her finger up to her lips.

The three Fentons quietly entered the baby's room.

Jazz smiled down at her brother after her mom lifted her higher so she could look over the railing on the baby crib. Her happiness grew at hearing him coo a bit and lift up his tiny hands towards his head and leave them there.

The little girl leaned down and touched the baby's right hand, which was adorned with a gold bracelet. She touched the small piece of jewelry lightly before giving her sibling a soft kiss on his cheek. "Night-Night, little brother," she whispered.

Jack and Maddie shared a warm smile at the sight. The mother then brought Jazz up towards her and with a soft smile directed at her son, she moved away from the crib, so Danny's father could bid him sweet dreams.

Jack caressed the baby boy's face for a moment, before giving him a kiss on the cheek as Jazz had. "Night, son. See you tomorrow."

With that, Maddie, Jack, and Jazz quietly left Danny's room.

"Okay, Jazzy-pants, time for bed," the black-haired man said, after closing his son's door.

Jazz yawned widely and her turqoise eyes dimmed, showing she had no problem with that.

The young woman placed her daughter in bed and began to tuck her in, but the two-year-old wasn't quite ready for bed just yet.

"Mommy, tell me a story?" the girl asked.

"Jazz, you need to go to sleep," her mom said disapprovingly.

"Just a small one!" she pleaded.

"Alright," Maddie said with a helpless sigh. She then turned her eyes to her husband, who was smiling in amusement. "Jack, could you turn off the lights and make sure everything is… secure?"

Jack nodded. He knew that his wife was asking him to turn on the ghost detection devices. "Sure thing, Maddie," he replied. "Good night, princess," the young father then said, leaning down and giving Jazz a kiss on the cheek.

"Wait, daddy! Bear-Bert Einstein wants a kiss too!" his daughter said, thrusting the bear towards him.

Jack grinned. "Oh, yeah, almost forgot him. Although, I still don't know where you came up with that name," he said before kissing the bear on the nose.

"I name him that cause he's a smart bear!" Jazz answered with a wide grin.

"And you're a smart girl!" Jack beamed proudly, "I can't even say Ein-Ein… uh-"

"Einstein!" Jazz exclaimed, sitting up.

"Yeah that," the man mumbled, scratching his head.

"Okay, Jazz, come on. Story time, then bed time," Maddie said, coaxing her to get back into bed.

Jack gave his girls a smile before heading out of the room to do what his wife asked him.

Sitting down on her daughter's bed, the woman asked, "Okay, what would you like?"

Jazz's eyebrows furrowed, while she pondered the question. Her left hand unconsciously played with the gold bracelet that -- like her brother-- she wore on her right wrist. "Um... Oh, I know! I want a story bout a Prince and he meets a regular girl, and then they fall in love and she becomes a Princess!" she requested excitedly

Maddie tapped her chin, "Hmm… alright, I think I can do that one."

Jazz hugged her bear under the covers as her mom began, "There was once a young prince who lived in a beautiful palace. He had everything he could ever want, but deep inside his heart he knew he was missing something. He didn't know what it was and so he didn't understand what it could be, but he felt it…."

Ten minutes later Jazz had fallen asleep. Maddie carefully stood and fixed her daughter's blankets so that they covered her well. Pushing away a strand of red hair from the little girl's face, she kissed her good-night. The woman then turned off the lamp and made sure Jazz's night light was on, before turning towards the door. But when she did, she found her husband standing in the doorway, watching her.

"Aw, I wanted to hear the end of that story," Jack whispered playfully, but truthfully.

Maddie walked up to him and gave him a kiss on the lips. "You'll have to wait until story time again to hear it," she teased. "Come on, let's get to bed; we have a lot of work to do tomorrow," she said, closing Jazz's door.

Jack wrapped his arm around her frame as they headed to their room. "Sure do!" he agreed.

"Did you set everything?" the woman asked.

He nodded. "Yes, but don't worry so much, Maddie baby, everything will be fine!" he assured her.

Maddie just smiled at Jack. She knew he was right, but she just couldn't shake this feeling within her. A feeling that kept telling her something terrible was going to happen.


"What did you find out?" a deep and cool voice inquired the two beings that had just entered the room.

"It is as you said. The humans are attempting to gain access," one of them replied in a strong tone.

The owner of the first voice chuckled. "A man-made portal, how foolish."

"But dangerous, my liege. If they are successful, our entire race will be in severe jeopardy," a third male voice replied.

"Luckily, the place is not heavily guarded. Just two ghost hunters. It is obvious they didn't expect us to find out," the other added

After a moment of silence, the entity sitting on the throne stood up and floated over to the other two. "Very well." He looked at them with piercing red eyes before smiling at them and revealing a set of fangs. "Let's put an end to their feeble attempts, shall we?"


And there you have it. A bit slow, but it will pick up significantly in the first actual chapter. So here is where I tell you that if you are like me and sometimes read the author's notes after reading the chapter, to not forget to go back up ad read it! It is very important.

I can't say when I will be updating because it depends on my school schedule, but I will get another chapter up as soon as I can. Currently, I am working on updating Checkmate, so you can expect that one to be updated first. And lastly, I wrote a Christmas one-shot just in case you didn't know. If you like Danny and Vlad bonding -which you probably do since you are reading this story! Than check it out! I think you'll like it. So as always, please review and let me hear your thoughts. And as a special treat I'll give you a sneak peak at chapter one, kay? Happy New Year to everyone and until next time!

Thanks a bundle to my betas for this story: Invader Johnny and Shining Zephyr! And to my dear Truephan for always being there and helping me as well!

Thanks for your support everyone!